Local Media:
Last week the sport’s section of Utah County’s Daily Herald
finally acknowledged that something unique was taking place on the UVU campus. Herald writer Neil
Warner published a short article extolling the extraordinary accomplishments of
the Wolverine men’s team.
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With a week of WAC Conference play in the books and two matches this weekend, it is time
to take a look at what lies ahead and put this league into some perspective. To
begin, a quick review of last Saturday’s match against Seattle University is in
order. Despite it being in the rear view mirror, there are important points to
be hi-lighted.
In his post-game comments, the first thing coach Greg Maas
had to say about Saturday night’s game against Seattle University was, “Well, that
was a real battle.” Interesting that Seattle head coach Pete Fewing used the
same exact words to describe the match: “Tonight was a battle, both teams had
their chances, and it was a great game.” The match ended in a 1 – 1 tie after
110 minutes on the pitch.
The Redhawks exhibited a solid back line and an amazingly quick counter – the quickest we have seen to date against the Wolverines. They
scored early in the first half when a misplayed ball into the center was taken
forward by the Seattle midfield, and a well-placed pass was served to Hamza
Haddadi, who then placed the ball into the left corner of the goal. Seattle University
makes the third ranked team that the UVU Wolverines have taken on in as many weeks,
and with that first goal, it was the Wolverine's first time to trail at home.
This was a tough match. Playing their now well-recognized
(and appreciated) attacking style, there were times when UVU strung together
several passes, moved into the 18 and looked very dangerous. Seattle countered
with a defense that packed it in and looked to sprint forward with numbers and
speed given any opportunity. It made for a back and forth match with a lot of
action that got a bit chippy at times. UVU seemed to have had an edge in
possession, took more shots, and had more corner
kicks. However, Seattle, after the early score looked to hold on by denying
space in the box and limiting Wolverine scoring chances - they did not press forward much. This strategy does not
make for exciting on field play but it can be effective.
Once UVU equalized in the second half, the game took on a more offensive tone. Seattle came close to winning in the second overtime
period when a scramble at the UVU six yard line resulted in a scumbled shot
that bounced off the Wolverine defense, looped up and over Collin Partee and
softly rebounded against the crossbar. Close – but no banana.
Playing to a standstill against a quality club like Seattle in its first ever WAC match
is another signal to the conference that the Wolverines are for real. UVU will
not sneak up on anyone, and nobody is going to underestimate them at this
point.
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WAC Conference Soccer Overview
The Western Athletic Conference is looking much improved as a league over the 2013 WAC.
The following is a short analysis of the WAC
based on the games played to date, win-loss record of opponents, and goals
scored for and against. The first five teams are listed in order of their
current National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) ranking.
Seattle University Redhawks: 5-3-1, currently ranked 1st
in the West by the NSCAA. Seattle had a solid non-conference run, with wins
against Gonzaga and Oregon State. The way the WAC has been organized this year,
the Seattle University Redhawks and the UVU Wolverines are travel partners.
That means through the rest of the season, when two games are the norm each
weekend, every other WAC team will play these two teams back to back (typically
on a Friday – Sunday rotation). This looks to be a very challenging duo for
everyone else in the WAC Conference. Also, due to an interesting twist in the
WAC system, travel partners compete against each other home and away, so
Seattle and UVU play against each other one more time, on October 18th,
in Washington. We play everyone else in the conference just once.
The U. S. Air Force Academy: 5-1-3, currently ranked 2nd
in the West by the NSCAA. Air Force beat New Mexico and Navy in their
pre-season – both impressive victories.
One thing the Flyboys have going for them is that hard work, courage,
and determination are all part of the Academy code of conduct. This team will
not quit ever. Up 4-0, they will press for the 5th goal with great
tenacity. Down 0-4, they will continue play as though their whole season hinges
on their first goal. Air Force, like UVU, plays at altitude and relies on
running opponents into the ground. They will pressure all over the field and
press offensively.
California State University at Bakersfield: 7-2-1, currently
ranked 4th in the West by the NSCAA. The Roadrunners have a new
coach and a new attitude over the 2013 version. Bako’s most impressive wins in
the pre conference season came against San Diego State University 1-0 and
against UC Riverside 3-1. Opening the WAC season with a 5-1 win over San Jose
State, the Roadrunners seem to be another WAC team that may contend for the top
rung of the WAC Conference ladder. This
is an attacking team, which to date has scored 27 goals and given up only 7.
University of Nevada Las Vegas: 7-2-1, currently ranked 6th
in the West by NSCAA, the UNLV Rebels are a much improved side from 2013. In
fact, they have already surpassed last season’s win total, just one game into
the conference slate. UNLV and UVU have played several of the same opponents –
Gonzaga, UC Riverside, and UC Irvine. The Rebels went 1-2-0 against these
three, losing to both 2-4 (the game against Gonzaga was played in Spokane, WA).
Last weekend the Rebels defeated Grand Canyon University 3-0. In that game, the
two WAC teams were scoreless at half time, but UNLV scored three goals in less
than five minutes midway through the second half. UNLV plays Seattle University
in Seattle this Friday, and comes to Orem to play our Wolverines on Sunday the
12th.
Our Utah Valley University Wolverines: 4-3-1, currently
ranked 8th in the West by the NSCAA. Opponents win/loss/tie record
sits at 64-72-19. UVU is one of
the biggest surprises in NCAA Division I Soccer. Needless to say, the matches up-coming
against the teams currently ranked above us are all critical. Two new things
showed up against Seattle: a new formation, the Wolverines opened with a 4-4-2
which is a little more aggressive than the 4-3-2-1 they played in earlier home
matches; also, coach Maas showed off his depth last Saturday with wholesale
changes in the first half and significant on-field time for a number of players
coming off the bench. This depth will serve the team well as they move deeper
into conference play and have to compete in two matches a week.
It is easy to look at the pre conference record of the WAC teams and of their opponents and determine where the strengths are found.
The top five teams in the conference, which include the Wolverines can each
point to accomplishments on the pitch and make the argument that they have a
chance to win it all come WAC tournament time and find their way into NCAA
field of 64 to compete for the College Cup. The trailing five teams have not
demonstrated to this point in the season that they are going to contend for a
conference or tournament title. Of course, anyone can dig in and turn things
around. The WAC post-season tournament will feature the top six teams in the
conference, and once there … well soccer can sometimes be a funny game.
Incarnate Word University: 2-6-0. The best win of IWU’s early season
was the 3-0 shutout they handed fellow WAC member Houston Baptist last Thursday
evening. The Cardinals, like UVU are playing their first year in the WAC, but
they are coming out of a Division II
conference. Despite some success at D2, the Cardinals are still looking to find
their form.
Grand Canyon University: 2-6-1. The Antelopes, part of the GCU
experiment are in their second year of WAC competition, but are not eligible
for post-season play. This alone makes recruiting a challenge (UVU fans would
understand this, while Wolverine Athletics has always been able to field
winning teams, it was difficult during the seven-year provisional purgatory the
NCAA allowed us to experience). GCU had a very strong D2 soccer program, and
are making the transition to D1. Last week against UNLV they played very, very
well in the first half – in fact they should have been ahead narrowly missing
opportunities to take the lead. But, in the second half, the team lost its
shape and a bit of its heart as UNLV scored three goals quickly to claim the
win. GCU plays on Clyde Field this Friday at 5:00 pm (early start time), at the
visiting team against the UVU Wolverines.
One editorial note about the Friday game: Nobody who has been in
the conference is going to want to look bad playing against the WAC upstart
Wolverines. Look for GCU to bring as much heat as they can muster when the
whistle blows on Friday night. Fans expecting a blowout might be disappointed;
UVU is going to have to prove itself in every match they play in the WAC –
there will be no gimmes. However, if the Wolverines play up to their
capability, the midfield could have a field day. Look for The Hoffmeister to
score his first goal in a WAC contest.
University of Missouri, Kansas City: 2-6-1. Rough opening for UMKC, their
goal scoring has been more than doubled by opponents (5-14), but their
opponents have compiled more wins than losses: 78-69-23, so their non-conference schedule has been competitive. The Roos seem to have some talent, but haven’t been
able to create and finish many scoring chances.
San Jose State University: 2-7-0. Is this a rebuilding year for the
Spartan program? They have a new head coach (formerly from CSU Bakersfield), who
moved to San Jose after 25 years coaching the Roadrunner program. San Jose’s
opponents sit at 78-75-23, but like a few other WAC teams have yet to find
their form.
Houston Baptist University: 1-4-2. The Huskies have not played well to
open the season. They have scored 12 goals, but allowed 17 to teams with a
combined 58-74-17 record. They lost in a 0-3 shutout to the Incarnate Word
Cardinals last week. Their lone win (4-0) came against Belmont University who
has a 2-10-0 record and sits in last place in the Horizon League. HBU, as an
institution, has put a lot of its resources recently into a new football program perhaps
hoping to make itself more visible. In the same weekend that Incarnate Word
handed Houston Baptist a shutout loss on the soccer field, both universities
also met on the football gridiron: IWU 31, HBU 8. The football Huskies do have
one win, against NAIA Texas College. One has to wonder how much was spent on the HBU football startup. UVU's soccer match against Gonzaga drew as many fans as HBU is getting at its football games.
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The game of Soccer isn’t always fair, you don’t have to look
any further than RSL –v– Chivas USA to see how unbalanced its logic can be. For
those that do not follow MLS, Real Salt Lake is in the hunt for a top three
Western Conference finish. Chivas is dead last, had recently played 12 games
straight without a win, and had 58 goals scored against in that stretch. Yet,
against RSL, Chivas has been able to take advantage of small mistakes, and maintain
clean sheets in their last two head-to-head matches (winning both 1-0).
While the top WAC teams look good (all improved over last
year), the bottom of the conference does not look dangerous. Still, nobody can
afford to take a day off, or walk onto the pitch against any opponent
unprepared. Before the WAC season is over, the teams sitting at the bottom
today will jump up and bite someone on top – it’s going to happen.
This Week in Orem:
UVU hosts Grand Canyon on Friday at 5:00, and UNLV on Sunday
(yes, Sunday) at 11:00. The Wolverines need to step onto the pitch hungry
against GCU. If they do, there should be 3 points at the end of the match. UNLV
will be the challenge this week. We have the benefit of being at home, and the
Rebels playing in Seattle on Friday and then traveling to Utah for the week’s
second match.
Given the geography of Sunday mornings here in Utah, athletic
events are not typically well attended (neither the Jazz or RSL schedule Sunday
games). Fans need to show up for the match on the 12th though. It is
an important match in the WAC standings, and we need the Wolverine 12th
man to be large and loud.
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