2017 Men's Soccer Season

[VULB#62]

I decided to start that thread.  Here's agibson's post from the Soccer Roster thread to start it off.


We should get a proper season thread going. Maybe this could be it.

As usual, the men are mostly on the road in the non-conference.

They took Northwestern to overtime in the season opener before falling in sudden death.

Then, after taking the lead at Michigan, they held on to a 1-1 draw through both "golden goal" sudden death overtime periods. A nice result!

So, they're still playing hard against big teams in the non-conference, as has been their tradition. The challenge, at least naively, has been translating that into conference success.

Lots of graduates last year, so a very new look to the starting 11. Lots of international talent, as usual.

Notched... was it two pre-season all-MVC players as well? Ramone Howell and... OK, just Ramone Howell. Still, with Loyola and Evansville landing three players each on the sole all-conference team, it's not a given that you get a player on. One coach voted Missouri state #1 in the conference, yet they didn't land a single player on the squad.

Loyola looked was the choice for #1 by a significant margin, with Evansville second, and Missouri State and Central Arkansas (?!) not far behind. Loyola got 47 of a max 49 points (every coach named them #1 or #2), while Valpo edged Bradley for 6th of 7 (getting 15, above the minimium of 7, points in the polling; Drake not far above with 18).

Should be an exciting season!


I concur on the depth of talent among the young players.  Mike is cautiously optimistic about this bunch. They have many unknowns, yet they might be the dark horse in the conference this year.

We will know very soon what we are made of as MSO travels to Loyola Friday night for their MVC opener.

[valpotx]

Don't look now, but Valpo is already 1-0 in the MVC, in our first attempt in any sport!  We beat Loyola 2-1 on the road, which is a team that won a game in the NCAA tourney last season.  Great start!

[vu72]

I watched the game and no doubt, Loyola was the better team--no surprise given they had won the Valley title last year coupled with our extreme youth. Nonetheless, A GREAT WIN!!  I will say this--the broadcast was first class and the announcers were also first class.  The broadcast was beyond first class with playbacks etc. Valpo's broadcasts, at least from last year, were totally bush league compared to what I just watched.

[VU2014]

That was a HUGE WIN!!! Proud of the guys!!! Great win against the projected Top team in the MVC.

https://twitter.com/valpoathletics/status/903799244347322368

[crusaderjoe]

Great win!

By the way....

Valpo's first ever conference game after joining the Horizon League?  Men's soccer, against Loyola.
Valpo's first ever conference game after joining the Missouri Valley Conference?  Men's soccer, against Loyola.

[oklahomamick]

Valpo first horizon league championship was also in men's soccer

[VU2014]

https://twitter.com/MVCsports/status/908335390804762624

http://mvc-sports.com/sports/2017/5/16/GEN_0516171827.aspx

[vu72]

Very well done.  Mike Avery is one very impressive guy and a wonderful representative of Valpo.   

[FWalum]

https://twitter.com/MVCsports/status/908335390804762624

http://mvc-sports.com/sports/2017/5/16/GEN_0516171827.aspx

Some really great insights into the Men's Soccer program. This is a must listen in my opinion.

[VULB#62]

MSO takes down Drake in OT 3-2!  We are 2-0 in the MVC.

[vu72]

MSO takes down Drake in OT 3-2!  We are 2-0 in the MVC.

I just in on the game a couple of time.  First time we were down 2-0 and I was...this isn't looking very good.  Next time was near the end of the the second overtime and we were tied 2-2!!  Then I witnessed the golden goal which was flat out amazing!!  From 32 years out this looping shot that just cleared the goalkeepers out stretched arms into the far corner!!  Amazing and wonderful comeback win!!

[VULB#62]

Look for Mike to play a lot of his reserves against IPFW tomorrow.  The regulars are fatigued after so many road trips and this is a non-conference game. Nice that it is at home. Too bad they haven't completed the technoogy change-over to allow streaming 

[bbtds]

From 32 years out this looping shot that just cleared the goalkeepers out stretched arms into the far corner!!  Amazing and wonderful comeback win!!

I have soccer eligibility remaining. I could make a play from 34 years out and more.   

It is great to see the resilience from the VUMSO!

[vu72]

From 32 years out this looping shot that just cleared the goalkeepers out stretched arms into the far corner!!  Amazing and wonderful comeback win!!

I have soccer eligibility remaining. I could make a play from 34 years out and more.   

It is great to see the resilience from the VUMSO!

Flying fingers strikes again!!   

[agibson]

Too bad they haven't completed the technoogy change-over to allow streaming

Ah, is that the issue? Required by ESPN3 or the Valley or some such?

Bit of a shame they couldn't have kept the old stuff going until the new was ready. The game will at least be on WVUR, with a live audio stream
http://tunein.com/radio/The-Source-951-s23659/
(I'd be happy to hear what the audio's like; the soccer calls have varied widely over the years.)

2-0-0 is a great start in the conference, and the top-25 win against Loyola is nice (even if they've slid to 0-2-0) along with the draw at Michigan (who's currently ranked #18 in the country). I think we've not even yet seen the team full force, with some NCAA clearinghouse issues.

I'm sure the lineup will change tonight, road trips, OT, etc. But hopefully we'll get to see some of the new talent in person. 6:00 PM at Brown Field (and yeah, looks like despite the name change they kept IPFW; IUPUFW would have been a mouthful!).

Should continue to be an exciting season!

Mike Avery set the VU record for wins from a men's soccer coach with the last victory. Definitely a class guy, and a big asset to Valparaiso University.

[vu72]

Too bad they haven't completed the technoogy change-over to allow streaming

Ah, is that the issue? Required by ESPN3 or the Valley or some such?

Bit of a shame they couldn't have kept the old stuff going until the new was ready. The game will at least be on WVUR, with a live audio stream
http://tunein.com/radio/The-Source-951-s23659/
(I'd be happy to hear what the audio's like; the soccer calls have varied widely over the years.)

2-0-0 is a great start in the conference, and the top-25 win against Loyola is nice (even if they've slid to 0-2-0) along with the draw at Michigan (who's currently ranked #18 in the country). I think we've not even yet seen the team full force, with some NCAA clearinghouse issues.

I'm sure the lineup will change tonight, road trips, OT, etc. But hopefully we'll get to see some of the new talent in person. 6:00 PM at Brown Field (and yeah, looks like despite the name change they kept IPFW; IUPUFW would have been a mouthful!).

Should continue to be an exciting season!

Mike Avery set the VU record for wins from a men's soccer coach with the last victory. Definitely a class guy, and a big asset to Valparaiso University.

ML posted on another thread that the upgrade was required by The Valley as they have a stricter quality of broadcast model over what was acceptable for The Horizon.  If the broadcast from Loyola earlier this year was any indicator of the change it will be fantastic!  For one thing, Loyola's broadcast included instant replay.  Great stuff when it comes to seeing shots on goal!

[valpotx]

Two terrible home losses to IPFW (2-1) and Central Arkansas (3-2), now has us at 3-4-1 (2-1).  I truly hope that this is not another season where we play fantastic against quality competition in non-conference, and choke in conference...

[VULB#62]

MSO over WIU 5–2. This was their 10th road game out of 13 games. Geez!

BTW, we are still in the hunt in our first year in the MVC.

[agibson]

MSO over WIU 5–2. This was their 10th road game out of 13 games. Geez!

Behind a hat trick from sophomore Adan Garcia. While it was junior Brazilian transfer Rafael Mentzingen who won MVC Offensive Player of the Week last week. I don't know what others in the league are up to this week, who might have two matches, etc. But you've got to like Garcia's chances for this week's award.

BTW, we are still in the hunt in our first year in the MVC.

3-2-0 puts us squarely in the middle of the seven team pack (hard to compare with most teams having played only three or four league matches; but three teams have no league wins, while four have at least two).

With seven teams it's a weird, unbalanced, league schedule. You play everybody once, and two teams twice. We happen to play two top-half teams twice (MO State who looks to be on top, and Central Arkansas who currently sits one slot ahead of us, 2nd vs 3rd, in the table).

Everybody plays in the conference tournament, with conference records only determining seeding. But, it's a significant difference. The top two seeds go straight to the semi-finals, the bottom two have to play each other for a spot in the quarter-finals.

Bradley hosts the tournament in Peoria this year. Four games left for VUMSO first. On the road a week from Saturday at Central Arkansas. Then three home games to close out the season (including MO State and Bradley).

Apparently complicated by the conference switch, the home slate is just six games this season. 7 of 9 non-conferences matches are on the road.

[vu72]

Wow!  We may have been exposed today.  MSU beats us 2-0 but more important is that we were out shot 11-1.  Not good--and at home.   

[bbtds]

Wow!  We may have been exposed today.  MSU beats us 2-0 but more important is that we were out shot 11-1.  Not good--and at home.   

My relatives were there and said it was a poor offensive showing with some poor defensive play at times. The game was played in a steady cold drizzle and Valpo's type of long passing offense was not well suited to those conditions. 

[agibson]

Wow!  We may have been exposed today.  MSU beats us 2-0 but more important is that we were out shot 11-1.  Not good--and at home.   

I'd have credited us with two shots in the second half alone. One off a free kick, and a second week shot in a crowded penalty box.

We had some possession, but did struggle to get it into the final third of the field. And, MSU was good about defending in numbers. In the final third they often had eight players defending, plus the GK, and we struggled to connect passes, and to create space to shoot.

The second half, at least, was played at a very fast pace - not a lot of time on the ball to think, pick out a careful pass, etc.

[VU2014]

https://twitter.com/Deadspin/status/927984148148518912

[VUGrad1314]

I look back at the seasons for men's and women's soccer and see a ton of what if's  I just feel like the program just didn't quite live up to its full potential this season Felt like there were some winnable games we dropped Hopefully we'll look forward to a better season next year

[agibson]

https://twitter.com/Deadspin/status/927984148148518912

Click through the link for the original, longer (replays) version, with the original commentary.

A pretty special goal.

Sounds like it must have been a wild second half. No scoring in the first half. Mentzingen opened the scoring in the 2nd half, as you've seen. But, all together there were six goals in the 2nd half, including a penalty kick for each side, and Valpo losing 4-2 to end the season.