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West Virginia - Saturday the 13th


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WVU won their first MAC game against a quality team (Western Michigan) on the road

The zips need to bring their "A" game and get ahead of WVU in the standings.

writeup below ...about the WVU-WMU game

https://wvusports.com/news/2018/10/6/mens-soccer-wvu-opens-conference-play-with-road-win.aspx

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Zips now tied for 4th in the MAC

WVU 2-0-0

Bowling Green and SIU-E at 1-0-1

Akron and Western Michigan at 0-1-1

Northern Illinois might the highest rpi but they are 0-2 in league after losses to SIUE and BGSU

 

Ezana did make an outstanding long pass tonight to set up the one zip goal.

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I know the guys”in the know” have (rightly so) told us RPI is more important than the polls, but even so, how can we go from being ranked 2 in preseason to this?  Past reputation, probably?  I don’tknow, just asking anyone’s thoughts...

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I am under the impression every team makes the MAC tournament this year. 3rd plays 6th at home. 4th plays 5th at home. Winners advance to tournament at site of the regular season champions. 

 

As for tonight, it was disappointing. This team is inconsistent. We seem to play much better on the road. I still believe in these players and coaches. 

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https://www.ohio.com/sports/20181013/college-soccer-west-virginia-2-akron-1-ot-zips-give-up-last-minute-goal-and-lose-in-overtime

 

“He’s starting to find his rhythm,” UA coach Jared Embick said of Zajac. “He’s been battling injuries and concussions. You can see him starting to find his groove and get his legs back.”

 

“I thought for the first 65 to 70 minutes, we were the better team,” Embick said. “I think the last 20 minutes, when they were really aggressive, you saw our lack of confidence and our inexperience this year. We didn’t manage the game well. We had a lot of turnovers in those last 20 minutes that gave them more attacks.”

 

“We’ve got to keep fighting,” Embick said. “We’re trying to get better every day. As a team and as an individual, you have to learn from it. Things don’t go your way, but you can’t just have a lot of self-pity. It’s a learning process.”

 

 

The Zips played naively in the waning seconds of regulation. Astute soccer teams don't kick the ball long down the field with that much time left, putting the ball up for grabs and allowing for counterattacks; they possess the ball to run out the clock. This season is not gone yet, but this team has put itself in dire straights. We'll see how they respond. Will they wallow in self-pity and go down to NIU, SIUE, and WMU, or will they step up, use their talent and their know-how and grind out NEEDED W's? How hard are they willing to work to not be the first Zips Men's Soccer team since 2006 to not make the NCAA tournament?

 

 

 

 

Edited by Zip_ME87
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ZIP_ME87:

Great post. I don't know if you watched the Seattle game earlier in the year. Up 1-0 with approximately 16 seconds left in the first half, they didn't get back on a sideline throw-in and let in the goal. 

In the first half, despite not scoring, I thought the passing was good, along with the aggressiveness.

They are in dire straights. As I said in an earlier post, they might not even make the MAC tournament. They have the talent, do they have the composure?

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9 hours ago, YipaZip said:

I am under the impression every team makes the MAC tournament this year. 3rd plays 6th at home. 4th plays 5th at home. Winners advance to tournament at site of the regular season champions. 

 

You are correct. Thanks for that information. I had not realized the MAC Tourney format changed this season.

 

https://getsomemaction.com/tournaments/?id=101

 

Edited by Zip_ME87
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57 minutes ago, bigzipguy said:

ZIP_ME87:

Great post. I don't know if you watched the Seattle game earlier in the year. Up 1-0 with approximately 16 seconds left in the first half, they didn't get back on a sideline throw-in and let in the goal. 

 

Actually, I was there. Very disappointing. That should never happen, but early in the season, for a young team just getting to know each other, is somewhat understandable. Last night was unacceptable, but unfortunately reality.

 

I don't know what the issue is with this team. I have every confidence in our coaches and staff. Our players are talented. As Jared said, they lose it under pressure, especially at home. Is it added pressure for them to perform in front of a crowd that has high expectations? Do they not focus the night before / day of a match at home, when on the road, they are "sequestered" in a hotel?

 

I travel to see the Zips on the road; I stop by practice when I have a day off. These players / this team mean so much to me. However, I thought perhaps I might be a distraction; I wasn't at Michigan State and they won. So, I stayed away from practice this week to not potentially distract them. I left last night after WVU scored the golden goal and were celebrating in front of our stands  I didn't think our players needed to see my pain watching that. I'll be at the Creighton and WMU games at home and plan to be at the SIUE game on the road. I have to miss the match at NIU because of a business trip to LA. I won't stop supporting this team.

 

 

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I stand corrected. I was unaware of tournament change allowing all 6 teams. I also plan on being at all the remaining home games. Good insight on playing at home vs on the road. Watching the game at Mich St. , I was very much encouraged that they had really turned the corner. I am relieved that they don't have to qualify to make Mac tournament. I hope they don't take the attitude that they can just "flip the switch" in the Mac tournament. I think the coaching staff will do all they can to prevent that attitude, but in reality it comes down to the players and the composure and confidence, 

Thing is , for the first time in MANY YEARS, there is no  chance for any at-large bid to NCAA'S for any MAC team

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On ‎10‎/‎13‎/‎2018 at 10:40 PM, ZipsVoice said:

I know the guys”in the know” have (rightly so) told us RPI is more important than the polls, but even so, how can we go from being ranked 2 in preseason to this?  Past reputation, probably?  I don’tknow, just asking anyone’s thoughts...

You are still not getting it.  It took me a while as well, so don't feel bad.   It is not that RPI matters more in NCAA Men's Soccer than do the variety of popular polls.  The real point is that these polls do NOT. MATTER. WHATSOEVER.  Even the so-called Coaches' Poll is irrelevant.  That is how there is such huge discrepancy across the six or seven (maybe more) polls.  My personal College Soccer poll that I conduct at noon everyday in Perkins Park is just as important as the one from College Soccer News, or Top Drawer Soccer, or whatever the flock soccer poll.  These polls are unfortunately nothing more than a marketing gimmick, one that the wise ignore.  I look forward to the time in the near future when SIDs stop treating NCAA Soccer like sports with which they are already familiar.  Don't believe the hype!  As of this writing, Zips have an RPI of 32, so that is their ranking.   Yes, they were overrated early this season.

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