Western Michigan

[SwitchIt]

Thanks for the color on Pina. It was a bold move to switch right into the tournament but warranted if Pina had stopped putting in the effort or given up. Congrats to Jake for winning it from a YNT regular and top couple in the country kid coming in. That probably looked unlikely but he fought for it all year and won to the point the other left and sat a year, but that sitting for a year bothers me somehow and tells me there was something else going on off the field. Maybe his slip and fall from play at Akron was really tough and he considered not playing again, whether to finish schooling, etc.

Unusual set of circumstances headed into the next 2 games for the opposition's GK. I always like to see what the head to head looks like starting from the net and then match ups at each side's best positions. Akron gets 2 passes this week.

- WVU's Boener, probably the better of their 2 that have split time thus far got a red card v BG last game. Diaz is a JuCo transfer.

- UCLA's Cervantes got a red in the tough 4-3 loss to Cal. Probably see Silva who has 3 games under his belt, and as RS Freshman from Atletico Madrid at 6-2 you might wonder why he did not win the spot, but they have very unusually played all 4 keepers this year so it must be a mess in the net, shown by the team .571 GAAvg

In the case of BG, Heuton is pretty good and led the league last year in almost every per game stat, and at 6-3 around 190/200 has the frame. BG will be playing the last of 4 games in 12 days so I think other factors will play into this game. While they just won 2- 0 WVU, they tied lowly IUPUI and got blasted by Dayton 6-0 so it may be a soft landing for the last game of the RS.

For Zips in Jake there is mention of him being like Meves as an expert shot blocker. Previous UA like Bush and Meves are pro level players, so unsure about the similarity to a degree but do agree it is the best part of his game by good measure. Zips usually don't get the check box at keeper when facing better opponents, and also lesser ones such as WMU, BG and even WVU in the MAC. The slight build and weak leg are one thing, but I also see goals that should not be given (late MSU, H1 WMU, good bunch earlier in season) mixed in with the better saves and you can't let those sorts in to progress in late Nov. I do agree with going with what you got in a sense, but some LBs and GK still give me pause.

I think the doctor would still prescribe scoring 2-3 goals per contest and drink lots of fluids to get Dec dates

[Zip_ME87]

@fknbuflobo...Good summary on how Jake took over duties from Fernando. I don't disagree on your point about leg strength, either, but I don't think that's the issue with the Zips giving up goals. I still contend that a number of our position players (mids & back line, especially) are heading balls (putting them up for grabs) when there is no pressure rather than bringing them down and diligently taking control.

@Switchit...thanks for the info on the WVU and UCLA GKs. I plan to be at WVU tomorrow night and of course at FES-CCF on Sunday. I wouldn't lump Meves and Bush together ("Previous UA like Bush and Meves are pro level players..."). Evan Bush is literally "in a different league" than David Meves. Mevea was good at UA, but he benefited much from the guys in front of him. He hasn't been able to do what Evan has done at Montreal this year or what Evan did for Montreal before they entered MLS.

Edited October 27, 2015 by Zip_ME87