Regis/McDonnell

Regis had a win and a loss since our last update.  A nice 2-0 win followed by a tough 2-1 loss to Baldwin-Woodville.  Record on the year now sits at 5-3-3, at least that’s the best information I can find.  Pretty close if not exact.

Big Rivers Conference: Updated after Thursday Games

Here is an update on the conference as we move into the second half of the conference calendar.  Things are taking shape with Memorial and Hudson in the best spot to win conference.

School                      Record

EC Memorial            8-0-1

Hudson                    6-2-0

Chippewa Falls        5-3-0

Rice Lake                 3-4-2

EC North                  3-5-1

River Falls                2-6-1

Menomonie              0-7-1

Surprise result of the week: No surprises.  The favored teams all had solid wins to create some separation at the top of the conference.

Team to watch: Hudson.  Hudson sits in second with the only real chance to challenge Memorial for the conference crown.  They have a big game against Memorial on Tuesday that is a must win and their only chance to challenge Memorial for the title.  A Memorial win clinches the Conference.

Schedule for the week.

Tuesday, October 3: 

Memorial v. Hudson           Game of the Week

North v Chippewa Falls

Menomonie v Rice Lake

Thursday, October 5:

Memorial v Menomonie

River Falls v North

Chippewa Falls v Hudson

UW-Eau Claire Women

The Blugolds are 9 games in their season and on a nice winning streak after a slow start to the season.  UW-EC had a nice 1-0 win over Augsburg on Wednesday to extend their winning streak to 3 games and get their season record to 3-4-1.  They continued their winning ways with a dominating performance in their league opener against UW-Platteville, 5-0.  That makes 4 in a row! They move to 4-4-1 on the season and 1-0 in conference.

Next Game: Wednesday October 4 v. Gustavis Adolphus.  Can we go 5 in a row…why not!

Big Rivers Conference: Updated after Tuesday Games

Here is an update on the conference as we move into the second half of the conference calendar.  Things are taking shape with Memorial, Chippewa Falls and Hudson in the best spot to win conference.

School                      Record

EC Memorial            7-0-1

Hudson                    5-2-0

Chippewa Falls        4-3-0

Rice Lake                 3-3-2

EC North                  3-4-1

River Falls                2-5-1

Menomonie              0-7-1

Surprise result of the week: North came back from a goal down against a stingy Rice Lake defense to take a nice 3-2 win at home.  A good win for North and a confidence builder as they face Memorial tonight.

Team to watch: Hudson.  Hudson sits in second with the only real chance to challenge Memorial for the conference crown.  They have a big game against Rice Lake on Thursday that is a must win and Rice Lake has played really well against the top half of the conference.

Schedule for the week.

Tuesday, September 26: 

Memorial v. River Falls  Memorial 5-0

Rice Lake v North  North 3-2

Hudson v Menomonie Hudson 4-1

Thursday, September 21:

Memorial v North

Chippewa Falls v River Falls

Rice Lake v Hudson   Game of the Week

UW-Eau Claire Women

The Blugolds are 7 games in their season and on a small winning streak after a slow start to the season.  A nice 2-0 win over Concordia-Moorhead (MN) was followed with another nice win 4-3 against St. Olaf.  Can we make it three in a row.  next up is Augsburg on Thursday.  Current record is 2-4-1.

UW-EC had a nice 1-0 win over Augsburg on Wednesday to extend their winning streak to 3 games and get their season record to 3-4-1.  They have a chance to get to .500 as they face UW-Platteville on Saturday at home at 12:00.  Let’s go Blugolds, let’s make it 4 in a row.  Those early 1 goal losses are now turning into 1 goal wins!

Another week and still hard to get updates on soccer in Eau Claire.   Here are some new updates for you, the soccer fan of Eau Claire.  You are not alone, I feel you!!

McDonell/Regis

McDonell/Regis has had a little break following their recent 1-0 win last week.  I am pretty sure they are 4-2-1, but I will keep snooping around for updates.  They play again on Thursday against Phillips.  More to follow on Friday.

Big Rivers Conference

Here is an update on the conference as we move into the second half of the conference calendar.  Things are taking shape with Memorial, Chippewa Falls and Hudson in the best spot to win conference.

School                      Record

EC Memorial            6-0-1

Hudson                    4-2-0

Chippewa Falls        4-3-0

Rice Lake                 3-2-2

EC North                  2-4-1

River Falls                2-4-1

Menomonie              0-6-1

Surprise result of the week: Chippewa Falls dropping back to back home games against Rice Lake and Memorial.  Thought they would split at home.

Team to watch: Hudson.  Hudson sits in second with the only real chance to challenge Memorial for the conference crown.  They have a big game against Rice Lake on Thursday that is a must win and Rice Lake has played really well against the top half of the conference.

Schedule for the week.

Tuesday, September 26: 

Memorial v. River Falls

Rice Lake v North

Hudson v Menomonie

Thursday, September 21:

Memorial v North

Chippewa Falls v River Falls

Rice Lake v Hudson   Game of the Week

Area Scoring Leaders (Courtesy of Leader Telegram)

Jack Longville      EC Memorial     26  (Leader Telegram had him at 36, but pretty sure it is 26)

Lucas Connolly    Chippewa Falls 13

Braden Pick          EC North          10

These are the only 3 with 10 goals this year.

UW-Eau Claire Women

The Blugolds are 7 games in their season and on a small winning streak after a slow start to the season.  A nice 2-0 win over Concordia-Moorhead (MN) was followed with another nice win 4-3 against St. Olaf.  Can we make it three in a row.  next up is Augsburg on Thursday.  Current record is 2-4-1.

McDonell/Regis

McD/Regis Boys posted a 1-0 win over Washburn earlier this week to run their record to 4-2-3. Steady.  Time for a little winning streak to build momentum for the end of the year.

Big Rivers Conference

Surprise team of the year: Rice Lake.  With only 3 Senior starters, Rice Lake has put together a nice run of games.  A 0-0 result against Conference leader Memorial and a nice win on the road against Chippewa Falls, 2-0.  That is an important result in the conference.  They are in striking distance of 2nd place and showing resilience.  They may make some noise in their Division this year.

A goal on a PK and a late header were the difference against CF …plus a clean sheet against a dangerous team shows some defensive skills.  Well done!

Did I predict the Rice Lake win?  Lets review my last post.  CF has 4 straight wins in conference and are riding a lot of momentum coming into this week.  Two difficult games for them as they face Rice Lake and Memorial.  Both home games so that may give them an edge.  If they are thinking ahead to Memorial, Rice Lake could surprise them. 

There it is in print.  Rice Lake could…and did surprise them.  Just sayin.

Schedule for the week.

Tuesday, September 19:

Hudson v. North  Results: Hudson 3 North 1

Menomonie v. River Falls  Results Not posted.  With all respect to Menomonie, I am going with River Falls 2-0

Rice Lake v. Chippewa Falls  Results: Rice Lake 2  Chippewa Falls 0

UWEC Blugolds

Okay Blugolds, now we have a win streak.  I like it.  A nice win on Wednesday against St. Olaf 2-0 and back to back wins for the first time this year.  As we have discussed, 4 losses by only 1 goal, so they were close and now getting some positive results.  Record on the year has now improved to 2-1-4.  A week off before playing Augsburg next week on the road.  Can we make it three in a row ladies!

So here is what I am figuring out.  It is still hard to get updates on soccer in Eau Claire.   I snooped and snooped and came up with some updates for you, the soccer fan of Eau Claire.  You are not alone, I feel you!!

McDonell/Regis

McDonell/Regis had a tough loss in their last outing against Black River Falls.  A 2-1 loss in a game they out shot their opponent 25-6.  So…either a really good day by the Black River Falls GK or a really bad day shooting by McDonell/Regis..  Maybe a little of both but a game I think McD/R probably felt they should have won.  At this point in the season their record is 3-2-3.  A solid start but they have been a 3 wins the past few game…time to get back in the winning column.

Big Rivers Conference

Here is an update on the conference as we near the midpoint in the conference calendar.  Things are taking shape with Memorial, Chippewa Falls and Hudson in the best spot to win conference. Memorial’s tie against Rice Lake gives CF some hope with a BIG game this week that may go a long way to determine the championship.

School                      Record

EC Memorial            5-0-1

Chippewa Falls        4-1-0

Hudson                    3-2-0

Rice Lake                 2-2-1

EC North                  1-3-1

River Falls                1-4-0

Menomonie              0-4-1

Surprise result of the year: Memorial 0 Rice Lake 0.  Don’t want to talk about that anymore.

Team to watch: Chippewa Falls.  CF has 4 straight wins in conference and are riding a lot of momentum coming into this week.  Two difficult games for them as they face Rice Lake and Memorial.  Both home games so that may give them an edge.  If they are thinking ahead to Memorial, Rice Lake could surprise them.  Memorial does not have a game on Tuesday so they should come in rested and ready.  A BIG BIG game. Did I mention I hate the turf field at Chippewa.  Really bad…too fast…too many bad bounces…just not a fan.

Schedule for the week.

Tuesday, September 19:  Hudson v. North,  Menomonie v. River Falls,  Rice Lake v. Chippewa Falls

Thursday, September 21:  Menomonie v. North,  Rice Lake v. River Falls,  Memorial v. Chippewa Falls

Did I mention the Abes vs. CF was a huge game.

UW-Eau Claire Women

The Blugolds are 6 games in their season and a tough start, record wise with four losses all by one goal.  That is frustrating but sounds like they have been competitive and just need a few things to fall their way.  A nice 2-0 win their last time out over Concordia-Moorhead (MN).  Next game is Wednesday against St. Olaf at Bollinger Field.  4:00 start I think. Let’s go Blugolds.

Surprise for me so far is River Falls.  River Falls gave Memorial its toughest game so far in conference..they played hard, had great energy, passed well, defended well and held a lead for most of the first half.  Thought they would have a win by now, but they have played the better teams in league so far.

Update:  River Falls beat North 1-0 to record their first conference win of the season.  I felt it was coming after watching them play against Memorial.  Too good not to win some games against the bottom half of the conference. 

Team to be careful with: Chippewa Falls.  They have a lot of offensive firepower.  A ton of speed and quality with their forwards and wingers.  They will score a bunch of goals.  Early season injuries and missing players caused a slow start to the season.  I think they will be tough the rest of the way.  I have watch these boys play for many years and they are good.  They have a strong GK who will keep them in games.  The issue is defense.  They are not as solid in their back 4. Size is an issue.  The quality in the back does not match their quality up front.  If they improve and figure out the defense, watch out…this team might cause problems for others in the league.  They have won their last two and are gaining confidence.  Their game against Hudson will determine who is chasing Memorial for the title this year. Game is Tuesday in Chippewa.  Big game.

Update: Chippewa Falls beat Hudson 2-1 on Tuesday night in what I called the Game of the Week in the conference to move into sole possession of 2nd place in the Big Rivers..  Don’t want to say I called it….but basically I called it in my post.  I had a feeling about Chippewa.  A huge win for them as they establish themselves as the team to watch and a danger to Memorial for the conference crown.  Memorial travels to CF for the next encounter.  A tough place to play and a definite home field advantage for the Cardinals.  Never been a big fan of their turf…old school…bad bounces, too fast for soccer.  Just one man’s opinion, but I think shared by a lot of folks.  So, well done Chippewa.  Good win.  Now you face some pressure as teams will treat you as a big game and ramp up their performance for you .  Let’s see how you handle it.

So here is what I am figuring out.  It is hard to get updates on soccer in Eau Claire.  The Leader Telegram is our best source but it’s hard to have a focus on soccer with all the area sports.  I have spent the last few hours collecting some facts and figures and there is no easy way to collect information, especially up to data information.

Someone should start a blog on soccer and provide updates on all this stuff….interesting..what an idea.  I have tried to gather some info for the soccer fans in the area.  Disclaimer: I can’t promise 100% accuracy, but I think it is pretty close.

McDonell/Regis

McDonell/Regis had a win and a tough loss this weekend.  A 3-1 win over Three Lakes was followed by a loss in a PK shootout.  Man, PK shootouts to determine the game are tough.  That is a lot of stress for High School Boys.  The PK shootout results were 3-1.  At this level to handle the stress and deliver a quality shot is hard, so no surprise only 4 of the 10 shots scored.  McDonnel/Regis overall record this season is 3-1-2 so they are having some early season success.  My favorite part of this update is to share that Zach Yengo scored twice this weekend.  I have had the opportunity to watch Zach play for several years for ECU club teams and he is a great kid with great skills.  Nice to see him getting some chances to score and lead his team.  Well deserved.

Big Rivers Conference

I am learning it is very tough to provide accurate information on the league to date.  There just is not a good source to find the updates quickly.  On the BRC website, it is not up to date.  Lots of missing scores.  Not sure how that works or why…but that is the case.  Someone must maintain that and schools likely call in or report scores, but regardless it is not accurate.  Here is what I can determine from what I know and from pulling up info from other sources (Leader Telegram and MaxPrep site).

School                      Record

EC Memorial             4-0-0

Hudson                     2-1-0

Chippewa Falls        2-1-0

Rice Lake                 2-2-0

EC North                  1-2-1

Menomonie              0-2-1

River Falls                0-3-0

Surprise for me so far is River Falls.  River Falls gave Memorial its toughest game so far in conference..they played hard, had great energy, passed well, defended well and held a lead for most of the first half.  Thought they would have a win by now, but they have played the better teams in league so far.

Team to be careful with: Chippewa Falls.  They have a lot of offensive firepower.  A ton of speed and quality with their forwards and wingers.  They will score a bunch of goals.  Early season injuries and missing players caused a slow start to the season.  I think they will be tough the rest of the way.  I have watch these boys play for many years and they are good.  They have a strong GK who will keep them in games.  The issue is defense.  They are not as solid in their back 4. Size is an issue.  The quality in the back does not match their quality up front.  If they improve and figure out the defense, watch out…this team might cause problems for others in the league.  They have won their last two and are gaining confidence.  Their game against Hudson will determine who is chasing Memorial for the title this year. Game is Tuesday in Chippewa.  Big game.

UW-Eau Claire Women

The Blugolds are three games in their season and a tough start with three losses all by one goal.  That is frustrating but sounds like they have been in all three games and are close.  Another game today (home) against Dubuque at 3:00 at Bollinger.  I am a big fan of Coach Yengo and know he will get them headed in the right direction.  I am planning to go by today to cheer them on. I have always thought we could improve our support of the college team.  We have great soccer resources in EC with AYSO, Park& Rec, Eau Claire United and Chippewa Striker club programs.  Why don’t we have more people at the games supporting the Blugolds.  Especially all the young girls, what a great chance to be mentored by college athletes and inspired to improve your game.  I need to think about that one a bit more to see what we can do as a community to support this team.

It is beautiful outside so go enjoy some quality college soccer today.

Interesting News

Memorial and Milwaukee Marquette (rated #1 in state currently) both have played Stillwater (MN) this year.  Marquette tied them 2-2 recently and in a scrimmage early in the season Memorial played them strong…a pretty even game from all accounts.   Both teams have also played Hudson recently with both teams winning decisively.  Not sure the conclusions you can draw from common opponents, but it is interesting.

I hope you are enjoying reading the blog.  I am 1 week into becoming a blogger…still fun…and hope to add some blogs on the Recreational and Club programs.  For now High School Soccer is the focus while adding the UWEC program to the mix.