Thoughts on NCAA Tournament 1st round, Fire rebrand
AND THEY’RE OUT
One game is all it takes in NCAA Tournament time for teams to pack it up and call it a season. Unfortunately for Loyola and Notre Dame, both saw their seasons come to an end Thursday night.
Loyola 1 – Kentucky 2
The Loyola Ramblers (11-5-4) headed South Thursday to play at Kentucky. In their fifth NCAA Tourney appearance, the Ramblers started out strong with Andrew Mitchell tallying the first goal of the match in the 36th minute. Loyola held on to the lead until the 82nd minute. With time running out the Wildcats sent everyone forward. A penalty kick in their favor soon tied things up. Kentucky’s Jason Reyes buried his attempt. Tied at 1-1, the Wildcats took advantage of the momentum swing. And in the 101st minute Eythor Bjorgolfsson finished his attempt for the 2-1 golden-goal win.
Kentucky (13-4-3) advances to the second round and will face No. 5 seed Indiana (14-2-4) Sunday at noon in Bloomington, Ind. The Hoosiers and Wildcats last met on Oct. 9 in Bloomington. An evenly played match statistically ended in a scoreless draw. IU holds the advantage 25-2-4 in all-time matches. But in NCAA Tournament time… anything can happen.
Notre Dame 1 – Wright State 3
Wright State (11-8-3) jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the 27th minute, courtesy of an Alex Hummel goal. They held on to the lead despite many close calls by the Fighting Irish. In the second half, Notre Dame (10-8-1) came out firing on all cylinders. Just six minutes in Jack Lynn tallied the game-tying goal. But before the Irish found the net again, Wright State added two more goals. Down 3-1 Notre Dame didn’t give up without a fight. And in the 85th minute, John Rea added a goal. The Raiders held on for the 3-2 win, ending Notre Dame’s hunt for its second College Cup.
Wright State notched the first NCAA Tournament win in school history. The Raiders advance to face No. 13 seed Michigan (11-4-5) Sunday at 1:00 p.m. in Ann Arbor, Mich. Wright State became the 14th Horizon League men’s soccer team to advance in the tournament. Michigan will play in its third straight NCAA Tournament, which is a first for the club.
END OF THE CRUSADE FOR VALPARAISO
Wednesday Valparaiso University announced the discontinuation of both men’s soccer and men’s tennis. The soccer team’s end is effective immediately, while men’s tennis will play in the spring season. With 21 Division I teams, Valparaiso had the most athletic teams of any team in the Missouri Valley Conference. Valpo officials decided the athletic program should be similar to the other MVC schools. The University said it will honor all athlete’s scholarships through the end of their college tenure. However if they choose to transfer, the NCAA will grant immediate athletic eligibility to the athletes at their new institutions. Valparaiso announced its law school will close after graduation in 2020. It’s quite possible that athletic expenses are just the tip of the iceberg for the private school in Northern Indiana.
The Valparaiso Crusaders joined the NCAA in 1983. The team prided itself on helping with local soccer clubs, while also focusing on their play on the pitch. Valparaiso made the NCAA Tournament once in 1996. Mike Avery became Valpo’s third head coach in 2007. Since that time the club earned a 91-105-46 record and Avery became the winningest coach in Valpo history. The team switched from the Horizon League to the MVC in 2017. Valparaiso ends its program with a 216-370-74 record.
In other Valparaiso soccer news, Valparaiso High School’s head coach Danny Jeftich resigned this week as well, after being asked to resign. Jeftich, a 2013 Indiana Soccer Hall of Fame inductee and a 2011 Indiana Soccer Coaches Association Hall of Fame inductee, began his college career playing for St. Francis College in Ft. Wayne from 1975-78. He coached Munster High School from 1981-83 and Valparaiso University from 1983-1990. He began his coaching stint at Valparaiso High School in 1993 and founded Valparaiso Soccer Academy in 1998. In addition, he coached at many soccer camps across the state. Jeftich has coached thousands of children in Indiana and around the Midwest. It was a sad ending for a beloved coach.
AND LASTLY…
The Chicago Fire made news on Thursday and the internet went wild. The Fire rebranded itself as Chicago Fire Football Club (instead of soccer club) and introduced its new logo and colors. If you haven’t seen it… you’re not missing much. And if you have… I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Personally I feel that a club that’s been around for over 20 years does not need a new branding. You want to give them a new look — that’s fine. Keep the colors and the original logo. Add a second logo. Maybe put the Chicago skyline behind the C, something trendy, something pleasing to the eye. But totally rebranding the club? It’s just not necessary. The club is returning to Soldier Field not relocating to the North woods.
Perhaps the joke is on the Fire fans. The Fire are getting tons of traffic on social media. Maybe that’s what they were going for. But if it were me… I would have introduced a few logos to the world, and let the people speak. So much for tradition. Hopefully honor and passion will stay around. And at least they kept the name… well, sort of.
Follow Kathryn on Twitter: @Katknapp99.
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