And speaking of Rochester, the Yellowjackets played Washington University more or less evenly through 90 minutes on Sunday. Both teams deserved overtime.
I do not understand the new rules.
Join the club. As I said in another thread, I'm getting sick of seeing W-L-T records that look like area codes.
extra time is 'ironman feature' pro don't do that, students should not be subjected to that rigor. I think over time as teams adjust to the new rule we will see more exciting games.
There's nothing "ironman feature" about a level of soccer that allows unlimited substitutions. And "pros don't do that" is not a determining factor here. Pros don't have unlimited substitutions, either.
I have watched a number of draws thus far this season, and I haven't noticed any more excitement than was the case in the past with overtimes.
Rochester and Wash U might have played another hour without a goal. Iirc, there were days in past years before OT was dropped where all four UAA games ended in draws. Draws also have been frequent in NESCAC for years as well.
Somebody on these boards has been tracking D3 draws this year as compared to last year (Simple Coach, perhaps?), and as you said there's no question that we are getting far more draws. It's really noticeable in terms of records. You can definitely see the increase when you track back to previous years. Taking your NESCAC example, for instance, there has only been one prior season (2015) in which as many as four of the league's eleven teams had three or more draws in league play. Three out of eleven was a rarity, and seasons with zero teams that had three or more NESCAC draws were pretty common.
This year?
Five NESCAC teams already have three or more draws in league play, and there's still two and a half weeks left in the regular season. Heck, the White Mules of Colby are practically having makeout sessions with their sisters, having registered a level scoreboard at the end of five of their seven NESCAC contests to date, with their overall record featuring seven draws in twelve games played.
It seems that a majority (not sure how much of a majority) would prefer overtime periods. I lean towards preferring the new rule but I also would have been fine with just getting rid of golden goal (which I personally think is more fair if the concern is the likelihood that a superior team will prevail). That said, I would reiterate the very compressed season and that many (most) teams seem to have 3-5 injuries at any given time (and a couple of those may be season-ending). I also would note for the traditionalists that no professional league that I am aware of plays overtime periods until playoff, knock-out situations. The World Cup doesn't have OTs in group play.
I think that the compressed-season argument carries a lot more weight than the this-isn't-how-the-pros-do-it argument. D3 isn't the pros, nor is its purpose to prepare student-athletes for the pros. The question with the compressed-season argument is: how valid of an argument is it when unlimited substitutions are allowed and rosters are so comparatively large? Is it just a cop-out for coaches who refuse to go deep into their benches because they're afraid of an excessive dropoff in ability?
At any rate, now combine the compressed schedule, playing out two OTs (with golden goal or without), and allowing only 3-5 subs with no re-entry. When do the various factors in combination add up to survival of the fittest (and good fortune) more so than rules adjustments in the name of enhancing the beautiful game?
This is a good question. It does significantly reduce the wild card of coaching decisions and the subjective nature of a coach's comfort level with substitutions ... which is why I doubt that the coaches would like it.
There's no question that we are getting far more draws. I'm not convinced that this is because more teams are playing for draws. In fact, I'd bet that while draws have risen dramatically we've also seen a dramatic rise in goals scored in the final 2-3 minutes (either to level or to win).
That's an interesting theory. It only awaits someone with the spare time to go deep into the weeds in researching it.
maybe a lot of us are not processing draws correctly, the visiting team got the edge in a tie, regardless of the home team's ranking.
That's a subjective assessment. I'm not aware of a soccer organization or level that uses any variation of the three-point-win system that allots points credit or penalty based upon home or away.
