NESCAC

Started by LaPaz, September 11, 2011, 05:54:52 PM

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lastguyoffthebench


3 NESCAC teeams in Massey Top 10:

Messiah
Frank & Marsh
Amherst           (23 SOS; 4 RoS SOS)
Kenyon
Williams           (74 SOS; 2 Ros SOS)
Wesleyan CT    (14 SOS; 1 RoS SOS)
Emory
Ohio Wesleyan
Chris Newport
Montclair St


http://www.masseyratings.com/rate.php?s=csoc2014&sub=11620  (looks like most games are up to date)

nescac1

Since Messiah returns the overwhelming majority of its key players, including several all-Americans (Payne, Robbins, and Thompson are all among the best players in the nation, and star sophomore Brandt may join them this year, all would be the best player in NESCAC), from last year's national champion squad, any ranking that does not have them first until they lose a game is pretty silly. 

That Rashid injury report is very, very discouraging.  Hopefully just a sprain, but but more often than not, when you hear about something like that, it's a season-ending tear.  Williams has plenty of depth and balance but no elite finisher up front without Rashid. 

All NESCAC

Quote from: lastguyoffthebench on September 09, 2014, 11:38:51 AM

3 NESCAC teeams in Massey Top 10:

Messiah
Frank & Marsh
Amherst           (23 SOS; 4 RoS SOS)
Kenyon
Williams           (74 SOS; 2 Ros SOS)
Wesleyan CT    (14 SOS; 1 RoS SOS)
Emory
Ohio Wesleyan
Chris Newport
Montclair St


http://www.masseyratings.com/rate.php?s=csoc2014&sub=11620  (looks like most games are up to date)

And 3 more in 10-20 ranking--Tufts, Conn and Midd

madzillagd

Williams 4, Westfield St 0.   Westfield's only shot came at the 89:23 mark in the game - well after every player and fan in attendance had been substituted in. 

nescac1

Nice to see Williams getting strong production from its other two strikers in Rashid's absence -- Zach Grady now has three goals and an assist (not to mention the goal that didn't count in the cancelled first Colby "game") on the season, and first year Mark Sisco-Tolomeo added two more today.  Grady had only one goal in the past two years combined, so he has really stepped it up so far as a Senior.  If Rashid can return at some point this season (which obviously won't be happening if he torn an MCL or ACL),  the development of other scoring options up front will really help the team's depth. 

LaPaz

My sources tell me Rashid is out for the year with a torn ACL. Williams will need others to step up in big games or they will look a lot like Wesleyan against good teams. i.e. unable to finish chances.


Watched Wesleyan at Roger Williams last night. Wesleyan dominated and had plenty of chances to score but could not finish. Roger Williams was ok but nothing special. They were a physical team bordering dirty and their home field is an advantage. Turf, night game mid week, rowdy and large crowd were some but not all the factors against Wesleyan. I see why Wheeler scheduled this game but it would of behooved him to maybe schedule it at 4:15. He plays Wheaton this saturday at 7pm also and no doubt that will be a rowdy crowd as well.

nescac1

Thanks for the info, LaPaz.  Brutal blow for Russo in his last year.  Ephs will still be strong but obviously losing your top goal-scoring threat is not easy to overcome.  And of course, tough blow for Rashid, who now has suffered two major injuries in his career.  I wonder if he will try to take a semester off from school so he can play two more seasons of soccer. 

Saint of Old

Big blow for a good player and program.
The good news is that there is still strength for the team and a bright future for the player.

On a related note, does anyone else notice a huge rise in the amount of ACL/MCL injuries compared to say 10-15 years ago?

I dont think it is the training regimen, as most  of these strong programs have the same coach in place.
Perhaps the lads are just being worn out before college?
Maybe different turfs?
Whatever the reason, D3 Soccer has been deprived of some super talented players for the past few years.

amh63

Saint of Old.......good observation.  I have noticed more such reported injuries in other sports...basketball.  Even in women sports.   I'm wondering if it is the due in part to the trend that kids start playing sports ...on. Really competative levels....at earlier ages.  Club teams, AAU teams, etc. Which impact the natural physical development of their bodies.

madzillagd

If you are really bored you can google Dr. Eric Giza and you can find a lot of info.  He's a buddy of mine and is the chief of Ortho Foot/Ankle for UC Davis.  He's been an asst. physician for the US Soccer Federation, worked at Aston Villa FC, he is one of the researchers for MLS and most importantly he's the team physician for the Sac Republic FC which means I get free seats on the pitch  ;D.  He's been focused on soccer injuries for years and put out a lot of content on types of injuries, etc. 

Here's an example - not sure who this site is but they threw some of Eric's research into a nice infographic
http://joshkarnowski.com/2014/05/05/injury-statistics-of-professional-womens-soccer-infographic/

They found that while women have far fewer injuries in general, they are 4 times as likely to have knee injuries and Eric said it's primarily just development.  Muscles just aren't strong enough to support the activity when they are in hs/college.

Corazon

Just awful news for Williams and NESCAC fans. I saw their repeat game on line vs Colby and saw a strong, deep team, but perhaps a team lacking a special player. I had heard Rashid was that player.

Colby surprised me a little. They worked hard and kept the game closer than expected. Team is working much harder than last year and is probably a result of the new coaching staff. I'm hearing they're recruiting well.

Also surprised by Bates. I really thought they'd have better results this year as I thought Flaherty was recruiting pretty well. Saw their first game on line and was impressed by Knoth and Pereira, both playmaker types you don't often see in D3. They still have time and perhaps result would have been more respectable vs Tufts if not for the red card on Moyo.

The Amherst juggernaut is sputtering a bit but I'm sure they'll still be a force to be reckoned with at the end.

I'm intrigued by Tufts.  Is saw a couple of their games and I see a deep and talented team. If they don't implode, they could make a deep run. I haven't been impressed with Shapiro's style - saw a little bit during son's recruitment and have been fascinated by reading about the internal turmoil. They are still a very good team.

In summary, this might be the most competitive year in the NESCAC in some time. Nice to see the other schools besides Amherst and Williams competing.   Looking forward to seeing what Tufts, Wesleyan, Conn, Middlebury and Bowdoin do.

jknezek

Quote from: amh63 on September 11, 2014, 11:37:33 AM
Saint of Old.......good observation.  I have noticed more such reported injuries in other sports...basketball.  Even in women sports.   I'm wondering if it is the due in part to the trend that kids start playing sports ...on. Really competative levels....at earlier ages.  Club teams, AAU teams, etc. Which impact the natural physical development of their bodies.

I think it's more the specialization at a young age than the level of competition. Most sports use specific muscle groups (and their attaching hardware!) more than others, and those are the areas that seem to be getting beat up as kids continue to play. Although I freely admit I only believe this based on anecdotal evidence. Still, I think kids in middle and high school that played different sports each season got breathers for stressed muscles and tendons that they aren't getting now that they are playing 3 seasons of the same sport. Such is the nature of the beast these days.

NESCAC-fanatic00203

Weekend Predictions

Amherst @ Bowdoin - Will probably be a close game, but not as close as the 2013 Semi-Final without Brewster. Not sure about Bowdoin this year and hard to believe Amherst can't start producing offensively. 2-1 Amherst.

Trinity @ Williams - Williams won't get upset at home in Russo's last season. 3-1 Williams

Midd @ Conn - Physical battle, probably the ugliest game of the weekend. Can see Conn trying to shut it down for a tie, but I give midd the slight edge. 1-0.

Hamilton @ Bates - Bates looks like the worst team in the conference this year, and Hamilton appeared solid vs. Trin. I give them the edge 2-1.

Tufts @ Colby - Another week of internal turmoil, another win for Tufts. But Colby is a tough place to play, and a new coach has them energized and organized. Could see a tie, but Tufts should pull this out 1-0.

Wesleyan @ Wheaton - For the sake of the NESCAC, I hope they run Wheaton off the field & avenge last year's loss (when several key players sat due to suspension). 4-1 Wesleyan.

PaulNewman

NESCAC-fanatic, I think you are going to be way off on Wesleyan vs Wheaton.  Could be 4-1 Wheaton as Wheaton is really on a tear and flying high.  I might go see this one.

Corazon

Agree. Wheaton is very strong this year.  Probably a toss up for me.