NEWMAC 2019

Started by TyWebb, September 01, 2019, 01:49:15 PM

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TyWebb

I guess I'll get the party started for the NEWMAC. Calling Off Pitch for some predictions, in the mean time here is the coaches poll:

2019 NEWMAC Men's Soccer Preseason Poll

1. Babson (7)
2. WPI
3. Springfield (1)
4. Wheaton
5. MIT
6. Clark
7. Coast Guard
8. Emerson

I'm mostly in agreement with this, especially the top 3, although I may be rethinking Springfield after this weekend with their 0-2 start (In fairness it was against good competition in SLU & Clarkson). I think Clark will finish in the top 4.


Off Pitch

#1
2019 NEWMAC fearless predictions:

1.  Babson - must replace All-New England players Jackson Greenspan and Noah Parker, and they are well positioned to do so.  Start with having played nine freshman extensively in last year's 12-3-4 season, sprinkle in a handful of seasoned upperclassmen and a D1 transfer, add senior goalkeepers and the Beavers have the quality and depth to repeat as regular season champions. SOS should not be an issue this year with non-conference games with Amherst, Williams, Tufts, Connecticut College, Brandeis, Endicott and Eastern Conn St.

2.  WPI - with 6 returning senior starters, a well organized defense, and a healthy Paul Beatty?, the Engineers should challenge Babson for the top spot.  The non-conference schedule includes Middlebury, St Joseph's, Brandeis, E Conn St and Endicott.

3.  Clark - has just about everyone back from last year's 10-5-2 squad including their top eight leading scorers.  Senior forward Sean Munroe (All-New England 2nd team) led the team with 11 goals and 4 assists.  The Cougars fizzled in conference play last year but should benefit from having a more experienced side this time around.  Clark plays Brandeis, Trinity, and Wesleyan out of conference, but SOS may be an issue for them later.

4.  Springfield - a rebuilding year having lost stalwarts Denkel and Schneider.  The Pride have 5 goalkeepers on their roster - ALL freshman!  If Wheaton or MIT unexpectedly gels, Springfield could slip further down the standings.

5.  Wheaton - this will not be a Matt Cushing type of Wheaton team.  The Lyons are transitioning to a more staid style of play, and with losing last year's leading scorer, they lack the firepower to compete for a championship and may even struggle to qualify for the conference tournament.

6.  MIT - lost leading scorer Woo from an anemic offensive team and will struggle to score against the quality defenses in the upper echelon of the conference and region.

7.  Coast Guard - crafty but stern coach Chris Parsons will try to help navigate the Bears through this season and keep them afloat.  With little leeway, a winning season would be hard to fathom.  OK, I've got nothing on Coast Guard.  As always, they will be well coached, fit and play really hard.  A successful season would be qualifying for the conference tournament.

8.  Emerson - Coach Harkin, a former Tufts assistant, is trying to build something with 18 of the 26 players on the roster being freshmen or sophomores.  Maybe next year?


blooter442

Clark vs. Brandeis — Brandeis the better in the first 5 minutes, but Clark has had two big chances: one, a diving header that missed wide on a nice low cross, and two, Irwin comes out for the ball, gets nowhere near it, and the Clark kid has an open net but hits the side netting. Irwin was the better of the two Brandeis keepers last year in my opinion, but he has not inspired confidence in the last two games.

blooter442

Brandeis over Clark, 2-1, in 2OT. Cougars equalized with 1:45 left in regulation...not sure how it happened since the camera work wasn't great but Irwin had just had a clanger before where he missed the ball and was bailed out by his defender on the line. Winning goal was nice, though, a good cross volleyed in one time by Breiter. A better result against the team who rallied from 2-0 down for a 2-2 draw which started the 0-4-1 stretch to end the season last year, but the Judges could use some more experience.

blooter442

Have a sneaky feeling that Babson may win on the Brandeis turf for the first time ever tomorrow (the turf was installed in 2005). Since 2012 the Judges have gone 5-2 against the Beavers (4-0 at home) but Babson has won two out of the last three. Having seen both sides, the Beavers seem to be a bit more poised and from a quick glance they have a HUGE squad. While I think Brandeis' 2-1 win on the road on Wednesday was a good character marker after conceding with 1:45 left in regulation, they still seem to be sorting some things out defensively. That being said, they do look like they can cause Babson some problems going forward, so we shall see.

blooter442

Just like that, 1-0 Babson. Brandeis had most of the opening possession and had a shot cleared off the line but Babson capitalized on a failed clear which they recycled and was finished off by the man at the back post. Judges totally switched off on that second ball.

blooter442

1-1. Moments after being denied by a great save, DeNight bangs one in off the bar from 25 yards out. What a strike! What a player he seems to be.

blooter442

Judges on top, 2-1, a scrappy goal following a set play. They are showing resilience after going 1-0 down and losing DeNight to injury just after the equalizer.

blooter442

Brandeis pulls out the win, 2-1, in a game quite frankly I did not see them winning. Kudos to them, this is a statement win. They were certainly the better side on the day, even after going 1-0 down, and DeNight's goal was a goal of the season contender. His injury was unfortunate and while he was able to get up and walk he needed some help. It looked bad but happened because of a foul and not an off-the-ball knee/hamstring/calf pull. He looks like the real deal. A bit of extracurriculars at the end with Hennessy going in with an elbow on Babson goalscorer Hanlon who then comes and flattens the former as time expired. Seemed like a (mild) brawl might surface for a bit but it played out without incident. Babson didn't play poorly, and they do look much better on turf after moving to it at the tail end of last year, but Brandeis was first to most of the 50/50s and dominated the shot and SOG counts. Irwin looked more assured than I have seen in a while, though he didn't have much to do, as possession seemed to be about 65/35 in favor of the hosts. I did think this year's team looked more competitive than last year's team but wasn't sure if they could win a grudge match like this...the W&L game, they should have at least gotten a draw...but they have come through adversity in their last two. Even with today's result, I think Babson will still be solid — they have good coaching and some really solid young talent. I am sure most of the Brandeis players have read the boards and know they have a lot to prove after last year, and today they rediscovered their mojo.

blooter442

Clark with a big non-conference win at Trinity, 3-2.

Off Pitch

NEWMAC weekend 1 predictions:

Emerson @ Clark:  Emerson enters 1-4-1 having dropped four straight contests by a combined score of 2-14.  Their closest game in that stretch was a 1-0 loss to Wesleyan Tuesday.  Clark is 5-1 having only lost to Brandeis.  Senior leader Sean Munroe has already racked up 5 goals and 3 assists.  The Cougars easily tame the Lions.   Clark 3 - Emerson 0.

Coast Guard @ Springfield:  Coast Guard is 3-3 having won all three road games and lost all three games at home.  More significantly, they have lost all games played against teams with winning records.  Springfield surprisingly has opened the season only  1-5-1 with their only win coming in their only home game thus far to go along with the tie at Williams.  Even though the Pride are rebuilding with only one senior starter, they should have more talent than Coast Guard and will break the Bears road winning streak.   Springfield 1 - Coast Guard 0.

Wheaton @ MIT:  Wheaton is 3-4 but has been shut out in two consecutive games (0-1 vs Endicott and a 0-6 shellacking vs Tufts).  They are 1-3 against teams with winning records with a combined 3-14 score.  MIT enters undefeated (2-0-3).  The Engineers narrowly avoid a fourth tie.  MIT 2 - Wheaton 1 (OT).

WPI @ Babson:  The two strongest teams in the conference square off week 1.  WPI (4-1-1) has surrendered only 2 goals on the season (0-1 vs. EConnSt and 1-1 vs Brandeis), but in four games against quality opponents have only scored 3 times.  Oft-injured Paul Beatty has not played since the Brandeis game.  Babson comes in 3-3 having dropped contests to regional/national powers Amherst, Brandeis and Williams.  Soph Mitch Collins leads the Beavers with 5 goals.  I give Babson a slight edge in this one as I believe it will be WPI's first game on grass.   Babson 1 - WPI 0.



blooter442

Babson and WPI finishes 0-0. Only saw the OTs but based on those WPI looked like the better side and had more of the ball.

Ejay

Shout out to the announcers who did the Springfield/Endicott game last night.  I watched part and was impressed, not only with their soccer commentary, but more importantly with the player information they provided such as internships they've completed, majors, etc.

Off Pitch

#13
Week 2 predictions

Babson @ Springfield:  Springfield (2-6-1, 1-0) has only played two of their first nine games at home, and they won both those contests.  However, they are winless against their four opponents with winning records having been outscored 7-1.  Babson (4-3-1, 0-0-1), coming off a 6 goal explosion Wednesday against New England College, finds a way.  Babson 1 - Springfield 0

Coast Guard @ Emerson:  Emerson (2-5-1, 0-1) has amassed a 3-39-1 record since joining the NEWMAC in 2013.   Two of the three wins have been 1-0 over Coast Guard in 2016 and 2018, and this game represents their best chance for a conference win again this year.  The difference is that the Lions surrender 3 goals per game vs. only 1 goal per game for Coast Guard.  With Emerson being very young, the toughness and maturity of the Bears should prevail.  Coast Guard 2 - Emerson 1.

Clark @ Wheaton:  Clark (6-2, 1-1) is the highest scoring team in the conference, and only Emerson gives up more goals than Wheaton.  (Flashback to 2018 - Clark started 7-0 before finishing 3-5-2 when the level of competition picked up.)  The Cougars are 1-2 vs teams with winning records so far this year.  Clark's Sean Munroe leads the conference in goals (7) and points (18).  Wheaton (3-5-1, 0-1) have scored only 1 goal in their last 4 games.   Clark 2 - Wheaton 1.

WPI @ MIT:  This contest features my guaranteed pick of the week - the Engineers will not lose.  MIT enters undefeated (4-0-3, 1-0) surprisingly scoring a couple of goals per game.  But, they have not played a team as strong defensively as WPI who enters with 5 clean sheets in 8 games allowing a paltry 7 shots per game.  WPI 1 - MIT 0.

blooter442

Quote from: Off Pitch on September 27, 2019, 01:45:55 PM
Week 2 predictions

Babson @ Springfield:  Springfield (2-6-1, 1-0) has only played two of their first nine games at home, and they won both those contests.  However, they are winless against their four opponents with winning records having been outscored 7-1.  Babson (4-3-1, 0-0-1), coming off a 6 goal explosion Wednesday against New England College, finds a way.  Babson 1 - Springfield 0

Coast Guard @ Emerson:  Emerson (2-5-1, 0-1) has amassed a 3-39-1 record since joining the NEWMAC in 2013.   Two of the three wins have been 1-0 over Coast Guard in 2016 and 2018, and this game represents their best chance for a conference win again this year.  The difference is that the Lions surrender 3 goals per game vs. only 1 goal per game for Coast Guard.  With Emerson being very young, the toughness and maturity of the Bears should prevail.  Coast Guard 2 - Emerson 1.

Clark @ Wheaton:  Clark (6-2, 1-1) is the highest scoring team in the conference, and only Emerson gives up more goals than Wheaton.  (Flashback to 2018 - Clark started 7-0 before finishing 3-5-2 when the level of competition picked up.)  The Cougars are 1-2 vs teams with winning records so far this year.  Clark's Sean Munroe leads the conference in goals (7) and points (18).  Wheaton (3-5-1, 0-1) have scored only 1 goal in their last 4 games.   Clark 2 - Wheaton 1.

WPI @ MIT:  This contest features my guaranteed pick of the week - the Engineers will not lose.  MIT enters undefeated (4-0-3, 1-0) surprisingly scoring a couple of goals per game.  But, they have not played a team as strong defensively as WPI who enters with 5 clean sheets in 8 games allowing a paltry 7 shots per game.  WPI 1 - MIT 0.

Well played (even if there is the chance that one set of Engineers lose). +K