NESCAC

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

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Shooter McGavin

Is it me or is no one talking about Amherst??? They have a nice chance at making the Final 4 at least on paper.

Bobcat1

Quote from: Shooter McGavin on November 09, 2017, 10:44:03 AM
Is it me or is no one talking about Amherst??? They have a nice chance at making the Final 4 at least on paper.

If they make the round of 16, they could very well have to go through Onenota and Messiah on the road. They have played 10 games at home and just 6 on the road with a 3-1-2 record. The biggest question seems to be who they will play in goal.  They started four different goalies this year, and the last outing against Hamilton was rough. Maybe they go back to the senior Lee Owen? The good news is it's a clean slate for Amherst and they have had 2 weeks to get ready for the NCAA's, so they should be ready to go.

Mr.Right

Quick Hitters for Saturday:

Amherst v Salem State--I am eagerly anticipating who Amherst starting 11 is. 2 weeks off IMO will be very beneficial for Amherst to refocus. I have not seen Salem State so I have no idea how they play or lineup. I am not sure it will matter as Amherst should be able to dictate play. I talk alot about McMillian up top but the unsung hero IMO of this Amherst squad is #4 Luke Nguyen. I really enjoy watching him play especially because he can pull the strings in midfield when given the ball on the ground. The only player that did not need the 2 weeks off was Amherst Frosh #16 Derby as he has been red hot scoring goals at an impressive clip against Nescac defenses the past 3 weeks. Amherst 2-0

Conn v Rochester---2nd game of the Oneonta pod. UR used to turf the Camels not so much. I honestly have not seen UR all year and have really not seen Conn in almost 3 weeks for a full game. Conn ended the season poorly but were still rewarded with a berth. Sometimes I forget how young Conn is as the only player that will graduate will be Nate Summers. He has been a stalwart on that backline for years. This will be a battle that will be fun to tune into and I would guess whoever scores 1st will win. Not sure there is a goal in this one though. 0-0 Conn PK's

Midd v Stevens---Again I know nothing about Stevens. If Middlebury plays like they did against Tufts then they can win this game and the next game. If they look like they did a month or so ago then they will exit pretty quietly. A nice easy ride down I-87 and a right turn onto I-90 for Midd. Is it possible during the drive they realize how close they are to half of the LL and pick 1 or 2 of them up next year? 1-0 Midd

RUN v Bowdoin---Bowdoin puts half of Waltham asleep before 9pm. Curtains for SuperMom, Super Heroes and Polar Bears. 2-1 RUN

Bucket

Anyone else surprised to see Drew Goulart on the second-team all-conference and not the first? A case of reputation/being-a-senior to have Cody Savonen and not Goulart as a first-teamer, perhaps?

Ommadawn

Quote from: Bucket on November 09, 2017, 01:46:23 PM
Anyone else surprised to see Drew Goulart on the second-team all-conference and not the first? A case of reputation/being-a-senior to have Cody Savonen and not Goulart as a first-teamer, perhaps?

Even more shocking was seeing Amherst get shut out of all awards.

http://www.nescac.com/sports/msoc/2017-18/honors/allconference

PoY: Coleman (Tufts)

RoY: Marcucci (Conn)

CoY:  Shapiro (Tufts)

blooter442

Interesting, didn't know Sisco-Tolomeo transferred to Tufts...

blooter442

Quote from: Bucket on November 09, 2017, 01:46:23 PM
Anyone else surprised to see Drew Goulart on the second-team all-conference and not the first? A case of reputation/being-a-senior to have Cody Savonen and not Goulart as a first-teamer, perhaps?

Not sure how you got that. Savonen had 8 goals and 2 assists; Goulart had 5 goals and 4 assists. 18 points vs. 14. Moreover, while impressive for his late-season contributions, Goulart was playing in what is clearly a good Middlebury side, while Savonen was pretty much lifting a struggling Trinity by himself.

I suppose you could say Goulart had more conference goals than Savonen (3 vs. 2). Certainly a valid point. That said, I still stand by Savonen being deserving for that spot for producing an impressive output without a ton of support.

blooter442

Happy to see Merchant get some recognition. He was the heart and soul of that team, and he will be missed -- but what a great way for him to end his career. Watson was a good CB and is a worthy 2nd team pick who flew under the radar as well. Also glad to see that Kulcsar got recognized, he would have been my choice for NESCAC POY, but no complaints about Coleman getting it -- leading a defense to 1 GAA in the NESCAC regular season (and playoffs) is extremely impressive, regardless of how few goals were scored throughout the conference this year.

Quote from: Ommadawn on November 09, 2017, 01:51:52 PM
Even more shocking was seeing Amherst get shut out of all awards.

Certainly surprising given the Mammoths' strength in the last 10 years, but objectively who would you say shone for them this year? The only two I could say stood out to me were Derby and maaaaybe Hlinomaz (albeit half of his goal total of 4 came against New England College). Defensively they have been much more porous than in the past, although 0.89 GAA really isn't that bad, particularly considering they graduated the entire back four (and have had well-documented goalkeeping issues). It should be noted that they just lost a monster class that was an integral part of a National Championship, so there were always going to be some bumps in the road. Then again, they still managed to make the NCAA Tournament and host a pod, so -- as a certain column on D3soccer.com inferred -- they may not be as highly-touted as in the past, but are still very dangerous.

truenorth

Quote from: blooter442 on November 09, 2017, 09:12:50 AM
Quote from: truenorth on November 09, 2017, 08:45:22 AM
Although Bowdoin would prefer to play on grass, they are reasonably accustomed to playing on turf.  Bowdoin has a brand new turf field for football and lacrosse, which presumably the soccer teams can gain occasional access to for training if needed.

I know you said it's "brand new" -- when did that happen? I grew up in neighboring Freeport and was on the track team at FHS. Since we didn't have a track in town at the time (one is under construction now!), we had track practices at the Magee-Samuelson Track at Whittier Field, and the field was very much grass -- this is back in 2008-10. I've been around the area numerous times since, and have even watched a few Bowdoin soccer games at Pickard Field, but I admittedly haven't seen Whittier Field. I also remember lacrosse being played on the field hockey carpet (not really a turf) adjacent to the field house, so I'm guessing lacrosse moved?

Edit: WOW! Checked the Bowdoin Athletics website -- that looks a world of difference. The old grandstand looks kind of anachronistic next to that field, although I do think it's a nice touch. I only saw football and lacrosse lines, but maybe Bowdoin puts down soccer lines in order to have occasional turf games (a la Bates)? Then again, there are no lights IIRC, so night games would be off the table until that were to change.

Quote from: truenorth on November 09, 2017, 08:45:22 AM
From the comments, I'm surmising RUN plays on a turf field at home?

Indeed.

I now live in Brunswick after living in Cumberland, ME for 25 years.  Thanks to a trifling $8+MM alumni donation, Bowdoin put the finishing touches on a brand new turf field and a brand new 8-lane track in August.  They will be erecting an additional building next year that will provide locker rooms for both the home and away football teams.

Thus far only the football team has used the turf field and I don't believe there are any plans for the soccer teams to play games on that field, as they each have their own grass fields.  That said, I would imagine the soccer teams have the option of holding occasional practices on the turf field...

SoccerMom_5

#5529

SoccerMom, I've enjoyed your following of Bowdoin this season and will miss your commentary if you shift your focus to Colby next year.  That said, I'm pleased Bowdoin was one of four NESCACs to receive a Pool C bid today.

My view is that any of Bowdoin, Middlebury and Conn College will need to commit to an attacking approach if they want to advance to the 2nd round of the NCAA tournament.  There is little to be gained via a conservative approach at this stage of the season..
.
[/quote]

Thanks.  I have appreciated your input since you were at some games and could share insights that were not accessible via live-feed. 

Good luck to all 5 NESCAC teams in the NCAA tournament, hopefully they all play good soccer and approach each game like they want to win. 
Also, congrats to all of the kids whose play was acknowledged with NESCAC All-Conference honors, as well as to all of those players who worked hard and made great contributions to their teams and who maybe should also have been acknowledged but could not be.     

SoccerMom_5

#5530
Quote from: blooter442 on November 09, 2017, 02:09:38 PM
Quote from: Bucket on November 09, 2017, 01:46:23 PM
Anyone else surprised to see Drew Goulart on the second-team all-conference and not the first? A case of reputation/being-a-senior to have Cody Savonen and not Goulart as a first-teamer, perhaps?

Not sure how you got that. Savonen had 8 goals and 2 assists; Goulart had 5 goals and 4 assists. 18 points vs. 14. Moreover, while impressive for his late-season contributions, Goulart was playing in what is clearly a good Middlebury side, while Savonen was pretty much lifting a struggling Trinity by himself.

I suppose you could say Goulart had more conference goals than Savonen (3 vs. 2). Certainly a valid point. That said, I still stand by Savonen being deserving for that spot for producing an impressive output without a ton of support.

I only saw two Trinity matches this season, but I though Savonen was great in both of them.    By himself, he took eight shots against Bates...four on goal(!!)  Including at least one that that Montanero just seemed to come from nowhere to grab. (Credit to Montanero on that.)    I also thought Savonen was impressive in the Bowdoin game. Bowdoin had Bubb mark him, which they only rarely choose to do.   They gave Savonen the same attention that they gave the forwards for Tufts last year, so he only had two shots all game, but... he had Bubb working hard. Maybe harder than he worked against Tufts last year.   And Savonen still cracked a beautiful left-footer that hit the bar.   I thought that Savonen was an incredibly threatening forward and that he really put his team on his back.  He did not have a lot of attacking support but he worked hard through the whole game, and it did not affect his attitude at all.  Savonen is technical, quick, and very physical, with a great work-ethic, and a lot of grit.... just all-in-all a dangerous forward. I remember he surprised me in the Bates game, because I did not remember him at all from seeing Trinity last year.  And... granted I only saw him in two games this year,   but he looked like a quality player.  I am glad to see him acknowledged.  Good for him.   

I actually liked Midd this year, and thought from the beginning that they had a chance at the NESCAC finals, but... Goulart did not make the same impression on me that Savonen did.   


I don't think they decide All-Conference by stats do they?  Don't the coaches vote?  I don't know so much about NESCAC policies, but All-Conference is usually decided by the coaches.   I would have picked Savonen.  For sure.   

SoccerMom_5

Quote from: blooter442 on November 09, 2017, 01:55:14 PM
Interesting, didn't know Sisco-Tolomeo transferred to Tufts...

And Van Siclen to Hamilton.

letsGOswans!

 I hope players who did not garner any accolades do not take things too personally *cough* politics *couch*. I look at conference awards from previous years and I don't see how people can think the caliber of players in this league (and probably d3 soccer in general) has not regressed. Oh well, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Congrats to all  ;D

truenorth

If D3 quality has regressed...and I don't think there's much evidence that D1 quality has dramatically increased...does this mean that most of the better high school age soccer players are committing to professional careers?  Or is the overall quality of U.S. youth soccer in a general decline?  Just trying to follow the logic here...

letsGOswans!

Must there be a cause? Merely stating my observation. Think of the projected final four teams this year compared to those from previous years. I do not think the quality of the teams or players in the former compare to those of the latter. We can agree to disagree. Maybe my standards, set by the great Messiah teams, or even the Tufts team from 2014, are too high?