NCAC--2014

Started by gobash83, March 03, 2014, 06:38:38 PM

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gobash83

While the new season is still some months away, in something of a surprise, John Carter has left DePauw after 24 seasons as head coach.  He had a 255-155-24 record with one trip to the NCAA final four in 2003.  Lisa Link has been named interim Head Coach.  It will be interesting to see if there are any other changes to the NCAC coaching roster this off-season.
"Did Wabash Win?"--Ralph "Sap" Wilson '14 (1891-1910)

gobash83

DePauw has named its new coach.  Congratulations to Megan McCormick: http://depauwtigers.com/sports/wsoc/2013-14/releases/201405295iuh28
"Did Wabash Win?"--Ralph "Sap" Wilson '14 (1891-1910)

gobash83

DePauw Women checked in last night and are beginning their preparations for the new season.  Will look forward to learning more about the incoming class at DePauw as well as the freshman classes at the other NCAC schools.
"Did Wabash Win?"--Ralph "Sap" Wilson '14 (1891-1910)

gobash83

The NCAC coaches' preseason poll is out and not surprisingly, defending champion Allegheny is at the top with Wittenberg and Denison closely behind.  Here is the entire poll:

2014 North Coast Athletic Conference Women's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll
(first-place votes in parentheses, followed by total points)


1. Allegheny (5) 73
2. Wittenberg (2) 67
3. Denison (2) 66
4. DePauw 50
   Wooster 50
6. Kenyon 39
7. Ohio Wesleyan 29
8. Hiram 21
9. Oberlin 10
"Did Wabash Win?"--Ralph "Sap" Wilson '14 (1891-1910)

SoccerLAN

The inaugural weekend had a mixed bag of scores and results. Denison posted several baseball like scores with a team that's predominately Sophomores & Freshmen.

gobash83

SoccerLAN,

Thanks for joining the conversation.  It was getting a little lonely in here.  :)

I agree that it was a mixed bag of scores and results for NCAC teams this opening weekend.

On Friday, the conference went 3-4-0 with Denison (6-1 over Adrian), Kenyon (2-1 over Manchester) and Hiram (4-0 over D'Youville) picking up wins while Allegheny (0-3 loss to Nazareth), Witt (1-6 loss to Thomas More), OWU (0-2 loss to CWRU) and DePauw (0-4 loss to Birmingham-Southern) incurring the setbacks. 

Saturday was much the same with the conference going 2-3-1.  Denison picked up its second win (11-0 over Manchester) and Wooster opened its season with a 2-1 win over Albright in OT.  Kenyon tied Adrian 1-1 and Oberlin (0-5 loss to PSU-Behrend), Allegheny (0-1 loss to Rochester), and DePauw (0-1 loss to Ohio Northern) picked up losses.

There was no success for the conference on Sunday as the two teams in action, Wooster (0-1 to York) and Oberlin (0-1 to SUNY-Geneseo) both lost.

Overall, this leaves the conference at 5-9-1 after the weekend.  Individually, Denison ended up 2-0-0, Kenyon 1-0-1, Hiram 1-0-0, Wooster 1-1-0, Witt 0-1-0, OWU 0-1-0, and Allegheny, DePauw, and Oberlin all at 0-2-0.   
"Did Wabash Win?"--Ralph "Sap" Wilson '14 (1891-1910)

gobash83

Given the proximity of the schools in the conference to each other, it isn't a surprise that they share many non-conference opponents.  For instance, Kenyon and Denison both played Adrian and Manchester this weekend.  While time has shown that the "transitive property" doesn't  always apply to sports, I think there are some common non-conference opponents that may serve as a good barometer of which teams will be strong in conference play (and even catch the eye of the selection committee).  Six opponents of multiple schools in the conference that I identified are: Ohio Northern, CWRU, John Carroll, Centre, Thomas More, and W&J.  So far, the conference has not been successful against any of the six (DePauw lost to ONU, Witt to Thomas More, and OWU to CWRU).  Over the coming weeks, I think it will be interesting to see how conference teams perform against them and other schools that play multiple NCAC teams.
"Did Wabash Win?"--Ralph "Sap" Wilson '14 (1891-1910)

gobash83

#7
The first full week of the season, all non-conference play, had some good results for NCAC members. 

Allegheny went 3-0-0 with wins over the OAC's John Carroll (1-0), Baldwin-Wallace (4-0), and then ranked #17 Capital (2-1).  Wooster also went 3-0-0 with wins over Bluffton (8-0), Defiance (3-1), and Marietta (4-0).

Four conference teams went 1-1 with DePauw getting its first win (over NAIA foe Marian) 4-2 and losing to Centre 0-2.  Witt also broke into the win column with a 4-0 victory over Wilmington before losing to CWRU 0-1.  Denison lost to #13 Thomas More 0-5 but rebounded to beat Hanover 2-1.  OWU lost to Baldwin-Wallace (0-2) but came back with a victory over Washington & Jefferson (2-1). 

Kenyon dropped its only game last week, losing to John Carroll 1-3 while Hiram dropped a pair, losing to OVR Augustana (2-4) and Carthage (0-3).  Oberlin did not play last week.

Overall, this leaves the conference with a 15-16-1 record in non-conference play.  Wooster is 4-1-0, Denison 3-1-0, Allegheny 3-2-0, Kenyon 1-1-1, OWU 1-2-0, Witt 1-2-0, Hiram 1-2-0, DePauw 1-3-0, and Oberlin 0-2-0. 

Against the "barometer" teams (Ohio Northern, CWRU, John Carroll, Centre, Thomas More, and W&J), the conference was 0-3-0 going into the week.  Allegheny and OWU had wins, beating John Carroll and W&J respectively.  However, Denison, Witt, Kenyon and DePauw suffered losses, so the conference stands at 2-7-0.       
"Did Wabash Win?"--Ralph "Sap" Wilson '14 (1891-1910)

gobash83

In another week of non-conference play, the conference had its ups and downs. 

Allegheny had another successful week, beating Grove City (1-0) and Mount Union (4-1), brining its overall record to 5-2 (and 4-0-0 against OAC teams).  Denison split the week, beating Otterbein (2-0) but losing to #12 Chicago (0-2), and settling its record in at 4-2-0. Denison also picked up 4 votes in the D3 Soccer poll.

Wooster lost to Wilmington (1-3) and now sits at 4-2-0 for the season as well.  Hiram also sits on a winning record (3-2-0) after beating Thiel (3-1) and Hilbert (3-0).

Kenyon is at 2-3-1 so far, losing to ORV Ohio Northern (1-4) and Berry (0-1) but rebounding against Agnes Scott (2-0).  Wittenberg is at 2-3-0 after beating Heidelberg (1-0) and losing to #21 Illinois Wesleyan (2-3). 

Oberlin is at 1-3-0 after losing to North Central (IL) (2-4) and beating Benedictine (IL) (1-0).  Ohio Wesleyan and DePauw sit at 1-4-0 with OWU losing to John Carroll (0-3) and DePauw losing to #10 Thomas More (0-2).

Overall, this leaves the conference with a 23-25-1 record in non-conference play.  Against the "barometer" teams (Ohio Northern, CWRU, John Carroll, Centre, Thomas More, and W&J), the conference was 0-4-0 this the week, leaving the conference record at 2-11-0. 

DePauw and Hiram will open conference play on Saturday, September 20th, while the rest of the teams begin conference play the following weekend.
"Did Wabash Win?"--Ralph "Sap" Wilson '14 (1891-1910)

gobash83

Congratulations to Denison (#3) and Allegheny (#7) for being ranked in the NSCAA Great Lakes Region Poll released today.  Allegheny also picked up two votes in this week's D3soccer.com poll as well.
"Did Wabash Win?"--Ralph "Sap" Wilson '14 (1891-1910)

woacfan

GoBash...I saw Allegheny play.  They had a slow start, but seem to be building momentum.  Any predictions for the conference play?  They look like the team to beat, but I don't have the insight into the conference that you do.  How do you see the conference playing out?
"We talk about it for 20 minutes and then we decide I was right" - Brian Clough

SoccerLAN

gobash83,

Where do you locate the NSCAA Great Lakes Region Poll?

gobash83

SoccerLAN, start with this link and then drill down a page or two and you can find them: http://www.nscaatv.com/rankings/college

Woacfan, sitting here today and with the standard caveats that I haven't seen everyone play yet this season and that injuries can change everything, I think that Allegheny and Denison are the class of the league this year and will likely end up 1 & 2 in conference play. Both teams have goal scorers up front and, in my opinion, having a natural goal scorer is usually the difference maker.  I lean a little toward Allegheny right now as the winner between the two, but since their game is at Denison, I wouldn't rule out the Big Red topping the table based solely on winning the head to head as I don't think either team will have problems with the remainder of their conference foes. 

After that, there is a group of teams that are hard to distinguish between.  In the end, I think we will see 4 teams fighting for the final two spots in the conference tournament.  Wooster is probably the strongest of that group while Witt, Kenyon, and perhaps DePauw are in the mix.   

Honestly, I would love to see both Allegheny and Denison stay strong through their remaining non-conference games and sweep through the conference.  While at-large bids are always hard to obtain, especially for a conference like the NCAC that isn't considered a women's soccer power, it would be the best chance either one to obtain an at large bid and increase the conference's visibility. 

As conference play starts Saturday with DePauw visiting Hiram, I will soon have the opportunity to be proven wrong!

"Did Wabash Win?"--Ralph "Sap" Wilson '14 (1891-1910)

SoccerLAN

gobash83,

I concur.....although anything can happen, preliminary results of the Big Red & the Gators make for a good argument. The outcome of the conference title may occur in the first weekend of conference play!

woacfan

I haven't really had a chance to look at Denison, but they are always good.  Allegheny seemed a little unlucky in the first few weeks, but they looked like a quality squad from what I could see.  I agree,  a goal scorer is a must. 
"We talk about it for 20 minutes and then we decide I was right" - Brian Clough