Mid-Atlantic Region

Started by Mid-Atlantic Fan, August 29, 2017, 02:44:32 PM

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Mid-Atlantic Fan

Looking to tomorrow's rankings here is how I would slate the region

MAF Week 2 Rankings
1. Messiah (5-0-1)
2. F&M (5-0-1)
3. Lycoming (5-1-1)
4. Hopkins (5-2-0)
5. Muhles (3-1-1)
6. Dickinson (3-2-1)
7. Haverford (3-2-0)
8. Drew (5-2-0)
9. Keystone (5-2-0)
10. Scranton (2-2-2)

Others: Catholic (3-1-0), Eastern (4-2-0), LVC (3-2-0), Gettysburg (2-2-1), Wesley (6-0-0), Moravian (3-2-1)

Shooter McGavin

Little late to the party but here is how I see it...the region is starting to fill out and the top teams are separating themselves. Plenty of blemishes already!

Shooter's Power 10
1. Messiah (5-0-1)
2. F&M (6-0-1)
3. Lycoming (5-1-1)
4. Hopkins (5-2-0)
5. Drew (6-2-0)
6. Dickinson (4-2-1)
7. Muhles (3-1-2)
8. Scranton (2-2-2)
9. Gettysburg (3-2-1)
10. Keystone (5-2-0)

HM: Eastern (4-2-0), Catholic (3-2-0), Fords (3-3-0), Manhattanville (5-2-0)

Falconer

Another game, and another goal for Nick West--the only one of the night, as the Falcons and Spartans battled hard in the midfield throughout. Neither team is a stranger to the other. Defenders on both sides knew where to go, to steal passes or block shots. Both teams were dangerous now and then--York hit on or near the corner of the frame deep into the second half, and Messiah had some golden opportunities snuffed out by hustling defenders. Messiah wins, 1-0.

West's goal came on a direct kick, after he was pushed down from behind while creating an opening just outside the box. It was a hard intentional foul to prevent a scoring opportunity, yet no card was given. Justice prevailed, as he got up and buried the free kick. He's now scored in every game except the opener, and almost all of his goals are highlight reels. He now leads the nation with 11 goals--and the Falcons needed him to carry them tonight, given the intensity of the defensive effort by York--my hat's off to them.

York has a 6'5" sophomore striker. If he were faster or bulkier, he could be really dangerous, but tonight he mostly ran around without the ball looking for the odd defender to run over. When he did get the ball, he was usually too far from the goal to give me heartburn. My indigestion appeared when a Spartan on the other end of the measuring stick had the ball on the outside. York has a mighty mite, a little waterbug of a player who gave the Falcons fits several times--their version of David Alejos, except that he does more moving forward than from side to side. A dangerous attacker who finds the ball and does something with it. With tenacious defenders and the ability to get the ball into the box, I predict they start winning more games going forward, and if they make their conference playoff they won't be the team you want to play next.

4samuy

That was a nice strike by West with pace.  I saw it on the live stream and the replay, but couldn't determine whether it went thru a hole in the wall.  Didn't look as if it went over the wall, but it could have.  Play by play guys didn't seem to be sure. Any thoughts?

franklyspeaking

You noticed the York player because he is so tall, other than that he did nothing in the 2 games I saw him play.  People focus in so much on height, but the reality is that you also need to have skill.

rudy

#500
 Messiah coach McCarty is closing in on 200  wins in just his 10th year as head coach. I believe he is at 196 now. Perhaps coach Brandt got to 200 in less games but not sure. I doubt any other men's soccer coaches have reached 200 as quickly. Perhaps flying weasel would have these stats? Falconer any idea? Averaging over 20  wins a year is ridiculous.
Edit: found this on coach Brandt in Hope College profile
"He reached the 200-win mark faster than any other coach in NCAA history — doing so in 2006 in 220 matches over a span of 10 seasons."

Falconer

Quote from: 4samuy on September 20, 2018, 09:45:05 PM
That was a nice strike by West with pace.  I saw it on the live stream and the replay, but couldn't determine whether it went thru a hole in the wall.  Didn't look as if it went over the wall, but it could have.  Play by play guys didn't seem to be sure. Any thoughts?
You can see it again yourself here: https://gomessiah.com/index.aspx?path=msoc&tab=soccer

As the voice says, West kicked the ball over the wall and into the corner.

Falconer

Don't really know what to expect from Misericordia on Saturday, when the Falcons visit them. They have given Messiah tough games recently, a 1-1 tie in 2016 on their turf and a Falcon 1-0 2 OT win at home in 2017. Their record this year is just 1-4-1, but two of the losses were by one goal to Salisbury and RU-C, and the tie was 1-1 in 2 OT at Scranton. On the other hand, they got hammered 4-0 at LVC.

Turf rarely helps the Falcons' one-touch game, so I anticipate a close contest in terms of scoring.

Right after playing Messiah, Misericordia plays Lycoming, DeSales, and Dickinson. That's 3 out of 4 tournament teams from last year. I credit them for reaching high.

Falconer

I forgot to give game balls in my commentary on last night's contest with York. They go to (in order) MF Luis Plaza for nearly total control of the field, RB Joe King for fearless and effective play on both ends of the field, and Nick West for bringing home the bacon. Jonathan Groothoof seemed to be everywhere, almost always in the right place at the right time, b/c he put himself there. Honorable mention.

It was really good finally to see Cooper Robbins play for the first time since the Final Four. He almost scored from far out and made his presence known as their most experienced CB. I don't know what will happen to the lineup, once he is fit enough to start (he didn't start yesterday), but seeing how well the two freshmen have played at CB (Luke Grootoff and Reid Ruark), I wouldn't be shocked if Luke moves up front somewhere while Reid stays in the back alongside Robbins. With his speed and skill set, he has the potential to be an electrifying presence in the attacking third. I hope we have some chances to see what he can do there soon. Otherwise perhaps we'll have to wait another year...

4samuy


rudy

Quote from: Falconer on September 21, 2018, 02:32:37 PM
I forgot to give game balls in my commentary on last night's contest with York. They go to (in order) MF Luis Plaza for nearly total control of the field, RB Joe King for fearless and effective play on both ends of the field, and Nick West for bringing home the bacon. Jonathan Groothoof seemed to be everywhere, almost always in the right place at the right time, b/c he put himself there. Honorable mention.

It was really good finally to see Cooper Robbins play for the first time since the Final Four. He almost scored from far out and made his presence known as their most experienced CB. I don't know what will happen to the lineup, once he is fit enough to start (he didn't start yesterday), but seeing how well the two freshmen have played at CB (Luke Grootoff and Reid Ruark), I wouldn't be shocked if Luke moves up front somewhere while Reid stays in the back alongside Robbins. With his speed and skill set, he has the potential to be an electrifying presence in the attacking third. I hope we have some chances to see what he can do there soon. Otherwise perhaps we'll have to wait another year...

I was thinking the same thing regarding Luke Groothoff and Cooper.  Reid has been excellent so I could see Luke moving up the spine when Cooper returns full-time at CB.  I also agree that Joe has been fantastic at right back.

Falconer

Messiah defeated Misericordia, 4-1. West got the first and last goals--and (I think) also got woodwork on what would have been a great goal, but it stream wasn't clear enough to be sure it was him. Misericordia got a nice goal on a counter to tie it early in the second half, before Messiah turned it on.

Following the Thursday's game with York, I noted that Cooper Robbins played significant minutes while not starting, and once he was fully back they might put Luke Grootoff further up. They did today. Cooper started, and Luke was an attacking MF, and he scored his first two goals for Messiah. The first, a header off a rebound on a corner kick, might represent the first Falcon goal on a corner since some point in 2016. I haven't seen all of the goals this season, so I can't be sure. But, they had zero goals on corners all last year and so far this year I don't remember another one. Luke scored again a few minutes later with his feet on another rebound. His presence up front is obviously felt immediately. This is a good sign for Messiah: Nick West has some reliable scoring help.

redsoccer06

Johns Hopkins fall to Gettysburg 2-1 in overtime. Played the majority of the game down a man after sophomore Creedon picked up a red card in the first half -- unnecessary hard foul in the middle of the park. Freshmen doing all the scoring for Gettysburg. Hopkins fall to 5-3. Very unlike the Hopkins teams we've become accustomed to.

D3soccerwatcher

Quote from: Falconer on September 22, 2018, 05:29:47 PM
Messiah defeated Misericordia, 4-1. West got the first and last goals--and (I think) also got woodwork on what would have been a great goal, but it stream wasn't clear enough to be sure it was him. Misericordia got a nice goal on a counter to tie it early in the second half, before Messiah turned it on.

Following the Thursday's game with York, I noted that Cooper Robbins played significant minutes while not starting, and once he was fully back they might put Luke Grootoff further up. They did today. Cooper started, and Luke was an attacking MF, and he scored his first two goals for Messiah. The first, a header off a rebound on a corner kick, might represent the first Falcon goal on a corner since some point in 2016. I haven't seen all of the goals this season, so I can't be sure. But, they had zero goals on corners all last year and so far this year I don't remember another one. Luke scored again a few minutes later with his feet on another rebound. His presence up front is obviously felt immediately. This is a good sign for Messiah: Nick West has some reliable scoring help.

L. Groothoff played most, if not all, of the game on Saturday at defensive mid.

Falconer

Quote from: D3soccerwatcher on September 23, 2018, 11:10:02 PM
Quote from: Falconer on September 22, 2018, 05:29:47 PM
Messiah defeated Misericordia, 4-1. West got the first and last goals--and (I think) also got woodwork on what would have been a great goal, but it stream wasn't clear enough to be sure it was him. Misericordia got a nice goal on a counter to tie it early in the second half, before Messiah turned it on.

Following the Thursday's game with York, I noted that Cooper Robbins played significant minutes while not starting, and once he was fully back they might put Luke Grootoff further up. They did today. Cooper started, and Luke was an attacking MF, and he scored his first two goals for Messiah. The first, a header off a rebound on a corner kick, might represent the first Falcon goal on a corner since some point in 2016. I haven't seen all of the goals this season, so I can't be sure. But, they had zero goals on corners all last year and so far this year I don't remember another one. Luke scored again a few minutes later with his feet on another rebound. His presence up front is obviously felt immediately. This is a good sign for Messiah: Nick West has some reliable scoring help.

L. Groothoff played most, if not all, of the game on Saturday at defensive mid.

I'm obliged for the correction. On my screen, the images of players were small and unclear. I could tell that some of them were wearing single digit numbers, but rarely could I see the numbers well enough to read them. I knew that Luke scored those two goals only b/c the PA announcer said so--that's how bad it was on my end. I could see that on the first goal (header) he was immediately in front of the goal, and on the second he was only a few yards away. Hence, I inferred that he played attacking MF. I certainly couldn't tell (most of the time) exactly who was touching the ball in various parts of the field, though it's not hard to differentiate between some of the men on the back line and other men further upfield. I knew Groothoof wasn't on the back line--the first time in his career that he didn't start there.