Ocel will have to show up in ways that he did not in the Elite 8 last year. Viera was the engine in the Brandeis loss to Trinity. I notice he scored the OT goal on Sunday.
Just as a matter of correction: Amherst's Owen was not beaten near post by the restart from distance at MIT.
I said that he was beaten at
his near post at MIT, not the near post from where the shot was taken. If you look at the video of the goal, he was hugging the left (his right) post, standing about 1 yard off of the stick, and the ball still managed to sneak by him on that same side. It was a nice shot, for sure, but given that he was cheating far to that side, I'd still expect him to do better, especially considering the distance from which the shot was taken.
Vieira does seem to be finding his mojo at the right time, and Ocel has been playing well. That said, I do agree with you - he will need to step up big if Brandeis is to keep from being overwhelmed by the Amherst midfield. I think Martin is especially dangerous, and I would agree with Mr.Right that he is playing his best right now. Also, Hlimonaz is Amherst's X factor this year, and I think his arrival has added a new dimension to the Jeffs' attack. I also like Amherst's midfield, and while Orozco gets most of the headlines I think that the guys who do the dirty work - such as Forest Sisk and Dane Lind - are also workhorses and do their jobs very well.