New England Soccer Discussion

Started by Jim Matson, June 09, 2006, 12:25:06 AM

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Nutmeg

Quote from: NCAC New England on October 13, 2015, 03:09:39 PM
So far this looks like a controlled scrimmage for Tufts.

Yes, tufts absolutely dominating play. Kayne slicing thru them..only a matter of time

Ommadawn

WNEU up 1-0 early on UMass Boston.

blooter442

Interesting to see Pinheiro getting on the scoresheet. He often does the dirty work that goes unnoticed, but IMHO he's not as dominant as last year — he's had a pretty quiet season up to this point. To be fair to him, Kayne is often the star of that Tufts midfield that everyone seems to notice, so I'm probably not giving him enough credit, but just my candid observations.

Regardless, a good team has to be able to spread its scoring around, and Tufts certainly does that (even with Majumder's six goals.) Tufts dominating, but to Gordon's credit the SOG count is even at 2-2.

Mr.Right

What is going on in that UMASS Boston v WNEC game? 3 goals in 5 minutes?

PaulNewman

#484
Endicott is pretty good.  They will not be a pushover in the tournament and they could take a Pool C if they don't get the AQ.  They shouldn't be awed when they get to the tournament having played Calvin, Tufts and Williams.

That said, Endicott does have a tricky stretch coming with WNEC, Wentworth, Salve, and Gordon.  Winning the CCC tournament will not be a breeze, and Endicott needs to go 3-0-1 or at least 3-1 in those last 4 to feel fairly confident about a Pool C.  I'm gonna guess that Gordon needs the AQ.

ECSUalum

#485
Eastern defeats Fitchburg St 4-0 tonight in Fitchburg MA.  However, I thought ECSU played poorly tonight, ie they rarely connected on more than a couple of passes at any one time, and turned the ball over too many times, hoofing the ball up field for most of the match.  Xavier Doran had a nice set piece goal, just outside the 18 and lined it through a hole in the wall, and almost stuck another liner like the one vs WCSU from 30 yrds off the dribble, but 2 others by Justen Jensen and JD Sterns were more catching the GK out of position on long passes vs working short passes, then creating space in the box for decent shots, ( a la UM Boston)!!  A lot of the match reminded me of  high school level play.  ECSU got called for 10 off sides in the first half!  I don't know if that was Eastern timing or a line ref who raised his flag when a shoe lace was off side, probably a little of both.  The Warriors really need to practice their technical skills, if they want to defeat the best in D-III. 
Anyway, the positives were another clean sheet for Ryan Murphy who really wasn't bothered tonight, the opportunity for some of the lesser used players getting some action, and Eastern backs, DeAmbrosio, Casiedo, Neuendorf an Lombardo having another solid performance frustrating just about all Falcon attacks.



SHOTS                  1   2   TOTAL
Eastern Conn. St.   11 6     17
Fitchburg St.           4  9     13

SAVES                   1   2  TOTAL
Eastern Conn. St.   0   3      3
Fitchburg St.          4   1      5 

CORNER KICKS     1   2  TOTAL
Eastern Conn. St.  3   1     4
Fitchburg St.         1   2     3

FOULS                 1   2  TOTAL
Eastern Conn. St. 3   4      7
Fitchburg St.        8   8     16

blooter442

Quote from: NCAC New England on October 13, 2015, 09:23:54 PM
Endicott is pretty good.  They will not be a pushover in the tournament and they could take a Pool C if they don't get the AQ.  They shouldn't be awed when they get to the tournament having played Calvin, Tufts and Williams. ... I'm gonna guess that Gordon needs the AQ.

Endicott is, IMO, far and away the strongest side in the CCC. That said, they do have some tough games still to come. Would be the first CCC title for the Gulls in a while, I believe. They have Gordon at home which could be crucial to home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, and they'll be playing with confidence at home after getting a very good point against Williams, in a game in which the stats seemed pretty even (EC actually outshot Williams 16-14, with SOG at 4-4.)

My guess is Gordon definitely needs the AQ. It's not so much about playing good teams as getting results against good teams, and they're currently 0-3 against ranked opponents. I admire them for putting them on the schedule, and hey, better to lose to a ranked opponent than to lose to an unranked opponent, but the rest of their schedule doesn't make for great reading.

Sandy

Quote from: ECSUalum on October 13, 2015, 09:25:35 PM
The Warriors really need to practice their technical skills, if they want to defeat the best in D-III. 

Which I don't think is gonna happen. They're too reliant on the long ball and this game plan is the reason some of their players are in the position they're in.

blooter442

Blooter's Beliefs

I figured I'd start a quasi-weekly informal wrap-up of happenings and thoughts in the NE region. I'm obviously not as well versed on the Midwest, South, etc., so I'll keep it to NE for now, but I am working to educate myself more on other regions all the time.

First, a correction to my previous post on this thread - Gordon is 1-2 against ranked opponents, as they did beat ECSU when they were ranked #19. Still think they need that AQ.

Slipping under the radar yesterday was Trinity's 0-0 tie with WCSU, who is now 4-6-2. The Bantams can really be a threatening outfit on their day, but - much like Bates - can't seem to put a good run together (ironically, in Bates' case, it followed up a big win at Williams with a 2-1 loss at home to Trinity.) It's great that they have Savonen back, as he is an excellent player and has often made the difference for Trinity in the past couple of years. That said, he's got to put those performances together on a more consistent basis - there seem to be a significant number of one-offs. I think he is due for a big senior year, as I think he has the talent to be just as good as his brother on an individual level (his brother did have the benefit of playing with and learning from teammates like S. Ocel and Russo, while I don't think Trinity has the same level of talent.) He just needs to stay focused, but I think he could be one of the standout players in the NESCAC next year.

Still not sold on UMass-Boston, even with their OT win away to WNE yesterday. I really do like the way they attack with some good flair and skill, and they have some exciting players, but they really need to work on their composure. You could see it in the Babson game last week. Once UMB went down 1-0 in the 30th minute or so, there was no way back for them. Babson looked firmly in the driving seat the rest of the game, and they honestly never looked like losing - part of that is probably because Babson knows how to close out games against good opposition (although that trend was perhaps bucked on Monday against Bowdoin.) Anyway, UMass-Boston had 0 composure. Zero. They attacked with numbers the rest of the game, but they never looked like scoring because they were too frantic and couldn't string anything together. They were hard done by against ECSU and may well win the LEC, but I would bet money (just kidding) that they wouldn't make it to the second round of the Tournament, let alone out of the second round.

Two days after beating then-No. 16 Case on the road, Brandeis labored to a 1-0 victory over Mass. Maritime at home last night. Mind you, this is a squad that the Judges beat 6-3 at home in 2013 (many second-stringers in) and 3-0 away last year. However, unlike the MIT game last week, Brandeis looked firmly in control the whole game, and the low-scoring nature can perhaps be partially attributed to the fact that Mass. Maritime parked the bus and played 10 men behind the ball the whole game. Brandeis made tons of changes to keep players fresh for the weekend, and a good number of reserves got significant minutes. Goal came from a great delivery from Ocel that was finished off by Flahive, and Ocel himself hit the post later. The only chance that MMA actually had was when the Brandeis reserve keeper came for a loose ball and was beaten to it, but Lanahan was there to boot the ball off the line - it was never threatening enough to go in. Anyway, another W for the Judges and a good tune-up for this weekend's big games against Chicago and WashU, which thankfully for the Judges are at home.

Many of us - myself included - looked a bit foolish after predicting that Amherst-Conn. would be a 1-0 game. I thought that, Tufts aside, Conn. had the best chance to give Amherst fits. Well, as the Jeffs proved first against Middlebury and then yesterday, you cannot fall asleep against them, even in the first minute and especially on a corner kick. I don't like their style - it is direct and ugly in my opinion - but boy is it effective. The front three of NPL, Martin, and Singer may be the best front three that the NESCAC has seen in quite some time, and I would even put it above Tufts' attacking trio of last year in Santos, Hoppenot, and Brown (although I'd make a case for Santos being on the same level as NPL.) Earlier, I said that I thought Amherst would have to learn to play with more finesse if they expected to compete for a national championship, but I think with the amount of parity this year and the fact that they've won all of their cliffhangers, that this very well could be their year. One thing's for sure - there is a new NESCAC favorite in town.

I said that I liked Endicott against Williams last night, and while I didn't know that they would walk away with a win I did think that they'd be good enough to get the draw. They did. While Williams has had its own issues this year, it is still a proud program with a very good coach capable of picking up big wins like at RPI last week, so there's no doubt that they came looking for the win. I'm not saying that Endicott is Sweet Sixteen material or anything, but I think that if there was any doubt whether they were an NCAA-capable team or not, it has been eliminated. I'd say Round of 32 is very realistic, and at 10-1-2, they look far and away the best team in the CCC. That said, I'm sure Gordon will have something to say about that. Regarding Williams, I think that Sullivan is an excellent coach and - even with the talent of Rashid and his understanding of the NESCAC - it was always going to be difficult to come in and implement his philosophy in the first year. I firmly believe that he'll have Williams right back in the hunt for the NESCAC title within the next couple of years.

Having beaten Middlebury in a huge game on Saturday, Tufts did well to keep things going yesterday with a good 1-0 result at home to Gordon in a game where the Jumbos never really looked threatened. To be fair to Gordon, they did well to stifle the Jumbos' creativity, and even threatened once or twice on the counter; if my memory serves me right, they had a ball cleared off the line in the first half, although Tufts dominated the statistics. Anyway, I think Gordon is a very good squad that has put together some good records in recent times, but its still looking for that marquee result to announce their "arrival" as a true contender in the NE region. In my observations, I see a lot of parallels between where Gordon is and where Brandeis was back in 2011 or so, before the Judges announced themselves with a 2OT victory over Babson in 2012 and then cemented their status as an NE power by beating Tufts at home last year 2-0. I've watched Gordon a few times and I think they're almost there. Bring in another really solid recruiting class, get them to buy into the system, and they'll be a side that nobody will look forward to.

Lastly, Babson and Bowdoin. When Babson went up 1-0 against the run of play, I thought that it was going to be just like last year's NEWMAC win over Wheaton, where the Beavers went to Keefe Field and stole the NEWMAC title away from the Lyons. However, Bowdoin rattled off four goals in the second half to win 4-1. Babson has just about the same squad that it did last year, but without Laurenzo to bail them out they look much more average, like the 2013 side that went 11-8-1. I think Kaplan will come good, as he's scored some big goals and is still a sophomore. Bowdoin is an unspectacular 4-3-2, and while I don't think they're as good as last year, I think they've been hard-done by - losing away to Amherst in the last 10 mins, dropping a 1-0 game home against Williams, etc. I always maintained that Bowdoin, even in its down years, was a good team that just never played to its potential - potential that was finally realized in last year's NESCAC playoffs. If they can get back to the NESCAC playoffs, I think they'll be a threat. Wiercinski is a good coach, both tactically and in terms of man-management, and he'll always have his team set up to do well.

That's all for this week, folks. Stay tuned for next week (or, if not then, whenever I can remember.)

PaulNewman

Nice job, blootster!

Just so there is no confusion, and as Mr.Right has pointed out a couple of times, the only "versus ranked teams" that matters comes in another couple of weeks or so with the official regional rankings.  Whether an opponent was ranked in a top 25 or NSCAA regional poll earlier in the season, now, or even later won't matter in terms of crediting a team with wins and draws versus "ranked" when the selection cmte goes about selecting the Pool Cs.

Mid-Atlantic Fan

Quote from: NCAC New England on October 14, 2015, 10:44:43 AM
Nice job, blootster!

Just so there is no confusion, and as Mr.Right has pointed out a couple of times, the only "versus ranked teams" that matters comes in another couple of weeks or so with the official regional rankings.  Whether an opponent was ranked in a top 25 or NSCAA regional poll earlier in the season, now, or even later won't matter in terms of crediting a team with wins and draws versus "ranked" when the selection cmte goes about selecting the Pool Cs.

Yes I have a question about that. So lets say Team A plays Team B. Team B is regionally ranked 7/10. Team A wins. Team B then spirals and loses out to finish season unranked regionally in the final 2 polls. Does this still count as a win vs. a ranked opponent since they were regionally ranked in the first NCAA poll that mattered? Thanks in advance for any helpful response to this!

blooter442

Quote from: NCAC New England on October 14, 2015, 10:44:43 AM
Nice job, blootster!

Just so there is no confusion, and as Mr.Right has pointed out a couple of times, the only "versus ranked teams" that matters comes in another couple of weeks or so with the official regional rankings.  Whether an opponent was ranked in a top 25 or NSCAA regional poll earlier in the season, now, or even later won't matter in terms of crediting a team with wins and draws versus "ranked" when the selection cmte goes about selecting the Pool Cs.

Thank you, and thanks for the clarification. I'm just referring to them informally as "ranked teams" because they were ranked at the time the two teams played, but I did not know the official definition. That said, what you said makes total sense - after all, it really doesn't matter what you were ranked in September when it comes to November!  ;)

PaulNewman

Quote from: Mid-Atlantic Fan on October 14, 2015, 10:48:13 AM
Quote from: NCAC New England on October 14, 2015, 10:44:43 AM
Nice job, blootster!

Just so there is no confusion, and as Mr.Right has pointed out a couple of times, the only "versus ranked teams" that matters comes in another couple of weeks or so with the official regional rankings.  Whether an opponent was ranked in a top 25 or NSCAA regional poll earlier in the season, now, or even later won't matter in terms of crediting a team with wins and draws versus "ranked" when the selection cmte goes about selecting the Pool Cs.

Yes I have a question about that. So lets say Team A plays Team B. Team B is regionally ranked 7/10. Team A wins. Team B then spirals and loses out to finish season unranked regionally in the final 2 polls. Does this still count as a win vs. a ranked opponent since they were regionally ranked in the first NCAA poll that mattered? Thanks in advance for any helpful response to this!

FW is the expert on these matters.  There are 3 official regional rankings published and then 1 unpublished, and they don't start for another couple of weeks or so.  If a team is ranked in the first of the published 3 rankings but not the last 2 I believe that still counts as a result with a "ranked" team.

PaulNewman

There is no relationship or certainly no binding relationship between the NSCAA regional rankings that we've seen getting posting in threads the last few weeks and the regional rankings to come from the NCAA.  The only ones that really matter are the latter.  And it's not just that being ranked in a national poll earlier in the season doesn't matter, as, although very unlikely, a team could be ranked top 5 in one of the two national polls and not be ranked (or ranked highly) in the all-important NCAA regional rankings.  A couple of years ago I believe Randolph wsa ranked top 15 most of the season in national polls and ended up unranked or lowly ranked when the NCAA regional rankings finally came out...and Randolph ended up not getting a bid.  Luther may have been a bit similar last year.

Mid-Atlantic Fan

Right. The 3 dates I believe are the next 3 Wednesdays. Oct 21, 28, and Nov. 4 for NCAA regional rankings.