http://www.njacsports.com/news/2018/8/9/rowan-selected-as-njac-preseason-mens-soccer-favorite-in-league-coaches-poll.aspx?path=msoc
No shocker - Rowan picked 1st.
2018 NJAC Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Rowan (9)
2. Montclair State
3. Rutgers-Newark (1)
4. Stockton
5. Kean (dark horse)
6. William Paterson
7. Rutgers-Camden
8. The College of New Jersey
9. Ramapo
10. New Jersey City
(first place votes in parenthesis)
Looking forward to the season. Football kickoff on 8/30 and soccer kickoff on 8/31. It's a great week.
Stockton falls to Hope in OT
Rowan falls to NYU in OT
Watched the second half of Rowan and I was more impressed with NYU than Rowan, given the expectations of the Profs. Rowan played down a man the final 30 min and couldn't put quality chances together
Rutgers-Newark fell 1-3 at Trinity(TX) on Friday night.
Edit: And 0-2 to Southwestern(TX) on a neutral field in San Antonio.
Quote from: lastguyoffthebench on September 01, 2018, 10:06:05 PM
Stockton falls to Hope in OT
Rowan falls to NYU in OT
Watched the second half of Rowan and I was more impressed with NYU than Rowan, given the expectations of the Profs. Rowan played down a man the final 30 min and couldn't put quality chances together
Did you catch any of the Hope game? Would be interesting to hear how they came out of the gate under Brandt.
I did not catch any of the Stockton game, but that is a good result for Hope.
NJAC has started off playing some quality opponents. MSU v Oneonta St is another example. Typically open with cupcakes...
Emory travels up to Camden for the weekend to play Rowan and Rutgers...
I'm hoping to be in Montclair on Saturday night for Messiah's visit.
Nice win for Rowan over Haverford last night. Keeps them trending in the right direction.
In games against notable opponents NJAC teams did this:
Franklin and Marshall over William Paterson
Drew over TCNJ
Rowan over Haverford
Stockton tied Moravian
Jersey City beat St Joseph LI
Can't imagine why Montclair plays Mount St Vincent
Quote from: willchar on September 20, 2018, 03:36:48 PM
Can't imagine why Montclair plays Mount St Vincent
Former assistant coach at Montclair became head coach at MSV last year (he's since gone after 1 season). Perhaps he got that game on the schedule when he moved to MSV?
Montclair's non-conference schedule is weird. Give them credit for playing Messiah but after that they're really punching down in weight class.
Kean @ Rutgers-Camden
1:00 PM
PREDICTION: RUC 2, Kean 1
Stockton @ Rutgers-Newark
7:30 p.m.
PREDICTION: RUN 3, Stockton 2
Ramapo @ The College of New Jersey
1:00 PM
PREDICTION: TCNJ 3, Ramapo 1
William Paterson @ New Jersey City
1:00 PM
PREDICTION: WPU 3, NJCU 0
Rowan @ Montclair State
1:00 p.m.
PREDICTION: MSU 2, Rowan 1
Rowan has played a more competing schedule up to this point. I'll take them over MSU.
And maybe, just maybe, the coaching staff at NJCU has gotten that team turned around. Expect them to give WPU all they can handle. That grass field us definitely a home-field advantsge.
Ramapo gets a PK from Joseph Fala in OT to beat TCNJ, 2-1. They remain undefeated, and have given up just 2 goals so far.
Fala also had the other goal, giving him 12 for the season. Nick West has the only goal so far in the Messiah-Misericordia game, so presently they are tied for first nationally.
That's a HUGE conference win for Ramapo. TCNJ was undefeated until this week, having lost to Drew mid-week.
Also MSU 1-0 over Rowan.
I think the NJAC is completely up for grabs this year.
Quote from: willchar on September 21, 2018, 02:40:05 PM
Rowan has played a more competing schedule up to this point. I'll take them over MSU.
And maybe, just maybe, the coaching staff at NJCU has gotten that team turned around. Expect them to give WPU all they can handle. That grass field us definitely a home-field advantsge.
Things are turning out somewhat unexpectedly in the NJAC so far. Ramapo is outperforming expectations, and so is Montclair. Take out the lopsided loss to Messiah, and MSU is 8-0-1, while yielding just 2 goals--including one to a darn good team, Cortland. That MSU-Ramapo game next weekend is starting to loom large.
(It's worth adding that Nick West scored more goals himself vs MSU than all other opponents combined. As Mr Right and I have been saying, he's a beast.)
Your point is well taken but MSU played Oneonta in their first game. And after Messiah and Oneonta their out of conference schedule is too weak. They out scored Hunter, New Rochelle, Brooklyn, CCNY and Mt St Vincent 35-1 but those teams are a combined 9-26-2 with a couple of those wins against each other. I'd suggest the overall conference is down this year. Can you point to a single out of conference win that matters?
Quote from: Falconer on September 24, 2018, 06:07:26 PM
Quote from: willchar on September 21, 2018, 02:40:05 PM
Rowan has played a more competing schedule up to this point. I'll take them over MSU.
And maybe, just maybe, the coaching staff at NJCU has gotten that team turned around. Expect them to give WPU all they can handle. That grass field us definitely a home-field advantsge.
Things are turning out somewhat unexpectedly in the NJAC so far. Ramapo is outperforming expectations, and so is Montclair. Take out the lopsided loss to Messiah, and MSU is 8-0-1, while yielding just 2 goals--including one to a darn good team, Cortland. That MSU-Ramapo game next weekend is starting to loom large.
(It's worth adding that Nick West scored more goals himself vs MSU than all other opponents combined. As Mr Right and I have been saying, he's a beast.)
Sneaking in another Nick West mention....well-played (if strained....and as if the overall quality of Messiah had nothing to do with scoring at a rate greater than all other teams).
I am reminded of the rant of the old Minnesota Vikings coach, Dennis Green....
Keep an eye on Chewy Gordon from Capital.
Quote from: willchar on September 24, 2018, 08:40:08 PM
Your point is well taken but MSU played Oneonta in their first game. And after Messiah and Oneonta their out of conference schedule is too weak. They out scored Hunter, New Rochelle, Brooklyn, CCNY and Mt St Vincent 35-1 but those teams are a combined 9-26-2 with a couple of those wins against each other. I'd suggest the overall conference is down this year. Can you point to a single out of conference win that matters?
My bad--you're right, I was confusing Oneonta with Cortland. And this year, so far, Cortland is probably better than Oneonta. MSU's pre-conference schedule is indeed pretty weak: we agree on that. I doubt many expected them to defeat Rowan, however, and I think they will do pretty well in the NJAC. Soon we'll know if I'm over-rating them.
Quote from: PaulNewman on September 24, 2018, 08:48:37 PM
Quote from: Falconer on September 24, 2018, 06:07:26 PM
Quote from: willchar on September 21, 2018, 02:40:05 PM
Rowan has played a more competing schedule up to this point. I'll take them over MSU.
And maybe, just maybe, the coaching staff at NJCU has gotten that team turned around. Expect them to give WPU all they can handle. That grass field us definitely a home-field advantsge.
Things are turning out somewhat unexpectedly in the NJAC so far. Ramapo is outperforming expectations, and so is Montclair. Take out the lopsided loss to Messiah, and MSU is 8-0-1, while yielding just 2 goals--including one to a darn good team, Cortland. That MSU-Ramapo game next weekend is starting to loom large.
(It's worth adding that Nick West scored more goals himself vs MSU than all other opponents combined. As Mr Right and I have been saying, he's a beast.)
Sneaking in another Nick West mention....well-played (if strained....and as if the overall quality of Messiah had nothing to do with scoring at a rate greater than all other teams).
I am reminded of the rant of the old Minnesota Vikings coach, Dennis Green....
Keep an eye on Chewy Gordon from Capital.
Busted again, Paul, busted again. ;D
In fairness to my point, however, so far West has 13 of Messiah's 25 goals in 8 games. In recent seasons, as most here realize, the Falcons haven't been scoring at the same rate people had grown accustomed to. This was true even in the 2017 season. What made that team so good was their mental toughness: they were going to score at least one goal regardless, and they did; but they often struggled greatly to get that one goal, and almost never got goals in bunches. That's a major change. But, even in the lower scoring years, the goals have been distributed among more players. Last year, e.g., the Falcons scored 62 goals in 26 games. Robbins had 15, West 14, Thomas 9, then a big dropoff to Brandt and Brautigam with 4 apiece.
West is on a pace to score 40 goals--an absolutely unprecedented number in Falcon history. I doubt he will come close to 40 in the end, but it's also unprecedented for any Falcon to score anywhere near 50% of the team's goals. Not even the great targets from early last decade ever got close to that. DMac had 25 of Messiah's 88 goals in 2004, and 20 of 82 goals in 2005. Matt Bills had 14 out of 72 in 2003 (when he missed 5 games to a leg injury that also nagged him in the tournament and probably contributed to the season-ending scoreless tie with Salisbury). I think Bills had at least 20 goals in 2002, but the online archives don't go back that far. I'm sure he didn't score anywhere near 50% of the team's goals in 2002.
Quite possibly, West will go down as the greatest scoring threat in Falcon history. Given the general outline of that history, that would be saying something quite significant--probably enough to make him the offensive POY in 2018, whether or not the Falcons repeat (I doubt they will).
Quote from: Falconer on September 25, 2018, 03:45:54 PM
Quote from: PaulNewman on September 24, 2018, 08:48:37 PM
Quote from: Falconer on September 24, 2018, 06:07:26 PM
Quote from: willchar on September 21, 2018, 02:40:05 PM
Quite possibly, West will go down as the greatest scoring threat in Falcon history. Given the general outline of that history, that would be saying something quite significant--probably enough to make him the offensive POY in 2018, whether or not the Falcons repeat (I doubt they will).
OK, now you got my attention. I'm going to watch him the next few games if I get the chance. I thought Colby Thomas was supposed the scoring superstar when he came in. Did he have injuries during his tenure at Messiah?
Yes, Colby Thomas was often injured. This affected his numbers every year except his last. As you know, I am a huge Thomas fan, and I thought he was always a lot more dangerous than his relatively modest numbers suggested. His freshman year, when he played behind Danny Brandt, I felt he was even then being shortchanged--that he should have been starting somewhere, even over Brandt if necessary.
For most of his career, however, he couldn't go to his left effectively. Nor was he quite as fast as West, and didn't have the same fitness level--if anyone on any team is fitter than West, I don't know who that would be. (That man would have to be running the mile under 4:30.) He was probably stronger, but not as nimble, so teams would stack defenders on him, keep their hands on him, and force him to go to his left (if they could). As a senior, he finally became dangerous to his left, but never showed West's ability to play equally well with either foot and from either side of the field.
West is far more dangerous than Colby. He goes wherever he wants, starts scoring plays from anywhere he wants, and finishes them in any way he wants. He is also now a serious threat to score on free kicks. Thomas was nowhere near as versatile.
Quote from: Falconer on September 25, 2018, 03:45:54 PM
Busted again, Paul, busted again. ;D
In fairness to my point, however, so far West has 13 of Messiah's 25 goals in 8 games. In recent seasons, as most here realize, the Falcons haven't been scoring at the same rate people had grown accustomed to. This was true even in the 2017 season. What made that team so good was their mental toughness: they were going to score at least one goal regardless, and they did; but they often struggled greatly to get that one goal, and almost never got goals in bunches. That's a major change. But, even in the lower scoring years, the goals have been distributed among more players. Last year, e.g., the Falcons scored 62 goals in 26 games. Robbins had 15, West 14, Thomas 9, then a big dropoff to Brandt and Brautigam with 4 apiece.
West is on a pace to score 40 goals--an absolutely unprecedented number in Falcon history. I doubt he will come close to 40 in the end, but it's also unprecedented for any Falcon to score anywhere near 50% of the team's goals. Not even the great targets from early last decade ever got close to that. DMac had 25 of Messiah's 88 goals in 2004, and 20 of 82 goals in 2005. Matt Bills had 14 out of 72 in 2003 (when he missed 5 games to a leg injury that also nagged him in the tournament and probably contributed to the season-ending scoreless tie with Salisbury). I think Bills had at least 20 goals in 2002, but the online archives don't go back that far. I'm sure he didn't score anywhere near 50% of the team's goals in 2002.
Quite possibly, West will go down as the greatest scoring threat in Falcon history. Given the general outline of that history, that would be saying something quite significant--probably enough to make him the offensive POY in 2018, whether or not the Falcons repeat (I doubt they will).
Sorry to add more Messiah stuff to an NJAC thread
And since my screen name is OldMCGuy (please emphasize the OLD and the MC as in Messiah College) so you know where I am coming from :)
I would point out that a long time ago (1973) Eddie Oostdyke from Messiah scored 31 goals in one season and in those days the season was only 16 games. 31 out of Messiah's total of 70 goals...Eddie had over 44% of the team total.
In 1972 Kent Worman from Messiah scored 18 goals out of the teams total of 43 (nearly 42%) in a 14 game season
Move it along, Rowan vs Stockton tonight! Rowan is the better team but lets see if Stockton can come out at home fired up and looking for revenge after that NJAC game last year with the goal that shouldn't of been!
Quote from: PaulNewman on September 25, 2018, 03:52:57 PM
Quote from: Falconer on September 25, 2018, 03:45:54 PM
Quote from: PaulNewman on September 24, 2018, 08:48:37 PM
Quote from: Falconer on September 24, 2018, 06:07:26 PM
Quote from: willchar on September 21, 2018, 02:40:05 PM
Quite possibly, West will go down as the greatest scoring threat in Falcon history. Given the general outline of that history, that would be saying something quite significant--probably enough to make him the offensive POY in 2018, whether or not the Falcons repeat (I doubt they will).
OK, now you got my attention. I'm going to watch him the next few games if I get the chance. I thought Colby Thomas was supposed the scoring superstar when he came in. Did he have injuries during his tenure at Messiah?
I would give the nod as greatest scoring threat in Falcon history to Matt Bills....
NJAC PREDICTIONS
Rutgers-Newark @ Ramapo 4:00 PM
RUN 3, Ramapo 1
Montclair State @ William Paterson 7:00 PM
MSU 3, WPU 0
TCNJ @ Rutgers-Camden 7:00 PM
RUC 2, TCNJ 0
New Jersey City @ Kean 7:30 PM
Kean 2, NJCU 1
Rowan @ Stockton 7:00 PM
Rowan 2, Stockton 1
You're probably right on 4 of them but I'll take NJCU over Kean.
I'm gonna get on the Ramapo train and say they beat RUN.
So, after I made my prediction I tuned in to the game at the start of the 2nd half. RUN proceeded to score almost immediately, and then added 1 more 20 minutes later, both on breakaways - one a long ball, the other a defense turn over at midfield. However, 'Po is absolutely dominating and RUN can hardly cross midfield. With 7 minutes left, shots are 28-7 in favor of Ramapo. No reason for RUN to win this game. Coach Pinton has got to be fuming.
I imagine neither coach is happy after this games, though for different reasons. Even with the players RUN lost from last year, Coach West's expectations for his team got to be very high on the heels of winning the NJAC last year and reaching the NCAA Elite 8 the year prior. So I got to think he'd be fuming at being largely dominated and outshot 32-7 (14-3 SOG) by anyone, all the more so by an upstart like Ramapo. The "W" is some consolation, I guess, but teams that can can make a post-season run, though often able to win ugly and in games they aren't at their best, don't get outplayed to the extent the box score would indicate.
By the way, does anyone know if Fabio de Sousa got injured or if he just isn't making the grade with Penn FC in the USL (just 1 appearance for 9 minutes). If the later, I wonder if he regrets his decision to go pro after 2 years of college.
SAT OCT 6
Rowan @ New Jersey City 1:00 PM
Prediction: Rowan 3, NJCU 0
Rutgers-Newark @ Rutgers-Camden 1:00 PM
Prediction: RUC 2, RUN 0
Two of the safest cities in NJ square up... RUC in better form and at home, so I'll give them the nod.
William Paterson @ Stockton 3:00 PM
Prediction: Stockton 2, WPU 1
Stockton has not lost at home, WPU has only a 1-0 loss at Rowan on the road.
Ramapo @ Montclair State 3:00 PM
Prediction: MSU 3, Ramapo 1
MSU gets the W at home and essentially locks up 1st place at this point with their remaining schedule
TCNJ @ Kean 4:00 PM
Prediction: TCNJ 2, Kean 2
Crucial game here as a loss for either one likely means a playoff birth is out of reach. FWIW, I do not think either will make post-season. TCNJ has Stockton, @MSU, Rowan remaining; Kean has @Ramapo, WPU, MSU
RUC @ Ramapo 1:00PM
Prediction: RUC 2, Ramapo 0
WPU @ Kean 5:00PM
Prediction: WPU 2, Kean 1
Rowan @ RUN 7:30PM
Prediction: Rowan 3, RUN 1
NJCU @ TCNJ 11:00AM
Prediction: TCNJ 2, NCJU 0
MSU @ Stockton 1:00PM
Prediction: MSU 2, Stockton 1
Current Standings (with predictions)
MSU 18 pts.... 21
Camden 12 pts.. 15 pts
Stockton 10 pts... 10 pts
Ramapo 9 pts... 9 pts
Rowan 9 pts... 12 pts
WPU 9 pts... 12 pts
RUN 6 pts... 6 pts
TCNJ 5 pts... 8 pts
Kean 4 pts... 4 pts
NJCU 0 pts... 0 pts
Have not seen much of any NJAC games this season. Based on the standings it looks like at 11-3-1 RUC is starting to make a turnaround as is Ramapo at 11-2-0. I do not remember Ramapo ever having a winning record in NJAC. They are only 3-2-0 in the league so they are not out of the woods yet. Montclair St is back as the league top dog at 13-1-1 and 6-0-0 with two teams that have been the best in the league recently Rowan and RUN both struggling a bit. Rowan is 9-4-0 and 3-2-0 and RUN is 7-7-1 and 2-4-0 in the NJAC. So are these standings reflective of the actual situation or are teams not as good as their records and others that look to be struggling better than the standings show? Basically can anyone that follows the NJAC go into a little detail? I suppose I could catch the Rowan at RUN match Saturday night and get a feel myself if no one feels like answering...
I'll give it a go...
Ramapo 2, RUC 1
WPU 3, Kean 1
Rowan 1, RUN 1
TCNJ 3, NCJU 0
MSU 3, Stockton 0
Results:
Ramapo 1, RUC 1
WPU 1, Kean 0
Rowan 4, RUN 0
TCNJ 2, NJCU 0
MSU 1, Stockton 1
Standings:
MSU 19pts 6-0-1 13-1-2
RUC 13pts 4-1-1 11-3-2
Rowan 12pts 4-2 10-4
WPU 12pts 4-3 10-4-1
Stockton 11pts 3-2-2 7-5-3
Ramapo 10pts 3-2-1 11-2-1
TCNJ 8pts 2-3-2 8-4-2
RUN 6pts 2-5 7-8-1
Kean 4pts 1-4-1 5-6-3
NJCU 0pts 0-7 5-8
Tough to say Ramapo has turned it around. Yes, they've struggled for a long time and started the season 8-0. But since then they are 3-2-2 with 2 of the wins against very weak opponents. With 3 NJAC games remaining they'll probably take out Kean, Fall to Rowan, which leaves their match against Willy P being huge to get a decent seed or maybe even just make the top-6 playoffs.
I'm going to give Ramapo the benefit of the doubt. They completely dominated RUN and were extremely unlucky to lose. They outshot RUC 26-10 and could have won that game, and even the Montclair games was fairly even. I predict they get two wins from Kean and WPU and I dare say a chance to steal a point in Glassboro.
'Po defeats Rowan 2-1 and Fala nets two giving him 21 for the season.
I'm starting to believe. I've followed NJAC for a long time and this is the biggest Ramapo win. They've occasionally forged an upset or two but no win ever was critical to their own destiny. This really mattered.
Ramapo should slide into the NCAA Regional Rankings on Wed after having a monster 2-0 week, defeating Rowan and WPU.
Several scenarios could play out for Pool C.
Montclair St is virtually safe, IMO
Ramapo needs to beat WPU. They are certainly building their case for a Pool C, but just may win the the AQ. They are legit.
Rowan is a a must win, I don't think 7 losses is gonna get them in, unless they reach the final...
Rutgers-Camden suffered double whammy with a loss to WPU... However, i don't think WPU jumps them in rankings yet. They are clinging on to that NYU win and split with WPU.
WPU can sneak in as a legit pool C if they reach the NJAC Final.
Lastguypredictions
MSU over Rowan
Ramapo over WPU
Ramapo over MSU
Ramapo gets the AQ, MSU and Camden Pool C.
I'll go with:
MSU 2 Rowan 1
Ramapo 1 WPU 0 OT
------
MSU 1 Ramapo
MSU gets AQ
Ramapo gets Pool C
Just watched five minutes of Rowan at Montclair. Lots of fouling, and it's stupid fouling. First, a Rowan player deliberately tripped a Montclair man just off the corner of the box, yielding a dangerous direct kick. After that, Montclair took a man down in the box, perhaps intentionally (the image was a bit fuzzy). The official called it properly and the PK was scored. A minute later, exactly the same thing on the other end, same result. Now 2-1 MSU. Now, another deliberate takedown by Rowan 10 yards from the box.
What don't these guys get? The official tonight is good: he's calling what he's supposed to call. Can they play differently, or is this just what you do in the NJAC?
Agree completely Falconer. Not impressed with either team, especially Montclair. Outside of the crazy challenges, IMHO Rowan has had the much better run of play.
Not sure what I missed but Montclair now up 4-1. Maybe just a bad first 15 for Montclair.
Almost halfway through the 2nd half and there are a total of 15 fouls. That's not a lot - perhaps just stupid fouls but it doesn't look like a physical game.