Before getting into actual game discussion later, I figured I'd start with a big picture comment on the 2021 season.
At the beginning of pre-season, I was concerned that the season would again be disrupted by Covid. Fortunately, the decision of a number of colleges and then later the NCAA to mandate Covid vaccination for all athletes seems to have eliminated any disruption to the season schedule. You do not hear of Covid outbreaks among athletes or cancellations of college games due to Covid. At least I haven't.
That does not mean that Covid did not have an impact on the season. It is clear to me that many teams have not gotten back to normal. A number of teams that traditionally are dominant are struggling a bit out of the gate. 8 teams (Wheaton, Williams, Stevens, Ohio Northern, Cal Lutheran, Clarence, Geneseo and Swarthmore) that started in the United Soccer Coaches pre-season poll have struggled and no longer in the top 25 after 2 weeks of play. Even William Smith (which started as #2) has struggled with some games.
Some of that may be attributable to players having difficulty getting back into game shape and dealing with a higher rate of injury than usual after a year off due to Covid. There is a difference between being in game shape and the fitness you get when limited to only practices.
Another reason may be that teams are essentially incorporating two years of recruits into their system at the same time. Sure, last year recruits got to spend time to learn their coach's system and got to practice with their teammates but there is no substitute to actual game experience to develop a team.
What is clear after 2 weeks is that you could likely see a lot of different college names on the top 25 list at the end of the season. That may not be a bad thing.
How many of those schools didn't have any kind of a spring season? But even those that did - 5-10 games in the Spring don't give you the kind of preparation that you get from a full season followed by spring practice. You also have many schools that lost the equivalent of two senior classes since 2019 with little chance to integrate two years of newcomers. The old guard will probably get back into the swing of things once they have a chance to work out their rotations and everyone gets used to each other.
Quote from: Ron Boerger on September 20, 2021, 05:16:09 PM
How many of those schools didn't have any kind of a spring season? But even those that did - 5-10 games in the Spring don't give you the kind of preparation that you get from a full season followed by spring practice. You also have many schools that lost the equivalent of two senior classes since 2019 with little chance to integrate two years of newcomers.
Better stated than what I said but that was my point. A counterpoint however is that these new teams were able to adjust to those challenges to start well so there is no certainty that the old guard will get their act together in time to have a strong season. Of course, the poll could be misleading so early in the season since many teams schedule easy wins to start and then increase the difficulty as weeks progress. Other teams schedule early challenging games to test their mettle (like #2 William Smith did when playing # 1 Messiah in the second game of their season). So the first poll shuffling may be nothing more than some teams with 4-0 wins against cream puffs getting early recognition because the old guard teams took some early losses against strong teams. It may very well balance out as the season goes on. Time will tell.
I have connections to the Liberty League and follow teams in the Middle Atlantic Conference. So I don't pretend to follow all the conferences and love the feedback that this forum provides to get a feel on teams from other conferences.
As for Liberty League, William Smith (currently #8 and 13 consecutive League champ) seems to be having difficulty getting their offense to mesh. They do have 144 shots overall in their first 6 games but only 24 of those total shots came against teams with good defenses (Messiah and SUNY Geneseo). They move the ball well but seem to have difficulty finishing against the better defenses. The William Smith defense seems on pace with 2019, having given up 18 SOG in 6 games compared to 15 SOG in 6 games in 2019.
WS plays RIT tomorrow which should go a long way to determining whether WS repeats as league champ. RIT is 4-1 with a win over #23 Geneseo and their only loss being a 2-1 loss against Lynchburg. RIT controlled the Lynchburg game and gave up few dangerous shots but gave up a game-tying goal from distance with 36 seconds left in 2d half and had a miscue by a freshman defender with 48 seconds left in 2OT that led to the final goal. The RIT defense has a lot of returning upperclassmen and has only given up 21 SOG through 5 games. The RIT offense runs mainly through their junior forward Cataldo-Smith (7 goals) but several other forwards have begun to find the back of the net in the last 2 games. The link for the live stream is : https://ritathletics.com/watch/?Live=183&type=Live
The Middle Atlantic Conference, Freedom Division is lead by DeSales and #13 Misericordia who both have 6-0 records. Desales wins are against lesser competition while Misericordia notched a win over then #5 Carnegie Mellon. Misericordia goes up against Messiah (which leads the MAC, Commonwealth Division) on Saturday so we should get an idea as to their strength.
The D3soccer.com poll is back!
https://d3soccer.com/top25/women/2021/week3
D3soccer.com Women's Top 25, Week 3
Through games of Sunday, September 19, 2021
# School (1st Pl. Votes) Record Pts. Prev.
1 TCNJ (14) 6-0-0 956 —
2 Chicago (3) 7-0-0 831 —
3 Johns Hopkins (1) 4-0-1 823 —
4 Chris. Newport (1) 5-0-0 790 —
5 Washington U. 5-0-1 754 —
6 Trinity (Texas) (2) 5-0-0 739 —
7 Messiah 4-1-1 707 —
8 MIT (1) 7-0-1 671 —
9 Misericordia 6-0-0 613 —
10 William Smith 4-1-1 545 —
11 Emory 6-0-1 500 —
12 Centre 6-1-1 475 —
13 McDaniel 6-0-0 464 —
14 Amherst 4-1-0 428 —
15 Case Western Res. 6-0-0 427 —
16 Wesleyan 4-0-0 412 —
17 Pomona-Pitzer 4-0-1 366 —
18 Loras 7-0-1 362 —
19 Carnegie Mellon 6-1-0 358 —
20 Tufts 3-1-0 345 —
21 Wartburg 6-1-1 332 —
22 Pacific Lutheran 6-0-0 304 —
23 Hamilton 3-0-1 177 —
24 Middlebury 5-1-0 156 —
25 Puget Sound 5-0-1 131 —
Receiving Votes: Dickinson 121, Brandeis 95, Scranton 95, Southwestern 91, Washington and Lee 88, Kalamazoo 67, Denison 61, Franklin and Marshall 61, Cal Lutheran 51, Roanoke 50, Hanover 48, RIT 46, Calvin 34, Texas-Dallas 29, Western Connecticut 23, UW-Oshkosh 23, Rutgers-Newark 23, St. Catherine 19, Geneseo State 17, UW-La Crosse 17, Central 15, St. Lawrence 13, Clark 10, Ohio Northern 6, Otterbein 6, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 6, Stockton 6, Gettysburg 6
NATIONAL - POLL 3 - SEPTEMBER 28, 2021
Rank School Prev W-L-T
1 The College of New Jersey 1 7-0-0
2 Johns Hopkins University 2 5-0-1
3 Washington University (Mo.) 3 8-0-1
4 Christopher Newport University 4 7-0-0
5 Massachusetts Institute of Technology 6 9-0-1
6 Misericordia University 12 8-0-0
7 William Smith College 7 6-1-1
8 Trinity University (Texas) 7 6-0-1
9 University Of Chicago 9 8-0-1
10 McDaniel College 16 8-0-0
11 Case Western Reserve University 10 8-0-0
12 Wesleyan University 14 5-0-0
13 Tufts University 11 4-1-0
14 Loras College 17 8-0-1
15 Messiah College 5 4-2-1
16 Centre College 15 9-1-2
17 Carnegie Mellon University 20 7-1-0
18 Wartburg College 13 7-1-1
19 Dickinson College 21 7-0-0
20 Pacific Lutheran University 19 8-0-0
21 Amherst College 18 5-1-0
22 Brandeis University RV 4-1-2
23 St. Lawrence University 23 4-1-2
24 Hamilton College NR 4-0-2
25 Pomona-Pitzer Colleges 25 6-0-1
Records shown are through games of Sept. 26, 2021
Also receiving votes: University Of Scranton, University of Lynchburg, Western Connecticut State University, Calvin University, Middlebury College, Hanover College, Emory University
(Formerly) #8 Trinity (TX) loses Sunday at Southwestern (TX), 1-2, despite 31-5 shot and 13-4 shots-on-goal advantages. The game-winner for Southwestern came on an own goal in the 55th minute, after which Trinity could not find the equalizer.
The loss broke a streak of 136 straight conference wins; the last regular-season loss for Trinity came on November 1, 2008, when Southwestern won by an identical score.
Middle Atlantic Conference season update: Misericordia (12-1 overall, #10 USC, Massey overall rank 3) leads the Freedom Division while Messiah (10-2-1, #12 USC, Massey overall rank 14) leads the Commonwealth Division. The conference play in the Freedom Division is stronger overall than the Commonwealth Division.
Besides Misericordia, the Freedom Division has FDU-Florham (11-4-1, NR/NV USC, #153 Massey overall rank) and Stevens (5-5-3, NR/NV USC, #51 Massey overall rank). FDU will get a chance to show whether they are for real with games against Misericordia on 10/23 and against Stevens on 10/26. Stevens had a bad start to the season but seems to have turned it around in last 7 games, going 4-0-2 (including a 0-0 tie to #7 Trinity-TX) in the 6 games preceding their recent 2-1 loss to Misericordia. Stevens plays undefeated Western Connecticut on 10/20 and FDU on 10/26. Misericordia ends their season with 4 division games against Lycoming (9-4-1), FDU(11-4-1) and Desales (10-3) before ending the season against Kings College (3-6-1). It will be an interesting to watch the final 2 weeks of Freedom Division play.
In the Commonwealth Division, Messiah looks to ease into the playoffs with non-challenging games against 3 division opponents (Stevenson, Widener and Hood) and a non-conference game against Salisbury (5-7-2).
Misericordia and Messiah are locks for the NCAA playoffs. With its lower Massey ranking, FDU needs to defeat both Misericordia and Stevens to put themselves into consideration for the NCAA playoffs. With their slow start, Stevens has a more uphill battle, needing to secure wins against Western Connecticut and FDU to even be in consideration.
MASSEY RANKINGS OF LIBERTY LEAGUE as of 10/19/21
Team Record +/- Rat Pwr Off Def HFA SoS SSF EW EL
Wm. Smith 12-1-1 +4 6(5.12) 2 (3.31) 3(3.64) 9(1.42) 0.34 62(.17) 51(.27) 1.54 0.46
RIT 8-2-3 +8 38(3.87) 35(1.53) 45(2.26) 29(1.02) 0.32 46(.33) 55(.24) 1.92 1.08
Vassar 8-4-1 +7 45(3.66) 46(1.21) 43(2.28) 61(.69) 0.28 39(.45) 24(.62) 1.30 1.70
Ithaca 10-3 -9 47(3.58) 48(1.15) 60(2.13) 50(.77) 0.27 98(-.22) 76(.05) 1.21 1.79 Skidmore 7-4-1 +6 65(3.30) 67(.78) 74(2.00) 73(.53) 0.29 72(.06) 92(-0.16)2.12 .88
RPI 4-4-4 -11 95(2.95) 83(.53) 83(1.89) 93(.39) 0.28 69(.09) 60(.19) 1.25 1.75
Union 5-7-2 -18 104(2.90) 104(.25) 62(2.11) 171(-.12) 0.31 26(.59) 28(.58) 1.15 1.85
St Lawrence 5-5-2 -20 110(2.83) 117(.15) 138(1.44) 80(.46) 0.27 81(-.05) 89(-.14) 1.85 2.15
Clarkson 4-6-2 -11 136(2.54) 146(-.28) 148(1.38) 140(.09) 0.28 84(-.09) 79(.01) 1.57 3.43
Bard 1-10 +13 307(.53) 311(-2.67) 285(.57) 325(-1.50) 0.28 56(.22) 74(.06) 0.68 2.32
As the Liberty League regular season nears its end, I decided to take a moment to look at the current leaders in the race for Offensive Performer, Defensive Performer and Rookie of the Year.
OFFENSIVE PERFORMER OF YEAR
As I predicted at the beginning of the season, the Offensive Performer race has come down to Julia Keogh (William Smith) and Christine Cataldo-Smith (RIT).
Keogh is the current favorite as she is leading the League in most offensive categories: Goals (14), Shots (64), Shots on Goal (38) and Points (33). She is second in Game Winning Goals (3) and fifth in Assists (5). Her game has significantly improved when you consider that at this point in 2019, Keogh only had 1 goal. She has been a consistent threat, getting at least 1 point in 10 of their 14 games this year. However, she has been getting a lot of offensive support from Sheila McQuillan (7G,7A), Seneca Blakely-Armitage (6G), Sarah Gray (6G,1A) and Amanda Adams (5G,4A).
Cataldo-Smith is leading the League in Game Winning Goals (4) and is in the top ten in every offensive category for the League. # 2 in Goals (9), #2 in Points (23), #4 in Assists (5), #7 in Shots on Goal (20) and #10 in Shots (36). She is on the same scoring pace as she was in 2019 when she won Rookie of the Year with 13 Goals and 4 Assists. Her stats are impressive when you consider that in 2019, she was supported by Abby Saia (9G, 6A) and Mia White (5G, 10A). This year, however, Cataldo-Smith is the main focus of opposing defenses since there are only 2 players on RIT that have scored more than 2 goals (Erin Allor and Gwen Williams with 3 goals each). RIT has played one less game than William Smith at this stage so she has a chance to close the gap somewhat in their 3 last games against Bard, Ithaca and Union.
DEFENSIVE PERFORMER OF YEAR
Defensive Performer is always a difficult category since it can be difficult to gauge the performance of defensive players other than the goalies.
As for goalies, the top two are Darcie Jones (RIT) and Amanda Kessler (William Smith). Jones has played 9 games and is leading the League having surrendered 2 Goals in 670 minutes with a Goal Against Average of 0.269, 23 Saves, a Saves % of 0.920 and 4 shutouts. Kessler has played 12 games and surrendered 4 goals in 887 minutes with a Goal Against Average of 0.406, 28 Saves, a Saves % of 0.875 and 6 shutouts.
As for the field players, the William Smith defense has only given up 5 goals with a Goals % of 0.36 and a Goals Against Average of 0.352. The RIT defense has given up 9 goals with a Goals % of 0.69 and a Goals Against Average of 0.648. While a number of defenders from William Smith could be considered, Ireland Krawczyk and Ava Brazie each won a Player of the Week award for defense. As for RIT, the leading candidate would be Morgan Monteith who leads the defense with 1266 minutes.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
The leading candidate is Claire Reader of Ithaca. This rookie goalie has started all 13 games and has surrendered 10 Goals with a 0.815 GAA, 44 Saves, a Save % of 0.83 and 5 shutouts. On the offensive side, there is Sam Friedman of Union who has played 14 games with 3 goals, 1 assist and 11 Shots on goal. Another player is Emma Schock of RIT who has played 11 games with 3 Goals, 1 Assist and 8 Shots on Goal as well as Allsion Heft of Ithaca who has played 13 games with 2 Goals, 1 Assist and 4 shots on goal. If an offensive player is chosen, the race will go down to the wire.
Pre-match homework on NACC 1st round playoff matches:
#6 Marian at #3 Dominican: (Stats gleaned off of NACC site)
Dominican; Regan Coxon is 2nd in the NACC in goals (18) and 3rd in Assists (8); Goalie Ashliee Ishman tops the league with a .926 save pct.
Marian: Ashley Welk is 4th in the NACC in assists (7)
#5 St. Norbert at #4 IL Tech:
IL Tech: Led the NACC in goals (78) Goalie Flannigan was 5th in save pct. (.797)
(Figured since I did some minor ranking work on the sport, I could at least see about putting in 2 cents on at least one match.)
Will take in the video feed of St. Norbert/IL Tech:
More at halftime:
UPDATE Marian and Dominican are tied at 2 with less than a minute left in opening half
(Sabers gave up 2 early goals)
Dominican live stats: Star goals byiDaniela Tova-Mirandar and Alexandra Canarelli,
Both Saber goals by Allison Fought.
SNC/IL Tech: IL Tech up 1-0 at half: At first, SNC was able to generate a lot of throw ins by forcing IL Tech to go toward the sidelines on offense. SNC was able to get a couple of early shots. IL Tech broke through on a 15th minute goal by Julia Taliana on a rebound off a block. SNC tried a couple of crosses later, that missed, and their best chance in the 38th minute (one of the few shots they got straight at the goal) sailed wide.
NACC Tournament Finals:
Dominican 4, Marian 2 (Stars' Regan Coxon got both of the 2nd half goals)
IL Tech 1, St. Norbert 0.
Play opened up more in the second half. St. Norbert had 2 golden chances from close distance, but Scarlet Hawk goalie Flanigan was able to get saves on each one. IL Tech had a couple chances of their own, but Green Knight goalie Collins was also up to her defensive task. With about 12 minutes left, one St. Norbert sub checked into the match, than after less than one minute on the pitch had to leave due to an injury that looked to be pretty serious. The player needed to be helped off the field. The announcer didn't think it was due to player-to-player contact, so perhaps one of her feet hit the pitch strange.
Dominican gets MSOE and IL Tech gets top seed Concordia-WI next..
NEWMAC First round
Final: (#4 seed) Babson 0, (#5 seed) WPI 0 after extra time.
WPI advances to the semifinals on kicks from the mark, 3-2, after 5 rounds. WPI plays on Thursday at #1 seed MIT-- WPI handed MIT its only loss of the season in regular season NEWMAC play.
Babson now has a program record 758 minutes without conceding a goal-- last time Babson conceded a goal was October 9, 2021, against Emerson. However, that streak is likely to continue into next season as Babson was ranked #6 in Region II in the Week 2 regional rankings, and the season is most likely over for Babson.
Tonight in NEWMAC First round games, it will be #3 seed Clark hosting #6 seed Springfield, and #2 seed Emerson hosting #7 seed Wheaton (MA).
The match was even on shots 19-19, and on shots on target, 8-8.
WPI had the edge on corners, 10-1.
Babson committed 9 fouls to WPI's 7. There were no bookings. Each team was called for offsides twice.
9:14 PM update-- the other NEWMAC first round games are now final.
Wheaton (MA) (#7 seed) won at Emerson (#2 seed), 1-0.
Springfield (#6 seed) also won at Clark (#3 seed), 1-0.
The NEWMAC semifinals on Thursday will have WPI (#5 seed) at MIT (#1 seed) and Wheaton (MA) (#7 seed) at Springfield (
#6 seed).
All of the home teams today (#2, #3, and #4 seeds) failed to advance in the NEWMAC womens's soccer tournament, either by losing outright, or by being on the losing end of kicks from the mark.
Northwest Conference update
Halftime in the Puget Sound Loggers at Pacific Lutheran Lutes match (Round 15 of 16)
Puget Sound comes into Round 15 at 16-0-2, 12-0-2 in the Northwest Conference. Puget Sound has 38 points-- and a 2 point lead over Pacific Lutheran (16-2, 12-2 in the Northwest Conference-- 36 points.)
At the half, it is Pacific Lutheran 1, Puget Sound 0. If this scoreline holds, Puget Sound would take their first loss of the season. Additionally, Pacific Lutheran would take over first place in the Northwest Conference by 1 point with 1 match remaining.
If Puget Sound comes back and wins, then the Loggers would clinch the Northwest Conference title and the AQ to the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer tournament tonight.
Update-- Final is indeed Pacific Lutheran 1, Puget Sound 0. The Lutes take over first place in the NWC by 1 point with 1 match remaining.
Pacific Lutheran can clinch the Northwest Conference title and the AQ with a win at George Fox Saturday.
5:54 AM Eastern update-- Novembef 4, 2021-- I just watched an on-demand replay of the game to see how the goal scored. Ashley Gormley's goal for the Lutes on the second header off a corner seems to me to be a classic textbook example on how to score off a set piece. The goal came around the 33rd minute. It did not seem that the Loggers were covering the corner well enough to prevent that one from going in.
There were upsets in both NACC Semi-Final Matches!
#4 IL Tech over #1 Concordia-WI 3-1
(Scarlet Hawks built up a 3-0 lead and held on)
#3 Dominican over #2 MSOE 2-1
(A Regan Coxon 79th minute goal was the match winner here).
Coast to Coast update
Earlier today, Christopher Newport defeated Salisbury 2-0 in semifinal #1.
In the other semifinal, the Banana Slugs from UC-Santa Cruz have scored a late goal to take a 1-0 lead over Mary Washington.
The goal was sccored in the 86th minute by Amanda Scott, assist by Caitlin Pieper.
Game has gone final-- UC-Santa Cruz will play Christopher Newport for the C2C Women's title and AQ tomorrow.
Final stats--
UC-Santa Cruz outshot Mary Washington, 14-7, and had the advantage in shots on target, 8-3.
The Banana Slugs dominated on corners, 8-1.
UC-Santa Cruz called for offsides twice, while Mary Washington was not called for offsides.
Each team committed 6 fouls, but UC-Santa Cruz got booked with 2 yellow cards.
The Banana Slugs and the Captains last met on September 24, 2021, at Santa Cruz, California, with Christopher Newport taking a 1-0 victory in that one. That goal was scored in the first half by Riley Cook with an assist from Emma Ricci. It was Cook's 3rd goal of the season. In that contest, CNU outshot UC-Santa Cruz 17-6, and the Captains had the advantage in shots on target, 6-2.
Watching the SAA Tournament First Semifinal to see if Centre can get to within 1 win of their AQ or if Emory will have to sit behind Centre at the Pool C table, although Centre should get in as a Pool C if they don't capture the AQ.
End of regulation-- heading to golden goal extra time.
Centre 0, Sewanee 0
A Sewanee victory will pop someone's Pool C bubble, as Sewanee is ranked #10 in Region VI this week, while Centre is at #2. Emory is #3 in Region VI.
Centre outshooting Sewanee 17-5, with shots on target even at 4 a piece.
7:10 PM Eastern-- A temporary game stoppage in the 98th minute due to a player injury in the Centre v Sewanee game-- game still tied at 0-0. The injured person has been identified as Centre's Elizabeth Nelson, who has been subbed.
In Region IV, in the NJAC women's championship game, TCNJ and Rowan are still at 0-0 in the 37th minute.
7:13 PM Eastern-- After 1 extra time period, Centre and Sewanee are still tied at 0-0 in SAA Semifinal #1.
The SAA Semifinal #1 is going to kicks from the mark to determine who will advance to the SAA title game.
Centre and Sewanee get a draw at 0-0 after extra time.
This is Centre's second draw of the season-- Centre drew 0-0 vs Emory back on Sept. 5
Centre's only loss this season was a 2-1 defeat to Christopher Newport, and the Colonels defeated the Sewanee Tigers 2-0 in regular season SAA play just about two weeks ago.
Once again, we are going to kicks from the mark to see if a Pool C bubble team will get their bubble popped tonight.
Sewanee has advanced on kicks from the mark, 5-3, after 5 rounds.
In the top of the 4th round, Sewanee successfully hit on their attempt. The Tigers were successful in all 5 rounds, while Centre missed in the bottom of the 4th round of kicks from the mark.
According to the Centre commentator, we will have a new SAA women's soccer champion for the first time in conference history.
Centre, at #2 in Region VI, moves to the Pool C table, and a team ranked at the bottom of Region VI (in the #8, #9, or #10 spot as of this week) will get the SAA AQ.
It also means that a Pool C bubble on the women's side has popped. It probably also means that even if the NYU women win tomorrow and makes it first to the table from Region IV, they will more likely not get in as a Pool C team, as they will still have a final winning DIII percentage below .600. As of now, NYU is more likely a first or next team out of the DIII Women's Soccer tournament.
End of regulation
NJAC Women's Championship game
TCNJ and Rowan are 0-0, heading to golden goal extra time for the NJAC Title and AQ.
TCNJ outshooting Rowan, 22-2, but only leading on shots on target, 6-2,
TCNJ leading in corners, 8-2.
TCNJ called once for offsides, while Rowan was not called for offsides in regulation.
TCNJ committed 17 fouls to Rowan's 12.
Lots of bookings-- TCNJ got 4 yellow cards, while Rowan got 3 yellow cards. No red cards have been given.
8:40 PM Eastern update-- After 1 extra time period, TCNJ and Rowan are still tied at 0-0.
8:54 PM Eastern update-- The NJAC title game ends in a draw. We will go to kicks from the mark for the NJAC title and the AQ to the NCAAs.
Congratulations to The College of New Jersey-- 2021 NJAC Women's Soccer Champions-- TCNJ gets the second AQ to the 2021 NCAA DIII Women's Soccer Championship Tournament by prevailing on kicks from the mark over Rowan, 5-4, after 7 rounds.
MIT taking care of business in Region II in the NEWMAC women's title game, already up 2-0 over Springfield in the 14th minute.
Brandeis's Jonah White is doing the call of the NEWMAC women's championship game for the NEWMAC Sports Network.
12:46 PM Eastern update-- MIT now up 3-0 over Springfield in the 38th minute, and it looks like MIT has the NEWMAC AQ secured.
Congratulations to the Pacific Lutheran Lutes, who clinched the Northwest Conference women's title and AQ this afternoon with a victory at George Fox.
Pacific Lutheran finished Northwest Conference play at 14-2 in the NWC-- 42 points.
By virtue of the Lutes winning at George Fox today, the Puget Sound Loggers, who stand at 12-1-2-- 38 points through 15 rounds of NWC play, cannot catch the Lutes for first place and are eliminated from the NWC title race. Puget Sound play their Round 16 game tomorrow vs Lewis & Clark.
NACC Update:
Dominican beat IL Tech 2-1 to get the NACC AQ.
Order is restored in the SCAC as Trinity(TX) defeats regular-season champion Southwestern 5-0.
I am surprised to see TCNJ and Messiah together this weekend. Maybe Westfield State and/or VWU will make my surprise seem silly? I watched F&M v Hopkins and also F&M and McDaniel. The Dips are scary. I really hope for a Dip v Captains matchup in the second round. On a sperate note....I am glad it was finally Infrastructure Week.
Brandeis vs Farmingdale State should be an intriguing match. The two teams last faced off in the 2018 first round of the NCAA DIII tournament. Despite Brandeis outshooting Farmingdale State, 13-3, in that match, the Rams pulled off the upset, 1-0.
Farmingdale State plays a tough non-conference schedule-- the Rams played Carnegie Mellon in non-conference play, losing by a similar scoreline as Brandeis did of 3-0. The Rams did beat Lynchburg in the first game of the season, but have not pulled off an upset since. In Skyline Conference play, Farmingdale State easily dominated the league, only conceding 2 goals in league play and finishing regular season Skyline play with a +50 goal differential in conference play.
Farmingdale State is led by a first year player who has scored 13 goals this season. It will be up to Brandeis to once again take advantage on the possession, and make Brandeis's shots count, to avoid the upset and proceed to a rematch vs MIT in round 2.
Tomorrow begins the tournament almost two years since the last tournament game was played!
I'm planning on being at the TCNJ games this weekend. IF TCNJ and Messiah both prevail on Saturday (certainly not a given), then Sunday's matchup between those teams would be quite an early tournament matchup. Seems a bit unfortunate that the defending national champion (currently ranked #11) and the number #1 ranked team would face each other on the very first weekend of the tournament.
We have the first goal of the NCAA DIII Women's Soccer Tournament for this year in the books.
In Danville, KY-- Centre leads over Covenant, 1-0, on a goal scored by Megan Sidaway with assists credited to Mills Mullen and Bri Tilley, in the 13th minute. Winner faces the winner of Emory v Wittenberg tomorrow.
Centre now leading over Covenant, 2-0, in the first round of the NCAA DIII Women's Soccer Championship from Danville, Kentucky on a goal from Bella Nelson, assist by Lizzie Kiehr, in the 39th minute.
Centre looks like they have just punched their ticket to Round 2. Centre now leading over Covenant, 3-0, at halftime, on a goal from Lizzie Kiehr, assist by Annabel Justice, in the 45th minute (final minute of the half.)
First round action from Stagg Field's grass pitch in Chicago--
Chicago leading, 1-0, over Rhodes on a goal scored by Adriana Shutler, assist by Nicole Kaspi, in the 22nd minute.
11:29 AM Central update-- Chicago now leading, 2-0, over Rhodes on a goal scored by Nicole Kaspi in the 24th minute.
First round action from Danville, Kentucky--
Covenant scores on a goal by Emma Riggs in the 63rd minute to cut their deficit to two. Centre now leading, 3-1, over Covenant.
Halftime from the Stagg Field grass pitch in Chicago-- Round 1 NCAA tournament
Chicago leading 2-0 over Rhodes at the half.
Halftime stats
Chicago outshooting Rhodes 8-1, and leading in shots on target, 3-1.
Chicago having the edge on corners, 2-0
Each team called for offsides once.
Each team committed 7 fouls-- No bookings in the half.
Final in first round action from Danville, Kentucky--
Centre defeats Covenant, 3-1, and advances to Round 2 where they will play the winner of Emory vs Wittenberg tomorrow.
Final stats
Centre outshot Covenant, 18-5, and led in shots on target, 12-3
Centre led on corners, 6-0
Each team called for offsides once on the game.
Centre committed 7 fouls to Covenant's 5.
No bookings for the game.
Second half underway in Chicago, and it looks like Chicago will be advancing to Round 2 tomorrow as they now lead over Rhodes, 3-0, on a goal from Josie Majowka, assisted by Mollie Kessler, in the 49th minute.
Second game of the day in first round action in Danville, Kentucky--
Emory leading over Wittenberg, 1-0, on a goal from Grace Reyer in the 5th minute.
Winner faces Centre in Round 2.
Final in first round action at Stagg Field grass pitch in Chicago--
Chicago 3, Rhodes 0
Chicago advances and will face the winner of Wheaton (IL) vs UW-Oshkosh in Round 2 tomorrow.
Final stats
Chicago outshot Rhodes, 14-5, and led in shots on target, 6-2.
Chicago led on corners, 5-0
Rhodes called for offsides twice, while Chicago was called for offsides once.
Rhodes committed 15 fouls to Chicago's 13
No bookings in the match.
First round action in Danville, Kentucky
Emory now leading over Wittenberg, 2-0, on a goal from Olivia McBerry with assists from Lily Dresner and Grace Reyer in the 11th minute.
The match is now in the 20th minute.
2:08 PM Eastern-- Emory looks like they have punched their ticket to face Centre in Round 2. Emory now leading, 3-0, over Wittenberg on a goal from Aubrey Blanchard with assists from Kylie Hall and Lauren Mahoney in the 23rd minute. The match is now in the 28th minute.
2:30 PM Eastern-- Match now at halftime with Emory leading over Wittenberg, 3-0.
First round action in Cleveland--
Case Western Reserve University now leads over Chatham, 1-0, on a goal from Anika Washburn with an assist by Christina Hickson in the 35th minute.
2:18 PM Eastern update-- CWRU now leading over Chatham, 2-0, on a goal from Greta Lazzara with an assist by Sydney Schenck in the 44th minute. Goal was scored off a corner kick.
Halftime: CWRU 2, Chatham 0
Second half in the first game of first round action in Cleveland
Case Western Reserve University looks like they have just punched their ticket to Round 2. CWRU now leading over Chatham, 3-0, on a header goal from Helena VanBibber on an assist from Aniya Hartzler in the 50th minute.
3:15 PM Eastern update-- CWRU now leading 4-0 over Chatham on a goal from Christina Hickson, with the assist from Aniya Hartzler, in the 83rd minute.
3:22 PM Eastern-- A brace for Christina Hickson in the 89th minute with the assist by Anika Washburn makes it CWRU 5, Chatham 0 in the 89th minute.
Final from Cleveland:
CWRU 5, Chatham 0
CWRU advances to Round 2 and will face the winner of Hope vs Ohio Northern tomorrow.
Second half action in the first round from Danville, Kentucky--
Emory now leading 4-0 over Wittenberg on a goal from Molly Miller in the 77th minute. Match is now in the 84th minute.
First round action from Danville, Kentucky is now complete.
Final: Emory 4, Wittenberg 0
Emory will play Centre in Round 2 tomorrow.
Final match stats for Emory v Wittenberg--
Emory outshot Wittenberg 42-2, and led in shots on target, 15-0.
Emory led on corners, 10-0
Emory called for offsides twice, while Wittenberg was called for offsides once.
Emory committed 8 fouls to Wittenberg's 7.
There were no bookings in the match.
Final match stats for CWRU vs Chatham
CWRU won over Chatham, 5-0. CWRU will play the winner of Hope vs Ohio Northern in Round 2 tomorrow in Cleveland.
CWRU outshot Chatham, 25-5, and led in shots on target, 11-3.
CWRU led on corners, 8-0.
CWRU called for offsides 3 times, while Chatham was not called for offsides.
Chatham committed 8 fouls to CWRU's 4.
There were no bookings in the match.
Note: That will be it for me today, as all first round action for today involving UAA teams has concluded.
All 6 UAA teams in the NCAA DIII Women's Soccer Championship tournament will be in action tomorrow, with Chicago, Emory, and CWRU in second round action, and Brandeis, Carnegie Mellon, and Wash U in first round action.
I will most likely be focused on the MIT site in Cambridge, MA, where Brandeis will be playing Farmingdale State tomorrow in Round 1.
Game on in Cambridge, MA as Brandeis finally gets the equalizer from Yasla Ngoma to tie the match with Farmingdale State at 1-1 in the 72nd minute. Julissa Martinez scored on a counter in the 12th minute for Farmingdale State.
Brandeis has to avoid being the victim of another "giant-killing" by the Rams to advance to tomorrow vs MIT. The Rams pulled off this act of "giant-killing" back in 2018 when they last faced Brandeis in the first round (TCNJ was the host site of that "giant-killing".)
3:35 PM Eastern-- Brandeis takes the lead, 2-1, on a goal from Juliette Carriero, assist by Caroline Swan, off a free kick from just outside Farmingdale State's box in the 84th minute.
3:46 PM Eastern-- Brandeis advances to round 2 to face MIT in a rematch of their season opener in Waltham, MA where Brandeis and MIT battled to a 2-2 draw. The Brandeis/MIT match is always one of the better season openers in DIII Women's soccer, and we are going to get a postseason rematch this year in Round 2.
Confirmed from the NCAA DIII Women's Soccer Committee and posted on the printable bracket:
Women's sectional hosts next weekend are: MIT, Case Western Reserve University, Scranton, and Loras.
The games in Scranton this coming weekend will be very intriguing.
Two undefeated teams playing each other (Scranton vs TCNJ) where one of the teams could loose their first game of the year (unless it goes to PKs then technically it is a tie) and their remarkable season will be over! Scranton has given up just 4 goals all year while TCNJ has given up only 5 all year. Could easily be a 0-0 tie with penalty kicks to decide.
The other game features two one-loss teams. Misericordia has scored 89 goals this year while giving up 9 goals and William Smith has scored 79 goals this year while giving up 10 goals - 4 of which where given up in their second game of the year - their only loss to Messiah (2-4). Misericordia's only loss was to Scranton (0-1).
Final: Wesleyan-CT 2, MIT 1 OT (Game winning goal came less than 5 min. into overtime)
Quote from: WLCALUM83 on November 21, 2021, 03:06:22 PM
Final: Wesleyan-CT 2, MIT 1 OT (Game winning goal came less than 5 min. into overtime)
Couldn't tell if that winning goal was a shanked cross or just a really good shot. Don't think you can attach much blame to the goalkeeper, it dropped right in the side panel on the far corner. Either way, brutal end for MIT who did everything but lead in the game.
I watched the William Smith matches against both Misericordia and TCNJ. The match with Misericordia shows what happens when you have a deep bench. William Smith consistently has a strong second half since there is little drop off in ability when they sub players. It wears down the other teams. Misericordia contolled the game with a 3-1 lead until about 17 minutes into the 2d half. Julia Keogh of William Smith scored her 22nd goal of the season to close the gap and I thought "here they go again!" But Misericordia responded with a goal to go up 4-2 about a minute later and I thought "maybe not this time". But the shot differential in the second half was 16 to 3 in William Smith's favor. I give Msericordia credit in that they didn't tighten up when William Smith closed it to 4-3 with 24 minutes to go and you felt they would hold on. When William Smith made te miracle goal with 11 seconds left in the game, you just knew they would win it in OT. An exciting offensive match. A pity for Misericordia.
The matchup between William Smith and TCNJ was a battle between 2 of the best teams in the nation. They were nearly in in both shots and corner shots throughout the match. Unlike Misericordia, once they got the 1-0 lead, they were able to keep the ball in their offensive zone for much of the second half, escpecially in the last five minutes. A good example of the phrase " A good offense is the best defense." Still when William Smith hit their last second shot from deep, it was right on frame and for a moment we thought "there they go again with another miracle." But the TCNJ goalie brought the ball in and the horn sounded for the TCNJ victory.
These games highlight how unfair the brackets were this year. Few teams in the other brackets faced off against such strong opponents. to have Messiah, Scanton, Misericordia, William Smith and TCNJ is the same bracket is ridiculous. Both of these games will probably be better than any of the matches in the semifinal. It's a shame that these strong teams has to face each other in Elite * and quartrfinal matchups rather than in the Final 4.
Quote from: blooter442 on November 22, 2021, 09:49:25 AM
Quote from: WLCALUM83 on November 21, 2021, 03:06:22 PM
Final: Wesleyan-CT 2, MIT 1 OT (Game winning goal came less than 5 min. into overtime)
Couldn't tell if that winning goal was a shanked cross or just a really good shot. Don't think you can attach much blame to the goalkeeper, it dropped right in the side panel on the far corner. Either way, brutal end for MIT who did everything but lead in the game.
That goal looked well planned and was struck by the same player who scored the first one. She was the NESCAC POY this year and is extremely talented. The MIT goal came on a floater from further away that too looked like it could have been a shanked cross though I think the MIT player, like the Wesleyan player, meant it. Having beaten Hopkins and MIT on back to back days, Wesleyan has certainly earned its place in the Final Four.
Quote from: SlideTackle on November 22, 2021, 11:47:07 AM
Quote from: blooter442 on November 22, 2021, 09:49:25 AM
Quote from: WLCALUM83 on November 21, 2021, 03:06:22 PM
Final: Wesleyan-CT 2, MIT 1 OT (Game winning goal came less than 5 min. into overtime)
Couldn't tell if that winning goal was a shanked cross or just a really good shot. Don't think you can attach much blame to the goalkeeper, it dropped right in the side panel on the far corner. Either way, brutal end for MIT who did everything but lead in the game.
That goal looked well planned and was struck by the same player who scored the first one. She was the NESCAC POY this year and is extremely talented. The MIT goal came on a floater from further away that too looked like it could have been a shanked cross though I think the MIT player, like the Wesleyan player, meant it. Having beaten Hopkins and MIT on back to back days, Wesleyan has certainly earned its place in the Final Four.
I take it back. That second goal looked very much like it was meant to be a pass and I'm thinking that's likely what it was, about 30 seconds into extra time.