Quote from: Kuiper on December 05, 2025, 05:59:40 PM

Quote from: Bucket on December 05, 2025, 05:38:01 PM

Quote from: paclassic89 on December 05, 2025, 04:57:32 PM

Quote from: Sandon Mibut on December 05, 2025, 04:29:47 PMRef very heavy-handed against Tufts

Ref has been fine.

I didn't watch the entire game, so I can't reasonably comment on overall quality, but this astounds me:

7 cards on Tufts? They had 21 all season.

St Olaf's had 3 cards, so it's not like the official was card happy with all. Seems like Tufts partisans have a point.

To be fair, two of Tufts' cards were for dissent.  I don't know whether they were warranted, but I don't think we could call them "bad" or "harsh" calls based on watching the livestream since we don't know what was said.  So, I would look at it as more like 5-3 yellow cards, which isn't quite as slanted. 

Fair point. Thank you.

Quote from: paclassic89 on December 05, 2025, 04:57:32 PM

Quote from: Sandon Mibut on December 05, 2025, 04:29:47 PMRef very heavy-handed against Tufts

Ref has been fine.

I didn't watch the entire game, so I can't reasonably comment on overall quality, but this astounds me:

7 cards on Tufts? They had 21 all season.

St Olaf's had 3 cards, so it's not like the official was card happy with all. Seems like Tufts partisans have a point.

Quote from: Ron Boerger on December 05, 2025, 10:35:54 AM

Quote from: SierraFD3soccer on December 05, 2025, 08:09:45 AMTrue as to Emory! Did not see that coming.

Freezing weather today in Salem especially as the sun sets so early. I think the snow will have come and gone by game time. Might be in the corners etc. Great its on turf. Melting snow for the finals is not great. https://weather.com/weather/today/l/cd3a86e5f64893bbb4e801f8f7f0f3d31adfd79b22f2c734c378aebb52aca333

Says snow showers so accumulation may not be as much.

Trinity posted some snow pics this morning on their Insta, looks like 2-3" but not sure where they were taken.    Forecast doesn't show much in the way of measurable precip the rest of the day.

Yeah, Lexington, just up the road from Salem, got around 3-4 inches.

Quote from: camosfan on December 03, 2025, 11:28:13 AMboth teams had two or three great years prior, no team is going to be a perpetual power in such a competitive conference!

That guys is the ultimate troll. No need to respond to him

Quote from: mathteacherjedi on December 03, 2025, 11:40:19 AMMostly long time lurker here.

Anyone know what happened to oldguy and amh63 and some of the other longtime posters?

I've wondered about amh63, myself.

I can assure one and all that oldguy is well and still an active reader of these boards. He's threatened to come off the bench (where he is most comfortable) and start posting again—maybe this post will stir him to action.

Quote from: JEFFFAN on December 02, 2025, 06:55:31 PMWhat a joke schedule for my alma mater!   I guess this fits into the "lets have a good overall record even if we stink in the NESCAC so we can keep our jobs" category.  Embarrassing.

It's been par for the course for Amherst, though, regarding non-conference schedule, no? This isn't a new revelation...

Quote from: maineman on November 24, 2025, 11:01:24 AMDoes the red card on Dugan carry over to next year?

Dugan did not receive a red card. It was another player.

It's the Middlebury Coaching Invitational in Medford tomorrow as Kyle Dezotell (Midd '03) and the Tufts Jumbos take on Scott Wiercinski (Middlebury '99) and the Bowdoin Polar Bears. (For added flavor, top Bowdoin assistant Andrew Banadda is a 2009 Midd grad, and played alongside Alex Elias, current Panther head coach, on Midd's 2007 National Championship team.)

Quote from: laker4141 on November 22, 2025, 01:38:48 PM

Quote from: Nescac in November on November 20, 2025, 02:57:13 PMNo, I haven't seen that. All i was saying is that's unacceptable if it were to happen. What you're describing doesn't really seem like a huge deal.

I don't really get why stuff like this gets dragged on to these threads. It happens all the time - like when the Amherst player grabbed his crotch at the Midd parents -- guess what, nothing really happened and Amherst still went on to a national final. It doesn't make it right but if you care about it this much you should email the school lol. The player got a red card - what else do you want? Do you want to hear that he was talked to privately and that he promises to never do it again?

I want to talk about the matchups. And with that - I am taking Camels over Bowdoin and Messiah over Tufts.

Quote from: Bucket on November 20, 2025, 03:44:05 PM

Quote from: laker4141 on November 20, 2025, 02:12:26 PM

Quote from: Nescac in November on November 20, 2025, 01:32:40 PMThese kinds of incidents happen every season - it's really not that serious.

People on the boards love to turn certain schools into the "bad guys," but in reality, I can think of sportsmanship issues from pretty much every team in the conference. Some programs more than others, sure, but at the end of the day emotions run high in knockout games, especially for seniors whose careers are on the line.

Not excusing violent behavior or outright verbal abuse. But the late hit from the Midd guy in the final seconds isn't great and it's also not some huge scandal. If you have actually played college soccer at a high level you know this stuff happens.

There's sportsmanship things from every team, sure, as it has been well documented on these pages for years. But who have you seen assault an official? That's actually insane to see.

I don't mind smack talking, physicality and things of that nature but there's obviously a line. The "scandal" here is the post game antics. The coaching staff should be reprimanded as well. Not a great look.

Did you see someone assault an official? Do you have evidence of this assault?

The video clearly shows him two hand pushing the official to the ground.

Could you provide the link? I have seen nothing that has showed what you describe. I'm not trolling, honest.

I was going by what the announcer described—Vera going after several Midd players, jawing, with the 4th official attempting to get between Vera and a Midd player. The announcer described the Midd player making contact with the official, who went to the ground.

I am not excusing any behavior.  From the way it was described, what transpired was a heated instance of players interacting, a ref trying to break it up, one player making contact with the ref, who went down. This is not excusable, and the player was reprimanded appropriately, with a red card. However, this is far different than an assault, which is obviously a criminal act, which is why I strongly question such language usage.

Quote from: laker4141 on November 20, 2025, 02:12:26 PM

Quote from: Nescac in November on November 20, 2025, 01:32:40 PMThese kinds of incidents happen every season - it's really not that serious.

People on the boards love to turn certain schools into the "bad guys," but in reality, I can think of sportsmanship issues from pretty much every team in the conference. Some programs more than others, sure, but at the end of the day emotions run high in knockout games, especially for seniors whose careers are on the line.

Not excusing violent behavior or outright verbal abuse. But the late hit from the Midd guy in the final seconds isn't great and it's also not some huge scandal. If you have actually played college soccer at a high level you know this stuff happens.

There's sportsmanship things from every team, sure, as it has been well documented on these pages for years. But who have you seen assault an official? That's actually insane to see.

I don't mind smack talking, physicality and things of that nature but there's obviously a line. The "scandal" here is the post game antics. The coaching staff should be reprimanded as well. Not a great look.

Did you see someone assault an official? Do you have evidence of this assault?

Quote from: paclassic89 on November 19, 2025, 11:10:47 PMHere's a clip from the end of the game

https://streamable.com/4d2zhj

Vera is running down the sideline and plays the ball towards the Middlebury goal to kill time.  Dugan from Middlebury  barges through his back (intentionally) sending him to the turf well after the play.  I'm sure Vera had some words for the Middlebury bench on his way back as the clock ran out and they lost their cool. Seems to me like Middlebury kicked things off with some dirty play.  Better luck next year Panthers

How do you know that? Do you know what happened preceding the clip? 10 minutes prior to the first clip? In the first half?

I'm not excusing anyone, to repeat. I'm just stating that the notion that this was a one-sided exercise in a high intensity match is a stretch. And I cited the not-exactly-neutral announcer as calling out the Wheaton player and not justifying or qualifying it as a reaction to anything a Midd player did as a solid example, evidence even, that both parties were at fault and not solely one team.

Quote from: kevdog on November 19, 2025, 04:12:01 PM

Quote from: laker4141 on November 19, 2025, 01:38:13 PM

Quote from: Futbolguy on November 17, 2025, 03:50:26 PM

Quote from: camosfan on November 17, 2025, 02:44:44 PM

Quote from: Soccerlover on November 17, 2025, 11:30:35 AMAnother year without a trophy for Middlebury, what a disappointing team

Quote from: kevdog on November 19, 2025, 04:12:01 PM

Quote from: laker4141 on November 19, 2025, 01:38:13 PM

Quote from: Futbolguy on November 17, 2025, 03:50:26 PM

Quote from: camosfan on November 17, 2025, 02:44:44 PM

Quote from: Soccerlover on November 17, 2025, 11:30:35 AMAnother year without a trophy for Middlebury, what a disappointing team

They ended well given the start they had!

They got hosed by the ref on a clear goal on a corner and trip in the box by Wheaton GK.  2 PKs for Wheaton (both saved by Midd GK) - lots of home cooking.  I dont see Wheaton getting past sweet 16. 

Whether they got "hosed" or not, it still does not excuse the behavior post game. In case anyone missed it, the Middlebury player ran at a Wheaton player after the final whistle and ended up pushing the 4th official to the ground. The player was red carded.

A shocking and grotesque display of behavior and something I have only seen one other time at the Division 3 level (Umass Boston several years ago). I am surprised no one has commented on this!

Did not see the game but the actions of the Middlebury player running at a opposing player and then pushing the 4th official is uncalled for if it is true.  I understand that it is emotional game but character and how one conducts himself when one is face with adversity is more important than any game.

They ended well given the start they had!

They got hosed by the ref on a clear goal on a corner and trip in the box by Wheaton GK.  2 PKs for Wheaton (both saved by Midd GK) - lots of home cooking.  I dont see Wheaton getting past sweet 16. 

Whether they got "hosed" or not, it still does not excuse the behavior post game. In case anyone missed it, the Middlebury player ran at a Wheaton player after the final whistle and ended up pushing the 4th official to the ground. The player was red carded.

A shocking and grotesque display of behavior and something I have only seen one other time at the Division 3 level (Umass Boston several years ago). I am surprised no one has commented on this!

Did not see the game but the actions of the Middlebury player running at a opposing player and then pushing the 4th official is uncalled for if it is true.  I understand that it is emotional game but character and how one conducts himself when one is face with adversity is more important than any game.

FWIW, the announcer on the stream described it differently. Go watch/listen if you'd like. He described a Wheaton player as going after Midd players and jawing after the final whistle, described it as unfortunate. According to his account, the 4th official attempted to step between the two; the Midd player made contact and the official went down. (Thus the red card.) I'm not excusing the Midd player (though I know him to be an upstanding individual) and the card very well could have been warranted. But it was not this one-sided affair that some have given. And I am relying on the account of the Wheaton play-by-play announcer who saw this first hand.

Quote from: SKUD on November 18, 2025, 05:54:12 PMI'm hoping it's a hot day at Trinity for the game and the Trinity coach sends his boys on the bus for air-conditioning and comes back late for the second half again

LOL.

Quote from: Freddyfud on November 17, 2025, 04:55:53 PMSomething I noticed unsurprisingly is the level of keeper play as a determinant for post season success. Some obvious examples are Silvester and Landa in the battle of Vegas last year. Others are Will Joseph for the Generals and the cinderella run of Washington College with Anthony Pinto 2 years ago to get to the final four.   

I think at this level consistent fundamentals such as positioning and ball distribution are just a given. What seems to set apart the shot stoppers above is the ability to make some saves destined for a goal, and not just PKs.  A challenging save at a critical time can change the momentum and ultimately the outcome of the game.

At Wesleyan yesterday in a game featuring rain, hail and leaves senior GK Travis Holiday for Rowan came up with this:

If that ball goes in Wesleyan is up 1-0 in the 21st minute of the game, and the outcome could have been very different.

Facing the 11th ranked team in scoring offense at 3 goals per game in Emory the Profs may need a few of these saves Saturday.

Nick Phinney was all that and more for Wheaton against Midd. 10 saves, with at least 4-5 of that spectacular variety you describe.

With my Panthers (employer and primary team) and Generals (alma mater) out, I'm all in on Dickinson (where I send a tuition check twice a year).

Up the Red Devils!