The records are near-identical. The only common opponent that I saw was NYU: Stevens won 3-2 at home; Brandeis drew 1-1 on the road last week. Seems finely poised on paper, at least.

First time that Brandeis is back in the tournament since a run of six years of 2012-2017 that featured two Final 4s, an Elite 8, and three Sweet 16s. At times in the first half of the season they were looking like a top 10 team with wins over Babson and Wesleyan and a draw with Emory, before some less impressive UAA results towards the end of the year. Given that I think it will be tough to get out of the first weekend with a pod that includes Tufts. Crazier things have happened (Neumann vs. Messiah, 2011), but I figure Tufts will avenge the 2017 Elite 8 defeat. First Brandeis would have to get past Stevens, who appear to be fairly similar in terms of record (9-3-5 vs. 9-3-6), in the late game tomorrow.

The Middlebury late show came to Brunswick, as the Panthers pilfered a 2-1 win over Bowdoin. Saw the first half on video, second in-person. The hosts appeared to have more possession and it was one-way traffic on the stat line, and Bowdoin had a massive chance for 2-0 that was deflected out for a corner, but the Panthers pulled an equalizer out of nowhere with about 20 to go on a 1-v-1, before a brilliant free-kick from the #10 won it with less than 10 remaining. Despite the bluster of our new friend, most Midd fans I heard sounded pretty grateful to be level — albeit they had one big header chance right after Bowdoin's opener — but the winner was beautifully hit over the wall and into the left corner. Both teams had some dangerous balls across the box that went untouched, and the Polar Bears had a big opportunity for 2-2.

Quote from: northman on October 28, 2025, 08:50:23 PMThanks for the game summary, Blooter.  I wasn't able to get there or watch online as I had other things going on this evening.  For what it's worth, the stat line seemed to favor Bowdoin.  Was that reflective in the ebb and flow of the game?

Definitely seemed like it! That said, Tufts had the game's last four shots. There was one ball fizzed across the box from Bowdoin #33 with a few minutes left that was begging to be finished but went untouched. IIRC Tufts' best chance was ballooned over the bar with around 15 left.

Long-time listener, definitely not a first time caller, but first in a while and finally got myself to a Bowdoin game while living in Brunswick. The 'Bears and the 'Bos played out to a 0-0 with only a handful of decent scoring chances, the best of which Tufts cleared off the line towards the end of the first half. The ball stayed on the ground most of the first half with some nice interplay, which I didn't expect for a NESCAC game, but started to see more high balls (switches mainly) in the second. Both teams seemed happy with a point by the end.

It appears that our own OldNed's son and St. Joseph's (ME) alumnus Rory Twomey is an assistant on the Vermont staff! I remember ON saying that he was leaving Maine for Vermont (maybe after a season on the sidelines for SJC) but I guess it never registered that he was going to be a D1 assistant.

Not UMass, and I realize that this post is free of D3 references, but thought it was worth noting that UVM — not Indiana, Georgetown, Stanford, UNC — won the national championship last night. I would have rooted for Marshall against most others, but they won a few years ago and as a Mainer I have a soft spot for Vermont...and we had a local guy (Max Murray, Kennebunk HS) playing CB and getting the "hockey assist" for the equalizer. Second sport from UVM to win a national title after the powerhouse ski program. Great watch. Congrats Catamounts!

Apropos of nothing, I called that EnmoreKitten's penalty would be top left. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Middlebury wins it after 5 kicks. Questionable to have White take the first kick given he skied it, but made a save later in the shootout. Both teams had one saved. Congrats to the Panthers moving on to Vegas, and the Beavers should be proud after a big run...they had not made it past the first weekend since 2011.

Quote from: Garden12 on November 17, 2024, 07:55:25 PMIs it possible that the Hopkins style of play just doesn't work in the tournament? Their endless possession just doesnt seem to consistently create chances against teams that are solid defensively. Maybe they sometimes make a small run but I could never see them winning the 6/6 needed to win a tournament.

This reminds me of "why does Guardiola's City run the PL winning 6 of the last 7 but only win the CL once?" Controlled possession is usually a safer bet over the course of a league season, but it can be countered in knockout situations by the right tactics and/or a little bit of luck (e.g. Chelsea in the UCL final of 2021).

lol @ the Buffalo State goalkeeper (my MOTM) waving to the home support as he and his teammates ran by on their way to celebrate with their fans.

Quote from: Kuiper on November 17, 2024, 06:58:11 PMTufts is outshooting Buffalo State 26-5, but still only 5-3 in shots on goal.

At the end of 2OT, 31-7 and 7-5. 

What a double-save from the Buff State GK! Wow.

Quote from: Hopkins92 on November 17, 2024, 06:46:31 PMI certainly felt confident going in that if this game got to PKs, Hop was gonna win.

I don't think they abandon the tactic. But nothing is sure fire and as I said above, November Madness is x2 or x3 the pressure... maybe higher... than a conference tournament where it wasn't a make or break situation.

Had no idea about the conference championship so will give them the benefit of the doubt, and I get it's one way to mitigate bad execution due to the inverse problem (a run-up that is too long). I had just never seen an entire rotation of kickers do a one-step run-up.

IIRC they each to a man did no run-up. Never seen that before from an entire line of kickers. Is that coaching? (I cannot recall any of the previous JHU shootouts in the NCAA, but I know they lost to Tufts in 2017 Ro16.)