Sandy is just a whole different animal.  SLU has been using home field advantage like they used to.  Hobart never really got a good look on goal.  Crowd was great too, very rowdy student section and just an all around high quality d3 soccer game. Kevdog is right that SLU could have got at least 4, they were just on it from the opening kick off.  I don't know what is in the water, but so far this is the the SLU we've been yearning to see.  I say so far because now SLU is going to be the hunted with a target on their backs.  But going 2-0-1 through the gauntlet of Oneonta, Cortland and Hobart is one of the best stretches the program has had in a long time.

Also, what a game by Clarkson taking down Rochester 4-2.  I know I'm supposed to naturally hate Clarkson but I love seeing them win and play well.  Clarkson has long been a school that has had tons of potential in athletics, they just never really invested much besides hockey.  They replaced their turf field for this season and seemingly have made some other investments on the d3 side so hopefully that continues.

Union was up 2-0 with 8 minutes left until Plattsburgh scored 2 of the best goals I have seen in a long time to force a tie.  An insane long ball and diving header for the 1st and an incredible bicycle kick to tie it . Platts even had the game winner with 1 second left cleared off the line.

Big today tomorrow, the only league game being between Hobart and SLU who are both ranked.  SLU have been the hunters but now after beating Cortland that will give Hobart a little more sauce to beat back the up and coming Saints and extend their win streak to 7. 

My thoughts on SLU have been pretty clear in recent years, but so far some of those issues seem to have been addressed.  The biggest thing I'm seeing right now is player development. Sam Bothwell had pretty high recruiting pedigree going into his freshmen season last year, but he definitely needed the entire season to acclimate.  He has taken a huge leap, and was the best player on the field against both Oneonta and Cortland. The goalie got thrown into things as a freshman last year and showed some flashes but also needed the whole season.  He has been tremendous up to this point, commanding his box well and getting everything in the air and on crosses. 

Hoping tomorrow is an entertaining game where neither team experiences injuries. 

Oh when the Saints...

Not sure what was up with Vassar today.  Clarkson was extremely lucky to not get a tie at Cortland, and Cortland ran Vassar off their own field today. They played 2 really good games against Montclair and Hop and now have dropped 2 in a row.  Cortland might be better than expected but again Clarkson played very well against them this week and that was at Cortland.

Hobart keeps it rolling against UR. UR got a bit unlucky at times, think I saw them hit the post twice but Hobart is defending very well and killing games off in the final 10 minutes.

SLU has a 3 game run against Oneonta, Cortland and Hobart that started today. They played extremely well against Oneonta and were unlucky not to win, they very much outplayed them.  It's a whole different world playing on Sandy and Oneonta did not look comfortable playing away from their home turf. I'm pleasantly surprised by SLU so far, but it gets harder this coming week.

Quote from: Bartman on September 12, 2026, 08:55:23 AM

Quote from: stlawus on September 11, 2026, 09:18:30 PMI just can't do another year of this SLU coaching. We've been patient for a long time, simply fed up with the nonsense now. This is a well funded program with lots of resources and it gets squandered year after year.  There is no reason why a d3 football staff cannot scheme defensive adjustments to prevent getting beat the by same basic play for 4 quarters. I just watched their opponent run a curl route to the slot for a 1st down on the same side of the field 20 times with SLU defensive backs playing 10 yards off the LOS every single one of these snaps. 

Just horrendous. We don't expect much as is, but this has reached an untenable situation. Unfortunately, it's a helpless situation as the administrations thinks that spending on facilities is all that matters.  Who cares that money gets lit on fire every year between football and hockey, all that matters is the updated facilities apparently.

Yes, SLU sports has a big gap between funding support and performance. I loved the old Saints Football teams that challenged for the LL Championship. Is it as simple as you need a new AD? SLU is a wonderful college oasis in the North Country and should be doing better, no doubt.

SLU has a new AD, in his 2nd year. Other sports are doing well like women's hockey and men's lacrosse, but the heavily funded sports with the most resources in football and men's hockey are are just not cutting it and it needs to change.

I just can't do another year of this SLU coaching. We've been patient for a long time, simply fed up with the nonsense now. This is a well funded program with lots of resources and it gets squandered year after year.  There is no reason why a d3 football staff cannot scheme defensive adjustments to prevent getting beat the by same basic play for 4 quarters. I just watched their opponent run a curl route to the slot for a 1st down on the same side of the field 20 times with SLU defensive backs playing 10 yards off the LOS every single one of these snaps. 

Just horrendous. We don't expect much as is, but this has reached an untenable situation. Unfortunately, it's a helpless situation as the administrations thinks that spending on facilities is all that matters.  Who cares that money gets lit on fire every year between football and hockey, all that matters is the updated facilities apparently.

Say what you want about their strength of schedule, but Bard is at the point where they are no longer a SOS ball and chain on the league.  3-0 start in non conference so far.  They've done well in non-conference the past few years, albeit against weak competition.  They are still struggling in the league, but have at least got results and aren't destroying at large bid hopes just by virtue of the matchup now.

Some really good games this week.  Clarkson against Cortland mid week, Vassar against Cortland later in the week as well as Hobart-Rochester and SLU-Oneonta.

I've long complained about SLU never playing Oneonta at home, and this year they are finally playing them on Sandy.  First home game against Oneonta since 2011. Sandy MacAllaster Field has historically been the great equalizer, so we'll see.  Will get a much better sense of what both teams are after this one.   

Devil magic for Vassar to steal a tie.  Can never count them out.  LL is having a much better start to the season than recent years, combined record of 11 wins, 3 losses and 2 ties.

Major tests still to come, but night and day difference for SLU thus far. They are finally playing physical which is paying dividends through the first 2 games. Geneseo was E8 champs last year, so a nice early win.

Quote from: SierraFD3soccer on September 04, 2026, 08:02:46 PM

Quote from: stlawus on September 04, 2026, 07:36:18 PMHopkins has an incredible stream going right now.  Multiple angles, replays, great quality picture. 

Got it through the Cent. Conf app, but not on line. 

I just followed the link from the Liberty League site, had a link to the CC site with the stream.

Hopkins has an incredible stream going right now.  Multiple angles, replays, great quality picture. 

Quote from: Kuiper on September 03, 2026, 12:18:40 PM

Quote from: Hopkins92 on September 03, 2026, 11:03:55 AMHopkins played Towson (State, at the time) for a number of years. Most of the matches were fairly competitive into the second half, but I don't think they got a result in the modern era.

*looks up record book*

Yep, last game was a 2-0 win for Towson. Last time Hop pulled a result was 4-2 win in 1977.

Your comment reminds me that I meant to check the roster for Johns Hopkins (which was late to post) as kind of a gauge of trends in grad transfers in D3.  Last season, Hop had two (Vadeghi and Howlett).  This season, they have two again, although one is their own 4 year player taking advantage of a medical year to play his 4th season (Laudisa).  The new grad student player is Dylan Ellis from Brown (D1), who did not play in Hop's first game. 

Chicago has one grad student this year, Austin Murawski, a transfer from Hartford (D3) and before that Bryant (D1)

Emory has one, Walker Stebbings from Hampden-Sydney (D3)

Rochester has one, Aidan Hartman from Fort Hays State (D2), plus one of their own students returning after missing a year (Mikey Burke)

That's just a small sample of schools with strong grad programs, but nothing suggests these types of schools with strong grad programs are using it to obtain a massive advantage.

Grad school at a UAA school is a much different world than anywhere else. UR got a grad transfer in basketball from Duke a few years ago (who played minutes at Duke) and didn't last through preseason.

A lot of the talent using a 5th/grad year are going d1 instead of leveling up elsewhere in d3

Quote from: stlawus on August 27, 2026, 11:08:49 PMAnd of course, because why wouldn't that happen, Cortland managed to get Diego Rivera from Buff State this year as a grad transfer. 

2 goals for Rivera against Rochester tonight.

Looks like SLU is playing Middlebury at the Middlebury invitational at the end of December.  This used to be an annual matchup until 2010 or so.  Despite being frequent opponents in most sports due to location they have not played each other since 2015. 

SLU's non-con so far looks like Oswego, @ Geneseo, @ Plattsburgh, SUNY Poly, @ Middlebury, vs Utica @ Middlebury.

Liberty League starts off 6-2.  Union was up at the half against Oneonta but got blitzed in the 2nd half. Vassar with probably the best win, not sure how good Montclair will be but any win against them usually pays dividends. Vassar write up says it's their first win over Montclair since 1994, so props to the Brewers.  2 sophomores did all the scoring from midfield, so with Tobolski gone Vassar might have some players stepping up to fill the void.

Nice to see Clarkson christen their new turf with a win over Oswego. Their goalie is a transfer from Cortland, so far so good on that transaction.

Quite shocked at SLU's win today, especially given the 5-2 drubbing Plattsburgh gave them last year. Both teams left a lot of meat on the bone with Plattsburgh whiffing a breakaway and penalty in the first half and SLU whiffing several breakaways and chances off crosses in the 2nd half. First season opening win for SLU in 4 years.

Quote from: Kuiper on August 21, 2026, 12:40:41 PM

Quote from: deutschfan on August 21, 2026, 11:51:17 AMThat time of year again.  Saw Hobart posted its 2026 roster, all 39 of them including a bunch of internationals.  Once again LL teams will have to deal with the Hobart hordes.  Also checked out the Davidson box score from last night.  Tobolski, who could have rewritten the Vassar record books if he had stayed, didn't see the pitch.  I understand if you want to play professionally that D1 is the way to go.  It is such a crap shoot especially as a D3 transfer and if you look at the physical size of the Davidson players most of them dwarf Tobolski.  Yes, every hundred years or so a Messi comes around but in D1 size matters.  I hope he gets significant playing time but in retrospect the move may have been to Amherst or Tufts to try to get a ring ala Henry Brown.   

Tobolski is from Chapel Hill, North Carolina so it's not crazy that he chose Davidson if he wanted to be closer to home.  Lots of kids transfer for that reason and he didn't sacrifice academic quality to do it.

Tobolski played 30 minutes against Gardner-Webb this weekend.