Quote from: NESCACfan100 on September 13, 2023, 01:22:28 PM
Can someone explain Bowdoin's ranking?

Bowdoin (3-0-0) started #6 in the nation in the preseason poll but was bounced from the Top 25 this week and placed at #6 in Region I??

Bowdoin conceded a goal against UNE for the first time in a long time. That must be it. And then there's this from last week.... Emerson beat Bates 1-0. Bowdoin beat Bates 1-0. Emerson tied Husson 2-2. Bowdoin beat Husson 6-0. Emerson is ranked 19th. Bowdoin is out of the top 25. Makes total sense. Maybe it's just that these rankings are all worth about as much as the paper they are not printed on.

Quote from: coach analytics on November 20, 2022, 06:55:33 PM
However, this tournament shows the incredible depth of the league.  Just in the last 3 tournaments you have had 4 different teams in the Final 4.  Even more impressive is that in the past two tournaments you have had 6 different teams make an Elite 8.

This post wins the Internet for the day.

Quote from: nescac1 on November 19, 2022, 10:54:14 PM
Good observations on Williams, Domino.  The Ephs looked far more confident today than vs Messiah, where it felt like they were hanging on for dear life much of the game.  Finishing is always an issue for this team but they at least looked dangerous and earned the goal they managed to put home. 

Number 6 is Nick Boardman and he is clearly the best player on the team, especially after another star went down with a mid-season injury.  He should be a first team all-American.  There is an enormous amount of pressure each game on Boardman and the other stellar center back, Gara Grady, along with GK Diffley. They play every minute knowing that most games the Ephs are not gonna score more than one goal and they have to hold the center, and have done a fantastic job especially in the post season.  The Ephs have surrendered an incredible three goals in their last nine games (all vs very good competition) but clearly the Kenyon offense is at a different level than all but Messiah.

The Ephs' coach does a nice job mixing and matching the rest of the lineup, playing a very deep bench filled with solid contributors that allows guys to stay fresh and run intensely all 90 minutes, but there isn't one or two guys who are the engine of the offense with any consistency, nor one super dangerous striker (the Ephs really do miss Felitto's ability to finish plays).  Williams as always tomorrow will rely on the center of the defense to hold up and hope it can scrap for a goal or two but if Kenyon can get to two goals it starts to get very dicey for Williams.   

Good observation on Boardman. He is not the most technical player, but at this level, he doesn't need to be. What he is, however, is a superior athlete to most everyone he is up against on the field. He is big, he his fast, he can get up in the air, and he has a great feel for the game. That together makes his lack of technical quality moot. At this level, on these fields, at this time of year, imho, superior athleticism beats superior technique.

As for Bowdoin, let the crowd continue to sleep on them. Their results, and their resilience, speaks volumes.

How about we end this conversation, or move it the the NESCAC board?! Nothing new here, it's the same old trope, and giving them the airtime is what they want. Until the refs grow a set and put an end to games of 26-12 fouls, 4/3 cards, this will continue. Or perhaps the Amherst President grows a conscience and decides it isn't worth winning this way. Until one of those things happens, let's talk about soccer, not whatever it is Amherst plays.

Quote from: blue_jays on November 14, 2022, 11:08:27 AM

Quote from: FBALLISLIFE on November 14, 2022, 10:16:39 AM

Round 3

*Chicago v St. Thomas at noon
Gust. Adophus v. St. Olaf at 2:30 pm

*Stevens v SUNY Cortland at 1 pm
Catholic v. Johns Hopkins at 3:30 pm

Williams v. Ohio Northern at 11 am
*Kenyon v W&L at 1:30 pm

*Amherst v Mary Washington at 11 am
SUNY Oneonta v. Bowdoin at 1:30 pm

Round 4

Winners of Chicago region play at 2 pm
Winners of Stevens region play at 3 pm
Winners of Kenyon region play at 1 pm
Winners of Amherst region play at 1 pm

So much for staggering. At least they don't have all the sectional finals starting at the same time.

This is by design, the NCAA has prescribed start times in the manual and the schools stick to it unless there is a demonstrable conflict (like a Saturday afternoon football game that pushes the soccer games to a night time start). Day games start at 11 AM, night games at 5 PM.

Not to mention the fact that many/most of these D3 schools do not have lights and they need to finish before dark. That didn't happen at Bowdoin in Maine on Saturday, but that's certainly a likely possibility when the northernmost school remaining (Husson notwithstanding) earns the right to host and a game is significantly delayed by injury requiring an ambulance. Learn to roll with it and deal with whatever obstacles you find in your way. Vassar managed just fine, Babson not so much. Darkness, rain, a bad ref, an overly physical opponent, and perhaps even locusts--whatever it takes, it isn't easy to win this tournament. No excuses, just leave it all out there.

Quote from: brewer_faithful on November 13, 2022, 09:39:51 PM
Those Vassar boys should be proud of their dance. New Coach, losing 2 of 3 all-league players from last season, and no true goal scorer returning yet they managed to finish unbeaten in the league and go toe-to-toe with 2 nationally ranked teams in the dance.

With no seniors graduating and more time to work with the new coach,  these boys should be primed for a breakout season in 2023. Should be fun to watch!

Saw both games. Vassar was very impressive this weekend. That team, if it comes back intact with a few 1st year additions, will do great things next year. They were gifted a penalty in the slop in Maine yesterday, and the result was the right one imho, but Vassar was right there, on short rest on the road after a tough game the day before.

Quote from: Another Mom on November 14, 2022, 09:13:48 AM
A game with two high scoring teams (Kenyon and W&L) and a game with two no-scoring teams (Williams and Ohio Northern) in that part of the bracket . . .

It begins and ends with quality in the back. Defense wins championships.

So has Bowdoin won the conference regular season, or does Middlebury win if both are tied after the last game on Tuesday?

Quote from: northman on October 20, 2022, 09:38:23 AM
By the way, when I was making my way into the stands last Saturday for the Bowdoin v Hamilton game, I saw former Bowdoin assistant coach Mike Healy (a retired attorney and a big contributor to youth soccer in Maine) sitting with Justin Serpone.  Serpone was undoubtedly there to scout both teams, but especially Hamilton in advance of their upcoming matchup.

Serpone left before the game was over. Actually, it was over at the half, but that's not my point. I'm assuming Serpone left to go watch Conn at Colby in advance of the match-up yesterday. Thanks for pointing out the gentleman he was sitting with--I saw their greeting and figured he was a former colleague of sorts.

Quote from: hiyasoccer on September 18, 2021, 12:32:31 PM
Can any of the distinguished (or not) Midd alumnus buy then a new camera? I'm pretty sure my Motorola Razor generated a higher quality image.

Seriously. What an embarrassment. And the announcer is sleep-inducing. zzzzz

I was at the game in Brunswick today. IMHO, the score was reflective of the play today. Bowdoin was the better team. They simply wanted it more. And they took the best player at the D3 level out of the game. #9 in the dark shirt was mostly invisible. Credit the Bowdoin D and midfield for that.

This conference is up for grabs this season. Yes, someone has to knock off Tufts, but anything is possible. .

The 12 minute 2 miles is still widely used as a test of soccer fitness. Some use the Man United test (as it is a called by some).

The Man United--14 100-meter runs. 16 seconds to 'sprint' the 100, 44 seconds to walk back to the start. Then do it 13 more times.

But both of these "tests", and the results of the "test", are not the point, right?! Coaches are not playing guys because of their 2 mile times. It's about accountability, to your coach, to your team, and to yourself. It's about getting in shape. Your coach asks the team to run each of these every week all summer long and share the results with the group... if you do that, you will show up in shape and ready to play on day 1. If you don't, in a season of 5 classes fighting for 4 classes worth of roster spots, you might find yourself on the outside of the roster looking in.

Quote from: amh63 on July 23, 2021, 08:16:25 AM
Gather nescacfan94 is a Williams grad...same time as my younger son....class of '95.  A little perspective wrt money/finance on the point raised by nescacfan94.  My class forum had a recent discussion between Amherst trustees on line dealing with Amherst's finance/investments, etc.  There is an annual report of about 700-800 American/Canadian universities Business Officers on the subject.  Williams and Amherst are in the top 50 with the Ivy schools leading the pack....along with MIT, JHU.  Anyway...both Amherst and Williams have multi-billions invested...though Williams had a negative return in FY2020.  The pandemic has clouded the issue on how Nescac schools respond to recruiting, etc. IMO.

Not that it matters, but I am not a Williams grad, nor am I sure how my post above might have led you to believe that was the case. Those #$%^#s at Williams didn't want me! That said, ya, this all comes down to money. Same reason kids have to return their uniforms after the season so they can be used again. The bean counters continue to be in charge at D3! But that has nothing to do with the fact that for a few thousand dollars to rent a few busses, these schools can do right by the kids on the wrong side of the roster logjams. I believe it's a good investment to keep students happy with the hope that down the line, the happy graduates (and perhaps their families) are willing to write that big check to help keep their school in the $ top 50.

At least the conference realized that the preseason needs to be a few days longer because some of/most of these players have not played together in over 18 months. Add in the captains pre-preseason that I am sure all teams have, and there should be more than enough time to get rid of the rust and hopefully lead to quality play at the start of the season.

OK, I'm going to change the subject slightly.

I was on a college recruiting process Zoom call in January. It was one of those events that many youth clubs hold each year, and it was memorable for one thing. The now-former Williams coach was on the call, and a parent asked how the conference planned to deal with huge rosters. Would kids get cut? Will they limit the number of players at home or road games? The coach told those listening that it was likely there would be a JV-type of thing with some or all NESCAC teams this fall. Obviously this would be COVID-dependent, but he said this had been discussed and if he was going to bet, he would bet that it was going to happen. Because there were so many kids on the rosters of some of the schools (some at 40 or more), it was thought that there would be enough kids to make up 2nd teams that could play or scrimmage or do something informal to get some playing time for the 15-18 or so at the end of the roster. Maybe 4-6 games. That way, the younger and/or still developing kids can still improve and grow. Sounded like a great idea to me at the time, but sadly, it does not appear this is going to happen. Has anyone else heard anything about this? I can't imagine it would cost that much to do this.

I know of one program in the conference that is planning to make some cuts after preseason to get the roster to a more manageable 29-30. That means a good 6-8 guys, some (maybe all) who were recruited, won't be playing college soccer this fall. I am guessing this is going to be the case at most schools. All the more reason for the JV-thing to have happened. Oh well. On the flip side, that will force players to show up in great shape and ready to go on day 1 after hopefully playing some U23 this summer.

Quote from: Dave 'd-mac' McHugh on July 19, 2020, 01:03:14 PM
NCAA has already put things in place that students will not lose a year of eligibility if there is no season and if a team does not play the minimum number of games (which was reduced to 9 or 10 in soccer, I can't remember ... I may be a bit off; it is 12 in basketball, at about half of the maximum allowed).

As for staff and coaches ... it will depend on the schools. There are already a number of coaches at schools in all sports that have been dealing with fuloughs. It just hasn't been a story of note. That has already happened and may continue.

So this isn't the complete story, because different conferences have different eligibility rules regarding 5th year 9th semester players. The Ivy League posted this: "Fall sport student-athletes will not use a season of Ivy League or NCAA eligibility in the fall, whether or not they enroll. Students who wish to pursue competition during a fifth-year will need to work with their institutions in accordance with campus policy to determine their options beyond their current anticipated graduation date." So it isn't clear cut, and schools will need to make adjustments to existing policies in order to allow for an extra year. I know a variety of soccer players going through this process in different D1 and D3 conferences, and the policies are quite different. Some schools are being flexible now, and others have yet to properly address this issue with their student athletes, frustrating players and coaches alike. Players that don't want to pay for a graduate semester, or a 9th semester, need to take a leave of absence, and a D3 school might end up with an enrollment too large to handle in the fall of 2021 or 2022, for instance. That is driving the lack of clarity at many schools.

That said, in the end, I believe most will allow these players to get back the season, but the details on this are still TBD.