I'm admittedly from a previous generation, but I was on a D1 team that won a national championship in another sport.  My prevailing feeling was one of gratitude, not arrogance.  From my perspective, it's fine to feel pride in an athletic accomplishment...individual and/or team...but arrogance is another matter.

With regard to academic rigor, I'll cite the US News rankings, which of course always spark a controversy.  Amherst is ranked near the top, Midd and W&L are right next to each other, and Conn is another level behind.  That said, each school has its own approach toward the parameters for recruiting "student athletes".

https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-liberal-arts-colleges?_sort=rank&_sortDirection=asc

And, BTW, Vassar would be a good academic and geographic fit.  That said, adding Hamilton was awkward from a travel standpoint, but it did expand the conference schedule across most team sports to an even 10 teams.  11 opponents would be an awkward number.

That's a great list, PN.  Let's see if anyone bites...

I agree with your take, PN.  The NESCAC is a D3 conference in every respect.  Typically...smaller private liberal arts colleges that are academically rigorous...and strike a great balance between academics and athletics.  Isn't that what the majority of D3 schools are all about?

What I have said about the NESCAC in the past, and will reiterate, is that the conference is amazingly competitive across a number of sports...and it also benefits from being in a compact geographic area (Hamilton notwithstanding).  It's easy for supporters to get to every away game if they're so inclined.

Yes, welcome aboard PolarBearMom.  I'm a former Polar Bear dad who now lives in Brunswick and follows the team.

On paper, Bowdoin should be highly competitive in the NESCAC this year.  They did indeed lose all-NESCAC players in midfielder Juantorena and center back Jack Selig...but everyone else is back.  As you indicated, Tyler Huck is a highly intelligent and skilled player, and a difference maker.  One of the keys will be whether or not Rueda Duran gets into the scoring groove he discovered last year.  He hasn't found the net yet in five games.

The game at Bates tomorrow evening should be fun.  Bates's new coach is Ben Brewster, who played next to my son on Bowdoin's back line when they went to the Final Four back in 2010.  Ben is a great young man and has some solid coaching experience, having recently served as associate head coach at D1 UMass.

It's shaping up to be a fun and highly competitive NESCAC season.  Middlebury, Tufts, Amherst and Conn are obvious favorites.  But Bowdoin, and even Williams, will be very much in the picture for the top four in the conference.

Regarding Amherst vs. Conn, I think I may have a more balanced perspective relative to the previous two posters.  I watched the end of the first half and most of the second half.  In the first half, I was impressed with Conn's team play on and off the ball.  That said, they were never much of a threat in the final third during the entirety of the game I watched.

I actually thought Amherst played a higher quality possession game than they've been known for in past years.  But they definitely relied on the individual brilliance of Nuhu to score the decider.

I'm thinking that both teams likely deserve their national rankings...but the Camels will need to find a bigger threat in attack to get to where they want to be this season.

I just returned from watching the Bowdoin vs. Colby game.  What a new phenomenon at Bowdoin...night games under the lights.  There was a huge crowd and a lot of energy on the sidelines for an early season game.  Colby was surprisingly up 1-0 when I arrived.  I heard that someone hit a low shot under the Bowdoin keeper early in the game.  Bowdoin then equalized before the half.  Colby then regained the lead on a free kick that eluded the Bowdoin keeper...completely against the run of play of the previous 20 minutes or so.  Bowdoin equalized with about 20 minutes to go, and scored the winner with 5 minutes to go to walk off with a 3-2 win.

My quick assessment:  Colby was opportunistic in scoring their two goals.  And they were doing some weird things trying to play the ball out of the back on goal kicks.  It almost backfired on them several times.  I think they'll need to reevaluate that tactic when they're facing the iron of the NESCAC.  Bowdoin looked energetic and dangerous on the attack against a low block.  But I think their keeper Alex Ainsworth...who had a very good season as a sophomore last year...was a bit shaky and will need to solidify his game if Bowdoin are going to be competitive with the Amhersts, Tufts, Conns, and Middleburys of the world.

Nicely done, SC!  I appreciate your dedication and insightfulness.

PaulNewman, I was TrueNorth before I somehow lost my handle and settled for Northman.  Evan Gershkovich was a freshman on the Bowdoin soccer team when my son was a junior.  That was the only year Evan played collegiate soccer.  History tells us he clearly had more important things to be doing as a college student.

Here's a cool piece of trivia:  Evan didn't get much playing time during the regular season or playoffs in 2010.  Bowdoin was hosting the NCAA sectionals and were playing arch rival Amherst in the round of 16.  The game, tied 1-1 after regulation and two OTs, went to PKs.  Amherst missed a couple of shots during the initial round of 5, so Bowdoin was in a favorable circumstance...but you still have to convert your shots. 

With the outcome in the balance, coach Fran O'Leary brought Evan off the proverbial bench (you were allowed to do that back then) for the next kick.  After not playing at all during regulation or OT, Evan stepped up and rolled the ball into the corner for a Bowdoin victory.  That's a pretty cool exclamation point to a brief college soccer career!

Quote from: Viking on June 05, 2024, 01:56:17 PM

Quote from: northman on June 05, 2024, 01:36:58 PMNote that Liam Rorke has apparently committed to both Bates and Bowdoin...

Eek! My error, no one else's. Sorry. He's a Bates recruit; I will remove from the Bowdoin listing.

Rorke has had a pan-New England journey. He was a Conn commit at one point after his Tabor career, but then took a PG year at Phillips Academy Andover (a decision that was documented last summer in a New England Soccer Journal story, see link below) before committing to Bates.

https://www.nesoccerjournal.com/nepsac-boys-why-a-postgrad-year-at-phillips-andover-is-right-for-liam-rorke/

No worries.  Interesting that he's trading Conn for Bates.  Conn has a more established program, but Ben Brewster...the new coach at Bates...played with my son at Bowdoin, is a great guy, and I think he has what it takes to do a great job at Bates.

Note that Liam Rorke has apparently committed to both Bates and Bowdoin...

By the way, transferring to upper tier NESCACs is not an easy proposition.  My older son had some interest in transferring to Bowdoin after three years at Brown under a domineering coach.  I communicated with the AD, who said it was a nonstarter...particularly with only one year to go.

I heard through the local grapevine that a starting D1 player with a 4.0 after two years as a starter at a good quality liberal arts university would like to transfer to Bowdoin.  I'm not assigning a high level of probability to that actually happening...

 

This debate has some amusing dimensions.  If I were a young and aspirational D3 coach, I'm not sure I'd be putting population statistics at the top of my priority list.  In fact, it's sometimes easier to meet an interesting person in a smaller market than a larger market. 

As one anecdotal story, I moved from Boston to Portland, Maine 40 years ago...and found it far easier to meet people and develop friendships in Portland.  In fact, I met my wife to be in Portland 38 years ago, and she had recently moved there from the DC area.

All things being equal, I'm not convinced that someone would forego Waterville, Maine for New London, Connecticut.  New London is neither Manhattan nor Providence...