Quote from: Hotskull on October 10, 2025, 08:52:57 AMMASSIVE Nescac weekend ahead of us. My predictions:

Bowdoin 2-1 Trinity
Wesleyan 0-0 Williams
Tufts 3-1 Bates
Amherst 4-0 Penn State Harrisburg (really Amherst? is that what your scheduling has come to??)
Conn College 2-2 Hamilton
Middlebury 2-1 Colby (Midd doesn't have a choice but to win here)

As we move through October, the main questions left to be unanswered:

- Are Middlebury washed?
- Can Wesleyan hold on to this form?
- Are Williams now a NESCAC powerhouse after a few years of growing success?
- Is Tyler "Huck Tua" the best player in the league?
- Who has the best defense in the league?
- Is this the most open the league has been in recent years?

3-1 Tufts over Bates is an interesting score seeing as they haven't scored more than 2 in a NESCAC matchup yet....

Quote from: Soccerlover on October 02, 2025, 06:03:19 PM

Quote from: FanofNescac on September 22, 2025, 12:37:35 PMIt's a long season. All of your posts seem to focus on Tufts.

You called Conn soft in your standings while putting Tufts first, and then posted again now after Tufts won 2–1.

Last season, Tufts sat in first the whole year, only to lose early, while Conn won the NESCAC and went to the national final.

In 2022 (as you pointed to Conn), Tufts finished 7th, lost in the NESCAC quarterfinals, and went out in the NCAA second round — while Conn reached the NESCAC final as 8 seed.

I'm not really sure what you're trying to say. Tufts hasn't won anything since the Shapiro days. As you mentioned, there is no trophy for the regular season.

As a fan of Tufts, I would be really worried about Dezotell!

@FanofNescac I hope you didn't think I missed Conn's midweek game. It is NOT going to be a long season for this Conn group, the way things are going. I hope they can pull it together, but you've got to get 3 points against Bantams if you want to be a serious program.

 

Do you really hope that???

Quote from: paclassic89 on September 27, 2025, 07:43:08 PMHe's still playing?! 

grad student

Quote from: Kuiper on September 27, 2025, 05:12:36 PM

Quote from: jumpshot on September 27, 2025, 04:43:32 PMYes, Bates shocks amherst 3-0 today after 19 consecutive losses to the lord jeffs. Bobcats not intimidated at all by the usual bullying, rough play by the jeffs. A joyous ride by the Maine .... 

Popping in to give some props to Noah Riskind for Bates' resurgence.  The current coaching staff obviously deserves credit for setting the team up to win, but his fingerprints are all over the current players and some of the top contributors. He was a hard worker on the recruiting trail while at Bates.

that's a great call out and can attest to how much he was working the circuit.....

Quote from: EnmoreCat on September 27, 2025, 04:48:43 PMAmherst 0 Bates 3

Congratulations to Bates on a well-deserved win.  Not much more to say really.

Foul Count: Amherst 10 Bates 20

clearly not following the formula.......

NESCAC-ageddon!

Quote from: Soccerlover on September 25, 2025, 02:55:44 PMCamosfan - I am a long-time fan of your writing and prose, so glad to see you reappear on the boards. Feels a bit different this year but would love to be proven wrong by the Camels.

love it - count Conn out!

What also 100% has to impact the earlier parts of the season is the lack of much of a preseason for the NESCAC....still makes no sense IMO.....

Quote from: Camelparent on September 18, 2025, 01:30:03 PMSlightly Biased opinion, but I think defensive talent in the past couple years has been much higher than offensive talent. Also as my least favorite pundit Michael Owen said it's easier to knock down a house then create one.

The Camels are mirroring their start to last season getting a draw and a win this past week, which felt more like a collective relief rather than joy, given how the games went. Against Bowdoin, the lads clearly had a shower, as Tyler Huck broke free and got a shot off that was brilliantly saved by Krongard, but the rebound he could do nothing about. Both sides probably feel they should have scored more, each missing big opportunities before Elliot Spatz (Spatzinator) jumped over the Bowdoin goalkeeper, who tried to claim a corner, and scored.

A similar theme played out in the second match vs Salve Regina, where Conn finally broke free after Max Haberman scooped the ball over the defense, and it was Volleyed in by Max Weis. Next up is Colby, which won't be the prettiest game as they will probably sit deep as they did against tufts, but it's one the Camels must win.

 

The more interesting game this weekend will be the Panthers facing off against the Mammoths. After spending some time at both the roulette and blackjack tables with members of both teams in Vegas, I can confirm they really do hate each other. Amherst may have won the national championship that weekend, but Middlebury walked away with a ridiculous amount of cash in their pockets. For predictions, I'm probably leaning more towards Amherst in this match as they always seem to get one over on Middlebury.

yes - don't think the lack of goals is new for Conn for example - they scored 2 goals through their first 5 NESCAC games last year before starting to find their footing in the back of the net.....

Quote from: Soccerlover on September 17, 2025, 02:00:15 PMMy Nescac Season Predictions

1. Tufts - Slow start but from watching them play they have the most quality & depth in the NESCAC. Sometimes a couple bad results in the beginning get the best teams going.
2. Amherst - Lost some big players but still think they are as effective as they have ever been
3. Williams - Have been impressed by their start and have good young talent. They are a frustrating team to  play.
4. Middlebury - Will be good this year but a step down from where they were last year. Have some young talent but won't be gritty enough. Haven't won anything in recent memory and this year certainly won't be their year to end that streak.
5. Conn. College - Good team but pretty soft to be honest
6. Wesleyan - They are due for a decent year and think they will end up mid-table
7. Bowdoin - Can never really put it together and do not think they will this year. Such a frustrating team to follow. I feel bad for Bowdoin fans.
8. Bates - Hard to beat and think they will clinch a NESCAC tourney spot this year
9. Hamilton - They will struggle to make the NESCAC tournament this year - do not see a lot of talent there.
10. Colby - Never great; won't be great this year either
11. Trinity - Trending up but still the bottom of the barrel

Tufts supporter I assume...........

Quote from: complexcoach on September 13, 2025, 03:09:06 PMGrotesque and contemptuous antics from the Williams bench.. unsurprising, though.

at the half- 4 Amherst cards to 1 Williams.......

Quote from: EnmoreCat on September 06, 2025, 09:29:55 PMThat "very serious note" appears to hopefully have been delivered tongue in cheek according to my highly sensitive ears, but I am regularly wrong too.  Oh and the foul count was 21-13 Conn's way.  Perhaps it was the Camels getting in first...

I think the telling stat in regard to antics is 7 cards(one red) to 2 for Amherst including one for bench behavior......

Quote from: Kuiper on July 15, 2025, 08:06:07 PM

Quote from: Kuiper on February 14, 2025, 05:49:51 PMWhat should you do and when?

1.    Watch games

This isn't a rule, by any means, but my advice is to start by watching D3 college soccer games (or really any level of college soccer) as early as possible, but definitely by fall of freshman or, at the latest, fall of sophomore year.  Taking your kid to watch a local game in person is a great way to get a sense of the atmosphere and the game-day environment and facilities, as well as to see what different campuses look like.  In addition, most D3 schools livestream their games for free on their website and many other levels air games on networks like ESPN+, FloSports (a few D3 conferences only stream on Flo) that you can watch if you are a subscriber.  Watching a game is a great way initially to get a sense of the different levels, and later to get a sense of different playing/coaching styles and quality within each level.  Too many kids insist they want to play college soccer, or they are only willing to play D1, without ever having watched a game, which is kind of crazy when you think about it. 

I think I might need to amend this first post to point out that you may want to subscribe to FloSports once you are far enough along in the recruiting process that you are getting serious about potentially considering D3 schools.  With 9 conferences now locked into exclusive contracts with FloSports, and possibly more in the works, there are starting to be some economies of scale for signing up and getting access to a lot of the games.  You can do it for a couple of months (it looks like it's currently $19.99/month for the monthly plan on FloCollege) and cancel after that.  I know no one wants to pay for something that is often a YouTube stream and that used to be available without cost, but given all the money you will end up paying for college visits, ID camps, highlight reels (if you don't do them yourself), recruiting services etc, the price is a drop in the bucket to make sure you have all the information you need about the possible options out there.

And I would really advise against ruling out a school just because it is part of a conference that has a FloSports contract.  First, by the time your kid enrolls, your chosen school/conference may be part of FloSports anyway (or FloSports will go out of business and everything will be back to the way it was).  Second, this is way too big and consequential a decision to penny pinch on the FloSports subscription.  College is really expensive and I get trying to reduce costs whenever possible, but this won't be the marginal cost for you.  There are tons of hidden nickle and dime college fees that are way higher than FloSports.  At least a FloSports subscription would be optional.  It's annoying, but it won't be the most annoying thing the college your son selects does by a long shot.

Yes - far more annoying things like paying for uniforms in D3 on top of tuition costs 

Not sure if Viking is around but was anxiously awaiting the list of NESCAC incomings for 2025!

Quote from: Kuiper on June 25, 2025, 10:39:06 AMPeter Sylvester (GK, Conn College) nominated as NESCAC student-athlete of the year

https://nescac.com/news/2025/6/23/nescac-news-nescac-nominees-for-diiica-mens-sport-student-athlete-of-the-year-announced.aspx

Peter Silvester, Conn. College Men's Soccer

A quantitative economics major and finance minor, Silvester graduated from Conn. College with a 3.71 GPA.
Silvester was the team liaison between the men's soccer program and Team Impact. He organized events with their Team Impact athlete. Silvester also volunteered with the Bermuda Goalkeeping Association.

A United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-American, Silvester helped the Camels win the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer title in 2021 and finish as the national runner-up in 2024, where he was named the Most Outstanding Defensive Player. He was a two-time All-Region and All-NESCAC honoree, leading the Camels to their first NESCAC title in team history in 2024.

And one of the best PK goalies I've seen at this level