Quote from: nescac fan246 on November 04, 2025, 04:22:28 PM

Quote from: Hotskull on November 04, 2025, 10:25:18 AMThis Tufts team is on a revenge tour. The last two years, they've been hyped up, carrying a top ranking all season, only to crumble when it really mattered. That will not happen this year. This team is full of certified DAWGS.

They've got one of the strongest and deepest backlines we've seen in recent years (.455 GA average / 8 clean sheets — shoutout Antic in goal), paired with an attack that finds the back of the net when it matters most. In previous years, Tufts often needed a set piece or an unsung hero to grind out a winner... Not this team. Yanez is 4/4 from the spot in the last six games (CR7-level clutch), and the front three (Perkins, Canfin, Brown) have combined for 33 points, while Jett, Shultz, Fallone, Denby, and others have put in lights-out performances.

DeZotell seems to have finally found the right balance with this roster — major credit to him and his staff. In a year where Amherst look like your local church-league team and Middlebury's backline resembles a bunch of cones standing in the way of opposing attackers, Tufts is playing like the juggernaut we've always known them to be.

If they go into the weekend with the mentality that they end other teams' seasons, not that they are the team to beat, there will be another NESCAC trophy in the cabinet. My advice to the young lads up in Medford: do not play with the timid mindset of "only two more guaranteed games." In fact, F$#K THAT.* Play like you want to flex the strength you have over these inferior, minuscule, delicate, and outright afraid NESCAC schools. Gents, it is Tufts vs. everybody, and there can only be one at the top.

I'll be flying up to Boston this weekend to watch the destruction.

To the rest of you NESCAC fans: You may read this and think I'm too confident — maybe even delusional. But if that's how you feel, I actually sympathize with you... because you're the one who's delusional for not seeing the greatness, hard work, grit, and — as stated before — a squad of DAWGS right in front of your eyes.

– Hotskull

This is one of the funniest posts I've seen on the boards. Tufts has had great regular seasons for the past two years and it's amounted to nothing for them. A first place team on a "revenge tour" playing a subpar Bates team in the first round usually doesn't end in a dicey 1-0 win from a penalty, which seems to be Tufts' favorite way to score this year. It looks more like Dezotell has found the right balance of whining from the bench and bribes for the refs than a good roster this year.

Tufts has already shown that they're not a playoff team again this year, so you can say they're "DAWGS" going into this weekend as much as you want, but that's not gonna change what they all know- this Middlebury team has been edging greatness for years and this is the year it will all come to fruition.

Until Dezotell gains the confidence to create a real soccer team that doesn't play straight up haram ball, I will never give him credit for being a good coach. My left big toe could coach a team to play on the counter and lump in long throws. Dezotell is an old school NESCAC coach, who's stuck in the past and can't see that the game is changing around him. We've already seen Tufts' Brexit counterpart in Amherst lose this postseason. Inverting Wingbacks and Xg are here to stay and if teams can't adapt, they'll be left in the dust of innovators like Middlebury.

-NESCAC Fan 🫡

Final score: Hotskull 5, NescacFan246 0

Well as a Tufts fan I sure hope Kyle Dezotell doesn't return to his native Vermont for the head coach position at University of Vermont. Rob Dow is officially leaving $200k/yr at UVM to head "south" to Penn State.

How are the top NESCAC teams looking in 2026 as far as returning players from their 2025 squads?

Looking at the 2025 All Conference teams:

Tufts graduates 2 (GK Antic and M Daniel Yanez) and retains 3 (D, F, F; all juniors)

Middlebury graduates 2 (Gavin Randolph and Casanova); retains 1.

Bowdoin loses Huck who I assume will be hard to replace; retains 2.

Wesleyan graduates their GK but retains 4 (all current juniors).

Bates loses 1, retains 3 (2x frosh and 1 soph)

Williams graduates F Henry Kirkman; retains 1.

Conn retains all 5 of their All Conference players (D, D, M, M, F; 1x Soph and 4x Juniors).

Amherst retains 3 (2x soph and 1 junior)

Based on that small sample, one could argue that 2026 will feature Conn, Wesleyan and Tufts battling for the championship. Amherst and Bates poised to move up. Bowdoin likely to slip by losing Huck. Williams: who knows. And Middlebury losing a couple key players could slip or perhaps tread water.

Tufts 2024 + 2025 Seasons:

31-1-9 for an 86.9% win rate

Knocked out of NCAAs in 2024 in 2nd round by Buffalo State in a game that was 1-1 (Buffalo advanced 4-3 on PKs) but Tufts had outshot Buffalo 31-8!!

They simply could not find the goal when it mattered most in 2024. GF 1.89 and GA 0.50 (increased to 2.38 and 0.54 in 2025).

If you cherry pick Josh Shapiro's amazing streak 2014-2019 the team was 95-16-18 for a win rate of 80.6% and he was 73.3% over his full 10 years at Tufts.

Dezotell in his first 5 seasons is 69-10-23 for a win rate of 78.9% which is the best in the NESCAC over the same period.

Looking ahead to Tufts 2026:

It will be a different team but not inferior when you look at the potential starting lineup. Perhaps less depth but there's an incoming freshman class that I know nothing about, at least 1 key player that missed most of 2025 on injury, and evidence of off-the-bench players that could step up. If Lauta returns they could be better next year!

(* means they were generally a starter)
*Xavier Canfin F (2025 jr)
*Bijan AktarzandiDas D (jr)
*Henry Brown F (jr)
*Ben Brown D (jr)
*Ethan Jett M (jr)
*Alex Johnson D (fr) got add'l playing time due to Feinberg's injury
Ellis Denby M (so) (started 9 games; over 1300 minutes)
Will Nicholas M (so) (over 600 minutes off bench)
Ben Ortman F (fr) 6'4" played a great shift in 2nd half of the championship game; over 500 min from bench
Gianluca Fallone M (fr) (~20 min/gm average)
William Cornog D (listed as soph) injured early in September & missed rest of season; started 2 games and played 50 min/gm prior to injury. Transferred from D1 University of Portland. Says he redshirted 2023 and played 1 minute for Portland in 2024 so perhaps a junior but with 2 more years of potential eligibility. Comes from a family of great athletes.


Losing (unless they're eligible and opt for a graduate year):
*Mateo Bargagna D (sr)
*Nikola Antic GK (sr) - eligible for another year but IDK if there's any plan
*Daniel Yanez M (sr) - his younger brother played in 6-7 games off bench as a sophomore in 2025)
*Ben Pensky M (sr)
Henry Perkins F (sr)
*Taylor Feinberg D (grad) missed ~5 weeks due to injury
Mason Shultz F (sr)
James Gunn M (sr)
James Flagg D (sr)

Quote from: CarefreeTX on December 07, 2025, 01:06:52 PMNot really sure how this Tufts team is in the final, the level of play couldn't be farther apart

Turns out they play a 2nd half as well!

Quote from: Kuiper on December 07, 2025, 01:10:12 PMTufts has been down 1-0 in the past and rallied for wins in several games this NCAA tournament.  Schell has been aggressive off his line and in free kicks, but he's been playing with fire on those.  That's how Tufts can beat you.

+1

Quote from: Kuiper on December 07, 2025, 01:35:33 PMGetting testy.  Gunn pushes Knutson and Lopez steps in to defend his teammate.  Both get yellows

Shew that wagging finger from #6!

Quote from: Kuiper on December 07, 2025, 01:52:34 PMDezotell with another yellow this tournament

I think right at the 86 minute mark Jett was knocked down directly in front of the Tufts bench - no call - and felt like a momentum change.

Quote from: D3Reporter on December 07, 2025, 02:34:42 PMBig credit to Schell. Absolutely stood on his head to keep Trinity in it.

4-seconds from MVP. He was like Tyson out there throwing punches at anything and everything. One of the Trinity defensemen also made an epic save with his thigh but I'd say mostly it was the GK.

Quote from: rdanie03 on December 07, 2025, 02:46:37 PM

Quote from: CarefreeTX on December 07, 2025, 01:06:52 PMNot really sure how this Tufts team is in the final, the level of play couldn't be farther apart

This did not age well

The entire 2nd half felt like a goal was coming for Tufts.

....

Epic game. Trinity sort of dominated the first half. Was painful to watch as a Tufts fan. But what a turnaround at half time. Within a few seconds of the 2nd half kickoff the Jumbos had an opportunity better than probably anything in the first 45 minutes. Then built and built so much pressure. Couple short comebacks from Trinity but I need to see the stat-sheet breakdown by half. Holy smokes it must've been 15 Tufts shots in the 2nd half.

I noticed in the final play of regulation even GK Antic got his head on the ball shortly before the crazy goal to tie it up.

Quote from: Sandon Mibut on December 06, 2025, 10:59:36 AMCan Trinity's defense keep up with the Tufts offense? For whatever reason, Trinity's opponents rarely get more than 2-3 corner kicks per game (only once in last 14 games have they conceded > 3 corners - to Emory (6) in the semi). Whereas Tufts routinely has 5-8 corners in 10 of the last 14 games. Similarly, Trinity has only conceded > 3 SOG in only 2 of their last 14 games. While Tufts has managed 7+ SOG in 10 of their last 14 games.

Quote from: Sandon Mibut on December 05, 2025, 12:45:23 PMMy gut says Trinity over Emory today, but the eventual winner I think will come from the Tufts-St. Olaf match.

Some statistics and thoughts related to Tufts-Trinity:

I know others have said all the Final 4 teams are really good and have been consistent but I do think Trinity has been playing better in the tournament than what they had been prior. From late-September til the NCAA tourney they had a stretch of 11 games in which they were 9-1-1 but 5 of those wins were decided by 1 goal, they gave up 11 goals in those 11 games and only had 2 shutouts. Tufts, on the other hand, has played consistently well ever since mid-September with lots of tough opponents. They've managed to win or tie several games even when they were under significant pressure against top-20 teams such as Conn, Bowdoin, Wesleyan and St. Olaf.

It seems to me Trinity was able to win a good number of games because their offense had a lot of success. But since the tourney started their defense has been shutting down their opponents (until Emory who they managed to hold off despite offensive pressure from Emory).

Prior to the Emory game, I don't think the Trinity defense has faced any great offensive units (seems like some of their good opponents performed less good against Trinity).

I had to really dig deeper into the stats to find much of an edge one way or another. The cold weather would favor Tufts and I thought I would be writing that Tufts may have an edge if it comes down to PKs but lo and behold: both teams have over 10 PK goals this season! Trinity is 11/12 and Tufts is 10/11.

Both teams have made it to the NCAA finals without needing to go to PKs and each team has 4 wins in regulation and 1 win in OT (double-OT for Tufts).

Since October 1st:

• Tufts 13-0-1; Trinity 13-0-1
• Trinity 39 GF 7 GA; Tufts 33 GF 6 GA
• Tufts 9 shutouts; Trinity 7 shutouts

Season:

• (preface to point out dramatically different SOS. Tufts only faced 4 teams outside the top-63 NPI prior to the tournament while Trinity only face 5 teams inside the top-74 NPI before the tourney {3-1-1})
• Tufts 14 shutouts; Trinity 12 shutouts
• Trinity 60 GF 12 GA; Tufts 55 GF 12 GA
• Trinity has never been shutout; Tufts has been twice (both 0-0 ties)
• Trinity 4 games with 1 goal (3-0-1); Tufts 7 games w 1 goal (5-1-1)
• Vs Top 100 Teams: Tufts 10-1-3 (19 GF 7 GA); Trinity 5-1-1 (15 GF 8 GA)
• Trinity 1 Multi-GA games; Tufts 2 Multi-GA games
• Tufts 7-1-2 against teams that made NCAA (16 GF 7 GA); Trinity 3-1-1 (10 GF 5 GA)
• Trinity 8 games won by 1 goal; Tufts 9 games won by 1 goal

Stats seem to indicate Trinity has no problem playing against physical teams in games with a lot of fouls so that appears to be a wash with Tufts being used to playing lots of games in the generally physical NESCAC.

Size-wise the teams appear similar.

The edge I see, again, is Tufts experience against strong offensive opponents. Their D/GK have been tested repeatedly.

Can Trinity's defense keep up with the Tufts offense? For whatever reason, Trinity's opponents rarely get more than 2-3 corner kicks per game (only once in last 14 games have they conceded > 3 corners - to Emory (6) in the semi). Whereas Tufts routinely has 5-8 corners in 10 of the last 14 games. Similarly, Trinity has only conceded > 3 SOG in only 2 of their last 14 games. While Tufts has managed 7+ SOG in 10 of their last 14 games.

Trinity corners to opponents' 162-48
Tufts corners to opponents' 152-78

Trinity margin 2.2 (2.73 - 0.55)
Tufts margin 1.9 (2.39 - 0.52)

Assists Trinity 51; Tufts 48

Shots/shots faced
Trinity 367-146
Tufts 397-205

Saves Tufts 48; Trinity 35

Fouls committed/opponents:
Trinity 246-289
Tufts 247-277

Cards/ opponents
Trinity 38-54
Tufts 28-38

As I mentioned earlier I had to dig deep in the stats to find differences.

I'm sure it will be a great game but my gut says it will be over in regulation.

Quote from: rdanie03 on December 05, 2025, 05:50:45 PM

Quote from: Bucket on December 05, 2025, 05:38:01 PM

Quote from: paclassic89 on December 05, 2025, 04:57:32 PM

Quote from: Sandon Mibut on December 05, 2025, 04:29:47 PMRef very heavy-handed against Tufts

Ref has been fine.

I didn't watch the entire game, so I can't reasonably comment on overall quality, but this astounds me:

7 cards on Tufts? They had 21 all season.

St Olaf's had 3 cards, so it's not like the official was card happy with all. Seems like Tufts partisans have a point.

As a Tufts partisan here's what I'll say. 5-6 of the cards were merited with one blatantly bad call. I think the bigger problem the jumbos had with the referee was a lack of consistency in what constituted a card. If both teams were held to the same standard, it probably would have finished with 5-6 cards each.

Inconsistency was the problem which I'm sure is why Dezotell got carded.

Call em or don't; just keep it even.

Congrats to St Olaf. Sounds like they'll have a lot of players returning next year.

Let's go Tufts

Ref very heavy-handed against Tufts

Quote from: Kuiper on December 05, 2025, 04:00:18 PMHALF:  St. Olaf 1 - Tufts 1

St. Olaf is having problem with Tufts' size in the box on set pieces, but Tufts had some problems of its own on that last play of the first half allowing a ball to bounce around near the six yard box before being cleared.

Tufts out-shooting St. Olaf 12-6 (4-1 SOG) and has 4 corners to 2 for St. Olaf.  The Ole's will want to limit that corner number in the second half.  Tufts has 7 fouls to 3 for St. Olaf and two Tufts players are carrying yellows into the second half.

St Olaf goalie made 2 great saves to keep them in it. Tufts has had quite a lot of good looks but it's even.

I disagree with both Tufts cards. And couple times I've thought ref is calling St Olaf foul but it's opposite.

Quote from: mngopher on December 05, 2025, 11:31:04 AMI'm the resident Ole here, but I think Tufts advances. I'll say 3-1 Tufts over the Oles. First half ends 1-1 after the Oles get another early one, but this time they can't hold in the 2nd half. Tufts gets a winner early in the 2nd and tacks on another with the Oles pressing late.

I'm not falling for the reverse psychology trick!

My gut says Trinity over Emory today, but the eventual winner I think will come from the Tufts-St. Olaf match.

Looking at NESCAC teams, I think Conn and Wesleyan (in particular) and Tufts all have a several of their studs back again next year. I  thought I had read/heard that Antic would take another year but IDK.

Bates had 2 freshmen and a Sophomore earn All-Conference honors. They could be a team to watch in the next year or two. Not sure what will happen in 2026 with Amherst, Midd or Williams.

Ok glad to see others with similar questions.

Augsburg and Lynchburg have 3 players apiece on Teams 1 and 2... while the entire NESCAC has 4 players and they're all Team 3 and Team 4.

Crazy how few NESCAC players are represented on the men's side. Tyler Huck NESCAC player of the year is only 3rd team All America?

Tufts GK Nikola Antic has 0.51 GAA which is better than the 1st Team All America GK (0.52)? Freshman Augsburg GK is 2nd team All America after giving up 21 goals and 0.88 GAA? That GAA would be 7th in the NESCAC!

Are the selections always this wonky? I've never followed closely prior to this year.

Has NCAA announced host sites for the Final 4 in any upcoming years? I thought I had read them somewhere but I cannot find anything.

Go Tufts!

Couple other fun facts since I don't know how to edit my previous post:

NESCAC has been present in the finals 9 out of the last 10 years (not in 2017).

Of the last 9 times NESCAC has been in the finals, they've only lost 2x to a non-NESCAC opponent.

One of those non-NESCAC opponents that defeated NESCAC: St Olaf over Amherst in the 2023 finals!


Although the weather Friday doesn't seem to give any team an edge, it would slightly favor Tufts or St. Olaf over Trinity (in particular) or Emory. While recent weather in Atlanta has been down in the 30's and 40's, I assume Emory mostly plays in temps > 50* in Oct/Nov and Trinity would be used to even warmer temps.

Quote from: Kuiper on December 03, 2025, 10:18:21 AMOne additional fact that may only be of interest to me is that St. Olaf's Justin Oliver has won a national championship, while Tufts' Kyle Dezotell has never been this far before as a head coach.  Does it matter?  Not sure.  Oliver, after all, won the championship in his first season.  On the other hand, Dezotell may be feeling the pressure of taking over from a 4-time national championship coach (Josh Shapiro) and, in the eyes of demanding Jumbos alums, having squads that have fallen short from that lofty standard.

Re: Dezotell / pressure / "big shoes to fill" - FWIW - he has the best win % of any NESCAC coach for the period 2021-2025 (his entire tenure at Tufts) and Tufts is one of only 3 NESCAC teams that have made it to the NCAA tourney each of the last 5 years (along w Middlebury and Amherst). Notably, Tufts has not lost in the NCAA 1st round in the last 5 years whereas Middlebury has (2022) and now Amherst has (2025). So in spite of the "lack of NCAA tournament success" relative to his predecessor, the Jumbos have enjoyed many great seasons with Dezotell at the helm. It is also fun to note that the 2025 Tufts team is the first that was entirely recruited by Dezotell.

Over the last 5 seasons:
Tufts............... 78.5% (75.6% prior to this season)
Amherst....... 76.9% (80.9% prior to this season)
Middlebury 72.3% (74.7% prior to this season)
Conn............. 71.3% (71.3% prior to this season)
Bowdoin...... 67.0%
Williams...... 62.2%
Wesleyan.... 60.0%

One other fun fact: With just 1 exception (NESCAC-NESCAC match between Middlebury-Amherst in 2024 semifinals) NESCAC teams have not lost an NCAA semifinal match since 2013! (perhaps the streak goes back farther but I'm unable to find the 2013 bracket online)