Mid-Atlantic Region

[soccerfan111]

BTW, re: Messiah... Where's that clown(!) who used a relatively down year last year to mark the end of the Messiah era?

Laughable.

Good question. One can only wonder what that was about. Maybe someone jealous of the Falcons who was trying to steer recruits away? Don't know, but if so they failed. The talent level in the last two incoming classes is near their historical ceiling. And, obviously, McCarty isn't losing anything. Last year's coaching job was just excellent, taking a mediocre team out of the doldrums and into the Sweet Sixteen. (Liberty teams had recently eliminated the Falcons a couple times, but last year they turned the tables at Hobart, and this year they won at Vassar.) All the while, he was developing that great FR group into the SO who are leading the team this year and recruiting another high level group coming in this fall.

Anyway, I appreciated your support last fall when that was going down.

Agree with most of your comments Falconer. This team is significantly better than last year's and I think part of that is all of those younger guys playing last year. However, I don't think this team is as deep as previous teams. The second group is playing a decent amount, but there is a significant drop between the two still.

Overall though, this team is much better defensively, which keeps them in all of their games. Resch is also special 1v1 (or even 1v2) and they've been lacking that individual player for a few seasons. Excited to see how things play out in NCAAs!

[Kuiper]

Region V - Poll 7 - October 27, 2026
Rank   School   Prev   W-L-T
1   University of Scranton   NR   12-1-3
2   Messiah University   NR   13-1-2
3   Johns Hopkins University   NR   10-4-2
4   Haverford College   NR   13-3-1
5   Catholic University   NR   10-2-4
6   Neumann University   NR   11-3-2
7   Widener University   NR   10-4-1
8   York College (Pa.)   NR   10-6-2

[Kuiper]

At 8-0-8, TCNJ is the Haverford of 2026 in terms of tying games

Region IV - Poll 7 - October 27, 2026
Rank   School   Prev   W-L-T
1   Montclair State University   NR   14-2-2
2   Rowan University   NR   11-1-3
3   The College of New Jersey   NR   8-0-8
4   Lebanon Valley College   NR   12-2-2
5   Rutgers University-Newark   NR   7-3-5
6   New York University   NR   8-4-2
7   Stevens Institute of Technology   NR   7-3-4
8   SUNY New Paltz   NR   9-5-2

[Kuiper]

Region V - Poll 8 - November 3, 2026
Rank    School    Prev    W-L-T
1    University of Scranton    NR    13-1-3
2    Messiah University    NR    15-1-2
3    Johns Hopkins University    NR    11-4-2
4    Catholic University    NR    12-2-4
5    Neumann University    NR    13-3-2
6    Haverford College    NR    13-3-2
7    York College (Pa.)    NR    11-6-2
8    Moravian University    NR    9-3-5

[Hopkins92]

Interesting results in the CC tournament.

Hopkins hosts #6 Muhlenberg. The Mules just beat Hop in PA, so we'll see if the can repeat the act at Homewood.
Dickinson hosts #5 Haverford. That's another intriguing match-up. Dickinson was picked to win the CC and Haverford is having a major "come up" year, as evidenced by the regional rankings.

Might try to make it up to Baltimore if the boys can win on Friday night. Both games kickoff at 7pm.

[SierraFD3soccer]

CC looks like a one team NCAA conf., if I was putting odds on it. Hop may have to win to get in. They are on the bubble at 36. If they lose to the Muhls (106), it might push them below the bubble.

If Hop beats the Muhls, might be different. If Dickinson (83) beats Hop in the final then maybe both have a chance, but I would bet against it. IMO, which ever team wins obv goes in and the remaining 3 semifinalists go home.

As to the Fords, they've had two pretty good seasons in row and have not gotten much credit. 24-3-12. Most colleges would love that record. Obv. if they got wins in 50% of their tie, they would 30-3-6. Or even 25% of the ties. I would argue that the elimination of OT has hurt the Fords more than almost all the teams. This year they are 14-3-2 overall and still are only ranked 48th which is a better than other teams above them.

The Fords suffer from a situation many NESCAC teams have as positive. NESCAC schedule 5 teams (some overlapping) substantially subpar D3 teams and then play each other which allows them to qual. 8 or so teams. The Fords' out of conf. schedule is lacking just like NESCAC, but CC teams have not done well with their out of conf. schedule, so their in conf. schedule does not boost them like NESCAC teams. Somehow a 5 loss team, Wesleyan (7-5-4) is ranked 20th. Hamilton is 14th at 7-4-4. Also realize that both of those teams padded their schedule with 5 bad out of conf. Those in conf. ties have catapulted them in the rankings. So maybe NESCAC has seriously benefited from the no OT.

So Fords are going to have to step up its out of conf. schedule if they want any real respect.

[Hopkins92]

Yeah, Hopkins beating Ursinus did absolutely nothing to bump them up in the NPI. Same thing with the upcoming semi game against the Mules.

I'm not smart enough to understand what a loss against Dickinson would do.

The cut line is anywhere from low 30s to potentially mid 40s. So, realistically I don't think Dickinson can get in unless they take the AQ. If that drops Hop into the 40s, it's time to start looking at other results and AQs getting pipped.

[SierraFD3soccer]

What people have to root for is that top teams (25 and above) win their conf. tourneys thereby them being their AQs Then the bubble goes lower and lower.

[Sandon Mibut]

Yeah, Hopkins beating Ursinus did absolutely nothing to bump them up in the NPI. Same thing with the upcoming semi game against the Mules.

I'm not smart enough to understand what a loss against Dickinson would do.

The cut line is anywhere from low 30s to potentially mid 40s. So, realistically I don't think Dickinson can get in unless they take the AQ. If that drops Hop into the 40s, it's time to start looking at other results and AQs getting pipped.

I've crunched a bunch of numbers using today's NPIs and I think the AQ is the only route for Haverford/ Dickinson/ Muhl.

Beyond AQ, Hopkins has a slim chance for an at-large bid if they win Friday (actual win, not PKs) then lose on PKs (not an outright loss) on Sunday.

[HelloMrEvil]

Haverford with the astounding 5-0 away victory tonight over Dickinson to reach the CC championship for the first time since 2018. Crazy to think they won't be able to get an at large bid if they don't win the conference. If they beat Hopkins they'll have beaten all 9 CC teams this season.

[GKForverr1]

Here is a

to the handball call at the end of Neumann vs Messiah. As a longtime Messiah fan who despises teams who beat us via brawling, I have to give it to Neumann...for the most part.

The good/great moments: Both teams created wonderful chances...both goalkeepers for Messiah and Neumann's Sato were excellent. I enjoyed watching the game and wish Neumann the best of luck in the tournament. They have a lot of quality players and should be excited to continue their season.

The poor moments: The yellow card where Jordan Illian chased Owen Resch down to take him out. Owen gave Jordan a pretty good bump prior to that moment that was outside of what I'd be okay with for context. However, instead of moving on he ran Owen down and took him out from behind and could have seriously injured him. This kind of retaliatory behavior can't be cheered for, yet it was by the Neumann students who were heckling Owen all night.

The bench cheering after they (the bench) got a yellow card. Again, to me this kind of behavior is what leads to loss of control on the field and dangerous situations like the one described above.

Some of the heckling was reasonable but a few out of line comments include "Owen showers with his dad" and "Owen (inaudible) while his dad watches". I would hope Neumann's athletic department will find these remarks out of line if they take the time to review the stream.

Again, a credit to Neumann for winning although it's a bummer it had to be from a PK over a handball call. Pretty hard to avoid the ball coming from right in front of you but it's the rule.

Hopefully Monday brings good news for both teams in terms of tournament placement!

[Footy]

BTW, re: Messiah... Where's that clown(!) who used a relatively down year last year to mark the end of the Messiah era?

Laughable.

Good question. One can only wonder what that was about. Maybe someone jealous of the Falcons who was trying to steer recruits away? Don't know, but if so they failed. The talent level in the last two incoming classes is near their historical ceiling. And, obviously, McCarty isn't losing anything. Last year's coaching job was just excellent, taking a mediocre team out of the doldrums and into the Sweet Sixteen. (Liberty teams had recently eliminated the Falcons a couple times, but last year they turned the tables at Hobart, and this year they won at Vassar.) All the while, he was developing that great FR group into the SO who are leading the team this year and recruiting another high level group coming in this fall.

Anyway, I appreciated your support last fall when that was going down.

Agree with most of your comments Falconer. This team is significantly better than last year's and I think part of that is all of those younger guys playing last year. However, I don't think this team is as deep as previous teams. The second group is playing a decent amount, but there is a significant drop between the two still.

Overall though, this team is much better defensively, which keeps them in all of their games. Resch is also special 1v1 (or even 1v2) and they've been lacking that individual player for a few seasons. Excited to see how things play out in NCAAs!

Im right here....And I stand by my comments.  Sweet 16 after a soft opening weekend, and then got dismantled when they played a team with a national standing.  Much better record this year, thanks to some self awareness and a much, much easier schedule.  York takes them to the wire and they allow 3 (!!) goals.....and a loss in the conference championships.  They could start a desk chair in the midfield and compete in the MAC - and do some smarter scheduling to be successful....but they arent the national power anymore, and with talent shifting to D3 - they dont compete nationally like they have in the past.  This years team is not much different than last years team, and I would argue they gradated some very dynamic players that are being missed greatly in the attack.  This year is not a measure of superior talent, nor superior coaching....just an easier schedule, far fewer national power matchups - and actually proves to be a weaker team considering the struggle to get through the conference compared to previous years....both York and Nuemann were real contests in regular season and the tournament....and lets be honest, if the MAC Commonwealth is a "test" - then chances are you arent going to match up on the national stage.

[Falconer]

Im right here....And I stand by my comments.  Sweet 16 after a soft opening weekend, and then got dismantled when they played a team with a national standing.  Much better record this year, thanks to some self awareness and a much, much easier schedule. 

Obviously you are still here, Footy. You've been here for 14 months and made 19 posts, several of them simply proclaiming that McCarty is a shadow of his former self, that Messiah soccer has decayed from the inside, and that they are basically done.

What I and others have wondered is, why do you lurk and then enter suddenly just to trash the Falcons? I speculated (that's the correct verb) whether you're simply trying to turn your comments into a self-fulfilling prophecy--maybe you just hate Messiah for some reason and want to discourage recruits from considering it? It looks that way, frankly, but I can only speculate. Care to enlighten us? What's your point?

I doubt, honestly, whether any D3 soccer team will ever come close to the domination UCLA exerted over D1 basketball in the 1960s and 1970s. The fact that no one ever matched John Wooden doesn't mean that UCLA self-destructed or that Wooden lost it after 1973 (he stayed 2 more years). It means lots of things, including the fact that no dynasty lasts forever.

My comments here have mainly focused on analyzing this year's team (as I always like to do, and I always criticize them when they don't play well or when they just aren't very good like 2015 and 2025). I will continue to do that, and unless you unmask yourself (as e.g. a former Falcon player whom you name or something like that) I will continue to assume that you know a lot less than me about Falcon soccer. FW and a few others are entitled to their opinions on self-destruction, but you aren't.

The biggest change I see in D3 soccer has nothing to with Messiah. The NESCAC teams are all playing follow the leaders (Tufts and Amherst). That is, they are using soccer very aggressively to recruit big, strong young men who starred in soccer at "independent" schools (i.e., private schools with enormously high tuition prices), some of whom might not have been admitted to a NESCAC if they hadn't excelled at soccer. This helps explain why places like W & L and the UAA schools are also a lot better nowadays. Messiah, Calvin, Rowan (which won natties when it was called Glassboro State), the former top power Loras (now nearing financial extinction) and similar non-elite schools can't follow that leader. They still get lots of really good players, even occasionally a brilliant player (like Luke Groothoff at Messiah a few years ago), but the landscape has changed fundamentally from even just 15 years ago.

If you (Footy) want to respond to that analysis, by all means go for it, but I will ignore your jealous rants about Messiah. I didn't raise this matter in the posts you quoted above. A former Hopkins GK did. He was right, of course, but I'm done with that.

[Hopkins92]

The Kins top the Fords 1-0 in regulation.

Hop scored on a PK somewhere in the middle of the first half. Hav had a chance to tie it on a well-deserved PK on the Jays keeper with 7 minutes left. But, said keeper mightily redeemed himself with a fine save of said PK.

Dropping my relative objectivity, it was great to see them win a title one year removed from breaking a lengthy NCAA appearance run.

We'll see where they land tomorrow.

[SierraFD3soccer]

Hop did it. Great job. Good luck in the tournament.

CC is most likely a one NCAA qualifier this year.

The Fords were 44th before their lose and even though they crushed Dickinson. Interesting enough they were 40th after the semis but dropped 4 spots. Hop dropped 2 spots to 36 also before the finals. The Fords ended the season 15-4-2 which is a pretty solid record compared to teams above them. I counted only 9 teams with more wins above them. Just did not play strong enough teams. Last year they were 10-0-10 and weren't even close.