Go WEST young man (and NORTH)

[BTXCru18]

6 straight regular season titles, but simply cannot get it done in the post-season... Wow.

This ASC finals is a game where the scoreline doesn't match the stats

Hardin-Simmons 1 - Mary Hardin-Baylor 0 (62nd minute)

UMHB is outshooting H-S 24-5 and has been dominating possession and offensive chances all game, but H-S is ahead on a goal in the 49th minute. 

Will this be a year where UMHB once again dominates in the regular season, but H-S has the upper hand in the conference tournament?

FINAL:  Hardin-Simmons 1 - Mary Hardin-Baylor 0

UMHB just couldn't find the equalizer and H-S did enough to squeak by.  H-S wins the ASC tournament for the fourth straight year and second year in a row over UMHB in the finals.

[Kuiper]

Whitman and Pacific Lutheran take care of business today

Whitman 3 - Puget Sound 1

Pacific Lutheran 3 - Whitworth 0

Tomorrow's Pacific Lutheran @ Whitman game is for the NWC regular season title and the conference AQ

[pioneer27]

 North Update:

WIAC Last Night:
Platteville Scored 2 late to beat Stevens Point 2-1 and Eau Claire beat Whitewater in pks after 0-0 game
Sunday Final around noon at Platteville.  Platteville won regular season game 1-0
   

MIAC Final
St Olaf win is PK's after 1-1 game vs St Johns

MWC Semi Finals
Luther 3 Lake Forest 0
Grinnell 1 Illinois College 0
Final at 2:00 tomorrow.  Luther won the regular season game 3-0 at Grinnell in a stead rain on a rain socked field. 


UMAC Final
UW Superior 6 Bethany 0. 

[Kuiper]

North Update:

UMAC Final
UW Superior 6 Bethany 0. 

As an aside, sophomore Seth Davidson got another goal and two assists today for Superior and now has 29g/16a on the season.

[Kuiper]

HALF:  Whitman 3 - Pacific Lutheran 0

Whitman dominating in what is effectively the NWC Championship Game.  Whitman has 12 shots to 3 for PLU and Whitman has 7 shots on goal versus zero for PLU.  Unless the Lutes can make a big comeback in the second half, it looks like Whitman will once again represent the NWC in the NCAAs.

[Kuiper]

La Verne 1 - Whittier 0 (63rd minute)

La Verne takes the lead on a panenka PK by Joel Trejo!  Pretty audacious for a kid to try a panenka in what I think is the program's first men's soccer SCIAC conference final ever, but I'm here for it.  Very SoCal vibe against these Swedes and Norwegians from Whittier (although the kick itself originated in Europe).

Incidentally, they are on a hydration break right now, which seems off for a game in November, but it's mid-80s right now and probably closer to 90s on La Verne's artificial turf.

[Kuiper]

Region X teams in the bracket:

Texas Pod

Southwestern v. Hardin Simmons

Trinity v. La Verne

Ironically, it is the Trinity-La Verne game that is a repeat of an earlier game this season, not the Southwestern-Hardin Simmons game.

Trinity tied La Verne 1-1 on 9/11 in San Antonio

Not sure why, but Southwestern and Hardin Simmons have not played each other since 2023, when they tied 1-1.  That's kind of odd for two traditionally good D3 men's soccer teams in Texas to go without playing each other in a non-conference regular season games for three years.  They used to play each other every season in the non-conference games, but then stopped after 2023.

If Trinity gets by La Verne, then it will be a repeat opponent regardless of who wins the Southwestern-HSU game.

Trinity beat Hardin Simmons 4-0 on 9/20 and tied Southwestern 0-0 on 10/6.

Region X teams sent elsewhere

Whitman is sent to Minnesota (Saint John's) to play North Park and Colorado College is sent to New Jersey (Rowan) to play Washington & Lee

[Kuiper]

Final USC Poll before the tournament.  CMS doesn't drop out despite getting crushed by La Verne in the SCIAC tournament.  Neither does Redlands after losing to Whittier.  No Pacific Lutheran, though, after losing to Whitman.

Region X - Poll 9 - November 10, 2026

Rank    School    Prev    W-L-T
1    Southwestern University    NR    15-2-1
2    Trinity University (Texas)    NR    11-2-6
3    Colorado College    NR    15-2-2
4    Whitman College    NR    14-3-3
5    University of La Verne    NR    9-5-7
6    University of Mary Hardin-Baylor    NR    13-3-2
7    University of Redlands    NR    11-4-5
8    Claremont-McKenna-Harvey Mudd-Scripps Colleges    NR    10-6-3

[Kuiper]

Seems like Grinnell deserved more respect after a 14-4-2 season and beating Luther to win the MWC.

Region IX - Poll 9 - November 10, 2026
Rank    School    Prev    W-L-T
1    St. Olaf College    NR    17-0-4
2    Saint John's University    NR    17-2-3
3    Gustavus Adolphus College    NR    12-4-3
4    University of Wisconsin-Superior    NR    16-3-3
5    Luther College    NR    11-2-5
6    University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire    NR    10-3-7
7    University of Wisconsin-Platteville    NR    10-5-4
8    Loras College    NR    14-3-2

Also receiving votes: Grinnell College

[Kuiper]

ASC All Conference Awards

2026 ASC Men's Soccer Individual Awards
Offensive Player of the Year: Joshua Daley, East Texas Baptist
Defensive Player of the Year: Rhett Rapuzzi, Mary Hardin-Baylor
Goalkeeper of the Year: Mason Miller, Schreiner
Freshman of the Year: Mason Miller, Schreiner
Coach of the Year: Ben Allen, Mary Hardin-Baylor
Fred Jacoby Sportsmanship Team:
Preston McLean, East Texas Baptist
Gabriel Anderson, Hardin-Simmons
Andrew Womack, Howard Payne
Zach Verbeck, Mary Hardin-Baylor
Nick Munoz, McMurry
Gabe Zagastizabal, Schreiner

First Team All-Conference
Name    Class    Position    School
Rhett Rapuzzi*    Sr.    D    Mary Hardin-Baylor
Jesus Vasquez    Fr.    D    Mary Hardin-Baylor
Jacob Wenzel*    Sr.    D    East Texas Baptist
Gabriel Anderson    So.    D    Hardin-Simmons
Billy Yonce    So.    F    Mary Hardin-Baylor
Gabriel Rodriguez    So.    F    Hardin-Simmons
Cody Smith    So.    F    Schreiner
Martin Valdes    So.    F    Mary Hardin-Baylor
Grayson Bowler    So.    MF    Mary Hardin-Baylor
Joshua Daley*    Jr.    MF    East Texas Baptist
Xzavier Saldana*    Sr.    MF    Howard Payne
Mason Miller    Fr.    GK    Schreiner

Second Team All-Conference
Name    Class    Position    School
Diego Saenz    Jr.    D    Schreiner
Lewis Patterson*    Sr.    D    Schreiner
Cameron Phipps    Gr.    D    Howard Payne
Philip Nathans    Sr.    D    Hardin-Simmons
Braxton Ladwig    So.    F    East Texas Baptist
Cameron Hoschar    Fr.    F    Schreiner
Connor Parker    Fr.    F    Howard Payne
Justyn Judie    So.    F    McMurry
Gabe Zagastizabal    Jr.    MF    Schreiner
Francisco Perez    So.    MF    Howard Payne
Edwin Macias    Sr.    MF    Hardin-Simmons
Hughston Taggart*    So.    GK    Mary Hardin-Baylor
2025 All-Conference Selection*

[Kuiper]

SCAC All Conference Awards

2026 SCAC Men's Soccer Offensive Player-of-the-Year
Teddy Opler Colorado College Jr. F Wilson, Wyoming

2026 SCAC Men's Soccer Defensive Player-of-the-Year
Leonel Cuellar Concordia (Texas) Sr. GK Midlothian, Texas

2026 SCAC Men's Soccer First-Year Player-of-the-Year
Joseph Aziz University of Dallas Fy. F Keller, Texas

2026 SCAC Men's Soccer Coaching Staff-of-the-Year
Colorado College Scott Palguta, Head Coach 8-0-1 SCAC / 13-2-2 Overall
SCAC Regular Season Champion

2026 All-SCAC Men's Soccer First Team

JT Newbury Colorado College Fy. D Tiverton, Rhode Island
Enoch Morebise Concordia (Texas) Jr. D Houston, Texas
Steven Dolan Concordia (Texas) Sr. D Georgetown, Texas
Kristian Princ LeTourneau Univ. Sr. D Eden Prairie, Minnesota
Teddy Opler Colorado College Jr. F Wilson, Wyoming
Joseph Aziz University of Dallas Fy. F Keller, Texas
Bridge Mwambukiri LeTourneau Univ. So. F Houston, Texas
Jack Hilliard Colorado College Sr. M San Antonio, Texas
Leandro Ferreira LeTourneau Univ. So. M San Antonio, Texas
Joseph Perez Concordia (Texas) So. M College Station, Texas
Arlo Sollinger Colorado College Fy. M Fairfield, Connecticut
Leonel Cuellar Concordia (Texas) Sr. GK Midlothian, Texas
Spencer Besselaar Colorado College Sr. GK Seattle, Washington

2026 All-SCAC Men's Soccer Second Team

Carson Alldredge Texas Lutheran Univ. Sr. D Spring, Texas
Dylan Stapley Colorado College Sr. D San Diego, California
Jesse Garfias Concordia (Texas) Sr. D Waxahachie, Texas
Colton Chalker LeTourneau Univ. Fy. F Denver, Colorado
Hani Ahmadie Univ. of St. Thomas Jr. F Glendale, California
Evan Pacheco Texas Lutheran Univ. Jr. F San Antonio, Texas
Thomas Saylae Concordia (Texas) Sr. F Richardson, Texas
Luis Briseno Texas Lutheran Univ. So. M San Antonio, Texas
Emmanuel Rodriguez Univ. of St. Thomas Sr. M Houston, Texas
Tripp Ortega III Hendrix College Jr. M Little Rock, Arkansas
Jesus Carrillo Texas Lutheran Univ. So. M San Antonio, Texas
Edson Camara Martinez LeTourneau Univ. So. GK Houston, Texas

[Kuiper]

Reposted from NCAA Tournament Thread for those Region X fans who aren't following that thread

First Preview of games involving Region X teams:

RV/#47 NPI Colorado College v. #23/#24 NPI Washington & Lee @ Rowan on Saturday, 11/14 at 2:30 pm eastern

The last time these two teams faced each other was in the 4th round of the NCAA tournament in 2023 @ Tufts, when W&L won in PKs 5-4.

Colorado College is the SCAC champion, having gone undefeated in conference play and beating LeTourneau in the SCAC finals 1-0.  I don't think this Colorado College team is as strong as its 2023 squad, but a few contributors from that game remain, including Jack Hilliard, Zeke Lubin, and Wyatt Linggi.  There are also a few players who watched from the bench including Dylan Rich, Dylan Stapley, Alex Wolter, and Spencer Besselaar, (plus Alex Meyerhoff's little brother Rocco might have been watching from the stands).

It has a 15-2-2 overall record, but only an NPI rank of 47, which is in large part because the SCAC is not particularly strong, especially after Trinity and Southwestern departed.  The second highest SCAC team in the NPI is Concordia, which is #136 and the conference has 5 teams ranked in the 300s. Coupled with a victory over Whitworth, which they probably thought would be a decent Region X opponent after finishing 4th in the NWC last season, the NPI formula dropped Colorado College's full complement of 6 "bad wins" from its NPI score and it still would have come up short without the AQ.  Its best results were a 2-1 win at Redlands, which faded at the end of the season and finished #57 and a tie in Waukesha, Wisconsin against Wisconsin-Eau Claire, which finished #61. It also played #20 Saint John's, losing 2-0 in Lincoln, Nebraska.  Notwithstanding Colorado College's middling strength of schedule, its only bad loss was 3-1 to Cal Lutheran on its opening trip to SoCal on 9/11 on a weekend that was the high point for Cal Lu, which also tied Emory 1-1 on the same weekend.

Colorado College's engine on offense is Teddy Opler, who has 13 goals and 10 assists, and Jack Hilliard, who has 8 goals and 6 assists.  Freshman F Arlo Sollinger has been a revelation, scoring 7 goals and 7 assists.  Spencer Besselaar is solid in goal, but he and current backup Alex Wolter have alternated over their college careers depending on health and form and I think both are good GKs who have benefitted from strong defenses over their years.

Washington & Lee is a very different team from 2023 when it faced Colorado College, as that was the last season Mike Singleton and his staff manned the helm for the Generals.  It is still strong, though, finishing 12-3-3 this season before falling to Lynchburg in the ODAC semifinals.  The ODAC is better than the SCAC, especially at the top with Lynchburg at #12 and a group of decent opponents in the 70s and 80s, but it does have its share of weaker opponents at the bottom of the conference.  W&L, though, is well-positioned geographically to supplement its schedule with quality opponents and it beat fellow NCAA qualifiers like Johns Hopkins and Christopher Newport in non-conference play, as well as CCS AQ Covenant.

Rowan Sellers is the top scorer, with 10 goals, and Matthew Jenkins leads in assists with 6.  It hasn't scored nearly as many goals as Colorado College (36 v. 52), though, which has been a year-long struggle for the team against better opponents, but it has conceded fewer of them (14 v. 18) and I think its GK, Miles Furman, is a commanding presence along with Miles' brother Spencer and Anthony Careccia, who both offer senior experience in central defense.  W&L's loss to Lynchburg in the ODAC tournament, when it allowed two goals in the last six minutes to give Lynchburg the lead, had to sting and likely will be a point of emphasis coming into the tourney.

W&L has a few players remaining from its 2023 game against Colorado College as well, with Spencer Furman starting and playing the full 110 minutes, while Nick Apostolu getting a cameo off the bench.  Anthony Careccia, Aaron Cordova, Taha Kaba, Matthew Jenkins, Trian Kechagias, Nati Seife, and Jack Travis watched from the bench.

With the longer travel, different time zones, and weaker overall resume, it would be an upset for Colorado College to win this game.  Nevertheless, Colorado College is on an 11 game unbeaten streak, while W&L hasn't been quite as dominant down the stretch, going winless for a four game stretch before beating ODAC cellar dwellers Guilford and Averett and narrowly defeating Randolph Macon in the ODAC quarterfinals.

[Kuiper]

#38 (NPI) Trinity v. #74 (NPI) La Verne

This is the unusual case of a rematch between a SAA and SCIAC team.  Trinity and La Verne played each other back on 9/11 and tied 1-1.  Trinity had the better of possession in what was otherwise a pretty even game, but La Verne could have won it but for a PK that hit the post in the second half.  Trinity had a man advantage starting in the 77th minute when Aiden Tapia-Palacios was shown a red card for grabbing a Trinity player's neck, but La Verne stayed compact and held on.

Trinity is a very different team than it was against La Verne in the regular season. First, Gustav Moberg, who delivered the assist on Trinity's goal, hasn't played since Oct. 18 against Oglethorpe.  Second, Ethan Cowdrey, Trinity's 6'7" center back, who started and played a half that game, played 1 minute in the Millsaps game on November 1 and missed both games in the SCAC tournament.  I'm not sure the defense isn't better against a team like La Verne in the run of play with a quicker defender out there, but Cowdrey offers a size dimension on corners and set plays that is valuable.  They will miss him if he isn't available.  Third, that was the last game Max Salinas played for Trinity this season.  They really could use his creativity in the middle of the park.  Finally, Eduardo Parra, Trinity's leading scorer with 11 goals, didn't even get off the bench against La Verne that game.  He scored his first goal the next game against Texas A&M San Antonio and he has been on fire to end the season, scoring goals in 6 of the last 8 games.  He offers more than Joey Perryman, the starter the last La Verne game, does, and is the kind of player who can challenge La Verne's defense.

La Verne also has dealt with injuries, but they seem to be rounding back to health at the right time.  Hernan Sevilla, a defender who started and played 86 minutes the last game, missed the the last week of September and the whole month of October, but he came back for the SCIAC tournament, logging 34 and 27 minutes in the last two games.  His twin brother Uli Sevilla, however, who also started and played most of the game v. Trinity, continues to be out.  On the flip side, second leading scorer and playmaker Juan Manzano (5g/7a), who missed the Texas trip altogether and a chunk of October, came back and had a goal and an assist v. CMS in the SCIAC tournament.  The Colombian player will be a handful for the Trinity defense. Forward Josiah Barber, a DI transfer from UC Santa Barbara who has 4g/2a this season, also missed the Texas trip and came back in mid-October after being out a month.  Since he returned and got his fitness back, he has come alive, scoring in 3 of the last 5 games, including opening the scoring against CMS in the SCIAC tournament. Getting him, Manzano, and Hernan Sevilla back for the tournament was an underrated part of their success.

Trinity should be heavily favored given travel and coming into the game with a 16 game unbeaten streak that started after they returned from their SoCal washout trip and tied La Verne.  One advantage La Verne has in addition to being familiar with Trinity is that they played at Southwestern two days after playing at Trinity, so they are familiar with Southwestern's field and locker room setup.  Those little things can take the edge off the nerves of being in the NCAA tournament for the first time.

[Kuiper]

Another in my series of previews of games involving Region X teams

#13/#18 (NPI) Southwestern v. #184 (NPI) Hardin-Simmons at Southwestern on Saturday 11/14 at 3 pm central

It is curious that this is the game in the Texas pod that does not involve a re-match.  Not only did Southwestern and Hardin-Simmons not play each other this season in a non-conference game, but they haven't played each other since 2023.  Before that, they played each other quite often, facing each other 18 times between 2000 and 2023.  Part of that is Southwestern's move to the SAA, which left them with more non-conference games to schedule, but all the SCAC teams as potential opponents along with hosting teams like Lynchburg and La Verne this season.  Hardin-Simmons also has fewer non-conference slots because of the ASC moving this season to a double round robin.

The teams do have some common opponents.  Hardin-Simmons lost to Texas Lutheran 5-1 on 9/18, lost to Trinity 4-0 on 9/20, and beat East Texas Baptist 3-1 on 10/8, 2-1 on 10/15, and 4-1 on 11/8, while Southwestern lost to East Texas Baptist 3-1 on 9/4, beat Texas Lutheran 2-0 on 9/11 and tied Trinity 0-0 on 10/6.  These are wildly different outcomes depending upon opponent, but I would chalk it up to timing.  Hardin-Simmons started out slow (when it was crushed by Texas Lutheran and Trinity) and finished strong (when it beat ETBU) and East Texas Baptist started out strong in September (when it beat Southwestern) and finished poorly in October/November (when it lost to H-S three times).

Hardin-Simmons is coming in hot, having gone unbeaten in 7 games with 5 wins in a row, but all of those games have been in-conference and the ASC is not particularly strong.  Southwestern had gone 15 games unbeaten before losing on a late goal to Rhodes in the SAA semifinals.  Southwestern once again struggled for lack of offense, offering only 3 shots on goal, including 0 shots of any kind in the first half. 

I expect Southwestern to be motivated as a result of its loss to Rhodes, but it might play into Hardin-Simmons' hands if they are overly aggressive on the offensive front.  Hardin-Simmons has kind of specialized in bunkering and launching counters as part of their mid-season turnaround.  They have given up 8 goals in the last 10 games after giving up 21 goals in the first 8 games of the season.  Against Mary Hardin-Baylor, they only took 6 shots, compared to 28 for UMHB, but scored on a goal by Jaxon Shaffer, who came back from injury right around when Hardin-Simmons started turning its season around.  He scored all 6 of his goals in those last 10 games, often providing a speedy outlet on the right wing for the counter attacks.

One interesting note is that H-S rotates its goalkeepers, with Joel McPherson typically starting and Joaquin Sanchez coming on in the second half.  I think more schools would be better served by doing that, but in this case when Sanchez comes on it will be interesting to see if Southwestern adjusts its offensive strategy at all.  Defender Cooper Pero is already Southwestern's second leading scorer with 6 goals, but at 6'4" against 5'8" Sanchez, the mismatch is obvious on set plays.  H-S doesn't have a lot of height on the back line to protect Sanchez either, with MF Noah Halpin the tallest regular starter at 6'3", but I'm not sure he can physically stay with Pero.  They have some big defenders on the bench, but they are freshmen.