New England Soccer Discussion

[d3fan1]

Messiah has proven to be the best team in D3 soccer in both men's and women's side. One team that could say they have been almost as competitive is Wheaton in Illinois, which is another strong Christian institution. I for one don't think it is a coincedence that the quality of individuals attracted by a Christian institution would produce the caliber of character necessary to achieve this level of success.

[nescac1]

Actually, I believe it is coincidence.  Amherst, Wash U., Emory, Middlebury, TCNJ, and Williams are all totally secular (and very diverse) institutions, and they have combined to dominate D-3 sports overall for the past decade, pretty much owning the top spots in the Director's Cup standings and all winning multiple national championships across a wide variety of sports.  I think being a Christian institution neither helps nor hinders athletic success -- rather, it comes down to coaching, recruiting, institutional support, etc.  If anything else, in D-III it seems like there is a strong correlation between strong academics and strong athletic success (Wheaton, mentioned below, I know to be a very strong academic school, as are all of the above listed schools). 

[Jim Matson]

Good point, nescac1.

[ECSUalum]

 Little East Conference
2009 Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll

Rank, Institution (1st Place votes)   Pts. 2008 Finish
1.   EASTERN CONN.       (3)             57      3rd
2.   Rhode Island College (2)*           55      2nd
3.   U. of Southern Maine (1)            40      1st
4.   Plymouth State U.     (1)             38     4th
5.   Keene State College                    37    t-6th
6.   Western Conn.                            26      5th
7.   Massachusetts Dartmouth           23    t-6th
8.   Massachusetts Boston                12      8th
*-2008 playoff champion

[d3fan1]

I agree with you nescac1. There are any number of highly successful secular d3 institutions. My point was not that success is the exclusive domain of Christian institutions, but instead that, all other things being equal, the intangible characteristics brougt to the table in character traits may be enough to make the difference in winning consistantly rather than being close. If athletes are drinking and partying during the season it may be harder to get over the top when the competition gets tough. I realize that just because you attend a Christian institution it is no guarantee that  you won't drink and I'm sure there are many dedicated athletes from secular school who do take care of themselves, but I think there is a better chance that schools like Messiah and Wheaton are more disciplined. I may be wrong though.
Just so you know, I have one son who plays soccer at a Christian school and one who plays at a secular school and both teams are very dedicated and do a great job, but I think it may be harder to make good decisions at the secular school.

[owl]

I have followed college soccer for some time and while I concurr that the stability and attitude of the institution are important, my personal opinion is the coach and AD in the institution is probably the singular most important factor.  There are many great institutions out there that have not been able to field a team and several less spectacular institutions that have success on the pitch.  Messiah, Williams, Middlebury, are teams that happen to have successful programs in no small part to very successful coaching.

[nescac1]

Williams preview is posted.  Doesn't sound like they have any impact goal scorers coming in so they will need to rely upon improved defense and gritty midfield play, because there are no proven big-time scoring threats on the roster. 

Amherst brings in what may be another loaded frosh class:

https://www.amherst.edu/athletics/teams/fall/soccer-m/roster

HUGE amount of new players, including three from South America, which sounds scary for the rest of NESCAC.  Noon and Rooks I heard are both good as well.  They lose almost their entire offense from last year so I imagine many of these frosh will play immediately.  Seems like the new Amherst coach really knows how to recruit. 

[tjcummingsfan]

Thanks for posting that ECSU, I went to the Keene State game against New England College on Tuesday and was actually really curious what Keene State was expected to do this season.  Granted it was their first match, but they didn't look great against a clearly inferior NEC team. 

[ECSUalum]

TJ,

Yes, its good to look at the preseason polls, but on any given day, the top teams in the LEC can play even or win.  Keene has always had great athletic programs in general and historically been strong in soccer. They were always tops in soccer back when when I was @ ECSU, ( ECSC back then).  Good Luck to all the LEC teams this year.

Lets try to give the NESCAC teams a run this year!!!  It's going to be tough, but not impossible!!!

[ECSUalum]

Williams preview is posted.  Doesn't sound like they have any impact goal scorers coming in so they will need to rely upon improved defense and gritty midfield play, because there are no proven big-time scoring threats on the roster. 

Amherst brings in what may be another loaded frosh class:

https://www.amherst.edu/athletics/teams/fall/soccer-m/roster

HUGE amount of new players, including three from South America, which sounds scary for the rest of NESCAC.  Noon and Rooks I heard are both good as well.  They lose almost their entire offense from last year so I imagine many of these frosh will play immediately.  Seems like the new Amherst coach really knows how to recruit. 

Unbelievable what Amherst has done re recruits this year!! It does look SCARY!!!!

[ECSUalum]

ECSU off to a good start with winning the Babson tourny, 3-1 over MIT yesterday, and 1-0 over Babson, today.

[Jim Matson]

...both of which were good wins.

Amherst was a speedy team last year, and it looks like that will continue. 

[owl]

Amherst did some intresting recruiting this year.  They got two boys -same last name, brothers?, from the agricultural school, United World College in Venezula.  They are both 6'5" and 195 and 200 pounds.  One is a mid fielder and one a defender.  Their third foregin entry is a mid-fielder from Bolivia.  Looking forward to seeing them on the pitch.

[frank uible]

English as a second language at Amherst.

[Jim Matson]

Nice!