NESCAC

[Brother Flounder]

Amherst 1 Tufts 1 at half. Amherst coming on as Tufts dominated first 35 minutes. I almost felt sorry for Tufts as Amherst gets its gol on a pk due to an inadvertent handball. Kayne scored a nice gol for Tufts. Amherst is fast and started to put pressure on towards the end of the half. Tufts midfield is excellent. Tufts matching the physicality of the bigger amherst. They are showing more grit than I expected.  Amherst is dangerous on set plays. I hope this second half is good.  Any other reports?

[arkman]

Colby takes down mid 3-0, huge upset. Did anybody watch?

[MENESCACFAN]

Watched the predicted slaughter that was bates at trinity.  A lot of us had it wrong.  Bates flew out of gate full of fire.  Sophomore Knoth scored along with two freshman.  Reports of dead bobcats and mules were greatly exaggerated.

[Brother Flounder]

and Bates has Amherst tomorrow after the Jeffs batteled in a double OT tie against Tufts in a very physical game.  For those who doubted the Jumbos physicality, you should have watched this game.....

[amh63]

Amherst and Tufts tie .....1-1 in OT.  Last few minutes, Tufts had a penalty kick and a corner kick but could not score.  It was warm and both teams played hard.  Amherst looked tired , imo, in the OT.   Both sides challenged each other for ball possession.  Tufts was more aggressive on their home turf...though it was grass .
Think Amherst will take a tie.    Saw only the OT period.good day for the Jumbos...as their other football won again.

[Brother Flounder]

It was a direct kick...not a penalty kick.....I would have to agree that the Jeffs should be happy with the tie in this one, being on the road, scoring on a PK on an inadvertent hand ball in the box, and being outplayed in the 2nd OT by tufts midfield.....Great game to watch. What the NESCAC is all about.

[Nutmeg]

It was a direct kick...not a penalty kick.....I would have to agree that the Jeffs should be happy with the tie in this one, being on the road, scoring on a PK on an inadvertent hand ball in the box, and being outplayed in the 2nd OT by tufts midfield.....Great game to watch. What the NESCAC is all about.

I also watched this game online and agree with the comments. Amherst hardly touched the ball for most of the first half hour. Tufts juniors are playing well this year. Even  had some nice give and goes. Yes, Amherst was on its heels in the second ot but they found a way to tie. There goal came on a hand ball in the box. It was of no consequence but I can see how it was called. Tufts won a lot of headers even though they were shorter and did a lot of slide tackling. Amherst does well on closing on the ball. It was a real battle. I would also have to give the edge to tufts in the game but they each get a point.

This was tufts third game in a row against undefeated teams. Let's see if they can keep up the intensity. I think Amherst will do well the rest of the year...

[Nutmeg]

Colby takes down mid 3-0, huge upset. Did anybody watch?

Wow! Congrats!

[LaPaz]

Saturday's Heroes and Zeroes:

Heroes:
1. Yinka Onayemi- Colby Jr, F- Monster game for this Colby striker. His speed up top was causing Midd problems all day. 

2. Colby- Excellent performance and they gained confidence as the game wore on. They sat with a block of six and frustrated Midd all day. I predicted this might happen I just did not know Colby had all those goals in them.

3. Bates- This was an impressive result. I did not see this coming at all.

4. Jayson Kayne- Tufts- Great goal that I thought might hold up.
5. Amherst and Tufts- Yes I know 9 shots in 110 minutes but the game had a great atmosphere and had chances throughout.

Zeroes:
1. Midd- As I predicted they came out asleep and never woke up. They thought they could roll off the bus and win this. They had a couple chances all day and the rest was ugly.
2. Williams- Minus Rashid this team has looked very average. They look slow and soft. This senior laden team needs to find some urgency.
3. Trinty- See Midd and Williams. Total complacency to start the game and they never woke up.
4. Midd CB- Could not see who it was but that might have been the worst own goal in the history of own goals. This goal gave Colby confidence.
5. Conn- great win but they are getting uglier than Midd and Amherst. No effort to play futbol.

[PaulNewman]

Interesting that after all the drama and surprise results early in the NESCAC season that Amherst appears to be the one team landing on its feet.  They barely won against New England College in the first game, were within 30 seconds of losing to Midd, and by reports here get outplayed and benefit from a fairly weak handball call for a PK to get out of Medford with a point.  They've already beaten Williams, so they should be pretty much running downhill from here.  For all the praise being heaped on Tufts, and I do think they are a top-tier team at least talent-wise, they've lost to Brandeis and have several draws.  If not for squeaking out a win over Wesleyan I think some would already be talking about underachieving.

And speaking of Wesleyan one wonders if they saved their season today.  Don't know anything about the call but getting a PK with 50 seconds left in the 2nd OT sounds fortunate.

Pointless to say this now, but I had a feeling Bates and Colby might win today.

Maybe Bates will join Amherst in the NCAA tourney as the second NESCAC entry, LOL.

[SoccerFollower]

Made the trip up to Medford for the Tufts-Amherst game, surprised no one has mentioned that Tufts were playing 10 v 11 for the last 15 minutes and both overtimes after one of their centerbacks got sent off.

Tufts dominated (as much as one can against an Amherst team who shoves the ball down your throat every time they get it) but they don't seem to be able to finish off games when theyre playing well. Didn't see Brandeis or MIT for them but from what these boards were saying and the box scores, it sounds like if theyd taken their chances they could have won.

This year seems to be open and a weekend full of surprises. I really thought Bates was going to go 0-10 or 0-9-1 in conference. Don't know where Colby found 3 goals either. Conn may have just turned their season around and I'm still confident that Williams will find their feet and end up 3-6 range and looking dangerous come playoff time.

[MENESCACFAN]

WEEKEND REVIEW

Wow!!!!!  The concertina effect I believe is a good description of a weekend when the bottom and the top moved closer together points wise.

BATES 3 TRINITY 0

Just an amazing result.  Bates' woes seemed deeper than just losing in league games.  To be winless in 7, losing to Maine Maritime and face daunting back to back road games at Trinity and Amherst was a position nobody envied.  To fly out into a 3-0 lead is a phenomenal performance.  Given two freshman netted (Merchant and Watson) along with sophomore Knoth (surely an all-conference player?), maybe the suggestions Flaherty cannot recruit and the players have quit on him are off base?  Having watched this game more out of train wreck fascination than belief this would happen, they seem a fired up group to me.

Reality may well bite tomorrow, but a good day for the Bobcats.

As for Trinity, hearing whispers of a potentially lengthy suspension for their young goal scorer Savonen.  Can anyone confirm or deny those rumors?

MIDDLEBURY 0 COLBY 3

Equally brilliant result, and tip of the cap for whoever correctly called Colby's one upset a season (ihidebehind).  NCAC telling us he has a gut feeling after the fact does not count ;-)

Junior striker Yinka Onayemi scored a quickfire double after a Midd own goal to lift the Mules.  The fight for the #8 seed could get interesting if Bates and Colby pick up their game and can use these results as a launchpad.

Midd will hope to respond and not be dragged into the territory of a slump meaning a road playoff game come late October.

HAMILTON 1 WESLEYAN 2

Big win for Wesleyan, with impressive defender and emotional leader Ben Bratt netting a late OT game winner.  Wesleyan have not blown me away the last two years, but they have a strength, consistency and emotional stability that speaks well to Geoff Wheeler's coaching ability.  They are grinding it out yet again at the right end of the table.

The prolific Dan Kraynak is a tremendous physical presence and continues to find the net for the Continentals.

WILLIAMS 1 CONN COLLEGE 2

Given Bates and Colby were such huge underdogs, I think they fight it out for win of the weekend.  But this has to be a huge mental step for Conn.  Murphy is another one this board has made claims cannot motivate his players, but that is very obviously not the case.

A huge win that lifts Conn into the fight for a top four seed, and drops Williams into the fight with Wesleyan, Midd and Conn for those spots.  Coach Russo will be hoping for a quick response to avoid a three game winless streak, which must be unfamiliar territory in Williamstown.

Pat Devlin scored the decisive goal, and he is a tremendously gifted ball playing midfielder.

AMHERST 1 TUFTS 1

The game of the weekend lived up to the billing.  Tufts are a hugely talented group throughout their roster, and seemed to me this year to have made a step forward in terms of grit and fight.  A point against Amherst backs that up.  I believe the Jumbos are a contender this season.

Live wire Jason Kayne nets for Tufts, while Milton Rico (technical player not fitting the Amherst stereotype) equalizes for the Jeffs.

[blooter442]

Made the trip up to Medford for the Tufts-Amherst game, surprised no one has mentioned that Tufts were playing 10 v 11 for the last 15 minutes and both overtimes after one of their centerbacks got sent off.

Tufts dominated (as much as one can against an Amherst team who shoves the ball down your throat every time they get it) but they don't seem to be able to finish off games when theyre playing well. Didn't see Brandeis or MIT for them but from what these boards were saying and the box scores, it sounds like if theyd taken their chances they could have won.

This year seems to be open and a weekend full of surprises. I really thought Bates was going to go 0-10 or 0-9-1 in conference. Don't know where Colby found 3 goals either. Conn may have just turned their season around and I'm still confident that Williams will find their feet and end up 3-6 range and looking dangerous come playoff time.

Agreed with all points. Tufts was very impressive even after going down to 10 men. They were definitely the better team in the middle third but final third penetration wasn't fantastic, though they spread the play well. Definitely could have won the Brandeis or MIT games had they been clinical in their finishing. Still don't understand why Santos doesn't play more—he's their live-wire (I saw posts earlier in the board that offered explanations, but I prefer not to speculate—just to opine that he makes things happen.) Amherst was Amherst but Tufts more than held their own.

Furthermore, Bates and Colby wins were ones that I definitely did not see coming.

[Corazon]

Interesting weekend of games, indeed. I only caught a few minutes of each game but in particular, hats off to Bates and Colby. I hope Stew Flaherty doesn't read these boards but if he does, congratulations. I couldn't be happier for you. I couldn't fathom them losing to Maine Maritime. I also on didn't see this blow out win, either.

As for Colby, what a difference this year compared to last year. I'm really looking forward to seeing what the new coaching staff can do with a recruiting class or two. They are a really well coached team.

Another intriguing story line is at the other end of the table. Will this be the year that the Amherst -
Williams stranglehold ends?  Williams is looking ordinary. I think whoever becomes the new coach has the potential to build a juggernaut if they get an aggressive recruiter coupled with the prestige and reputation.

Finally, I'm glad someone finally mentioned Pat Devlin. He is certainly a talent and will get mentioned for POY before he graduates. Yet another Kenny Murphy find from the same high school as Hawkey.

[Jump4Joy]

Yes, Tufts had an edge over Amherst for much of the game. But not in goals!
Note: The "inadvertent" handling was Tufts' second in the box within 10 mins. The second one must have looked less "inadvertent" than the first. The foul was committed during a phase of the game when Amherst had the upper hand.
Interesting that on a day when Amherst looked less than usual, they still came away with a point on the road against a good looking side.