NESCAC

[camosfan]

Last year Tufts beat a better Middlebury team in the semis up in Vermont, this Tufts team is much more determined!

[Bucket]

Last year Tufts beat a better Middlebury team in the semis up in Vermont, this Tufts team is much more determined!

Huh? Middlebury lost in the NESCAC championship to Conn last year. Tufts lost in the first round.

[Newenglander]

Last year Tufts beat a better Middlebury team in the semis up in Vermont, this Tufts team is much more determined!

Why much more determined? Tuft's only two losses last year came in PK's......

[nescac fan246]

This 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 🫡

[camosfan]

Dez is doing a very good job at Tufts!

[Hotskull]

And CSO, it should be noted that Tufts scored the game winner against a very weak Bates team with, wait for it, a PK!    Not sustainable against a stout Midd defense (who is second in league in goals against, so not sure the basis of Hotskulls comments about a defense full of cones).  Midd has given up 9 goals, Tufts 7.  Should be a great matchup on Saturday. 

Middlebury themselves posted a video on instagram this week of their goalkeeper absolutely saving their behinds!! I have never seen a "top" team with a defense that exposed. It looked horrible. Certainly this is not the legacy Luke madden left behind. I'd be very upset if I were him!

[Hotskull]

This 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 🫡


[/qui

This 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 🫡

Your first paragraph quite literally is just reiterating what I said.

Second, you sound like either a Conn or Midd fan. Certainly you are not an Amherst fan as if you are calling Tufts' style of play "haram ball" then Amherst must play a style of soccer that would be considered a war crime.

However, young lad, this is college soccer. Results win trophies, not a bunch of 130 pound 5'6 kids with their socks pulled above their knees playing tiki taka. Looks real good on instagram, I'm sure, but how does it actually pan out on the field? You kind of certain a whole bunch of nothing, other than agreeing with my first statements about tufts being a let down the last 2 years, but congrats on saying "this is one of the funniest posts" as I'm sure you thought that would validate your argument.

[Futbolguy]

And CSO, it should be noted that Tufts scored the game winner against a very weak Bates team with, wait for it, a PK!    Not sustainable against a stout Midd defense (who is second in league in goals against, so not sure the basis of Hotskulls comments about a defense full of cones).  Midd has given up 9 goals, Tufts 7.  Should be a great matchup on Saturday. 

Middlebury themselves posted a video on instagram this week of their goalkeeper absolutely saving their behinds!! I have never seen a "top" team with a defense that exposed. It looked horrible. Certainly this is not the legacy Luke madden left behind. I'd be very upset if I were him!

They certainly miss Madden and O'Brien at the center of their Defense. 

[VASoccerDad]

And CSO, it should be noted that Tufts scored the game winner against a very weak Bates team with, wait for it, a PK!    Not sustainable against a stout Midd defense (who is second in league in goals against, so not sure the basis of Hotskulls comments about a defense full of cones).  Midd has given up 9 goals, Tufts 7.  Should be a great matchup on Saturday. 

Middlebury themselves posted a video on instagram this week of their goalkeeper absolutely saving their behinds!! I have never seen a "top" team with a defense that exposed. It looked horrible. Certainly this is not the legacy Luke madden left behind. I'd be very upset if I were him!

Just came here to say that Madden really seems like a great guy. I didn't know him from Middlebury, but he played for our local USL2 team last summer and helped coach on my son's USL2 U23's team over the summer- Charlottesville Blues FC.

[MunnyTim]

I have also noticed the abnormal number of penalties awarded to Tufts this year.  Very curious if that will sustain as we move deeper into the playoffs and (I suspect) officials may be less inclined to put their finger on the scale/outcome of a game with a judgment call penalty, especially in the second half of a game.  Very curious to see how games are officiated and how it could impact the Jumbos this weekend and moving forward.

[deiscanton]

We are now in the final two weeks of the regular season.  From now on, the NCAA DIII Men's Soccer Committee is planning to do daily runs of the NPI numbers and release daily NPI summary reports until the end of conference tournament play on Sunday, November 9.  The final report released will then indicate that it is the selections report and the at-large teams will be picked from that report. 

This most recent daily NPI run covers games through Tuesday, November 4, 2025.

The report is available at http://stats.ncaa.org/selection_rankings/nitty_gritties/46616

NESCAC teams nationally ranked by NPI as of this report

1.) Tufts (#1 in NPI)-- 61.210
2.) Connecticut College (#6 in NPI)-- 59.084
3.) Wesleyan (#8 in NPI)-- 58.885
4.) Bowdoin (#10 in NPI)-- 58.614
5.) Middlebury (#12 in NPI)-- 58.226
6.) Williams (#18 in NPI)-- 57.727
7.) Amherst (#30 in NPI)-- 56.689
8.) Hamilton (#39 in NPI)-- 55.961
9.) Colby (#51 in NPI)-- 55.176
10.) Bates (#62 in NPI)-- 54.951

10 of the 11 NESCAC men's soccer teams currently carry quality win bonuses, as their NPIs are above 54.

11.)  Trinity (CT)  (#148 in NPI)-- 51.684

[rdanie03]

We are now in the final two weeks of the regular season.  From now on, the NCAA DIII Men's Soccer Committee is planning to do daily runs of the NPI numbers and release daily NPI summary reports until the end of conference tournament play on Sunday, November 9.  The final report released will then indicate that it is the selections report and the at-large teams will be picked from that report. 

This most recent daily NPI run covers games through Tuesday, November 4, 2025.

The report is available at http://stats.ncaa.org/selection_rankings/nitty_gritties/46616

NESCAC teams nationally ranked by NPI as of this report

1.) Tufts (#1 in NPI)-- 61.210
2.) Connecticut College (#6 in NPI)-- 59.084
3.) Wesleyan (#8 in NPI)-- 58.885
4.) Bowdoin (#10 in NPI)-- 58.614
5.) Middlebury (#12 in NPI)-- 58.226
6.) Williams (#18 in NPI)-- 57.727
7.) Amherst (#30 in NPI)-- 56.689
8.) Hamilton (#39 in NPI)-- 55.961
9.) Colby (#51 in NPI)-- 55.176
10.) Bates (#62 in NPI)-- 54.951

10 of the 11 NESCAC men's soccer teams currently carry quality win bonuses, as their NPIs are above 54.

11.)  Trinity (CT)  (#148 in NPI)-- 51.684

Hamilton currently is the 1st team out. They could definitely get in with some chalk tournaments that knock out the 3rd+4th at-large bids from conferences like the ODAC

[deiscanton]

We are now in the final two weeks of the regular season.  From now on, the NCAA DIII Men's Soccer Committee is planning to do daily runs of the NPI numbers and release daily NPI summary reports until the end of conference tournament play on Sunday, November 9.  The final report released will then indicate that it is the selections report and the at-large teams will be picked from that report. 

This most recent daily NPI run covers games through Wednesday, November 5, 2025.

The report is available at http://stats.ncaa.org/selection_rankings/nitty_gritties/46633

NESCAC teams nationally ranked by NPI as of this report

1.) Tufts (#1 in NPI)-- 61.193
2.) Connecticut College (#8 in NPI)-- 58.997
3.) Wesleyan (#9 in NPI)-- 58.858
4.) Bowdoin (#10 in NPI)-- 58.580
5.) Middlebury (#12 in NPI)-- 58.194
6.) Williams (#19 in NPI)-- 57.704
7.) Amherst (#31 in NPI)-- 56.643
8.) Hamilton (#38 in NPI)-- 55.957
9.) Colby (#53 in NPI)-- 55.148
10.) Bates (#61 in NPI)-- 54.924

10 of the 11 NESCAC men's soccer teams currently carry quality win bonuses, as their NPIs are above 54.

11.)  Trinity (CT)  (#151 in NPI)-- 51.655

[flyingdutchman]

Looking at the most recent NPI and it seems 6 NESCAC teams are guaranteed in the tournament. It hasn't been brought up much, but Amherst is sweating this weekend out if a lot of upsets happen in conference tournaments. They are currently 31st with an NPI of 56.643. I don't know the exact math, but if these results happen, I think it's possible they drop to 34/35. Given that last year the NPI cutoff was around 33/34, who knows, maybe it will happen again. Realistically, the only result that is keeping Amherst in the conversation is their win early on in the season against #8 Conn College and a tie against #12 Middlebury. They've had no other good results. Don't think they deserve to be in the tournament, but I think that they will most likely be in. Their own NPI could move a tiny bit depending on the NESCAC semi results, I'd assume. They will be cheering for Conn College and Middlebury as they are the two teams they had results with, but not sure if the NESCAC results will have much of an effect on Amherst's NPI.

Saint Johns currently 37th with an NPI of 56.012. They play against St Olaf who is currently the #2 team in the country. A win I think could get them to jump Amherst.

Southwestern currently 32nd with an NPI of 56.578. They play in their conference semi-final and then presumably a final against Trinity Texas. A result in the semi final and then a draw/win against Trinity Texas will surely get them past Amherst.

Buffalo state currently 34th with an NPI of 56.390. They play in the conference final against Oneonta who is the 49th team in the country. Not sure what the math is on this one, and if that win is enough to get them past that 56.64.

VA Wesleyan who is currently 33rd with an NPI of 56.484 don't have anymore games left. So it would be based on their current results which I don't think can move them past Amherst. 

Rowan is currently 35th with an NPI of 56.333. Need to win their conference tournament to have a chance and I don't know if it will even be enough to jump Amherst.

Ohio Northern is currently 36th with an NPI of 56.261. Need to win the semi-final and final of their conference tournament, and that might be enough to jump Amherst.

[Hotskull]

And CSO, it should be noted that Tufts scored the game winner against a very weak Bates team with, wait for it, a PK!    Not sustainable against a stout Midd defense (who is second in league in goals against, so not sure the basis of Hotskulls comments about a defense full of cones).  Midd has given up 9 goals, Tufts 7.  Should be a great matchup on Saturday. 

Middlebury themselves posted a video on instagram this week of their goalkeeper absolutely saving their behinds!! I have never seen a "top" team with a defense that exposed. It looked horrible. Certainly this is not the legacy Luke madden left behind. I'd be very upset if I were him!

Just came here to say that Madden really seems like a great guy. I didn't know him from Middlebury, but he played for our local USL2 team last summer and helped coach on my son's USL2 U23's team over the summer- Charlottesville Blues FC.

The NESCAC coaches recommended Madden and fellow First Team All American Clivio to Portland Hearts of Pine - the new USL team based in Maine. The two of them were on trial at the club back in January. What a pairing that would have been!