NESCAC

[SimpleCoach]

Wesleyan with a huge victory against the Jumbos. 2-0 and Wes were the better side particularly in the 2nd half.   Wes was well organized and Adiutori in his first career start in goal was up to the moment commanding the box in the air.   The veteran Cardinal squad was poised, patient and disciplined.   Huge win that shows they are a real contender as they were last fall.  Wes has a lot of big bodies that complement quite a bit of skill that Saeed, Jennings and Cauvin bring.   

I said it last week when Tufts beat Trinity, I thought they looked of step and not the team that won it all.  Still time to turn it around, but they are looking disorganized on both sides of the ball.  And think Wesleyan's organization is what made the difference.

SC.

Still time to turn it around? LOL. You think?

Folks, chill. It's the 2nd game of the season. And as my friend nescac1 points out, there is plenty of (recent) precedent to suggest that jumping to a quick conclusion about what the season will portend is a fool's errand.

Congrats to Wes. Very nice early season win. And the Jumbos will be fine. That's a conclusion I have no problem jumping to.

An inartful use of words.  My apologies.

Blessings.

SC.

[Kuiper]

Hard to believe Conn lost to Middlebury 3-0!  Last time they gave up 3 goals in a NESCAC game may have been a 3-1 loss to Wesleyan in 2024.  They went on to make it to the National Championship game that year, though, so I wouldn't read too much into it.  Nevertheless, I would not want to be at practice on Monday (or be their next opponent, Clark, on Tuesday).

[Bucket]

Hard to believe Conn lost to Middlebury 3-0!  Last time they gave up 3 goals in a NESCAC game may have been a 3-1 loss to Wesleyan in 2024.  They went on to make it to the National Championship game that year, though, so I wouldn't read too much into it.  Nevertheless, I would not want to be at practice on Monday (or be their next opponent, Clark, on Tuesday).

Might say more about Middlebury than it does Conn. Panthers look clinical early in the season.

[LibbyMoore]

It appeared that the game stayed clean and not chippy, at least from the broadcast--after the Conn v Amherst wrestlefest the week previous, I was concerned it would be overly physical! Both teams kept it all about the soccer, which can be hard on the losing side of a scoreline like that, kudos to Conn!

Hard to believe Conn lost to Middlebury 3-0!  Last time they gave up 3 goals in a NESCAC game may have been a 3-1 loss to Wesleyan in 2024.  They went on to make it to the National Championship game that year, though, so I wouldn't read too much into it.  Nevertheless, I would not want to be at practice on Monday (or be their next opponent, Clark, on Tuesday).

[nescacfootyfan]

NESCAC: Early Takes, Big Questions, and a Few Cold Hard Truths

Wesleyan: Now this is a team. Wesleyan look absolutely phenomenal out of the gate - clean, organized, nasty on set pieces and downright dangerous when they get you on the counter. Credit to Wheeler: these boys look like they know exactly what they're doing. Saeed, Jennings, Clack and Longerman have all stepped up, and there's a real bite to this group.

So here's the question: are Wesleyan actually coming for the Cup? Because if they keep playing like this, somebody better start paying attention.

Tufts: A little early-season rust, sure. Nothing to panic about. Canfin looks sharp. Denby looks sharp. They're dangerous on set pieces. But something feels off. There's a little something missing from this Tufts side, and I can't quite put my finger on it yet.

And while we're here: Bijan is a great player. The guy just makes things happen. He's a massive reason Tufts continue to sit at the national contender table. Don't sleep on them.

Conn: I was ready to crown Conn after they went into Amherst and put three past them. Then I started wondering whether Conn are actually that good - or whether Amherst have simply fallen off a cliff.

Perugini looks sharp. Hoke looks sharp. There's plenty to like. But Burke has to change something. You can't keep doing the same thing and expect the rest of the league to politely sit there and let you do it.

And Haberman? He's got to be better (if they do not want to lose 3-0 again). Ever since he sent Davis into low Earth orbit with that tackle against Amherst, he hasn't exactly been covering himself in glory.

Amherst: Oh boy.

This is bad. Really bad.

Amherst look like a shell of what they've been, and at some point you have to start asking serious questions. Serpone may want to consider hanging it up and taking a course in actually playing soccer rather than perfecting the dark arts of instructing players to hit others and taunting college-aged kids.

That said, there is at least one bright spot: first-year #15 Anuarbek looks like a legitimate player. There's something there.

Middlebury: The Panthers are cooking.

Zero goals conceded. Twelve scored. You don't need a degree in football economics to understand that's pretty damn good.

Elias looks like he's finally figured out the right pieces, and this team looks balanced from front to back. And then there's Dugan, who apparently woke up this year and decided he wants to take the #1 throne from Pertugini.

What. A. Player.

Sawin and Payne deserve plenty of love too. They've been excellent. Middlebury look like a team that knows exactly what it wants to be, and that's a dangerous thing this early in the season.

Williams: Look, the results are there. They've got the head start. Good for them.

But I'm not buying the hype. Not yet.

Kick-and-run can get you some wins. It can even get you pretty far. But eventually somebody good is going to make you play soccer, and then what?

Siebert needs to reconsider the approach.

The 2024 Amherst team got away with a similar style because they had an absolute rock of a defense and game-changers who could decide a match out of nowhere. Williams don't have that luxury — at least not from what I've seen so far.

So enjoy the early lead, boys. But the real tests are coming.

Bowdoin: No Huck, no party.

Feels like the Polar Bears are in a bit of a rebuild. Not a disaster, but certainly not the vintage Bowdoin we've come to expect. There are pieces, though. Sinicropi is a good little player in the midfield — tidy, competitive, and someone I'd keep an eye on as the season develops.

For now, though? Rebuilding.

Hamilton: Meh.

That's about all I've got. Nothing particularly offensive, nothing particularly inspiring. They're there. They play soccer. We move on.

Colby: Now the boys look good.

I'm a big fan of the Scott twins. Really good players, and they give Colby a serious punch. The problem is painfully obvious, though: there just isn't enough depth.

And in this league, that eventually catches up with you. You can have your stars, but once the legs get heavy and the injuries pile up, you need another guy who can step in and keep the level high.

I like Colby. I just don't think they have enough horses to actually get the job done.

Bates: Solid start. Results are pretty much what you'd expect, and there's nothing wrong with that.

They're organized, they compete, and they're getting what they should be getting. But I'm not sitting here pretending we've uncovered the next great NESCAC monster.

Good team. Good start. Carry on.

Trinity: Go Bants, boys.

Seriously, I want Trinity to do well. They're a fun school, the atmosphere is great, and frankly the league is better when they dont go 0-10 in the CAC.

But... it's just not there yet.

There are some decent pieces, and the first-years actually look pretty promising. That's the encouraging part. But this feels like a project rather than a contender.

Give them another five years. Maybe then we're talking.

For now, though: Go Bants.