Liberty League

[stlawus]

Ugly scene at the end of the RIT-UR game.  With how litigious today's society is I won't yet publicly say what I think I saw happen, so I would recommend watching what happened after the whistle for yourself.

[Bartman]

Hobart hosts Ithaca at Cozzens Field today, a must win for these teams that want to keep up with the Saints. Hopefully the Statesmen will keep cooler heads and minimize cards today.

Hobart misses a penalty kick that would have made the difference. Ithaca makes a direct score on a beautiful corner kick, as Hobart ties it up for the draw with 8 minutes to go.

[kevdog]

SLU pulls out the tie against a good Vassar team. Adjusted well in the 2nd half as the team has a bullseye on its back as Vassar came out beating them to the ball. SLU still playing without 2 starters on defense and they looked a little shaky in the beginning of the game back there.

[deutschfan]

Vassar was the best team on the pitch today.  It will be a disappointing two years for them.  Last year Vassar had the two best players in the Liberty League.  According to Tobolski's Davidson resume he led the nation in assists.  Yet Vassar won nothing and missed the playoffs.  The Tobolski loss was enormous similar to the effect Brown's loss had on SLU last year.  Vassar does not have a go to offensive player after having the two best ones last year.  They have played the toughest schedule of any LL team and judging by today's game they are a Tobolski away from league dominance.  As St Law noted the RIT result was a head scratcher.  SLU has locked up a bid already but today's showing indicates that like the last time, and the time before that, and the time before that the tournament run will not be long. 

[kevdog]

Not to make excuses but SLU was playing without their 2 best defenders and top 5 players. Those 2 make a huge difference but you are right about Vassar doesn't have that go to player in Toboski. The last 4 rookie of the year LL players have transferred to other schools. Imagine where Union would be if they had Pernogani( he is one of the best players in NESAC). As far as the NCAA tournament you never know. It all depends on your seed and who you play.

[stlawus]

SLU Vassar game was a bit weird.  All Vassar the first 15 minutes, then all SLU for the rest of the half and the first part of the 2nd half until the equalizer.  Then put themselves on the back foot a bit, just couldn't connect on the swing passes which Vassar kept swatting away.  SLU is banged up and it's showing, several players are playing with knocks along with the ones who are out all together, but a draw is fine for them and Vassar needed to win.  Odd moment after the whistle.  SLU student section was bantering the Vassar right back for a lot of the game which bothered him, kept gesturing to them all game then once it ended he ran over to the sideline to jeer them back.  Like dude, your team needed to win that one, a draw doesn't do you anything.  Save that for winning.

[Saint of Old]

I have not had many positive things to say about the program's style of play in the past decade, but good to see that style of play has now changed and the positive results are happening because of it.
Marcus Garvey's greatest quote was "Whatever man has done, man can do".
These Saints should realize that they can compete in the post season and climb the mountain because Saints have done it before.
Playing with a target on your back is hard, but something you get used to and just becomes routine, which is key once you get to the post season.
Looking forward to seeing some strong LL and Sunyac teams dance this fall.

[kevdog]

I have not had many positive things to say about the program's style of play in the past decade, but good to see that style of play has now changed and the positive results are happening because of it.
Marcus Garvey's greatest quote was "Whatever man has done, man can do".
These Saints should realize that they can compete in the post season and climb the mountain because Saints have done it before.
Playing with a target on your back is hard, but something you get used to and just becomes routine, which is key once you get to the post season.
Looking forward to seeing some strong LL and Sunyac teams dance this fall.

Agree.  I hoping too that the LL and Sunyac get lots of teams in the tournament and do well. 

[IC798891]

These Saints should realize that they can compete in the post season and climb the mountain because Saints have done it before.

IMHO, one of the things that we drastically overestimate is how much 18-21 year olds, for whom athletics is a small sliver of their current lives, care about what the "[whatever team nickname] before them" accomplished.

I think that stuff sounds really, really good to the die-hard fans, and maybe to some alumni of the program, and that coaches repeat it because they're trained in coach-speak.

Do I believe these kids want to win? Absolutely. Do I believe they'll work hard to accomplish it? 100% But I don't think they're intrinsically motivated to do so because 15-20 years ago a bunch of people they've never heard of did it? Nope.

As I've spoken to D3 athletes in particular -- including national champions -- one of the things I've started noticing more and more is how they're drawn to D3 because they're looking for an environment that treats them more like a full person, and not just a successful athlete. And I think that means a de-emphasizing of certain attitudes around athletic performance.*

*I'm not accusing the OP of perpetuating a bad attitude or anything. I think that comment does underscore the disconnect.

[Saint of Old]

These Saints should realize that they can compete in the post season and climb the mountain because Saints have done it before.

IMHO, one of the things that we drastically overestimate is how much 18-21 year olds, for whom athletics is a small sliver of their current lives, care about what the "[whatever team nickname] before them" accomplished.

I think that stuff sounds really, really good to the die-hard fans, and maybe to some alumni of the program, and that coaches repeat it because they're trained in coach-speak.

Do I believe these kids want to win? Absolutely. Do I believe they'll work hard to accomplish it? 100% But I don't think they're intrinsically motivated to do so because 15-20 years ago a bunch of people they've never heard of did it? Nope.

As I've spoken to D3 athletes in particular -- including national champions -- one of the things I've started noticing more and more is how they're drawn to D3 because they're looking for an environment that treats them more like a full person, and not just a successful athlete. And I think that means a de-emphasizing of certain attitudes around athletic performance.*

*I'm not accusing the OP of perpetuating a bad attitude or anything. I think that comment does underscore the disconnect.

I am sure this is true for the kids you anecdotally  talked to and the schools they attend.
My comment was for the more serious footballers at more serious programs.
Most people who dont understand this game well equate D1/D2/D3 the way Basketball and (American) football works.
The D3 Footballer (at a high level/ program) is wayy more akin to a top D1 athlete than in other sports.
The bottom of D1 could not compete with the top of D3, so again, your experience is not what I was reffering to.

[VASoccerDad]

Ugly scene at the end of the RIT-UR game.  With how litigious today's society is I won't yet publicly say what I think I saw happen, so I would recommend watching what happened after the whistle for yourself.

Curious to know if there any updates regarding this?

[stlawus]

Ugly scene at the end of the RIT-UR game.  With how litigious today's society is I won't yet publicly say what I think I saw happen, so I would recommend watching what happened after the whistle for yourself.

Curious to know if there any updates regarding this?

Seems like nothing, though I haven't paid attention much. From what I saw, it involved coaching staff from RIT.

[Hopkins92]

I don't think folks posting what they think they saw at a livestreamed sporting event is going to get dragged into litigation.

Speculation about publicly viewable events isn't really ripe for defamation or libel/slander suits.

/notalawyer

[CollegeSoccerFan]

I don't think folks posting what they think they saw at a livestreamed sporting event is going to get dragged into litigation.

Speculation about publicly viewable events isn't really ripe for defamation or libel/slander suits.

/notalawyer

Court of public opinion waits for no one, however.

[Hopkins92]

This board would've been very boring over the years without the opinions poured into thoughts/observations about negative or controversial behavior seen in grainy/shaky livestream recordings.

Go check out the NESCAC thread for prime examples of this, most recently retreading the aftermath of the Middlebury-Amherst elite 8 game from 2023 (or 24).

Yeah, we're going to see different opinions and it can get heated. But self-censoring due to legal concerns... I don't think I've ever heard of someone suing something over their opinion/observations on a message board.

Coordinated and targeted character assassination, sure.