2016 South Atlantic

[NokeAlum15]

ODAC weekend update:

   Bridgewater            0    Randolph-Macon  1
   Roanoke                    1   Emory & Henry      0   
   Washington and Lee    5   Shenandoah        0   
   Guilford                    0   Greensboro        1   
   Virginia Wesleyan    0   Randolph                0   
   Eastern Mennonite    0   Lebanon Valley        4
   Hampden-Sydney    0   Lynchburg        1

[jknezek]

The difference in quality between top half of the ODAC and the bottom half is crazy.  I believe they did this to help the ODAC become a multi bid league.  No offense to the bottom ODAC teams, but playing them and even beating them, hurts strength of schedule.  Which is one of the top criteria the committee uses for at large bids.

I think it's worth a shot.

Well, yeah. But this only works if you jimmy the schedule so the supposed best ODAC teams meet in conference every year. That way the strong helps the strong, and the weak are left to have crappy SOS. This year W&L had to be considered one of the top 4 squads. So if you are trying to keep their SOS up, you'd have them definitely play other teams expected to be in the Top Half. And yet, both Lynchburg and Va Wes were not part of W&L's conference schedule. So W&L gets the easiest part of the schedule, hurting their SOS, and having the opposite effect. Of course scheduling Lynchburg and Va Wes OOC solves the problem, but it also puts us right back where we started. Have a full round robin or jimmy the schedule to help the strongest teams. Don't f up the round robin and punish one of your contender's SOS by giving them the softest schools instead of the best.

The only way this makes sense is to give the competitors the easiest schedule, to have the best record even if they have lame SOS numbers, and then hope the tournament games boost the SOS. But that's a terrible assumption, as playing Lynchburg twice if you are W&L is more helpful than only maybe getting a shot at them in the tournament.

Either way, bring back the round robin. Especially if the teams are going to schedule each other anyway.

[NokeAlum15]

I see your point.  There has to be some advantage for going with the unbalanced schedule or the coaches wouldn't have approved it.

[jknezek]

I see your point.  There has to be some advantage for going with the unbalanced schedule or the coaches wouldn't have approved it.

I agree. Must be something I'm not seeing. Maybe it's a trial balloon and W&L just chose not to participate. Or perhaps it was approved so late that OOC games were hard to find and it's something done for the future. Got me, I just think it's stupid. You don't like your conference, tough luck. It's all cyclical. Sometimes your good, sometimes your crappy. Win your conference, play a few good OOC games, and you'll be in the tournament in OK shape. Make a run in the tournament, do it all over again next year, and you'll get a really good seed. Do it a third time and you'll start getting the benefit of the doubt come seeding time. Then it won't matter so much. Don't try and game the system.

[jknezek]

W&L rolls over another ODAC school. 9 goals scored in 2 games, 5-0 at Shenandoah and 4-0 hosting EMU. Only one SOG against in 2 games. The Generals host H-SC (5-3) coming up Saturday. After a hot start, the Tigers have lost 3 straight. Either H-SC or Guilford could play the role of trap opponents this week, as next weekend Messiah comes to town followed by Lynchburg. Generals need to stay focused on the two ODAC opponents before venturing back into a pair of difficult OOC games.

[NokeAlum15]

Noke draws a 1-7 Stevenson team last night  0-0.

One of those games where we dominated but just couldn't finish.  out shot the Mustangs 24-5, 15-3 corner advantage, shot off cross bar, another off the post, ball cleared off the goal line.    Just one of those games.  Credit to the Stevenson GK who played a hell of match.

Back to ODAC play vs Shenandoah on Friday night.

[Goldenrj]

I heard that Averett had to forfeit their 2-1 OT win over Marymount due to their usage of an ineligible player.  Their website has been updated to show a 1-0 loss. 

Does anyone know the details of this?

[jknezek]

I heard that Averett had to forfeit their 2-1 OT win over Marymount due to their usage of an ineligible player.  Their website has been updated to show a 1-0 loss. 

Does anyone know the details of this?

I don't know any details, but looking at 4 games, Mary Washington, Marymount, Randolph, and Berry, I found one player that is listed as having played in the Marymount game but not the other three. I'm not posting a name because this does not constitute anything remotely like proof. I was just curious. I will say this player shows up later in games, so either the issue was cured by then, or I'm simply wrong. Again, a good reason not to make the name public.

[Goldenrj]

I heard that Averett had to forfeit their 2-1 OT win over Marymount due to their usage of an ineligible player.  Their website has been updated to show a 1-0 loss. 

Does anyone know the details of this?

I don't know any details, but looking at 4 games, Mary Washington, Marymount, Randolph, and Berry, I found one player that is listed as having played in the Marymount game but not the other three. I'm not posting a name because this does not constitute anything remotely like proof. I was just curious. I will say this player shows up later in games, so either the issue was cured by then, or I'm simply wrong. Again, a good reason not to make the name public.

I wasn't asking for the name of the player, good call not to post it.  Marymount updated their site tonight too so it must be official. 

[NokeAlum15]

Noke wins 5-1 over Shenandoah last night in ODAC action

Some decent matches today:

W&L vs Sydney
Va Wes vs LBurg

[jknezek]

W&L had a hard time getting the ball to go in the net, scoring 12 minutes in but not again until the 88th minute beating H-SC 2-0. W&L took 23 shots, allowed only 4. Nine corners to none. A strong performance even if the ball stubbornly wouldn't go over the line.

[jknezek]

W&L travels to Guilford for a night game tonight. The Generals need to keep their eyes on this game and off the next two. Thankfully I don't have that problem and I'm just hoping the weather isn't going to be a problem for Messiah's visit to Lexington. As opposed to the massive construction dust and clanking sounds during W&L's home playoff game last year, the facilities should be in beautiful shape provided the outer bands of a hurricane don't mess it all up.

I have no idea which team bad weather would help, but I'd rather see the weather be good and really see how W&L measures up against another of the traditional DIII elites. Last year W&L was game in PA, but the overtime loss was a result that favored the Generals as they really didn't get much possession or create much danger after the first 20 or 30 minutes. I certainly think we'd see some improvement on that this year, but it'll be hard to tell if the game is played in the slop.

[Flying Weasel]

I have no idea which team bad weather would help, but I'd rather see the weather be good and really see how W&L measures up against another of the traditional DIII elites. Last year W&L was game in PA, but the overtime loss was a result that favored the Generals as they really didn't get much possession or create much danger after the first 20 or 30 minutes. I certainly think we'd see some improvement on that this year, but it'll be hard to tell if the game is played in the slop.

Messiah is improved compared to last year as well, but given W&L beat Ohio Wesleyan on the road, I think W&L is the favorite is this one.  For both teams, this is a great measuring stick game and a win for either side would probably prove very, very useful if an at-large berth is needed to get into the tournament.  For Messiah, it'd be nice if all their starters were back healthy for this one.  In yesteryears I would make the trip down from PA without a doubt, but family and OT at work mean it's not really an option.

[jknezek]

I have no idea which team bad weather would help, but I'd rather see the weather be good and really see how W&L measures up against another of the traditional DIII elites. Last year W&L was game in PA, but the overtime loss was a result that favored the Generals as they really didn't get much possession or create much danger after the first 20 or 30 minutes. I certainly think we'd see some improvement on that this year, but it'll be hard to tell if the game is played in the slop.

Messiah is improved compared to last year as well, but given W&L beat Ohio Wesleyan on the road, I think W&L is the favorite is this one.  For both teams, this is a great measuring stick game and a win for either side would probably prove very, very useful if an at-large berth is needed to get into the tournament.  For Messiah, it'd be nice if all their starters were back healthy for this one.  In yesteryears I would make the trip down from PA without a doubt, but family and OT at work mean it's not really an option.

W&L's video production is usually pretty good, though not like Messiah's. The bandwidth is good from the stadium out, so as long as Stretch isn't in one of their increasingly common disaster periods it should be pretty smooth. W&L has the ability to move soccer from the big natural grass soccer stadium to the artificial turf field hockey stadium. That field is not quite as big, but as artificial turf goes, it's in good shape. Hopefully that will not happen. I much prefer soccer on large grass fields, but if it really rains hard enough even the expensive drainage at the soccer field won't keep up and the turf field will be a better option.

[jknezek]

W&L takes care of business knocking down Guilford on the road 5-0. A strong game for the Generals, though the first half ended scoreless despite multiple opportunities. With over 20 shots against in the second half alone, the Quakers were pinned back and peppered until the flood gates opened.

W&L has dominated the early part of their ODAC schedule, scoring 16 and giving up none en route to a 4-0 record. Va Wes, a non-conf conference opponent, is the lone ODAC team to have scored on W&L so far, and is the only opponent to score on W&L since September 10th. A span of 6 games in which the Generals have scored 19 times. That compares with W&L's first 4 games where they were unable to keep a clean sheet, giving up two goals each to Rowan and Oneonta State, and one a piece to Southern Va and Ohio Wesleyan. The 3-1 record through that stretch, which included games against 3 ranked opponents, had the Generals scoring 10 times.

On to some big OOC games, hurricane willing, with Messiah (D3soccer #12) coming in Saturday and Lynchburg (D3soccer #19), another non-conf conference opponent, the following Wed. Go Generals!