Go WEST young man (and NORTH)

[Kuiper]

SCIAC afternoon results

Chapman 2 - CMS 1

Chapman clinched a spot in the SCIAC tournament when it broken open a 1-1 tie with a PK in the 76th minute.  Chapman will be in 4th or 5th spot depending upon later games.

Pomona-Pitzer 2 - Caltech 0

P-P controlled play from the outset, scoring goals in the 33rd and 59th minutes to clinch a spot in the SCIAC tournament.  They are in 2nd at the moment pending the outcome of the Redlands-Cal Lu game.

[Ron Boerger]

The only two SOG Trinity had in this game were the two goals.  They were fortunate to win tonight and will need a better effort if they face off again in the SAA championships.

[Kuiper]

ASC action today

Mary Hardin-Baylor 2 - Hardin-Simmons 2

In what could be a preview of the ASC tournament final, UMHB overcomes a 2-0 deficit at the half to tie it up with goals in the 67th and 76th minutes.

East Texas Baptist 4 - Howard Payne 1

The game started with a bank with ETBU scoring in the 3rd minute and HP matching them with a goal of their own in the 7th minute, which is where it stayed almost the rest of the half before HP conceded in the 44th minute.  ETBU efficiently scored 2 goals in 3 shots in the second half to win going away.

[Kuiper]

SCAC Action

St. Thomas 4 - Centenary 2

UST plays spoiler as it thwarts Centenary's bid to jump LeTourneau for the 6th and final spot in the SCAC tourney

Colorado College 10 - University of Dallas 1

Hard to believe Dallas scored first in this game at 12:08 in the first half, but they only held it for 45 seconds and Colorado College was up by a 4-1 score at the half and scored 6 more in the second half, including a hat trick by Teddy Oppler. CC clinches the top spot in the SCAC tourney and the regular season championship with a win against winless Dallas.

Hendrix 2 - Ozarks 1

Hendrix claimed 4th spot in the SCAC tourney in a game where it couldn't feel comfortable until scoring a second goal in the 79th minute, and even then had to suffer for over a minute as Ozarks scored a goal in the 89th minute.

McMurry 1 - Schreiner 0

McMurry ends the season on a high note with its second straight win among teams already out of contention in the SCAC

[Kuiper]

Summary of where things stand on the two open questions in the NWC (UPDATED)

1.  AQ race between Whitman and Pacific Lutheran

Without a conference tournament and three games left, the only team that can catch Whitman (38 points) is Pacific Lutheran (36 points) and the two play each other on the last game of the season.  They are each on 5 game winning streaks.

Whitman has two games left (@Puget Sound, and @Pacific Lutheran next weekend), and PLU has two games left (home to 3rd place Whitworth and Whitman next weekend). 

If neither Whitman nor PLU slip up in their next games, the game next Sunday, 11/9 between Whitman and Pacific Lutheran will be the de facto conference championship game.  If PLU does get to the last game with a chance to pass up Whitman, PLU may be the favorite playing at home after the two teams tied 1-1 on Oct. 11.

2.  Lewis & Clark quest for a win (any win)

After losing to Whitworth 2-0 on Saturday and Whitman 3-0 on Sunday, L&C is 0-12-2 in the NWC and 0-15-3 overall.  An improvement from last season (when they were 0-20), but still no wins since the program restarted in 2022.  Can they pull one off in the last two games?  They play Willamette in the last game of the season. Willamette only beat L&C 1-0 at home on 10/11, but Willamette has been hot lately.  Since that last L&C game, Willamette went 3-0-2 (including a 1-1 tie to Whitman) before losing 3-2 @ Pacific Lutheran yesterday.  The most likely game for a win is @Linfield (1-14-3 and 1-10-3 in the NWC) next Saturday.  The last game the two teams played - on 10/12 - ended in a 4-4 tie when Linfield went up 3-0 in the pouring rain, and was up 4-1 at the half, but Lewis & Clark came storming back in the second half to tie it up 4-4 before falling short.  So, that could be a game to watch next Saturday.  Defense may be optional (not because they aren't trying, but kind of by default).

[Ron Boerger]

Turns out the SAA men's championship is at Southwestern - I got the tournaments backwards when I looked at them last week.  Should be a big boost for the Pirates to play at home where they played the huge majority of their matches (13 of 18, 10-0-3) this season.

[Ron Boerger]

As noted by Kuiper in the NPI thread, Trinity jumped from 11th to 5th in NPI after defeating Southwestern last night.  They got a double boost; not only did the win over the formerly 28th-ranked Pirates bump their NPI, but possibly more significantly the win allowed them to drop a win against now #237 CMS from their calculation.  In order to stay in the top 8, the Tigers want #96 Berry to win their opener against #181 Oglethorpe, but a win against either in the SAA semis would let them drop a result against #230 Centre.  A subsequent win in the final (ideally, against the homestanding Pirates) would let them drop a result against #217 Rhodes. 

[Kuiper]

NWC action on Sunday

Whitman 3 - Lewis & Clark 0

Whitman scored 3 goals in 26 minutes and then emptied the bench on Senior Day.  The Blues maintain their undefeated record and top spot in the NWC by two points over Pacific Lutheran.

Pacific Lutheran 2 - Pacific 1

PLU goes up 2-0 by the 18th minute, but it wasn't an easy game as Pacific cut the lead to 1 in the 40th minute and the two teams played more or less evenly in the second half.  PLU keeps pace with Whitman.

Puget Sound 4 - Linfield 1

After a four game winless streak that started with a 0-0 tie to Lewis & Clark, Puget Sound finally gets a win, scoring two goals in each half before Linfield got a consolation goal in the 81st minute.

Whitworth 1 - George Fox 1

Whitworth is still in third place in the NWC, but results like these are why the NWC has fully boiled down to a 2 team race between Whitman and Pacific Lutheran.  Whitworth outshot George Fox 24-9 and 12-3 on goal, but could never add to a 1-0 lead on a goal scored in the 39th minute.  That opened the door for George Fox to equalize in the 64th minute and hold on for a tie.  Whitworth lost to GF 1-0 the last time the two teams played, but George Fox lost 5-1 to Pacific Lutheran and 3-0 to George Fox in the last two weeks, indicating just how large the gulf is between the NWC's top teams and the rest of the pack.

[Kuiper]

SCIAC Men's Soccer tournament game preview:

Tues Nov. 4th at 5 pm Pacific

#5 La Verne at #4 Chapman

La Verne snuck in on the last game of the regular season on Saturday by beating Whittier 2-0 after failing to win three points against SCIAC bottom dwellers Cal Lu and CMS the two prior games.  La Verne does have the ability to beat the top teams, toppling Occidental 1-0.  Huge letdown by Whittier, which was atop the SCIAC standings for a decent portion of the season, but went winless the last four games of the regular season, including losses to Redlands and Pomona-Pitzer, in addition to the La Verne loss.

Chapman had a four game winless streak of its own, but secured its spot in the playoffs with a 2-1 victory over CMS on the last game of the regular season.  One of Chapman's losses was a bad 4-1 loss to Oxy, which is the team it will face of it beats La Verne.

It's hard to pick this match based on the regular season head-to-head results because these two teams played a two game series early in the season that was only separated by one game and La Verne won the first game and Chapman won the second, with each winning their home leg of the series.  Both teams have similar strengths and weaknesses.  They are technically pretty good and play a nice passing game, but can get out of control when they are sped up through pressure.  Neither team has a dominant scorer or a consistent offense.  It could be one of those games that comes down to OT or PKs.  If so, they each have strong senior goalkeepers, although La Verne's Hector Duenas-Pena has probably had a better season than Chapman's Alex Glynn. 

[mngopher]

Pretty crazy finish in the MIAC quarterfinal. Augsburg (#2 in NPI) hosted St John's in the 3 vs 6 matchup. Johnnies held a 1-0 halftime lead. Then around the 75th minute Augsburg tied it up and St John's got 2 red cards. Last 15 was 11 Auggies vs 9 Johnnies. With about 5 min to go St John's scored on a header off a long free kick, and went on to win. Auggies had a really good look in the last 5 seconds and the Johnnie keeper made a heck of a save.

The Johnnies are going to be a tough out. Have won 6 in a row now, and have beaten Augsburg twice. They're probably not totally out of it for an at-large with this win if they can pair it with a win at St Olaf on Thursday, though I haven't crunched the numbers myself.

[Kuiper]

Pretty crazy finish in the MIAC quarterfinal. Augsburg (#2 in NPI) hosted St John's in the 3 vs 6 matchup. Johnnies held a 1-0 halftime lead. Then around the 75th minute Augsburg tied it up and St John's got 2 red cards. Last 15 was 11 Auggies vs 9 Johnnies. With about 5 min to go St John's scored on a header off a long free kick, and went on to win. Auggies had a really good look in the last 5 seconds and the Johnnie keeper made a heck of a save.

The Johnnies are going to be a tough out. Have won 6 in a row now, and have beaten Augsburg twice. They're probably not totally out of it for an at-large with this win if they can pair it with a win at St Olaf on Thursday, though I haven't crunched the numbers myself.

I was doing live posting about it as it happened on the National Perspectives thread (since I assumed most people would be more likely to read it there given that Augsburg was #2 in the latest NPI).  I'm cross-posting that thread here, but mngopher summarizes it in a lot fewer words!:

MIAC Quarterfinals

HALF:  Saint Johns (MN) 1 - Augsburg 0

Augsburg's one loss this year was a 5-2 thrashing by Saint John's on Sept. 30, so this shouldn't be completely unanticipated.  Nevertheless, Augsburg is 16-1-2 and the #3 seed, so it would be considered an early exit.  Maybe it's better for Augsburg to go out early since it's spot in the NCAA Tournament is likely secure, but I'm sure that's not the plan and it would take them out of a hosting spot I assume.  Should be an interesting second half (although behind a MIAC paywall).

UPDATE:  Saint Johns 1 - Augsburg 1 (77th minute)

Augsburg equalized on a goal in the 74th minute as they appear to be piling on pressure on the Johnnies.

UPDATE:  Saint Johns 2 - Augsburg 1 (87th minute)

Despite being down TWO men after red cards (second yellows) in the 74th and 75th minutes, Saint Johns regains the lead in the 86th minute as the two teams furiously barrage the goals with shots (Augsburg currently has 30 shots and Saint Johns 20)

FINAL:  Saint Johns 2 - Augsburg 1

Saint John's played the last 15 minutes with 9 men and still managed to score the winning goal and upset Augsburg, which will likely lose its chance to host in the NCAA tournament.

The MIAC re-seeds for the tournament after every round, but Saint John's is the Sixth seed so it should be playing at St. Olaf's on Thursday.  It will be a tough hill to climb given that it will be down two players, but stranger things have happened.  NPI bubble teams will be rooting for St. Olaf.

In the other MIAC QF game, Gustavus Adolphus beat Bethel MN 3-0.  Solid win, but much closer game than it looked.  It was 0-0 at half and Gustavus scored in the 59th minute.  It held on to that 1 goal lead most of the second half,, but Bethel went a man down in the 87th minute on a red/second yellow and Gustavus scored insurance goals in the 89th and 90th minutes.

[kansas hokie]

Pretty crazy finish in the MIAC quarterfinal. Augsburg (#2 in NPI) hosted St John's in the 3 vs 6 matchup. Johnnies held a 1-0 halftime lead. Then around the 75th minute Augsburg tied it up and St John's got 2 red cards. Last 15 was 11 Auggies vs 9 Johnnies. With about 5 min to go St John's scored on a header off a long free kick, and went on to win. Auggies had a really good look in the last 5 seconds and the Johnnie keeper made a heck of a save.

The Johnnies are going to be a tough out. Have won 6 in a row now, and have beaten Augsburg twice. They're probably not totally out of it for an at-large with this win if they can pair it with a win at St Olaf on Thursday, though I haven't crunched the numbers myself.

Huge win for the Johnnies NPI wise for sure...lose to St. Olaf and their NPI is 56.07, almost exactly where the cutline was last year. Beat St. Olaf and lose to Macalester in final and NPI is up around 56.86 which will definitely be in. Congrats to the Johnnies.

[Kuiper]

Region X - Poll 9 - November 4, 2025
In the Nov. 4 United Soccer Coaches Region X ranking, Colorado College and Whitman jump over Mary Hardin-Baylor, Pacific Lutheran jumps from 7 to 6, Whittier drops out, and Pomona-Pitzer reappears in the poll at 8

Rank    School    Prev    W-L-T
1    Trinity University (Texas)    NR    15-1-0
2    Southwestern University    NR    14-1-3
3    Colorado College    NR    11-0-6
4    Whitman College    NR    13-0-5
5    University of Mary Hardin-Baylor    NR    12-2-4
6    Pacific Lutheran University    NR    12-3-3
7    Texas Lutheran University    NR    10-4-3
8    Pomona-Pitzer Colleges    NR    8-4-3

[Kuiper]

SCIAC Men's Soccer tournament game preview:

Tues Nov. 4th at 5 pm Pacific

#5 La Verne at #4 Chapman

La Verne snuck in on the last game of the regular season on Saturday by beating Whittier 2-0 after failing to win three points against SCIAC bottom dwellers Cal Lu and CMS the two prior games.  La Verne does have the ability to beat the top teams, toppling Occidental 1-0.  Huge letdown by Whittier, which was atop the SCIAC standings for a decent portion of the season, but went winless the last four games of the regular season, including losses to Redlands and Pomona-Pitzer, in addition to the La Verne loss.

Chapman had a four game winless streak of its own, but secured its spot in the playoffs with a 2-1 victory over CMS on the last game of the regular season.  One of Chapman's losses was a bad 4-1 loss to Oxy, which is the team it will face of it beats La Verne.

It's hard to pick this match based on the regular season head-to-head results because these two teams played a two game series early in the season that was only separated by one game and La Verne won the first game and Chapman won the second, with each winning their home leg of the series.  Both teams have similar strengths and weaknesses.  They are technically pretty good and play a nice passing game, but can get out of control when they are sped up through pressure.  Neither team has a dominant scorer or a consistent offense.  It could be one of those games that comes down to OT or PKs.  If so, they each have strong senior goalkeepers, although La Verne's Hector Duenas-Pena has probably had a better season than Chapman's Alex Glynn. 

FINAL:  La Verne 0 (8) - Chapman (7) PKs

As I predicted in my preview of this game, it went to PKs.  The teams were pretty good at getting from box to box in transition, but neither had the lethal strikers or consistent play to give them a clear advantage or to break through against either team's stellar goalkeeping. The difference turned out to be that Duenas-Pena saved one PK - in the 8th round of PKs - to win the game. 

[Kuiper]

Trinity and Southwestern so thoroughly dominate the SAA conference awards, that I might as well put them in the WEST thread (and also there really isn't one for the South).

I should note that it is particularly odd to see a Conference Award announcement where the Defensive Player of the Year (Sharma) has scored more goals than the Offensive Player of the Year (Knutsen).

https://saa-sports.com/news/2025/11/3/saa-announces-2025-mens-soccer-all-conference-awards.aspx

The Southern Athletic Association (SAA) has announced the 2025 Men's Soccer All-Conference teams and major award winners ahead of the conference tournament.

In their first season in the SAA, Trinity and Southwestern swept all major awards. Trinity's Adam Knutson and Max Salinas earned Offensive Athlete of the Year and Rookie of the Year honors, respectively, while Southwestern's Raghav Sharma was named Defensive Athlete of the Year. The two programs also share the Coaching Staff of the Year award.

All-SAA voting and All-Sportsmanship Team selections were conducted by the conference's eight head coaches.
Offensive Athlete of the Year – Adam Knutson | Trinity | SR | Dripping Springs, TX

The Tiger senior started and played in all 16 of Trinity's matches this season and played a crucial role in securing the regular season title. Knutson posted seven goals and four assists, led the league in shots, and ranked second in game-winning goals with five. Trinity has been nationally ranked throughout the year, competing against a challenging slate of opponents while compiling a 15–1 record and going undefeated in SAA play.
Defensive Athlete of the Year – Raghav Sharma | Southwestern | SR | Austin, TX

Sharma earned two Athlete of the Week honors this season as he anchored a Pirates squad that went 14–1–3 and fell only to the regular season champions in league play. The senior defender started all 18 matches and contributed on both ends of the field with eight goals and two assists.
Rookie of the Year – Max Salinas | Trinity | FR | Austin, TX

Salinas becomes Trinity's first Rookie of the Year honoree in the program's debut SAA season. The freshman midfielder made an immediate impact, helping the Tigers secure the regular season title. Appearing in 13 matches, he recorded three goals and three assists.
Coaching Staff of the Year – Trinity and Southwestern

Both coaching staffs guided their programs through a highly competitive season that came down to the final match to determine the regular season champion. In their first year in the conference, Trinity and Southwestern secured the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the SAA Tournament, respectively, while producing multiple major award winners and numerous All-Conference selections.

SAA Men's Soccer 2025 All-Conference
Coaching Staff of the Year – Trinity University (Paul McGinlay) & Southwestern University (Dustin Norman)
Offensive Athlete of the Year – Adam Knutson (Trinity)
Defensive Athlete of the Year – Raghav Sharma (Southwestern)
Rookie of the Year – Max Salinas (Trinity)
 
First Team All-SAA
GK – Scott Johnson (Southwestern)
D – Raghav Sharma (Southwestern)
D – Cooper Pero (Southwestern)
D – Luke Chandler (Trinity)
M – Adam Knutson (Trinity)
M – Stokes McConnell (Sewanee)
M – Cade Dougan (Trinity)
F – Samuel Theiss (Trinity)
F – Jack Raulston (Berry)
F – Greyson Pinto (Southwestern)
At Large – Grayson White (Sewanee)
 
Second Team All-SAA
GK – Sebastian Lewis (Oglethorpe)
D – Max Sosa-Haemmerli (Rhodes)
D – Finnegan Deem-Ranzetta (Centre)
D – Tyler Scott (Sewanee)
M – Quinn MacLeod (Southwestern)
M – Julian Lopez (Trinity)
M – Danny Wasserman (Southwestern)
F – Max Salinas (Trinity)
F – Ben Novello (Rhodes)
F – Isaac Rasheed (Sewanee)
F – Joey Perryman (Trinity)
At Large – Cooper Cherry (Berry)
 
Honorable Mention
Berry –Mitch Register, Brock Shoultz, Max Albertson
Centre – Ethan Cajuste, Ryan O'Hara
Oglethorpe – Luke Montes, Shama Shasha, Ethan Martinez
Rhodes – Henri Kettner, Jason Viani, Vincent Stephens
Sewanee – Jonah Cooker, Edward Kennedy, Brady Lloyd, Noah Bjorkman
Southwestern – Lucas Marino, Ross Anderson
Trinity – Jayden Schell, Daniel Urquidi, Luke Mayfield, Alex Baltov, Zachary Anderson, Alex Ramirez
 
All-Sportsmanship
Berry - Cooper Cherry
Centre - Ethan Cajuste
Millsaps – Myles Walden
Oglethorpe - Anthony Rouse
Rhodes - Jason Viani
Sewanee - Eli Bastiaansen
Southwestern - Amar Singh
Trinity - Zach Anderson