UAA Soccer

[kansas hokie]

Thoughts on first weekend for UAA teams?

Numbers in parentheses are NPI rank at end of last year.

Chicago with quality loss against Gustavus Aldophus (6) and a tie with St. Olaf (23), top competition there.

NYU two losses, Rowan (38) and Vassar (43), but both were top teams last year. Still a result would have been good for the conference.

CMU win against Baldwin Wallace (214) is as exptected, tie to Allegheny (282), ugh.

Brandeis, two wins, good start, Coast Guard (51) and Suffolk (134).

Case, similar, two wins, Fransciscan (71) and Juniata (65), quality wins.

Rochester, terrible weekend, 4-0 and 4-1 losses, Cortland (31) and Nazareth (123), those scorelines are never good.

Wash U - 8-1 over Milliken (115) is quite impressive, 2-1 loss to Westminster (341) is equally shocking

Emory - wins over Washington & lee (42) and Covenant (34), great start against strongest out of conference games they will play.

Overall, don't think UAA did enough this weekend to give hope that it will be more than a one bid conference again this year. Case, Brandies, and Emory starting well; Chicago up there playing top teams; Wash u and CMU confounding; NYU next...then Rochester in the back.

Looking forward this week, there's a bunch of games that UAA teams should be winning, let's go 12-0 this week!

[deiscanton]

Kansas hokie, your NPI rank numbers are not from the end of last year-- They are from the NPI report of October 27, 2024-- going into conference tournament play for most d3 conferences.   These were not the NPI rankings at the time of the selections on November 10, 2024.   I am posting an update with the NPI rankings at the time of selection-- those are the true final NPI rankings.  I also went to the Brandeis at Suffolk game yesterday and have some thoughts on that game as well, which I will post today.   It will be harder to discuss the UAA this year with casual d3 fans due to the requirement of getting a FloSports subscription to watch most of the games involving UAA teams. 

Here were the NPI rankings of the non-conference opponents that UAA teams played this weekend at the time of selection for the 2024 NCAA DIII Men's Soccer Tournament on November 10, 2024.  If a team is listed as an AQ, it means that the team won their conference's automatic bid to that tournament.

Source: http://status.ncaa.org/selection_rankings/nitty_gritties/40157

UChicago--  Gustavus Adolphus (#11-- at-large pick #5), St. Olaf (#15-- MIAC AQ)
NYU-- Rowan (#29-- NJAC AQ), Vassar (#39-- Liberty League AQ)
Carnegie Melllon-- Baldwin-Wallace (#216), Allegheny (#267)
Brandeis-- US Coast Guard Academy (#91), Suffolk (#110-- CNE AQ)
CWRU-- Franciscan (#60-- Presidents Athletic Conf AQ), Juniata (#78)
Rochester-- Cortland (#22-- SUNYAC AQ), Nazareth (#153)
Wash U-- Millikin (#100), Westminister (MO) (#336)
Emory-- Wash & Lee (#18-- ODAC AQ), Covenant (#37)

Lowest ranked NPI team that got an at-large bid last year was Buffalo St with an NPI ranking at #33. 

Thoughts on first weekend for UAA teams?

Numbers in parentheses are NPI rank at end of last year.

Chicago with quality loss against Gustavus Aldophus (6) and a tie with St. Olaf (23), top competition there.

NYU two losses, Rowan (38) and Vassar (43), but both were top teams last year. Still a result would have been good for the conference.

CMU win against Baldwin Wallace (214) is as exptected, tie to Allegheny (282), ugh.

Brandeis, two wins, good start, Coast Guard (51) and Suffolk (134).

Case, similar, two wins, Fransciscan (71) and Juniata (65), quality wins.

Rochester, terrible weekend, 4-0 and 4-1 losses, Cortland (31) and Nazareth (123), those scorelines are never good.

Wash U - 8-1 over Milliken (115) is quite impressive, 2-1 loss to Westminster (341) is equally shocking

Emory - wins over Washington & lee (42) and Covenant (34), great start against strongest out of conference games they will play.

Overall, don't think UAA did enough this weekend to give hope that it will be more than a one bid conference again this year. Case, Brandies, and Emory starting well; Chicago up there playing top teams; Wash u and CMU confounding; NYU next...then Rochester in the back.

Looking forward this week, there's a bunch of games that UAA teams should be winning, let's go 12-0 this week!

[deiscanton]

Some quick thoughts on my experience attending yesterday's Brandeis at Suffolk game in person--

(1) How many D3 teams do you know play their home soccer games literally next door to a major international airport?   While the University Athletic Association is sometimes known in D3 circles as the "Airplane" Conference due to UAA teams flying out for away games, the on campus fields at UAA schools are not literally within walking distance of the airport terminals-- they are usually a few miles out.   Suffolk University, on the other hand, has been playing their home soccer games since 2015 in East Boston Memorial Park, which is literally next door to Logan Airport.  Thank goodness the flight patterns do not have the planes travelling over the stadium, but you can see the control tower from the field.   When I got to Boston's South Station yesterday, I took the MBTA's Silver Line Bus 3 to the Blue Line's MBTA Airport Station, and the park entrance is right there at the Airport subway stop in Boston.  From the entrance, it is about a 5 minute walk to the stadium.  The Brandeis team arrived from campus using 5 rental vans to travel all of the players, but the Suffolk players regularly travel on the MBTA from campus to go to practice and to leave the field after the games-- when the game was over and Brandeis won, I saw some of the Suffolk men's soccer players at the Airport station around 3:30 PM when I decided to take the "T" over to Charlestown, MA to go to the 99 Restaurant for my dinner.   Unfortunately, my ride home on the 5:50 PM commuter train from Back Bay Station back to Canton Junction was packed with Red Sox fans coming home from the ball game, so I was barely able to get a seat.

(2) I watched the game next to the father of Brandeis's #9 Elan Romo.  Elan's dad flew in from Florida for the first 2 Brandeis games, and recognized some of the Suffolk players as well, as a few of the Suffolk players were Elan's old high school teammates from Cypress Bay School back in Florida.

(3)  This was the first time that Brandeis soccer (men or women) played a soccer match in East Boston, and the 2nd meeting all-time between Brandeis and Suffolk-- the first meeting last year ended in a 0-0 tie, so yesterday was the first time both teams scored against the other side in a regular season match.  Elan Romo scored Brandeis's first ever goal in the very short Suffolk series so far, while Suffolk's first goal scored against Brandeis came from a low major d1 transfer from Merrimack who did not score any goals in his previous 2 seasons with the Merrimack Warriors.  The match was a hard fought contest, and I was fortunate to see Brandeis beat Suffolk for the first time in program history on the first trip for the Judges to East Boston to play a college match rather than just passing through on the way to the airport gate to take off for another UAA city.

(4) It seems that Brandeis #99 Tyler Correnti is ready to step in as the #1 keeper for the Judges this season based on his performance in playing all of the minutes the first 2 games this season. 

Unfortunately soccer is not one of the sports where an unofficial season long NPI daily ranking is currently being done by a service like D3DataCast, so I will have to wait until October when the official NPI summary reports for soccer start coming out, but it would not be surprising if the UAA ends up as a one bid league on the men's side again.   The UAA on the women's side more than makes up for multiple at-large bids for soccer in that respect.    For the men's side in soccer, it seems like NESCAC is first among leagues when it comes to at-large bids, and then comes everyone else.  We will see if that remains the case this season. 

[kansas hokie]

My apologies for using an old link and reporting incorrect NPI numbers from last year, thank you for correcting them. It's one of the data points that gives context about the results. UAA teams can win every game next weekend and might be favorites in each one of them, hope the results go as expected!

[kansas hokie]

UAA this weekend (last season NPI in parentheses)

Friday

Emory (55) vs. NC Wesleyan (85)
Wash U (67) vs. Elmhurst (231)

Saturday

Rochester (53) @ Alvernia (112)
NYU (171) @ Rutgers-Camden (120)
Case Western (95) vs. PSU-Behrend (212)
CMU (61) vs. Otterbein (52)
Brandeis (54) vs. Regis (295)
Chicago (90) vs. MSOE (84)

Sunday

Emory (55) vs. Wisconsin Lutheran (264)
Wash U (67) vs. Illinois College (173)

What do you think is the overall weekend record for UAA? 10 matches. I'll go with 6-1-3, NYU with the loss, Rochester, Chicago, and CMU with ties, all on Saturday.

[deiscanton]

The Brandeis v Regis game just went final over the past half hour today.   The game was suspended yesterday due to severe weather with just over 7 minutes in the first half, but Brandeis won 3-0 today.  All 3 Brandeis goals over Regis were scored today.  Regis is a small Catholic college located about 3 miles from Brandeis in the next town over in Weston, MA.   This was the first ever meeting between the two men's soccer programs, but I think it is best if you just read the box score and the written recap that will be written by the Brandeis sports information office later today and move on.   The rain really affected the camera lens on both days, making watching the game difficult.  I did not see the game live, but I went through the on-demand replay feed to see the goals.   The play by play and color commentator are new to Brandeis athletics-- I think that they are student interns who are covering Brandeis athletics for the first season.   Jonah White did not do the Brandeis home games either of the first two weekends-- if he has moved on to do MIT or another endeavor full time, the Judges will miss him on the Brandeis microphone.   Dan Strafford, the backup play by play person last season, covered the Brandeis volleyball and women's soccer home games the first week, but was not doing the Brandeis soccer games this week.  The weather also prevented many people from attending in person-- really heavy rain at times, with severe weather in Waltham suspending the men's soccer contest late in the first half on Saturday.  The same system that affected the Brandeis men's soccer game produced a tornado in the Worcester, MA area.   I do not think Brandeis will be getting any quality win bonus points out of this win-- but it is another win for the Judges. 

[kansas hokie]

UAA went 9-0 this weekend with one postponement, the whole conference should be happy about that! Chicago and CMU's wins likely the most impressive in terms of beating a quality opponent.

this week NYU gets a big test against Stockton Monday, Chicago plays a rising Wheaton (IL) team Wednesday, Then CMU hosts John Carroll (3-1, could be a good test) and Rochester gets tested with undefeated Hobart next Saturday.

All other UAA matches, the UAA team should be decent favorites. 

[VASoccerDad]

Let's get some UAA convos going...

Is the UAA going to be a one-bid league again this year? Emory looking good, Case is rolling, but it's all non-conference at this point.

Thoughts?

[kansas hokie]

Chicago has played a TOUGH schedule and done well with it, they will be strong. Wash U also talented, North Park win is a good one for them. Brandeis still in there too with Case.

Emory non-con will be a stellar record it seems so if they don't win UAA then it's at least two bids.

if we used today's Massey ratings in place of NPI and gave out bids today...UAA would have 5.

Last year, at large cut-off was 35, right now those 5 are all top 25 teams in Massey. Remember, United Soccer coaches poll makes no real impact in bids now, it's fun to look at, but means nothing in the end. We'll see what NPI says in a month.

[blue_jays]

Chicago has played a TOUGH schedule and done well with it, they will be strong. Wash U also talented, North Park win is a good one for them. Brandeis still in there too with Case.

Emory non-con will be a stellar record it seems so if they don't win UAA then it's at least two bids.

if we used today's Massey ratings in place of NPI and gave out bids today...UAA would have 5.

Last year, at large cut-off was 35, right now those 5 are all top 25 teams in Massey. Remember, United Soccer coaches poll makes no real impact in bids now, it's fun to look at, but means nothing in the end. We'll see what NPI says in a month.

I don't quite agree on UChicago. When you look at this year's schedule versus the previous decade or so, they have subtly shifted to easier non-con opponents than in years past (adding MSOE and Aurora and not playing Calvin, for example). I don't blame them, they need wins. Their previous coaching regimes (Babst/Flinn/Sitch) always scheduled the hardest possible slate because they were testing themselves for the postseason and knew they were good enough to win 80 percent of those games or more.
Unfortunately, UChicago is still in rebuild mode after last year's disaster season. Their defense is quite impressive, but their anemic offense will be their undoing. They're likely a middle of the pack UAA team at this point, and I don't see them making the postseason, which is the minimum standard for a program of their caliber. Trust me, I'd love to see the Maroons return to their former glory, but it could take years to get there.

[Gregory Sager]

MSOE is hardly a walk in the park. The Raiders repped the NACC in last season's D3 tourney and gave Gustavus Adolphus a legitimate battle in the first round up in Saint Peter before falling by a score of 2-1. In fact, the Raiders went to the other side of the lake and thumped Calvin at Zuidema Field, 5-1, in this year's season opener. They'll contend for the NACC title again this season, which is not the same thing at all as being a top-half UAA team -- but there's always two or three NACC teams every year that have to be taken seriously by teams from tougher conferences.

[blue_jays]

MSOE is hardly a walk in the park. The Raiders repped the NACC in last season's D3 tourney and gave Gustavus Adolphus a legitimate battle in the first round up in Saint Peter before falling by a score of 2-1. In fact, the Raiders went to the other side of the lake and thumped Calvin at Zuidema Field, 5-1, in this year's season opener. They'll contend for the NACC title again this season, which is not the same thing at all as being a top-half UAA team -- but there's always two or three NACC teams every year that have to be taken seriously by teams from tougher conferences.

MSOE is definitely progressing, but swapping them in for the likes of Calvin is a purposeful move to have a more winnable game, regardless of MSOE's result with Calvin this season. It is soccer and anyone can be beaten on any given day (look at UC's relatively dismal performances against Carthage over the years, for example). My point is the Maroons used to put together the hardest/top 3 schedule in the nation consistently, and they are shifting away from that for more winnable games. My confidence in the program is at a low ebb, as this feels like a return to the old days of UC being a middle of the pack, average-to-decently good kind of team whose time in the national spotlight is behind them.

[kansas hokie]

Good stuff here, I don't know the midwest teams like you all do, nice read.

I think we are seeing a number of teams in UAA move away from tougher opponents in the NPI era. Emory was scheduled at some point to play Rhodes this weekend and swapped that for University of the Ozarks. Don't know why at all, just that there was a change. Emory never could play an OOC schedule like Chicago, but it seems weaker this year and more pointed to getting away wins that have NPI value. the early Massey ratings seem to support that with 5 UAA teams in top 25 there but hard to argue UAA deserves that many at this point.

[Gregory Sager]

MSOE is hardly a walk in the park. The Raiders repped the NACC in last season's D3 tourney and gave Gustavus Adolphus a legitimate battle in the first round up in Saint Peter before falling by a score of 2-1. In fact, the Raiders went to the other side of the lake and thumped Calvin at Zuidema Field, 5-1, in this year's season opener. They'll contend for the NACC title again this season, which is not the same thing at all as being a top-half UAA team -- but there's always two or three NACC teams every year that have to be taken seriously by teams from tougher conferences.

MSOE is definitely progressing, but swapping them in for the likes of Calvin is a purposeful move to have a more winnable game, regardless of MSOE's result with Calvin this season. It is soccer and anyone can be beaten on any given day (look at UC's relatively dismal performances against Carthage over the years, for example). My point is the Maroons used to put together the hardest/top 3 schedule in the nation consistently, and they are shifting away from that for more winnable games. My confidence in the program is at a low ebb, as this feels like a return to the old days of UC being a middle of the pack, average-to-decently good kind of team whose time in the national spotlight is behind them.

A 5-1 score indicates something more than an "anyone can be beaten on any given day" outcome, as per this season, although it appears that Calvin has at least somewhat found its footing since then. But otherwise I agree with you that Calvin is a more formidable opponent than MSOE over the long haul and thus a better bet to provide stiff competition for Chicago in a given season.

[VASoccerDad]

Some good matchups this weekend...

Brandeis at Babson
Case Western Reserve at Kenyon
WashU hosts Wheaton (IL)
Rochester hosts Clarkson
Chicago hosts UW-Eau Claire

I'm going all UAA in those with the exception of CWRU/Kenyon, not totally sold on Case yet and Kenyon is usually pretty good. Others as well, but those were the ones that jumped out to me.