2025 D3 Men's Soccer National Perspective

[jknezek]

Yeah no slight to Lynchburg. I am just curious when the last time Messiah had a season like this.

5-7-1 in 1976.
5-6-0 in 1970.
1-10-0 in 1969.

1967 and 68 were about the same. That's as far back as the program history on the website goes.

If you are looking for the last 7 loss season, assuming they don't lose again, 1993 was 15-7-1.

So far this season and last they've lost 13x. That's more than any 2 year stretch since 79 and 80, when they lost 13 over 2 full seasons. Something tells me this won't be their last loss this year, so that's going to be surpassed.

For Messiah, this is a calamitously bad year, on the heels of a poor year, for them, last year. And I say for them because they still won their conference and made the second round of the tournament. Lots of teams in D3 would consider that a very good season. But for Messiah? Not great. And following it with this dog... well those 23 of 24 years with 18 wins or more is falling into the rearview.

The program has not had a season under .500 since 1976. 1977 was the last year without double digit wins (8-3-2).

Thank you for taking the time to put this into a post!

Got lots of time. Can't watch my alma mater anymore because I refuse to pay FloSports.

[Freddyfud]

Did anyone catch this game on FloSports? Messiah took an early lead and then gave up a pen before half. After that it was curtains for the Falcons. One of Lynchburg's goals was a no-look backheel goal.

Ashamed to admit I have FloSports (for now) and did catch about the first 20 minutes of the second half.  Lynchburg goals 3 and 4.  The 3rd goal looked a bit of a howler by the keeper as it hit the ground by his foot but he didn't get down quick enough.  And yes goal 4 was a back heel after a cross that was jammed in the 6 yard box.  More fortuitous than planned.

I did a double take as the game was in Harrisonburg at a place called Horizon's Edge with what appeared to be I-81 in the background.  I thought Lynchburg played home games at their campus field that has the stadium style suites next to it.   

[jknezek]

Did anyone catch this game on FloSports? Messiah took an early lead and then gave up a pen before half. After that it was curtains for the Falcons. One of Lynchburg's goals was a no-look backheel goal.

Ashamed to admit I have FloSports (for now) and did catch about the first 20 minutes of the second half.  Lynchburg goals 3 and 4.  The 3rd goal looked a bit of a howler by the keeper as it hit the ground by his foot but he didn't get down quick enough.  And yes goal 4 was a back heel after a cross that was jammed in the 6 yard box.  More fortuitous than planned.

I did a double take as the game was in Harrisonburg at a place called Horizon's Edge with what appeared to be I-81 in the background.  I thought Lynchburg played home games at their campus field that has the stadium style suites next to it.   

Lynchburg does, but Harrisonburg is a decent neutral site for those teams. 3 hours from Messiah, 2 from Lynchburg. Not bad for a mid-week game.

[Pat Coleman]

Just wanted to stop by and note that a post was reported to moderator from this conversation, I reviewed it, and I didn't find anything that needed action. Looks like you guys moderated yourselves nicely.

[Ejay]

If you are looking for the last 7 loss season, assuming they don't lose again, 1993 was 15-7-1.

You buried the lead. The 1993 team still advanced to the Elite 8 that year.

[jknezek]

If you are looking for the last 7 loss season, assuming they don't lose again, 1993 was 15-7-1.

You buried the lead. The 1993 team still advanced to the Elite 8 that year.

From a certain point of view I can understand that point. But that team had 7 losses all season. This team has 7 already. I don't really think they are comparable.

[Hopkins92]

I'm not trying to kick a debate back up re: Messiah, but since we seem to have rounded into a civil discourse... It's a little early to start describing the program as headed off a cliff. I know that wasn't stated explicitly, but there's a strong implication that time has caught up with the coach and if he "doesn't change his ways" this trend can only continue.

Lot's of reasons a storied program can take a dip like this. And just to reiterate, we are (rather inexplicably) including a team that won its conference and a first round NCAA game, in this "downward" trend.

I am supremely neutral about Messiah. I respect its long-term success, and I'm agnostic about its religious bent. I just think one-off years can happen to lots of respected programs.

Sasho Cirovski hadn't had a losing season since his first year at the helm in 1993. They went something like 4-8-3 (close enough) in 2023 and then rebounded with a winning record in 2024, ending with a loss in the second round of the NCAAs. They are currently 6-0-3 in 2025.

[Ejay]

Agree that 1993 and 2025 teams are not comparable, just thought it was interesting that even Messiah's down years were still better than just about everyone.

Also agree that storied programs can have off years, and I don't see this season as the "downfall" of Messiah. Until others in the MAC prove they can consistently step up their game, even a weakened Messiah will have a great chance for the AQ and then anything can happen.

[jknezek]

And I'm not saying a cliff is coming either. Just pointing out this could be a half-century bad year by Messiah standards the way it is going. Rarities like that are worth commenting on and putting into context.

Personally I don't care one way or the other about Messiah. I admire the history, but it doesn't matter to me if they get back to a dynasty or join a lot of other programs that had long runs in sports come to an end.

But this season is definitely interest worthy.

[NEPAFAN]

concur. I too am a neutral observer

[SierraFD3soccer]

Did anyone catch this game on FloSports? Messiah took an early lead and then gave up a pen before half. After that it was curtains for the Falcons. One of Lynchburg's goals was a no-look backheel goal.

Ashamed to admit I have FloSports (for now) and did catch about the first 20 minutes of the second half.  Lynchburg goals 3 and 4.  The 3rd goal looked a bit of a howler by the keeper as it hit the ground by his foot but he didn't get down quick enough.  And yes goal 4 was a back heel after a cross that was jammed in the 6 yard box.  More fortuitous than planned.

I did a double take as the game was in Harrisonburg at a place called Horizon's Edge with what appeared to be I-81 in the background.  I thought Lynchburg played home games at their campus field that has the stadium style suites next to it.   

I believe F&M played Lynchburg this year there also. It is close to halfway for both teams.

[Ejay]

concur. I too am a neutral observer

For what it's worth, I think we're all neutral observers of Messiah but probably all appreciate of what they've accomplished. Especially anyone who's ever played D3.

[Kuiper]

While Messiah's results thus far this season may constitute a historical low for the program, they are not the only traditional powerhouse to be arguably under-performing their lofty standards this year.  Just to name a few:

Messiah
Johns Hopkins
Franklin & Marshall
Redlands
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
Amherst
Mary Washington
Babson
Kenyon

Some of this is cyclical.  In some cases, there may have been school-specific factors, like coaching changes or injuries etc. And, to be fair, some of these schools are still going to make the NCAA tournament this year, so relatively speaking they will be just fine. 

Are there, however, common explanations? Here are a few possibilities

Players: 

Some had valuable 5th years/grad students who departed after last season.  Not only do they miss those players, but those players may have limited development opportunities for younger players or led typical recruits to look at other schools where there was more playing time available. 

Similarly, the roster restrictions at D1 may have led to an infusion of talent across D3, which could have jump-started the ability of other programs to challenge the traditional D3 powers. 

Rule changes: 

The elimination of overtime didn't just increase ties.  It enabled some of these upstart teams to develop defensive playing styles that allowed them to better compete with the top teams and those playing styles may have taken a few years to develop and spread across D3. 

Also, the advent of NPI changed how you might schedule.  Some traditional powers are still playing very strong opponents originally scheduled prior to NPI, while other schools were more easily able to pivot to more NPI-friendly schedules.

Changes in athletic priorities/recruiting:

The increasingly competitive environment for students has led some schools to change their approach to athletics.  In the SCIAC, for example, Pomona College made a major investment in new facilities, athlete-only weight room, etc, started recruiting nationally while the old coach was on medical leave, and hired a new coach from DII.  Whittier pivoted to a much more aggressive recruitment strategy for international students and focused on developing a pipeline to Sweden.  Both schools are starting to see returns on those investments and they are starting to challenge traditional conference powers like CMS and Redlands.