2025 D3 Men's Soccer National Perspective

[SierraFD3soccer]

Don't know much about this program, but going to be down another next season.

Seemed like it was pretty decent.

https://southwestregionalpublishing.com/2025/11/04/trinity-christian-college-to-close-after-66-years/

[College Soccer Observer]

They are members of the NAIA and National Christian College Athletic Association.  They compete in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference. 

[Falconer]

They've advanced out of the first round of the tournament every year since 2016. How has the game changed from 2021 when they were in the Elite 8? What does he need to be doing differently to keep up with the world's changes? All you've offered is that he didn't adjust the shape and scheme to support McDonald in his 5th year, the same year they went 20-1-1 and McDonald earned his 2nd All-American nod.

The biggest difference between 2022 and 2023 was the loss to graduation of the best playmaker in D3, Luke Groothoff. (If not for major injuries, IMO Luke would have been a 4-time AA. One of the three or four best all-around players in Messiah's history. Nationally there was no one close to him as a playmaker his senior year.) Not to mention another down-the-spine player, Trevor Swartz. They ensured that McDonald was fed often and well.

[Falconer]

The magic  of Dave Brandt is gone, and McCarty has simply been running his playbook for years. The problem is that this playbook was largely succesful because Messiah simply out recruited everyone.  With the parity increasing in D3 soccer, McCarty is showing his weakness as a coach, and his inability to adapt.  Messiah has always been predictable, but in the past, it didn't matter, as their personnel was simply better. Not the case anymore.  They should still be able to handle a very non competitive Mac Commonwealth, but I think the national power is fading.....They only lost 3-4 starters from last season, and haven't seen to be able to adjust. The freshman seem to have potential- but McCarty is going to need to show an ability to field a team based on talent and his opponent verses running the only game plan he seems to know.

This insightful commentary pretty much sums it up. ....

WHAT? You can't be serious. You're telling me now that Messiah beat Hobart in Geneva, in a tournament game? And outplayed them? Should've been 3-0? Check your information again, please. Everyone knows that McCarty is a one-trick-pony who can't adjust his tactics when his teams are no longer more talented than everyone else. And, they just aren't very talented any more, are they? Footy is right: They're actually lackluster teams that will never win big games anymore.

I look forward to more wisdom from this learned observer.
 

[Hopkins92]

To be fair, Hobart probably should've put one in the net during that sequence in the second half. ;-)

[Falconer]

To be fair, Hobart probably should've put one in the net during that sequence in the second half. ;-)

Agreed.

And to be fair, Messiah had an early goal called back perhaps a minute later on what appeared to be a questionable foul call; later in regulation, Messiah hit the post; and then Messiah dominated and ended the brief OT with a lovely goal. Patty Lee hit a very tough shot, but he sometimes makes those. They're in his repertoire.

[Hopkins92]

To be fair, Hobart probably should've put one in the net during that sequence in the second half. ;-)

Agreed.

And to be fair, Messiah had an early goal called back perhaps a minute later on what appeared to be a questionable foul call; later in regulation, Messiah hit the post; and then Messiah dominated and ended the brief OT with a lovely goal. Patty Lee hit a very tough shot, but he sometimes makes those. They're in his repertoire.

:-) If you followed the thread, you'd see where I'm coming from re: Messiah. (mucho respecto)

There was another goal in the second for Messiah that got called back. DEFININETLY not offsides (AR flag never wavered) and I rewatched the play 5 times and I couldn't understand the call. A Hobart player went down on the play, but if anything a Falcon may have come together but it was incidental and way off the ball.

[Hopkins92]

But, to be fair (again), the camera was zoomed so far out that it was pretty hard to really see what the contact was/wasn't.

[Falconer]

:-) If you followed the thread, you'd see where I'm coming from re: Messiah. (mucho respecto)

I have been following, Hopkins, despite an extended silence this year. Your respect is returned. I won't dwell on my absence, except to say that this fall I lost my best friend to cancer, after a year-long battle that went downhill fast just as the soccer season was starting. He was a D3 fan as well. It was hard for me even to watch, let alone to watch a team I cared about play so poorly.

As many have noted, a lot of traditional automatic tourney teams didn't get it done this year, and for several weeks I honestly thought Messiah would be in that category too. Their defensive play in the first few weeks was terrible, not to put a fine point on it. They gave up easy goal after easy goal--basically own goals even though the last foot on the ball was an opponent's. Now, there were a couple I can't blame them for. For example, a guy from MW slammed one into the upper RH corner from way out, just an inch over the reach of the Falcon GK.

I thought I was watching a replay of the dreadful 2015 season, when the Falcons had to rebuild completely and the defense was awful for weeks. The bright spot of that 2015 season, however, was that there were 3 FR who had been regional HS AAs. Two of them became D3 AAs--Samuel Ruiz Plaza (who's career ending injury right before playing Rochester in the 2018 tournament pretty much sealed the deal) and Nick West (I needn't say more about him). This year, the bright spot is again the FR class. Two regional HS AAs--defender Zach Buys, who played HS less than an hour from Hobart, and striker Ethan Quadrini (who played HS near Albany). A different two FR started most of the second half of this season, including today: Jalen Keller, a tall, fast MF who played HS in MD about an hour from Grantham, and Jack Marcantonio, also from MD, who beat out a couple other FR to start at CB. He also plays left back. He's fast, great with the ball and tough in the air. IMO, he could turn out to be another one of those players that McCarty ends up moving from back to front. Time will tell. He's more needed right now in the back.

Anyway, it really is a loaded FR class. In two of the few games I did get to attend in person, mid-season games, McCarty was playing 4 or 5 FR at once in games that were either tied or the Falcons were up by just one goal. That says a lot about what he has in that group. 

[Mr_November]

To piggyback off this conversation, I couldn't believe my eyes when I watched the Messiah-Hobart game. Day and night different Messiah than the one I watched at the beginning of the season. As for today's match between Calvin & Messiah, I am fascinated to see if Messiah can play at the same level again today. I haven't watched any Calvin games this season. Anyone have any last minute insight on how Calvin are this season?

[Footy]

I posted this on the tournament feed - should have posted here.  And yes, I very much stand by my earlier and current takes.


Tufts reminds us once again that Messiah wasn't ever at a national contender level.  Soft opening weekend draw - regardless what one might think or argue based on opponents records. They should have seen a nescac caliber team opening weekend with that record.  Opened with a touch of luck - then got drug

Messiah ain't, and won't be what it ever was. The game has moved on - they haven't. 

The magic  of Dave Brandt is gone, and McCarty has simply been running his playbook for years. The problem is that this playbook was largely succesful because Messiah simply out recruited everyone.  With the parity increasing in D3 soccer, McCarty is showing his weakness as a coach, and his inability to adapt.  Messiah has always been predictable, but in the past, it didn't matter, as their personnel was simply better. Not the case anymore.  They should still be able to handle a very non competitive Mac Commonwealth, but I think the national power is fading.....They only lost 3-4 starters from last season, and haven't seen to be able to adjust. The freshman seem to have potential- but McCarty is going to need to show an ability to field a team based on talent and his opponent verses running the only game plan he seems to know.

This insightful commentary pretty much sums it up. ....

WHAT? You can't be serious. You're telling me now that Messiah beat Hobart in Geneva, in a tournament game? And outplayed them? Should've been 3-0? Check your information again, please. Everyone knows that McCarty is a one-trick-pony who can't adjust his tactics when his teams are no longer more talented than everyone else. And, they just aren't very talented any more, are they? Footy is right: They're actually lackluster teams that will never win big games anymore.

I look forward to more wisdom from this learned observer.
 

[Footy]

I posted this on the tournament feed - should have posted here.  And yes, I very much stand by my earlier and current takes.


Tufts reminds us once again that Messiah wasn't ever at a national contender level.  Soft opening weekend draw - regardless what one might think or argue based on opponents records. They should have seen a nescac caliber team opening weekend with that record.  Opened with a touch of luck - then got drug

Messiah ain't, and won't be what it ever was. The game has moved on - they haven't. 

The magic  of Dave Brandt is gone, and McCarty has simply been running his playbook for years. The problem is that this playbook was largely succesful because Messiah simply out recruited everyone.  With the parity increasing in D3 soccer, McCarty is showing his weakness as a coach, and his inability to adapt.  Messiah has always been predictable, but in the past, it didn't matter, as their personnel was simply better. Not the case anymore.  They should still be able to handle a very non competitive Mac Commonwealth, but I think the national power is fading.....They only lost 3-4 starters from last season, and haven't seen to be able to adjust. The freshman seem to have potential- but McCarty is going to need to show an ability to field a team based on talent and his opponent verses running the only game plan he seems to know.

This insightful commentary pretty much sums it up. ....

WHAT? You can't be serious. You're telling me now that Messiah beat Hobart in Geneva, in a tournament game? And outplayed them? Should've been 3-0? Check your information again, please. Everyone knows that McCarty is a one-trick-pony who can't adjust his tactics when his teams are no longer more talented than everyone else. And, they just aren't very talented any more, are they? Footy is right: They're actually lackluster teams that will never win big games anymore.

I look forward to more wisdom from this learned observer.
 

And as a typical Messiah faithful fan - I love your summary of the past - exactly where this program lives. 

[D3SoccerTalker]

I posted this on the tournament feed - should have posted here.  And yes, I very much stand by my earlier and current takes.


Tufts reminds us once again that Messiah wasn't ever at a national contender level.  Soft opening weekend draw - regardless what one might think or argue based on opponents records. They should have seen a nescac caliber team opening weekend with that record.  Opened with a touch of luck - then got drug

Messiah ain't, and won't be what it ever was. The game has moved on - they haven't. 

The magic  of Dave Brandt is gone, and McCarty has simply been running his playbook for years. The problem is that this playbook was largely succesful because Messiah simply out recruited everyone.  With the parity increasing in D3 soccer, McCarty is showing his weakness as a coach, and his inability to adapt.  Messiah has always been predictable, but in the past, it didn't matter, as their personnel was simply better. Not the case anymore.  They should still be able to handle a very non competitive Mac Commonwealth, but I think the national power is fading.....They only lost 3-4 starters from last season, and haven't seen to be able to adjust. The freshman seem to have potential- but McCarty is going to need to show an ability to field a team based on talent and his opponent verses running the only game plan he seems to know.

This insightful commentary pretty much sums it up. ....

WHAT? You can't be serious. You're telling me now that Messiah beat Hobart in Geneva, in a tournament game? And outplayed them? Should've been 3-0? Check your information again, please. Everyone knows that McCarty is a one-trick-pony who can't adjust his tactics when his teams are no longer more talented than everyone else. And, they just aren't very talented any more, are they? Footy is right: They're actually lackluster teams that will never win big games anymore.

I look forward to more wisdom from this learned observer.
 

And as a typical Messiah faithful fan - I love your summary of the past - exactly where this program lives. 

And what program do you support again? If it isn't Tufts (from a historical basis) then you are essentially taking blatant shots from a direct outsiders perspective? Maybe grow up before you start coming after a program that you probably were never good enough to be involved in anyways

Thanks

[SierraFD3soccer]

Anybody watching the D1 tournament?? 1-3 seeds lost in the 2nd round (they had byes) to include last years winner, no. 1 seed Vermont in the snow to unseeded Hofstra 3-2. They would have lost Maryland if not for its really good German goalkeeper who made an English Premier PK at the end of the shootout to move on.

I know we've discussed this before, but first round was on Thursday at home for half and then on Sunday for 2nd round  FYI, Maryland if it wins all its games till semis, they play at home. 3rd round is on this upcoming Saturday/Sunday. Quarters on Friday/Saturday Dec. 5 or 6. and then semis on Friday Dec. 12. Final on Monday Dec. 15.

IMO, D3 is not taken seriously. 

[Hopkins92]

The weird hatred of Messiah fascinates me. Like... It's not like they have a heated conference foe... That's just not a thing in the MAC-C.

Something weirdly personal is going on here. To come to a pretty sleepy message board with a vendetta unsupported by the facts is weird.

Like... We're not a bunch of bumpkins. No one is looking at an Elite 8 exit(!!!) and saying, wow, Messiah is a program in decline. We're mostly middle-aged dudes with an odd hobby. We certainly aren't going to be stirred up by quasi-delusional rhetoric.

Just odd. Come back in 2-3 years of them NOT winning the conference and making an Elite 8 exit and pop off.

Or just admit that Messiah and the coaching staff did you dirty somehow... Eat the pain and move on, Footy.

Not very good trolling, frankly. No one is buying what you're selling.