What are your games to watch?

[kansas hokie]

impacts from today...

Mary Washington gets closer to at-large but still has work to do.

Mary Hardin Baylor, Wheaton (IL), Bridgewater and Wooster drop below the bubble, must win auto-bid.

W&L moves into good position tomorrow, but gets a poor draw in ODAC tourney (Randolph, low NPI points), win that and likely get Bridgewater again for a must-win game to stay in the tourney in ODAC semifinal.

[kansas hokie]

Didn't see this one coming, but Denison tying Wabash means that they are firmly on the bubble now after being #1 for many weeks earlier this year. They have John Carroll, a NCAC semi-final, and possibly a final left.

[kansas hokie]

So many important matchups on Wednesday and many teams will have their season ending this evening, here's some that catch my eye...

Rowan v. Stockton
Wooster v. Denison
Hampden Sydney v. Washington & Lee
Bridgewater v. Lynchburg
Cortland v. Oneonta
North Park v. Wheaton

[kansas hokie]

Thursday...MIAC semis...let's go!

Saint Johns v. Macalester
Gustavus Aldophus v. St. Olaf

[LibbyMoore]

Also big day in the NEWMAC: Worcester Polytech (WPI) vs NEWMAC #1 Wheaton (Mass), and Coast Guard vs Babson today in conference semis.

[Kuiper]

Cross-posting from the Go WEST thread

SCIAC preview of Thursday night games

Pomona-Pitzer @ Redlands 7 pm

The two teams played twice already this season, on Sept. 13 and Oct. 8, and tied 2-2 both games, which is telling since the first game they played P-P was 4-0-1 and Redlands was 1-3 after its long road trip, while the second game Redlands was in the midst of a 5 game winless streak.  The first game was also at Redlands at night, while the second game was at Pomona during the day on a slower grass field where Redlands often doesn't play as well.  So, the bottom line is the two teams match up pretty well regardless of the circumstances.  Right now, though, Redlands is probably the hotter team.  Zach Darmanyan is back and has been a difference maker and opened up space for Anders Beckton and others.  They are on a 7 game unbeaten streak and a 5 game winning streak.  They aren't as dominant as years past and they haven't had a single shutout all season, but they have played just enough defense to limit teams to a goal.  Pomona-Pitzer has been a little more up and down this year, but has won the last two games by identical 2-0 scores.  An interesting stat is that Pomona-Pitzer has scored first in both games the teams have played.  Redlands seems to play with more energy coming from behind and P-P has had trouble holding onto leads.

La Verne @ Occidental

Oxy is coming into this game on a three game winning streak, but the one loss before that streak began was a 1-0 loss to La Verne at Oxy on Oxy's Senior Night.  In the one other time the two teams played, they tied 3-3 after Oxy held a 2-0 lead from the 36th until the 73rd minutes, before allowing three ULV goals over an 8 minute stretch.  Oxy was bailed out by a Devin Bening tying goal with 13 seconds left in the game.  The key for Occidental is corner kicks.  They have both a height advantage and get strong service.  The problem is that when they don't hit on their offensive corners, they are vulnerable to counter attacks with their bigs in the opponent's box.  As in the Chapman game, La Verne's GK, Hector Duenas-Pena could be the deciding factor.  Oxy has had some good goalkeeping, but they've played four different keepers, with three of them starting at least three games as they searched for the right player.  Carlos Abram has taken the starting spot during Oxy's run to 1st in the SCIAC, but he doesn't have a ton of experience as he has only played 9 games over two years.

[Kuiper]

Now that Mary Hardin-Baylor isn't solidly within the At-Large line, this isn't a potential bid stealer conference.  Nevertheless, it would be a big upset if UMHB didn't win the ASC tournament

cross-posting from the Go WEST thread

ASC semifinals preview

Howard Payne @ Mary Hardin-Baylor at 7 pm central

If ASC wasn't down to a 4 team league this year before reinforcements arrive for 2026, Howard Payne (NPI #374) wouldn't be anywhere near a conference semifinals.  They are 1-12-3 and have been outscored 39-11 this season.  Plus, this game is being played at UMHB, where the Cru beat Howard Payne 6-0 on 9/27.  Having said that, HP has improved a little since then.  They beat Hardin-Simmons 2-0 the next game for their only win of the season and they only lost 2-1 to UMHB when the game was played at Howard Payne on 10/18.  If Howard Payne fans want any further straws to grasp, UMHB ended the regular season on a slight downturn, losing to Trinity 3-1 and tying Hardin-Simmons 2-2.  Still, it would take a monumental turn of events for Mary Hardin-Baylor to lose this game.  They know they need to win the ASC and can't rely on an at-large bid after falling to #60 in the NPI.  I expect UMHB will come out flying, bury HP early, and then rest up their starters for the ASC final.

Hardin-Simmons v. East Texas Baptist at 1 pm central


This should be a much more competitive match than the other ASC semifinal game.  The two teams tied 2-2 on 10/1 and then H-S won 3-2 on 10/17.  H-S edged out ETBU for second seed with a 2-2-2 conference record, compared to 2-3-1 for ETBU, but H-S was unbeaten the second time through the conference, while ETBU's only win in its second pass was against Howard Payne.  If H-S lets it turn into a shooting match, ETBU might have the edge.  They've scored 44 goals compared to 25 for H-S.  Hardin-Simmons relies upon CM Benny Lube (6 assists) to set up F James Webb (7 goals), while ETBU has a more diversified attack, with 6 players scoring 4 goals or more and 8 scoring at least 3 goals.  My guess is H-S will try to stay more organized and disciplined defensively and wait for opportunities to exploit ETBU on the counter and in transition.

[Kuiper]

Cross-posting from the Go WEST thread

SCAC quarterfinal games on Thursday

Hendrix v. Austin at 5 pm Central

Austin just beat Hendrix 3-1 on 10/24 in a game where Hendrix generally led on all offensive stats, but Austin was more clinical in front of goal.  It scored in the 8th minute, which allowed it to play the low block and counter attack/transition game that it uses to generate most of its offense.

LeTourneau v. Concordia TX at 8 pm Central

LeTourneau and Concordia tied 1-1 in their only meeting, but that was so early in the season (9/26) that I'm not sure it sheds much light on this matchup.  LeTourneau really turned it on toward the end of the season, going 4-2 the last six games, including a 1-0 loss to Colorado College.  Concordia comes in with a 4 game unbeaten streak and it ended the season with a tough 0-0 draw against Texas Lutheran.  Neither team scores a ton of goals and both teams have fairly stout defenses.  If it comes down to goalkeeper play, Concordia might have the advantage.  Concordia's Leonel Cuellar leads the SCAC in Saves and was second in save percentage at .829.

[mngopher]

Thursday...MIAC semis...let's go!

Saint Johns v. Macalester
Gustavus Aldophus v. St. Olaf

The MIAC re-seeds their tournament so it is:
St. Olaf vs St. John's
Macalester vs Gustavus

Should be some good ones.
A Johnnie win probably means 5 MIAC teams in the NCAA which I'm fairly certain would be the most the conference has ever gotten in. 4 might even be the most ever, and that's virtually guaranteed at this point.

 Might even have three (possibly 4 depending on many factors??) MIAC teams as 1st/2nd round hosts as well. Augsburg and Olaf are surely hosts, and I would think the winner of Macalester (currently NPI #18) vs Gustavus (#13) would have a decent chance as well. Though I'll admit I don't have a great grasp on the hosting selection process.

[kansas hokie]

There's a bonanza of great games on Saturday...

10:30 am -

NESCAC semi - Tufts v. Middlebury,

Brandeis / NYU - NYU could knock Brandeis out of NCAA.

1:00 pm

NESCAC semi - Conn v. Wesleyan (a Conn win could seriously hurt Amherst's chances of getting an at-large bid as Amherst has 2 Wesleyan games in their numbers)

WIAC title - UW Eau Claire v. UW Stevens Point - UWSP could steal a bid.

3:00 pm

SUNYAC title - Buffalo St. v. Oneonta - Oneonta can steal a bid
NCAC title - Denison v. Depauw - Depauw can steal
Landmark title - Catholic v. Drew 3:30pm - Drew can steal

5:00 p.m.

UAA title - Chicago v. Wash U (Chicago needs tie or win to be champs)

Emory v. Rochester - can Rochester win to get on the bubble?

6:00 p.m.

ODAC title game - Lynchburg v. W&L

7:30 p.m.

NJAC title Rowan v. TCNJ - TCNJ can steal a bid


Bubble teams who fall out if upsets happen...

1) VA Wesleyan
2) Amherst
3) W&L if they lose ODAC final
4) Edgewood
5) UW-Whitewater
6) Scranton
7) Hampden Sydney

[Kuiper]

There's a bonanza of great games on Saturday...

10:30 am -

NESCAC semi - Tufts v. Middlebury,

Brandeis / NYU - NYU could knock Brandeis out of NCAA.

1:00 pm

NESCAC semi - Conn v. Wesleyan (a Conn win could seriously hurt Amherst's chances of getting an at-large bid as Amherst has 2 Wesleyan games in their numbers)

WIAC title - UW Eau Claire v. UW Stevens Point - UWSP could steal a bid.

3:00 pm

SUNYAC title - Buffalo St. v. Oneonta - Oneonta can steal a bid
NCAC title - Denison v. Depauw - Depauw can steal
Landmark title - Catholic v. Drew 3:30pm - Drew can steal

5:00 p.m.

UAA title - Chicago v. Wash U (Chicago needs tie or win to be champs)

Emory v. Rochester - can Rochester win to get on the bubble?

6:00 p.m.

ODAC title game - Lynchburg v. W&L

7:30 p.m.

NJAC title Rowan v. TCNJ - TCNJ can steal a bid


Bubble teams who fall out if upsets happen...

1) VA Wesleyan
2) Amherst
3) W&L if they lose ODAC final
4) Edgewood
5) UW-Whitewater
6) Scranton
7) Hampden Sydney

A little context for the possibility of upsets:

Denison's one loss this season was 10/15 to DePauw by a 1-0 score
Buffalo State and Oneonta tied 1-1 on 10/15
TCNJ was up 1-0 at the half and for a good portion of the second half against Rowan on 10/29 until Rowan scored goals in the 73rd and 77th minutes