That's an interesting update on Shapiro to Harvard.  He's a great choice for all the obvious reasons and I think he'll be successful in rebuilding the program.

That said, I don't completely agree that HPY have a substantial advantage over the other Ivies.  To some extent Princeton does, because they have the largest endowment per undergrad and are currently very aggressive about their overall athletic program.  But most of the Ivies are now assuring a "debt free" future for their students, and some student athletes simply like the vibe more at Brown, Dartmouth, Penn, Columbia or Cornell.

It largely comes down to the personality and recruiting personality of the coach.  My older son played for Mike Noonan at Brown, and Noonan was a master recruiter.  He'd tell every athlete and their family whatever they wanted to hear.  The current coach Pat Laughlin is not an effective recruiter, and it shows in the decline in the program.  Based on what I've heard and read, Shapiro is likely to be a very effective Ivy recruiter.

I appreciate the very insightful and detailed observations about the styles, strengths and weaknesses of Liverpool and City.  Again, with all admitted bias, I agree Laporte is very good, but I don't put him in the same class as Van Dijk...who is extra terrestrial when it comes to size, athleticism, aerial prowess, reading of the game, long pinpoint passes...not to mention his calming influence and command of the box.  I had a lot of (delayed) anticipation when Klopp went after Van Dijk, and I have not been disappointed.  Among a number of recently added difference makers (e.g. Mane, Salah, Alisson, and even Roberston), Van Dijk is the single biggest difference maker in what has become a remarkably dominant and resilient side over the past two years.

I'm an unabashed Liverpool fan, and I can't recall whether Blooter is as well.  At any rate, in my admittedly biased view, Jurgen Klopp's coaching influence has been every bit as inspiring as Pep's, if not more so, over the past couple of years...

I will attempt to offer some long-term perspective on Amherst and the NESCAC.  As I've mentioned before...and I apologize because some posters have heard this before and yet there appear to be some new posters/parents...my older son played for a nationally ranked D1 (#2 nationally his sophomore year) Brown team and my younger son played for a nationally ranked D3 (#5 nationally his junior year) Bowdoin team.  The key differences at those collegiate levels were overall athleticism and speed of play.  Bowdoin's starting 11 in their best year ever could have hung in for one half in a game with Brown's staring 11, and then Bowdoin would have been overwhelmed...

My younger son was recruited by Serpone during Serpone's first year at Amherst but chose to go to Bowdoin (Note:  Bowdoin had a slightly superior record vs. Amherst during my son's four years).  Serpone presented as a bit of a rooster, was arrogant, and suggested that he was recruiting D1 level athletes.  That was clearly hyperbole, but his recruiting record and the team's performance record have been consistently high at the D3 level over the past 11 years.

That said, the observations about Serpone in person vs. Serpone on the sideline during a game are absolutely accurate.  He can be a charming guy, and his athletes generally like and respect him.  My son had a club teammate who played at Amherst for Serpone and genuinely liked him.  Serpone would compliment my son's play from the sideline (while my son was playing for opponent Bowdoin), which I thought was classy.  But literally at the same time, he could be screaming f*bombs at refs and inciting his players to be borderline rough and ridiculously vocal.  It was...and still is...a remarkable dichotomy in behavior.

I hate to say it Amherst63 and others, but Amherst's teams and their coaches "output" stinks just as much as...if not more in some cases...than any other NESCAC coaches and teams...

I generally agree with Blooter's analogy regarding the NESCAC bearing similarities to the English Premier League...albeit at the D3 college level.  Even though Tufts and Amherst have performed at a consistently higher level than most other NESCACs over the past 8 years or so, the league is highly competitive.  On any given day, any team has a chance vs. any other team and plays accordingly.  The prettiness of the beautiful game is often sacrificed in an all out 90 minute (or 120 minute) effort to get a result.

Again, as I've said before, I'll take a highly competitive contest (even if direct and not aesthetically appealing) over a mismatch where the dominant team plays on the ground because they're relatively unchallenged.  Although...as I suspect is the case for all of us...the ideal world would be a highly competitive game that is also aesthetically appealing...but that's a relative rarity in D3...or even D1 as Blooter points out.

And here's the Bowdoin preview, which doesn't really have a lot to say...

https://spark.adobe.com/page/LTP9IpiCU8Yau/

There's no question that Moctar Niang and Matty McColl leave gaping holes, as well as the leadership provided by Jake Stenquist.  It's more likely than not that Bowdoin will get out of the blocks slowly this season in the NESCAC, especially with their first NESCAC being away at Amherst...

PaulNewman, I think it's hard to argue with your assessment of Tufts as a truly established national power.  Over the past 5-6 years they have outperformed Messiah in terms of advancing deep into...and winning several times...the NCAA tournament.  It wasn't that long ago that they were virtually an automatic "W" each season for most of the other NESCAC teams.

However, I don't completely agree with your statement that "every loss would be a surprise".  At the risk of stating the obvious, the NESCAC is highly competitive and most teams can beat any other team on a given day.  As one example, Bowdoin had Tufts dead to rights last year until Tufts scored a fluky last second goal that sent the game into OT.  Yeah I know, great teams always find a way to win...but you can't always count on Lady Luck to fall your way every time... 

I wouldn't be surprised at all if Tufts lost 2 or more NESCAC games this season.

This all strikes me as a logical evolution of the professional side of the sport in the U.S.  Still, we won't become as competitive internationally as we should be until we figure out how to make football (soccer) a sport that attracts young athletes at the street level.  Soccer is still dominated by suburban white kids in the U.S.  That is changing slowly, but not nearly as quickly as it could...

The reality is that, at least among the more academically demanding liberal arts colleges, there is no such thing as a commitment from a D3 coach to a high school junior.  The schools' admissions offices simply don't allow coaches to make that kind of early commitment on behalf of the school.

Unless anything has changed significantly in the last 10 years, D3 coaches actively recruit high school players and invite players of interest to visit during the season.  Typically an invited recruit spends the night with a team member, meets with the coach, and observes a practice.  I believe it is against D3 rules for a recruit to participate in a coach-run practice.  As nescacfan94 indicates, the recruit pays his own way to and from the visit, but will typically receive a voucher to eat at the dining hall with the player(s) he's staying with.

I made the time to watch this...and the entire police office interview scene is incredibly unsettling.  I take it there's a Part 2...is that available yet?

I was also struck by the level headedness and solidity of the assistant coach.  He comported himself so well while being questioned under baffling circumstances.

First, regarding Liverpool...I'm fine with them losing meaningless friendlies while test driving younger players...as long as they put their game faces on when the real games start...  Also, I'd like to see another left back to back up Robertson.  I'm less concerned about attacking players...assuming Keita and Oxlade-Chamberlain get back to full health.

And I hear you on the issues with NYCFC and an overly narrow pitch.  There has been a similar issue in Boston forever...the Revs play at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro...which is a complete joke.  The billionaire Kraft family can't seem to pull the trigger on a real estate deal in or near downtown Boston.  If/when a soccer specific stadium is sited downtown, that will make all the difference...

My recollection is that the NESCAC fall sports programs have one week of official practice/training before the first game of the season.  When my older son headed to Brown, the team had a tradition of their own week of captain-led preseason training on Cape Cod before official preseason training began.

I thought that was a great idea and planted the seed with my younger son when he headed to Bowdoin.  He and several of the Maine athletes on the team hosted the team at their houses (including ours) for a week of unofficial preseason training.  It worked quite well, gave the athletes a chance to bond with each other, and put a huge dent in our family food supplies.

As a casual fan, and one who focuses primarily on the NESCAC and Bowdoin in particular, I don't do the depth of analysis that other contributors to this post do.

I did get curious enough to pull up the end-of-season regional rankings from the NCAA site.

New England      In-Division Record   Overall Record
1.   Tufts   13-0-3   13-0-3
2.   Connecticut College   12-2-2   12-2-2
3.   Amherst   12-4-1   12-4-1
4.   Springfield   14-4-1   14-4-1
5.   Williams   10-5-3   10-5-3
6.   Middlebury   10-3-3   10-3-3
7.   Roger Williams   16-5-0   16-5-0
8.   Endicott   10-6-2   10-6-2
9.   St. Joseph's (Maine)   20-0-0   20-0-0
10.   Babson   12-3-4   12-3-4
11.   Bowdoin   9-5-2   9-5-2
12.   Gordon   12-6-1   12-6-1

Based on what little I know or have heard, I would guess that Conn College and St. Joe's will drop a little.  The NESCAC in general will be strong as usual, because most of those programs just keep reloading due to the desirability of those schools as a landing place for "student athletes".  Babson's usually a consistent performer.  I really don't know enough about Springfield, Roger Williams, Endicott or Gordon to provide any insight...other than there seem to be frequent mentions of Endicott pulling in D1 caliber transfers each year...

I am an absolutely delighted Liverpool fan!  It was not a pretty or well played Champions League final, but Liverpool were fully deserving of the hardware.  It was truly amazing to see how their defense was transformed from shaky to arguably the best in European football in a single year.  The signings of Van Dyke and Allison may have had a little to do with that...  YNWA, and long may this group reign among the European elite!