NESCAC schedules are up...go to Women's Soccer at www.nescac.com

Quote from: Jim Matson on November 20, 2010, 05:19:47 PM
The real match is tomorrow for the Ephs.  William Smith looked very good today against Oneonta State.  The WS pitch is in good shape and the video feed is excellent.  Should be good.

My congrats as well to the steadily improving women's program at Eastern Connecticut. 

This has all the makings of a terrific match-up today. Williams is peaking at just the right time and hopefully will find quite a different team than the one they faced in September.

From the Williams website on this weekends games:

http://williams.prestosports.com/sports/wsoc/2010-11/releases/2010111834gr45 

A well-written article on the Sweet 16.

Definitely intriguing match-ups across the country...great soccer weekend!

Quote from: nescac1 on November 16, 2010, 11:37:49 AM
William Smith did beat Williams earlier in the year, which may have factored into the hosting decision.  Williams has also played Oneonta, a game it won.  If the Ephs can get back Eastern Conn, they will face a stern test vs. either, although I do think the experience playing at William Smith will help, and also, the Ephs are playing MUCH better than they did earlier in the season. 

NESCAC player of the year Sarah Wild has been particularly on fire with 8 goals and 4 assists in her last six games (as compared to 4 goals and 5 assists in the previous 13 games).  Ephs 8-0-1 with only four goals allowed in last nine, after starting a pedestrian 6-3-1. 

Interesting to note Williams has played 13/19 games (68%) away so far this year...they should be road-tough by now and raring to go.

ECSU is not far behind with 11/21 games (52%) on the road. In this match-up, they have shared 5 common opponents in WConn, Keene, Wesleyan, Amherst and Trinity.

ECSU went 4-0-1 while Williams went 5-1-1 (played Amherst and Wes twice) with 4 of their games on the road vs. 2 on the road for ECSU.

Quote from: 2xfaux on November 15, 2010, 05:29:31 PM
Willimantic to San Antonio...1980.16 miles....Go for it!!!!!

Not sure I'd be worrying about the Willimantic to San Antonio ride unless you were thinking of going as a spectator.

Those Eph broads are on fire!

Quote from: ECSUalum on November 15, 2010, 01:44:26 PM
Willimantic Ct to Geneva NY 330 miles!!

Who has the better soccer facility William-Smith or Williams??

The Williams field might be a little larger but both are good facilities for the game with different local attractions, e.g. Berkshires vs. Finger Lakes.  Since the die is cast, enjoy the scenic ride up to NY State!

Can anyone explain the thinking behind why Williams and ECSU will travel to William Smith for the Sweet 16? 

Since Williams ranks 1st in the NE region and their men's team is out of the tournament, they could have certainly hosted the 3rd round.

Assume one reason might be because William Smith also finished first in their region and qualify to host based on some type of yearly alternating between regions, i.e., Williams hosted Sectionals in 2009.

Any thoughts?

Quote from: Jim Matson on November 15, 2010, 12:04:31 AM
Hey, at least that learning was a positive experience!?

No doubt...the Judges decided to run with the Ephs and completely changed tactics vs. their game with Castleton. 

Quote from: Dfense1 on November 14, 2010, 09:16:12 AM

Quote from: Jim Matson on November 13, 2010, 11:50:40 PM
That 3-0 win is a good start.

Agree...Lasell really packed the box in the first half until Williams broke them down in the 2nd half.  In the next game, Brandeis also played a similar defensive scheme against Caselton with 8 players behind the 18 most times.  Expect a tough contest today and low scoring game.

Always learning in this sport...Williams 6 Brandeis 0.

Quote from: Jim Matson on November 13, 2010, 11:50:40 PM
That 3-0 win is a good start.

Agree...Lasell really packed the box in the first half until Williams broke them down in the 2nd half.  In the next game, Brandeis also played a similar defensive scheme against Caselton with 8 players behind the 18 most times.  Expect a tough contest today and low scoring game.

Quote from: Becks on November 12, 2010, 10:54:21 AM
Definitely takes away a lot of the NCAA tournament buzz on this thread, having only 1 NESCAC representative this year, as opposed to 3 last year.  Dfense1 and Johnboy have reason to be excited; the rest of us, not so much.

Ahhh...you guys (and gals) like good soccer whoever plays it.  I think we'll see the Ephs give a great accounting of themselves in the tournament and on behalf of NESCAC.

Quote from: Dfense1 on October 28, 2010, 07:15:15 PM
Re: ROY

I believe the ROY will go to whichever First Year offensive NESCAC POW whose team finishes highest in final conference rankings.

I should have said...will go to the First Year offensive POW whose team finishes highest in the NESCAC tournament.

Congrats to Amanda Brisco of Amherst...they lost in finals to Williams.

http://www.nescac.com/sports/wsoc/2010-11/honors/allconference

Quote from: Becks on November 08, 2010, 10:31:50 AM
I would not be surprised to see Wild win POY.

Good call Becks...following site lists the NESCAC All-Conference selections released today.

http://www.nescac.com/sports/wsoc/2010-11/honors/allconference

Deiscanton & Freekick,

Thanks for the perspectives...it really sheds some light.

As you might guess, when I reviewed the New England Score Reporting Form I referenced earlier, I got a little excited because it seemed there really was a quantitative and objective basis out there for ranking teams.

Both of your perspectives however, seem to point to some degree of subjectivity (including politics) that still (unfortunately) exists in the selection process (okay...call me naive).