Great chatter all around and glad to see Shapiro getting much deserved praise for this ridiculous run.

A hell of a season for Amherst, but could Tufts have written a more satisfying script?!  4 ships in 6 years and to cap it off against the long hated Jeffs brings me oh so much joy.

GO JUMBOSSSS #Dynasty

As fun as it is discussing next season in December, I'll rewind to the present.

Congrats to Coach Shapiro on national coach of the year: http://www.gotuftsjumbos.com/sports/msoc/2014-15/releases/coach_of_the_year

Agreed, the Flying Weasel post is spot on. I was at the game as well.

The goal was special. Kayne hit it perfectly -- a very difficult volley just behind a crowded 18 with Messiah defenders charging after the clear. It gave the Jumbos immediate belief they could actually pull this off.

The last 44 minutes of the first half were all Messiah. Tufts would just clear the ball hoping Hoppenot could get a hold of it all alone and Messiah would come charging right back down (granted with very few actual shots). You felt Tufts had to somehow get to halftime with the lead intact and they managed.

The second half was a completely different story. Tufts had it locked in Messiah's end the first 10-15 minutes and started connecting passes in the midfield. When Messiah turned up the pressure, upon winning possession Tufts was able to get a hold of it and counterattack very effectively with a combination of Hoppenot, Santos, and Kayne for the most part (with Brown and Majumder also having success). Messiah's goalie came up big on several occasions.

The last 15 was intense. Messiah hit the crossbar and the elder Halliday made a game saving slide to clear the ball off the line. He had a massive game, playing a relentless 90 minutes in the defensive center midfield. Williams also stepped up as he has all year, keeping 2012 National POTY Jeremy Payne very quiet.

This was the first time I've seen Messiah play and I was incredibly impressed. They are as advertised. The service on their set pieces is of professional quality. They played mistake free soccer for 70 minutes. It wasn't until the last 15 were I saw 3-4 bad touches or missed passes out of bounds. I think reality set in and they realized they might actually fall (after a 6-0 win the previous day). But hats off to the Falcons, this powerhouse was fun to watch.

It didn't hurt that the Tufts fans made this feel like a home game despite the much longer trip. Shapiro managed this game masterfully. The way he utilized his subs was crucial to keep the energy level high for 90. Congratulations to the Jumbos! Hoping they can continue this special run. They certainly have all the right pieces.

I disagree. Having seen several Tufts games this year, I think Hoppenot is a no doubt first team player. Yes his production was not as high scoring just 3 goals this year, but he is the key to the Tufts attack. His ability to shield defenders and hold up the ball may be the best I have ever seen (at the non-professional level). He finds a way to somehow consistently win long balls over defenders and manage to keep possession as the midfielders support him in the final third.

Good luck to all the NESCAC teams today!

Good to see the committee got things right. Wouldn't we all love to see a Tufts vs Coast Guard sweet 16 matchup!

NESCAC playoff time, great time of year. Here are my predictions. Curious to hear others.

Tufts 1 - Conn 0

Amherst 3 - Colby 0

Williams 1 - Bowdoin 2

Wesleyan 2- Middlebury 1

After listening to it for 4 years and making sure to sit several sections away each game, I can confirm it is the parent of a senior.

2-2 all of a sudden. Great response from Bowdoin this half. Tufts did just hit the post as well in an attempt to regain the lead. Back and forth game now.

Caught the Tufts vs Wesleyan game. A hard fought battle on both sides but 1-0 in OT to Tufts a fair result. Wesleyan had their moments, creating 2 or 3 very dangerous opportunities but Tufts certainly had the better of the play with 21 shots and 5 or 6 clear goal-scoring opportunities.

A midfield battle for a large part of the game, but things opened up towards the end of the second half. Tufts pressed hard in the first OT and finally got one on a perfect corner to the back post from Pinheiro that Patel headed home.

Wesleyan could have stolen a point or even 3 here, but instead Tufts pushes the winning streak to 5. Will be interested to see if they can handle Brandeis on Saturday.

Seconding AllNescac and Colby Union. Sorry for the rant...

A year like this is simply infuriating for the Nescac teams left out of the dance. I can only help but think there'd be 4-5 CAC teams still left if they had been given bids.

All you need to do is look at Williams' schedule. 13 Nescac games and ONLY ONE decided by more than a goal. Of course Amherst had a few 2 and 3 goal Nescac wins but results like the Hamilton and Conn ties further go to show the Nescac's strength.

Amherst + Williams outscoring teams 16-1 through 4 games. Simply a disgrace to see Gordon college and other teams in there over Wesleyan/Conn/Tufts/Bowdoin.

http://bennettranking.com/men/d3

Has anyone else seen this computer based (seemingly unbiased) ranking site. Very interesting and takes factors like strength of schedule into account. For example it has Tufts at 8 in the country in large part because they've played the hardest schedule in the nation this season (according to their analytics).

7 Nescac teams in the top 16. If only the NCAA would take a look at this.

It is hard for me to believe the NESCAC would only receive 2 or even 3 bids to the tourney. I understand the records of the top 4 or 5 teams are worse than in years past (excluding Amherst) but this is due in large part to the top 8 all beating each other up.

The NESCAC out of conference record is 33-6-3 to this point (if my math is right), so it's hard to argue against the CAC dominance.

Does anyone have insight into the selections committee's thoughts here? It's possible an 8 win team could be the 2 seed and a couple upsets in the tourney could make it near impossible to choose between seeds 2-8. Could parity truly penalize the CAC and result in only 2 tournament teams despite the league's dominance?

I'm also a recent player in the league. I've seen every team play at least once this year.

Amherst was by far the best team.  But, having played them the past 4 years, I agree they (and Serpone) have 0 class whatsoever which is disappointing.  That said, I believe they will make a run in the tournament, but are certainly beatable as well. I'm shocked they've only allowed 2 goals.

Wesleyan should not have gotten in but could win a game or two as they are solid.

Congrats to Tufts on making the tourney for the first time in quite a while. They are my dark horse. I hear Santos may be back and they've played very well even without him.  Unlucky to have lost in PKs.

Williams is solid but, having seen them play this weekend, I fear they play too direct for a team not having the same talent up top as Amherst. Than could keep them in games (as he did against Tufts) but I don't see them going too deep.

Another great year for the NESCAC. I know we are all proud to be involved in this wonderful sports conference.