Another great NESCAC season in the books. Congratulations to all coaches and players. I'm not posting to stir the pot on Amherst, but I have read for years about how Amherst has the talent to play better soccer and they still rely on set pieces and physical play to win. I won't argue with that sentiment but obviously they are doing something right having won 3 straight NESCAC championships. However, could it be that this lack of possession oriented soccer is keeping them from reaching National Championship level? Just something to think about.

I'm curious to hear All-NESCAC predictions. Admittedly, I have not gotten to as many games as years past so I am no expert. I would have to think the tall striker on Conn gets 1st team consideration, Bull from Amherst, Rashid from Williams. Could any of these three make a play for POY? With his 4th NESCAC title in 7 seasons, is Serpone a lock for his first COY? Martin from Amherst as ROY?

what a great day for nescac soccer! congrats to sucre, coach serpone, the amherst team, and the entire league. terrific accomplishment! rumor coming through the grape vine is that alexi lalas saw sucres play at Amherst during their junior year at an ncaa contest and was impressed. he has some old ties in the whitecaps organization. can anyone confirm or deny?

Also, not to bring this forum back to the coaching debate, but serpone deserves some credit for taking his team to an undefeated season without their MLS-bound striker (he was out with injury almost all season).

Wanted to weigh in with some predictions for the weekend. I, too, appreciate the love for Aoyama! In my opinion, Aoyama plays defense by necessity, and if he were playing on any other NESCAC team, he'd be a winger and maybe the best in the league. If anyone has seen him play (I admittedly have only seen him once or twice), he is an offensive minded player with elite defensive skills. Love watching him play.

Swat v. Amherst - Haven't seen swat play but know they play tough and could present a challenge for an Amherst team who thinks their ticket to San Antonio is all but guaranteed. I think this is a "trap" game--as much as that is possible in the sweet 16s (i think that says something about how dominant this amherst team has been). That being said, Serpone gets the team jacked up and ready to go, look for a big game from Mooney--swat struggles with speed from the wings and Mooney is a 5th year senior who steps up in big games (goal in the nescac finals, hat trick against SLU in 2011). He won't let his team go down. Amherst 2-1

Brandeis v. Williams - a real wild card game. i think williams is the product of a down year from the nescac and great (as always) coaching from COY russo. I do not think they are as talented as their record shows, and may show some immaturity at points (sophomore  grady seems like a ticking time bomb ready to get a red card). Don't know much about brandeis but they do play on turf and that could be interesting given amherst's field must be beat up at this point in the season. Wouldn't be surprised to see a OT game here. Rashid scores a late goal to tie it and I'll go a 2OT 1-1 finish with williams taking it in PKs.

Sunday:

Amherst - Williams: Can you ask for a better game? Rivalry game, 3rd time in a year, all bets are off. Too much talent on Amherst as they squeak by for their second trip to the final four in 5 years. 1-0. Noon puts the team on his back and makes a play to carry his team to San Antonio

cant wait to watch. good luck to all

More All-NESCAC talk. the awards are up: http://nescac.com/sports/msoc/2012-13/honors/allconference

I'm not sure I could be more surprised and disappointed by the choices. In my opinion, these awards have lost what little credibility they had.

CAC Attack, glad to see another recent player on here. Maybe we played each other?

Heo is a nice pick for POY but if there's a lord jeff who takes the award its Noon. Consistently the league's top forward. Speaking of Amherst, does anyone know the deal with this Mikey Hokesma (?), the kid plays rarely but all he does on the field is produce goals (league leader in assists.) Am I missing something here or does he deserve a look for second team all-nescac?

I would actually throw Hoppenot from tufts on the first team as well. Dangerous player and often overlooked next to santos

In response to the comparison of "possession oriented" teams to teams (like Amherst) who "hoof it," I think, with all due respect, we are overestimating the quality of NESCAC players. As a former player myself, I love the NESCAC and think it is the best and most competitive league in DIII. That being said, this is DIII soccer. True, Colby has pratt and meisel who can dink and dunk 10 ft square balls all day, but at the end of the day, the big, bruising athletes (Sucres, O'Neill, etc.) are going to win out because that is the nature of the league. The players (but for a select few since the Williams' Jamaicans graduated) do not have the quality to string together 15 passes, swing a ball in, and score. If they could do that successfully, I submit that they would. Especially when teams play as high pressure as they do, it is unrealistic to expect these players to be able to do that. This league is about winning games, and the formula to do that (in all of DIII) is defend, win the physical battle (i.e., first and second balls, set pieces), and find a way to score a goal. If you look at the last four NESCAC final four runs, this is the makeup of a good team. Middlebury 07 (national champs, HUGE defenders, 0 goals in semis or finals), Amherst 08 (something crazy like 10 straight shutouts), Williams 09 (conor smith, mike vella--big athletes), and Bowdoin 10 (call nichols, sean bishop, denton-schneider big, strong guys). This is how you win in DIII. You play to win games, ugly or not. I think Serpone understands that. 

First time poster, former player, and long-time follower of the boards. Can't say I agree with the "classless" Amherst comment. They get a bad rep for having the loudest bench and a coach that is of a different mold than the traditional "old school" successful nescac coaches Saward and Russo. Also don't think they would be getting nearly as much negative press on these boards if they weren't dominant--no one cares if they are losing. Serpone has to be doing something right, you can't argue with 6 straight NCAA appearances, 1 final four, and 3 nescac titles...

That being said, I wanted to get the nescac awards discussion going. Can Amherst sweep the awards? (noon - POY, freshman goalie - FOY, and serpone COY) or does shapiro from tufts get the nod for COY? he took a tufts team that was terrible 3 years ago to an ncaa bid. Can't imagine anyone but noon and the amherst goalie winning the other two.