More of a NESCAC guy so I'll stick with what I know...
Amherst 2 - 0 Brandeis: Amherst at home and on grass is a difficult task, especially for what I see as a Brandeis team that likes to play on the ground and can be easily affected by Amherst's physicality and speed. Amherst definitely the favorite for the title in my mind

Tufts 1 - 2 UMASS Boston: All the people swinging in Tufts' favor have short term memories. When it counts and against teams they are overconfident about (supposed to beat), Tufts loses. Simple as that. UMB loves to play the villain and you can bet they won't be caught thinking about Mr. Wirz or Haverford, they'll be gunning all out to win. Just don't think Tufts has the consistency or mentality to win this game, and if by some miracle they do win this game because UMB is short handed, they'll lose the next one.

Hope Tufts proves me wrong because NESCAC teams advancing further adds legitimacy to the league, but those are just my thoughts.

Trinity Texas is on there too at #8!

Does anyone understand how Trinity Connecticut made the end-of-year top 25? (at number 23)

The giant-slayer goal finally emerges! Not great quality (Don't know where it came from... I was looking for their tournament highlights) but what a strike by Mr. Kayne.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GHHmKLtJ70

Ah, thanks! I hadn't understood that it went in descending order like that.

The NESCAC weekly release says that Tufts have clinched first place... Does anyone care to explain? If they lose and Amherst win they'll be equal on points. I was under the impression that the tie breakers were "Head to Head" then "Results against top 4" and "Results against top 8". If the top four are williams midd tufts and amherst, then wouldn't they be exactly tied for all of those criteria?

NESCAC site says it's going to be replayed tomorrow night at 7

Out of curiosity for the coast guard and Middlebury results, are tonight's games taken into consideration for the NCAA's ranking tomorrow?

I agree soccerfan, let's get back to soccer. And welcome back, Lapaz. I always appreciate the insight you bring.

Bates 0 - 2 Midd: Midd need to win and must be hoping to see Tufts and Amherst win in order to get back in the race for a home playoff spot with Wesleyan and Williams. Middlebury are 2-0-2 at home and their two ties came against tufts and amherst. I can't see anything but a Middlebury win here.

Conn Coll 0 - 1 Bowdoin: Conn have been extremely disappointing this year, and losing Punt makes it even harder. Bowdoin are a hard-working, organized team, and I think they have enough to find a winner tomorrow.

Amherst 2 - 0 Wesleyan:  I think Amherst's physicality and style of play will overwhelm the Wesleyan defensive group and Amherst will score early on in the game and punish them against when Wesleyan have to stretch to try to find an equalizer.

Hamilton 0 - 0 Colby: Colby at home can give any team problems. Tufts and Wesleyan squeeked by with wins there and Middlebury lost 0-3. I don't think either team will find the net, but if someone does, it's going to be Colby.

Williams 2 - 1 Tufts: Though talented, I think Williams have the mental edge against Tufts. If i recall correctly, Tufts have lost their last 4 or 5 games against Williams. My prediction is that Tufts go up a goal early and Williams come from behind (as they did against Wesleyan and Middlebury). I just don't think Tufts will have the mentality down the stretch and into the playoffs to make a real run (For NESCACs or NCAAs)

I don't completely disagree but a few games doesn't tell the full tale. NESCAC 9th best also beat NEWMAC 1st place just last Tuesday

Weekend Predictions:

SATURDAY

Wes @ Williams: Over the next 6 of their games, we're going to find out exactly what Wesleyan are made of. They're 6-2-2, second in the league, but have no signature win. They face Williams, Amherst, Trin, Middlebury, and Conn to end the year. Despite their struggles, I still think Williams are dangerous, beating Midd was a huge result for them. I think Williams are able to grind out a win, and Wesleyan's lack of attack gets the best of them.

        Prediction: Wes 0 – 1 Williams


Bowdoin @ Hamilton: Travelling to Hamilton is never easy, but Bowdoin have quietly won 4 in a row. They only lost by one goal to Amherst and Wesleyan, and only by two to Midd. Hamilton have never lost by more than a goal. Hamilton less impressive at home compared to last year. Hard to tell how this one will end up, I think a scrappy tie is in the books.

   Prediction: Bowdoin 1 – 1 Hamilton


Middlebury @ Trinity: Big win for Trinity this week against Wheaton. But this followed losses to Bowdoin and Bates. They desperately need Nescac wins. Middlebury seem to be faltering somewhat with losses to Colby and Williams. The tie against Tufts was a fine result.

   Prediction: Middlebury 2 – 1 Trinity


Tufts @ Conn: Tufts are still in a decent position and have looked good in certain games, but they've also tied three and lost one in their last 4 after starting 5-0. Conn are extremely unpredictable and are very talented. This could be the surprise result of the weekend if the Conn strikers find their scoring boots.

   Prediction: Tufts 1 – 1 Conn College


Colby @ Amherst: Impressive result against Middlebury for Colby, and almost came out of the Wesleyan game with a draw. Amherst keep rolling and getting one goal wins. I think they will break down Colby at least once and Colby will not be able to put any real pressure on them.

   Prediction: Colby 0 – 2 Amherst


SUNDAY

Bowdoin @ Williams: Bowdoin will have to travel to Williamstown from Hamilton while Williams are home both days, which may have an effect. Both will have had hard-fought games the day before. Grit is going to win this one, but I think they will end up scoreless.

   Prediction: Bowdoin 0 – 0 Williams


Middlebury @ Hamilton: Middlebury too have a lot of travel. I think Glaser and Conrad find their form and put away Hamilton early.

   Prediction: Middlebury 2 – 0 Hamilton


Colby @ Conn: This game is begging for a 0 – 0, but I think Conn's talent may win this one for it. Colby is still in the run of it for their playoffs if they finish strong and keep compact defensively.

   Prediction: Colby 0 – 1 Conn College


Tufts @ Trinity: This one will be interesting and both will have heavy legs. Should see a lot of goals here.

   Prediction: Tufts 3 – 1 Trinity

Didn't catch the game, but moderately surprised that Williams pulled out the win, especially battling back from 1-0 down. The 2nd place to 6th mix is an interesting one. Tufts, Wesleyan, Midd, Williams, and Conn could all end 2nd with a strong end to their seasons IMO.

Trinity at Bowdoin: Neither have a stand-out win, but both seem solid enough. This would be a big 3 points to either team. Bowdoin is 4-3 but their three losses came to Midd, Wes, and Amherst and all were within 2 goals. I havent heard anything from the Trinity camp but without Savonen, they may have trouble scoring.

Trinity 0 - 1 Bowdoin


Williams at Skidmore: Is Williams back? This game will be a telling one agains a good not great Skidmore side. A win would do wonder for their confidence and chances at an NCAA bid.

Williams 2 - 1 Skidmore


Wesleyan at Colby: Colby at home are hard to break down, and Wesleyan have trouble scoring. Wesleyan are squeeking by in every win. Don't expect a goal-fest if you watch this one.

Wesleyan 0 - 0 Colby


Conn at Bates: Bates' form has turned, beating Trinity 3-0 was a huge win and losing 1-0 to Amherst is not a bad result. They seem to have more of an attacking threat but I think Conn is too good of a team. Devlin will break them down and with their returning strikers, Conn could be a real threat.

Conn 2 - 0 Bates


Tufts at Midd: Tufts seems solid enough, but also don't have a resounding win against any decent program. They got by Wesleyan with an overtime goal but other than that struggled to break down Colby and tied MIT. I was impressed with their tie against Amherst but they leave a lot to be desired. Midd seem to have a more dynamic attack with Conrad and Glaser and are at home. Surprised they've lost their last two and I expect them to come out fired up.

Midd 1 - 0 Tufts


Hamilton at Amherst: If this were at Hamilton it could be a different story but with the travelling I don't think Hamilton have a shot. Amherst to shove the ball down their throats enough times to score a few.

Hamilton 0 - 2 Amherst

Conn has too much trouble scoring to be a real threat this season. They strike me as the type of team to come up with a big win one weekend and follow it up with a 0-0 or 1-1 against Trinity/Colby/Bates type despite outplaying them.

Predictions for tomorrows games?

Don't know much about non-NESCACs so I'll stay away from those.

Midd at Williams is interesting. Midd coming off a surprising 0-3 defeat to Colby, and Williams winless in their last 4. On one hand I think Midd is the better team this year and will want to rebound from an embarrassing loss. On the other hand, I have trouble seeing Williams go winless in 5, especially if losing four of them.

I'll go with Midd 2 - 1 Williams, but this score could very well be flipped. If Williams loses this one, they could be in for a long, long year (For their standards)

Made the trip up to Medford for the Tufts-Amherst game, surprised no one has mentioned that Tufts were playing 10 v 11 for the last 15 minutes and both overtimes after one of their centerbacks got sent off.

Tufts dominated (as much as one can against an Amherst team who shoves the ball down your throat every time they get it) but they don't seem to be able to finish off games when theyre playing well. Didn't see Brandeis or MIT for them but from what these boards were saying and the box scores, it sounds like if theyd taken their chances they could have won.

This year seems to be open and a weekend full of surprises. I really thought Bates was going to go 0-10 or 0-9-1 in conference. Don't know where Colby found 3 goals either. Conn may have just turned their season around and I'm still confident that Williams will find their feet and end up 3-6 range and looking dangerous come playoff time.

My predictions:
Amherst 2-0 Bowdoin. Amherst will find their feet, and Bowdoin without Brewster will have trouble containing them.

Trinity 1-3 Williams. Williams too complete of a team (even without Rashid) and always find a way to win. Savonen scores early but Willams prevails

Middlebury 1-1 Conn College. Most intriguing game of the weekend for me. Two teams that seem on the verge of making moves up the Nescac. We'll see if one pulls it off but I think they'll draw.

Hamilton 1-0 Bates. This game will be ugly. Hamilton has struggled away from home, but I think Bates will find a way to lose.

Tufts 1-1 Colby. Colby looked like an organized unit against Williams, something tufts hasn't faced yet this year. Given the Tufts state of affairs and playing away from home, I think they tie.

Wesleyan 1-2 Wheaton. Really hard to tell who will win this. Wheaton has yet to be truly challenged, but I think Wesleyan is missing a little bit of firepower/creativity. Giving Wheaton the benefit of the doubt due to their strong start to the year.