Tufts deserved it. Impressive performance. Great careers for the Messiah seniors though.

Longest 10 minutes of Tufts lives coming up

Tufts could easily be up 3-0 right now. Counter is wide open and West has made some key saves. Messiah is getting out shot and has less set pieces. Not a winning formula. 25 to go.

Yeah the field looks nasty. Tufts doing everything a team needs to do in order to beat a Messiah team. They are well organized, physical, now after that goal confident, and most importantly they are playing without fear. Messiah is in for a dogfight the rest of the way. Should be interesting to watch.

Messiah routs Cortland. No shock their. Excited for Tufts at Muhlenberg and Amherst vs Brandeis. F&M has been overrated in my opinion all year. Tough matchup for them though. But there was never going to be a F&M vs Messiah final. 

Got ya thanks for the updates! Should be a good day of soccer!

Quote from: Mr.Right on November 22, 2014, 11:40:35 AM
Cortland should be athletic enough to hang around more than they are doing. I agree about organization as the coaches should take fault for not coming up with a sound defensive game plan. To me F&M does not look a sweet 16 team either so far.

Yes heard there is snow on the ground for that game. Do you know where it is being played at? And Oneonta that good or F&M just flustered?

Payne got on outside shoulder and slotted it far post. Nice finish. Kennel with a header over the goalie off the post and in. Nice set up for that one. Thompson's was a clean up goal from a Payne cross that keeper muffed. 3-0 with 10 to play in the first half. Messiah dominating. ANy word on the F&M game?

Cortland is not good plain and simple. They are just big, rough, and overall dirty players with no soccer skill. 4 cards in the first 20 minutes I believe. This looks more like a Div. 2 PSAC school than anything else. No match at all for Messiah. No defensive structure by Cortland. It's hard to watch. Messiah could end up with 6 on the board by the end of this.

As stated earlier when the bracket first came out, I find it funny and still hard to believe that Dickinson got in over Lycoming from the Mid-Atlantic. Point proven when Dickinson lost in the first round. That makes them what, winless in their last 6 which is about the past month or more? Glad the committee picked a team based on historical performance and conference rather than streaking, upcoming programs such as Lycoming or John Carroll. Such a shame that they wasted a bid.

Quote from: Falconer on November 10, 2014, 04:22:07 PM
Agree that UT-Dallas is a great mystery. However, given that the Trinity women are hosting the first weekend, I'm not surprised that the Trinity men are not hosting the same weekend, regardless of where they are sent.

Messiah over Calvin/Kenyon
F&M over Wheaton/Trinity

Messiah over F&M: one former Falcon player over another, at the coaching level.

Awhile back, responding to a question posed by someone else, I offered an opinion on the level of talent this year's Falcons have compared with some other NCAA championship teams the Falcons have had. I was reluctant to say (at that point in the season) that this year's squad is the best all-time, and I'm still reluctant to say that--let them finish out the season first. However, they might have the single best graduating class. At least five of the seniors are among the best at their positions in Falcon history: Payne (target), Ramirez (attacking and/or holding MF), Jack Thompson (left wing), West (GK), and Robbins (central defender). The fastest current player, right winger Kovach, is perhaps a step lower on the all-time list, but it wouldn't be a very big step.

IMO the most highly skilled player in this group is Ramirez, our version of David Beckham. He could be very important in the tournament, if the Falcons get a bunch of corner kicks and free kicks. He's more physical than most of his teammates as well, so putting pressure on him doesn't usually pay off. Payne is a great scorer with his feet or his head, an ideal target, but he can also create his own shots from the midfield or the wing. The most dangerous athlete of this group is Thompson, who can beat almost anyone with the ball and then cross it effectively: he's the all-time assist leader at Messiah. However IMO the most dangerous player on the whole team could be a freshman, Colby Thomas. His nose for the ball and the goal is unmatched, and the only predictable thing about him is that he will be moving forward and he will probably put the ball on frame, if it's not blocked first by one of the defenders he's in the middle of (he usually draws a crowd). I think we'll be hearing his name a great deal in coming years, and perhaps in the tournament as well. He's been playing a lot lately, b/c Brandt is apparently injured. I don't know the nature of the injury, how serious it is, or when it happened, but I don't think it was in a game. Does anyone have information about this?

Agree with almost everything said above until the Colby Thomas part. The worst thing possible that could have happened to the Falcons is the loss of Danny Brandt. Messiah is not nearly as dangerous without him in the middle of the field and Colby Thomas is no Payne or Brandt. The kid is still stuck at the high school level and too small for that position. With that being said Messiah is still the favorite to win it as always. 

I have a tough time seeing anyone knocking off Messiah in the tournament. Yes they are heavy favorites as they should be but that's not the reason for my pick. No one has the experience that they do. The only thing hurting the Falcons right now is that they haven't lost in over a year (Lycoming in 2013). And speaking of Lycoming, disappointed in the committee for snubbing the Warriors. 15-3-3 with 2 of their 3 losses coming at Messiah gives them essentially only one loss this year and good wins including, at the time, #13 Rochester as well as a top 10 defense in the country. Yet the committee picks Dickinson (11-5-2) whom is 0-4-1 heading into the tournament in their last 5 games. So much for a team getting hot at the right time. But back to the main topic. My first glance predictions are an Amherst, Wheaton (Ill), Messiah, Kenyon final four. Granted I will have a more thought out decision at some point. Good luck to all the teams that have made the tournament this year!