i already mentioned that Tufts beat Middlebury 1-0, but so what. They couldnt even get by their first round game in the NESCAC tournament; if they made it to the finals and Middlebury did not and didnt lose to Hamilton, or if they had 12 wins then I could buy into them getting in over Middebury.  I still say the Plymouth State games against Tufts and Middlebury offers a way to break a  tie even if I dont think a tie is warranted with only 9 wins. Yes, NESCAC probably should have four teams given that Middlebury was in the top 15 at the end of tournament play.  Im not a Middlebury alum or fan (and I can't stand Sayward or the Amherst coach who is a thug and has his team playing dirty every single game). I dont know much about RPI or Wisc-Osh Kosh, but Im sure there are other issues.

Mr. Right..the non-conference games are overall a problem for Middlebury--agreed. However, look at one team that both played- Plymouth State. Middlebury beat
PS 5-0 and Tufts beat them 1-0.  It's just another example of why Middlebury, with more conference wins and a loss in the Semis of the NESCAC vs. Tufts
losing in the Quarters and a non-conference beating of a team that Tufts barely got by, should have been given the nod over Tufts.

totally agree.  It makes no sense for a team that wants to play in the NCAAs to play any teams that are likely to be a joke (Conn College plays Coast Guard because they are across the street and Mitchell because they are in New London, so they are hoping for rivalry games, but other than that you need to play tougher teams out of conference and win those games).  I still stand by the fact that Tufts didnt do a good enough job in their conference (both regular and championship) to warrant a NCAA bid. 

im talking about getting an automatic bid just because you were the previous year's NCAA champion. That's what Shooter wrote, "I personally believe that if you win the national title that you should automatically be put in the field the next year no matter what your record is".  Also, my point is that Tufts ALSO lost in the first round of their conference championship in addition to only winning 5 conference games.  They simply didn't deserve to make the NCAA this year.

First of all, the automatic bid thing is nonsense; no one gets that in any sport/any division. As for SOS, I can't disagree with anyone regarding Middlebury's non-conference games, as it is perplexing why they would play Green Mountain and Colby-Sawyer (they are in-state and Vermont simply doesnt have good D3 teams; Tufts played Brandeis, Endicott and Gordon which are all in Massachusetts with Plymouth State the only out of state non-conference game).  However, Tufts only really tough win was against Gordon and they lost to Brandeis (which is a loss regardless of the 1-0 score).  The NESCAC, although not as top notch this year as other years, is still a very tough conference. And, Tufts had only 5 wins vs. 7 wins for Middlebury and only 9 wins overall.  Im not suggesting that Middlebury is a great team (and I am not a grad), but their conference play should have given them the nod over Tufts this year.

How does the committe give Tufts the nod over Middlebury with only 9 wins? Yes, they beat Middlebury 1-0, but they got knocked out of the NESCAC tournament in the first round, and they only had 9 wins overall, and Middlebury finished 2nd in the NESCAC regular season while Tufts finished 3rd. It is outrageous that the committe likely gave Tufts the benefit of the doubt because they won the NCAA championship last year.  Unfortunately, you need to perform to get in the tournament, and Tufts had a mediocre year.