Hey all, been a long time since I've posted so I'd like to begin by saying thank you to everyone who keeps the chain going while the rest of us watch from the sidelines. Even though I'm now a handful of years out of school I still find this board to be a fantastic extension of the on-the-field excitement.

That being said, I have chosen to break my silence for an absolutely heart-breaking reason. As some of you may or may not know, today's game between Amherst and Rutgers-Newark was packed with drama but marred by racism that has become all too prevalent in today's society. Before I attempt to recap the specific events, I want to mention that I wasn't there and I was unable to stream the game. What I have to say is based on what I've heard from those in attendance. Therefore I apologize if I describe anything incorrectly. I welcome anyone with more information to let their voice be heard because I think this topic goes far beyond sports rivalries.

Fikayo Ajayi, a great player and even better person, was called a ni**** by one of the RUN players in the first few minutes of OT. His response, and justifiably so in my opinion, was to confront the RUN player with pointed language of his own (F bombs, etc.), which led to a scuffle and a yellow card for Fikayo and the deplorable RUN player. The referee did not hear the original insult from the RUN player but had heard the response from Fikayo, which led the RUN coach to suggest that Fikayo was the only one deserving of a yellow card. After everyone had been calmed down the game was allowed to continue and moments later Fikayo received a second yellow and was sent off. I'm not sure what the second offense was for but I imagine emotions were still running extremely high. Thankfully karma prevailed and soon Amherst was able to net the game winner, sending RUN home with nothing but a huge loss.

Now... I HOPE we can all agree that what the RUN player did was terrible... that should be a given. However, what I want to address are two things that bubbled to the surface following the game.
1) is that the referee later claimed to the Amherst coaching staff that he believed Fikayo had made up the insult. That it had never occurred. To this I have to say ARE YOU F***ING KIDDING ME. Why would someone make that up? Short answer - they wouldn't. And even if the referee is ignorant enough to believe that the insult was fabricated, WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT TO HIS COACH!!!! If you didn't hear it then I can understand that you would be hesitant to dish out punishment purely based on the opposing players reaction, but for me a ref suggesting that the player made it up is NEVER appropriate.
2) The RUN coach not only complained about his player receiving a yellow, but he was bold enough to suggest that the player would not have said such a thing because he was hispanic and went to church on a weekly basis. THIS. IS. ABSURD. Suggesting someone can't be racist because they are also a minority? That they are immune to accusations of racism because they worship a higher power on a weekly basis? This is ignorance at its finest. I understand that a coach is inclined to protect and defend his players but for me racism is where respectable coach's need to draw the line. If you are a collegiate soccer coach then your job should revolve around two things: winning as many soccer games as possible and grooming your student athletes to become the best person they can be. If todays events was any indication I would say that RUN is failing miserably at the latter.

I don't post this to start a debate and I don't plan to reply to any thread that stems from this post. All I would like to do is make sure that things like this do not go unnoticed. Everyone should be held accountable for their actions and I hope that the Rutgers-Newark players and staff are held accountable for theirs.

Hey all, been a long time since I've posted so I'd like to begin by saying thank you to everyone who keeps the chain going while the rest of us watch from the sidelines. Even though I'm now a handful of years out of school I still find this board to be a fantastic extension of the on-the-field excitement.

That being said, I have chosen to break my silence for an absolutely heart-breaking reason. As some of you may or may not know, today's game between Amherst and Rutgers-Newark was packed with drama but marred by racism that has become all too prevalent in today's society. Before I attempt to recap the specific events, I want to mention that I wasn't there and I was unable to stream the game. What I have to say is based on what I've heard from those in attendance. Therefore I apologize if I describe anything incorrectly. I welcome anyone with more information to let their voice be heard because I think this topic goes far beyond sports rivalries.

Fikayo Ajayi, a great player and even better person, was called a ni**** by one of the RUN players in the first few minutes of OT. His response, and justifiably so in my opinion, was to confront the RUN player with pointed language of his own (F bombs, etc.), which led to a scuffle and a yellow card for Fikayo and the deplorable RUN player. The referee did not hear the original insult from the RUN player but had heard the response from Fikayo, which led the RUN coach to suggest that Fikayo was the only one deserving of a yellow card. After everyone had been calmed down the game was allowed to continue and moments later Fikayo received a second yellow and was sent off. I'm not sure what the second offense was for but I imagine emotions were still running extremely high. Thankfully karma prevailed and soon Amherst was able to net the game winner, sending RUN home with nothing but a huge loss.

Now... I HOPE we can all agree that what the RUN player did was terrible... that should be a given. However, what I want to address are two things that bubbled to the surface following the game.
1) is that the referee later claimed to the Amherst coaching staff that he believed Fikayo had made up the insult. That it had never occurred. To this I have to say ARE YOU F***ING KIDDING ME. Why would someone make that up? Short answer - they wouldn't. And even if the referee is ignorant enough to believe that the insult was fabricated, WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT TO HIS COACH!!!! If you didn't hear it then I can understand that you would be hesitant to dish out punishment purely based on the opposing players reaction, but for me a ref suggesting that the player made it up is NEVER appropriate.
2) The RUN coach not only complained about his player receiving a yellow, but he was bold enough to suggest that the player would not have said such a thing because he was hispanic and went to church on a weekly basis. THIS. IS. ABSURD. Suggesting someone can't be racist because they are also a minority? That they are immune to accusations of racism because they worship a higher power on a weekly basis? This is ignorance at its finest. I understand that a coach is inclined to protect and defend his players but for me racism is where respectable coach's need to draw the line. If you are a collegiate soccer coach then your job should revolve around two things: winning as many soccer games as possible and grooming your student athletes to become the best person they can be. If todays events was any indication I would say that RUN is failing miserably at the latter.

I don't post this to start a debate and I don't plan to reply to any thread that stems from this post. All I would like to do is make sure that things like this do not go unnoticed. Everyone should be held accountable for their actions and I hope that the Rutgers-Newark players and staff are held accountable for theirs.

Quote from: blooter442 on October 01, 2017, 04:30:06 PM
Seems to have been a lengthy stoppage in Amherst-RUN -- both benches got yellows and Ajayi got a red for Amherst. Two feisty teams can sure generate fireworks (to be clear, I said feisty, not dirty).

Update: Amherst wins it with 2:05 left in the first OT. Big weekend for Serpone and his charges.

Hey all, been a long time since I've posted so I'd like to begin by saying thank you to everyone who keeps the chain going while the rest of us watch from the sidelines. Even though I'm now a handful of years out of school I still find this board to be a fantastic extension of the on-the-field excitement.

That being said, I have chosen to break my silence for an absolutely heart-breaking reason. As some of you may or may not know, today's game between Amherst and Rutgers-Newark was packed with drama but marred by racism that has become all too prevalent in today's society. Before I attempt to recap the specific events, I want to mention that I wasn't there and I was unable to stream the game. What I have to say is based on what I've heard from those in attendance. Therefore I apologize if I describe anything incorrectly. I welcome anyone with more information to let their voice be heard because I think this topic goes far beyond sports rivalries.

Fikayo Ajayi, a great player and even better person, was called a ni**** by one of the RUN players in the first few minutes of OT. His response, and justifiably so in my opinion, was to confront the RUN player with pointed language of his own (F bombs, etc.), which led to a scuffle and a yellow card for Fikayo and the deplorable RUN player. The referee did not hear the original insult from the RUN player but had heard the response from Fikayo, which led the RUN coach to suggest that Fikayo was the only one deserving of a yellow card. After everyone had been calmed down the game was allowed to continue and moments later Fikayo received a second yellow and was sent off. I'm not sure what the second offense was for but I imagine emotions were still running extremely high. Thankfully karma prevailed and soon Amherst was able to net the game winner, sending RUN home with nothing but a huge loss.

Now... I HOPE we can all agree that what the RUN player did was terrible... that should be a given. However, what I want to address are two things that bubbled to the surface following the game.
1) is that the referee later claimed to the Amherst coaching staff that he believed Fikayo had made up the insult. That it had never occurred. To this I have to say ARE YOU F***ING KIDDING ME. Why would someone make that up? Short answer - they wouldn't. And even if the referee is ignorant enough to believe that the insult was fabricated, WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT TO HIS COACH!!!! If you didn't hear it then I can understand that you would be hesitant to dish out punishment purely based on the opposing players reaction, but for me a ref suggesting that the player made it up is NEVER appropriate.
2) The RUN coach not only complained about his player receiving a yellow, but he was bold enough to suggest that the player would not have said such a thing because he was hispanic and went to church on a weekly basis. THIS. IS. ABSURD. Suggesting someone can't be racist because they are also a minority? That they are immune to accusations of racism because they worship a higher power on a weekly basis? This is ignorance at its finest. I understand that a coach is inclined to protect and defend his players but for me racism is where respectable coach's need to draw the line. If you are a collegiate soccer coach then your job should revolve around two things: winning as many soccer games as possible and grooming your student athletes to become the best person they can be. If todays events was any indication I would say that RUN is failing miserably at the latter.

I don't post this to start a debate and I don't plan to reply to any thread that stems from this post. All I would like to do is make sure that things like this do not go unnoticed. Everyone should be held accountable for their actions and I hope that the Rutgers-Newark players and staff are held accountable for theirs.

Quote from: Mr.Right on November 16, 2016, 01:06:51 PM
I am not defending UMB's antics at all. I do not believe they will be forced to forfeit because it is to late...I do believe the coach should be suspended or even fired.

My main point is that it is very ironic that we have former Amherst players being the first to comment on this teams antics and the antics of their bench. They have the least amount of credibility on this issue and BTW................. there is a HUGE difference at a player throwing a ball FULL SPEED into a players sternum(He could have been killed) then drop kicking a ball into another player(while absolutely stupid he could not have been killed)....I am commenting on the game live and did not get a chance to see full blown replays and zoom-ins.

2 things to address here: The first is that (to continue with the political theme) Mr. Right seems to have the consistency of Hillary Clinton combined with the grace and delicacy of Donald Trump. There have been more than a few examples of players getting over-the-top violent in past years that Mr. Right seems to quickly forget en lieu of referencing Amherst's bench behavior. For example: a few years back, Peter Lee Kramer of Tufts was suspended for a red card early in the season, then came back after his suspension and threw a HARD elbow at the face of a bowdoin player who had to leave the game ( https://www.instagram.com/p/uwEjgzpPg9/ ). Kramer was suspended again that season but Mr. Right said later on the threads: "Wow Kramer is usually pretty level headed. Kramer and big ole Sam Williams are two of the best CB's in the country in my opinion." Since then we have not heard 'boo' about Tufts being dirty or cheap. Yet someone in a game COMPLETELY unrelated to Amherst headbutts a ref and Mr. Right goes right to talks of the Amherst bench, and the time one of their players threw a legal throw-in off someone's chest.

Which brings me to my next point... Mr. Right can you please explain the science behind how someone could die from a soccer ball hitting them in the sternum (note, it was a THROW in)? Curious how it is more dangerous than someone kicking a ball at a players head. Furthermore, is it only lethal if the ball-to-the-sternum is a throw in or could it happen if someone kicked the ball as well? I only ask because literally NO ONE has ever died in the sport of soccer from a ball to the chest or sternum and it has happened *thousands* of times. I've attached a link to a list of every player who has died playing professional soccer to make things easier for you. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_association_footballers_who_died_while_playing ) While you're looking that up I'd also like to reference your "My advice is to look at your own house first" quote that you shot at Gab Wirz earlier. The Amherst "house" has had 4 NESCAC championships in the last 6 years (and missed the 5th by an inch in extra PKs), a National Championship, one of the best (if not THE best) records in the past 5 years across the NCAA, a handful of NCAA and NESCAC stat records, and a TON of individual recognitions without any suspenions or sanctions (I'm genuinely curious, in the past 5 years have we ever received a straight red?). Yet you've been telling us for years that "The antics can't last forever", "one day the karma will catch up to them", etc.... but will it? Where have Williams and the rest of the NESCAC been up to this whole time? Their coaches might want to spend a little less time reading books on etiquette and a little more time figuring it out what it takes to win soccer games. Serpone clearly has it figured out.

So in conclusion:

I'm disappointed to see haverford lose. I thought they were a good team and obviously UMass is going to have some other issues in the tournament so I think the competitive balance on their side of the bracket dropped off substantially.

I think (and I'm TOTALLY bias) Amherst has the best chance of winning the tournament again this year. They're playing well and, as I said in a post on the NESCAC thread, they have a senior class that you can always count on. We've seen year after year after year that a large, tough-minded senior class is a key to success in November and December.

Apologies to everyone else not named Mr. Right for the aggression here. The guy just gets to me.

Still love you though Mr. Right. The wild thoughts that go on in that cranium of yours will never cease to intrigue me.

RIP Biggie Smalls

hi everyone. first time poster here so quick 2 sentences of background for y'all: played at amherst a "few" years ago under serpone, still try to watch as many nescac games as i can but finding the time to watch teams other than when they're playing amherst can be tough, so my current knowledge regarding the rest of the league is limited by my "how-did-they-perform-against-amherst" lense.

i'd also like to give a quick shoutout to those of you who have been posting for the past "few" years. while i was a player there were two key motivators: haters on the field and haters off the field. Back when Mr. Right was LaPaz and St. Lawrence fans were at their most bitter (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixGWDqPGZrQ) nothing got me jacked up for gameday like a little d3board amherst-bashing.

with that in mind, i would like to say that the reason for my posting is to make sure that this debate continues in a passionate yet amicable way. i intend to poke a button or two for the sake of fun but please make sure to let me know if anyone ever feels i've taken something too far and i'll make sure to cut back. love you all and don't want anyone to stop posting or stop having fun on here because of me.

NOW ONTO THE SOCCER - what. a. game.... obviously talking about the amherst - wesleyan matchup this weekend. there's been a lot of posts about Amherst falling back to the pack, the NESCAC being wide open, etc. but here we sit with Amherst at the top of the table as November approaches. It has been YEARS since Amherst hasnt been in sole possession or at least locked tightly with one other team as NESCAC playoffs rolls around, so I think it's dangerous to count them out of a deep run. History would not be on your side if so.

That being said, I agree with many of you who have suggested that watching this Amherst team is different than watching the most dominant Amherst teams in the past. This team doesn't start foaming at the mouth on every single set piece like the team in 2012. They don't score some of the most skilled goals the NESCAC has ever seen like the team that won a national championship last year (bicycle kicks for days!). Lee Owen isn't going to gobble up every set piece like Thomas Bull (i'm honestly not sure why someone would think that in the first place). HOWEVER... none of this is relevant and I'll tell you why: Justin Serpone has put together objectively great seasons year after year after year because he adjusts his plan to his personnel and not vice versa. Every coach does this to some extent, but no one in my entire life (soccer or otherwise) has been better at identifying a source of greatness within his team. 2012 - players were great at imposing their will physically. 2015 - players were great at making the player next to them better (find Orozco's head, find Martin in space)... this year there seems to be criticism because observers are having a hard time identifying Amherst's niche but this Wesleyan game was the first time anyone would be able to watch and observe what will drive this Amherst team to a deep playoff run: Being able to find a way to get things done. Period.

This senior class has seen plenty of wins and plenty of great Amherst teams. They're plenty good at soccer (trust me) but what will you will all realize in the coming months is that if you give this group of seniors a task (ANY task in ANY walk of life) then you don't even need to check back in. You can just sit and wait knowing that it will get done better than you had originally hoped. Playing at Wesleyan (Amherst's most recent kryptonite) down 2 goals with almost no time on the clock and down one your most influential players, how did they respond? By throwing in the subs and preparing for how they'll shake things up for next game? Not on Serpone's team. Not under the class of 2017. Amherst men's soccer is best when their backs are up against the wall and thats been proven year after year after year. It takes grit, mental fortitude, a spirit that won't quit, and the composure to capitalize when it matters in order to win a game like they won yesterday. The same can be said about a deep playoff run. Heard it here first.

Now who wants to disagree first! Looking forward to getting this started. Thanks for reading.