Quote from: Falconer on November 17, 2024, 08:44:07 PM

Quote from: PaulNewman on November 17, 2024, 08:28:41 PMOK, I guess you're not a homer and don't feel entitled.  I've got no interest in doing research on your behalf.  Interesting that you picked out my post when others thought you were ridiculous for asking for a red.  Also interesting because I gave a lot of praise to Messiah, how they competed, and said I was rooting for them. And they didn't lose because of that one play, 80 yards from where the goal was scored.

PN, we both know I'm a homer--and so are you. 

Others with more objectivity have said my call for a red card was unwarranted. I accept their view as more objective than mine, though nearly everyone agrees that play should have been called back (which is the heart of the matter). Given that neither team had scored for more than 100 minutes, it seems reasonable to conclude that the Falcons did lose because of that one play. What should have happened, by nearly all accounts, is that Messiah should have had a free kick from a fairly dangerous place. We can't know what would have followed, but there's no reason to believe that Williams would then have marched down the field and scored after stealing the ball.

I had a pretty good view of the play preceding the goal and it was obviously a foul. That being said, anyone who watched the entirety of the game and the ref's reluctance to blow his whistle and issue cards for fouls on either side of the ball couldn't be too surprised with the no-call. From early on it was very clear that he was going to let the boys play hard and that was consistent to the end.

On the separate matter of Messiah's temperament, they deserve a tip of the hat for taking the result without much complaint. However, they aren't a bunch of Franciscan monks and there was as much in-your-face jawing and chest-thumping as I've seen all season.

Tough, well-contested game. On to the next.

On a completely different note...the announcer for the Williams-Keene State game is the most entertaining one I've heard all year.

Quote from: nescac1 on October 07, 2024, 02:57:10 PMWhile there hasn't been a huge break-out goal scoring game yet, Williams, which has lacked the finishing touch for years, finally seems to be moving in the right direction offensively.  Even with last year's leading scorer, Andrew Coelho, not playing this year (I assume injured), the Ephs seem to finally have some dudes who can finish plays in Lorcom Mitchell (in particular, he's scored with some impressive strikes in three of the last four games despite still playing only about half of games), Alex Bethencourt, Kellen Grace, and Spencer Mix, all of whom will be around for awhile.  The offensive stats aren't quite at elite levels yet but with a critical mass of young playmakers who will grow as a group, the future is very bright.  The Ephs also have a recruit coming in from NJ, the younger and bigger brother of a four-year Wesleyan starter, who scored 31 goals as a junior (in small-school soccer, but in NJ soccer that's still impressive).  If Coelho can return to form and the Ephs can get even more punch from next year's recruits, they may start to show some of the true offensive potency that has eluded them for years - even in the year they made it to the national title game on the strength of stingy defense. It's clear that Coach Siebert weathered a rocky bit of player retention early in his tenure and has done a stellar job with recruiting, and the team is growing deeper in talent as he brings more classes in. 

The Eph defense and defensive midfield led by Guiterrez, Labonski and Diffley is strong as always, so the question for THIS year will be, can the very young attacking bench unit, which has generated virtually all of the teams' goals, continue to grow into bigger roles as the season moves along and teams game plan against them.  Williams while still going very deep has started to tighten the rotation just a bit, which should help with continuity while still keeping guys fresh for the second half of games, when the Ephs clearly do their most damage - incredibly, 12 of the 15 Eph goals have come in the second half of play.   

On another note, that Amherst header goal certainly looked clean to me.  As others have said, when you have a skilled 6'5 guy against someone who looked around 8-9 inches shorter, it's just going to be no contest every time going up in the air. There is always going to be some physicality in the box and that wasn't a foul. 

Good to see Williams getting some attention here. After two tough losses early in the season--especially a last-minute heartbreaker to Tufts--the Ephs haven't lost in their last 8 games and have posted wins over ranked teams including Bowdoin, Cortland, and, most importantly, Amherst. Back line has been very tough to break through--just two goals allowed in those 8 games. Curious if they'll be ranked by USC this week.

Quote from: TrueGrit on September 10, 2023, 01:26:12 PM
Williams may be 2-0 but the program has major issues. Reports coach cut a few young men going into senior season (- in D3 ).  A 3 year starter "retired' because of this and the culture that has been created; the best freshman attempted to transfer and is sitting out the year to preserve a year of eligibility. Multiple other freshman looked to transfer. Will be interesting if this trend continues, or he just gets the players he wants and continues his success. Sort of like the Dion Sanders of D3 soccer.

The Williams team is a bit of a mystery to me. I haven't seen them play this year because the games haven't been streamed so I can't comment on the new class.  However, one of the things that struck me about last year's team was that while their swarming defense (and Boardman's heroics) got them to the title game there were glimpses of players with a great deal of offensive technical skill. And it's precisely those players (Morriello and Rayhill, are the most obvious) who aren't around this year.  Is the plan again to make every game a slog? I heard grumblings last year about Siebert's micromanagement of everything and his players' frustration with his coaching style and game management and, (who knows?), maybe he's made adjustments this season. Obviously, 2 wins over weaker non-conference opponents doesn't tell us much. First NESCAC games are this week so maybe we'll learn something from them. Still, I just can't put my finger on what the deal is up at Cole. 

Quote from: Falconer on December 01, 2022, 08:06:54 PM

Quote from: Footballfan37 on December 01, 2022, 07:52:19 PM
If soccer goes to die at Williams, then what happens at all these schools that have lost to them in the tournament? The way I see it, Soccer is a game, played over 90 (or 110) minutes, where the team that scores more goals wins. Seems like Williams is doing a great job executing their gameplan and the results speak for themselves.

I'm reminded of something that Bill Mazeroski is supposed to have said to Steve Blass, when he drew Sandy Koufax as the opposing pitcher: "Shut 'em out, and we'll play for a tie."

I agree that Williams is where soccer goes to die.

I think that what was curious about yesterday's game was that during the first 15-20 minutes of the first half Williams showed that they have the players to actually play a prettier game. Not sure why SS has opted to play this way this season but with one game in left in the season, hard pressed to see him making any changes. It'll be interesting to see how Chicago responds.

Quote from: EnmoreCat on October 12, 2022, 03:44:35 AM

Quote from: 4231CenterBack on October 11, 2022, 03:31:22 PM
So you are predicting just 4 at-large bids this year?  A little lighter than normal?  Or is the NESCAC typically a 5 bid league?  I guess your semi-finalists + 1 prediction makes sense this year since there are no true powerhouses to be upset this year in the conference.

The fatalist in me figures Amherst will bludgeon their way to the NCAA tournament somehow  .

Bludgeon: a thick stick with a heavy end, used as a weapon.

I know there's not much Amherst love in these halls and that's fine, I get it.  Other than being keen on doing well against NESCAC rivals, I don't have any particular teams I don't like, but my family has been adopted by the Mammoths and I gotta say, it suits us just fine.

I have no idea how many times you have played against/seen the Mammoths 4231 and I am sure it's more than me, but what I can say is that having just spent a few weeks there, watching games, training and re-watching games (things are quiet in Amherst) I can tell you that it thrills me that you and others are happy to underestimate the skill this team brings, I am quite confident no coaches do and there have been enough that Simple Coach has interviewed who understand exactly what they bring to the table.  I am not aware of any mandated D3 curriculum and equally I don't think asterisks appear against teams that progress/win a national tournament with something appearing in brackets saying, "didn't play the game the way some D3 Boards aesthetes would like".  The transition can be quite devastating when the team is on and isn't the game about getting in the opposition box? Getting behind most D3 defences isn't easy, but it might be just a little less hard than trying to play through a low block.   

Does the ball go in the air? Yes it does, but definitely not all the time and again, I am quite happy for teams to prepare for Amherst on that basis as they are setting up for failure.  Do players tackle, are they aggressive? Yes, winning the ball is part of the game.  In any event, I am yet to see a NESCAC team that didn't give as good as it got, perhaps they are able to fly under the radar.  I can't vouch for all decisions made about who goes and doesn't go to the tournament, but what I can say is that given that most in here agree that D3 isn't preparing its players for a career in the game, surely it's about making the most of the four years you have to impact, knowing that every year will be different and you might only get one decent chance.   

I think Amherst is certainly the most physical team in the league.  That being said, I think other teams are catching up. I managed to catch the Williams-Amherst game a couple of weeks back and they Ephs weren't afraid to mix it up. Boardman was very tough on the backline and Gutierrez wasn't far behind in terms of putting in tough tackles. Not sure it makes for the prettiest games but definitely a change from years past.