I saw MIT play last weekend and they look good. An attacking style with players who have decent speed and are confident on the ball. Was really impressed with aerial game, not something you always see. They remind me a little of last year's Wash U. team. I suspect MIT makes it to the NCAA and it will be interesting to see how they fare against some of the national competition.

The preseason rankings in the NCAC are out:

2017 North Coast Athletic Conference Women's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll
(first-place votes in parentheses, followed by total points)


1. Denison (7) 79
2. DePauw  66
3. Wittenberg (1) 62
4. Kenyon 56
5.  Wooster (1) 46
6. Allegheny 34
  Ohio Wesleyan 34
8. Oberlin 17
9. Hiram 11

Play begins this weekend, with games all three days.
Fri. 1  Loras vs. Denison (at Wheaton)     
         Allegheny @ Rochester Inst.
         Capital @ Kenyon     
         Wittenberg @ Centre   
         Pitt.-Bradford @ Oberlin
         Thiel @ Hiram   
         Wash. Univ. @ DePauw   
         Earlham @ Ohio Wesleyan
         Bridgewater (Va.) vs. Wooster (at Pittsburgh, Pa.)
 
Sat. 2  Whitworth vs. Denison (at Wheaton College) 
           Allegheny @ Nazareth   
           Wooster @ Frostburg St. (at Pittsburgh, Pa.) 
           Wittenberg vs. Berry (at Danville, KY)
 
Sun. 3  Ohio Wesleyan @ Wash. & Jeff.   
           Bluffton @ Oberlin       
           Ill. Wesleyan @ Kenyon   
           Westminster @ Hiram     

Some interesting matchups, with the marquee match on Friday, when #1 Wash U. travels to DePauw. Other interesting matchups include Wittenberg vs. Centre, both of Denison's matches (vs. Loras and Whitworth) and Illinois Wesleyan visiting Kenyon.

As the NCAC begins non-conference play, it does so with a heavy heart. Long time DePauw University Women's Coach John Carter passed away unexpectedly yesterday. In his 24 years coaching the Tigers, John's teams went 255-156-24, with six conference championships (3 in the Indiana Collegiate Athletic Conference) and three in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. His teams made it to the NCAA tournament 7 times, with the 2003 team advancing to the NCAA semi-finals before losing to the University of Chicago in OT. John left DePauw in 2014 to run Indiana's ODP program full time, where he developed countless coaches and players.

May his memory be eternal.

Well, the conference chances in the NCAA tournament faded quickly, as both Denison and Wittenberg lost in the first round. Denison lost to Luther 0-1 on a free kick in the 61st minute. Nazareth defeated Wittenberg 2-1, taking the lead in the 53rd minute and extending it in the 70th, before the Tigers got one back at the 75:20 mark. 

The all conference teams were announced here: http://www.northcoast.org/sports/wsoc/All-NCAC/Files/2016-WSOC-All-NCAC_.pdf

Congratulations to all the women who were recognized by the conference!

Congratulations to Denison on its 1-0 win Saturday over Wittenberg to gain the NCAC tournament crown and the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Wittenberg was awarded a well deserved at-large bid, which puts two conference teams into the national championship hunt.  Denison will travel to Washington University (St. Louis) on Saturday to face Luther (12-2-3), with the winner facing the winner of Saturday's other match, Wash. U (14-2-2) vs. Knox (19-0-1), on Sunday at Wash. U. Wittenberg hosts Nazareth (14-3-2) on Saturday. The other Saturday game in Springfield pits Penn St. Berks (16-4-0) against Carnegie Mellon (11-5-1), with those winners playing on Sunday at Wittenberg as well. Best of luck to the Big Red and the Tigers this weekend.

Also, congratulations are in order to the women named to the NCAC all-tournament team:

Heather Pacheco, Kenyon
Maggie Smith, Kenyon
Riley Riordan, DePauw
Maddie Baker, DePauw
Hannah Wilson, Wittenberg
Leah Soutar, Wittenberg
Michelle Brunswick, Wittenberg
Meg Wozniak, Denison
Jessica Skelly, Denison
Maggie Armstrong, Denison
Jacquie Graham, Denison
Anne Denz, Denison

MVP - Drew Wentzel, Denison

As expected, #1 Wittenberg got revenge for its regular season loss to #4 Kenyon, scoring early (two goals in the first 22 minutes) and often (3 goals total) to shutout the Ladies. In the other match, #3 DePauw battled #2 Denison for 85 scoreless minutes until Denison was awarded a PK, which it converted. The Big Red held on for a 1-0 win.

The conference finals will be played on Wittenberg's campus at 7 pm. The winner receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The question is whether the loser has a chance at an at-large bid. Wittenberg seems highly likely to receive an at-large bid if the Big Red upset the Tigers tomorrow night. At 12-3-2 in Div. III matches (and 13-3-2 overall) and with a 3-1-1 record against regionally ranked teams, Witt presents a strong case. The question is whether Denison gets an invitation should it lose to Witt. Denison would end up with a 9-6-4 record and a 1-4-1 record against regionally ranked teams. It probably isn't enough to get in, but we will find out for sure soon.

After an exciting conclusion to the regular season, with qualifying and seeding for the conference tournament going down to the wire, the conference table ended up:

Wittenberg 7-1-0, 12-3-2 
Denison 5-2-1, 8-5-4 
DePauw 5-3-0, 9-6-1 
Kenyon  4-3-1, 6-9-2 
Wooster 3-2-3, 6-9-4 
Ohio Wesleyan 4-4-0, 7-10-0 
Allegheny 3-5-0, 6-10-1 
Oberlin 2-5-1, 7-8-1 
Hiram  0-8-0, 3-12-1

Congratulations to Wittenberg on winning the NCAC regular season title!

Conference tournament play begins tonight with #1 seed Wittenberg hosting #4 Kenyon and #3 DePauw traveling to #2 Denison. Both games begin at 7 pm ET. In the regular season meetings, Kenyon defeated Wittenberg 1-0 and Denison beat DePauw 2-0. I think that Witt gets revenge tonight while the Big Red vs. Tigers match will be hard fought and is a toss-up. 

The winners of tonight's matches will play Saturday on the campus of the highest remaining seed. The winner of the conference tournament will receive the NCAC's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Speaking of the NCAA tournament, I suspect that the conference's streak of multiple teams playing in the tournament is in jeopardy if Wittenberg wins the conference tournament as none of the other three teams have put together a resume that will WOW the selection committee. On the other hand, if Witt does not win the conference tournament, I think it has the record and quality wins that would justify an at-large bid. Of course, we will find out on Sunday.

Full week for the conference. Last Wednesday, Case defeated OWU 0-2 while Rochester (MI) knocked off Hiram 0-1. On Friday, Rochester (MI) continued its tour of the conference, defeating Oberlin 1-2.

Saturday was dedicated to conference play, with Denison prevailing over Allegheny 1-0, DePauw beating Hiram 3-0, and Wittenberg defeated OWU 1-0. Wooster and Kenyon played to a 1-1 draw. I picked three winners but missed on the Kenyon/Wooster draw.

This week, Wittenberg upheld the honor of the conference in the sole non-conference match, with a 2-1 victory over Rochester (MI). Conference play takes place tonight, with Hiram visiting Kenyon, Wooster hosting Denison, DePauw traveling to OWU and Oberlin at Allegheny. On Saturday, OWU goes to Allegheny, Kenyon travels to Denison, Oberlin hosts Wittenberg and Wooster plays at DePauw. Tonight, I think Kenyon wins 1-0, Denison wins 1-0, DePauw wins 3-0, and Oberlin and Allegheny draw. On Saturday, Allegheny wins 1-0, Denison wins 2-1, Wittenberg and DePauw both prevail 2-0.

Conference Standings through yesterday are:

Denison 3-0-0,  6-3-3 
Kenyon  2-0-1,  4-5-2 
Wittenberg 2-1-0, 7-3-2 
DePauw 2-1-0, 6-4-1 
Wooster 1-0-2, 4-6-3 
Oberlin  0-1-1, 5-4-1 
Allegheny 0-2-0, 3-7-1 
Ohio Wesleyan 0-0-2, 3-8-0
Hiram 0-3-0, 3-7-1

No conference teams made the NSCAA Top 25, but Wittenberg (4), Denison (5), and DePauw (8) all moved up, joining Thomas More (1), Carnegie Mellon (2), Franklin (3), Ohio Northern (6), Otterbein (7), Grove City (9), and Washington and Jefferson (10).

 

Sorry for the delay in posting. Occasionally work gets in the way of both soccer and blogging.   

Non-conference play last week had Wooster over Muskingum (2-0), Wittenberg over Ohio Northern (2-1), Ohio Wesleyan losing to Capital (1-4), Allegheny defeating Westminster (2-0), DePauw falling to Thomas More (4-0), Denison beating Case (1-), Hiram winning at Otterbein (1-0), and OWU beating Ohio Christian, 1-0. 

In conference play, Kenyon beat DePauw (1-0),  Wittenberg won 2-1 at Allegheny, Oberlin and Wooster tied 1-1, and Denison defeated Hiram, 2-1. As a result, I picked two winners for the weekend.

So far in non-conference play this week, Allegheny lost to Buffalo St. 0-1. Tonight, Ohio Wesleyan visits Case while Hiram hosts Rochester (MI). Rochester visits Oberlin on Friday as well.

This weekend's conference matches have Allegheny traveling to Denison, Kenyon hosting Wooster, Ohio Wesleyan at Wittenberg, and DePauw going to Hiram. I think Denison prevails 2-0, Kenyon defeats Wooster 1-0, Wittenberg wins over OWU 3-0, and DePauw returns with a 2-0 victory.

The standings through yesterday have:

Denison 2-0, 5-2-3
Kenyon  2-0, 4-5-1
Wooster 1-0-1, 3-5-2
Wittenberg 1-1-0, 5-3-2
DePauw 1-1-0, 5-4-1
Oberlin  0-1-1, 5-3-1
Allegheny 0-1-0, 3-6-1
Ohio Wesleyan 0-1-0, 3-6
Hiram 0-2-0, 3-5-1

While no conference teams cracked the NSCAA Top 25, two Great Lakes Region teams made the list (Thomas More #4 and Ohio Northern #21) while a third (Carnegie Mellon) received votes. As for the Great Lakes regional poll, Wittenberg (6), Denison (7), and DePauw (9) made it, along with Thomas More (1), Ohio Northern (2), Carnegie Mellon (3), Franklin (4), Grove City (5), Case Western (8), and Hilbert (10).

An addition to my earlier post on mid-week. Congratulations to Wittenberg on its recognition in last week's NSCCA poll, coming in at #25. However, like the other Tigers in the conference, a tough week following the ranking likely means Wittenberg will be dropped from the poll tomorrow. Besides its loss to Case last Tuesday, the old Tigers lost to Kenyon in the opening weekend of conference play 0-1.

In the rest of conference play, Hiram also had a rough opener, losing to Wooster 1-3. DePauw defeated Oberlin 4-0 and Denison beat OWU 2-0. In the sole non-conference match of the weekend, Allegheny dropped a close one to Carnegie Mellon 1-2.

The standings after the weekend have:

DePauw 1-0, 5-2-1
Denison 1-0, 3-3-3
Kenyon  1-0, 3-5-1
Wooster 1-0, 3-6-1
Allegheny 0-0, 2-4-1
Oberlin   0-1, 5-3
Wittenberg 0-1, 3-3-2
Hiram 0-1, 2-4-1
Ohio Wesleyan 0-1, 2-5


Midweek play on Tuesday has Muskingum at Wooster, Wittenberg visiting Ohio Northern, Ohio Wesleyan traveling to Capital, Allegheny going to Westminster, and DePauw hosting Thomas More. Wednesday has Case at Denison and Hiram visiting Otterbein.  Next Saturday brings another slate of conference matches, with Kenyon traveling to  DePauw,  Wittenberg at Allegheny, Oberlin hosting Wooster, and Denison visiting Hiram. The one non-conference tilt has Ohio Wesleyan going to Ohio Christian.

Last week, I went .500 in conference matches, getting DePauw and Denison right but missing on Wooster and Kenyon. For the upcoming conference matches, I like the Tigers with DePauw over Kenyon 2-1 and Wittenberg beating Allegheny 3-0. Wooster will take one from Oberlin 2-0 and Denison will defeat Hiram 3-0.

Recapping the week (yes, the job got in the way of posting...)

Kenyon started the weekend dropping its match against Thomas More 0-3. The woes continued for the Ladies with a loss on Sunday at John Carroll (1-4) and on Wednesday at Capital (0-3). Wittenberg had a split week, with a 2-1 win over Hanover before a 1-2 loss to Case. OWU got on the win column with a win over Earlham before losing to Wilmington 0-2.

Allegheny had a successful week with wins against Pitt-Bradford (3-2 OT) and Fredonia (2-1). Denison had two, 2-2 draws for the week, with Centre and John Carroll. DePauw tied Illinois Wesleyan 0-0 before dropping its match with Wisconsin-Whitewater 1-3. Wooster lost to Wilmington and Ohio Northern by identical 0-3 scores. Oberlin gained victories over Marietta (1-0)  and Heidelberg (3-0) and Hiram also had success, defeating  Bethany (W.VA.) 3-0.

This weekend starts conference play.  Records at the start of conference play are:

Oberlin 5-2
DePauw 4-2-1
Wittenberg  3-2-2
Denison 2-3-3
Allegheny  2-3-1
Hiram 2-3-1
Ohio Wesleyan  2-4
Kenyon  2-5-1
Wooster  2-6-1

Saturday's slate has Hiram at Wooster, DePauw visiting Oberlin, Ohio Wesleyan hosting Denison, and Kenyon traveling to Wittenberg. Sunday has Allegheny in a non-conference match against Carnegie Mellon. In conference play, I'll pick Hiram over Wooster 2-0, DePauw over Oberlin 3-1, Denison defeating OWU 3-0, and Wittenberg defeating Kenyon 2-1. On Sunday, I'll pick Carnegie Mellon over Allegheny 3-0.

Here's hoping to a safe, clean weekend of play.

It was not a good mid-week stretch for the conference on the field. The highlight was Wittenberg playing Centre to a 1-1 draw. The next best result was Oberlin's match with Bluffton being cancelled. Yeah, it has been that kind of week so far.  In particular, Wooster lost to Heidelberg 2-4, OWU was defeated by Otterbein 0-3, Grove City beat Allegheny 2-0, Ohio Northern got the best of Denison 1-0 and Hiram dropped its match against John Carroll 2-3. DePauw suffered its first loss of the season to Franklin in a 3-4 shootout.

Off the field, DePauw did receive some good news, cracking the top 20 in the NSCCA poll, checking in at 17. The Franklin loss puts that in jeopardy but the new Tigers have the chance to burnish their credentials with two matches: Saturday against Illinois Wesleyan and Sunday against either UW-Whitewater or Washington U (St. Louis). Other matches this weekend have Kenyon hosting Thomas More on Friday and then visiting John Carroll on Sunday, a Saturday slate of Wittenberg hosting Hanover, OWU visiting Earlham, Allegheny at Pitt-Bradford, Centre visiting Denison, and Wooster at Wilmington. On Sunday, Oberlin visits Marietta.

An interesting weekend for NCAC teams. Oberlin came away with two wins (4-3 over Waynesburg and 8-0 vs. Defiance). DePauw defeated Rose-Hulman 5-0. Wittenberg won 2-1 against Capital. Denison, Kenyon, and Wooster each had a win and tie over the weekend (Denison defeating Carleton 6-0 and drawing Salisbury 2-2; Kenyon tying Salisbury 1-1 and defeating Carelton 2-1; and Wooster knotting up W&J 2-2 and winning over Earlham 2-0). Allegheny (1-3 vs. Case), Hiram (1-2 against Grove City) and OWU (1-4  facing W&J) each had a weekend loss. The results improved the conference's overall record to 17-16-6:

DePauw 4-0,
Wittenberg 2-1-1
Oberlin 3-2
Denison 2-2-1
Kenyon 2-2-1
Wooster 2-3-1
Hiram 1-2-1
Ohio Wesleyan 1-2
Allegheny 0-2-1

The mid-week slate of games has Wooster at Heidelberg on Tuesday. Wednesday is busy with Ohio Wesleyan visiting Otterbein, Grove City at Allegheny, Denison hosting Ohio Northern, Oberlin traveling to Bluffton, Centre making the trip to Wittenberg, and Franklin at DePauw. The weeknight games close with Hiram at John Carroll on Thursday.

Of particular interest will be the Denison vs. Ohio Northern and Centre vs. Wittenberg matchups, though Franklin has shown some improvement and will be a challenge for DePauw as well.

Before the weekend's full slate of games, just a quick recap of the mid-week action. Another mixed bag for the conference, with Denison (3-0 over Otterbein) and DePauw (3-2 against Capital) winning their matches. Wittenberg drew 0-0 against Wilmington while Oberlin (0-2 vs. Baldwin Wallace), Kenyon (1-2 loss to Case), Wooster (2-3 loss to John Carroll), and Hiram (1-2 result against Marietta) all dropping matches. Overall, the conference sits 10-13-3 in non-conference play, with the following individual records:

DePauw 3-0
Hiram  1-1-1
Ohio Wesleyan 1-1
Wittenberg 1-1-1
Denison 1-2
Kenyon 1-2
Oberlin 1-2
Allegheny 0-1-1
Wooster 1-3

The schedule for NCAC teams the upcoming week is all non-conference matches and includes:

Tue. 9/6  Oberlin vs. Baldwin Wallace 
              Kenyon vs. Case       

Wed. 9/7  Wooster vs. John Carroll 
               Ohio Wesleyan vs. Bluffton   
               Otterbein vs. Denison 
               Wittenberg vs. Wilmington 
               DePauw vs. Capital
 
Thu. 9/8  Hiram vs. Marietta   

Fri. 9/9    Oberlin vs. Waynesburg   

Sat. 9/10  Rose-Hulman vs. DePauw 
               Salisbury vs. Kenyon   
               Wittenberg vs. Capital 
               Allegheny vs. Case   
               Wash. & Jeff. vs. Wooster 
               Carleton vs. Denison 
               Grove City vs. Hiram
 
Sun. 9/11  Salisbury vs. Denison 
                Carleton vs. Kenyon       
                Wash. & Jeff. vs. Ohio Wesleyan     
                Earlham vs. Wooster   
                Defiance vs. Oberlin   

It will be interesting to see how both DePauw and Wittenberg fare against Capital. In inter-region play, Denison and Kenyon have matches against Salisbury and Carleton, competitive teams from other regions, and Wooster and OWU host W&J. Finally, Case continues its tour among NCAC teams, facing Kenyon and Allegheny.

Good luck to everyone this week!