How deep does quality soccer go the the conference?

4 teams in any given year are usually good to very good. You can count on W&L and Lynchburg being at least tournament quality just about every year recently. Roanoke is usually bubble or in for Regionally Ranked type teams depending on how the season falls. Then you get a solid to good team or two every season out of some mix of R-MC, H-SC, Va Wes, and Randolph.

I wouldn't say it's the deepest league in D3 by a longshot, but the top half of the conference is usually good competition. Unfortunately the bottom half is usually very bottom half.

Do you have a son playing in the conference?

My son is being recruited by a lot of ODAC schools along with Sewanee.

Gotcha. (As my sons would say). Well if you have any questions about Washington and Lee,  I'd be happy to try to answer them. Best of luck with the recruiting journey!

He is going to the August 5 camp at W & L! If it goes well I might hit you up for some questions. Thanks!

Ferrum announced it is moving to DII and joining the Conference Carolinas starting 2025

Quote"By transitioning to Division 2, Ferrum College aligns itself with a conference whose motto of body, mind and soul aligns with Ferrum College's beliefs and values. At the heart of this historic shift lies our commitment to excellence – on and off the athletic fields, to student success, and to inclusive growth. Building upon our rich heritage and values, we embark on a journey of evolution and adaptation, guided by the relentless pursuit of excellence." said President Martin.

I suspect part of this move is about football, which CC is adding in 2025 and needs schools that have both varsity and JV.  Ferrum, however, really needs to recruit in soccer and football to compete in either sport.  They hardly were strong in either, finishing 4-12 in soccer last year and 1-9 in the ODAC and was 3-7 in football and 1-6 in the ODAC.

Quote"We are excited about this historic announcement for Conference Carolinas," Commissioner Chris Colvin said. "The ability to be able to align with an institution like Ferrum College that perfectly fits with our conference beliefs and values, while also being a first-class institution with a unique commitment to a strong athletics program, is truly special. Our overall goal in Conference Carolinas is always to continue to make our conference stronger, and Ferrum's addition to our league allows us to accomplish this while also furthering our commitment to football and our three-division model in certain sports. We know they will help us continue to lead the way in the classroom, in the community and at the highest levels of competition as we continue to strive daily to work with our member institutions to help develop champions in body, mind and soul."

The Conference Carolinas currently sponsors 24 sports, acrobatics and tumbling, baseball, women's beach volleyball, softball, men's and women's basketball, bowling, cross country, golf, lacrosse, swimming and diving, soccer, tennis, track & field (indoor and outdoor) volleyball, and wrestling. Ferrum will be eligible for all conference,awards and championships.

"The move to Division 2 athletics reflects Ferrum College's dedication to ensuring a quality overall athletic experience for our students while maintaining our steadfast commitment to academic excellence and integrity," stated Scott Showalter, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Ferrum College.

In the 2024-25 academic year the CC will be the sole sponsor of 25 sports and offer up to 29 sports with the addition of football in the 2025-26 academic year. They collaborate with the South Atlantic Conference and Great Midwest Athletic Conference to offer four of those sports conference membership. CC is also believed to be the first NCAA conference to offer sub-varsity championships to its members.

I suspect it's as much about differentiation as anything else. Ferrum is not really an outstanding school for anything in SW Va. It's not a bad school, but it has no hook. Kind of like E&H. And with Lynchburg adding football there is even more competition across the board.

E&H pretty much stunk in the ODAC in the end, except for a decent football team. Ferrum doesn't even have that. But there aren't many D2 schools around, whereas there are a plethora of D3. Like E&H, those braggable partial scholarships become a hook all their own, even if they don't really make much of a difference a lot of the time.

Quote from: jknezek on April 05, 2024, 05:17:56 PMI suspect it's as much about differentiation as anything else. Ferrum is not really an outstanding school for anything in SW Va. It's not a bad school, but it has no hook. Kind of like E&H. And with Lynchburg adding football there is even more competition across the board.

E&H pretty much stunk in the ODAC in the end, except for a decent football team. Ferrum doesn't even have that. But there aren't many D2 schools around, whereas there are a plethora of D3. Like E&H, those braggable partial scholarships become a hook all their own, even if they don't really make much of a difference a lot of the time.

Yes. I should have made clear that I was thinking this was about football in terms of the CC's interest in Ferrum, rather than the reverse.  The release made it seem like CC was viewing Ferrum as a useful addition both because of football and perhaps because Ferrum has JV football too.

Washington & Lee has posted its 2024 Roster

A few observations:

- 33 on the roster, compared with 30 last season

- 8 freshman

- One player returns - M Sandor Franch - who played in '21 and '22, but took off last season

- Notable departures include 3rd Team All Region and NCAA DIII Championship All Tournament Team midfielder Grant McCarty and Team Captain D Evan DiPaula

- Tons of talent returning, including Team Captain, leading scorer, 1st team All Region and 3rd Team USC All-American F Weyimi Agbeyegbe and 1st team All Region GK Will Joseph

Roanoke vs Virginia Wesleyan 3-2. Michael Ramsey had a brace. He has had knee problems since high school but is someone to watch when fit.  Another Roanoke player to watch is MF Ryan Pigeon who had go ahead goals against Randolph Macon and Ferrum.

Roanoke could do some post season damage assuming they qualify.

It's going to be a wild ride to the end of the regular season with a bunch of huge games. I think anyone of the top 4 teams, VA Wesleyan, Lynchburg, Roanoke and W&L could still earn hosting rights. Maybe even sneak H-SC in there also though other than the Roanoke game they haven't impressed. That's a big logjam.

And once again W&L struggles to put away a decent team. Blemishes to Catholic (5-5-3), Averett (3-5-5), and Shenandoah (8-5-2) are troublesome this season. Shenandoah (1-1) scored on a PK, but they outshot the Generals 12:9. Averett (2-2) packed the box and got a lucky offside call that kept the score tied, and Catholic (1-2) was an early season struggle.

But if you want to be a contender, these are games good teams win. Shenandoah has a gaudy record, but they really haven't played anyone and they have some bad losses.

Hopefully that was a classic mid-week road trap game as the Generals have to go to Lynchburg Saturday, then home for Roanoke next Wednesday and home for Va Wes next Saturday.

Lynchburg at 5-1-1 in conference tops the board, Va Wes at 5-1 is right behind them with a game in hand, W&L and H-SC at 4-0-2 are the only unbeaten ODAC teams, and Roanoke at 4-2-1 sits in 5th.

The ODAC's ridiculous unbalanced schedule means W&L and H-SC don't play in the regular season, but H-SC has Lynchburg (away) and Va Wes (home) to go.

Just looked at the W&L and Shenandoah goals. Pretty fortunate as to both. W&L definitely has a tough three games in row. Lynchburg, Roanoke and VWU

If anyone watched the Lynchburg W&L game, I am saying right here that my son had the "play" of the match 🤣