A few thoughts on Bowdoin's presence in a Region X pod that aren't specific to its actual matchup in the first round.  These are mostly prompted by my interest in the phenomenon of Bowdoin being sent to Texas, since it's so unusual for a non-Region X team to be flown into Region X for the tournament.  It's almost always the other way around, such as Pacific Lutheran flying to Minnesota last year and Colorado College flying to Atlanta.  Moreover, it's even more unusual for a NESCAC or New England team to fly anywhere, both during the regular season and before the later stages of the tournament.

1.  As SKUD pointed out, Bowdoin has to come in a day early because the Trinity pod is one of two that starts on Friday (Hardin-Simmons doesn't play on Sundays).  Not sure that affects things either way as a competitive matter, but for a school that doesn't really fly a lot to games, the shorter practice and school week is just one more disruption to deal with on this trip.

2.  I don't think the flight will pose significant problem for Bowdoin, but it's not nothing.  There are plenty of flights from Portland, Maine or Boston that will get them to San Antonio, but I think there's only one that is non-stop that takes off from Boston.  So, if they can't get on that flight on short notice, which seems unlikely for a travel party of as many as 29 for a flight that is likely popular, then the 5 hour travel time will increase at least 2-3 hours and the chances of weather or other delays rises.  Plus, if they have to take an afternoon flight, they will get in pretty late at night, which will feel later to the team because of the time difference.  By the time they get their luggage and get to the hotel (which should be close since Trinity is 5 minutes from the airport), it very well could be after midnight east coast time.  They can sleep late because they have a late game the next day, but traveling east to west usually means you wake up early for most people's body clocks.  Since I'm guessing they aren't leaving today, that means their sleep could be screwed up the night before the first game.  They're young and lots of people deal with that, but, as I said, it's not nothing.

3.  Food shouldn't be a big issue and I'm sure the coaches will control this, but if you go to San Antonio and you don't partake in the authentic breakfast tacos, you're really missing out.  And I wouldn't be surprised if a taco truck sets up near where the team is staying.  Having said that, if you've never had authentic breakfast tacos and you do so for the first time the day of a game . . . eater beware.  The River Walk might be a safer spot for tourists from Maine than any of the authentic places.

4.  Assuming the NCAA isn't flying in out-of-town referees, refereeing might take some getting used to.  I'm not saying the refs are bad in Texas or that they don't follow the Laws of the Game the same as the refs in NESCAC, but how quickly refs call fouls, hand out yellows, and handle dissent are a matter of local custom.  Some observers have suggested that NESCAC refs let players play on a little bit more than in some places.  I don't know if that's true and you should be getting particularly strong refs, but they still are likely to be refs who regularly work games in this part of the country and they are used to doing things a certain way. 

5.  The weather should be outstanding.  70s during the day and maybe dipping into 60s at night.  The Bowdoin opening match is pretty late, but if it starts on time, 7:30 pm central/8:30 pm eastern shouldn't feel too bad jet lag-wise or weather-wise.

6.  If they have time for sight-seeing, the Alamo is a nice little attraction that is worth checking out.  It might inspire them by the bravery of the defenders or intimidate them after hearing what happened to those defenders.

Quote from: Kuiper on November 13, 2024, 01:00:29 PMA few thoughts on Bowdoin's presence in a Region X pod that aren't specific to its actual matchup in the first round.  These are mostly prompted by my interest in the phenomenon of Bowdoin being sent to Texas, since it's so unusual for a non-Region X team to be flown into Region X for the tournament.  It's almost always the other way around, such as Pacific Lutheran flying to Minnesota last year and Colorado College flying to Atlanta.  Moreover, it's even more unusual for a NESCAC or New England team to fly anywhere, both during the regular season and before the later stages of the tournament.

1.  As SKUD pointed out, Bowdoin has to come in a day early because the Trinity pod is one of two that starts on Friday (Hardin-Simmons doesn't play on Sundays).  Not sure that affects things either way as a competitive matter, but for a school that doesn't really fly a lot to games, the shorter practice and school week is just one more disruption to deal with on this trip.

2.  I don't think the flight will pose significant problem for Bowdoin, but it's not nothing.  There are plenty of flights from Portland, Maine or Boston that will get them to San Antonio, but I think there's only one that is non-stop that takes off from Boston.  So, if they can't get on that flight on short notice, which seems unlikely for a travel party of as many as 29 for a flight that is likely popular, then the 5 hour travel time will increase at least 2-3 hours and the chances of weather or other delays rises.  Plus, if they have to take an afternoon flight, they will get in pretty late at night, which will feel later to the team because of the time difference.  By the time they get their luggage and get to the hotel (which should be close since Trinity is 5 minutes from the airport), it very well could be after midnight east coast time.  They can sleep late because they have a late game the next day, but traveling east to west usually means you wake up early for most people's body clocks.  Since I'm guessing they aren't leaving today, that means their sleep could be screwed up the night before the first game.  They're young and lots of people deal with that, but, as I said, it's not nothing.

3.  Food shouldn't be a big issue and I'm sure the coaches will control this, but if you go to San Antonio and you don't partake in the authentic breakfast tacos, you're really missing out.  And I wouldn't be surprised if a taco truck sets up near where the team is staying.  Having said that, if you've never had authentic breakfast tacos and you do so for the first time the day of a game . . . eater beware.  The River Walk might be a safer spot for tourists from Maine than any of the authentic places.

4.  Assuming the NCAA isn't flying in out-of-town referees, refereeing might take some getting used to.  I'm not saying the refs are bad in Texas or that they don't follow the Laws of the Game the same as the refs in NESCAC, but how quickly refs call fouls, hand out yellows, and handle dissent are a matter of local custom.  Some observers have suggested that NESCAC refs let players play on a little bit more than in some places.  I don't know if that's true and you should be getting particularly strong refs, but they still are likely to be refs who regularly work games in this part of the country and they are used to doing things a certain way. 

5.  The weather should be outstanding.  70s during the day and maybe dipping into 60s at night.  The Bowdoin opening match is pretty late, but if it starts on time, 7:30 pm central/8:30 pm eastern shouldn't feel too bad jet lag-wise or weather-wise.

6.  If they have time for sight-seeing, the Alamo is a nice little attraction that is worth checking out.  It might inspire them by the bravery of the defenders or intimidate them after hearing what happened to those defenders.

Thank you for the insight. With all of that in mind, I will have a vested interest in the Polar Bear's NCAA journey. I'm curious how they would match up with Trinity, should they meet in the second round. Like you said, two quality teams from differing sides of the country.

If you look at the Amherst quadrant, there are a lot of very strong teams from the Midwest.  It seems to me that even if Amherst makes the sectionals (sweet) 16, Amherst will very likely have to have to fly. That could be significant. A lot has to happen and Amherst would have to win a few games, but it will interesting to see how these things shake out in this quadrant.

Also, as an aside, it's not perfect, but I am a big fan of the NPI because of transparency. The dials are set for next year, but I expect the system will improve in the future as the dials get adjusted. The weekly and later daily publication of the NPI was a great decision by the NCAA. Also, as noted in other posts, the NCAA has taken over the streaming for the the games in the tournament. Presumably that means no pay wall. What a great way to make the quality of these teams and matches more accessible to everybody, especially families who can't travel and recruits. Well done, NCAA, very well done. What a great event.  Can't wait.

Quote from: Mr_November on November 12, 2024, 10:04:52 AMWilliams vs Messiah - Historical View (3 meetings)
2009 - Messiah 2-1 Williams (NCAA Final Four)
2013 - Messiah 4-0 Williams (NCAA Final Four)
2022 - Messiah 0-0 Williams*(NCAA First Round)

Wiliams win 4-3 on PKs

To which can be added:

1993 - Williams 3-1 Messiah (NCAA Round Three)
2006 - Williams 0-0 Messiah (NCAA Sweet Sixteen), Messiah wins 4-2 in PKs. Both teams were stacked, among their greatest teams ever. The Falcon GK Dustin Shambach (https://vwuathletics.com/sports/mens-soccer/roster/coaches/dustin-shambach/50) was arguably the best Falcon keeper ever. He kept the Falcons in the game, at one point saving a point-blank header that everyone had already put down as a goal.

Great preview Kuiper - only do NOT recommend the Alamo to visitors, who are almost always disappointed by the tiny remnants of the original mission crammed into the middle of the country's seventh-largest (by population) city.   Much better, if another hour or two is available, is Mission San Jose, about ten minutes from Trinity, which still retains much of the original outline of a Spanish mission of the 1700s, and has plenty of exhibits that are worth viewing. 

Quote from: Ron Boerger on November 13, 2024, 05:33:38 PMGreat preview Kuiper - only do NOT recommend the Alamo to visitors, who are almost always disappointed by the tiny remnants of the original mission crammed into the middle of the country's seventh-largest (by population) city.   Much better, if another hour or two is available, is Mission San Jose, about ten minutes from Trinity, which still retains much of the original outline of a Spanish mission of the 1700s, and has plenty of exhibits that are worth viewing. 

That is true, but I'm assuming they would be walking around the area on foot and have only a small amount of time, which makes the Alamo a little easier.  It is small, but there's some decent information for people whose knowledge is limited to the "Remember the Alamo" rallying cry.

Stop in the bar at the Menger Hotel next to the Alamo.  It's where Teddy Roosevelt met with Roughriders preparing for their Cuba expedition.  It's also a very cool bar.

Quote from: Ron Boerger on November 13, 2024, 05:33:38 PMGreat preview Kuiper - only do NOT recommend the Alamo to visitors, who are almost always disappointed by the tiny remnants of the original mission crammed into the middle of the country's seventh-largest (by population) city.   Much better, if another hour or two is available, is Mission San Jose, about ten minutes from Trinity, which still retains much of the original outline of a Spanish mission of the 1700s, and has plenty of exhibits that are worth viewing. 

Also I understand that relieving oneself at The Alamo is not a best practice or so I've heard. Blizzard of Ozz. https://loudwire.com/ozzy-osbourne-arrested-urinating-alamo-cenotaph-anniversary/

Quote from: SierraFD3soccer on November 13, 2024, 09:26:20 PM

Quote from: Ron Boerger on November 13, 2024, 05:33:38 PMGreat preview Kuiper - only do NOT recommend the Alamo to visitors, who are almost always disappointed by the tiny remnants of the original mission crammed into the middle of the country's seventh-largest (by population) city.   Much better, if another hour or two is available, is Mission San Jose, about ten minutes from Trinity, which still retains much of the original outline of a Spanish mission of the 1700s, and has plenty of exhibits that are worth viewing. 

Also I understand that relieving oneself at The Alamo is not a best practice or so I've heard. Blizzard of Ozz. https://loudwire.com/ozzy-osbourne-arrested-urinating-alamo-cenotaph-anniversary/

As they say, "Don't Mess with Texas"

Quote from: Ron Boerger on November 13, 2024, 05:33:38 PMGreat preview Kuiper - only do NOT recommend the Alamo to visitors, who are almost always disappointed by the tiny remnants of the original mission crammed into the middle of the country's seventh-largest (by population) city.

Perhaps, but I hear that the basement is spectacular.

Region X Trinity University (San Antonio, Texas) Pod Preview:

Game 1.  #77 Belhaven (CCS 12-3-4) v. #8 Trinity (TX)(SCAC 17-0-3) Friday 11/15, 5 pm Central Live Stream Link

Trinity has gone 17 games without a loss and is on a 4 game winning streak that culminated in a convincing 4-2 win in the SCAC championship against arch-nemesis St. Thomas.  The only blemish on Trinity's schedule since the opening weekend of the season was a 1-1 tie to Colorado College in Colorado Springs on 10/27.  For those who prefer Massey ratings, Trinity is #3, but the overall numbers may be less informative than some of the inputs.  For example, Trinity is #1 in Offense and #28 in Defense.  Trinity scored 69 goals this year (scoring in every game and only scoring fewer than 2 goals in 4 of its 20 games) and only conceded 10. On the other hand, Trinity is only #112 in Strength of Schedule in Massey.  Only Denison and Hope have lower strengths of schedule among teams in the top 50 in Massey.  That's a fair representation of Trinity right now.  In other words, Trinity batters the teams it is supposed to batter, but they don't get to play top teams every week.  The best teams it played were at the top of the SCAC, such as Colorado College.  As it turns out, none of its non-conference opponents ended up having great seasons (Hendrix, Methodist, Berry, Whitworth, Cal Lutheran, Howard Payne, and Mary Hardin-Baylor).  That said, you can only beat the teams in front of you and Trinity did that.  The teams that gave Trinity the most trouble after the opening weekend were all teams that had pretty good defenses under Massey's ratings (Southwestern (#33), Texas Lutheran (#18), Colorado College (#6)).  It's difficult to beat Trinity if you get into a shooting match with them, especially with Adam Knutson (14 goals and 6 assists) and Hunter Cain (12 goals), as well as 13 other players who have at least scored 2 goals this season.

Belhaven comes in on an 8 game unbeaten streak and a 6 game winning streak.  They started the season on a high note, beating Emory 3-1 and tying Oglethorpe 0-0, but a 0-0 tie to Letourneau, a 1-0 win over East Texas Baptist, both at home, and a 1-0 loss to Berry, took the wind out of their sails a bit before they picked things back up in the second half of the season.  Their only common opponent was Berry, which Trinity beat 6-0.  Belhaven is #157 under Massey.  They were better on defense (#133) than offense (#218) under Massey, but they played a weaker schedule than Trinity under Massey (#237).  They scored 40 goals, but 17 of those goals came in 4 games against weaker opponents and they were shutout 5 times.  They do have some threats up top in Wesley Bloodworth  (9 goals) and 6'3" Courtland Williams (4 goals, 5 assists).  So, I suspect they will try to pack it in against Trinity, especially with Trinity having home-field advantage, and hope to use Williams' height in the box on crosses and corners to head the ball into the mixer from the back post or challenge Trinity's shorter keeper.

Game 2. #73 Hardin-Simmons (ASC 12-5-2) v. #24 Bowdoin (NESCAC 7-5-5) Friday 11/15 at 7:30 pm Central Live Stream Link

Bowdoin is technically on a 4 game winless streak (since PK wins are still ties). Its last win was against University of Southern Maine on 10/22.  In terms of outright wins, the strongest might be against Colby (#88) and Wheaton (MA) (#97). They are, however, the poster child for NPI's "good ties."  They have tied Conn College, Hamilton, Wesleyan, and Tufts twice (the second time in the NESCAC tournament where they advanced on PKs) - all teams in the top 30 in the NPI rankings. They have also played a lot of strong teams close, such as a 1-0 loss to Middlebury and a 1-0 loss to Williams.  They are ranked #42 by Massey and are #11 in strength of schedule, which is both their highest ranking in the Massey metrics and the strongest evidence of their quality.  They are also #18 in offense and #34 in defense, which I think fairly reflects the fact that they can score (although 12 of 33 goals were against two very weak teams, they were only shutout 3 times and they scored 2 or more goals 9 times) and they will play against a team. This isn't a situation where their ties were the result of parking the bus and hoping for chaos on the other end.  Tyler Huck is probably their most dangerous player, having 8 goals and 5 assists, but I think Mateo Pacelli can be dangerous too and may be even better on a beautiful surface like at Trinity that are more similar to the ones he played at in San Diego.

Hardin-Simmons is on a three game winning streak, but LeTourneau's upset of Mary Hardin-Baylor in PKs in the ASC semifinals may be the only reason Hardin-Simmons made it this far. Mary Hardin-Baylor beat H-S by identical 2-0 scores twice in the regular season. While it is hard to beat a team three teams, I think H-S was probably happy to face LeTourneau rather than UMHB in the ASC championship game.  Having said that, H-S has some talent and some decent results.  Its best victories were probably over Concordia TX and St. Thomas, two teams that gave Trinity competitive games.  H-S is ranked #93 in Massey and are #82 in offense and #125 in defense, with a #172 in strength of schedule.  That basically reflects the fact that H-S can score (46 goals this season), but mostly against teams that weren't anywhere near the quality of Bowdoin, and they don't play lockdown defense.  If Bowdoin really plays free-flowing soccer in this game, H-S does have some players who can make some noise, including Jakob Fiol and the Sissen twins. All three are grad students using their Covid year for a 5th season, so they are mature and experienced.  One other thing that's probably only of interest to me is that every single Hardin-Simmons player except one is from Texas (the one exception is from New Mexico).  Bowdoin, by contrast, has zero players on its roster from Texas (or New Mexico for that matter).  This may end up being a true cultural exchange if they don't re-enact the Civil War instead.   

Kenyon up 1-0 at half over Spalding

Quote from: eaglesoccerdad on November 15, 2024, 11:52:56 AMKenyon up 1-0 at half over Spalding

Quality goal from the top of the box on a dipping shot. Kenyon's ball movement on this surface is superb (not surprisingly).

So here's an interesting thought. I did hear from a friend of mine at a bubble-ish type school that there were some conversations between teams around the bubble who had lost in the conference tournament to try and arrange an extra game around the time of conference title games. The thought was, if you could get 2 bubble teams together, a win might push you off the bubble and back into the field.

Since the NPI information was coming daily it was pretty clear which schools might benefit. There were some questions about whether it was allowed, and nothing happened this year obviously, but there are schools expected to at least make inquiries about the possibility next year.

Lining up a game for teams in the mid to high 30s or low 40s, with an opponent in the same area, is probably not real feasible in a lot of places, but would a SUNY-Oneonta (43)/Plattsburgh State (42) rematch have boosted the winner enough to make a difference?

To be honest, looking for a sub 3 hour trip, I'm not really sure I see too many games that might fit besides that one.

With Mount Union the first team out, and in a decent D3 area, you'd think something would make sense. But Covenant, Rhodes, Va Wes, Plattsburgh State, York, all too far away and some were still playing. Go further down the list and I'm not sure the incentive for the opponent is there, but even if it was, Augsburg, Redlands, Tex Lutheran, Montclair St, Edgewood... not exactly reasonable trips on short notice. UMU's football team knows the way to Roanoke (Salem, VA) real well, but it's still 6 hours by car. So you would have to get all the way to Otterbein at 52, and a conference rematch. Would that move the needle to push UMU above Buff State? And a win for Ott probably doesn't do much for them, so what's the incentive?

Maybe a Roanoke/Va Wes game? But at 49, is Roanoke really going to jump enough to make it worth the expense? Same with a Washington College vs Montclair State game. I just don't see it being worthwhile for Washington College, even if the win would help Montclair St.

Anyway, it's an interesting new dilemma for the NPI system. If the information is that transparent, can the system be gamed by scheduling an extra game? And is that even allowed.

Quote from: Mr_November on November 15, 2024, 11:55:43 AM

Quote from: eaglesoccerdad on November 15, 2024, 11:52:56 AMKenyon up 1-0 at half over Spalding

Quality goal from the top of the box on a dipping shot. Kenyon's ball movement on this surface is superb (not surprisingly).

Kenyon hit one off the bar early in 2nd - came out on the front foot to start the half