NSCAA All-Americans

[4231CenterBack]

Man you are tough! I think a lot of people are optimistic about Potteiger because after about 18 months on campus he's one strange call away from 2 NCAA bids and an 800+ winning % after a 6-12-1 2012 season. Last year for his first crop he brought in 4 kids who were all-state in PA and OH. They all started as freshman and can all play. I agree that they need more size and athleticism especially since the road to the NCAAs in New England runs through the Nescac. They'll have it soon.

Not sure where your info on field is from.... been there a 100 times and played on it and it's full size approx. 120 x 65. They still use the grass pitch as well for weekend matches and some tournament games. They use the turf mainly because there are lights and they get nice crowds for 7:00pm starts.

No, Brandt is not a god and I was as happy as the next guy when Tufts won. He is the most successful coach in d3 history though, and McCarty from all accounts follows his script pretty closely.  This certainly doesn't guarantee greatness but I wouldn't bet against Potteiger based on early returns and bloodlines.

[Mr.Right]

120 x 65 is very narrow. 120 x 80 is the max and the most legit. 120 x 75 you see on a lot of campuses. 120 x 70 is pushing it but 120 x 65 is very compact and I believe against the rules for playable fields. Plus the surface is better suited for lax and field hockey than soccer as it looks like the old style turf.

Just curious you are referring to the "strange" call in the CCC final vs Nichols. I happened to be watching that CCC final(not sure why but it was conference championship weekend and I was flicking thru game after game) and I tuned in to see Gordon ahead of Nichols 1-0 with about 15 minutes to play. With about 11 minutes left it looked like Gordon scored a 2nd goal to go up 2-0 and I swear I left it on the screen for about 10 seconds before tuning into another game. I saw another post reply that Nichols had tied it up and eventually they won in OT. What was the call to take away Gordon's goal? Why did it take so long to call it? How did Nichols score in OT?

I felt Gordon dominated possession against Nichols but I thought Nichols was more athletic and physical

[4231CenterBack]

Just checked. It's 120 x 75. So pretty average. 

Yeah, the AR came in very late after the middle official called the goal, had pointed to the center spot, it was announced, then they took it off the board....45 seconds later. Possibly the right call but way too late and called by an AR that was 40-50 yds away.

Nichols scored on a semi-breakaway when a defender slipped. Can't say that the result was unfair but a little shocking the way it happened.

[Mr.Right]

what was the call?

[4231CenterBack]

a grab by Gordon #9

[KICKIN95]

Mike Pizzello from Loras was a 1st Team All Region in the North, leading scorer in the IIAC (14g) as a defensive midfielder and received the Defensive POY award for the conference and he doesn't make any of the teams? I am not picking on any players here, but Borge from Wheaton makes 2nd team with 4g & 5a? Pizzello donimated every player/team he faced in the midfield  The Duhawks had 3 1st Team All Region selections and no one makes it?  I would love to know who selects the Region teams because Loras also placed a player on the 3rd team that missed the last 13 matches of the season with an ACL injury, explain that one!?!

Pizzello is good, but he was severely outplayed by both GAC CM's the one time I watched him play, I might as well call your bluff on the "dominated every player/team he faced in the midfield comment.  He can win a ball in the air as he is a monster but Lilly (3rd team AA) and Adams (not all-region but I thought he was 1st team all-region quality...) were walking around him like he was a cone.

I would say calling Pizzello a "cone" is a bit of a stretch. If Adams walked around him so much why did Pizzello shut him out of any significant showing in the match ( 1 shot 0 on goal and obviously no assists). Pizzello on the other hand has 3 shots 2 on goal and tallies the game winner.  We both watched the same game so I would say we could meet somewhere in the middle on our personal takes of their respective performances.

[Falconer]

It won't be a great shock if Mr Right isn't right about Gordon's prospects, but others have already spoken to that.

Derek Potteiger has more connections with Messiah than just being Brandt's assistant at Navy--although that's not a trivial connection. His father (now retired), a Messiah alum, taught HS math in the district in which Messiah's soccer field is located (the campus straddles two counties), and he briefly considered playing at Messiah himself. He would probably have been one of the top 3 Falcon players ever, if he'd chosen to do that. He knows this region as well as any local coach, and there's a lot of talent in central PA. Caleb Cole played HS soccer at Lancaster Mennonite HS, the same school that produced current Falcon starter Benji Kennel (http://www.gomessiah.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=3834&path=msoc). They recently won a state championship (http://international.lancastermennonite.org/athletics), coached by a former Falcon (Fred Winey). B/c Messiah is related to the Mennonite tradition (it's complicated, but the relationship is a lot closer than many "outsiders" might realize), they do get some players from that school, though not as many as they probably would get if they were more fully Mennonite. Potteiger's family is from the same religious tradition as Messiah, so he can recruit effectively from places like Lancaster Mennonite.

I don't know whether or not Cole ever expressed interest in playing at Messiah. His size wouldn't have been a problem--they've had lots of short players without much bulk, going back to Brandt's own time as a player (he's not very big himself). Skill level has always mattered at Messiah more than size, and Cole has skills. I think he'd start at Messiah, but his stats wouldn't shout at you if he did, since he'd be just one more cog in the machine--though (if he were a Falcon) next year he'd get a great chance to have a breakout season--the kind of season that I believe Colby Thomas (who is certainly more athletic and probably more skilled than Cole) will have for the Falcons in 2015, once he is the regular starter at target.

Messiah doesn't recruit by going after players, contrary to what Mr Right assumes. It's the other way around: players who are interested in Messiah let it be known, the earlier the better. All open spots for next year's class were already taken by the end of September--the earliest such date under the current coach. Sometimes this means that some really good players either go elsewhere (perhaps that was true for Cole, but if so I am not aware of it), or else that they still go to Messiah and play on the NCAA club team, probably never making the varsity. The club team is pretty good, too, though not in the same league as the varsity obviously. A freshman currently on the club team was all state in Connecticut, but probably too slow to play for the varsity. It's a common story.

[Mr.Right]

Hmmmm are you suggesting that Messiah has NEVER recruited a player. I find that hard to believe. Listen I am not a Messiah insider but I am sure they look at kids just like everyone else.  Also, the whole point of this was Caleb Cole. He is not an All-American, he would NOT be starting for Messiah and if he was good enough he would be on Messiah's bench. He is small and weak. He would get knocked off the ball against better teams. Also, yes Messiah have players his size but they are more skilled than he is.Like I said before he needs to gain about 10-15lbs of muscle on that slight frame and get more physical.