Sectional snapshots

[Gregory Sager]

St. Thomas' players definitely won't be used to the arctic cold of the winter wind whipping off Lake Michigan into Hyde Park, but it's not like they're from Southern California and the SCIAC where cold means below 65 degrees.  During St. Thomas's games last weekend in Belton, Texas, it was in the mid-40s with wind chills dropping it down to feel like the high 30s in the second half during the evening.  Many of the players were wearing field player gloves, so they weren't completely unprepared.  Still, as someone who did grad school at Chicago, I know it's a different kind of cold.  I can still feel it in my bones. 

Yep.

The wind won't be "whipping off Lake Michigan into Hyde Park" on Saturday afternoon, as the wind will be coming out of the west. Nevertheless, "the Hawk", as we call it here -- that bone-chilling cold winter wind that Chicago singing legend Lou Rawls used to describe as "just like a giant razor blade blowin' down the street, and all the clothes in the world can't help you" -- will be here in force, as winds will be around 18 mph or so. Noon temperature is predicted to be somewhere around 28 degrees or so, with a wind chill of about 15 degrees.

I'm betting that the Celtics will not enjoy it.

They are the "Celts"  They also have a lion for a mascot, so that's one for the list of mascots that don't match the nickname.

Sorry. Still getting to know the new kids in D3 Land.

[SimpleCoach]

I think Catholic has a real shot at beating Hopkins, who tends to play to the level of their competition. This is not a good matchup for the BlueJays.

I agree.  Think Catholic has a shot at this.  I do think JHU is the better team, but Catholic is not going to lie down for them, that's for sure.  As I told someone before, I do think they have a realistic path to the final four depending on how things shake out.

SC.

[SimpleCoach]

St. Thomas' players definitely won't be used to the arctic cold of the winter wind whipping off Lake Michigan into Hyde Park, but it's not like they're from Southern California and the SCIAC where cold means below 65 degrees.  During St. Thomas's games last weekend in Belton, Texas, it was in the mid-40s with wind chills dropping it down to feel like the high 30s in the second half during the evening.  Many of the players were wearing field player gloves, so they weren't completely unprepared.  Still, as someone who did grad school at Chicago, I know it's a different kind of cold.  I can still feel it in my bones. 

Yep.

The wind won't be "whipping off Lake Michigan into Hyde Park" on Saturday afternoon, as the wind will be coming out of the west. Nevertheless, "the Hawk", as we call it here -- that bone-chilling cold winter wind that Chicago singing legend Lou Rawls used to describe as "just like a giant razor blade blowin' down the street, and all the clothes in the world can't help you" -- will be here in force, as winds will be around 18 mph or so. Noon temperature is predicted to be somewhere around 28 degrees or so, with a wind chill of about 15 degrees.

I'm betting that the Celtics will not enjoy it.

They are the "Celts"  They also have a lion for a mascot, so that's one for the list of mascots that don't match the nickname.

Ok.  This is the total history geek in me....  I heard one of the broadcasters call them the "Selts" rather than "Kelts"... is this the way it is pronounced?  Because if you came across a Celt in a bar and called him a Celt, you might end up meeting the business end of his battle axe.

SC.

[PaulNewman]

PN's Snapshot – Kenyon Sectional


Williams
Williams for many became public enemy #1 in the war on draws, no OTs, OTs without golden goal, inflation, climate change, etc, etc.  Let's toss in overly generous substitution rules for good measure, as the Ephs, to my surprise, played 11 subs against Messiah (and almost all of them played substantial minutes).  Will those most strenuously objecting to Williams being included as a Pool C now concede, after a win over NYU and advancing over Messiah, that the Ephs actually deserved to be in the field of 64?  Doubtful, as almost all of us in our heart of hearts are pretty stubborn.  How about a Final 4 appearance...against...maybe...Amherst?  Fair or not, the Ephs are very much alive heading into the 2nd weekend.  Steffen Siebert has made the most of his first year as the officially installed, non-interim head coach.  Hailing from Berlin....Germany, not Massachusetts or New Hampshire, Siebert has a Ph.D. in Sports Leadership.  He's not only A licensed, he's an A license instructor.  He had a large role with Real Salt Lake in the MLS followed by a very successful run as head ball coach at Springfield.  Williams is a now infamous 7-1-11 with 22 goals and 10 allowed.  Of this I am sure...when Williams opened the season with a 0-0 draw against offensively anemic Springfield there was not a person on the planet who could have foreseen the Ephs in the Sweet 16.  But the resume over time, looking past the flood of ties, did provide clues especially when wondering if they had more than a puncher's chance at Shoemaker.  Williams not only beat Bowdoin and Middlebury, they beat them in Brunswick and Middlebury.  Road warriors...and happily on the road again.  And they're now in the Sweet 16 AFTER losing their most lethal offensive weapon to injury, two time All- NESCAC 1st teamer, Will Felitto.  How much do you think Felitto appreciated his coach choosing him as one of two players to join him for the post-Messiah game press conference?  If you go back and watch all the players standing together for PKs, the Williams players were obviously confident and excited.  Several of the Messiah players looked a bit shaken and kept looking over at the Williams group like "these guys don't seem to realize they're supposed to lose."  The Ephs are led by #6 senior defender Nick Boardman, another 1st team All-NESCAC pick and 2nd teamer #30 junior GK Ben Diffley.  Other key players are #11 junior defender Eamon Gara Grady, #7 senior forward Nathan Song, #19 senior middie Henry Osborn who is both a pest and playmaker, and #32 frosh revelation Henry Kirkman who registered two set-piece goals against NYU.  Here's how the Williams recap described the second goal that put Williams on top in the 1st OT..."NYU goalkeeper Luca Mancuso raced to snatch the ball from the air, but the ferocious, goal-hungry Henry Kirkman, already on the score sheet, was not to be denied. He sprinted and leaped with menace and intent, beat the keeper to the spot, headed the ball into the back of the net, and restored the Ephs' advantage." Was 'menace' the right word, there?  Or would 'malice' read better?

Ohio Northern
The Midwest version of "Polar Bears" arrive in Gambier with a 13-3-5 record and 49 goals with 25 allowed.  Ohio Northern opened up with heavyweights, losing two out of their first three to Kenyon and North Park.  Kenyon did dominate the stats on opening day but the 6-2 eyesore the Polar Bears have had to live with distorts that contest.  That match was 2-2 into the 75th minute before a late scoring blitz by the Owls.  So Northern only lost one game after the first week or so, and that was in the OAC semifinals to an undervalued Wilmington side.  Maybe a bit similar to Catholic, the Polar Bears almost embrace being overlooked and picked against, as they were underdogs on their home field for the rematch with North Park.  Northern only scored one goal in the 1st round versus Medaille and none in the 2nd round against the Vikings, advancing both times in PKs.  The Northern coach in his 4th season is Chris Matejka, a 2013 ONU grad who was an OAC Midfielder of the Year and D3soccer.com AA.  The heart and soul of Ohio Northern are a pair of super-seniors, #16 Levi King (7 G, 8 A) and #10 Bryan Kern (7 G, 6 A).  Other notables include #24 senior Aaron Shelton (5 G, 3 A), #5 soph Ryan Parker (3 G, 8 A), and on the defensive side of the pitch, #24 soph Noah Zebrak and #2 soph GK Lucas Hickey (who was featured by Simplecoach in a New Show episode).  ONU has tended to be overshadowed by several other Ohio programs in recent years, but the Polar Bears are always in the mix in the OAC race and they enjoy a history on the national stage that might surprise some.  Indeed, in 2012, ONU beat Williams 3-2 in a national semifinal with Coach Matejka logging what turned out to be the game-winning assist in the 78th minute.  ONU went on to lose in the NCAA title tilt to mighty Messiah.

Washington & Lee
@FBALLISLIFE's review of W&L and Kenyon are superior to whatever I would say so I refer the reader to his superb offering towards the bottom of page one of this thread.

Coach Mike Singleton's resume is as strong as anyone's in the D3 sphere.  A quick story.  Singleton used to be the Massachusetts State Coach (I think after a similar role in Pennsylvania) and I was excited to hear what he had to say to a group of newbie parents like myself at ODP tryouts around 2005 or 2006.  I remember his lead theme like it was yesterday...."If any of you are here thinking this will lead to a college scholarship to play soccer, please leave now and put the $1000 fee you would spend on ODP directly into a bank account."  As a side note, two members of what became the Massachusetts 1993 group were William Packwood, who was in the Birmingham FC youth system and was making his way to the senior team and the edge of the USMNT when he suffered an in-game severe broken leg I believe in a FC Cup match...and probably a 10 year old Diego Fagundez who of course was a mainstay for the NE Revolution for years before moving on to Austin City.

I've talked before about how impressed I was with how W&L handled the pressure of being ranked #1 and carrying super-high expectations for most of lasts season and then going through Messiah to get to the program's first Final 4.  The Generals left Greensboro feeling dissatisfied and hungry for more, and there was tremendous build up to this season leading into what all of us hyped as a rare "game of the year" on opening day.  W&L no doubt was embarrassed, even though they were missing key players, and all of the hype switched over to Messiah (and Chicago) with W&L almost forgotten as the weeks unfolded.  That may have been a blessing, as the Generals needed to move on from viewing this year as an extension of last year, with a re-set on what was needed to get on track to fulfill 2022 expectations.  It's not like the Generals fell off the map, as they remained highly ranked all season in the #7 or #8 to #15 range, and now there they are perfectly positioned coming down the stretch.

Kenyon
See above RE: A FBALLISLIFE.  Even as a Kenyon supporter, I could not have approximated his overview.

Coach Chris Brown took over as head coach in 2005 after the Kenyon program had fallen on hard times for a handful of years following a string of stellar seasons in the 1990s that included a national final lost in Gambier in 1996 to TCNJ in 4OT.  Brown's first two seasons were not pretty, both landing at 4-9-4, but by 2007 Brown had the then Lords winning the NCAC regular season before bowing out in the NCAC semis in PKs to Allegheny.  No Pool C that year despite a 14-2-2 finish.  Brown's first NCAA appearance occurred in 2010 with the Lords beating York in the 1st round before losing in the 2nd round to nemesis Ohio Wesleyan.  A big senior class exited and Brown brought in a huge frosh class of 20, partly by accident as a large number of players decided on Kenyon in the Spring instead of during the early decision period.  There were growing pains in 2011 but by 2012 Kenyon was legitimately challenging heavyweights like OWU.  In 2013 Kenyon returned to the NCAA tourney and they haven't missed one since, and now enjoy one of the longer streaks this side of Amherst.  2013 also brought a breakthrough as the Lords surprised the defending national finalists Ohio Northern in Round 1 and took out very highly rated Wheaton (Ill) on the latter's home field.  That led to Kenyon's first epic match at Shoemaker with Messiah and the Lords returned in 2014 as one of the national favorites.  Numerous Elite 8 and Sweet 16 appearances later Brown and crew are still persistently knocking on the door.


Between the lines
Williams has enjoyed that goldilocks perfect mix of genuine confidence and underdog status.  But now the set-up, at least for this first game, feels different.  Williams has to be the favorite, even if a mild favorite, and the strategy here feels a little murkier than with NYU and Messiah.  Despite the Ephs' great spirit, one also wonders about a hangover effect.  They expended a massive amount of physical but especially emotional energy, and a letdown wouldn't be surprising.  Plus, the Messiah game, unlike Tufts in 2014, wasn't an Elite 8 match, so that advance last weekend only got them to the Sweet 16....still alive but with mountains still to climb. 

If you have to play Williams I think Ohio Northern is getting the Ephs in the right spot...as explained above.  Can the Polar Bears capitalize?  I don't have a great feel for how ONU will perform based on their most recent results.  I keep shaking the crystal ball, but it's still cloudy as heck.  I do know that ONU would relish another crack at Kenyon and would not be awed by W&L....but you still have to be good enough.

As I've intimated W&L versus Kenyon looks like a fantastic matchup of teams with similar very high ability and similar high-level success.  It's a match that I think either team will be surprised to lose because I have no doubt both believe they can and should win.  There is a 110% chance both will turn up.  They both have tremendous hunger and extremely high expectations that go well beyond this one game.  One will be heartbroken, and the winner will have to be on guard because any letdown in the Elite 8 will leave the other one heartbroken as well.  I don't see any real edges for either....maybe a sliver for the Owls playing at home...but perhaps a sliver for W&L for having broken through last year.  A key may be which team's defense can disrupt the other's offense and take them out of what they want to do.  Another question is whether preparation matters.  I would give a slight edge there to Kenyon as the very recent clashes with OWU and Calvin should be ideal and W&L at least on paper has had a softer last couple of games.  I really just expect a great game that could go either way and where if they played 10 times both might land at 5-5.  This is the kind of match that so many of us clamor for earlier in the season between great teams in different regions.  And did I mention the Owls need to focus on Samuel Bass?  Don't lose him worrying only about the other studs.

[PaulNewman]

PN's Snapshot – Amherst Sectional


Amherst
I don't always drink beer, but when I do, if I absolutely can't find anything else, I drink Amherst.  The Mammoths have been pummeled by critics to the point that some folks are almost feeling sorry for them.  That's the cycle...rinse and repeat.  But all that is wasted empathy (or sympathy) as Amherst absolutely does not care what any of us or anyone else thinks.  As Coach Serpone says often, and I'm paraphrasing...."We don't have to win the national championship...but we DO have to do everything we can to try to win the national championship."  Earlier in the season the Mammoths seemed to be having possibly an average or even subpar year....but here we are with Amherst at 14-1-5 with 52 goals and 12 allowed and hosting both weekends.  As I noted recently, Amherst almost always has the biggest team in D3, and this year just may be their biggest team ever.  The size is a lot to handle between the 18s but especially on set pieces where Amherst can load the box with 6'8 junior Shawn Rapal, 6'5 soph Simon Kalinauskas, 6'4 Nico Kenary, and several 6'3 players.  The Mammoths were represented on the All-NESCAC 1st team by #23 junior forward Ada Okorogheye (3 G, 3 A), and on the 2nd team with #8 senior midfielder Alex Shahmirzadi, and a trio of sophs, #28 striker Fynn Hayton-Ruffner (9 G, 9 A), #22 Ben Clark-Eden, and #3 Laurens ten Cate.  The attack is bolstered by #9 junior Declan Sung (5 G, 3 A), #7 soph Niall Murphy (4 G, 2 A), and #32 soph Aidan Curtis (6 G, 3 A).  Kalinauskas also has chipped in with 4 assists from his CB slot.  All season I thought they'd miss the super-skilled and creative #10 junior Ignacio Cubeddu, but they seem to have adjusted to him being out and are getting good production from a variety of sources.


Mary Washington
The Eagles are the one team in the sectional that feels out of place, geographically at the least.  I think there's probably a hunch that Mary Washington isn't prepared for the physicality of the other three and the most physical comes first.  But the 12-4-3 Eagles didn't just fall off the turnip truck.  They're a program on the rise that has been competing well with the usual Region VI heavyweights like W&L, Christopher Newport, Lynchburg, and Emory, as well as Region V squads like Hopkins, Gettysburg, and Catholic.  Mary Washington played Cortland earlier in the season and lost 3-2 and just defeated a good OWU team in the 2nd round.  Coach Jason Kilby is in his 10th year after a long tenure at NC Wesleyan.  The star of the Eagles' attack is two-time C2C Offensive POY #27 senior forward Josh Kirkland (16 G, 2 A).  Playing Robin to Kirkland's Batman is #9 soph forward Carter Berg (8G, 5 A), also a C2C 1st team selection.  Other key players include C2C 1st teamer #6 defender Jacob Kautzman, and a pair of 2nd teamers, #18 senior middie Abel Luwis and #1 senior GK Griffin Hemmendinger.  The latter showed great resilience in the C2C final with Christopher Newport, giving up a goal with two seconds left after the Eagles had just taken the lead with 17 ticks left.  He weathered two OTs and then prevailed in PKs.  Mary Washington has scored 43 goals and allowed 24.  The Eagles have a nice possession-oriented offensive style, but the 24 goals allowed is a concern given the woodchipper they're about to be thrown into (no apologies necessary if you have a Fargo flashback involving Steve Buscemi).


Oneonta St
Oh, oh Oneonta [Ozempic background music]....Oh, how I blew this call as Paul Newman told Simplecoach "There is not a chance in hell that Oneonta can beat Tufts."  I way over-generalized conflating Oneonta with Montclair.  Never, never doubt Coach Iain Byrne, now in his 20th season at the helm, who has taken Oneonta to Final Fours in 2011, 2014, and 2015.  The Red Dragons are 15-2-3 with 44 goals and 15 allowed.  If I had an excuse for the prediction fail on Oneonta, which I don't, I would wrap the excuse around a midseason slump that happened almost immediately after pollsters decided that maybe Oneonta was pretty good.  Pollster whiplash they call it.  The Red Dragons lost to Geneseo St, drew with Potsdam, and then lost to Brockport.  We punished them in the polls, but they also have not lost since.  Oneonta has a hybrid style with an emphasis on possession-oriented, attacking soccer combined with physicality and defensive fundamentals.  The performance against Tufts was impressive and perhaps a warning shot to upcoming foes.  You know what helps?  Having the two-time SUNYAC Offensive POY #7 senior Lucas Fecci (13 G, 5 A).  Then there's SUNYAC ROY #29 frosh Milton Mancias Magana (8 G, 9 A).  Assisting those award winners are #9 senior Ethan Brunell (5 G, 5 A) and #30 frosh Joe Holder (6 G, 2 A).  Leading the defense are #20 junior John Bernardi and #12 grad student Tristan Battistoni with #45 senior GK Nate Hanna between the pipes.  And can we figure out how and why Oneonta and Cortland are BOTH Red Dragons?


Bowdoin
Bowdoin is the stealth candidate for a national title, and NESCAC nation would be drooling if yet another NESCAC school got added in their pantheon of champions.  Bowdoin is 12-1-5 with 39 goals and a mere 8 allowed.  After a successful seven year tenure at Chicago, Scott Wiercinski has guided the Polar Bears since 2014.  Wiercinski was a GK at Middlebury and is another member of the Middlebury coaching tree.  Bowdoin swept the All-NESCAC honors, with Wiercinski named COY, #3 senior CB Dylan Reid named POY, and #35 frosh Tyler Huck (3 G, 3 A) ROY.  Bowdoin's very large and talented CDM #8 junior Julian Juantorena (3 G, 1 A) also made the 1st team, as did #1 junior GK Michael Webber.  In addition to Huck, providing offensive punch are #11 (soph?) Ronaldo Cabral (8 G, 3 A), #10 senior Harry Cooper (4 G, 2 A), #21 senior Charlie Ward (3 G, 3 A), #5 senior dynamo Minseo Bae (3 G, 2 A), and #13 soph Carlton Steinberg (4 G, 1 A).  Bowdoin impresses as a very balanced team that is hard to break down,  comfortable in low-scoring tight games, and very capable of cutting through the opponent's defense often on counters.  In pundit talk, Bowdoin will rarely beat itself.  Bowdoin may not be the sexiest choice, but the Polar Bears might be the smartest choice.  They know they're good and that there's no one in the tournament they can't beat on a day.  Getting by Vassar in PKs after conceding an equalizer late is the type of game and "good fortune" a teams needs for a deep run.


Between the lines
Instead of trying to be fair on word count to all four teams, let's just say it.  Mary Washington getting by Amherst would be a massive upset, especially in this spot and especially at Amherst.  I'm not gonna break my back trying to figure out a way that Mary Wash could beat Amherst.  If it happens, then full credit to the Eagles and congratulations.  Many, many people will thank you.  With that said, the Oneonta versus Bowdoin fixture potentially is one of the best games not just in the Sweet 16 but in the whole tournament.  If Oneonta can score two again I think Bowdoin will have a hard time.  But if Bowdoin scores first, Oneonta could be in real trouble. And I do believe the winner will have a very fair chance to knock off the Mammoths.  Bowdoin knows Amherst as well as anyone and absolutely won't be caught off guard or intimidated.  And if Oneonta advances?  Well, there hardly could be better preparation for a tilt with Amherst than a full season in the rough and tumble SUNYAC and back-to-back matches with Tufts and Bowdoin.

[NEsoccerfan]

Does anyone have any insight into what happened to Adrian Zimmerman for W&L? To go from 2021 tournament wunderkind to not playing soccer in 2022 is a shocker, to say the least...

[Another Mom]

Yes. And if we had wanted to share it, we would have.

[PaulNewman]

AM, are you in Gambier?  If so, remember to leave extra travel time tomorrow....game day traffic can get pretty backed up.

[NEsoccerfan]

Yes. And if we had wanted to share it, we would have.

Apologies, I didn't realize it was a sensitive issue. I hope he and anyone involved is okay.

[Another Mom]

AM, are you in Gambier?  If so, remember to leave extra travel time tomorrow....game day traffic can get pretty backed up.

Very sadly, I am not. I just had surgery yesterday.  So I'll be watching the livestream on the edge of my seat.

[PaulNewman]

AM, are you in Gambier?  If so, remember to leave extra travel time tomorrow....game day traffic can get pretty backed up.

Very sadly, I am not. I just had surgery yesterday.  So I'll be watching the livestream on the edge of my seat.

Oh, wow, I'm sorry on both counts.  We parents (the lucky ones) only get so many of these.  I hope you weren't posting in the recovery room!

[Another Mom]

Ha ha, no, but I do have time on my hands as I recover, so I am spending more time here.