New England Soccer Discussion

[OldNed]

As I am scouring through the national records of all D3 teams I noticed that Emerson is 4-0-3....must be best start in years and maybe ever?  Recently beat Springfield for first time in program history.

Anyway, Emerson's new 1st year HC is Dan Toulson, who was a senior captain at Kenyon in 2011 for my son's frosh year.  Iirc he may have been a couple of years older than a usual senior and found his way to Kenyon via New Zealand.  Apparently spent the past few years as an asst at Catholic.

Another shout out for Emerson.  We sometimes miss these stories because of the focus on the tournament and who is gonna make or not make the tournament, and even with some of their opponents having down years, I'm guessing Emerson is on their way to maybe their best season in....well, maybe ever.  Sitting at 7-1-5.  Won 3 games total in 2021, 2019, and 2018, and 5 games in 2017, 2016, and 2015.  That's as far back as I went.

Emerson is knocking on the door, I think.  Massey has them today at #92 in the poll, just behind Brandeis which came in at #7 in the United Soccer Coaches Region II poll today.  They have WPI and Coast Guard for their last 2 games of the season and I'd like to see them win one of those two games.

[OldNed]

Big result in the GNAC last night as St. Joseph's (CT) ties regionally ranked Johnson & Wales 2-2.  More importantly for the GNAC conference tournament, the tie keeps St. Joseph's (Maine) in the driver's seat for the top spot and homefield advantage.  If things play out the way I would expect in the tournament, then Norwich would play Johnson & Wales to reach the final, likely against St. Joseph's (Maine). 

Out of those 3 teams, I still think Norwich is the most dangerous and it would not surprise me to see them win the GNAC and the automatic qualifier.  On the other hand, Johnson & Wales beat both Norwich and St. Joseph's (Maine) in the regular season so they are certainly capable of winning the GNAC tournament.

[Kuiper]

Interesting game on tap in the New England area, as Endicott visits D1 Boston College at 5:30 EDT.  I imagine Boston College scheduled Endicott for some kind of senior night or to give some of its bench players a chance to play, but Endicott is having a decent season at 11-3-4.  They haven't lost a game in a month.  I'm sure their players will be up to battle to show they belong, although with the conference tournament looming, Endicott's coaches probably don't want to risk injury in what is effectively a meaningless game.

[paclassic89]

That's a baffling scheduling decision as they have a game Tuesday against U of NE as well.  Seems to be little upside to playing BC the day before a conference game.  I could understand it maybe if they didn't play again until Saturday 

[OldNed]

That's a baffling scheduling decision as they have a game Tuesday against U of NE as well.  Seems to be little upside to playing BC the day before a conference game.  I could understand it maybe if they didn't play again until Saturday 

Well, they do have 50 players on their roster so they should be able to keep their starters fresh for Tuesday's game.  And UNE is 0-8 in conference (0-15-2 overall), so Endicott may not have as tough a time against a top of the table CCC team.

[Maine Soccer Fan]

That's a baffling scheduling decision as they have a game Tuesday against U of NE as well.  Seems to be little upside to playing BC the day before a conference game.  I could understand it maybe if they didn't play again until Saturday 

Well, they do have 50 players on their roster so they should be able to keep their starters fresh for Tuesday's game.  And UNE is 0-8 in conference (0-15-2 overall), so Endicott may not have as tough a time against a top of the table CCC team.

The number of subs on the Endicott bench resembles a Div 1 football team in numbers. I think they had to go to the college's endowment to afford enough uniforms...

[Hopkins92]

I know this is a D3 board, but from BC's perspective... WHY??

We used to play (and lose to) Towson State for many years in a row. They finally stopped that series my soph. year (I think?) and I never understood why they wanted that game on anything other than a scrimmage basis.

I just see zero upside for D1-D3 match-up, particularly from the D1 teams perspective. I know this game was discussed earlier this year, but I'm not remembering if anyone figured out the connection or rationale behind this game. And that's without bringing up the fact that it's forcing a back-to-back game with a conference foe. Record independent... That's just a weird scheduling move.

[SimpleCoach]

I know this is a D3 board, but from BC's perspective... WHY??

We used to play (and lose to) Towson State for many years in a row. They finally stopped that series my soph. year (I think?) and I never understood why they wanted that game on anything other than a scrimmage basis.

I just see zero upside for D1-D3 match-up, particularly from the D1 teams perspective. I know this game was discussed earlier this year, but I'm not remembering if anyone figured out the connection or rationale behind this game. And that's without bringing up the fact that it's forcing a back-to-back game with a conference foe. Record independent... That's just a weird scheduling move.

Will say, with 10 minutes gone, I find BC to be tremendously average.  No movement.  Individual players are man for man better, but together they are terribly unimpressive.

SC.

[Kuiper]

I know this is a D3 board, but from BC's perspective... WHY??

We used to play (and lose to) Towson State for many years in a row. They finally stopped that series my soph. year (I think?) and I never understood why they wanted that game on anything other than a scrimmage basis.

I just see zero upside for D1-D3 match-up, particularly from the D1 teams perspective. I know this game was discussed earlier this year, but I'm not remembering if anyone figured out the connection or rationale behind this game. And that's without bringing up the fact that it's forcing a back-to-back game with a conference foe. Record independent... That's just a weird scheduling move.

Out of curiosity, I turned the game on and the announcer mentioned that the D1 rules allow a team to count one non-D1 game toward their win total and it's not counted for RPI purposes.  So, I suppose with BC being 3-6-4 on the season, a win could at least help their optics (not that they've had a horrible season - they've had a lot of close games).  Maybe Davidson was thinking the same thing.  Their win against Averett was their first of the season, although they are currently 5-8-3.

[camosfan]

You can see the class difference easily and this early in the game where the underdog is usually highly motivated.

[Kuiper]

Well, I thought Endicott might make it to halftime with a 0-0 tie, which would be quite the victory.  My guess is that BC, especially given their record, isn't used to playing against a low block.  Their goal  on one of the few Endicott attacks suggested that they prefer the counter attack.

I will say that I had doubts about whether Endicott's GK would survive this game, between losing his concussion head gear and constantly adjusting his knee brace.  At this point in the season, he seems to be running low on parts!

[camosfan]

Endicott did well to hang with an ACC team for a full half with only 1 goal behind.

[Coach Jeff]

Endicott did well to hang with an ACC team for a full half with only 1 goal behind.

3-0 5 minutes into the second half maybe the starters for BC are in now 

[Hopkins92]

Well, I thought Endicott might make it to halftime with a 0-0 tie, which would be quite the victory.  My guess is that BC, especially given their record, isn't used to playing against a low block.  Their goal  on one of the few Endicott attacks suggested that they prefer the counter attack.

I will say that I had doubts about whether Endicott's GK would survive this game, between losing his concussion head gear and constantly adjusting his knee brace.  At this point in the season, he seems to be running low on parts!

Chuckling over here.

[PaulNewman]

https://emersonlions.com/sports/msoc/2022-23/releases/20221026g0pv03

Emerson finishes regular season 10-2-5 in what must be the best season in program history.  The Lions also appear headed to finishing 2nd in the NEWMAC, a big achievement even if it is a down year for the conference.  WPI leads MIT 3-0 in 2nd half which will leave the Lions in sole possession of 2nd place.

Dan Toulson at a minimum should probably be NEWMAC COY.