New England Soccer Discussion

[blooter442]

What would be the over/under for number of times the ball hits the ground if that match-up comes to pass?

Since Amherst will win 2-1, three: once for each time it hits the back of the net.

[Mr.Right]

I have not seen Endicott since losing to Conn College a couple weeks ago but certainly they have enough to compete and defeat a Springfield team that has gone cold scoring goals lately. I am more interested to see Amherst starting lineup on Saturday TBH.

[Mr.Right]

Interesting to look at this Western CT side. I admittedly only saw them for about 20-25 minutes in the LEC Semi-Final when they drew Keene St and won in PK's but they are 14-6-1. Of those 6 losses, 5 were by only 1 goal and if you look at the stats in those games they were extremely even with an interestingly low SOG tally for both them and opponent. They lose to Union 1-0 but outshoot them 18-5. The one bad loss was the 1st game of the season to Vassar 4-0 but again the stats were something I really have never seen. WCONN outshoots Vassar 7-4 but Vassar bests WCONN 4-0 SOG with 4 goals.

[Off Pitch]

George Kostelis was the coach at Western CT for 4 or 5 seasons until last year.  He was an "old school" type coach and had previously been an assistant at Yale for many years.  I really thought he would build the Western CT program more quickly.  He did go from 1 win in 2011 to 7 wins in 2014, but they never really turned the corner under his leadership.  However, he had brought in a good nucleus of players prior to his departure.  These players are now Juniors and Seniors, and 8 of them are regular starters. 

Joe Mingachos, the successful coach of the women's teams, took over the team last year and has apparently done a good job.  I'm not sure how many women's college soccer coaches have successfully made the transition to men's soccer, but he was a really good coach on the women's side (298-88-27).

By the way, more than half of their roster is composed of freshmen - 16 freshmen and only 4 sophs to go with the remaining 10 Jrs and Srs.

[OldNed]

It's nice to see a little attention paid to some of the lesser known sides, like Western Connecticut.  I've been following them a little bit this year because one of my son's former club teammates plays for them, and I'm happy they've been able to advance to the tournament.  With such a young team, it bodes well for the future of the program and perhaps they can get some experience that may help them if they wind up in the tournament again next year.

[Mr.Right]

OldNed, still waitin for a scouting report on St.Joe's...I have not seen them at all this year

[Mr.Right]

Cmon OldNed I am not looking for any advantages(I have no skin in the game) maybe just a formation or how they play..A player or 2 to watch?

[OldNed]

Cmon OldNed I am not looking for any advantages(I have no skin in the game) maybe just a formation or how they play..A player or 2 to watch?

Mr. Right,
I'm reasonably sure that whatever I say, Mitchell or Tufts may already know about.  Give me a little bit and I'll have something for you and everyone else re: St. Joe's.

[OldNed]

Cmon OldNed I am not looking for any advantages(I have no skin in the game) maybe just a formation or how they play..A player or 2 to watch?

Mr. Right,
You asked about formations, and St. Joe's plays a sort of 4-1-3-2.  The 4 defenders in the back are all solid defenders, but among them I think Dalton Gaumer and JT Taylor stand out defensively.  Gaumer won the GNAC defensive POY award and he's just so smooth and unruffled back there.  Taylor has come into his own as a soph RB and he rarely gets beaten, and he's a certified weapon on offense as he's got a terrific long throw that makes most throw-ins beyond midfield more like corner kicks.  Sean Baker is a 5th year senior (lost a season to injury) and he usually plays CB next to Gaumer.  LB is Noah Robinson and he's maybe the most athletic player for the Monks.  His role is a little bit of a hybrid as he's often called on to become more of an outside mid and attack the opponent up the left touch line.  I think he could be an x-factor for the Monks as he's just rounding into form again after he lost a number of games to injury in the middle of the season.

Then there's the St. Joe's GK, Blake Mullen.  His size at 6-7 is a huge asset and he can get to almost any ball that's floated into the box, which can be very frustrating for opposing teams. He hasn't been tested a whole lot this year due to how well the back line has played, but he's a very good keeper and he's had some tournament success with PKs as St. Joe's beat Norwich in PKs in the GNAC final in 2016, and then he came up big against Babson with a couple of really nice PK saves.

Midfield is led defensively by Rory Twomey and JoJo Strobino.  Twomey is the primary defensive mid and he generally gets to just about everything in the air and although Strobino is only 5-5, he's as tough as nails and is built like a tank and between the two of them they're able to mostly control the midfield and start counterattacks by linking up with the other mids, Cody Elliott and Mitch Duncan.  Elliott and Duncan have played really well this year, but they too are a little bit undersized and I'm hoping they don't get swallowed up by the size of Tufts (assuming that St. Joe's can advance against Mitchell). Striker is Brett Mattos and he's had an outstanding year, as has RF Trevor Lopes.  Mattos in particular is very good in the air and he's capable of getting his head onto many of the balls swung into the box either from the right by Lopes or on the left by Noah Robinson.
Offensively, St. Joe's likes to work the ball to the outside to see if Lopes can turn the corner on the right and cross into the box, and if that doesn't work they will try the left side with Robinson.  If teams stretch things out to play wide defensively to match this, then that leaves some space in the middle for Elliott, Duncan, and Mattos to operate.

Defensively, St. Joe's has smothered most of the teams they've faced.  Balls sent up from the opposing back line or from goal kicks usually get met by a Twomey header, and the mids are relentless if teams are moving the ball on the ground instead. 
Against Mitchell, I think St. Joe's will come out flying to try to get a couple of quick goals and then let their defense do its thing so they can rest some players for Sunday's match. St. Joe's has some very capable subs, led by Jesse Ramirez, Noah Elmore, and Ryan Buonaiuto.  If St. Joe's makes it past Mitchell, the size of Tufts will be difficult to deal with, although St. Joe's did well playing against Bowdoin's big lineup, too. It will be fun to see if either side can put any decent pressure on the other, and it would not surprise me to see a 0-0 tie with the winner decided on PKs. It would be ironic if St. Joe's doesn't give up a goal all year long during regulation or OT, but gets eliminated in PKs. Nobody is really sure how St. Joe's will react if they end up going down 1-0 to Mitchell or Tufts because they simply haven't been in that position all year.  I'd like to think they have enough in them to come back if they give up a goal or two, but it would be very difficult to do that against a team the caliber of Tufts.

[NEFutbol90]

totally agree old ned. The organization of St.Joes is of elite status in my opinion as Coach Dubois has created a formation and a style that will make St.Joes tough to breakdown or keep the ball for anyone, even with Tufts looming. That I think will turn out to be the game to watch this weekend should they get by mitchell. Agreed that the players to watch are certainly Mattos #32 there prolific striker that is insanely efficient with 19 goals on just 38 shots. #8 Gaumer, #22 Twomey and #6 Strobino the two midfielders who are quite honestly the most important part to their incredible shutout streak as they dominate the midfield.  With other players such as #19 Robinson, #00 Mullen, and #2 Duncan to watch for as they all contribute massively to the monks effort. With an obvious bias towards the monks, I have to say they seem primed to upset a powerhouse like tufts as they are desperate to make their mark and solidify a spot among NE's best or at least atop this list of upcoming programs should Dubois stays long enough to see that through...

[Mr.Right]

OldNed well done..+k and thanks that helps...Sounds like a solid outfit especially with a 6'7 GK which again is impressive and can be intimidating to opponents as the goal looks that much smaller. If they are really in a 4-1-3-2 than I am wondering if they play in a diamond. I am not questioning you just a different formation. Possibly a 4-1-4-1 especially defensively. Well you just got me feeling a little nervy for Tufts so I wonder what Tufts will feel when they see them on Saturday. An interesting situation you have with a team that gets a BYE or plays 1st on Saturday. As a coach do u want your players watching the team that you will play the next day? Some coaches do not care because usually players are half watching and talking anyway BUT some coaches do not like it and will not have their players watch as it can lead to over confidence and a bit of letting down your guard if you see a sloppy game.

After that scouting report what would be the bigger upset...St.Joe's over Tufts     or      Mitchell over St.Joe's?

[Mr.Right]

George Kostelis was the coach at Western CT for 4 or 5 seasons until last year.  He was an "old school" type coach and had previously been an assistant at Yale for many years.  I really thought he would build the Western CT program more quickly.  He did go from 1 win in 2011 to 7 wins in 2014, but they never really turned the corner under his leadership.  However, he had brought in a good nucleus of players prior to his departure.  These players are now Juniors and Seniors, and 8 of them are regular starters. 

Joe Mingachos, the successful coach of the women's teams, took over the team last year and has apparently done a good job.  I'm not sure how many women's college soccer coaches have successfully made the transition to men's soccer, but he was a really good coach on the women's side (298-88-27).

By the way, more than half of their roster is composed of freshmen - 16 freshmen and only 4 sophs to go with the remaining 10 Jrs and Srs.

Yes. Kostelis was a longtime assistant at Yale under Brian Tompkins. Under Tompkins Yale continually underperformed until he was"bumped upstairs". Yale, Harvard and Princeton should be winning Ivy league titles every year. The other teams should never even get a sniff of an Ivy Title. If you cannot win at Harvard, Yale and Princeton with all the advantages they have over the other Ivies than you probably are doing something wrong. I believe Kostelis resigned at WCONN because his wife got a job near Hartford. Could be wrong but I believe he was on Pilger's staff this year as a GK coach.

[truenorth]

OldNed well done..+k and thanks that helps...Sounds like a solid outfit especially with a 6'7 GK which again is impressive and can be intimidating to opponents as the goal looks that much smaller. If they are really in a 4-1-3-2 than I am wondering if they play in a diamond. I am not questioning you just a different formation. Possibly a 4-1-4-1 especially defensively. Well you just got me feeling a little nervy for Tufts so I wonder what Tufts will feel when they see them on Saturday. An interesting situation you have with a team that gets a BYE or plays 1st on Saturday. As a coach do u want your players watching the team that you will play the next day? Some coaches do not care because usually players are half watching and talking anyway BUT some coaches do not like it and will not have their players watch as it can lead to over confidence and a bit of letting down your guard if you see a sloppy game.

After that scouting report what would be the bigger upset...St.Joe's over Tufts     or      Mitchell over St.Joe's?

In my experience, it's a mixed blessing to come into a national tournament riding a streak...in this case St. Joe's not having lost a game nor having given up a goal all season.  IF they give up a goal, particularly against Tufts, I think it will be an incredibly hard adjustment for them in the middle of a game under the highest pressure they will have seen all season.  If they get by Mitchell (very likely) and then Tufts (very unlikely), then more power to them.

[Mr.Right]

But my question is what would be the bigger upset?

[NEFutbol90]

Mr. Right, I believe the biggest question to that is can St.Joes get an early lead or substantial lead to rest a bit going into sunday. Being this whole team returns from last years NCAA they know just how quick a turnaround it is therefore I think the only way we see a Tufts upset is if the Monks can take care of business early and often against Mitchell. But answering your question, I think without a doubt it'd be mitchell... just because of the season the monks have put together this year and last. With a defeat over Tufts yes its a massive upset, but I believe it'd be more of an official coming out party for the program where as with the Mitchell upset it would certainly knock St.Joes wayy back down to earth for this year and even in the future. This is a team ready for adversity based on the coaches mentality. While they haven't faced the toughest of conditions, the level coach Dubois holds them at for practice, in the weight room, during film, etc. is incredibly high and one that has them ready to compete.