New England Soccer Discussion

[OldNed]

I was at the Gordon/St. Joe's game as well as the Endicott/St. Joe's game, and they were really good early season tests for all sides. I agree with Mr. Right that Endicott looks to be a top 10 NE team, and I expect them to be there at the end of the season.

Gordon vs. St. Joe's

Gordon is clearly a well-coached team, as the offense moved methodically up and down the sides and occasionally into the middle.  Although Gordon was the winner of the possession battle in the first half, they couldn't seem to generate any chances at all on St. Joe's.  Things turned around in the second half for St. Joe's as they dominated possession as it appeared that Gordon tired when St. Joe's substituted often and kept the pressure on the Scots.  Jesse Ramirez hit a terrific free kick for a goal late in the 2nd half to give St. Joe's some breathing room, and they hit the post once and missed another chip where the St. Joe's forward was in behind Gordon defense off a Blake Mullen kick, so the final score could have been worse.  For Gordon, I thought the freshman midfielder Micah Craig played well after he calmed down from some early game rambunctiousness that earned him two discussions with the ref, but no yellow card. Gordon keeper Wesley Craig also did a nice job for the Scots.

Endicott vs. St. Joe's

Endicott was in my view a better and more dangerous team than Gordon, but as someone else mentioned they were very direct.  I think they thought they could play over the top against St. Joe's and while they did generate some good chances, the St. Joe's midfield and defense was up to the task. Endicott definitely played with a little bit of an edge and they have good size so it looked to me like they tried to bully St. Joe's a little bit.  This kind of surprised me a bit, because if you look at their roster they have a number of academy players and D1 transfers who can surely play more of a technical game, but they tried to go long from the back line almost every time the ball made it to the Endicott defense.  They will be able to win a lot of games this way as they have good ability, but I think against the top NESCAC teams and teams like St. Joe's, they might do well to try a different approach.

[Falconer]

For Gordon, I thought the freshman midfielder Micah Craig played well after he calmed down from some early game rambunctiousness that earned him two discussions with the ref, but no yellow card.

Micah Craig played HS soccer at Mishawka, Ind, not far from Notre Dame. That information is here: https://athletics.gordon.edu/roster.aspx?rp_id=4916

BJ Craig just joined the coaching staff at Oregon State, after spending 10 years at Notre Dame. He's a Gordon alum, and one of his sons is named Micah. That information is here: https://osubeavers.com/news/2018/7/31/mens-soccer-bj-craig-joins-oregon-state-staff-as-associate-head-coach.aspx

I think we can bet the ranch on connecting those two dots.

[blooter442]

A couple last minute notes here on Brandeis..Looks like Andrew Allen has decided this will be his breakout year and the transfer Nardizzi is the real deal so Brandeis looks to be much better off up top than expected. Looks like Miskin is back and being used off the bench. Is Gans injured? I did not see him in either boxscore. I am glad Handler is in midfield it looks like so the back 4 is DePietto, Hennessy, Walter and Burch. Burch is a 5'9 Frosh who I am assuming is playing wingback. Is Glass holding or did I get my back 4 wrong?

Allen has had a great start to the year and the Judges will hope he keeps firing. Agree that Nardizzi looks legit and I have heard he's settling well, and getting a goal on his debut certainly helps. The other forward is Jared Panson, who played for Pennington School in NJ and was apparently "down to Georgetown and UPenn" per an article last summer. Obviously that did not happen, but it still appears that he was quite highly-touted as a recruit. Either way it seems the Judges are happy to have him and he and Burch are right in the starting lineup, Burch as RB.

Midfield is playing two 6s and one 8, Handler is holding with Glass. Breiter is the top of the triangle. Miskin was nursing an injury but played second half. I think Gans is out for a while but may return before season's end. I would imagine that Irwin returns to starting in net after last night's game.

[4231CenterBack]

Yes, BJ Craig's sons Noah(Jr.) and Micah(Fr.) both play at Gordon.  Not surprisingly they have high soccer IQs 

For Gordon, I thought the freshman midfielder Micah Craig played well after he calmed down from some early game rambunctiousness that earned him two discussions with the ref, but no yellow card.

Micah Craig played HS soccer at Mishawka, Ind, not far from Notre Dame. That information is here: https://athletics.gordon.edu/roster.aspx?rp_id=4916

BJ Craig just joined the coaching staff at Oregon State, after spending 10 years at Notre Dame. He's a Gordon alum, and one of his sons is named Micah. That information is here: https://osubeavers.com/news/2018/7/31/mens-soccer-bj-craig-joins-oregon-state-staff-as-associate-head-coach.aspx

I think we can bet the ranch on connecting those two dots.

[Off Pitch]

I'm not sure what is going on at Babson, but they have already started 9 different freshmen in the first two games.  Youcef Ziad, the team's most dangerous offensive weapon, has played only sparingly.  Two significant returnees have not played at all - Senior Ted Hilger, who has been a regular starter the past 2 seasons, and Soph Andrew Josephs who was the best newcomer on last year's team.

If Ziad, Hilger and Josephs are dealing with injuries, their return will surely bolster a young lineup that competed evenly on the road at Dickinson and Elizabethtown.    With September contests remaining with Brandeis, WPI, Williams, Springfield and MIT, Babson will need to be at full strength to be a factor in New England and the NEWMAC.

[Mr.Right]

I have no problem with Anderson benching his upperclassman after the disaster of 2017. Babson looked about as poor as I have ever seen them last year and lack talent, creativity , mental toughness, a goal scorer and leaders. So as far as I am concerned let Anderson rebuild the program and get significant minutes to some of these deserving Frosh. Honestly. he has a talented Frosh class and one of his better classes in a couple years. Ask Colby if eventually that will pay off. However, if Colby doesn't succeed this year than scrap that last comment. Also, playing Frosh and benching upperclassman can be a touchy thing sometimes. It can cause chaos in certain situations as you can imagine upperclassman that put in all the effort in the off-season and then find themselves on the bench when the season starts. You need GOOD captains sometimes in situations like this to calm the troops. Frankly, after barely sneaking into the NEWMAC Playoffs last season the upperclassman have no leg to stand on.

[TyWebb]

I'm not sure what is going on at Babson, but they have already started 9 different freshmen in the first two games.  Youcef Ziad, the team's most dangerous offensive weapon, has played only sparingly.  Two significant returnees have not played at all - Senior Ted Hilger, who has been a regular starter the past 2 seasons, and Soph Andrew Josephs who was the best newcomer on last year's team.

If Ziad, Hilger and Josephs are dealing with injuries, their return will surely bolster a young lineup that competed evenly on the road at Dickinson and Elizabethtown.    With September contests remaining with Brandeis, WPI, Williams, Springfield and MIT, Babson will need to be at full strength to be a factor in New England and the NEWMAC.

Yes, Babson is dealing with the injury bug. Ziad looks to be nursing a hamstring injury. Played some against Dickinson but only a few minutes at Elizabethtown before coming out.  Not sure what's going on with Hilger, Josephs got banged up a little in the Bentley scrimmage a couple of weeks ago but should return soon. Obviously, from the scores, both games in PA were winnable. In OT against Elizabethtown, they hit the post and the keeper also came up big for the Blue Jays.

Noah Parker, in particular, looks very strong for the Beavers even though he didn't score this past weekend. The defense was rock solid. Heintzelman played very well in goal and seems to be seizing the opportunity of winning the open keeper job.

To Mr. Right's point. It's not so much he is benching upperclassmen. The upperclassmen who are expected to play are injured. Many are gone. Anderson has cleaned house. One correction on your comment about "barely sneaking into the NEWMAC Playoffs". Babson actually missed the playoffs last year. I think without a doubt that was the impetus to bring in 15 freshmen to mix in with the remaining productive upperclassmen.

[Mr.Right]

Random Topic:

Pine Manor---The only thing I know about this school is that their mission is to serve low income students and give kids a real chance at a 4 year private liberal arts education for a fraction of the cost. If you look at their Men's Soccer roster they have 27 players on it. ONLY 1 PLAYER is from MASS while 16 players are from Texas and half of those are from El Paso. Can anyone explain this or what am I missing here? Is there some connection to Texas that this school has?


http://www.pmcathletics.com/sports/msoc/2018-19/roster

[Mr.Right]

I'm not sure what is going on at Babson, but they have already started 9 different freshmen in the first two games.  Youcef Ziad, the team's most dangerous offensive weapon, has played only sparingly.  Two significant returnees have not played at all - Senior Ted Hilger, who has been a regular starter the past 2 seasons, and Soph Andrew Josephs who was the best newcomer on last year's team.

If Ziad, Hilger and Josephs are dealing with injuries, their return will surely bolster a young lineup that competed evenly on the road at Dickinson and Elizabethtown.    With September contests remaining with Brandeis, WPI, Williams, Springfield and MIT, Babson will need to be at full strength to be a factor in New England and the NEWMAC.

Yes, Babson is dealing with the injury bug. Ziad looks to be nursing a hamstring injury. Played some against Dickinson but only a few minutes at Elizabethtown before coming out.  Not sure what's going on with Hilger, Josephs got banged up a little in the Bentley scrimmage a couple of weeks ago but should return soon. Obviously, from the scores, both games in PA were winnable. In OT against Elizabethtown, they hit the post and the keeper also came up big for the Blue Jays.

Noah Parker, in particular, looks very strong for the Beavers even though he didn't score this past weekend. The defense was rock solid. Heintzelman played very well in goal and seems to be seizing the opportunity of winning the open keeper job.

To Mr. Right's point. It's not so much he is benching upperclassmen. The upperclassmen who are expected to play are injured. Many are gone. Anderson has cleaned house. One correction on your comment about "barely sneaking into the NEWMAC Playoffs". Babson actually missed the playoffs last year. I think without a doubt that was the impetus to bring in 15 freshmen to mix in with the remaining productive upperclassmen.

Yes I forgot I knew they struggled last year but forgot they missed NEWMAC Playoffs which is obviously even worse. Noah Parker is a legit player. Yes injuries are different than being benched but I am sure there has to be a couple players from last year that have been benched. If Anderson cleaned house that is a good thing. This program has been faltering since Anderson's son graduated. I know they brought in a decent class this year so even if these guys are injured if these Frosh play well here then these injured players might find it more difficult to get back on the field. Also, Anderson has always carried a MONSTER roster so if he cleaned house he must have cut a ton of kids? Info on this?

[TyWebb]

Yes I forgot I knew they struggled last year but forgot they missed NEWMAC Playoffs which is obviously even worse. Noah Parker is a legit player. Yes injuries are different than being benched but I am sure there has to be a couple players from last year that have been benched. If Anderson cleaned house that is a good thing. This program has been faltering since Anderson's son graduated. I know they brought in a decent class this year so even if these guys are injured if these Frosh play well here then these injured players might find it more difficult to get back on the field. Also, Anderson has always carried a MONSTER roster so if he cleaned house he must have cut a ton of kids? Info on this?

There were eleven non-senior players from last year who are not on this year's squad. I think their departure was a mixture of personal choice, told their playing time would be limited or cut. I honestly don't know which players fell into what category. I don't believe any upperclassmen who return with significant experience are playing behind a freshman. Fromhein a senior played a decent amount as the backup forward this past weekend behind Crompton who is a junior who also played a lot last year. One other player with a fair amount of experience is Beaulieu (M/outside back) who is injured and was not dressed for the two PA matches.

[blooter442]

Brandeis with Irwin in goal, Miskin for Glass, and Panarra for Panson. Judges looking OK going forward and good defensively in the first 15 — Walter has assumed the role of on-field general. Really like him as a CB, picked up where he left off last year when replacing DePietto after his ACL injury. The latter is looking solid, too.

Springfield with some joy down the sides but nothing of note yet aside from a shot wide.

[blooter442]

0-0 at half. Judges starting to get forward but no real end product yet.

Irwin came off his line to make a nice save midway through the period, Springfield (and the game)'s only SOG thus far.

[blooter442]

Nardizzi puts the Judges up 1-0 on a low cross with 35 left. 2nd in 3 games for the transfer.

[blooter442]

DePietto slams home a rebound with about 4 left for the 2-0 final. Judges don't totally looked the finished article but they played very well second half. Great combinations and movement and the front 3 was very fluid — they switch positions on the fly which will be tough for opposing defenses. Irwin did well in net and looked good with DePietto and Walter. Springfield was organized and hard working and hung tough.

[Ommadawn]

WHY on earth would the GK position "be up for grabs" going into this season? I had just assumed Irwin was their man and based on last nights recap he now should be. However, that is 1 game to late. Irwin stepped in last year BIGTIME in the middle of the 2017 season when Woodhouse got injured. He started I think 5 consecutive games in October against Chicago, Wash U and a couple others and MORE THAN HELD HIS OWN. This other kid Cohen played in 2 career games all in mop up duty against Elms and Clark off the bench when the game was easily in hand. If Margolis was so unsure last year of these 2 GK's than why didn't Cohen get a run last season along with Irwin? Probably because he knew Irwin was the better GK and gave them a better chance to win some very tough games. So what changed? Why are we all of a sudden going into "job up for grabs" situation. This is not 2017 Tufts with Johnson and Mieth. Is it? This should have been Irwin's job TO LOSE from the get go. He showed well enough last year to be given the benefit of the doubt.

I'm not sure if the job is still (or ever was) "up for grabs," but (counterintuitively) the Johnson/Mieth combo seemed to work pretty well for Tufts last year (only 2 goals conceded all season).