NESCAC

[LaPaz]

pretty fair assesment. After being at the game Amherst must feel "sick" they didnt win that game. They had numerous scoring chances and couldnt finish, but that is the game of soccer. Stevens was not that impressive at all as besides the 2 goals I cannot even remember another chance they had. With the talent Amherst has if they would play like Williams or SLU, I think they would be more successful. They would still have the advantage on any set pieces so why not keep the ball ont he floor a little more. They really only lose #15 Tebs and #12 Kaplan plus keeper. They will be strong for sure next year.

[NESoccr]

weasel, taking a shot at amherst after today's game is pretty weak if you know anything about the game. i took a ride up 91 to see the game.  as ususal paz sums it up.  the best team came out on bottom.  at the game, you could tell this was an upset.  amherst badly outplayed stevens.  stevens not very strong side, but amherst couldn't put ball in net from even a few feet away a couple of times.  stevens has a kid hit improbable rocket into upper 90 from 25 yards and another goal on ground through two defenders from 18.  decent shot, but keeper must have been blocked.  like paz, i don't think stevens had another shot in second half.  if you count long throws, amherst had about 20-25 set pieces.  hey, that's soccer.  woulda, coulda, shoulda, and out.  here's link to story i found on amherst site.  https://www.amherst.edu/athletics/teams/fall/soccer-m/articles/2011/1119_sit.       

[Flying Weasel]

NESoccr, I wasn't taking a shot at Amherst but at NESCAC fans.  After the rest of us have had to put up with some form of "the NESCAC is the best" being inserted in numerous threads over the course of the season, is it really that out of line to calmly point out that the NESCAC is out of the tournament? Is the banter only allowed to flow in one direction?  Com'n on, lighten up!

[NHsocca1]

nesoccr....youre totally correct. Newport, Messiah, SLU all dominate and lose and there are posts about how unfair soccer is.  a nescac team dominates and loses and the there are three paragraph posts about how bad the nescac is.

[Flying Weasel]

You're too much NHsocca1.  You want to crow about how good the NESCAC is every chance you get, but can't take a little ribbing when things don't turn out so well for the NESCAC teams.  And apparently it's got you so worked up that you can't read or think straight.  My post was two paragraphs, not three ;-) and it wasn't about how bad the NESCAC is.  Moreover, I think you are simply imagining Newport, Messiah, and SLU fans posting about the unfairness of soccer, because I haven't seen that (not that they'd be anything wrong with that, just as I have no problem with you guys saying you thought Amherst was better than Stevens).  Nor were the CNU, Messiah, and SLU fans talking beforehand about how good they were and how well they would do in the tournament.  And you see, that's the difference.  I would never have posted what I did if not for some of the things you guys had said before hand.  It's called banter and ribbing.  And if you're going to give, you have to be ready to get.  Btw, I had Amherst picked to win but since I didn't get to watch much of the match I don't have an opinion on the outcome.  I'm out.  You can have the last word.

[d3fan1]

Flying Weasel, your word is the last word!!! You are are one of the ultimate experts on D3 soccer!!

[Jim Matson]

Well, yeah, he is. But that doesn't make him right all the time!

[jellybelly]

Flying Weasel, I agree with your comments and appreciate the tone with which you said them.  "Fair and balanced reporting".     I have to say that over the years I have seen the same type of comments made about the women's Nescac teams.

A few years ago the Final Four on the ladies side consisted of Messiah, William Smith, Wheaton, and Williams.  In the semi-finals Wheaton beat Williams 3-1, and Messiah beat William Smith 3-0.  The final was a blow-out with Messiah beating Wheaton 5-0.  Afterwards there were posts (on a different site) about how Wheaton had such a tough game in the semi against Williams that they were worn out when it came time for the final and thus lost.  No credit to Messiah for being the better team that tournament. 

Come to think of it, the Amherst men were in that Final Four and it was also the year that Messiah won in a shootout with their backup goalie in the net.  That was amazing!

[Jim Matson]

Well, I was there and yes, the Williams team was tough on Wheaton. But Messiah was a great team that season too.

The score might have ended at 3-0, but interestingly, Wheaton pulled most of their starters to give the reserves some "Final" game time. Messiah kept their top players in and continued to pound the goal. So 5-0 it was. No doubt that experience left a bad taste in someone's mouth, eh?

[2xfaux]

I am not sure why that 2008 women's game is a topic here but I do remember there were some feelings hurt.  The fact is, and the box score shows this, that Messiah played everyone they had and the final two Messiah goals were scored by non-starters.  Wheaton showed this year versus Wash U. why you keep the pressure on them until the game is over.  A rematch of those squads would be interesting but I think W-S and Ithaca will have something to say about that.

[Flying Weasel]

Let the record show that it was not I that turned the NESCAC thread into a Messiah thread.  What do you guys want to do: chase our NESCAC friends off the board?  I sure hope not, because I gotta say that I've enjoyed lurking in this thread all season long as it was a great source of info on NESCAC happenings.  I wish all regions and conferences had such a presence on this message board, for the same reason. 

Sound like the Stevens and Montclair St. fans thought Amherst had a sub-standard field for the sectional (bumpy and beat up as well as small).  Is this the norm there throughout the season, or was it just a end of season problem?  Certainly disappointing if field conditions did not allow technical ability to shine and unfairly prejudiced teams wanting to keep the ball on the ground.  I had heard earlier that Amherst had two game-quality fields and maybe a third, but reports from the weekend aren't flattering.  Besides a Final Four trip to Williams waaaaay back in 1993 when the ground was half frozen while flurries fell, I don't have any knowledge of the NESCAC schools' facilities.

Anyway of the three NESCAC tournament team's, who is in best shape for next year (that is, who loses the least)?  And what of those that did not go dancing?  Will Williams and Middlebury be fighting for top spot in 2011?  And Bowdoin?  Can they get back in the mix?

[2xfaux]

Sorry we didn't mean to hijack this NESCAC thread which is always interesting.  Blame it on Jim.  He may be the moderator but he is also a Wheaton wacko.   We will take our conflicts back to the women's side where it belongs.

[jellybelly]

Oops.. I take the blame for hijacking this thread.  Sorry!  I'm from Amherst, follow both men's and women's soccer, and love D3!  Got carried away there.  Won't happen again...

[LaPaz]

Fields:
Amherst usually is a nice grass field, small but not bumpy like it has been. I agree it was in awful condition at end of year as it didnt start out like that. They have field turf alternative.

Williams has the best field. It got flooded earlier this season and still held up pretty good. Always well manicured and very wide, it is a home advantage because Williams will force you to defend their possesion game and can get a weaker team tired out.One problem is is that it is in my opinion to far from campus. They also have field turf alternative but that is not a good surface.

Bowdoin has the next best field. Grass and good dimensions and always well manicured. Situated perfectly on campus they draw pretty well. They have field turf alternative.

Midd has a great field turf. They replaced there grass field about 6 years ago ( I was not in favor of it) but the field used to alwasy flood because it was at bottom of a hill. Best turf field in NESCAC.

Trinity-grass-middle of campus-a tad narrow. Not bad Avg field.

Bates-"See Trinity"

Hamilton- Since they just joined league I havent been there yet. Will get out there next year maybe.

Tufts- Annoying field located right next to football field and is always filled with whistles from other contests and just obnoxious PA, etc. The field is grass and narow.

Wes and Conn- Worst 2 fields in NESCAC. Horrible bumpy field conditions, middle of campus locations. Fans are the worst at these 2 schools. Narrow fields. BIG HOME advantage for tehse teams.

[LaPaz]

2012:
Amherst- Lose Kaplan, Tebs, keeper and thats it. Heo, Noon, Sucre's, all back plus if Mooney red shirts this team will be dangerous. if you check 2012 Boys commits on espn they have a keeper from Jersey coming in with a good resume.He plays for St.Benedicts one of the best hs teams in country, so we will see.

http://espn.go.com/high-school/boys-soccer/commitments/story/_/id/7149850/2012-high-school-boys-soccer-ncaa-division-iii-verbal-commitments

Wes- They lose Paresi but not much else. They return Hazelett and Purdy and O'Niel and their D is back. They will always be a tough out as they are well organized defensively.

Trinity- They lose alot and they will not replace them quickly. They cannot replace Mayernick's goals, Buckley's work ethic and the keeper who played so well down the stretch. 3 KEY players gone plus the injured lax player Reilly. They will need others to step up or this team will drop down to .500.

Williams- They lose nothing except maybe Vestegaard, who played very well this year. Pugliese was a disappointment in his 4 years as he was highly touted coming out of hs. He worked very hard and ran and ran but would give the ball away to much. That was not one of Russo's best classes and could quite have been his worst or maybe this years So. is his worst. They need a goal scorer badly and could use a little more creativity in midfield to match up with teams of old.

Midd- They lose the absolute most. Pitney, Cahill, Calucci, Redmond, Macnee, i know im missing others but that was a good class. Midd known for reloading but Saward not a big recruiter as he lets the players come to him. He cannot afford to do that anymore as to many Nescac schools like Tufts and Conn are now heavily recruiting.

Bowdoin- They were so injured all year it was such a disappointment. Ive gone on and on about there injuries and keeeper issues and lackluster play. They lose a ton. Bishop, Powell, Nichols and Eddie Jones. 4 KEY memebers of that final four run. 4-7-3 I still cannot believe that.

Conn- They lose there whole D line, plus Oscar Brown one of their skill guys.Lets see who they get for recruits as they might be able to replace D and get a skilled player to replace Brown. What they really need is a goal scorer like they had 2 years ago in Prophet. Im a big fan of #10 Hormel and I liked there keeper when I saw them play but he is kind of short.

Colby-They dont lose much and return Meisel, a very good palyer. They lose keeper who was avg at best and Hendrickson but they can replace these guys. They could be ok next year.

Bates-This team loses keeper Watts who was avg and a cpl role players from an 0-10 squad. They return Murphy and a cpl others who are ok. Purgavie desperately needs a solid recruiting class as his job might be on the line pretty soon if they turn another 0-10 or 2-8 season in. This was not a happy place to be this year up in Lewiston,Maine.

Hamilton- Was disappointed with this team coming from Liberty League. I want to see how the coach changes his recruiting to fit Nescac. I will cut them some slack this year as they were feeling out the league but they should be doing better than 2-5-3 in league play.