NESCAC

[PaulNewman]

Yes, @GabWirz, can you share a few (or a lot) of kind words about the Tufts squad? You can make a few souls here very, very happy.

Congrats on your career and welcome to the board. 

[GabWirz]

In response to NCAC New England and Brother Flounder I thought Tufts was a very good team this past year because they had a very solid defense, a hard-working midfield, and special attacking players like Santos and Hoppenot who finally played up to their full potential.  They had the maturity to defend a 1-0 lead against Messiah for almost 90 minutes and I have nothing but respect for the likes of Williams, Santos, Hoppenot and the other players who led that team.

Predictions for this upcoming season are extremely tough because I believe that the NESCAC will have more parity than ever.

I think that the top 4 in no particular order will be Amherst, Wesleyan, Middlebury and Williams.
Amherst will be strong like they always are.
Wesleyan has underperformed in the past and will put out a solid side as always.  They are also not losing that much.
Middlebury will be very dangerous and fun to watch with Glazer and Conrad leading the charge as upperclassmen now.
Williams will be reinvigorated with Erin Sullivan at the helm and I think they will rebound from last year's dip.

5) Tufts - losing Williams, Hoppenot, Santos, Kramer etc. will be tough for them
6) Bowdoin - They also lose some key seniors and I think they over-performed this past year
7) Conn - I've really liked Conn in the past but I have heard rumblings about key players leaving, which will definitely hurt them
8) Colby - They keep improving every year and I think they will be better than Bates, Trinity, and Hamilton this year
9) Bates - Peabo is good and if he has a great season he could make some things happen for this squad
10) Trinity - Savonen leaving will hurt them
11) Hamilton - Kraynak, Reynolds, Abbott and Frost leaving will be tough on them

As for my NESCAC All-Star team of players I have played against:

If I made an All-Star team including Amherst players there would be a lot of Amherst players on there because I am obviously biased so I will refrain from including any Amherst players.

FWD:
Hawkey (Conn)
Conrad (Midd)
Hoppenot (Tufts)

MF:
Rory (Wes)
Pitney (Midd)
Devlin (Conn)

DF:
Bratt (Wes)
Brewster (Bowdoin)
Ratacjzak (Williams)
Freeman (Midd)

GK:
Purdy (Wes)

Bench:
Kraynak (Hamilton)
Santos (Tufts)
Issroff (Wes)
Patch (Conn)
Redmond (Midd)
Seitz (Williams)
Cahill (Midd)

[FourMoreYears]

Savonen is not leaving Trinity... last I knew he had decided to return.

[letsGOswans!]

Great reply GabWirz.

Out of curiosity, who were the best players you've played with at Amherst over the years? (if you don't mind sharing)

I also completely agree with you about how there are many players (like you) in the league who could play at a higher level and are more "skilled" then they might show.

[Brother Flounder]

In response to NCAC New England and Brother Flounder I thought Tufts was a very good team this past year because they had a very solid defense, a hard-working midfield, and special attacking players like Santos and Hoppenot who finally played up to their full potential.  They had the maturity to defend a 1-0 lead against Messiah for almost 90 minutes and I have nothing but respect for the likes of Williams, Santos, Hoppenot and the other players who led that team.

Predictions for this upcoming season are extremely tough because I believe that the NESCAC will have more parity than ever.

I think that the top 4 in no particular order will be Amherst, Wesleyan, Middlebury and Williams.
Amherst will be strong like they always are.
Wesleyan has underperformed in the past and will put out a solid side as always.  They are also not losing that much.
Middlebury will be very dangerous and fun to watch with Glazer and Conrad leading the charge as upperclassmen now.
Williams will be reinvigorated with Erin Sullivan at the helm and I think they will rebound from last year's dip.

5) Tufts - losing Williams, Hoppenot, Santos, Kramer etc. will be tough for them
6) Bowdoin - They also lose some key seniors and I think they over-performed this past year
7) Conn - I've really liked Conn in the past but I have heard rumblings about key players leaving, which will definitely hurt them
8) Colby - They keep improving every year and I think they will be better than Bates, Trinity, and Hamilton this year
9) Bates - Peabo is good and if he has a great season he could make some things happen for this squad
10) Trinity - Savonen leaving will hurt them
11) Hamilton - Kraynak, Reynolds, Abbott and Frost leaving will be tough on them

As for my NESCAC All-Star team of players I have played against:

If I made an All-Star team including Amherst players there would be a lot of Amherst players on there because I am obviously biased so I will refrain from including any Amherst players.

FWD:
Hawkey (Conn)
Conrad (Midd)
Hoppenot (Tufts)

MF:
Rory (Wes)
Pitney (Midd)
Devlin (Conn)

DF:
Bratt (Wes)
Brewster (Bowdoin)
Ratacjzak (Williams)
Freeman (Midd)

GK:
Purdy (Wes)

Bench:
Kraynak (Hamilton)
Santos (Tufts)
Issroff (Wes)
Patch (Conn)
Redmond (Midd)
Seitz (Williams)
Cahill (Midd)

I note your Tufts champion team analysis and all-star selection favor Hoopenot.  Many people on this forum complained about his all-NESCAC selection because he didn't score many goals as a forward.  I tend to agree with your analysis because the work he created allowed the mid-fielders to score many points and led to the Jumbo midfield being one of the best all-around midfields in the country.  I believe 3 of the 4 starting midfielders return next year. I don't know who will fill in for Hoppenot. It will be interesting to see.

[Mr.Right]

Wirz--You are an excellent player and I enjoyed watching you from 2012-2014. I do not remember you playing much your frosh year. I just have never bought the argument that by whacking the ball out of the back is overall better for the team. Amherst has lost the last 3 years in the NCAA's to teams that try to play on the ground. Williams and Brandeis throughout those years would usually like to possess the ball more than most.  Amherst effectively lured Williams and Brandeis both years into whacking more than they would have liked but they failed to advance the past 3 years. 2012 was Amherst most talented team I have ever seen and I have seen a ton of Amherst sides. That team was more than capable of possessing and playing and winning doing so. From a distance it seems that Serpone is to paranoid to play that way almost like he does not trust his backs enough to build up the attack on the ground. I guess I do not want to get to deep into this because I realize I am fighting a losing battle here. You have been tremendously successful in terms of wins and losses but failed to get to the NCAA Final 4. I would have thought Serpone might have changed his ways a bit and tried to change styles after all those tough end of the year losses.

I am most interested in what a typical Amherst practice was like...Maybe you could share?

Also, you Nescac All Star team is spot on except maybe Seitz,,,That was a bit of a stretch..He had a great 2012 soph year but really disappointed his last 2 years and was even benched both years halfway thru. He was the best wingback at going forward and working his ass off but he was just a very weak tackler.

[GabWirz]

Thank you for the kind words Mr. Right.  I am not one to make excuses, so I give the utmost credit to Williams in 2012 and 2013, and Brandeis in 2014 for beating us in the elite 8.  However, like you said, Williams and Brandeis did not exactly play possession-oriented soccer in those elite 8 games.  I think anyone who was at those games or played in those games would admit that they were very ugly, scrappy games due to the conditions.  Williams and Brandeis fought hard, and at the end of the day things went their way and not ours.  I have even heard from people that are more familiar with the Brandeis program than I am that they had such a successful season in 2014 because they had become tougher and more physical than they were in the past.  At the end of the day, I think everyone is entitled to their own opinion regarding which style is most effective.  I personally have the utmost faith in the way Coach Serpone and Coach Shea are doing things at Amherst, and I'd like to think that Amherst will get back to the final four soon. 

As for a typical Amherst practice:  It usually begins with an intense warmup.  We then work on our pregame lineup announcements and being loud on the bench.  This usually goes straight into practicing our WWE moves for around 25 minutes.  After that we practice hard tackling for about an hour, and we end with hitting long balls for around 20 minutes.  Just kidding.

We start with a warm up that usually goes into possession.  After possession there will likely be some defensive work for the backs and maybe some finishing for the attacking players.  We then usually end playing some sort of game.  Very similar to what I was used to playing club and academy.

In terms of Seitz, like you said, I really liked him because of how fit he was and because he loved to attack.  I also thought he served great crosses. 

[D3soccerwatcher]

In response to NCAC New England and Brother Flounder I thought Tufts was a very good team this past year because they had a very solid defense, a hard-working midfield, and special attacking players like Santos and Hoppenot who finally played up to their full potential.  They had the maturity to defend a 1-0 lead against Messiah for almost 90 minutes and I have nothing but respect for the likes of Williams, Santos, Hoppenot and the other players who led that team.

Predictions for this upcoming season are extremely tough because I believe that the NESCAC will have more parity than ever.

I think that the top 4 in no particular order will be Amherst, Wesleyan, Middlebury and Williams.
Amherst will be strong like they always are.
Wesleyan has underperformed in the past and will put out a solid side as always.  They are also not losing that much.
Middlebury will be very dangerous and fun to watch with Glazer and Conrad leading the charge as upperclassmen now.
Williams will be reinvigorated with Erin Sullivan at the helm and I think they will rebound from last year's dip.

5) Tufts - losing Williams, Hoppenot, Santos, Kramer etc. will be tough for them
6) Bowdoin - They also lose some key seniors and I think they over-performed this past year
7) Conn - I've really liked Conn in the past but I have heard rumblings about key players leaving, which will definitely hurt them
8) Colby - They keep improving every year and I think they will be better than Bates, Trinity, and Hamilton this year
9) Bates - Peabo is good and if he has a great season he could make some things happen for this squad
10) Trinity - Savonen leaving will hurt them
11) Hamilton - Kraynak, Reynolds, Abbott and Frost leaving will be tough on them

As for my NESCAC All-Star team of players I have played against:

If I made an All-Star team including Amherst players there would be a lot of Amherst players on there because I am obviously biased so I will refrain from including any Amherst players.

FWD:
Hawkey (Conn)
Conrad (Midd)
Hoppenot (Tufts)

MF:
Rory (Wes)
Pitney (Midd)
Devlin (Conn)

DF:
Bratt (Wes)
Brewster (Bowdoin)
Ratacjzak (Williams)
Freeman (Midd)

GK:
Purdy (Wes)

Bench:
Kraynak (Hamilton)
Santos (Tufts)
Issroff (Wes)
Patch (Conn)
Redmond (Midd)
Seitz (Williams)
Cahill (Midd)

I agree with Wirz -- that there is a likelihood that Tufts does not make the national tournament this year.

[Corazon]

I hear that Nico Pascual-Leone (Amherst) and Zach Grady (Williams) are both playing for the Western Mass Pioneers in the PDL? Surely these are the two most talented attacking players Western Mass have ever had, and they will lead the Pioneers to a superb season. Last season Western Mass finished third in the Eastern Conference with 8 wins, 4 losses, 2 draws. Thoughts on where these two NESCAC studs will take this team?

Well, apparently having the best player in the NESCAC (in my opinion) did not help the Western Mass Pioneers too much in the PDL. They finished with a record of 1 win, 11 losses and 2 ties, placing them dead last in their division and 60th of 63 PDL teams.

Looking forward to the real games.

[Corazon]

Welcome to the boards, GWirz. One of my pet peeves on the boards is the constant Amherst bashing. I guess that is to be expected somewhat when one team has such a dominant record (since Serpone's arrival). I've always thought the bashing of the playing style to be somewhat ironic as the team does have some of the most skilled players in the league - just last year, Wirz, Heo, Rico and Pascual-Leone to name a few, would rank as some of the most skilled players in the league. The criticism reminds me a bit of the criticism Chelsea faces in the EPL. Any team with Hazard, Oscar, Willian, Fabregas should not be criticized for their playing style but that is exactly what you hear. If Chelsea were a mid table team, no one would much care.

[Corazon]

Here are the NESCAC standings since Serpone arrived at Amherst in 2007 (3 points for win, 1 for tie):

Amherst - 175 points - 54-9-13
Williams - 151 points - 47-19-10
Wesleyan - 141 points - 44-23-9
Middlebury - 133 points - 40-23-13
Bowdoin - 110 points - 33-32-11
Tufts - 108 points - 32-32-12
Trinity - 100 points - 30-36-10
Conn - 87 points 24-37-15
Colby - 60 points - 17-50-9
Bates - 41 points - 11-57-8

Hamilton did not join the league until 2011 - record is 8-22-10 and pro-rated would fall in between Conn and Colby

[PaulNewman]

Welcome to the boards, GWirz. One of my pet peeves on the boards is the constant Amherst bashing. I guess that is to be expected somewhat when one team has such a dominant record (since Serpone's arrival). I've always thought the bashing of the playing style to be somewhat ironic as the team does have some of the most skilled players in the league - just last year, Wirz, Heo, Rico and Pascual-Leone to name a few, would rank as some of the most skilled players in the league. The criticism reminds me a bit of the criticism Chelsea faces in the EPL. Any team with Hazard, Oscar, Willian, Fabregas should not be criticized for their playing style but that is exactly what you hear. If Chelsea were a mid table team, no one would much care.

At least we agree here, Corazon. Amherst over the last 5-6 years has been one of the top 5 programs in the country...maybe top 3, with Messiah and Loras, and understanding that OWU, Wheaton, and maybe Trinity (TX) in that discussion.  I would assume their 40+ game win streak is unparalleled in NESCAC history.  Getting to (or not) the final four for a few teams has come down to PK shootouts.

[Corazon]

NCAC - Yup.  Not sure we disagree on the Duke comments either, as mine were meant for the other poster, who I thought had some pretty incredible views.

Looking forward to the season so that we can actually debate some live soccer!

[Brother Flounder]

In response to NCAC New England and Brother Flounder I thought Tufts was a very good team this past year because they had a very solid defense, a hard-working midfield, and special attacking players like Santos and Hoppenot who finally played up to their full potential.  They had the maturity to defend a 1-0 lead against Messiah for almost 90 minutes and I have nothing but respect for the likes of Williams, Santos, Hoppenot and the other players who led that team.

Predictions for this upcoming season are extremely tough because I believe that the NESCAC will have more parity than ever.

I think that the top 4 in no particular order will be Amherst, Wesleyan, Middlebury and Williams.
Amherst will be strong like they always are.
Wesleyan has underperformed in the past and will put out a solid side as always.  They are also not losing that much.
Middlebury will be very dangerous and fun to watch with Glazer and Conrad leading the charge as upperclassmen now.
Williams will be reinvigorated with Erin Sullivan at the helm and I think they will rebound from last year's dip.

5) Tufts - losing Williams, Hoppenot, Santos, Kramer etc. will be tough for them
6) Bowdoin - They also lose some key seniors and I think they over-performed this past year
7) Conn - I've really liked Conn in the past but I have heard rumblings about key players leaving, which will definitely hurt them
8) Colby - They keep improving every year and I think they will be better than Bates, Trinity, and Hamilton this year
9) Bates - Peabo is good and if he has a great season he could make some things happen for this squad
10) Trinity - Savonen leaving will hurt them
11) Hamilton - Kraynak, Reynolds, Abbott and Frost leaving will be tough on them

As for my NESCAC All-Star team of players I have played against:

If I made an All-Star team including Amherst players there would be a lot of Amherst players on there because I am obviously biased so I will refrain from including any Amherst players.

FWD:
Hawkey (Conn)
Conrad (Midd)
Hoppenot (Tufts)

MF:
Rory (Wes)
Pitney (Midd)
Devlin (Conn)

DF:
Bratt (Wes)
Brewster (Bowdoin)
Ratacjzak (Williams)
Freeman (Midd)

GK:
Purdy (Wes)

Bench:
Kraynak (Hamilton)
Santos (Tufts)
Issroff (Wes)
Patch (Conn)
Redmond (Midd)
Seitz (Williams)
Cahill (Midd)

I agree with Wirz -- that there is a likelihood that Tufts does not make the national tournament this year.

.

I think Amherst is the team to beat, although they are not as dominant as in the past.  Oh, and I see Tufts is being doubted again...just like last year.... If they can keep up on scoring they should do well.

[Corazon]

With the NESCAC season kicking off soon, I'd like to offer my pre-season predictions for all 11 teams.  I plan to eventually compile a consensus board rankings before the first games on Sept.8.  11 points for a #1 selection, 10 for #2, etc.  Might be fun to see how we do as a consensus ...

1. Amherst
2. Tufts
3. Middlebury
4. Williams
5. Wesleyan
6. Bowdoin
7. Colby
8. Conn
9. Bates
10. Trinity
11. Hamilton