NESCAC

[ECSUalum]

Congrats to the Lord Jeffs on another "CAC" Conference title!!!!

[Jump4Joy]

Only saw about half the match but I did see the winning goal.  My reaction to Morrell's decision making on the sequence of plays that lead to the goal...

          

Meanwhile, Bull at the other end makes a quality save when he must to preserve the victory. Too few shots on goal for both teams. Bull is the real deal and should get some HUGE props from the league this year.

[madzillagd]

http://www.d3soccer.com/ncaatournament/2013/men/2013-mens-participants

Tournament participants announced.  Williams the only squad to get an At-Large bid

[nescac1]

Interesting bracket.  Amherst has a very good shot at the Final Four as the Jeffs will be hosting all the way and that quarter of the bracket is not the strongest.  Things are pretty favorable for Williams as well, hosting the first two rounds.  If both teams take care of business, there could be an intriguing second round mentor-apprentice battle in Billsville between Mike Russo and (Williams coach-in-waiting?) Erin Sullivan of WNEC.  Looking way ahead it would be fun to see a rematch of last year's Elite 8 Williams-Amherst showdown.  But both teams have a lot of work to do first. 

One of the brackets is beyond stacked:  Ohio Wesleyan, Messiah, Wheaton (IL), three traditional powerhouses there, very tough. 

[All NESCAC]

Tough to see only two (2) teams from the NESCAC make the tournament cut...especially when other New England teams from weaker conferences make the cut, but such is the nature of "automatic bids".  Don't have a problem with "at large bids" given the records of NESCAC (other than Amherst/Williams), but somehow leaving out Bowdoin/Wesleyan/Middlebury/Conn/Tufts (I know they butchered each other up) and including Elms, Bridgewater St, Thomas (ME) seems wrong, but it's NESCAC's own fault for only playing 14 games.  If they played 18 games (like most colleges) and added another 4 non-league games, then likely add 4 more wins on all 5 of these NESCAC teams and you have some pretty good records with 12/13/14 wins and then you easily could have had 2 or 3 more at large bids this year.  Only day dreaming of what could have should have happened because the 5 NESCAC teams left out of the NCAA's would like do as well if not better than most of the other New England colleges selected (not that any of them,  other than Amherst really has a great chance to advance to final 4).  Good luck Lord Jeffs and Ephmen....hope you both have a strong and long run this year. Go NESCAC!

[PaulNewman]

^^^^Also creates some nice first round matchups for the NESCACs that do make it.  That's the other side of the coin.

[amh63]

Seems that Amherst's bracket is the only one without a first round "bye".   Can anyone explain the rational here...and/ or the selection of 51 teams.
For posters that remarked about the conference selection of "only" two members and relate that to the 14 game schedule ....how do you explain the Women side selection with 5 teams selected...the most for a conference....and also playing a "short?"schedule.

[All NESCAC]

For posters that remarked about the conference selection of "only" two members and relate that to the 14 game schedule ....how do you explain the Women side selection with 5 teams selected...the most for a conference....and also playing a "short?"schedule.

Good question from Amherst---difference between the men and women for the 2013 season is this:  The bottom 5 teams for women in NESCAC this year each only had 1 conference win each (bad teams not much parity in the league top to bottom), thus you had 5 bad teams who basically got beat by all the top 6 NESCAC teams, thus women's side top 5 teams had win totals of 13/12/11/12/9...for the top 5 teams they basically had 5 easy in conference games and 4 easier non-conference games, thus 9 easy wins which makes for good winning % and multiple team entries into NCAA even with a "short schedule".   Contrast that to the men's side in NESCAC, where they only had two (bottom 2) relative "easy teams" this year and thus only 6 (2 conference/4 non) potential easy victories...thus teams  #3 through 8 on men's side only had wins of 10,9 or 8 because they all butchered each other up within the league with only Amherst & Williams getting to 11+ wins.  In a year of relative parity on the men's side (other than Amherst...and even they were tied by Hamilton #8 and Conn #7) you are hurt by the short schedule and lower winning %.  On the women's side there were 4 superior teams and one very good team, 1 average team and 5 pretty mediocre to bad teams, thus 5 made it.  Winning % is the key ingredient and the parity (#2 through #9 on Men's side all could beat each other) on the men's side basically hurt the conference.   An expanded schedule could have helped the men's side winning %(especially if against other good New England competition) and would have likely solidified the women's NESCAC choices (same 5 would have been chosen).  Pure conjecture, but on the men's side Bowdoin/Wesleyan/Tufts/Middlebury/Conn/Hamilton were all pretty good teams who were left on the outside looking in.  Of course the other side of the argument is if they were that good then 2 or 3 of these teams would have finished with 7 or 8 conference wins instead of 4, 5 or 6 and made it even with a "short schedule".  Future advice--play better and win because they won't be expanding the schedule.

[PaulNewman]

Another possibility.  The NESCAC just  wasn't as strong as past years.  Nothing has changed in terms of number of games and most common non-conference opponents and NESCAC has a history of getting 3-4 teams.  Often the complaint is the other way, that they too many.  The other factor was the large number of other teams in the region that had outstanding records.

[lastguyoffthebench]

One of the brackets is beyond stacked:  Ohio Wesleyan, Messiah, Wheaton (IL), three traditional powerhouses there, very tough.
[/quote]

Rutgers-Camden pod is also stacked.  The only thing that benefits them is a bye.  IF win over Lycoming/Kings, having to play either #4 Stevens or #6 in a Sweet 16 Matchup... IF win, then a matchup from either MSU or one of the top two teams in the UAA (Rochester or CMU)....

[KICKIN95]

That is this years "Group of Death"

[Jim Matson]

Rutgers-Camden is tough. That pod will be a struggle, especially with Stevens...the best team to never quite get there.

I said over on another board that I thought OWU and Messiah are really the top teams in that pod. The other "traditional powerhouse" may see some challenges this year.

The NESCAC women are just that much stronger than the men this season. Maybe the committee grabbed one team too many, but I'll bet no one will look back in a week and second guess that particular decision.

[amh63]

Thanks to all for responses to my questions.  The board is set ...so let the race for the title begin!

[cacattack]

Congrats to Amherst but does anyone else think its hard to comprehend that two Williams players suffered broken legs and one was cut down from behind, in the box, all without a whistle from the Ref?
The intent to injure was unmistakable and the Ref allowed a good soccer game to turn into a street brawl.
The NESCAC must review the tape of that game and act accordingly.

[All NESCAC]

Not hard to comprehend the injuries suffered by Williams vs Amherst....Amherst plays overly aggressive bordering on dirty and they are very big and very physical.  They push the envelope in every game and turn it into a street brawl ugly soccer.  If they only get called 1/3rd of the time for fouls then they've gained advantage on the other 2/3rd of the time fouls not called.  They also constantly move up 15 yards on every thrown in....again gaining an advantage....not saying its right or proper, but ultimately they win.  I hope the Williams players heal quickly and very sorry to hear about their injuries.  I did watch the game on video and it was a street brawl.  I'm sure if Williams has a problem with these specific plays and intent to injure they will be reviewed by NESCAC, but the problem will be how long the process may take and what if any punishment (if it is reviewed at all and if it is found to be warranted) would happen and when.  Regardless, despite the injuries, good luck to both teams in the NCAA's.