NESCAC

[1970s NESCAC Player]

Jesus Colby with that PK win at Tufts. I was expecting a larger crowd but it was not that good of a day outside. The last two games, the mules have been extremely lucky in that no one seems to want to score. Bates had a couple open goals that they shanked and today, tufts should have easily won 4-5 to 0, colby had basically nothing on goal and tufts shanked a lot of open goals. Well done to them for getting to PKs and only missing one. Huge job by the goalkeeper, who has not played in another game, to win it for the mules. Although, he was starting very early and should have been retaken, but tufts pk shots were abysmal. A big weekend of upsets.

d3soccer, were you expecting a larger crowd of Tufts supporters?  I was at the game with several of my former Colby teammates and thought that the Colby group was larger and more vocal than the Tufts group.

Tufts had a wide edge in possession and plenty of shots (although most were blocked), but appear to suffer from the same inability to finish that plagued them in last year's NCAAs.  They certainly better spend a lot of time practicing PKs before their next game.

[Flying Weasel]

So I guess this means a third national title for the Jumbos a la 2014 Tufts, 2015 Amherst, and 2016 Tufts who were all eliminated in the NESCAC quarterfinals on the way national titles.

I guess I have to root for Messiah to lose to Lycoming in the Commonwealth Final as the only hope for stopping Tufts!

[PaulNewman]

So I guess this means a third national title for the Jumbos a la 2014 Tufts, 2015 Amherst, and 2016 Tufts who were all eliminated in the NESCAC quarterfinals on the way national titles.

I guess I have to root for Messiah to lose to Lycoming in the Commonwealth Final as the only hope for stopping Tufts!

And the rest of us are wondering if it's too much to ask to have more than a binary choice/result.  I believe the last time we had a non-Messiah, non-NESCAC winner was from that upstart OWU way back in 2011.

[amh63]

After the weekend "upsets" ....a most interesting thread on this board.  Credit should be given to the winners, IMO. 

[Falconer]

So I guess this means a third national title for the Jumbos a la 2014 Tufts, 2015 Amherst, and 2016 Tufts who were all eliminated in the NESCAC quarterfinals on the way national titles.

I guess I have to root for Messiah to lose to Lycoming in the Commonwealth Final as the only hope for stopping Tufts!

And the rest of us are wondering if it's too much to ask to have more than a binary choice/result.  I believe the last time we had a non-Messiah, non-NESCAC winner was from that upstart OWU way back in 2011.

A wonderful team that was, led by the great Travis Wall. Somehow they lost to DePauw in the NCAC tournament, 4-2, after going 9-0 in the conference regular season. Their only other blemish was a 2-1 home loss on opening day to the Falcons, when Danny Thompson picked up a loose ball in the first minute and scored, and his brother Jack got another before Wall got one back.  For their part, the Falcons somehow lost at home to Neumann 1-0 in their opening tournament game (after a first-round bye). That season, the Bishops and the Falcons combined to go 41-3-1. They haven't met since that opening day game. Love to see them play again, in the Final Four this time. 

[Mr.Right]

Congratulations go out to Colby for advancing to the Men's Soccer Nescac Semi-Finals for the first time in their history. They had been the only school to not have an appearance in the Nescac Semi's since the tournament's inception in 2000. It took them 19 years but they have finally done it. In my predictions I had given Colby a serious chance to advance if they did 3 things well. 1. Disciplined defensively 2. 100% focus and hard work all game 3. A little luck. All three happened and they moved on to Amherst next weekend. There is nothing better for a program like Colby that is used to their season ending in late October every year to get an extra week of practice and a sniff of their first possible NCAA berth. They have a ton of work to do before that can happen but at least they now have the confidence to do it and can see it off in the distance rather than it being a pipe dream.

I have been touting Colby GK Dan Carlson all year as he has proven to be one of the better shot stoppers in the league. He cost Colby one game in the middle of the season on a horrible mistake late in the match v Bowdoin that cost his team BUT other than that mistake he has played VERY well all year. He has kept Colby in games and won them games from the get go and he played almost a flawless game yesterday at Tufts. He commands his area very well and shows courage coming for the ball he also from a distance comes across very even keeled. Not to up and not to down and does not get down on himself if he makes a mistake. That type of attitude can be infectious to his teammates and you can see they totally trust him back there. I also like that he rarely comes "charging" out of his net carelessly and takes a more conservative approach as a GK. The one position where I like guys to be a little more conservative is GK and he has a knack for reading the play and waiting for the right time to make his move.

I have been very critical of Colby's wingbacks this season especially #6 Grady Jendzejec who has cost Colby a couple games all by himself this season. Well both wingbacks played well yesterday and did not make many mistakes and if they did Colby CB's and holders had their backs. I also was a little surprised to see Colby take a few risks on occasion yesterday as both wingbacks but especially Jendzejec who is pacey make overlapping runs to give Colby numbers in attack. Again it was not happening all game but a couple times he went and you have to take risks in a game against Tufts to try to score.

I thought holding midfielder Asa Berolzheimer worked his ass off all game along with Wyett McDonald who is usually attacking but he was playing deep yesterday. CB's Pugh and Dickey played well also as Pugh was everywhere and Dickey did reasonably well on Braun even though Braun did get free a number of times but just could not finish. Braun missed about 3 point blank opportunities as he has been scoring on those all year but yesterday Colby had lady luck with them as the net must have looked as big as a hockey goal to Braun. Braun actually busted his butt all game and looked like a stud except for the finishing part which is what he is in there for.

As predicted Rosenberg and Douglas out wide were excellent using their speed on the rare counter opportunities but also giving Colby defenders a breather by causing some problems for Tufts with the ball at their feet. Douglas had a real solid game. Actually, the lone striker Pereira I thought had one of the better games of the season as he was using his speed and skill to go at Tufts as well. Pereira at times looked very dangerous but most importantly he was tracking back all game and helping his teammates defend.

The one is issue I have been saying all year is the absolute lack of depth Colby has. They are in fairness only about 13 deep as their bench is so much weaker than Tufts bench which is a testament to Colby's fitness and focus by its starters. They use Fabricant off the bench and he has gotten a couple goals for them, Tower is a huge striker but has no skill so he is only helpful on set pieces. Actually, Tower played very little yesterday. Howarth, Walker and Sullivan are all good for a 10 minute run but offer nothing really special off the bench. My point is if Colby were to have another game today I am betting by the 70th minute they would be much more gassed than their opponent. So next weekend will be difficult for them with a back to back. Difficult but not impossible.

I thought Colby as usual was very organized defensively and played as a team all game. That is all Seabrook as he is a great defensive Head Coach and knows what he is doing. EXCEPT----How many times do these Head Coaches do this in PK's....Seabrook almost cost his team the game when he used a Frosh Ryan Seaman as his 4th kicker. The KID HAD NOT PLAYED ALL GAME so he is ICE COLD and not into the feel of the game like all the other field players plus he is a FROSH. So he fluffed it wide but luckily Carlson saved his ass with a big save. I will say this until I go blue in the face STOP using kids that have not played in the game to take PK's. Just because a kid goes 10/10 on PK's in practice against your own GK does not mean in a game that he will be that reliable. There is a ton of pressure in that situation and the kid was obviously nervous as he looked to have rushed a bit and whacked it to Mieth's left. Speaking of Mieth he tried to get his boys pumped up before the PK's started but chest thumping and getting in Colby's first kicker Clouse's face to throw him off and Clouse calmly ripped it into the panel...There is nothing that will shut a GK up faster that is using those shenanigans than scoring on him in PK's and by the end Mieth was not only not getting in Colby kickers faces he was bitching to the ref that Carlson was jumping early. So that is how you know you are on the right track although I will give Mieth a nod because it did look at least on one of the PK's that Carlson jumped early but who knows and frankly Mieth knows that there are not many linesman with the sack to raise his flag on that. There are some that will and because more and more GK'ers are jumping early they are starting to call that but it still is less than 50/50 IMO that they call it.


So with only 19 Pool C's in all D3 and maybe 1 Pool B that will be used you are down to 18 Pool C(At-large berths) in all of D3. Tufts and now Conn College will get 2 of those to bring the total down to 16 nationwide. If Amherst does not win this weekend they will take another one and all of a sudden Williams is in the hunt again by knocking off Middlebury. Bowdoin is still on the bubble IMO because yes they did lose 2 games this week but they lost to ranked teams and their SOS should shoot up. Bowdoin is right now on the wrong side of the bubble because Conn, Tufts, Midd and Williams are all in front of them this Wedensday if I had to guess. Not to mention Babson who was ranked third and would anyone be shocked if they get knocked out of the Newmac Tournament by WPI or Springfield. I think what happened in Nescac yesterday shows the parity in all of D3 and I expect this trend to continue with a ton of top teams going down in upsets all across D3 which will start to knock bubble teams out one by one. Williams gets to play Hamilton Saturday in one Semi and they have had real solid success against Hamilton in Sullivan's tenure BUT I would of rather seen them play an Amherst or Tufts because if they could have knocked off one of those teams they would be an easy Pool C pick IMO. Now Hamilton might get ranked Wednesday so a Win over Hamilton could still be considered legit. Because Williams and Midd split two games this week I do not see Williams jumping Midd in the rankings. I would guess it would stay:

1. Tufts
2. Conn
3. Babson
4. Amherst
5. Midd

then you will see some change.......

6. Williams


Then you have some real question marks. Brandeis goes 0-3-0 on the week against all ranked opponents and will finish with what I am guessing is the highest SOS in maybe D3 History. Bowdoin went 0-2-0 against ranked teams. I think those two will stay ranked but who know where they will be placed. There were no upsets in the CCC so you have Roger Williams, Gordon, Endicott and Salve Regina all advancing. I think Roger Williams and Endicott move up but not much and finally Salve Regina SHOULD crack the rankings. St.Joe's could move up a spot. Springfield lost to Endicott but beat Wheaton so they are still alive and WPI I am almost positive will crack the rankings after having a flawless week and I bet could get to #10.

My point is after Williams at #6 there are a ton of question marks and I am not sure anyone in New England past #6 gets a Pool C and Williams still has work to do to get a Pool C IMO.

[1970s NESCAC Player]

Great piece Mr. Right.  Perhaps you did not notice from the stream, but Colby actually used GK Matt Johnson off the bench in the shootout . . .  That said, Carlson was immense through the OTs.

[Mr.Right]

Really??  Wow I did not notice that well congrats to Johnson for coming up HUGE....I do not think he played a minute all year or maybe he did against some of the weaker non conference opponents. Also, a pat on the back to Seabrook for having the guts and knowledge to use him. It takes sack to go to your backup on PK's because he might look good in practice but as I said there is a ton of pressure in a real live situation. He made 2 great saves and Tufts Delaney absolutely SHANKED his kick which was about as bad as Springfield kickers looked at Amherst last year in the 2017 NCAA's. I thought Van Brewer telegraphed his kick as well. I still think both Tufts and Conn will be hosting 1st/2nd Rnd Pods but both lost a key opportunity as they will not get 1 of the 2 1st Round byes and will also get tougher pods. I could easily see St.Joe's going to either pod if they can win the GNAC along with Babson and a team from the Mid-Atlantic. Conn's pod could have 2 teams from a different region because of their geography which would be nice to see.

[Brother Flounder]

I don't know if "torched" is the right word  but it's true - I don't remember the last time...but it looks like it was IN 2009!

Wow. That is astounding - that is when Ralph Ferrigno coached Tufts and had basically mailed it in. I guess a Shapiro-coached Tufts has never allowed more than two goals to an opponent...until today.

From the Tufts athletics archives:
Sat.   24, 2009   at Williams*   1-3 L

I've been a reader of this page since the first Tufts title but only now have decided to post.

I can assure you that Coach Shapiro has suffered a defeat while allowing 3 goals - mostly because I was on the pitch when we lost 3/0 to Middlebury in the Nescac QFs in 2010, Shapiro's first year with the program.

Absolutely anectodal and adds no content to the current discussion, but I couldn't bear this page having false information on it 

Welcome, Past Jumbo! I'm surprised that PaulNewman hasn't chimed in on this one, but Kenyon defeated Tufts 3-2 in the 2015 Sweet 16.

Yeah, I have no interest in flaming up my pal Brother Flounder into a mini-discussion that I can't win (i.e. Tufts with 2 national titles and Lords with zero) AND thinking about that game only reminds me of the misery that happened the next day in Gambier.

Your post did get me to thinking that I am pretty sure Kenyon is #1 on any list of D3 men's soccer programs over the past 5 years that should have made a final four but didn't.  Probably not wording that exactly right.....what team over the past five years based on overall success during that five years would be considered next in line to have made a final four.

P.S.  The only other schools that come to mind (and I could be missing one or two) are Franklin & Marshall and Trinity (TX).

Go Kenyon!!!

[Brother Flounder]

So I guess this means a third national title for the Jumbos a la 2014 Tufts, 2015 Amherst, and 2016 Tufts who were all eliminated in the NESCAC quarterfinals on the way national titles.

I guess I have to root for Messiah to lose to Lycoming in the Commonwealth Final as the only hope for stopping Tufts!

I was thinking the same thing.... lol

[PaulNewman]

So I guess this means a third national title for the Jumbos a la 2014 Tufts, 2015 Amherst, and 2016 Tufts who were all eliminated in the NESCAC quarterfinals on the way national titles.

I guess I have to root for Messiah to lose to Lycoming in the Commonwealth Final as the only hope for stopping Tufts!

I was thinking the same thing.... lol

Welcome home, my friend.

[Off Pitch]

Also, a pat on the back to Seabrook for having the guts and knowledge to use him. It takes sack to go to your backup on PK's because he might look good in practice but as I said there is a ton of pressure in a real live situation.

Against Trinity in the second round of the 2011 NCAA tournament, Babson Coach Anderson used a field player (midfielder Salomon Guindi) in goal for PK's in place of healthy All-Region GK Crowley.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvpmsBCFOsM

[rangerfan]

I was at the Bowdoin-Amherst game yesterday and have a question for the experts here. WTF is up with NESCAC refs? As a Grade 8 ref myself, I've got years of experience on this subject with the younger crowd. I thought that game yesterday was completely out of hand from the get go. IMHO, Mike the ref didn't call much that deserved a whistle (including two handed grabs, vicious elbows, obvious jersey pulling etc...), blew it a few times unexpectedly on soft, mysterious fould, and worst of all, he let the Amherst bench and players continually show him up, scream in his face (Amherst #10 should have had multiple yellows!), and endlessly waste time. The game was the most physical soccer game I have seen, and I saw Cornell play in person last year, so that says a lot!

Also saw at least 2 flip throws in directly in front of us that were questionable--no feet on the ground when the ball was released. Granted, that's tough to call and I can let that go. But the over the backs with forearm shivers on headers, grabbing of hips, and overall needless banging and trash talking had me leave that field quite down on NESCAC soccer in general. Can someone talk me off the edge here? Is NESCAC soccer always like this, or was it because it was a playoff game?!

[rudy]

I was at the Bowdoin-Amherst game yesterday and have a question for the experts here. WTF is up with NESCAC refs? As a Grade 8 ref myself, I've got years of experience on this subject with the younger crowd. I thought that game yesterday was completely out of hand from the get go. IMHO, Mike the ref didn't call much that deserved a whistle (including two handed grabs, vicious elbows, obvious jersey pulling etc...), blew it a few times unexpectedly on soft, mysterious fould, and worst of all, he let the Amherst bench and players continually show him up, scream in his face (Amherst #10 should have had multiple yellows!), and endlessly waste time. The game was the most physical soccer game I have seen, and I saw Cornell play in person last year, so that says a lot!

Also saw at least 2 flip throws in directly in front of us that were questionable--no feet on the ground when the ball was released. Granted, that's tough to call and I can let that go. But the over the backs with forearm shivers on headers, grabbing of hips, and overall needless banging and trash talking had me leave that field quite down on NESCAC soccer in general. Can someone talk me off the edge here? Is NESCAC soccer always like this, or was it because it was a playoff game?!

One word. Amherst. I went to Tufts Colby game and only a few non calls on what looked to be fouls against Tufts. There are a handful of teams across the country that play this way. Falconer can tell you about Lycoming. I don't think shoves in the back, tripping often, and pulling on players arms and shirts is uncommon with these teams. Depending on the ref it will either continue all game or put to a stop via yellow cards and warnings.

[NESCAC11]

I was at the Bowdoin-Amherst game yesterday and have a question for the experts here. WTF is up with NESCAC refs? As a Grade 8 ref myself, I've got years of experience on this subject with the younger crowd. I thought that game yesterday was completely out of hand from the get go. IMHO, Mike the ref didn't call much that deserved a whistle (including two handed grabs, vicious elbows, obvious jersey pulling etc...), blew it a few times unexpectedly on soft, mysterious fould, and worst of all, he let the Amherst bench and players continually show him up, scream in his face (Amherst #10 should have had multiple yellows!), and endlessly waste time. The game was the most physical soccer game I have seen, and I saw Cornell play in person last year, so that says a lot!

Also saw at least 2 flip throws in directly in front of us that were questionable--no feet on the ground when the ball was released. Granted, that's tough to call and I can let that go. But the over the backs with forearm shivers on headers, grabbing of hips, and overall needless banging and trash talking had me leave that field quite down on NESCAC soccer in general. Can someone talk me off the edge here? Is NESCAC soccer always like this, or was it because it was a playoff game?!

One word. Amherst. I went to Tufts Colby game and only a few non calls on what looked to be fouls against Tufts. There are a handful of teams across the country that play this way. Falconer can tell you about Lycoming. I don't think shoves in the back, tripping often, and pulling on players arms and shirts is uncommon with these teams. Depending on the ref it will either continue all game or put to a stop via yellow cards and warnings.

I am with you Rangerfan. My explanation is that the games at Amherst are like that most of the time. That's the way they play and the Amherst team takes its cues from serpone who gets out of hand. The visiting teams expect it and come to the field with an overly aggressive style. The refs are in a tough spot from the opening minutes. Interestingly, the visiting team then shows up at its next game still in this crazy mindset and starts the games overly aggressive again until they are either carded a lot or regain their bearings.