NESCAC

[Mr.Right]

Williams and Wesleyan are knotted at 1-1 1st Half. Gass is a special player...Williams took a 1-0 lead over Wesleyan with a sick bike by Gass after a one hop off a free kick. Wesleyan should have dealt with it but Gass finished it poised and confident. Very even game as Wesleyan does have an upgrade in net this year and the Frosh Rubenstein is a skilled player. Wesleyan evened it up after Williams had given up a set piece and then was slow to react to Wesleyan's fast take. Alec Haas ended up with the ball at his feet turned his defender and hit it weakly but finished it off the hand of the Williams GK. Williams GK is a Frosh in his first game and it was not his best effort.

Colby gets 2 late Goals to pull away from Trinity 4-1. Colby's 2nd Goal in real time was the epitome of Trinity's woes...If there are lowlights anywhere check it out...

Might do a bit fuller write-up on this mostly evenly-matched Little Three match between Williams and Wesleyan later, but here are Williams' two relatively highlight-worthy goals to start:

Agree with the Williams/Wesleyan analysis.  Gass scored on a bicycle! I was mightily impressed. That was a professional looking goal. The game was not very pretty to watch and very aerial.  But Wesleyan didn't deserve that L.  The OT goal was flukey and unfortunate for Wesleyan. Though that first goal was really something.  Williams is a very athletic and as usual big team that uses it's height to its advantage.  Wesleyan frosh players looked much better than what I've seen in several years. Their RB Perchuck is a solid player. Didn't see him come off for a second.  LB Ranieri for Williams was very solid. Also didn't see him come off.

Yup Ranieri is Williams best 1v1 defender but because he is left footed he plays LB. Probably should be starting at CB but I have a feeling he doesn't because I am not sure who would replace him at LB.  I suppose the game was ugly but Barcelona circa 2010 would get frustrated trying to play tiki taka on Jackson field. I thought for it still being the 2nd/3rd game of the year where teams are still working through personnel, injuries, tactics etc I thought both teams battled hard and showed some skill and flair but yes the ball was in the air a ton and the game had no flow

[Mr.Right]

I know Conn won 1-0 but I like this Bates team -- good size, the way they're playing, and (could be wrong) what seems to be greater diversity than usual for NESCAC squads.  Assuming I'm on the right track, they are probably a year away but by the end of this season they may be a really tough out.  Colby made noise last year and it would be great to see Bates enjoy some success.

Conn won 1-0 but from the 20-30 minutes I watched Bates was right there the whole game. They have some pieces now with much more depth than they have had in a long time. They look to not only be more organized but they look physically bigger than they have in the past. The #5 Frederick Hohmann who made a terrible mistake to gift Conn a goal is a monster and presence and the Frosh from Berkshire is listed at 6'6 although that might be a stretch. The transfer from the Knox College (Prairie Fire), Owen Keleher is 6'4 and already has two goals. Guerrier from Worcester Academy is 6'3 and has a couple Goals. Besides Hohmann, all those others are additions in the off-season. Add all that to their 6'3 Captain Peder Bakken, 6'2 Captain GK David Goodstein, 6'3 bench player Kimpolo-Pene and you start to look around and realize you finally have some building blocks..We have not even discussed their most skilled player 5'6 Ike Opoku who interestingly in this 3-1-0 start to Bates season has been held pointless and only has 2 Shots in 4 games.


Monster game for Bates Wednesday night at Home v Bowdoin.

[Bobcat1]

I know Conn won 1-0 but I like this Bates team -- good size, the way they're playing, and (could be wrong) what seems to be greater diversity than usual for NESCAC squads.  Assuming I'm on the right track, they are probably a year away but by the end of this season they may be a really tough out.  Colby made noise last year and it would be great to see Bates enjoy some success.

Conn won 1-0 but from the 20-30 minutes I watched Bates was right there the whole game. They have some pieces now with much more depth than they have had in a long time. They look to not only be more organized but they look physically bigger than they have in the past. The #5 Frederick Hohmann who made a terrible mistake to gift Conn a goal is a monster and presence and the Frosh from Berkshire is listed at 6'6 although that might be a stretch. The transfer from the Knox College (Prairie Fire), Owen Keleher is 6'4 and already has two goals. Guerrier from Worcester Academy is 6'3 and has a couple Goals. Besides Hohmann, all those others are additions in the off-season. Add all that to their 6'3 Captain Peder Bakken, 6'2 Captain GK David Goodstein, 6'3 bench player Kimpolo-Pene and you start to look around and realize you finally have some building blocks..We have not even discussed their most skilled player 5'6 Ike Opoku who interestingly in this 3-1-0 start to Bates season has been held pointless and only has 2 Shots in 4 games.


Monster game for Bates Wednesday night at Home v Bowdoin.

Agreed, huge game on the turf Wednesday night.  Then a couple non-conference road games in State before Tufts comes to town at the end of the month to play on the new grass field.  I'm planning to see how the month plays out before getting too high on this team, but I really like the direction Sheikh is taking with the program and his roster.  They are a tough team to play against (Mr. Right has noted the size), but they need to learn how to win the big games... Wednesday night would be a start. Been a while since the 'Cats posted 3 points against Bowdoin.

[SlideTackle]

I know Conn won 1-0 but I like this Bates team -- good size, the way they're playing, and (could be wrong) what seems to be greater diversity than usual for NESCAC squads.  Assuming I'm on the right track, they are probably a year away but by the end of this season they may be a really tough out.  Colby made noise last year and it would be great to see Bates enjoy some success.

Conn won 1-0 but from the 20-30 minutes I watched Bates was right there the whole game. They have some pieces now with much more depth than they have had in a long time. They look to not only be more organized but they look physically bigger than they have in the past. The #5 Frederick Hohmann who made a terrible mistake to gift Conn a goal is a monster and presence and the Frosh from Berkshire is listed at 6'6 although that might be a stretch. The transfer from the Knox College (Prairie Fire), Owen Keleher is 6'4 and already has two goals. Guerrier from Worcester Academy is 6'3 and has a couple Goals. Besides Hohmann, all those others are additions in the off-season. Add all that to their 6'3 Captain Peder Bakken, 6'2 Captain GK David Goodstein, 6'3 bench player Kimpolo-Pene and you start to look around and realize you finally have some building blocks..We have not even discussed their most skilled player 5'6 Ike Opoku who interestingly in this 3-1-0 start to Bates season has been held pointless and only has 2 Shots in 4 games.


Monster game for Bates Wednesday night at Home v Bowdoin.

That Bates team is full of freshmen starters. Looks like a lot of quality young talent coming into the league. Always like to see that.

[Mr.Right]

You are correct. For a team to push forward and keep improving they most importantly must gain and retain confidence.

Mr.R's 101 Guide to "How do I know if my kids team has confidence"

1. I notice my kids team behind with 10-15 minutes left in some games but they still find a way to win some of those games.
2. I notice my kids team has a lead after the 75th minute and very rarely if ever lose that lead.
3. I notice my kids team does not walk off the field staring at bugs on the ground when the game ends.

[soccerfanatic]

Yup Ranieri is Williams best 1v1 defender but because he is left footed he plays LB. Probably should be starting at CB but I have a feeling he doesn't because I am not sure who would replace him at LB.  I suppose the game was ugly but Barcelona circa 2010 would get frustrated trying to play tiki taka on Jackson field. I thought for it still being the 2nd/3rd game of the year where teams are still working through personnel, injuries, tactics etc I thought both teams battled hard and showed some skill and flair but yes the ball was in the air a ton and the game had no flow
[/quote]
As an FYI about Wesleyan,  JJ Lacorte from Wesleyan who was expected to be one of their best players this year went down with a knee injury in pre-season....

[Middlebury Dad]

Middlebury defeats Mt. St. Mary's 1-0 to win home opener. Game was not that close as Midd hit 2 posts and missed 2 other wide open looks. Midd defense is solid, blocking shots and winning meatballs. Keeper had one tough save to make early and he did. 4 consecutive shutouts for Panthers. 

[d4_Pace]

Tufts with their best half of the year so far. Up 3-0 on wheaton and it could realistically have been 5 or 6.

[nescacfan94]

So Conn College puts up 8 against Trinity in an 8-2 win yesterday. Is CC that good, or is Trinity that bad?

[4231CenterBack]

I had the pleasure of watching Conn College dismantle a pretty good Endicott side last week in Beverly.  Conn College was the best college soccer team I have seen since I watched Messiah throttle Montclair State in Grantham 2 years ago.  It was a 4-1 final that could have been 6-1 if not for some heroics from the Gull's keeper. 

[nescacfan94]

I had the pleasure of watching Conn College dismantle a pretty good Endicott side last week in Beverly.  Conn College was the best college soccer team I have seen since I watched Messiah throttle Montclair State in Grantham 2 years ago.  It was a 4-1 final that could have been 6-1 if not for some heroics from the Gull's keeper.

I'll be curious to see how Conn College does against Amherst on Saturday. I'll see them in person next month and can provide more thoughts at that point. Until then, I'm looking forward to Bowdoin at Bates tonight. Hope it's a good one!

[Bobcat1]

I had the pleasure of watching Conn College dismantle a pretty good Endicott side last week in Beverly.  Conn College was the best college soccer team I have seen since I watched Messiah throttle Montclair State in Grantham 2 years ago.  It was a 4-1 final that could have been 6-1 if not for some heroics from the Gull's keeper. 

Did you watch them play Bates on their home pitch this past weekend? They managed just 5 shots in 90 minutes and had 1 corner. In fact, they were outplayed for significant stretches of the game, especially in the second half.   Let's keep some perspective here, and see how they fair at Amherst on Saturday before crowning them the "best soccer team" since Messiah 2017.

[blooter442]

Re: Conn. — I think the Trinity result was a combination of both the factors that nescacfan94 outlined. I also will give benefit of the doubt to 4231 and assume he means that the Camels are the best soccer team he has seen in person. Regardless, after making NCAAs two years in a row, I think the Camels need to advance past the first weekend of play before they can assert themselves as a national power. They were unlucky with both losses, against Rochester and Montclair, but most people don't think into it that much — results are results.

On tonight's action, I was actually at the game the last time Bates visited Bowdoin (2 years ago), and Bates had a lot of the play before falling to a late PK. Considering heading up there but the KO time of 8:00 is almost my bedtime (half kidding) and the 45-minute schlep home feels even longer at that hour. Either way, will be a good watch.

[PaulNewman]

Echos of Denny Green....

I actually had a slightly different take.  If Conn is really that good then this is very good news for Bates who as far as I could tell played the Camels even up.

[blooter442]

Bowdoin leads at half, 1-0, on a scrappy goal off a free kick Bates failed to clear. (streaming) Otherwise pretty even in terms of play.