NESCAC

[amh63]

Gee...Amherst wins over the Jumbos.  Must be due to the GRASS field...heh!
Amherst has more talented players that played aggressive and with their feet and speed. 
Tufts did a lot of "hands"...refs let them play though.

[Falconer]

Tufts totally fell asleep from the kickoff, which is very unlike the Jumbos given how strong they usually are in the first and last few minutes of periods. Amherst (Giammattei) stormed right through the middle of the field and while a couple of the bounces of the ball in that sequence seemed fortunate it was great work by him to stay with it and finish. Tufts has gone from perfect record and NESCAC/National favorite to 2nd favorites in both of those senses in 10 days. Even before today Giammattei seemed to be clear favorite for NESCAC PoY, something that seems even more nailed-on now, although we've seen Amherst players equally well-positioned snubbed before (e.g. Pascual-Leone). Crazy how less than two weeks can massively alter perceptions, and I don't think any of us saw Tufts losing two games in the regular season let alone in 3 days. Massive goal for Amherst, both in terms of playoff implications and psychology. Might 2019 be another 2015? Hell of a battle at the top going on, but it's advantage Amherst and it's tough to see the Mammoths relinquish it. Still probably a few more twists to come, but, wow.

Excellent summary of the sudden death, Blooter. +K. I felt overall afterwards that Amherst deserved this one--they seriously hustled, especially on defense, and seemed to gain more control as the game went on. As you pointed out, Tufts could have won it near the end of regulation, but the Mammoth keeper made a splendid save--and Amherst could have won it earlier, when the Tufts keeper did likewise. But, Amherst probably had more dangerous shots than Tufts.

[Mr.Right]

Hamilton v Tufts about to get underway...Will Tufts make any changes? I am sure they will because they will want fresh legs on a back to back so it will be hard to tell the actual reasoning for any of the potential lineup switches.

Under Nizzi Hamilton usually finds a way to stay tight with top teams. The great thing is when Hamilton does not stay with their opponents they usually get blown off the field so we should know very quickly. I have a hunch Hamilton GK Benson is going to be busy and might have something to prove in this  game. Benson and Eckels should be on the same page and must be to stay organized back there.

For Tufts...I have an idea what to expect the first 10 minutes but still unsure what will transpire afterward.....

[Mr.Right]

Well ok we know a GK switch is a benching.....Harned had to be sacked.....So Shapiro sticks to his guns for the most part...

[Mr.Right]

Tufts starting to control play at about the 10th minute. They are playing nice futbol keeping the ball on the grass except for their final ball as it has been off so far. Still no dangerous chances yet for Tufts while Hamilton had one close call in the opening minutes that wasn't a big deal.

[Mr.Right]

Tufts CB Will Raphael having a nightmare 1st Half giving the ball away and also some bad fouls in dangerous areas....Rojas just gave one away at midfield lazily and Wood took advantage with a nice thru ball to Ross Wetzel who should have finished it 1v1 with Tufts GK Kinderman and a defender breathing down his neck....good up and down game though..0-0

[Mr.Right]

good chance there for Tufts started by Aroh who drove a 20 yard bullet on the grass into the path of a sprinting Tasker who gave a cheeky backheel that found Lane who just clipped it high....Then Tasker gets in on Benson but a tough angle prevents a dangerous hit..could not tell if he should have put it on his left

[Mr.Right]

Tufts goes up 1-0 on a set piece hit by Van Brewer that found a WIDE OPEN Paoletta who broke free from the pack and Hamilton completely lost him...lack of concentration on defense for Hamilton right there. Still it is only 1-0 and Hamilton has had a couple opportunities. I would not give up just yet if I were the Continentals.

[Mr.Right]

Hamilton knots it up at 1 on an Aidan Wood PK...car horns blaring.....pretty weak PK but Hamilton will take whatever it can get right now...Tufts hit the bar and was all over Hamilton in the first 5 minutes but now its 1-1...

[Mr.Right]

Tufts starting to really apply some pressure on Hamilton's backline and Benson who has made a couple nice saves.

[jumpshot]

One of the poorest efforts by Williams men's soccer in recent memory today, a 1-1 draw versus Westfield State.
Ephs have 32 shots, Westfield 6; only 11 of Ephs shots on goal. Ephs have 16 corners versus 0 for Westfield. Williams hampered by casual play, lots of turnovers, soft shots right at the goalie. Lack of running back on defense. Team appears soft, uncaring. Need some men who love to play the game, not simply feel entitled to wear a proud uniform. An unselfish, cohesive, aggressive offense would help as well.

Quite an obvious contrast to current direct mammoth squad, and intensity and skill of Tufts, Midd, Conn.

Pull up your socks, boys ....

[Mr.Right]

One of the poorest efforts by Williams men's soccer in recent memory today, a 1-1 draw versus Westfield State.
Ephs have 32 shots, Westfield 6; only 11 of Ephs shots on goal. Ephs have 16 corners versus 0 for Westfield. Williams hampered by casual play, lots of turnovers, soft shots right at the goalie. Lack of running back on defense. Team appears soft, uncaring. Need some men who love to play the game, not simply feel entitled to wear a proud uniform. An unselfish, cohesive, aggressive offense would help as well.

Quite an obvious contrast to current direct mammoth squad, and intensity and skill of Tufts, Midd, Conn.

Pull up your socks, boys ....

I really can not refute any of that since I did not see the game but your last 4 sentences are depressing to this fan.

[Mr.Right]

Not a good start to the mid-week start some of these Nescac teams..

Williams---Draw at 3-8-1 Westfield....long gone are the days of a 10-0 Win at Westfield St in 2003 that prompted an immediate dropping by the Westfield AD. 

Bates---All these great Nescac results, all this effort and then THIS....Bates could have realistically been in serious consideration for a Pool C and then they go out and lose AT HOME to Maine Maritime??? I have nothing on this game but luckily they will face an even more damaged animal in Williams this weekend but jeez not a good look at all...

Conn---A 2-1 loss at Babson is not at all surprising to any of us. I did think with the way Conn plays they would be able to keep Babo off the board but can we just say Anderson had full confidence in his team this year. The schedule he put together this past year is really incredible and honestly one of the better ones he has ever had. Not only that he is actually getting rewarded for it with some HUGE wins.

Midd---Interesting match at WPI...0-0 is probably a fair result as I am sure each team had some looks

[blooter442]

Bates---All these great Nescac results, all this effort and then THIS....Bates could have realistically been in serious consideration for a Pool C and then they go out and lose AT HOME to Maine Maritime??? I have nothing on this game but luckily they will face an even more damaged animal in Williams this weekend but jeez not a good look at all...

Definitely not a great look but the good news for them is that MMA will (all but certainly) not be ranked. 2012 was the year that the league got each of Amherst (AQ), Williams, Tufts, and Wesleyan in because Wes. ran Amherst close in their NESCAC semi before losing 1-0 I think and Tufts took Williams to PKs in the same round. If Bates goes 1-1-1 in their last three I think they are in a decent spot, even better if they can (get and) win a home NESCAC quarterfinal. I remember people talking of them as a potential Pool C back in 2015 — they went 5-1-1 in their first 7 — but then the wheels kinda fell off in October (they played Tufts, Amherst, and Middlebury at home and got 1 point out of 9, and that was more because Tufts couldn't hit a barn door that day). This year seems different.

As for game-by-game, Amherst has to be favorites for that 10/26 matchup — bummed because I will be out of town that weekend — but based on what I saw of Iwowo against Tufts, I think he (and his teammates) will give Amherst a hard time, particularly considering they will be at home. Williams historically would be confident of a win, particularly at home, but Bates is 2-1-1 against Williams since 2015 (fully noting that Bates' 2015 was a smash-and-grab where they equalized with less than 2 minutes left and won it fortunately in OT). Colby will be a grudge match and it's at their place but Bates won there two years ago and would be favorites based on current form. Bottom line is I think they're in a decent spot but still have some work to do. If they go 0-3 in the last three then they're probably toast barring winning the NESCAC but if they can get a couple positive results I think they'll be in with a shout.

[BendIt007]

I had to take a day to recover before making notes on Conn's 1-2 loss to Babson.  As a Camel fan, very hard to watch them lose this one.

Conn definitely played better the first half, controlling the ball and got rewarded in 32 minute.  1-0.  And it looked like more could follow...and it seemed they had the game and flow under control.

Babson came out playing as hard as they did in the first half, and Conn played okay but didn't seem to have the intensity they had in the first half. In fact, I was thinking - where's the fire, come on.   That eventually was the difference in my book.  Beavers played well individually and as a team, worked and scored a nice goal.  Then they kept it up to score again late in the second half. 

Conn played back-up goal keeper, but can't say that had an impact on the result. Perhaps on Babson's second goal where he came out and they put it over his head.  But that may have happened to any goalie. 

So... congratulations to Babson who stuck in there, hustled and played the  game better! .