NESCAC

[College Soccer Observer]

In actuall on the field news, Team NESCAC (aka Chicago FC United) has advanced to the U20 National Championship game 7/25 against Miami Strikers.  FC United's NESCAC 4 of Quinn Ackmann (Trinity) and Andrew Jaurez, Aiden Pape, and Ryan Grady of Middlebury played key roles.  Jaurez drew the game deciding penalty in stoppage time and Pape buried the spot kick.

[College Soccer Observer]

Chicago FC United won the McGuire Cup 2-1 over Miami Strikers. Juarez from Midd with game winning goal. Pape and Grady from Midd selected to best 11, and Grady won golden glove as best keeper.  Looking forward to seeing some actual NESCAC games again.

[Mr.Right]

Un F ing believable who Williams has hired...complete disaster...hope the players enjoy and if he does not change his style the alums should not send a dime

[nescac1]

Uggggh, Mr. Right, that does not sound good ... can you provide any more details?  But this is only a one-year hire, right?  There is still going to be a full coaching search after this season, I believe? 

NESCAC (across multiple sports) has certainly had some massively disastrous hires of late.  I hope Williams brings someone in for the permanent gig at least worthy of the amazing Eph soccer tradition. 

[Mr.Right]

Uggggh, Mr. Right, that does not sound good ... can you provide any more details?  But this is only a one-year hire, right?  There is still going to be a full coaching search after this season, I believe? 

NESCAC (across multiple sports) has certainly had some massively disastrous hires of late.  I hope Williams brings someone in for the permanent gig at least worthy of the amazing Eph soccer tradition.

I really hope ur right and it is only for an interim gig. I heard it is the former Springfield guy who is the complete opposite of playing futbol..i.e. the ball is never on the grass and always in air...I think he went to USSF and then an MLS scout/assistant  so his resume caught the eye of clueless committee members. It's just an UGLY style of soccer even when the team is winning.

Let's hope I got faulty info because I do not see it announced yet...godspeed

[nescac1]

It was definitely advertised as an interim gig, Mr. Right, and I'm nearly certain they are going to do a full, national coaching search for the permanent job.  Williams would not have hired a permanent soccer coach so quickly after announcing the opening.  Now, perhaps he will be a contender for the permanent job, but I don't think he (or any interim coach) would be given a real leg up in the process.  Same deal with the Amherst and Tufts interim men's hoops coaches, neither of whom ultimately got the job. 

[d4_Pace]

I do think he has a big leg up given that he controls his destiny. If he leads Williams to a third place regular season and makes a Nescac final or wins the conference tournament, he's probably going to get the job. The Tufts interim basketball coach was denied a season by covid so I don't think the comparison really holds here.

[d4_Pace]

Mr. Right good to have you back. Who would have been your ideal candidates for the job?

[nescac1]

The Tufts interim was also the long term associate head coach, and it did not help him.  I really think this is purely an interim gig.   There is going to be a massive pool of stellar candidates for the full time gig.  Maybe in the unlikely event of a Nescac title or deep tourney run the new coach could make a case for the permanent job.   But I think no matter what Williams is going to start from ground zero with the new coaching search.   

[amh63]

Saw the interim soccer HC posting this morning....put the story in the basket of "strange" Nescac hires.  Nescac soccer joins the rest of Fall sports to ponder and follow.

[Mr.Right]

Mr. Right good to have you back. Who would have been your ideal candidates for the job?

So I am honestly coming at this and other Nescac happenings with limited info(]at best)...I am usually the last to find things out..At first I was uncomfortable flappin my mouth without actually knowing the many truths behind the story. However,  now I can just pontificate my hunch which gives me a different viewpoint sometimes and makes me look foolish other times but it is a freedom in a way and much more enjoyable because
I can just focus on the games on the field and comment on what I see.

I can only judge a man by past performance until he proves me wrong or right. Some people on here might remember how Springfield played under him ..Was he successful?
Very much so and proved to be a strong recruiter but the style for his whole tenure was ruthlessly ugly. 

That is why I lost it when I heard he was hired. However,  I should not prejudge until we see the product on the field. I will give him a chance.

I just want to watch some good futbol and win games and keep the history of the program in tact.

I mean again the timing was just awful and yes he will have a huge advantage over other candidates because he is mother hen right now.

I heard the Yale assistant was impressive and will get his own gig sooner rather than later.

[Mr.Right]

Moving on.....I was going to do predictions but frankly the rosters are an unknown right now. Non conference schedules are easier to analyze at least on paper without terra incognita. Alphabetical order

1. Amherst-   at Norwich, at Manhattanville, v St.Joe's, v Stevens, v WPI. This is a very cagey schedule as besides WPI these teams are top dogs in weak leagues which will give them a high OWP and SOS. WPI is a top dog in a strong conference which will also help. This is a much more challenging schedule compared to 2019. The St.Joe's game was scheduled away in 2020 before the season was canceled. Norwich snagged a Draw against Midd a couple years back so they will be no pushover. Toughest stretch is 4 games in 10 days in late September / early October. As a Williams fan, happy to see Amherst having a midweek game prior to the Williams game. Amherst has only 1 back to back. Total hours on bus / Away games including Nescac(round trip) - 30 hours on a bus for the regular season.

2. Bates-     v Maine Maritime, at UNE, v Eastern Nazerene, at Brandeis, v Univ Maine Farmington. Weak sauce as usual but the Brandeis game is a move in the right direction if it stays on the schedule past this season.  Toughest stretch is 6 consecutive Away games including Brandeis, Midd, Amherst, Bowdoin, Trinity and Tufts.  Within those 6 Away games they have 2 back to backs. That is basically a month of not having a Home game meaning they better start the season winning games and ready to play. Total round trip bus hours- 25.

3. Bowdoin-   vUNE, v Husson, at Maine Maritime, v Southern Maine, at Thomas. Weak sauce? Nah how bout no sauce. This is similar to 2019 except they dumped Keene St for Maine Maritime. League games will become even more important because it will be the only way to find ranked wins. 5 Maine schools help to keep travel down which I am a fan of but this schedule will kill them if they are a bubble team. Only 1 back to back with Total bus hours-37.

4.  Colby-    at Thomas, at Gordon, at St.Joe's, v UNE, at Maine Maritime. The schedule is similar to 2019 except a swap of Husson for St.Joe's. It is more challenging than Bowdoin's, plus 4 out of 5 are Away but still their Nescac games will decide their fate. Only 1 back to back all season. Colby's most important stretch is the beginning of the season with 5 straight Away games until the Home opener on Sept 25th against Tufts. Colby needs to start strong coming out of the gates as those 5 Road games will be challenging but they will all be winnable if the work is put in. Total Bus hours-47.

To be continued..........

[amh63]

On the Tufts athletic website is a National poll.....it has Tufts #1 and Amherst #2.  It's pre-season.....however Tuft's the reigning top dog.

[Mr.Right]

5. Conn-     v Mitchell, v Wheaton(MA), v Endicott, at ECONN, at RIC. Same schedule as 2019 except Wheaton has replaced Babson. Conn went 4-1-0 in 2019 out of conference with the loss coming at Babson. Coast Guard is a rival and a 5 minute walk from campus but they have not been on the schedule since 2016 for reasons unknown. Toughest stretch is 2 back to backs in a row which means 4 games in 9 days in late September / early October(v Amherst, at Hamilton, v Midd, v Williams). The good news is 3 out of the 4 are at Home. Total Bus Hours-28.

6. Hamilton-    at Oswego St, at Utica, v Ithaca, v Oneonta St, v SUNY Polytechnic. Exact same schedule as 2019 in which Hamilton went 3-2-0. Decent schedule with some challenging games, winnable games and 1 cupcake. Hamilton's Nescac schedule is a nightmare as they have 2 separate trips to Maine. They start the year with 4 straight Away games and do not have their Home opener until Sept 21st. Toughest stretch is similar to Conn College with 2 back to backs in  a row which means 4 games in 9 days in late September / early October(v Midd, v Conn, at Colby, at Tufts). Butts on Buses-46 hours.

7. Middlebury-   at Mount St.Mary, v Plattsburgh, at Framingham St, v Eastern Nazerene, at Keene St. This schedule has been turned upside down as the only team Midd played in 2019 was Mount St Mary. Midd went 4-0-1 in 2019 with the draw coming against WPI.  Longtime Vermont schools that are close by(Norwich and Castleton) have been dropped.  I am really happy to see Plattsburgh and Keene St added but still this schedule is weaker than it should be with very little chance of finding ranked wins. I also do not understand dropping weaker VT teams(less travel) only to pick up new cupcakes with farther travel. I suppose all these opponents(besides Eastern Nazerene) could possibly win their own leagues but its a coin toss. Toughest stretch will be 2 back to backs(at Conn, v Amherst, v Bates, v Tufts) in a row in October. Total Bus Hours-47.


To be continued...

[Mr.Right]

8. Trinity-     v St.Joe's(CT), at Clark, v Emerson, v WNEC, v WCONN.  The only change is dropping ECONN for St.Joe's(CT). Trinity went 1-3-1 out of conference in 2019. The truth of the matter is this team needs to find wins wherever they can get them. I have a hunch that pride and talent will allow Trinity to be an improved side in 2021. The product on the field cannot get any worse than the past 4 years. Trinity's last conference Win was in October of 2017 against Wesleyan at Home 2-1. Trinity's last conference Away Win was in October of 2016 against Bowdoin.  That is a long 5 years of not making the Nescac Tournament with an overall record of 7-36-2 with 2 consecutive years of 0-10-0 in Nescac play. Their schedule is very favorable in September with 3 consecutive non conference games to open the year and some winnable conference games after that. Trinity has got to be ready to start strong as their October schedule will be challenging. Total Bus Hours-21.


9. Tufts-      v MIT, at Brandeis, at Salem St, at Babson, Hmmmm so far only 4 games are listed instead of 5. That takes them to only 14 regular season games. I believe the NCAA rule is a minimum of either 13 or 14 games played to be eligible for the NCAA's. So if for some reason a game gets canceled and not made up Tufts could be scrambling all year to find an extra game. My best guess is there is a 5th non conference game but it just has not been posted yet. Tufts went 4-1-0 in 2019 with the loss coming at Babson 0-2. I like the addition of MIT as they were a regular on the schedule for decades until a couple years back. This is a pretty solid schedule for any other team but Tufts is the top team in the country and should be playing the best teams in New England. I would have liked to see a WPI or even a top team from outside New England. When you are top dog every team in the nation would want a chance to play and they would come to you. Toughest stretch is the last 4 games of the year(at Midd, v Amherst, at Conn, at Bowdoin). With a new Head Coach and possibly new tactics the beginning of the season will also be a challenge. Asses on Bus Seats-24 Hours.



10. Wesleyan-      v Emerson, at Clark, v Coast Guard, v Fitchburg St, at Springfield. This is the exact same schedule as 2019 and Wesleyan went 4-1-0 with the loss coming at Coast Guard 0-1. This non-conference schedule will not help them if they are a bubble team but frankly Wesleyan needs Wins. 3 Newmac coin tosses and 2 cupcakes. They have 2 back to backs with one in each month. Toughest stretch is the beginning of the year after the Emerson Home opener with 3 games in 8 days all on the road(at Midd, at Tufts, at Williams). That Tufts mid-week game proved helpful in 2019 with Wesleyan grabbing a Draw against the defending National Champs. On the flip, a mid-week Away match under the lights at Bello will prove much more challenging. Total Bus Hours-28.


11. Williams-        vRPI, at Skidmore, v Babson, at Springfield, v Westfield St. Exact same schedule as 2019 in which Williams went 2-1-2. The Draw at Westfield St was most disappointing but also gut wrenching was the Draw v Springfield on a buzzer beater. New Head Coach will get his fill early as Williams opens with RPI, then travels to Tufts for their Nescac Home opener, a mid-week match at Skidmore and then a back to back at Home v Wesleyan and Babson. Sullivan kept a solid schedule with 2 Liberty League and 2 Newmac teams. I moved back to Williamstown during the Covid and have no interest in leaving just yet which gives me a chance to see more games in-person not just at Williams but the surrounding area like Amherst, Dartmouth etc. I am truly looking forward to it but honestly still confused on what happened to Erin Sullivan. You hear rumors but I really was surprised at not just what happened but also the ridiculous timing of it. Total Bus Hours-31.