NESCAC

[Ejay]

Amhaters is very funny.

I can only speak for myself, I don't "hate" any D3 school (anymore), and definitely not NESCAC teams...

It's nothing personal to call them on being the highest fouling team in the nation.

Amherst padding the stats.  17 fouls today in a 4-0 win. Must have been tactical fouls to keep the clean sheet.

[EnmoreCat]

Averaging 16.08 per game Ejay, think we're on pace.

[EnmoreCat]

Since I can't give karma points, I hereby nominate @enmorecat as the Nicest Soccer Parent on the D3 boards. I love reading your posts, @enmorecat!

That sort of talk might get you in trouble in here Another Mom, but rest assured I was blushing when I read it, as it was very kind. 

[nescacfan94]

So has Bowdoin won the conference regular season, or does Middlebury win if both are tied after the last game on Tuesday?

[Yankeesoccerdad]

So has Bowdoin won the conference regular season, or does Middlebury win if both are tied after the last game on Tuesday?

I believe Bowdoin has it locked up because even if Bowdoin and Midd end at 20 points the tie breaker goes to record against top 4 teams where Bowdoin has the edge based on their win against Hamilton.

Not sure how the other seeds end up, but it seems unfair to be the top seed and be "rewarded" by facing Conn.  Conn likely gets a higher position but in some scenarios could end up at 8th seed.

[northman]

Yes, the reality is that the top 8 NESCAC teams are all of a reasonably high quality within a narrow range.  More so than any season I can remember, the NESCAC tourney is likely to be an absolute crapshoot.

[hiyasoccer]

Curious if anyone that has watched Hamilton more has thoughts on them? They've now lost 4-0 twice in 8 days with a 0-0 draw against Williams sandwiched in the middle. But before this weekend they were Midd's only loss and had generally all solid, consistent, competitive results. I think if the Bowdoin and Amherst results were 1 or 2 goal games I wouldn't be so confused and would just say "this is your standard 3-6 NESCAC team" but those teams don't usually have weeks like this. They have 3 draws and 2 losses in their last 5 NESCAC games and couldn't be going into the tournament much colder.

Trying to find an example to tie to, it kind of reminds me of Wes or Conn from before their switched up the schedule (and not counting the years where Conn has been very good). Both would frequently start hot with easier schedules and tail off hard towards the end of the season. But almost always they would show up for the tournament ready to play and have been responsible for some of the more surprising first round upsets in recent history. I would love to see a Hamilton vs. Tufts 4 vs. 5 matchup.

[PaulNewman]

Curious if anyone that has watched Hamilton more has thoughts on them? They've now lost 4-0 twice in 8 days with a 0-0 draw against Williams sandwiched in the middle. But before this weekend they were Midd's only loss and had generally all solid, consistent, competitive results. I think if the Bowdoin and Amherst results were 1 or 2 goal games I wouldn't be so confused and would just say "this is your standard 3-6 NESCAC team" but those teams don't usually have weeks like this. They have 3 draws and 2 losses in their last 5 NESCAC games and couldn't be going into the tournament much colder.

Trying to find an example to tie to, it kind of reminds me of Wes or Conn from before their switched up the schedule (and not counting the years where Conn has been very good). Both would frequently start hot with easier schedules and tail off hard towards the end of the season. But almost always they would show up for the tournament ready to play and have been responsible for some of the more surprising first round upsets in recent history. I would love to see a Hamilton vs. Tufts 4 vs. 5 matchup.

I had the same thought.  The draw with Williams was fine but 8-0 between the other two doesn't seem good.  And now a very draining, huge game with Oneonta that may have consequences for both followed just 3 days later with what no doubt will be a very tough quarterfinal against a team that badly needs the quarterfinal win.

[College Soccer Observer]

Injuries are a huge part of what is happening to Hamilton, but their result vs Middlebury for example was very much against the run of play.  Midd was up 1-0 at the half and should have had more.  One of the backs making an inopportune run forward and not recovering in time led to the free kick that tied the game at 1-1, and their game winner was a complete fluke that the GK gets 999 times out of a thousand.  Credit to them for the result on the day, but I think Hamilton is not deep enough yet to withstand the full rigors of a NESCAC season if they don't have the first choice 11 available.

[Coach Jeff]

The results this week really made the muddy waters of the NESAC a lot clearer.  The top 25 is difficult this week.  It is going to be a great NESCAC conference tournament with 5 different teams with a shot at the AQ from the NASCAC.  Great games to come.  A draw won't move you on.

[Brother Flounder]

Yes, the reality is that the top 8 NESCAC teams are all of a reasonably high quality within a narrow range.  More so than any season I can remember, the NESCAC tourney is likely to be an absolute crapshoot.

Yes, and we all know that winning the NESCAC tourney (or losing your first game therein) has no bearing on what happens in the NCAA tourney for the NESCAC teams that make it...

[Hopkins92]

Yes, the reality is that the top 8 NESCAC teams are all of a reasonably high quality within a narrow range.  More so than any season I can remember, the NESCAC tourney is likely to be an absolute crapshoot.

Yes, and we all know that winning the NESCAC tourney (or losing your first game therein) has no bearing on what happens in the NCAA tourney for the NESCAC teams that make it...

And I've seen arguments on this board that if you're pretty clearly in the NCAA tourney, it's arguably better for the team in question to NOT advance deep into the NESCAC tournament due to fatigue/injury concerns.

Not as if it's an argument in favor of tanking (I don't think that's in the NESCAC collective bloodstream).

[Coach Jeff]

Yes, the reality is that the top 8 NESCAC teams are all of a reasonably high quality within a narrow range.  More so than any season I can remember, the NESCAC tourney is likely to be an absolute crapshoot.

Yes, and we all know that winning the NESCAC tourney (or losing your first game therein) has no bearing on what happens in the NCAA tourney for the NESCAC teams that make it...

IMO they seem to have a lot of parity and similar playing styles. 
And I've seen arguments on this board that if you're pretty clearly in the NCAA tourney, it's arguably better for the team in question to NOT advance deep into the NESCAC tournament due to fatigue/injury concerns.

Not as if it's an argument in favor of tanking (I don't think that's in the NESCAC collective bloodstream).

[PaulNewman]

One caveat this year is that some of the usual suspects may NEED that NESCAC quarterfinal win to get a bid.  A couple of times, including the first title year of 2014, Tufts really had to sweat out whether they'd get a bid after a quarterfinal loss.  And teams like Conn, Wesleyan, Williams, and Hamilton may need to get to the NESCAC final.

[Coach Jeff]

One caveat this year is that some of the usual suspects may NEED that NESCAC quarterfinal win to get a bid.  A couple of times, including the first title year of 2014, Tufts really had to sweat out whether they'd get a bid after a quarterfinal loss.  And teams like Conn, Wesleyan, Williams, and Hamilton may need to get to the NESCAC final.

I definitely agree with you PN