NESCAC

[Dustin_Patrón]

Quick question for someone who knows Messiah better than me... Assuming Williams gets past NYU, what are the chances they can give Messiah a good game? I see that Messiah posted a number of blowouts this season but also had a couple closer games including their 2-1 edging of NYU and their early season tie with U Lynchburg.

[Coach Jeff]

Quick question for someone who knows Messiah better than me... Assuming Williams gets past NYU, what are the chances they can give Messiah a good game? I see that Messiah posted a number of blowouts this season but also had a couple closer games including their 2-1 edging of NYU and their early season tie with U Lynchburg.

I can't speak if Williams will give Messiah a game because I am not sure how they play with 10 draws this season. Did they park the bus or just couldn't score?  Messiah did have a couple close games.  LVC parked the bus the entire game because they needed a point to still be alive in the MAC playoff picture.  The NYU game was the toughest game of the season for them, they outshot NYU 8-2 (on goal) and the Lynchburg game was a draw that looking at the entire season, Messiah did not play their best game that day. 

[Hopkins92]

I mean, I'm not even sure you can say they had a bad day against Lynchburg. Pretty similar to NYU, in that it was relatively close, holding at 1-1 for a good chunk until MM (edit - sure to be All American Matt MacDonald) scored with under 5 minutes to play. Lynchburg got a free kick, smacked it into the box and it pinged around to an open player who knotted it at 2-2 with under 30 seconds left.

From those that watched, it was a pretty unlucky result and the stat line sure seems to bear that out.

Keeping in mind, Lynchburg is a tournament team. Not like they tied a poo poo platter.

[PaulNewman]

Both should be able to give Messiah a game.

For all the flogging of Williams, they've lost once.  As Hopkins put it so well....one loss with a schedule that definitely was not a poo poo platter.  Williams I highly doubt will be intimidated and I'm sure they're motivated to perform.

NYU knows they can play with Messiah.  The coach and the players have now seen them twice in two years.  NYU also needs to rebound from a terrible NCAA tournament last year.  They needed an 89th minute goal just to draw level with St Joe's and eventually won in the 100th minute. The next day they got hammered by Conn Coll (who themselves had barely survived in PKs vs Salem St the day before). Conn won 3-0 with shots 24-4 and corners 8-0. 

I would guess Williams can keep the game close but not sure they can score more than 1 goal and it's hard to imagine the Falcons not getting at least two.  Imo NYU is more vulnerable to a blowout but also maybe more likely to actually win because NYU could score 2-3 goals.

[College Soccer Observer]

The reality with the all conference selections is that once you make the teams as an underclassman you're going to make it again the following years.

Not necessarily. Exhibit A: Ryan Grady.

Anyone else surprised by his omission?

No Lauta from Tufts either.  Weren't Grady and Lauta considered #1 and #2 in NESCAC before the season?

Yes.

And last year Grady was not only first team all NESCAC but also First Team All American and National Goalkeeper of the Year as a sophomore.

His statistics were better last year, and I'm not saying he deserved first team All NESCAC this season (though he'd be my choice if I was starting a team and had my choice of NESCAC keepers). Just pointing out that accolades from previous seasons don't always translate to future inclusion as the prior poster suggested.

Yes, most of us are very aware of his credentials/accolades.

The biggest factor to consider for Grady this year is that the only starter from last year who played in front of him on the backline for every game is Michael McFarlane.  Last year's starter at right back, Hank Nelson, got injured in the Amherst game in early September and has only recently returned.  William O'Brien, one of the center backs from last year, had his spot taken over by Luke Madden, transfer from New Hampshire.  O'Brien stepped in for Nelson, and then he got hurt as well.  Casey Lund has played both outside back spots, and he has also missed significant time.  Kenan Ulku-Steiner started the first game of last season, but got his nose broken and suffered a concussion in the first half of the 2021 opener.  He missed more than a month and then tore his meniscus when he returned to training.  Ulku-Steiner has started the majority of the season at left back.    It has taken some time for all the parts to gel, Grady included.  One of the other things to consider is that in the past, Middlebury had a reputation for playing a more defensive style.  As a matter of fact, some of the early evaluations of Grady as a freshman were that he was part of a team with an ultra defensive set up.  Over the last two years, Middlebury has evolved to become a team that possesses the ball more and gets more players forward.  As a result, they have given up a few goals on counters that they would not have given up a couple of years ago.  If you look at individual performances, Grady has had some outstanding games (1-0 win at Wesleyan when they were riding high where he made 4 big time saves, 5 saves vs Conn in a 1-0 win, 7 saves vs Amherst in a 2-1 OT loss last weekend, including one on a breakaway and two point blank saves late in the second half).

The other thing to keep in mind is how hard it is for keepers to maintain their spots.  Both Devanny for Wesleyan and Maidenburg for Conn found themselves on the bench as the season went on.  In the bigger picture, I have no problem with Webber and Diffley being recognized.  They both have outstanding statistics and have had great seasons.  But as Bucket said, if I have to pick 1 NESCAC keeper to win a big game, I am picking Grady.

[Maine Soccer Fan]

Quick question for someone who knows Messiah better than me... Assuming Williams gets past NYU, what are the chances they can give Messiah a good game? I see that Messiah posted a number of blowouts this season but also had a couple closer games including their 2-1 edging of NYU and their early season tie with U Lynchburg.

While Williams' defense is very impressive, statistically its really no better than Messiah's. Though what is really problematic for Williams is that they don't score goals - they've actually been shutout in 1/3 of their games this season.

I'm sure Williams will put up a spirited game and all, but what I would be interested to see is how they set up defensively and if that set up can transition to creating chances. In particular, would they be pressing Messiah high and shrinking the field or not engaging until midfield. Against CT College last weekend, they did the later and were pretty effective with it.

[camosfan]

Quick question for someone who knows Messiah better than me... Assuming Williams gets past NYU, what are the chances they can give Messiah a good game? I see that Messiah posted a number of blowouts this season but also had a couple closer games including their 2-1 edging of NYU and their early season tie with U Lynchburg.

While Williams' defense is very impressive, statistically its really no better than Messiah's. Though what is really problematic for Williams is that they don't score goals - they've actually been shutout in 1/3 of their games this season.

I'm sure Williams will put up a spirited game and all, but what I would be interested to see is how they set up defensively and if that set up can transition to creating chances. In particular, would they be pressing Messiah high and shrinking the field or not engaging until midfield. Against CT College last weekend, they did the later and were pretty effective with it.

This is different from regular season, if they can take Messiah to PK shoot out you never know!

[PaulNewman]

D4, relative to everything you've read on the board about NESCAC do you think they will overperform or underperform?  Feels like more than a few believe NESCAC may be in a down year.  I'm not objective because I used to think that for several years and got burned every single time.

The bottom line is since 2014.....

NESCAC 6     Messiah 1


AND THE FIELD.........0

[d4_Pace]

I tend to agree that the NESCAC is down compared to the past. I don't think any of the grand have the elite players that graduated last year. But I still NESCAC teams are best prepared for the style of play that take place during the tourney. If you offered me the field vs the NESCAC I think this year I would take the field. That being said if Williams were to beat Messiah 1-0 I would not be surprised at all.

[camosfan]

I would not want to have an undefeated team in the knockout phase of a competition, this is not the time to second guess personnel and plans. Which tend to happen when an undefeated team falls behind now.

[4samuy]

I agree with you as it relates to the knockout stage. IMO it's a whole different ballgame.

You did get me thinking about the undefeated teams heading into the tournament.

Stevens
Messiah
Chicago
North central

I was curious as to which teams were at least a goal down at any point in the regular season.  Only one team never trailed through out the entire regular season and that was Stevens.

Doesn't mean much at this point, but it got me curious.

[Maine Soccer Fan]

Going into a single-elimination tournament undefeated can be tough but that team has shown it knows how to win. That's valuable. Still there are much greater psychological burdens to carry when entering this phase of the season.

[coach analytics]

Quick question for someone who knows Messiah better than me... Assuming Williams gets past NYU, what are the chances they can give Messiah a good game? I see that Messiah posted a number of blowouts this season but also had a couple closer games including their 2-1 edging of NYU and their early season tie with U Lynchburg.

While Williams' defense is very impressive, statistically its really no better than Messiah's. Though what is really problematic for Williams is that they don't score goals - they've actually been shutout in 1/3 of their games this season.

I'm sure Williams will put up a spirited game and all, but what I would be interested to see is how they set up defensively and if that set up can transition to creating chances. In particular, would they be pressing Messiah high and shrinking the field or not engaging until midfield. Against CT College last weekend, they did the later and were pretty effective with it.

Maybe if they cut the grass on their field they could create an environment that is more suitable to skilled players, possession and ultimately goals.  They had the field in poor condition for the NESCAC tournament which is a disgrace.  Literally right next to it was a well maintained womens field...looked like a golf course with a lighter green fairway, next to a darker green rough.

It's like they are trying to be another Amherst.

[Le ‘CAC]

Hi friends! Wishing the very best of luck to Amherst, Bowdoin and Williams in their continued NCAA Tournament successes.

Quick trivia question as we patiently wait for the weekend games:

Which former NESCAC coaches have gone on to win a pro trophy?

[Kuiper]

Hi friends! Wishing the very best of luck to Amherst, Bowdoin and Williams in their continued NCAA Tournament successes.

Quick trivia question as we patiently wait for the weekend games:

Which former NESCAC coaches have gone on to win a pro trophy?

Stewart Flaherty of Bates (and later Dartmouth) just won a trophy recently as a coach with the Michigan Stars in NISA, a third division pro league.