NESCAC

[Kuiper]

Best goalie ever?  Has AJ Marcucci been forgotten that quickly? (Not to take anything away from Webber's amazing accomplishment!).

Much stronger case to be made that Webber, Grady, Lauta, Diffley and Silvester were the best group of Nescac goalies ever to play as a group in one season ...

If you're going to praise the NESCAC goalkeepers as a group like this, I think Coach Serpone would be correct in stating (as he did in his Simple Coach interview) that Bernie White is being overlooked.  That's especially if Silverster is part of the group - he has potential, but I doubt last year cemented his status as one of the league's greats.  And I say that not because White is now playing in Scotland (he's playing for Caledonian in the Scottish Lowlands League, which is the fifth tier of Scottish football.  He might not have been the top of the group, but he certainly had the stats and some of the saves that would put him in the top half of the conference.

[Johnny Eph]

Williams Frosh sensation #12 Cole Morriello I heard was transferring to Yale. Also a couple other decent returning players have "hung up their boots" like #23 Dan Rayhill and a couple other good ones. Not sure why but could conjure up a guess or two.

[Another Mom]

Huh. When my son went through recruiting he had a few offers and it came down to W&L or Williams. It seemed at the time he dodged a bullet (with the former coach) and recent info hasn't dispelled that thought. With the disclaimer that this is all speculation of course.

[PaulNewman]

Fwiw, long-time NESCAC observer and expert Mr.Right thought White as a GK was...well, not that great....and some might think Amherst benefited when Hope-Gund took over due to injury.

Of course, Mr.Right is a Williams guy, so factor that in as you will.

As for dodging a bullet turning down Williams, I hear ya, but maybe read that back a few times. 

[Another Mom]

No, I stand by what I said, though of course Williams is a phenomenal school. But not the only phenomenal school out there.

[PaulNewman]

I know...tough calls but lots of good choices...

My kid got in Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Stanford...but alas, he wanted to play soccer and Coach Brown offered him a spot when Colby wouldn't.

[NESCACfooty]

for those of us not familiar enough with the program to read between the lines, is there something wrong at Williams (i know simple coach and others don't like their style of play, but i mean beyond that)?   School is one of the best, team ended up 2nd last year, can't knock any kid for transferring to D1 Yale.  I get the sense you knowledgeable folks on the chat are aware of something we less informed spectators are not but are reluctant to say it.  Would appreciate insight,   thx.

[Another Mom]

Oh, no -- don't read too much into my posts!

My son did not like how the former coach handled the recruiting process; and that coach stepped down very suddenly.  If players, particularly talented ones, are leaving the team (not referring to the player transferring to Yale) it just raises the question why.

[stlawus]

Mr. Right had the inside baseball on all things Williams, days like today (offseason lull and speculation season) his insight would be highly valuable.

[D3fense]

If a student athlete leaves to go to Yale after the team makes a run to the national title game then kudos to him for being that good of a student athlete and kudos to williams for recruiting him.  I think Williams had a former player starting on Yale last year as well.  That is impressive to me.

It is a different world, good players leave teams every year (including teams that are very good).  The circumstances are often very personal.  I am not particularly in the know but I do know of several kids who have left very successful programs in the past couple years for all myriad of reasons.  It is a different world the kids have flexibility and a lot of them have had stunted college experiences where they either had their playing careers put on hold or paused and where they may now be older and thinking of different things to spend time doing or may be dealing with different life concerns.  Who knows.  It seems that at the higher level of d3 it is becoming increasingly common that coaches  come and go as well and kids are not always playing for the person that recruited them.   

I don't think it is helpful to speculate on these things and it can be harmful to the kids involved to have their names bandied about.   If there is a pattern over a number of years in a school it will play itself out but at the d1 level at least the best teams often lose multiple players every year and bring all new ones in.  I don't think that is a good model but again who knows 

[EnmoreCat]

Whilst interning in NY over the summer, my son is playing for Downtown United, where a variety of colleges and divisions are represented, including some D1 players. I get the impression that standards aren't that different, but the intensity of the D1 experience means those players on average are a little bit better prepared, as would be expected.  I do agree that every transfer decision is different, which makes sense given that the athletic and aspirations of every player (an parent!) are different too.

[camosfan]

Downtown must have some Amherst connection. last year while playing at  MOTOWN my son played against them and at least two top players from Amherst were in the game?

[EnmoreCat]

Downtown must have some Amherst connection. last year while playing at  MOTOWN my son played against them and at least two top players from Amherst were in the game?

One of the Amherst dads is very active at Downtown, so think it's a natural place for NY-based Mammoths to gravitate to over summer.  Unfortunately, getting lots of information about the team isn't easy (frustrating for someone as curious as me), but I know that there are standouts playing from the 2022 Bowdoin and St Lawrence teams, along with one Tufts varsity player and some young men from Fordham.  It's great for players to come to together from different environments and a worthwhile experience, even for me.  I learnt how to pronounce, "Poughkeepsie" today.

[Another Mom]

And you can spell it!!

[Caz Bombers]

Downtown must have some Amherst connection. last year while playing at  MOTOWN my son played against them and at least two top players from Amherst were in the game?

One of the Amherst dads is very active at Downtown, so think it's a natural place for NY-based Mammoths to gravitate to over summer.  Unfortunately, getting lots of information about the team isn't easy (frustrating for someone as curious as me), but I know that there are standouts playing from the 2022 Bowdoin and St Lawrence teams, along with one Tufts varsity player and some young men from Fordham.  It's great for players to come to together from different environments and a worthwhile experience, even for me.  I learnt how to pronounce, "Poughkeepsie" today.

puh (or p' like in put)-KIP-see