NESCAC

[coach analytics]

Bucket, it's not the elitism, it's the double elitism...not only are we far superior to everyone else but we also demonstrate that superiority even more because of all the restrictions and barriers caused at least in part by our....yep, you guessed it, our superiority.

I do think Midd and the Maine schools have a distinct disadvantage because of geography....although I'm a little more sympathetic with the Maine group.  There's only so many Nescacs Babson can play...or Brandeis...or Wheaton MIT, etc.

I would think if Midd can travel 4 hours to Eastern Naz they could get to Plattsburgh, RPI, Union, Skidmore, and couple more Sunyacs...and yes, they played Vassar.

Obviously the Nescacs are not the only ultra serious academic schools... certainly not any more serious than Hopkins, Haverford, Swat, the other UAAs, Carleton, Macalester, W&L, and yes, Colorado Coll...

One might argue that NESCAC actually values athletics far more and has a higher percentage of athletes in the student body than some of the above.

And being an ultra serious academic school can both be a boon to recruiting and a barrier.

Sigh. Predictable. Even when simply stating facts.

And never said NESCACS are the only ultra serious academic schools—thinks for name-checking my alma mater in this list, btw—but it's a conference approach. And there is no other conference—save the UAA—that has a more comprehensive membership of schools with such a commitment to academic rigor.

Speaking of my alma mater's conference, I don't think Eastern Mennonite and Bridgewater have such concerns.

Bucket, can you not appreciate even a little how those of us not directly connected to NESCAC could view the repeated testaments to a very unique superiority and how we might react to seeing the reactions here to even the mildest of criticisms?  Sometimes feels like there are five GKs guarding the NESCAC net and nothing is gonna get past them.  What I was trying to say is that there is a long pattern of NESCAC followers citing the exclusivity of their schools (and conference) as a distinct point of pride while also citing that exclusivity as a justification for being different.  At least to an outsider that feels like circular affirmation that just keeps feeding itself.

Also don't get what EMU and Bridgewater have to do with W&L's non-conference choices.  Does conference affiliation mean that W&L takes academics a bit less seriously?  Or same with Hopkins, Swat, Haverford, F&M, etc in the Centennial?  Maybe you're referring to conference rules about one less week of the season, no Spring season, etc.  Are you suggesting that Midd, Amherst, Williams, Bowdoin, etc would ease the stringent parameters imposed by the conference if allowed to do so?

There were a lot of things I loved about Davidson.  What I did not like and still really don't like is the institution's constant self-promotion and readiness to tell anyone who would or will listen how incredible it is.  And of course that means the college succumbs to being acutely focused on USWNR rankings which is an issue that tends to consume many of the more elite academic institutions (and its alums/parents/students).



I do not know how you conclude elitism or circularity of argument.

The NCAA makes the rules, it's the same for other sports.  They consider strength of schedule to be an important criteria therefore if you want to make the tournament you should follow their objectives.

The NESCAC teams by virtue of being a larger conference with a conference tournament is almost guaranteed to have very strong strength of schedules with limited opportunities to expand it.  However, schools like Amherst, which take soccer very seriously, figured out a way to drive 4 hours on a Sunday night to get a great game on their schedule.  Chicago does it, Messiah does it.  If you do not do it, you are just making excuses.

We should not be surprised that these teams have success. Iron makes iron.  See SEC football. See ACC basketball.  Teams with the best and hardest schedule get respected, they get better and they are more prepared for 1 and done wars. See Amherst, Tufts, Conn, Messiah, Chicago.

[Flying Weasel]

Regarding strength of schedule, it is very challenging for Bowdoin, Bates, Colby, and Midd to get quality non-conference games.  Due to the NESCAC schedule, they are looking at weekday games, and their remote locations limits the options somewhat.  They often wind up with games against GNAC or NAC teams who are in geographic proximity.  Not really feasible to expect these teams to hit the road for every non-conference game.  Bowdoin did travel to Wheaton and Midd went to Vassar for games this year.  Bates traveled to Emerson and Colby had a game at Coast Guard Academy that was canceled. As others have noted, the Massachusetts and Connecticut schools and even Hamilton have easier access to quality non conference opponents.

I have no reason to doubt this, but it is interesting how different perspectives are about how far things are away from each other in the Northeast than in Region X.  The distance from Bowdoin to Boston for a weekday game is pretty modest compared to some of the distances teams in Region X travel routinely on weekdays.  I always assumed the reason some NESCAC teams schedule weaker non-conference opponents is because they believe they won't need the SoS bump given the NESCAC conference schedule. After all, Bowdoin's SoS of .555 (as of last Wednesday) would be one of the higher numbers in Region X.

I'm sure I will get blasted for being elitist, but I can promise you that NESCAC schools do not think about SOS implications when scheduling mid-week out-of-conference games.

The primary considerations are—and always will be—missed class time, time away from campus, and budget.

And yes, I agree that it is ludicrous for (many) schools with billion (!)-dollar endowments to be crying about budgets, but it's a factor when trustees limit endowment draws to fund annual operating costs. At Middlebury, since the start of the pandemic, we have been dealing with 20-50 percent cuts to departmental operating budgets pegged to 2019 levels, this at a time with corresponding inflation pressures. It's a double whammy.

And while I am not privy to the athletics department budget numbers, I feel confident in stating that they have not been exempt and that travel budgets have been impacted, just like everything else.

This isn't elitist but it's flat out wrong. When I was on the staff our number one goal was to make the NCAA tournament and creating a schedule that would maximize our chance to do that was a huge consideration. The main way to do that was to make a schedule that we thought we maximized our SOS and winning percentage. Obviously we weren't going to drive 8 hours on a Tuesday, but SOS was a big factor.

Back before everyone figured out the SOS puzzle, it sure seemed like Justin Serpone was one step ahead on knowing how to schedule to maximize SOS while limiting risk of picking up losses.  When the home and away multipliers were still being used, Amherst scheduled more away games than homes games finding the risk-reward sweet spot as an away game against a mediocre team (very minimal risk of a loss) could help your SOS more than a home game against a good opponent (considerably higher risk, even if moderate, of a tie or loss).  I don't say that as a knock on Amherst, but just to reinforce d4_Pace's assertion that some NESCAC schools very much do consider SOS when doing their non-conference scheduling.

[PaulNewman]

Coach, I'm not sure how your questioning of my reference to elitism links up with the rest of your post.  I basically agreed with all of it, other than to say I don't really care what these teams do.  As a fan I'd love to see some huge intersectional battles but not because of SoS or any criteria...just because there are some great games that neverget played and we never get to see.

[coach analytics]

Coach, I'm not sure how your questioning of my reference to elitism links up with the rest of your post.  I basically agreed with all of it, other than to say I don't really care what these teams do.  As a fan I'd love to see some huge intersectional battles but not because of SoS or any criteria...just because there are some great games that neverget played and we never get to see.

My mistake....seem to recall a previous post of mine which was called out as elite and or circular....I must have thin skin...so my wife tells me.


One other point I would make about NESCAC and NCAA tournament success.  NESCAC teams play a lot of back to back games.  Typically 2 weekends plus their conference tournament final four.

Very few other conferences do this...However, as we know, it takes three straight back to back weekends and a lot of depth to win it all..  I am a bit surprised a lot of other conferences (UAA and Centennial in particular) have not tested this out.

[PaulNewman]

Coach, I'm not sure how your questioning of my reference to elitism links up with the rest of your post.  I basically agreed with all of it, other than to say I don't really care what these teams do.  As a fan I'd love to see some huge intersectional battles but not because of SoS or any criteria...just because there are some great games that neverget played and we never get to see.

My mistake....seem to recall a previous post of mine which was called out as elite and or circular....I must have thin skin...so my wife tells me.


One other point I would make about NESCAC and NCAA tournament success.  NESCAC teams play a lot of back to back games.  Typically 2 weekends plus their conference tournament final four.

Very few other conferences do this...However, as we know, it takes three straight back to back weekends and a lot of depth to win it all..  I am a bit surprised a lot of other conferences (UAA and Centennial in particular) have not tested this out.

Please keep posting...and more often.  You obviously know a lot about NESCAC and probably college soccer in general and you have provided some actual, real content and analysis.

[Hopkins92]

This thread, every year, never fails to entertain... and educate.

[coach analytics]

NESCAC Season in Review
My early seasons predictions of a very strong top 4 teams came to fruition with the top 4 teams earning more than 20 points in conference play for the first time ever since moving to 11 teams in 2011 when the NESCAC invited Hamilton to join the ranks. In addition,  Bowdoin surprised on the upside and achieved 18 points.  Six points separated 5th from 6th. The average of 20.6 points among the top 5 was also a record.  This strength at the top certainly bodes well for a solid 5 NCAA berths.

2023 will be remembered as Middlebury's breakout year after a disappointing end of year swoon last season.   An undefeated season, the top goal differential and the top goals against.  They also had the most impressive single game of the season, a 3-0 victory over Tufts at home in late October, their first victory over Tufts since 2016.  They will host this weekends NESCAC Final Four for the first time since 2015 and hope to bring home the trophy for the first time since 2010.  An opportunity to host an NCAA tournament weekend is on the line.

Coach of the year – with all of these achievements, its hard to pick anyone other than Alex Elias, who also had to overcome the injury of star midfielder Shane Farrell.

All NESCAC Goalkeepers – The accolades for Ryan Grady will certainly not stop with this pick as he will likely be considered for Player of the Year and national recognition.  Newcomer Alex Ainsworth of Bowdoin and veteran Ben Diffley from Williams round out my selections in what is always a very strong crew to choose from.

All NESCAC Defenders – I do not use stats for these selections but rather the eye test of who can shut down the opposing attackers and influence the game on set pieces both offensively and defensively.  In no particular order since it is so subjective...

Luke Madden – Middlebury
Evan O'Brien – Wesleyan
Sam Gibson – Williams
Max Clivio – Tufts
Simon Kalinauskas – Amherst
Sebastian Ghosh – Hamilton
Jack Selig – Bowdoin
Eamon Gara Grady – Williams
Marco Cerezo – Conn College


All NESCAC Midfielders – I think you have to take a combination of scoring (see my scoring assessment below) and the eye test to truly capture the essence of a midfielder.  In no particular order...

Tyler Payne – Middlebury
Ignacio Cubeddu – Amherst
Laurens ten Cate – Amherst
Ben Pensky – Tufts
Julian Juantorena – Bowdoin
Tyler Huck – Bowdoin
James Donaldson – Trinity
Luke Peplowski – Hamilton

All NESCAC Forwards – In a league where so few points separate the top 20 scorers, I used a subjective assessment of their production.  I completely discredited Penalty Kicks.  In my opinion, with a 80+% success rate at the college level, a PK award should be considered a team goal.  Most PKs are a function of a very poor defensive decision or often times a very questionable call (see Bowdoin – Trinity PK, Colby-Amherst, Middlebury – Tufts)

Since I attended about 30 games in person (mostly Trinity, Conn and Amherst) and watch many others and most of the goals on replay via NSN, I considered not only production but things like game winners as well as goals in the big games (top 8 conference teams).  You will note that this excludes a couple of top point earners who feasted on the PK stripe but did not generate much scoring in big moments from the run of play.  Here is my chart and order of my top NESCAC forwards (also some MFs sprinkled in to assess their production).

The numbers represent (1)total points excluding PKS, (2) total goals+assists in the games against the top 8 teams, and (3) Game winners

Gavin Randolph   Middlebury   F         10, 5, 0
Mikey Brady    Tufts                   F          10, 4, 1
JakeCreus      Conn            F           9, 4, 1
Sean Traynor   Tufts                   F           8, 4, 2
Kyle Nilsson   Middlebury   F           8, 4, 2
Tyler Payne   Middlebury   MF         8, 2, 1
Felipe Ruenda Duran   Bowdoin   F            9, 1, 1
Ignaccio Cubeddu   Amherst   MF         8, 1, 0
Matt Scafone   Conn            F            7, 3, 1
Ethan Feigin   Tufts             F            7, 2, 0
Declan Sung   Amherst          MF           7, 1, 1


Newcomers:  The top newcomers is a short list of three who clearly distinguished themselves from others.
Charlie Miles – Conn
Mohammed Nuhu – Amherst
Alex Ainsworth - Bowdoin

[College Soccer Observer]

NESCAC Season in Review
My early seasons predictions of a very strong top 4 teams came to fruition with the top 4 teams earning more than 20 points in conference play for the first time ever since moving to 11 teams in 2011 when the NESCAC invited Hamilton to join the ranks. In addition,  Bowdoin surprised on the upside and achieved 18 points.  Six points separated 5th from 6th. The average of 20.6 points among the top 5 was also a record.  This strength at the top certainly bodes well for a solid 5 NCAA berths.

2023 will be remembered as Middlebury's breakout year after a disappointing end of year swoon last season.   An undefeated season, the top goal differential and the top goals against.  They also had the most impressive single game of the season, a 3-0 victory over Tufts at home in late October, their first victory over Tufts since 2016.  They will host this weekends NESCAC Final Four for the first time since 2015 and hope to bring home the trophy for the first time since 2010.  An opportunity to host an NCAA tournament weekend is on the line.

Coach of the year – with all of these achievements, its hard to pick anyone other than Alex Elias, who also had to overcome the injury of star midfielder Shane Farrell.

All NESCAC Goalkeepers – The accolades for Ryan Grady will certainly not stop with this pick as he will likely be considered for Player of the Year and national recognition.  Newcomer Alex Ainsworth of Bowdoin and veteran Ben Diffley from Williams round out my selections in what is always a very strong crew to choose from.

All NESCAC Defenders – I do not use stats for these selections but rather the eye test of who can shut down the opposing attackers and influence the game on set pieces both offensively and defensively.  In no particular order since it is so subjective...

Luke Madden – Middlebury
Evan O'Brien – Wesleyan
Sam Gibson – Williams
Max Clivio – Tufts
Simon Kalinauskas – Amherst
Sebastian Ghosh – Hamilton
Jack Selig – Bowdoin
Eamon Gara Grady – Williams
Marco Cerezo – Conn College


All NESCAC Midfielders – I think you have to take a combination of scoring (see my scoring assessment below) and the eye test to truly capture the essence of a midfielder.  In no particular order...

Tyler Payne – Middlebury
Ignacio Cubeddu – Amherst
Laurens ten Cate – Amherst
Ben Pensky – Tufts
Julian Juantorena – Bowdoin
Tyler Huck – Bowdoin
James Donaldson – Trinity
Luke Peplowski – Hamilton

All NESCAC Forwards – In a league where so few points separate the top 20 scorers, I used a subjective assessment of their production.  I completely discredited Penalty Kicks.  In my opinion, with a 80+% success rate at the college level, a PK award should be considered a team goal.  Most PKs are a function of a very poor defensive decision or often times a very questionable call (see Bowdoin – Trinity PK, Colby-Amherst, Middlebury – Tufts)

Since I attended about 30 games in person (mostly Trinity, Conn and Amherst) and watch many others and most of the goals on replay via NSN, I considered not only production but things like game winners as well as goals in the big games (top 8 conference teams).  You will note that this excludes a couple of top point earners who feasted on the PK stripe but did not generate much scoring in big moments from the run of play.  Here is my chart and order of my top NESCAC forwards (also some MFs sprinkled in to assess their production).

The numbers represent (1)total points excluding PKS, (2) total goals+assists in the games against the top 8 teams, and (3) Game winners

Gavin Randolph   Middlebury   F         10, 5, 0
Mikey Brady    Tufts                   F          10, 4, 1
JakeCreus      Conn            F           9, 4, 1
Sean Traynor   Tufts                   F           8, 4, 2
Kyle Nilsson   Middlebury   F           8, 4, 2
Tyler Payne   Middlebury   MF         8, 2, 1
Felipe Ruenda Duran   Bowdoin   F            9, 1, 1
Ignaccio Cubeddu   Amherst   MF         8, 1, 0
Matt Scafone   Conn            F            7, 3, 1
Ethan Feigin   Tufts             F            7, 2, 0
Declan Sung   Amherst          MF           7, 1, 1


Newcomers:  The top newcomers is a short list of three who clearly distinguished themselves from others.
Charlie Miles – Conn
Mohammed Nuhu – Amherst
Alex Ainsworth - Bowdoin

A comprehensive write up.  I would offer a couple of additions.  William O'Brien has been a lock down defender for Middlebury.  His missing almost all of last year was a big part in Midd's defensive struggles at the tail end of last year.  As far as first years go, I would add Will Sawin from Midd, who has started 15 games and been a consistent attacking threat on the left wing.

[camosfan]

How can St. Louis not be named as a midfielder with all those assists ?

[College Soccer Observer]

Since @Camosfan raised the issue, I would like to offer a broader appreciation of Saint Louis from the perspective of someone who has watched him for three years, the majority of the time in person.  Many teams this year have approached Midd by trying to shutdown Saint Louis.  Williams man marked him in both games recently.  The result has been that Saint Louis often drops deeper into the midfield, playing as a holdup man and then laying the ball off.  Midd's 2nd goal against Tufts is an example of this. https://www.instagram.com/p/CytgSt-JUrH/  Saint Louis checks back for the ball to execute a give and go with Nilsson, who splits the defense for Randolph to score.  On Saturday against Williams, he worked hard defensively to win the ball to give to Chae, who then did a give and go with Sawin for the 2nd goal.  https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy_CraUrNHE/ One of the keys to Midd's success this year is that Saint Louis is not a one man show.  The excellent play of Sawin, Nilsson, and Randolph has allowed Midd to become multidimensional on offense. 

[coach analytics]

I definitely agree that Sawin deserves to be on the newcomer list.  I also agree that Middlebury's success has been a function of many stepping up on the offensive end.

However, I do not agree at all the St Louis has had a good year.  While he definitely looks the part in terms of his athleticism and skill, he does not produce in big games.  Almost all of his production has come either in PKs converted (most of which he has had little to do with) or points against poor competition.  In the toughest conference games (outside of the great pass in Tufts game, which is very well deserved), he had a goal and two assists from the run of play.  In four of those games, Bowdoin, Amherst, Conn and Hamilton, he did not even register a shot.

I agree that he is an impact player but when comparing him to his own teammates like Randolph, Nilsson, and Payne as well as Brady, Creus, Traynor  and others who have produced in many bigger moments, he falls short in my humble opinion.  For a 24 year old with that ability, I think he underperformed this year.  The headline numbers of 8 goals and 8 assists mask the true performance.  Almost the entirely of his production (6 goals and assists in two games with a 15-1 combined result and 5 total PKs) were less impactful to their incredible season than others.

[camosfan]

He has served as a decoy well allowing, guys who were off the radar to blossom, teams look to shut down St. Louis, and Ada at Amherst, freeing other players. The higher out of conference productivity is natural because those teams are often not as familiar with these guys.

[Christan Shirk]

REGION I - NCAA REGIONAL RANKINGS - November 01, 2023

Rank	School	. Div. III . Record	. Div. III . SOS	. R-v-R .	. Overall . Record	. Prev. . Rank
1.	Connecticut College	10-0-5	0.588	4-0-4	11-0-5	1
2.	Middlebury	12-0-4	0.581	4-0-3	12-0-4	3
3.	Amherst	11-2-3	0.623	5-2-2	11-2-3	2
4.	Tufts	11-2-3	0.605	6-2-2	11-2-3	4
5.	Bowdoin	9-3-4	0.572	1-3-4	9-3-4	5
6.	Williams	8-6-2	0.609	2-5-1	8-6-2	6
7.	St. Joseph (Conn.)	13-1-3	0.519	--	13-1-3	--

[Dustin_Patrón]

Coach Analytics - appreciate your effort here.

How did the Oscar's snub DiCaprio for all those years? How did Jurgen Klinsmann leave Donovan home in 2014? How the heck are they keeping Barry Bonds out of Cooperstown. Like the rest of you, these are the questions I ask myself each night before bed. All of these snubs, though egregious, do not hold a candle to the Jordan Saint Louis snub of 2023.

Quick player comparison. Saint Louis had 8 goals and 4 assists. Tufts forward, Mikey Brady, who is sitting pretty at #2 on the list only recorded 4 goals and 2 assists. After removing non-conference stats, the two are level on goals and Saint Louis has the edge on assists, yet he doesn't even make the list.

Gents--the young man captained his team to an undefeated season. He had 8 goals and 8 assists. He averaged 72 min/game compared to Brady's 43. He went a perfect 5-5 from the penalty spot including game winner's against Williams and Endicott and two from close games with Tufts and Bowdoin. Are we really gonna sit here and let Coach A fool us into believing this nonsense? That penalties aren't goals? That Colby, Bates, Trinity and every non-nescac team spent the last 3 months gleefully handing out goals to anyone with teeth?

NESCAC Season in Review? More like NESCAC Non-Penalty Stats from 7 Games in Review.

Signing off for a while, gonna go grind my teeth.

[d4_Pace]

REGION I - NCAA REGIONAL RANKINGS - November 01, 2023

Rank	School	. Div. III . Record	. Div. III . SOS	. R-v-R .	. Overall . Record	. Prev. . Rank
1.	Connecticut College	10-0-5	0.588	4-0-4	11-0-5	1
2.	Middlebury	12-0-4	0.581	4-0-3	12-0-4	3
3.	Amherst	11-2-3	0.623	5-2-2	11-2-3	2
4.	Tufts	11-2-3	0.605	6-2-2	11-2-3	4
5.	Bowdoin	9-3-4	0.572	1-3-4	9-3-4	5
6.	Williams	8-6-2	0.609	2-5-1	8-6-2	6
7.	St. Joseph (Conn.)	13-1-3	0.519	--	13-1-3	--

This is really interesting set of rankings and probably the closest 1-4 I can recall. I find it surprising that Conn with two fewer wins gets the nod over Midd on the back of a .07 higher  SOS. I think all 4 teams get in and ultimately whoever wins the weekend may end up with the 1 seed.