NESCAC

[cacalum]

First off, congrats to both Amherst and Williams for making it to the tournament and from my estimation having a good shot at getting to an Elite 8 matchup again by playing at home for the first two games. St. Lawrence is certainly a threat as is Rutgers-Newark, Gordon has a good record but not real sure how they'll deal with the increase in competition.

I'll leave the other NESCAC teams not getting bids as I think it's been pretty well-covered and fair on the boards. Williams getting such a "favorable" draw is a little surprising but I guess that means that if you play a tough schedule you get rewarded and that's how it should be.

I'm going to attempt to give the most even-keeled recap of the NESCAC championship weekend and hope that this does not turn into the mud-slinging competition that it turned into last year.

Semi-Finals:

Wesleyan v. Williams - Missed the first 20 mins but saw the rest of the game and was very very impressed by both teams and their commitment to play possession soccer. I would say Wesleyan had the most possession in the first half but Williams did a better job of converting their possession into dangerous chances around the 18. The first Williams goal was a fantastic piece of combination play between Rashid and Grady(I believe) and a nice finish. Wesleyan came out in the second half and moved their left-back Sousa, to the center of the midfield to presumably try and get him on the ball more with #10. I would say the second half was a lot like the first until Williams scored their second off a ridiculous combo between Murralles and Rashid (very unselfish of him btw on the second goal to pass instead of shoot).  Wesleyan responded at the end there with a nice goal and it was game on from there, missing a great chance with a header at the last second. #8 from Williams was fantastic and his centerback partner #4 is very very strong as well (slight edge to #8 in my opinion due to his ability to distribute better). #10 and #8 for Wesleyan as well as the goalkeeper (who made some great saves), were very strong as well.

Amherst v. Bowdoin - This one will be shorter than the previous summary because it was an absolute snore. Amherst wins 2-1 off a great goal by the younger Aoyama from about 20 minutes out.

Final - Amherst over Williams 1-0 in an absolute slugfest, with Williams losing the game on a bad mistake by Morrell. Feel terrible for him because he's a very good goalkeeper who turned off mentally for a few seconds and Amherst pounced.

Now I want to say a couple things before I voice my opinion on the injuries to Williams and the Amherst playing style. First is that while being an Amherst supporter, I have a ton of respect for the class of Mike Russo and the way he commits to possession soccer. It's a pleasure to watch.  He is a gentleman and I have friends who played for him and speak about him and the program with glowing terms. I was also at the game on Sunday, and happened to be standing right under the camera stand where the Williams left back was injured. I did not see what happened to the first Williams player on the free kick in the first half where I'm assuming he broke his leg. I remember it being a free kick, having a large mass of bodies be inside the box and then them having to help #5 (i think) off the field. I didn't see the play so have no clue or right to say anything about the nature of the injury. I hope he heals quickly as he is a very good player that probably goes unheralded for Williams' midfield. The second injury was right in front of me. That was a 50/50 ball that the Amherst right back went to ground for (studs not up) and the Williams Left back going in on the tackle very hard as well. It was obvious immediately that the Williams player was hurt and the Amherst player was at least shaken up. From my view there was no intent to injure and it easily could have been the other way around. That was two committed players going into a challenge 100% and what resulted happens in soccer sometimes.  Saying that Amherst had the intent to injure the Williams player is wrong in my opinion.

On playing style, I think Amherst kicks the ball way too much for having the talent that they have. They have players who can play possession but they choose not to for whatever reason. They have gotten results and are great on set pieces and defend very well so get a lot of wins but this will come back to bite them at some point.  Amherst plays extremely hard and definitely do push the envelope at times, but on Sunday that was definitely a two way street. There were some great, clean, physical battles between the center back of Williams #4 and #25 of Amherst where both players gave as good as they got. Same goes for Amherst's centerback #4 and Williams' #20 (Ritter, I think).  Caslin and Murralles had a battle in the center of the midfield. NESCAC finals, and rivalry games, are like this. Unfortunately two players from Williams got injured. No one wants to see that but it happens in sports. Also on the throw-ins, anyone who was at that game on Sunday saw that this was a point of emphasis for the referee who routinely moved players back to the proper spot on both teams.

[cacattack]

First, I appreciate your candor and think that many of your comments are fair, with two exceptions.
First, Williams back #3, whose leg was broken on what you describe as a clean 50/50 confrontation has multiple open cleat wounds on his broken leg which would not be there if the Amherst player had come in cleats down. The game photos confirm this. Second, you didn't comment on the fact that the Williams' striker, #20, was cut down from behind in the box while attempting to shoot. No whistle, no foul, no card, no PK.
From where you were standing, you would have had a clear view of that play.
I'm sorry but while I agree that it was a hard fought match and that some of the aggressive play was fair, the large majority of fouls by Amherst, whether called or not, were dirty.

[CacFan12]

Another great NESCAC season in the books. Congratulations to all coaches and players. I'm not posting to stir the pot on Amherst, but I have read for years about how Amherst has the talent to play better soccer and they still rely on set pieces and physical play to win. I won't argue with that sentiment but obviously they are doing something right having won 3 straight NESCAC championships. However, could it be that this lack of possession oriented soccer is keeping them from reaching National Championship level? Just something to think about.

I'm curious to hear All-NESCAC predictions. Admittedly, I have not gotten to as many games as years past so I am no expert. I would have to think the tall striker on Conn gets 1st team consideration, Bull from Amherst, Rashid from Williams. Could any of these three make a play for POY? With his 4th NESCAC title in 7 seasons, is Serpone a lock for his first COY? Martin from Amherst as ROY?

[cacalum]

Cacattack. Appreciate you taking a look at it from both sides of the coin. I'm trying to find the pictures you describe that show the play, I've looked on the Amherst and Williams sites that both link to the same photo gallery on the Amherst website. I'm more than happy to admit I saw the play the wrong way, from my angle the Amherst player did not go in with his studs up, but it was an extremely fast play so I could easily have not seen it correctly. I know this comes off as extremely biased but that's what I saw. Happy to admit I'm wrong here on the studs up situation. If you have a photo of the play in your possession, happy to look at it. Irregardless, what I will say is that I believe that the Amherst player had 0 intent to injure his Williams counterpart. I'm going to take a leap of faith here and assume that you disagree, vehemently. I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on that one.

I didn't comment on the Williams striker #20 being "cut down from behind in the box while attempting to shoot. No whistle, no foul, no card, no PK," because it seemed like a good no call for me just like the one Amherst was whining about not getting in the Bowdoin game the day before. That's how I saw it. I thought the ref made a terrible no-call by not calling the Amherst center back on the foul in the corner of the field in the second half closer to the away team benches when he and #20 were at it again.  That was a foul and should have been called.  I'm going to take a wild guess that folks on here don't want to hear my second-by-second analysis 48 hours after a game is finished, so I omitted those two plays from my previous post and chose to focus elsewhere.

[Saint of Old]

Good strong and physical teams will always make it to the dance.
Add good set pieces and thats almost a lock for sweet 16 and beyond each year.
At some point in the tourney after that though, it takes a bit of technique and good ball possesion to advance.

Its not a surprise that the teams who have won the championship in the modern era were all ball possesion teams.

The problem is teams in the elite  8 are also physical and strong.
Hard to out muscle a team when the Championship is in their sights as well.

[nescac1]

Seems like every year around this time, there is some sort of debate around the tactics / attitude / general level of class exhibited by the Amherst team, in particular its head coach.  On the one hand, when you haven't lost a game in several years and have generally dominated the league, you are always going to be a bigger target for vitriol.  On the other hand, I don't recall the Middlebury or Williams teams ever engendering that level of hostility among their peers, even when dominating NESCAC in similar fashion, going to multiple final fours and winning national titles.  Food for thought ...

[cacattack]

Cacalum. I have no argument with you as I believe you are trying to be fair about what you saw. I saw cleats up, you didn't. I saw a foul in the box, you didn't. Perhaps we can agree that looking at the totality of rough play in the game rather than at a few particular plays, Amherst pushed the envelope way too far and the Ref allowed the game to get out of his control. Unfortunately, there were two season ending injuries, both on the Williams side.  Whether tighter control by the Ref over the overt physical play would have changed the outcome is impossible to say with any degree of certainty. However, the first game at Williams was not the street fight that the Final turned into, for whatever that's worth and the score was the same. After all, Amherst is undefeated and we certainly credit them for that.
However, the Williams players can be proud that a) they didn't retaliate for every elbow or kick from behind and b) they continued to play Mike Russo possession soccer throughout. Williams needs to re-load and focus on their NCAA opponents one at a time. And if a Williams/Amherst re-match results in a few weeks, I'm sure our boys will be ready.
Good luck to your team and I sincerely hope we get another shot at them.

[cacattack]

CacFan 12
A response to your thoughts about All-NESCAC. Field players for Williams, who should be considered for a 1st or 2nd Team look are (in order from back to front)
Pierce, Burbank-Krump, Muralles, Kastner and Rashid.
Best I've seen of our opponents are Fikke and Wirz (Amherst), McGann (Trinity), Conrad (Middlebury), Bratt (Wesleyan), Brewster and Dias Costa  (Bowdoin), Kayne and Schaible (Tufts), and Kraynak (Hamilton). ROY should probably be Glaser (Middlebury).

[Jump4Joy]

Martin or Glaser look likely ROY with similar stats, and the glory often goes to goalscorers. Based on ability, Aoyama Jr. should be in that conversation, but at right back he doesn't have stats.
I'd throw in Norton, Caslin, Pascual-Leone. Aoyama Sr. has the silkiest skills in the league (see him skin the cat Sunday against Ephs, who had no choice but to hack him down just outside the box?) but missed many games...
Bull has to be a lock for gk starting XI.
Pierce at Williams stands out on their back line. Lima's got game, too.
Hawkey at Conn.
Didn't see everyone this year, so no disrespect to others.

[All NESCAC]

ROY is Glaser from Midd stats speak for themselves.  Bull is best goalie and Fikke had very good but POY is Hawkey from Conn .  WHere would Conn be without him? Plus he was usually being singled out each game for multiple coverage.  He had the stats and did more with a much weaker supporting cast than the rest. 

[12SNoon]

Dear members of D3Boards.com who post in the NESCAC section,

This post is not likely directed at you. The vast majority of the posters here have great opinions and embrace debate.

I have played in 74 collegiate soccer games for Amherst College over the past 4 years. I've had double jaw surgery from being kicked in the face from playing in this league:

[Warning: Do not click this link and view this picture if you are in denial regarding how physical all NESCAC soccer games are, or if you get nauseous from the sight of gruesome sports injuries]

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=f57hjq&s=5

I have been a NESCAC basketball player for a team that would end up winning a National Championship. Going up against 6'6'' players on the hardwood might seem like a physical challenge, but I can assure you it pales in comparison to playing a NESCAC soccer game. Every single game is a streetfight, cacattack. My final game of my career, against Williams, Matt Ratajak and Dan Lima kicked, pushed, and shoved me every single time the referee wasn't looking. Do you know what? I respect the hell out of those guys - they battled. They put blood, sweat, and tears into their college career, of course they were going to do everything in their power to keep Amherst College from scoring.

I was standing 2 feet from the sideline, which was 5 feet from the spot Justin Aoyama slide tackled Andre Burbank-Crump. I, along with the referee, had a perfect angle of what turned out to be an incredibly unfortunate, but clean play. Watch the video, notice how Aoyoma slides with his leg and meets the ball. I, along with the rest of the audience, held our collective breath as both players fell backwards immediately onto the ground. You mentioned, cacattack, that Burbank-Crump had cleat marks on his leg. May I ask - is it possible that after Aoyama tackled the ball, his momentum (and cleat) hit his leg? Unfortunate, yes. But that can happen on a clean tackle.

I noticed one poster wrote something to the tune of: Amherst plays overly aggressive and is big and physical. Like this is a bad thing? Did you watch the Williams Final 4 team of 2009 (a back line that was over 26 feet tall, featuring Connor Smith, Joe Vela, AND Matt Ratajak)? Are you forgetting when you all praised Bowdoin for making the Final 4 in 2010 for being set piece MONSTERS? Look at the back line of Middlebury and Bowdoin this year, selected by candidates for coach of the year in this league (**hint: their back lines, like the rest of this league, are overly aggressive, big, and physical.)

If you want to call Amherst College a dirty soccer team, I am not going to stop you. I will not even stoop to your level and call Williams a dirty team. But I will point out that Williams has 2 red cards on the season. Amherst has none. #foodforthought

Amherst College is not reinventing the wheel when it comes to winning college soccer games. Have you been watching the MLS playoffs -- the best league in American soccer? Watch. It is direct. It is aggressive. It is physical. Do you know what happens at an MLS game? I'll give you a hint -- it rhymes with feet stright.

Which gets me to my last point -- posters, who are you? Did you play in this league? Are you a parent? Are you a coach? Or are you just "a fan who's been following along for many years before finally deciding to post." Let's point out the elephant in the room - the sheer odds of having this many "fan's who have just been following the NESCAC for so many years before finally deciding to post" is shockingly small. Why not just tell us who you really are? A little transparency on these boards would do us all some good.


Thank you for your time,

S. Noon
Amherst College '13


PS - I am saving my best stuff for when the NESCAC awards are announced 

[nescac1]

Fair enough, Mr. Noon.  You have, more than anyone here, earned the right to opine, and your insights as a recent graduate are definitely appreciated! 

[madzillagd]

With all due respect to Mr. Noon, my son's Under 6 soccer team just posted a 10-0 record with a 70-4 goal differential so I feel like I'm adequately qualified to post on the boards. 

In all seriousness, whether hard play is coached or not, it all comes down to the officiating in any sport.  Players will always look for any leverage they can to compete and it's up to the officials to determine where the line should be drawn between what's a foul or not a foul.  I think more than anything else, consistency is what people are looking for.  Once the official establishes what will be allowed in that match then it's on the players and coaches to adjust to that standard.  Any team that chooses to play a docile game and totally avoid fouls is putting themselves at a competitive disadvantage just the same as any team that relies solely on rough play without any regard to skill work.  Both will eventually lose to those that are able to play physical but still stay focused on capitalizing on opportunities which typically come out of the skill side. 

[Saint of Old]

I'm sure people who post here are former All Americans, HS and College National Champs, and some maybe, played entire college career ranked in the top 3 nationally.
Most of us are has beens or doting and proud parents, but I don't think athletic recognition is required to provide solid soccer analysis.

A team that does not play technique oriented football will never win a national championship.
Perhaps in the 70s or 80s, but not today.

Williams has won the crown and came pretty darn close  to doing it a couple more times.
At the end of the day, the game when played the right way is really "The beautiful game"

[Jump4Joy]

Great post, Noon.
Didn't see as many games as usual this year but I saw only one team really play any meaningfully beautiful moments against Amherst. It wasn't Williams; it was Colby. Colby didn't seem very interested in holding jerseys, pushing in the back from behind or coming in late the way many other teams in the league do. Sorry, folks, but as successful as they've been in recent years in other areas (winning titles, for one), Amherst is not alone at the top when it comes to the physical play so many of you seem to disdain. The league is brutal across the board.