NESCAC

[LaPaz]

I am utterly shocked that Peabo Knoth leads in conference goal scoring with 4. That is more surprising than any teams results at this point.  Sisco has been a major disappointment thus far for Williams. He was supposed to be a great striker with toughness and a nose for the goal. He had a greta chance against Skidmore yesterday and badly missed. He has gotten plenty of minutes to prove himself and has not done so yet.

[Corazon]

Williams is clearly down this year but I wouldn't worry too much. They will still make the NESCAC playoffs and who knows what can happen if the past has taught us anything. They will still be a force in the future and I wouldn't be surprised if the next coach takes them back to their dynastic best with some aggressive recruiting. No reason they can't scour the USSDA for good students and sell them on the perks of a Williams education/experience. They should get their share of players over most D1 programs and their $10k per year or the draw of immediate play time vs the Ivies.

Kenyon is a program doing just that (10-0, #2 in nation) with a tremendous Brit (father played for Chelsea) leading their recruiting. Identify talent at the Florida showcase, weekly emails and occasional phone calls (even after told no). Kenyon is no Williams as for a national draw. Difference is the recruiting.

[MENESCACFAN]

Jump4Joy, thank you for that.  Great point, and I did not actually know how to find that.  I am aware some players light up out of conference foes to hit that leaderboard, obviously Knoth not guilty of that.  I know Savonen of Trinity and Pereira of Bates did that last fall.

LaPAz, I would not be too shocked about Knoth.  He spent his summer playing for Portland Phoenix PDL, a team that competes at a higher level than NESCAC, and has produced over 20 professional players in the last 5 years.  I watched two of their games, and they are a tremendous standard.  Western Mass Pioneers, Boston Rams, CFC Azul and Vermont Voltage are all similar franchises in NESCAC school areas if you have interest in catching a game.  I would highly recommend it.

I have seen Sisco play, and have to say I expected him to make a big splash.  He is only young, he may well come good, maybe even today.

[Corazon]

I am utterly shocked that Peabo Knoth leads in conference goal scoring with 4. That is more surprising than any teams results at this point.  Sisco has been a major disappointment thus far for Williams. He was supposed to be a great striker with toughness and a nose for the goal. He had a greta chance against Skidmore yesterday and badly missed. He has gotten plenty of minutes to prove himself and has not done so yet.

I've seen Knoth play 4x now and he has stood out to me in every game. He is a player. Good to see Bates' freshmen and Sophomores step it up as it confirms to me that Im not crazy and what I saw on the recruiting trail - that Flaherty is a heck of a recruiter - synchs with reality. He's had 2 full recruiting classes as a head coach (the current Frosh and Sophs) - he's brought in 12 players (told me so himself) as well as Creighton transfer Moyo, as he got the head coaching spot after he 2011 season ended, though he was an assistant before that. Speaking of Bates, anyone know why Pereira hasn't been playing?

Colby's new coaching staff are also tremendous recruiters. In a few years, I'm predicting that the bottom of the NESCAC won't be occupied by Bates and Colby.

[LaPaz]

Can we please not get carried away. Bates does NOT have any legit players and KNOTH is not a great striker. He is ok. Good teams will shut him down.
Corazon your comments make me laugh as if Williams doesnt recruit like that now. Some Brit at Kenyon has come up with this "new idea"...F"ck brits all they do is take good jobs for american coaches.

[LaPaz]

Corazon you sound bitter that Williams didnt recruit your "average" son / player. Parents these days make me laugh, its like just face it your kid isnt good enough for certain elite programs. Praise Flaherty all you want but he is just a Brit poser who has taken a legit job from an American assistant coach.

[Corazon]

You apparently laugh a lot it seems and I say this with all due respect, perhaps you might want to broaden your horizon and be open to other ideas. What do I know, I only experienced the recruiting first hand in real time.  I do not believe Williams attends the Academy showcases - at least I haven't seen them the last 2 years and I've never seen them on the sidelines of Academy games in New England that I've attended (which is plenty) not at Bolts, not at Revs, not at Seacoast.  I believe they recruit primarily from their ID camps and based on who fills out their recruiting profile on web site. This draws 350 or so candidates per year which is plenty and has served them well so far but perhaps the impact NESCAc recruits are too busy playing Academy games and corresponding with the D1s and other aggressive recruiters?  You may not care about some Brit at Kenyon, but they've been recruiting better than Williams, which should never happen.

By the way, I am a long time Wlliams fan. Seriously. You've been dominating this board with your strong opinions (which I very much enjoy) but you may not be always correct, or at the very least, there is another view point. Seems Williams could use Knoth about now, don't you think? 

[Corazon]

Corazon you sound bitter that Williams didnt recruit your "average" son / player. Parents these days make me laugh, its like just face it your kid isnt good enough for certain elite programs. Praise Flaherty all you want but he is just a Brit poser who has taken a legit job from an American assistant coach.

Don't assume you know anything about my "average" son, LaPaz, including who he plays for or who our loyalties lie with.

[LaPaz]

Knoth is a 5'7 peanut and I predict will not score against Williams, Midd or Colby. Bates finishes 2-8-0 in the league and at the bottom where they normally finish...Also, I never professed to being right all the time but I usually am. Do not get overly sensitive about your son, if he has your genes I am sure his soccer brain is zero

[Corazon]

Knoth is a 5'7 peanut and I predict will not score against Williams, Midd or Colby. Bates finishes 2-8-0 in the league and at the bottom where they normally finish...Also, I never professed to being right all the time but I usually am. Do not get overly sensitive about your son, if he has your genes I am sure his soccer brain is zero

Thank you, La Paz. Don't ever change.

[PaulNewman]

LaPaz, you seem to be having a bad day.  You're acting in a way you are going to (or should) regret.  Your usual stuff is so good, even when you disagree, but this nasty streak is a different story.

Corazon, I'm going to disagree and agree with you.

It does come across as silly to suggest Williams should follow Kenyon.  Williams just went to 2 straight final fours and has a soccer tradition only a few schools can top.  I'm a major Kenyon fan, but Kenyon still has a lot to prove.

Kenyon has ramped up its recruiting and the future is bright, although one wonders if the assistant you talk about will stay for a long time.  Where I disagree with you about Kenyon is in terms of its national draw.  Kenyon isn't Williams, but it's still an excellent school and its national draw always has been fine.  Check out the roster geographically.  That's not new either.  Kenyon always has drawn from all over the country and usually has several international kids.

[Corazon]

LaPaz, you seem to be having a bad day.  You're acting in a way you are going to (or should) regret.  Your usual stuff is so good, even when you disagree, but this nasty streak is a different story.

Corazon, I'm going to disagree and agree with you.

It does come across as silly to suggest Williams should follow Kenyon.  Williams just went to 2 straight final fours and has a soccer tradition only a few schools can top.  I'm a major Kenyon fan, but Kenyon still has a lot to prove.

Kenyon has ramped up its recruiting and the future is bright, although one wonders if the assistant you talk about will stay for a long time.  Where I disagree with you about Kenyon is in terms of its national draw.  Kenyon isn't Williams, but it's still an excellent school and its national draw always has been fine.  Check out the roster geographically.  That's not new either.  Kenyon always has drawn from all over the country and usually has several international kids.

Thanks for your comment, NCAC. I did not mean to demean Kenyon in any way.  It is an excellent school and enough of a draw that we visited. They are indeed NESCAC level academically.  I was just comparing that for a top player from New England, Williams should win hands down. Hard for me to write thoughtful posts from my iPhone.

[MENESCACFAN]

Knoth leads the conference in scoring and Moyo was a scholarship player at a D1 final four school.  That is legit and you can't argue otherwise.  They both play in the PDL which is a higher level than NESCAC suggesting further legitimacy.

"Flaherty is a Brit poser who has taken a job from an American."  "F*ck the Brits."  I think that right there LaPaz takes away all your credibility when discussing Flaherty or Seabrook at Colby.  You don't like that a young English guy has come into a world you seemed to think should work differently.  If the fact that he is English forms your opinion, you are a fool and a xenophobic idiot.  You can say now they will go 2-8, but two weeks ago you said they would go 0-10 so what do your words mean on that front?  Drop your grudge it really is sad to see a man of your age (I assume you are a grown man) act like this.

While we are at it, let's get the international students like Rashid and Pereira out of "our" league right?  Pathetic!

[MENESCACFAN]

WEEKEND REVIEW PART 2

ENDICOTT 0 WILLIAMS 1 (2OT)

Williams ground out a win which will be very welcome in the locker room, without really answering many of the questions that existed going into the game.  Senior Zach Grady did indeed retake the lead for conference points with a dramatic winner in double OT, and will remain a front runner when the NESCAC MVP voting comes around.

Williams made the change at goalkeeper many will have suspected, but I am not sure Christian Alcorn making 1 save will have settled any indecision over who their number 1 guy is between the sticks.

If the Endicott game report is accurate, the Gulls did have two or three solid chances to score, but Williams outshot them 24-8, suggesting a well deserved win.

The win pushes Williams to above .500 overall, but this performance suggests Endicott should get plenty of wins in their own conference.

[MENESCACFAN]

Corazon

Just had a look into Pereira, I remember him being outstanding in the 5-1 Bates win at Colby last fall.  Last year he scored 6 goals (same as Knoth), but 5 did come out of conference against USM and UMF in heavy wins.

Looks like 3 games and 1 start this year, seems minimal enough that injury is the issue or some kind of attitude problem?  Would be interested to know what is the case myself.

On a similar note, it is likely the Savonen story was a bit blown up if he was back playing already on Saturday.