NESCAC

[Mr.Right]

Bowdoin-I have not been impressed by Bowdoin this year. They have not gotten any results against the top 4 in Nescac. Like I said before, their best players are all O'Leary recruits except for Stevie Van Siclen who would of ended up a bottom tier Ivy or someplace in D1 had it not been for two ACL injuries he has suffered before college. In goal Van Siclen is solid and a big boy in net almost comparable to Bull but because of those knee injuries I feel he might be a tad slow getting down to the ground. They moved Kiefer Solarte from holding mid to right back. He is an average wing back with decent speed and skill but at 5'7 he can be exposed. The other wing back is Danny Melong who is big and athletic and a leader on the field but has no skill and whacks everything near him. In the middle is Nabil Odulate who is very athletic and decent on the ball. The other central defender is Eric Goitia who is a solid player. He is dangerous on set pieces. A solid but not superior back 4. In midfield Thomas Henshall and Hunter Miller are good but I do not think they would be starting on Amherst, Williams or Tufts. I am a big fan of Diaz-Costa and believe he is their best player. Very skilled and silky smooth with the ball. A fun player to watch. Andrew Jones a top 5 1v1 player in Nescac but he tends to drift in and out of games especially when teams put their focus on him defensively.  Sam White at 6'4 should be a beast and is a physical specimen and athletic as heck but he is "soft" for his size. He needs to get tougher and more physical to be a force in this league. Last year I loved Cedric Charlier. He was another physical specimen that had raw athletic ability. Unfortunately, he looks to be about 15lbs heavier than last year and a complete non-factor getting a couple 15 minute shifts off the bench. Sam Ward is a solid player but nothing special. Frosh DiStefano is a spark plug off the bench out of Phillips Andover but his size has limited him at this point in the college game.

[Corazon]

Got to agree All-NESCAC.  Have to say, I am going to find that bottom tier by far the most interesting viewing until the playoffs come around.  When the two "league" winners will likely be dispatched by Tufts and Amherst.

I agree.  The bottom tier reminds me of the relegation battles in the EPL - very entertaining in its own right.

[chelseafc30]

This has surely got to be a joke thread. But I do know that Kenyon has a D1 transfer from Providence College who played for Solar Chelsea Academy in Texas. So there's one academy player for Kenyon. That's all I really know about either school's number of academy players.

[amh63]

FYI...there seems an emerging of another nescac board....started by Mr. Right.  Seems Dom posters here are chatting there....one questioning if LP has moved.  Amusing and interesting....but sad if true.

[blooter442]

amh63, I would think that most of us will stay on this board. I just had to say there that I "very highly suspect" that we have a former user re-registering as a different alias.

[PaulNewman]

If it's not him it's a very close cousin as he picked up on the exact same themes of LP, which really ticks me off because I tried to throw him a lifeline to smarten up before he got booted and he just kept barreling along.  And then the new thread just happens to be a NESCAC thread. 

[Pat Coleman]

Sorry to disappoint you but I am not. Lets focus on the league and the games not who is posting and who isn't. Thanks for reading

Yes you are. You share the same IP address and I knew that when I approved you to post.

Since you were not banned from posting, rather, deleted yourself voluntarily, I allowed you to re-register. However, starting a new NESCAC board is not necessary and I will assign the same warning level you had when you bailed on the board.

I find it amusing that a poster immediately sniffed you out without access to the admin info.

[Corazon]

It took about 2 seconds to figure you out, LaPaz/Mr.Right.  I hadn't planned on engaging you, but since you've been outed, I thought I'd offer my 2 cents. 

As long as you stay respectful, there are no hard feelings on my end.  You have your moments of brilliance and some interesting insights but you are also blinded by your prejudices and biases, that you are unable to hear another view point.  I sincerely hope you work out your demons.  I do hope you are able to return and engage in respectful soccer conversation.

Peacefully,

Corazon

[soccerfan1]

The return of LP is taking away from the big games this weekend. Here are my predictions:

Bates at Midd- 0-2
Bates has looked a lot better this season than in seasons past.  However, Midd's turf field is one of the biggest home field advantages in the NESCAC.  Glaser and Conrad look good, both scoring goals over the weekend.  I say a goal from each and Midd cruises comfortably past a resurgent Bates team.

Conn Coll at Bowdoin- 1-1
This is a really tough game to call.  Conn College has not looked good recent weeks, and apparently their center back Punt will be out for the season.  That being said, they still have a great midfield led by Devlin, and can create scoring chances.  Bowdoin has looked really good recently, winning five in a row before losing to Williams last week.  Their center back number 8 is a great athlete, but I see a physical game that ends 1-1.

Amherst at Wesleyan- 1-0
Amherst as usual finds themselves at the top of the table moving into playoff time.  I know there has been a lot of talk about Amherst and their playing style, and while it isn't pretty, they win games.  Also, Pascal-Leone is a ver good player, and Martin is always dangerous.  I am still not convinced that Wesleyan has enough weapons to consistently score goals, and I think that they may have a tough time against Amherst this weekend. 

Hamilton at Colby- 1-0
Really big game at the bottom of the table. Hamilton has not scored as many goals in recent games as they were at the beginning.  Also not sure where Reynolds is but he missed both games this weekend and they gave up five goals in his absence.  Kraynak is a strong hold up forward, and I think he will score one. Colby is a surprise team this year for me.  They look very well organized defensively, which is a night and day change from last year's team.  They are always tough to beat at home (as midd knows).

Williams at Tufts- 1-2
After an unusually shaky start to the season, Williams has seemed to find their usual form.  I haven't seen any of their games this year, but it seems like Grady is finding the back of the net a lot, and they haven't been giving up many goals.  That being said, Tufts is probably the best team in the NESCAC skill wise.  Their midfield is loaded with talented players highlighted by the fact that Santos still comes off the bench in many games.  Hoppernot and brown up top are threats and I think that they will take the victory over Williams at home.

[Corazon]

Nice picks, soccerfan1 and welcome.  I hope you'll post more.

Your picks are sound to me.  The two most difficult games to predict for me are the Conn-Bowdoin and the Hamilton-Colby games, which are toss ups for me.  I can easily see them ending in ties.

[Corazon]

One myth that continues to be perpetuated on this board and others is that the US Soccer Development Academy ("USSDA" or "DAP" or "Academy") caters to the rich kids, and as a result, many great lower income players get left behind and ignored.  While there are always exceptions, that notion is complete bs and about as accurate as a comment that only rich people can send their kids to NESCAC schools.  Neither points are true.  If a player is good enough to be accepted into the program, or if a student is strong enough to be accepted into a NESCAC school, you will get to go.  Financial aid is readily available and I do not know of a single impact player being turned away due to finances. It is the geographcially remote kids and the boarding school kids who are punished, but that is a small sampling of soccer players, maybe 5-10%.

[SoccerFollower]

I agree soccerfan, let's get back to soccer. And welcome back, Lapaz. I always appreciate the insight you bring.

Bates 0 - 2 Midd: Midd need to win and must be hoping to see Tufts and Amherst win in order to get back in the race for a home playoff spot with Wesleyan and Williams. Middlebury are 2-0-2 at home and their two ties came against tufts and amherst. I can't see anything but a Middlebury win here.

Conn Coll 0 - 1 Bowdoin: Conn have been extremely disappointing this year, and losing Punt makes it even harder. Bowdoin are a hard-working, organized team, and I think they have enough to find a winner tomorrow.

Amherst 2 - 0 Wesleyan:  I think Amherst's physicality and style of play will overwhelm the Wesleyan defensive group and Amherst will score early on in the game and punish them against when Wesleyan have to stretch to try to find an equalizer.

Hamilton 0 - 0 Colby: Colby at home can give any team problems. Tufts and Wesleyan squeeked by with wins there and Middlebury lost 0-3. I don't think either team will find the net, but if someone does, it's going to be Colby.

Williams 2 - 1 Tufts: Though talented, I think Williams have the mental edge against Tufts. If i recall correctly, Tufts have lost their last 4 or 5 games against Williams. My prediction is that Tufts go up a goal early and Williams come from behind (as they did against Wesleyan and Middlebury). I just don't think Tufts will have the mentality down the stretch and into the playoffs to make a real run (For NESCACs or NCAAs)

[Mr.Right]

Interesting about the mental toughness aspect for Tufts can you elaborate on that or explain why u think that?

[Mr.Right]

reading into your post it seems like a half shot at the leadership of the captains or the seniors?

[Mr.Right]

Ok thats fair as I have said in the past Tufts can be physically overwhelmed in games but this year they seem to be holding their own in that department against the 3 most physical teams in Midd, Amherst and Conn. Since Williams is not one of the most physical teams Tufts should not have a problem there. When you said mentality I assumed you were talking about leadership but really you were talking about their inability to close out games and win big games. I twisted that into poor leadership but maybe its just a mindset ingrained in them. However, after watching them multiple times this year I think they are a strong senior laden bunch and have gotten over the hump. This talented senior class has been to only 1 NCAA tournament and lost to a weaker Vassar side. I think they have some hunger to show people what they are made of