NESCAC

[Mr.Right]

Would Russo rather walk off the field losing to Bowdoin or walk off the field at Tufts losing to Amherst. His last game ever would be a loss to Amherst...That would really STING

[PaulNewman]

He wouldn't lose to Amherst 

[Off Pitch]

Predictions:

Tufts 2 - Conn 0
Williams 0 - Bowdoin 0 (Bowdoin on PKs)
Amherst 2 - Colby 0
Middlebury 0 - Wesleyan 0 (Weslyan on PKs)

[Jump4Joy]

Tufts in a Jumbo hole at the half...

[lastguyoffthebench]

Is the Tufts game final?  The live stats feed was having issues.

[PaulNewman]

Conn wins.

Williams out.

Wes and Midd in OT as Wes GK makes huge error with 4 min left in reg.

[PaulNewman]

Looks like this could be a banner day for Amherst.  No Williams to worry about anymore and home field for rest of NESCAC tourney.

[NESCAC-fanatic00203]

Conn v Tufts was an ugly game on a **** field. Tufts gets hosed on a missed PK call in the first half, and two chances looked to be over the line that were not called goals. Tough way to potentially end the season.

Classy conn player also tells a tufts player after the game that he would f*** the accent out of his mother .. No place for that

[backyarddawg]

What is going on in the NESCAC?  Upsets all day.

From the elbow to that language seems like some things need to change.

Go Amherst!

[Corazon]

Near fight after the Bowdoin win over Williams as well.

[dacac]

From the webcast it was hard to tell whether or not that was a PK. Initially I thought it was, but the Tufts forward (was it Hoppenot?) didn't really protest the yellow he received for diving.

Not surprised that this is the year an 8-seed beats a 1-seed. There are no elite teams in the league, and Tufts is probably the weakest 1-seed I can remember. Hard to imagine they don't earn an automatic bid though.

[Brother Flounder]

Congrats to Conn College!  The weather and poor field conditions surely helped them. Rain and high winds. It soaked me! Tufts kept hammering in the second half but just couldn't score.  They had chances. Their forward missed on a good chance. Don't like hearing that kind of trash talk. Reminds me of Zidane in the World Cup.  I thought Kayne and Devlin were the two outstanding players. Devlin is smart and Kayne is shifty and smooth. Both pass extremely well.  This was only Tufts second loss so I really wouldn't say they were a weak No.1.  I suppose your same comment would have applied to Amherst or Middlebury, etc. since they also are having down years and Amherst seems the most vulnerable it has in years.  So, in that regard, I can see where you may be coming from.  It was certainly an interesting year and it's not over.  I also see Tufts getting an at-large bid (would be very surprised if the were snubbed given their record and SOS).  Conn College has to win out to make the tourney.  Again, good win for CC.

[All NESCAC]

Congrats to Conn College!  The weather and poor field conditions surely helped them. Rain and high winds. It soaked me! Tufts kept hammering in the second half but just couldn't score.  They had chances. Their forward missed on a good chance. Don't like hearing that kind of trash talk. Reminds me of Zidane in the World Cup.  I thought Kayne and Devlin were the two outstanding players. Devlin is smart and Kayne is shifty and smooth. Both pass extremely well.  This was only Tufts second loss so I really wouldn't say they were a weak No.1.  I suppose your same comment would have applied to Amherst or Middlebury, etc. since they also are having down years and Amherst seems the most vulnerable it has in years.  So, in that regard, I can see where you may be coming from.  It was certainly an interesting year and it's not over.  I also see Tufts getting an at-large bid (would be very surprised if the were snubbed given their record and SOS).  Conn College has to win out to make the tourney.  Again, good win for CC.

Agree with you BroFlounder.  Tale of two halves. Conn had the wind in 1st half and carriesd the play.  Tufts had the wind in 2ndhalf and was all over Conn. Conn scored early on a verypretty build up and knocked in a rebound d save
Tufts came out flat and was in a state of shock when Conn scored first.  Conns second goal left Tufts very shaken. Tufts really missed Kramer at centerback.  Conn used a lot ofplayers and kept runniing in fresh legs.  Tufts dominated 2nd half and they had their chances but Conn defense and keeper played well.  It took the best game of the season by Conn and their players gutted it out.  The bad weather helped Conn immensley as it really hurt the very skillfullTufts team.  Tufts will get a NCAA bid and they deserve one.  No one saw this upset coming but Conn finaly scored and they did so early and their confidence grew.  They will need an even better effort vs Amherst to have a chance but you never know as soccer is a strange game.  I do have to say that it did look like Tufts scored two more goals on the goal line but they were waived off.  Bitchell also played a great game for Conn.


.  Tufts came out flat and was in a state of shock when Conn scored first

[PaulNewman]

After everything that happened yesterday this NESCAC thread has been awfully quiet.

Congrats to Coach Russo on his great career.  There's no perfect way to go out unless you get a walk-off national title, but two final fours in your last three years ain't bad.  He created a tradition where Williams often had the best team in the NESCAC but even when they weren't you still had to get through Williams.  I'm sure they will hire someone who will carry on and keep Williams very much in the mix on the national scene.

Tufts no doubt is safe for an at-large bid, but one wonders if this extremely talented squad can rally to make some noise.

Is Middlebury in with a win over Bowdoin?  That seems like the most likely scenario for a NESCAC getting 3 teams.

If Bowdoin wins, and assuming Bowdoin would not manage to beat Midd and Amherst back-to-back, would the NESCAC only get 2?

Everything has set up nicely for Amherst.  Home field for the rest of the NESCAC, a NCAA slot pretty much wrapped up, and nemesis Williams out of the way.  The only glitch for them, and maybe this actually is a plus, is that they are unlikely to host at the sweet 16 stage.  Brandeis and Oneonta would seem to be ahead of Amherst in that pecking order.

Wesleyan is probably the team that will have the biggest regrets, as a few bounces made the difference between an outstanding season and what at least on paper looks pretty mediocre.  Midd was very, very fortunate to advance.

[Jump4Joy]

Yes, applause to Russo's legacy.

While Williams is on a down year, that sag has also tugged at the shoulders of traditional giants Middlebury and Amherst.
With Tufts asserting themselves in the regular season, perhaps they just haven't been there enough to know how to hammer it home. We'll get another look at the Jumbos' ability to step it up in the first round of the NCAAs. Meanwhile, Shapiro is the likely COY (but sentimentality might give it to Russo even though this Ephs season does not merit the laurel).

After a third minute goal, the Jeffs looked like they were going to walk into the semis. But sloppy conditions and sloppy play left the door open for Colby, especially in the second half when the Camels started to see much more of the ball and seemed to gain more and more belief. Amherst's athleticism won the game. Interestingly, the Jeffs used an incredibly short bench--maybe because of the promise of an entire week between matches? Chernin and Stanton were notables for Colby in my book. Wirz was playing to win for Amherst.

Caught some of the Tufts/Conn game. Looked like Conn was playing D every time I checked in, but a couple of times when I checked back, Conn had scored yet another goal. Conditions like yesterday's usually end up working against the team that likes to build via triangles in the middle third. Perhaps someone who was there can comment on whether that was the case yesterday.

Without home field advantage, the key factor in the Midd/Bowdoin match next week might hinge on the how Midd shuts down the nifty quickness of the Polar Bears when they get to the top of the 18 or how Bowdoin handles the power of Conrad in making space for Glaser.
Question: Who were the PK takers yesterday b/w Midd and Wesleyan? Who scored? I'm surprised that info is not readily available. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong places?