NESCAC

[All NESCAC]

I was thinking of Sorice and Schliech (sp?), but I see Sorice was on the roster and playing so maybe got injured?  So maybe not as many as I thought.  I can't recall how many frosh they started with who would be seniors, but every program has some attrition like that.

When you discuss attrition from an original frosh recruiting class most colleges will be lucky if they keep  60% of the class all 4 years (this would be a great % typically)....I am amazed at Conn's % for this years Sr class as it still has 100% of the 7 frosh recruits from 4 years ago (and most of them play).

[MENESCACFAN]

Schleich I know suffered a career ending head injury at Williams last fall.  Sorice I do not know.  He played in some Bates games this fall and not others, also played PDL over the summer in NY.  I thought Sorice was pretty good, real scrappy defender even if lacking a bit technically compared with a typical NESCAC player. 

Not sure if that was an injury/performace/coaching issue.

[MENESCACFAN]

Great point above from Al-NESCAC on what was clearly a good Conn class!  Hamilton also seemed to start 7 or 8 seniors this fall.  I am really interested to see what happens there.

If I am right that class was recruited to a perennial conference power.  Certainly not the case anymore, and may b in with Bats/Colby/Conn for player attraction.

[PaulNewman]

Yes, I retract my original comment about Bates and apologize for it.  I should have done more homework before commenting.  I thought had recalled someone else a few weeks suggest that some players had become unhappy during the Flaherty era but maybe I just imagined that.

All-NESCAC is correct.  A pretty high % of attrition is normal, and probably more so the bigger the class.  The current Kenyon senior group started with 20 as frosh.  Now they are at 11.

[Mr.Right]

Mr.Right, even your buddy Off Pitch will have to admit you know a ton about D3 soccer.  Can't believe you had details on how Messiah used the Fri-Sat set-up.

Anyway, with Tufts, do you think they are competing with Babson and WPI only, or do you think what happens with Rochester, RPI, Montclair, Salisbury, etc will factor in?

I believe Tufts will be competing with mainly New England and East regions maybe South Atlantic just because of geography. First of all you do not want teams behind you jumping ahead of you so WPI would be the best bet to go out for them first. Gordon has no chance of passing Tufts if they lose in the CCC final and really have no business being in this ranking to begin with. Middlebury might have a slim chance of passing them with a win and a tie but I doubt it. Then you could make yourself very safe by passing Babson which I would imagine will be difficult without playing a game and Babson losing to a highly ranked team. So most likey they will be sitting st #6 and in the past that has been good enough from New England but maybe not this year. 4 out of the 5 teams ahead of them might need Pool C's and the East region is stronger this year. Tufts might want Case to beat Rochester but that would give another spot to Case. They would like Amherst to win Nescac so only 3 of 5 teams ahead of them will need a Pool C. They would like SLU to win the Liberty League to eliminate RPI as I do not think RPI gets in over Tufts. Montclair St is finished if they do not win the NJAC so they are not a threat.

[Saint of Old]

Tufts 10-2-4 v. RPI 13-3-3 is a tough one. I would have to go slightly with RPI (although they could well win the LL and make my points moot). The East is a bit stronger this year and both teams are ranked 6th regionally in the latest rankings. These rankings however did not take into account RPI's near dismantling of a strong Vassar team. They have been ranked nationally for almost the entire season and have really good senior leadership.
I will concede however that Mr. Right is normally very right and my analysis could be clouded by watching a few RPI games this season while only taking Tufts record  and SOS into consideration.

[Mr.Right]

My Nescac Votes

COY
1. Shapiro
2. Seabrook
3. Saward

ROY
1. Cowie-Haskel
2. Chandler Smith
3. Merchant

POY
1. NPL
2. Conrad
3. Wirz

GK
1. Greenwood
2. Sydor
3. Bull

Defenders
1.Wirz
2.Williams
3.Bratt
4.Danilack
5.Goitia

Midfielders
1.Devlin
2.Santos
3.Gruner
4.Kayne
5.Tobias Gimand

Forwards
1. NPL
2. Conrad
3. Grady
4. Glazer
5. Savonen

[Mr.Right]

Tufts 10-2-4 v. RPI 13-3-3 is a tough one. I would have to go slightly with RPI (although they could well win the LL and make my points moot). The East is a bit stronger this year and both teams are ranked 6th regionally in the latest rankings. These rankings however did not take into account RPI's near dismantling of a strong Vassar team. They have been ranked nationally for almost the entire season and as a result have really good senior leadership.
I will concede however that Mr. Right is normally very right and my analysis could be clouded by watching a few RPI games this season while only taking Tufts record  and SOS into consideration.

I would have agreed with you had RPI gotten a result at a resurgent Keene ST. They laid an egg up in Keene that night. However I believe RPI will get in also just not over Tufts. With a tie at SLU they will get in and also jump UR with a UR loss

[1970s NESCAC Player]

Mr. Right, I'm impressed with your NESCAC votes.  With a son in the league, I've seen every team in the league play at least once this year, and it is clear from your selections that you have paid close attention and truly identified some of the league's under-the-radar gems.

[RelegationZone]

Mr. Right, I'm impressed with your NESCAC votes.  With a son in the league, I've seen every team in the league play at least once this year, and it is clear from your selections that you have paid close attention and truly identified some of the league's under-the-radar gems.

The only glaring omission from Mr. Right's otherwise unassailable vote list IMHO is in the ROY category.  Ward (Bowdoin) is hands-down the best freshman in the conference.  While Cowie-Haskel (Wesleyan) will probably win the award based on twice being selected as NESCAC player of the week and the OT goal he scored to end Amherst's conference unbeaten streak (a big positive in the eyes of most NESCAC coaches), Ward has no peer in terms of technical ability, tactical awareness, work rate, versatility, durability, commitment, attitude and overall soccer acumen.  Statistics tell only a very small part of the story on this one.

[Jump4Joy]

I like Colby's Stanton at back. Effective. We cannot completely ignore Chernin at midfield for Colby. Silky and smart. If we're looking at other under-the-radar guys, we can't overlook Aoyama for Amherst. Pegged in at center back for much of the season due to injuries and whatnot, his composure on the ball and defensive timing are both quality. Maybe he finally gets his due next year? (Took a while for folks to recognize his older brother's prowess, too.) On a possession-oriented team, probably a force in midfield.

[Mr.Right]

Midd v Bowdoin- I like Bowdoin in this one 1-0. This game should be very even and could tilt either way. With all the injured players playing last week end vs Williams they looked like a totally different team. Both teams have solid GK's. Bowdoin played a nice possession style against Williams and I enjoyed watching it but it seems to me when they play these other 3 schools they tend to whack it as much as the other team. 3 things to watch will be can Bowdoin shut down Conrad? Will Glaser show up and play like one of the best Nescac strikers? Will the ball stay on the ground for 20 straight seconds?

Amherst v Conn- 2-1 Amherst. I like Conn I really might have picked them in this battle. The reason I could not is their spotty Goalkeeping. Murphy is one of the better recruiters but he really left this position bare. It has cost them a good season. Ironically, as I type this I remember that they made the Nescac Final 4 for the first time ever. The season ends here and hopefully not with a keeper error. Amherst has been getting early goals and hanging on or late goals to tie the match and or win.  This will be a war in midfield and if Conn can get an injured player or two back they will make this a scrappy game. 1 thing to watch will the ball stay on the ground for 10 straight seconds?

[MENESCACFAN]

I like Stanton a lot also and think he has a shot for second team all conference, no chance Chernin gets a vote in top 5 midfielders in the league though. 

[Mr.Right]

Midd and Bowdoin in a heated battle after the 1st half. The game as predicted has been mucked up in midfield. Bowdoin has had 2 good chances to score and Midd has not really threatened. Midd has probably had an advantage so far in possession

[Jump4Joy]

Possession game of chess b/w Midd and Bow. I'm giving Bow 60-40 on the ball. Missed first 5 mins. Bowdoin with best chance when Sydod coughed up and spilled it to the 12. Bow should have buried the gimme, but Panthers dodged a bullet when Jones (playing very well) missed wide.