NESCAC

[oldonionbag]

Tufts wins 2-0. Kayne gets a goal from about 14 yards out after a Monil Patel free kick bounces around in the box and falls to his feet. Very good composure from the team after Wheaton started playing a bit chippier, as Mr. Right said. On to the sweet sixteen for the Jumbos!

[12SNoon]

Lee Owen subs in to make three massive saves in the penalty shootout as Amherst takes down St. Lawrence in a close one! Big  time performance by the freshman.

[oldonionbag]

Lee Owen subs in to make three massive saves in the penalty shootout as Amherst takes down St. Lawrence in a close one! Big  time performance by the freshman.

12SNoon, any idea why they opted for him this game, but not in the NESCAC championship?

[Mr.Right]

Bull has lost some  PK battles the last 3 years. To me he looks a bit slow off the line. Intimidating yes but maybe a touch awkward

[Jump4Joy]

Lee looked like a cat on the line today.
Bull looked plenty intimidating when his PK broke the back of the net.
St. Lawrence is a good team.

[Nutmeg]

Tufts wins 2-0. Kayne gets a goal from about 14 yards out after a Monil Patel free kick bounces around in the box and falls to his feet. Very good composure from the team after Wheaton started playing a bit chippier, as Mr. Right said. On to the sweet sixteen for the Jumbos!

Watched the game on video. Wheaton is a very quick and direct team. They couldn't penetrate the two big center defenseman. Yes, they were chippy the first half. Was surprised there was no card at all on the play that took santos out. they were not chippy in the second. tufts dominated the second half peppering the golie and hitting the crossbar. The goalie made a great save on a hoppnot on a one on one after a beautiful thru ball from Kayne. The Tufts goalie Greenwood made a couple of great saves. Kayne, who had an assist on the first goal scored the insurance goal. Was very impressed with the 2 center backs, greenwood and Kayne. It seemed like a very fast pace...Maybe someone who was there can chime in on the pace as it's hard to tell on video

[NEPitch62]

The Tufts Wheaton game was extremely fast pasted.  The Tufts back line in tact: Patel, Kramer, Williams, Zinner were unbelievable in their confidence and teamwork throughout the match.  Greenwood was amazing on two plays in particular and the mid field was very efficient in their ball movement.  The offense had more than a few chances to open this one up but kudos to the Wheaton back line to avoid a further blow out.  The Jumbos on to the sweet 16!  They are formidable right now.

[12SNoon]

12SNoon, any idea why they opted for him this game, but not in the NESCAC championship?

Can't say for certain, but it's fair to assume the Jeffs were trying to mix things up after their lost penalty shootout last weekend. Bull is by no means awkward or a bad penalty shootout keeper (he's saved many PK's over the last 3 years), but having a freshman keeper who St. Lawrence couldn't scout certainly played to Amherst's advantage.

Something that is hard to completely understand as an outsider is how tough it is to go up to St. Lawrence and play them. They have one of the longest, widest fields in all of DIII, and their attacking/free-flowing style of play is a lot to handle. Some NESCAC teams pride themselves on playing beautiful soccer, but you really haven't seen anything until you watch the Saints play. They throw numbers forward, have incredible overlapping runs, and have great creativity with the ball at their feet. Throw in their crazy fans and oftentimes frigid weather, and in my four years it was easily the toughest environment to play in.

You have to give a lot of credit to Coach Serpone for leading Amherst to two victories this weekend given these circumstances. He's won a ton of games bigger than this, but it might enter the conversation as one of his best coaching performances to date. For starters, he made the incredibly gutsy decision against Fitchburg State to rest his ENTIRE front 6, and trusted his second-string guys to go out there and deliver an NCAA tournament victory. That speaks to the level of preparedness Serpone asks of his entire squad, but it was also crucial in keeping the starters fresh for Sunday's game against a more formidable opponent.

That coaching strategy (which reminded me a lot of this man: http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1207000/thumbs/o-GREGG-POPOVICH-facebook.jpg) allowed him to win the coaching matchup today against SLU's Durocher. By refusing to sit back on St. Lawrence's big field and let them play -- like every other team who plays them -- he flipped the script and took them out of their comfort zone by high-pressuring the Saints on their every move. You might think sitting back is the best option against SLU on their massive field, but it was because the Jeffs did the exact opposite -- high, intense pressure on all parts of the field -- that the Saints could only muster one goal on the day after they had just scored 7. That pressure for 110 minutes by the Amherst front 6 is not possible if they were tired from playing the day before.

Finally, the penalty shootout. I'm not going to speak too candidly on the boards about this (there are more games to be played!), but Serpone had his fingerprints all over it. Putting in the freshman Lee Owen and seeing him make 3 amazing saves was the story of the day, but there were some other highlights as well that shouldn't go unnoticed. Thomas Bull decided that if he wasn't stopping kicks he might as well be scoring them, and the freshman Kieran Bellew got up and absolutely buried the game-winner. It's psychologically difficult to win a penalty shootout just a week after losing one, and Serpone somehow got those guys to erase those demons and get a victory in one of the most entertaining PK shootouts in Lord Jeff history.

It's going to be interesting to see how the Jeffs handle Brandeis in the next round, but Serpone is turning it up at an interesting time in what is an exciting time for NESCAC coaching. With the Ephs' Russo (who had an incredibly disappointing final year, but what an amazing career) leaving, as well an influx of new, young coaches into the league, Serpone suddenly finds himself as one of the most experienced NESCAC heads. It's hard to argue with the results and the facts (although surely we'll certainly have a few right-minded posters who will give it their best [albeit rumor-laden] attempt).

[stlawus]

Credit to Amherst obviously, but you're implying that they outplayed SLU with their game plan.  They didn't.  SLU had tons more opportunities, and should have capitalized on lots of chances.  Barring the first 10 minutes and a stretch of another 10 minutes late in the 2nd half, SLU dictated the pace of the game.  I respect Serpone for his intrinsic results, but his coaching style is a disgrace to the game and a stain on NCAA athletics.  His team advanced by chance, and the way he and his team conduct themselves on the sidelines does not make them a respectable program barring wins.  One day it'll all catch up to him. 

[Nutmeg]

12 S Noon, you should have watched the Wheaton v. Tufts game today if you wanted to see fast pace and midfield play.....one of the fastest paced games that I have seen in a long while. Both teams should be proud of the pace and style...

On another note, very shocked Amherst took ouy the first string goalie...hope it doesn't result in as a dent in his confidence. Congrats to the Jeffs on the win...

[Mr.Right]

Before we anoint Serpone "the special 1" lets see if he can get Amherst to the Final 4. With Williams out of the way they have a good chance. They are much bigger than Brandeis and F&M and more physical. Oneonta has a special GK and good size. This could be the year Amherst does it, ironic as it is their worst team since 2008 who made it to the Final 4 also

[Mr.Right]

Amherst has high pressured all year. This does cause opponents havoc and if Brandeis plays with 3 backs against them it could be a HUGE mistake

[dacac]

I see you're trying to use the final sentence of your essay to discredit the opinions of anyone who didn't play at Amherst. But the "rumors" exist or a reason, and your viewpoint holds no more value than anyone else's.

That being said... very impressive victory by Amherst today.  As always, Serpone kept his team extremely well organized. Today was the first time I have seen St. Lawrence play in 2014, and I would argue their attack is as dangerous as any in D3.

[Mr.Right]

Just ask him why arguably the best player in 2012 did not step up to the plate in PK's against Williams in the Elite 8. Surely he could have placed one better than Aoyama or Lerner

[12SNoon]

Credit to Amherst obviously, but you're implying that they outplayed SLU with their game plan.  They didn't.  SLU had tons more opportunities, and should have capitalized on lots of chances.  Barring the first 10 minutes and a stretch of another 10 minutes late in the 2nd half, SLU dictated the pace of the game.  I respect Serpone for his intrinsic results, but his coaching style is a disgrace to the game and a stain on NCAA athletics.  His team advanced by chance, and the way he and his team conduct themselves on the sidelines does not make them a respectable program barring wins.  One day it'll all catch up to him. 

Never said that/implied that. SLU was great today.

12 S Noon, you should have watched the Wheaton v. Tufts game today if you wanted to see fast pace and midfield play.....one of the fastest paced games that I have seen in a long while. Both teams should be proud of the pace and style...

On another note, very shocked Amherst took ouy the first string goalie...hope it doesn't result in as a dent in his confidence. Congrats to the Jeffs on the win...

I heard! I wish I could have watched it -- Tufts could make a run this year.

Amherst has high pressured all year. This does cause opponents havoc and if Brandeis plays with 3 backs against them it could be a HUGE mistake

Agreed, it could. Will be fun to watch.

I see you're trying to use the final sentence of your essay to discredit the opinions of anyone who didn't play at Amherst. But the "rumors" exist or a reason, and your viewpoint holds no more value than anyone else's.

That being said... very impressive victory by Amherst today.  As always, Serpone kept his team extremely well organized. Today was the first time I have seen St. Lawrence play in 2014, and I would argue their attack is as dangerous as any in D3.

That wasn't what I was getting at at all, but noted.

Just ask him why arguably the best player in 2012 did not step up to the plate in PK's against Williams in the Elite 8. Surely he could have placed one better than Aoyama or Lerner

You've brought this up twice, so I'll give you reasoning behind it:

For those who need the background, I was the number 6 shooter in a penalty shootout in 2012 because I was the 6th best penalty kick shooter on our team. We ended up losing the shootout to Williams in 5 shots, so I didn't have a chance to kick. At no point have I ever been ashamed of not stepping up to take a kick before a more-worthy teammate.