NESCAC

[blooter442]

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

Actually, Brandeis has switched to four at the back, moving Kyle Robinson to CB from their Carnegie/Emory weekend forward. However their wing backs do like to push up so it'll be interesting to see how they approach it from a defensive standpoint. Both are very fast but pushing forward is nevertheless risky.

[Mr.Right]

Fair answer thank you. 

Blooter I could have swore they were playing 3 in the back today against Bowdoin but I was watching on video so I could be wrong. Soboff will be able to control the midfield against Amherst but I am interested to see how Brandeis comes out against them. Set pieces will be very difficult for them as they tend to foul quite a bit and cannot afford to do that against Amherst. Brandeis is extremely fast down the flanks as is Amherst for that matter. Who will impose their style on who. Amherst has been very good at getting Williams out of their technical style for the past 4-5 years and if Amherst swarms the ball like they did against SLU it could be problematic

[MENESCACFAN]

"I disagree. Having seen several Tufts games this year, I think Hoppenot is a no doubt first team player. Yes his production was not as high scoring just 3 goals this year, but he is the key to the Tufts attack."

He scored 1 goal in 10 games from a center forward position.  Santos scored 4 and 2 game winners.  Santos got it done more this fall and far more deserving of first team.

[blooter442]

He scored 1 goal in 10 games from a center forward position.  Santos scored 4 and 2 game winners.  Santos got it done more this fall and far more deserving of first team.

Would agree with you. I have seen Tufts quite a bit this year. Hoppenot is a good target man and certainly gets his team's AMs more involved. That said, he lacks any real pace and did not score enough goals this year for a CF, regardless of how well he holds up the ball. I would have put Kayne and Santos on the first team over Hoppenot.

[Nutmeg]

He scored 1 goal in 10 games from a center forward position.  Santos scored 4 and 2 game winners.  Santos got it done more this fall and far more deserving of first team.

Would agree with you. I have seen Tufts quite a bit this year. Hoppenot is a good target man and certainly gets his team's AMs more involved. That said, he lacks any real pace and did not score enough goals this year for a CF, regardless of how well he holds up the ball. I would have put Kayne and Santos on the first team over Hoppenot.

Well, I look at it as who is valuable to their team, and not just on stats. If u look at it that way, hoppnot is up there. The problem is that it's hard to measure or quantify intangibles.  The tufts middies you mention are excellent players and also as valuable....in fact, I think the whole tufts midfield was valuable to the team for that matter. But if you are forced to look just at stats to give awards I can see your point....in that regard defensive midfielders won't get much attention....

[blooter442]

Would just like to say a quick congrats to Bowdoin on a great season. If they weren't playing my alma mater, I would have been rooting for them last night.

They came to play last night and certainly had their chances, as the SOG stats were relatively even. In the end, Brandeis matched them physically and had a tiny bit more speed and sharpness in possession, which, coupled with the home-field turf advantage, probably made the difference.

For me, it was really awesome to see them take down Williams, Middlebury, and Amherst, having lost to all three teams earlier in the season. Granted, two of those wins came on PKs, but to have the mental fortitude to rebound from those three setbacks is impressive, not to mention coming back from 2-0 down in the second half against Tufts, at which point they seemed completely done. Well done Polar Bears and congratulations.

[Brother Flounder]

Would just like to say a quick congrats to Bowdoin on a great season. If they weren't playing my alma mater, I would have been rooting for them last night.

They came to play last night and certainly had their chances, as the SOG stats were relatively even. In the end, Brandeis matched them physically and had a tiny bit more speed and sharpness in possession, which, coupled with the home-field turf advantage, probably made the difference.

For me, it was really awesome to see them take down Williams, Middlebury, and Amherst, having lost to all three teams earlier in the season. Granted, two of those wins came on PKs, but to have the mental fortitude to rebound from those three setbacks is impressive, not to mention coming back from 2-0 down in the second half against Tufts, at which point they seemed completely done. Well done Polar Bears and congratulations.

Yep, the Bears finished real strong and should hold their heads up...... Good Luck to Tufts and Amherst!!!

[Mr.Right]

Bowdoin finished very strong and really surprised everyone. They lose Goita, Melong, Henshall and White. This is not bad and they can basically replace all these guys. Goita and Henshall came into their own this year and White started playing better as the year went on. Melong I havd not seen since the middle of October so I assume he was injured. 4 seniors lost to graduation is not bad and they already have a commitment from Rivers CM Jake Stenquist whose brother played at Dartmouth. He is a good player not the most technical but a very tough kid and not afraid to tackle hard. Typical Bowdoin / Midd recruit and I feel he will immediately help Bowdoin in midfield.

[PaulNewman]

Congrats to Tufts.  I am one of the (few?) posters who had ben withholding judgment about the Jumbos, and they came through their pod, away from home, with flying colors.  They had two very good wins where no one would have been shocked had they been knocked off, and they impressively handled a talented Wheaton squad (with a lot to prove themselves) on Wheaton's home field.

The Jumbos should be drenched in confidence at this point, with an excellent overall regular season, and now two very solid NCAA wins.  I think Muhlenberg is fortunate to host in this one, which probably keeps the odds at about 50/50, but I still favor Tufts here.  The Mules will be tough to break down and an early Mules goals might be too much to overcome, but Tufts is dynamic and explosive enough to prevail.    I would expect them to put Muhlenberg under more pressure than a Dickinson could, and be at least on par in that regard with F&M.

And of course the further a talented advances the more their confidence grows, and Tufts certainly has the firepower to challenge Messiah (if the Falcons can handle Cortland who should be tough).  At this juncture all of the remaining teams are capable and all know they are ony two games away from the Final Four.

[Mr.Right]

After watching Muhlenberg twice they remind me of a Wesleyan with an edge. I do not know if Tufts will get a goal or two but I am pretty confident Muhlenberg will not  be scoring more than 1 goal in this game. Greenwood played excellent all weekend and Tufts D without Kramer on Saturday really gave Dickinson nothing. A Monil Patel horrendous error gave Dickinson their goal but that was it. Wheaton was better but they did not finish their chances that they created.

[Jump4Joy]

Yes, nice job by Bowdoin to claim the conference crown and get to the second round of NCAAs.
Question: Why not more mention of Jones? For me, he was their best player in the NESCAC semi and final, and he was taken off the field way too much, especially in OT. When Jones and Dias Costa are on the field at the same time, the Polar Bears were their most dangerous in the three games I saw them play this fall.

[Mr.Right]

I agree with you but wonder if he is a liability sometimes defensively. Bowdoin in a 4-2-3-1 usually looks like a 4-5-1 defensively and usually asks those wingers to track back. While Jones speed on the flank and skill to me are more beneficial than not tracking back but Weirsinski seems to me to be a bit to conservative.

[1970s NESCAC Player]

I agree with you but wonder if he is a liability sometimes defensively. Bowdoin in a 4-2-3-1 usually looks like a 4-5-1 defensively and usually asks those wingers to track back. While Jones speed on the flank and skill to me are more beneficial than not tracking back but Weirsinski seems to me to be a bit to conservative.

Yes, nice job by Bowdoin to claim the conference crown and get to the second round of NCAAs.
Question: Why not more mention of Jones? For me, he was their best player in the NESCAC semi and final, and he was taken off the field way too much, especially in OT. When Jones and Dias Costa are on the field at the same time, the Polar Bears were their most dangerous in the three games I saw them play this fall.

Jones had a hamstring injury in the last weeks of the regular season, and he was questionable for the post-season.  That may have impacted his PT.

[D3soccerwatcher]

IMO (and I certainly could be wrong) I don't think either NESCAC team will make it past this weekend.  Competition is simply getting too strong at this point.

[Nutmeg]

IMO (and I certainly could be wrong) I don't think either NESCAC team will make it past this weekend.  Competition is simply getting too strong at this point.

You obviously haven't checked the schedule strength of the two teams left.... Should be 2 good games
But I predict both will move on...