NESCAC

[Mr.Right]

Video is awful but Trinity is up 2-0 on Worcester ST..Savonen nets 1. With Bednarek,Savonon and Tobias that is not a bad 3...

[Mr.Right]

Conn beats Mitchell 1-0 on a 81st minute strike from Devlin but looks like a whole new starting 11 besides Devlin, Bitchell and Patch. They did out shoot them 28-3 but the big test will be Saturday. I believe Midd is without Frosh for the 3rd year in a row as they will have some orientation thing which will help Conn's cause

[Mr.Right]

Nutter how did Endicott score I missed it?

[Mr.Right]

Wesleyan v ECONN is by far the closest game of the night. Wesleyan looks a little sluggish in the 10 minutes I have seen..They do have 6 corners in the 1st half with nothing to show for it....ECONN had a great chance with a nice save by Wesleyan's new keeper Eric Jasinski

[PaulNewman]

I was about to write a gushing post on Tufts right when Endicott scored.  Probably a good thing as Shapiro will have something to complain about at halftime.  Biggest compliment I can give the Jumbos is that they look like a good Messiah team....dangerous from almost every position, great flow, good organization, and just picking the opponent apart.  They look super confident.  Hard to see anyone in NESCAC other than Amherst really challenging them.  They could play 3 times and will be great if those 2 end up in same bracket with SLU down the road.

Tufts preseason preview made a lot of being disrespected and under the radar last year.  That actually helped them.  Messiah might have been better prepared if Tufts had come in ranked as a top 5 squad.  They basically were under the radar all the way to lifting the trophy!  On the other hand, watching them tonight and imagining Hoppenot, Santos and the 2 CBs out there really does say something about how superb they were.

[Nutmeg]

Nutter how did Endicott score I missed it?

Shapiro subbed in about 7 or 8 guys and Tufts lost rhythm.  They scored up the middle

[Nutmeg]

Endicott came out strong in the second half but Tufts midfield starts getting the rhythm back with 20 minutes left. Kayne with a very sweet pass to Eichhors for the 3rd goal....

[PaulNewman]

I think some of us were a little blinded hoping for Colby to be a surprise.  I'm not sure their best player would even make the roster of the top 4-5 NESCAC teams.

[D3soccerwatcher]

Nutter how did Endicott score I missed it?

Shapiro subbed in about 7 or 8 guys and Tufts lost rhythm.  They scored up the middle

Do you foresee a problem with depth?

[Nutmeg]

Nutter how did Endicott score I missed it?

Shapiro subbed in about 7 or 8 guys and Tufts lost rhythm.  They scored up the middle

Do you foresee a problem with depth?

I think it's too early to tell.....

[Mr.Right]

Tufts will not be as deep as 2014 but they are still deep enough to compete with anyone in D3. They came out like gangbusters yesterday I only watched the 1st half but was very impressed. I think Greenwood will be facing more shots this year because like I have said on earlier posts at this point the two CB's are a huge drop off from Kramer and Williams. I think good teams especially in Nescac will have an easier time scoring if they can get thru that stout midfield

[Mr.Right]

I watched most of the Wesleyan v ECONN game. This is a prime example of a nescac team only out about a week going up against a team out 3 weeks with games under their belt. Wesleyan was the better team on the day and should feel robbed they did not get anything from the game. They hit posts and crossbars and the ECONN goalie was excellent. Wesleyan came out sluggish but dominated in the 2nd half. ECONN is a good team not Great but good and have some excellent wins right now against middle of the pack teams in top conferences. They are athletic and have a great keeper but I think they would struggle against some of the top D3 teams to score.

[Brother Flounder]

I missed the Tufts game last night.  It sounds like they played pretty well for their first game and that the midfield was outstanding.  They will have a NESCAC test against Colby this weekend.

[blooter442]

I think Greenwood will be facing more shots this year because like I have said on earlier posts at this point the two CB's are a huge drop off from Kramer and Williams. I think good teams especially in Nescac will have an easier time scoring if they can get thru that stout midfield

I agree with both points. Tufts is fairly well-balanced in their midfield three of Kayne, Pinheiro, and Halliday, but it is a little lightweight; Halliday is the only one of the three that provides the "bite." When you keep the ball as well as Tufts does, you don't need to rely so much on the physicality. That said, I think teams that really body up in the middle and keep the ball will cause the Jumbos problems.

For me, Williams should have been 1st team All-American; he and Conor Lanahan of Brandeis were the two best CBs in NE last year. Kramer came up with some big goals but was nowhere near the level of Williams defensively IMHO. If their new CBs can develop leadership to make up for missing Williams, I think they'll be OK.

I missed the Tufts game last night.  It sounds like they played pretty well for their first game and that the midfield was outstanding.  They will have a NESCAC test against Colby this weekend.

They were very good. When they were "on" they were unplayable. However, they did have some rough patches where EC had the ball and would have been punished by a more potent office.

[Mr.Right]

A couple comments on the Williams v Oneonta St monster game today. I will re-iterate how I do not agree with Sullivan adding this type of game to his schedule as your 1st game and being only a week out compared to Oneonta being 3 games in and 3 weeks out. I would have played this game sometime in the beginning of October and maybe these 2 coaches will do that in the future. I do however commend him for taking this mighty challenge on. Since I know Williams better than I know Oneonta I will comment on Williams.

1.   2014 Williams side was a very skilled side and the loss of their best player Rashid cost them 3 wins in my estimation which would have put them on the NCAA bubble.
2.   2014 Williams was also the "softest" Williams side I have ever seen. They were the worst tackling team in Nescac and lacked a hunger for the ball more than their opponents. It was sad watching that at times. Their midfield defending was atrocious. They lost their two best tacklers in Pierce and Crump.
3.   Now to 2015. I will guess Sullivan will play a 4-3-3 pinched in the midfield so you are attacking and defending with 5. They have skill attacking as Rashid, Moutenot, De-Stefano and Tommy Young should be starting today bearing any injuries. I would expect their best player Danilack at CB with Meullers. I have no clue on the wingbacks. Gruman will hold and sit in front of the back 4. Alcorn in goal.
4.   I am still seeing possible midfield defending issues leaving the backs out to dry. However, Williams are a dangerous team attacking that Oneonta has not seen yet this season. I am expecting a lot of goals in this game. I would guess over 3 goals today
5.   Oneonta and Williams draw 2-2.