NESCAC

[PaulNewman]

Anxiously awaiting the result of Middlebury - Green Mountain.

Green Mountain comes into the game having lost to Newbury 8-2, Norwich 12-0 and powerful St. Josephs (ME) 11-0.

What is the partisan view of Middlebury's schedule?  Even more emphasis on academics than other NESCACs and hence the need to stay local, like making frosh miss the first game for some orientation thing?  Giving back to the state of VT?  What would be the spin from the coach on this?

[Off Pitch]

Anxiously awaiting the result of Middlebury - Green Mountain.

Green Mountain comes into the game having lost to Newbury 8-2, Norwich 12-0 and powerful St. Josephs (ME) 11-0.

Middlebury prevails 10-0.

[Nutmeg]

Anxiously awaiting the result of Middlebury - Green Mountain.

Green Mountain comes into the game having lost to Newbury 8-2, Norwich 12-0 and powerful St. Josephs (ME) 11-0.

Middlebury prevails 10-0.

Wonder what Middlebury's goals per game averages were last year for conference v. Nonconference. Not taking away from their talented forwards but these kind of games really boost individual stats....but I don't think the non conference schedule helps them in the long run....

[Corazon]

Final
Skidmore (Liberty League)  - 2
Williams (NESCAC) -0

Wow. Skidmore leaves its ... mark in Williamstown.

[Corazon]

Anxiously awaiting the result of Middlebury - Green Mountain.

Green Mountain comes into the game having lost to Newbury 8-2, Norwich 12-0 and powerful St. Josephs (ME) 11-0.

Middlebury prevails 10-0.

I was at the game live and it was much closer than the score might indicate. Green Mountain started a bit slow and Middlebury capitalized on a few Green Mountain mistakes to take a 9-0 lead into the half. However, the second half was a barn burner as Green Mountain found its shape and made several piercing runs through the Midd defense. They went back and forth, Mano a Mano ... A true college soccer Classic.

Not really.

[PaulNewman]

I like that, Corazon.

[Mr.Right]

Skidmore v Williams 2-0....Like I said I think Williams was overconfident and felt all they needed to do was show up.Heck that's what I kind of thought and I am not even playing. I thought Williams looked awful..Rashid could not beat the wingback who was athletic but not skilled, Tom Young and De-Stefano were awful in midfield and Danilack left the game in the 1st half with some kind of injury. They cannot afford to lose him.

Skidmore is athletic, has a very good goalkeeper, plays conservative and when they lose the ball THEY ALL DROP. Well coached team. They are not the most skilled bunch and I do not think they will be able to score goals consistently.

As for Williams, I am very interested to see how they bounce back this weekend. How do they respond to Sullivan. Do they cave and get down on themselves or are they a resilient bunch? In 2014 without Rashid and a Matt Muralles who was a shell of himself they caved. My only issue is in 2015 they have Rashid so there is no excuse.

[Mr.Right]

Final
Skidmore (Liberty League)  - 2
Williams (NESCAC) -0

LOL..This is guy gets my vote for DB of the year.

[Mr.Right]

Trinity draws Westfield 1-1...Why am I not surprised a Pilger led Trinity does not get juiced for this game...Missing a penalty notwithstanding this is a horrible result. Westfield lost to Coast Guard 6-1 about a week ago. Out shooting them 39-7 doesn't mean anything if you cannot get a win. Of course to top it off Trinity goes ahead 1-0 in the 81st minute to only give up the tying goal 3 minutes later....

[Mr.Right]

Saturday Nescac Predictions: Home team listed first.

Bowdoin v Wesleyan    1-0      Big game for both teams. Bowdoin is looking to get their 1st Nescac win and Wesleyan is opening Nescac play. Wesleyan looks very similar to their 2014 side. I thought their effort in their comeback win against Haverford was commendable. Bowdoin is a bit more athletic and has more speed on the flanks than Wesleyan. This game will be nip and tuck and either team will win this 1-0. Wesleyan is very organized defensively as usual but Bowdoin is also and I believe Bowdoin has 1 or 2 more weapons up front as well as a GK advantage. I love the Wesleyan frosh up front he just needs a little more experience before he takes off. I'll admit I like how both these teams have been built and groomed.

Trinity v Hamilton          2-0        If either of these teams want to vie for 7th or 8th place they NEED to win this game. I'll admit I have not seen Hamilton this year yet but their box scores and results paint a small picture of what they have done. As usual in the 11 years Pilger has been Head coach this team is a monster roller coaster ride. You never know how they will play. On their best day, they could be mid-table but on their worst day they look lethargic and uninterested. Trinity has some solid weapons going forward but their back 4 needs some work. From what I have seen, Trinity's GK has improved steadily and gives them a SOLID GK this year. Tobias and Savonen net one each and they take care of business at home.

Colby v Williams          0-0         Colby has had all week to prepare for their home opener. After their own Boston massacre this week-end I have a funny feeling they are going to BE UP for this one. I have no idea how they are going to score goals in Nescac and I do not think they will put much pressure on Williams in their attacking 3rd but maybe they can sneak one on a set piece. If Geoff Danilack is unavailable this weekend that will hurt Williams backline tremendously.  Like Skidmore, I believe Colby will be man marking Rashid all over the field which means someone else on Williams will need to pick it up and finish one. Williams will outshoot Colby 2:1 but they will not finish and this will end in a draw.

Tufts v Conn                 1-1         I was impressed with how Conn played Midd last weekend and felt they deserved a point from that game. Conn have a solid backbone except I feel in goal. Massive revenge game for Tufts, but Tufts has not really played anyone yet and in their last 2 games have had to sneak a goal or two to win. Tufts is always a tough place to play as they usually get a great and rowdy crowd. Like last year, Conn can get physical with Tufts skilled and talented midfield and muck the game up a bit to their advantage.

Amherst v Midd              0-1             This is the game of the weekend. This game was an absolute bloodbath last year and I expect the same. An 88th minute strike gave Amherst a draw up at Midd last year. Amherst has more skill than Midd on the flanks as Martin and Nico can beat guys 1v1. Sydor for Midd REALLY impressed me last week v Conn and if he plays like that every week Midd will be very tough to score on. Both teams are the most physical in Nescac so that battle is a wash and Amherst has more skill although I must admit I have not seen Amherst this year. I will be watching this game for sure. I have a hunch Conrad has a monster game and comes away with the GW goal. Amherst has sominated Midd the last 5 years as Midd has not won since 2010 when they beat Amherst during the year and in the NCAA's up at Bowdoin.  Midd also will have their talented but inexperienced freshman class available for the game.


I will predict Sunday's game Saturday night as I feel a lot will depend on the results on Saturday.


Sunday

Williams at Bowdoin
Trinity at Tufts
Conn At Colby

[Bucket]

Anxiously awaiting the result of Middlebury - Green Mountain.

Green Mountain comes into the game having lost to Newbury 8-2, Norwich 12-0 and powerful St. Josephs (ME) 11-0.

Middlebury prevails 10-0.

Wonder what Middlebury's goals per game averages were last year for conference v. Nonconference. Not taking away from their talented forwards but these kind of games really boost individual stats....but I don't think the non conference schedule helps them in the long run....

Yes and no, regarding individual stat boost. I don't think the starters played more than 10 minutes or so, so there's only so much boosting they can do. But yes, I agree with your overall premise—a game like this shouldn't be played, and I don't see how it helps the Panthers at all.

I can't image that anyone really likes such a match-up outside of the backup goalie and other reserves who logged starter minutes.

[Mr.Right]

Maybe because Saward only had to sit on a bus for an 1 hour or so.

[amh63]

Amherst has a game today at 4:30 PM.  There will be a video cast.

Bucket...has your son been working as a ball boy at any of the games?

[Mr.Right]

The Amherst v WNEC game will be interesting to follow. I think WNEC lost a great coach in Erin Sullivan and are still trying to find themselves. This game was DOMINATED by Amherst last year but I do not think they scored until the 75th minute to win it on a corner if I am not mistaken. I have not seen WNEC play this year but they did beat Gordon and had a wild game v Wheaton MA. I am not sure their style or formation. Either way Amherst just has to much talent to slip up in this one unless they are looking ahead to Midd. One thing about Serpone that I like is that he seems to have his guys ready TO PLAY every game. I like that.

[Ommadawn]

The Amherst v WNEC game will be interesting to follow. I think WNEC lost a great coach in Erin Sullivan and are still trying to find themselves. This game was DOMINATED by Amherst last year but I do not think they scored until the 75th minute to win it on a corner if I am not mistaken. I have not seen WNEC play this year but they did beat Gordon and had a wild game v Wheaton MA. I am not sure their style or formation. Either way Amherst just has to much talent to slip up in this one unless they are looking ahead to Midd. One thing about Serpone that I like is that he seems to have his guys ready TO PLAY every game. I like that.

I caught snippets of the Wheaton and Gordon games, but not enough to give an informed opinion or description of WNEU's play.  I do know that, as often happens when a new coach comes to town, a good number of players (including a couple of young starters) who played last year are no longer on the roster.  Coach O'Neill has a solid D3 background as a player at Middlebury and as a coach at Gettysburg in addition to his forays in D1 coaching.