NESCAC

[Becks]

I was impressed with Cowie-Haskell in the Wes-Tufts game, even though he missed on a couple of good chances.  He's a little better than I thought.  I had him pegged as sort of just a poacher but he's trickier with the ball in space and inside the box than I expected.  That said, he waited too long trying to get totally free instead of letting it go.

I saw the first half and a bit of the 2d half of the Wes-Bates game and thought ACH was very dynamic and dangerous. Took his chances well in that game. The little frosh (Komar) set up the first Wes goal (scored by Sousa before ACH came into the game) by beating a defender with a quick move on the end-line and sending a ball on the ground through the box.

[blooter442]

I saw the first half and a bit of the 2d half of the Wes-Bates game and thought ACH was very dynamic and dangerous. Took his chances well in that game. The little frosh (Komar) set up the first Wes goal (scored by Sousa before ACH came into the game) by beating a defender with a quick move on the end-line and sending a ball on the ground through the box.

Aside from the fact that I agree with this assessment, I think it's really funny that there's "Becks" who I've seen on this forum, and someone named "Giggs" who posts on the women's forum. One on each wing (forum) - just like the 90s and Man Utd!   

(I'm aware that Giggs has posted on the men's forum, and Becks on the women's, but still a funny thing to think about. Even more personifies that Becks and Giggs used to occasionally switch wings to confuse opposing defenders.)

[ECSUalum]

ECSU....nice to see you on this board to keep people straight!
The one goal against Amherst was the Williams game in Willytown.  Saw the Amherst goal to tie the game and the one that won it in OT on a video clip on the Amherst website...somewhere.
It will be raining in Amherst for the 2:30 start. Me, will be at the football game.  If it gets to be a blowout, will slip away to watch soccer live...in the rain.  I must be crazy.
Amherst plays WPI today....Wednesday....so both Tuft's and Amherst will have both played a mid week game when they meet on Sat.
When Amherst went to the final 4 under Gooding in Fredricksburg, Va.....I made the trip down to MWU...as it is now called.  Gooding was fine for Amherst at the time.  I am glad he is gone...has a turf field named after him.  His last years at Amherst...AD...were not good ones for the soccer program,IMO.  He had his son as a co- coach and tried to insert his son as the coach...not acceptable process....leading to his replacement as AD.  His replacement was an AD at another CAC school and also the parent of an Amherst soccer player.

amh63,

Hello Sir, hope you and the fam are well!!  If you are crazy for being a tried-and-true LJ fan than there are hundreds on these d3sports threads that are equally "crazy" for their alma maters including myself.  I bet you are looking forward to the big Amherst-Williams football game!  They should televise that game!!!! Seiously!!
I will probably head up to Amherst again to watch ECSU-Amherst basketball this January, (Lord Jeffery Inn), if it is scheduled similar to two years ago.   Le Frak is a fun venue to watch the Lord Jeffs play.  Unfortunately it is when the students are away for break, so it much quieter!  I am sure Coach Hixon will have another excellent team loaded with outstanding Freshmen.
Good Luck to the Lord Jeff footballers and talk to you soon.

[Mr.Right]

Looking at Conn College at 6-2-0 they have a difficult schedule to end the year but they also have an excellent chance at receiving a Pool C if they can take of their business at Home.

at Williams
v ECONN
v Bates
at Amherst
at Framingham St
v Bowdoin
v Wesleyan

They need to go 4-0-0 at home against ECONN, Bates, Bowdoin and Wesleyan. A tall order but they can accomplish it with max effort. That would give them some solid wins against ranked opponents and they also will have a solid SOS.

3 road games against Williams, Framingham and Amherst. They must beat Framingham and get a result at Williams or at Amherst. Even if they go 1-1-1 for these 3 road games they will have a very solid resume as long as they take care of their business at Home.

I think Conn has an excellent chance at Williams on Saturday because Williams is a mess right now. Confidence is low. I have a feeling Williams home field will be flooded by Saturday with all the rain coming in as it does not drain well at all. The game could be played on the Football field turf

[ECSUalum]

Wow, Tufts really lucky to get out of Middletown CT with a 0-0 tie!  Handball by Tufts in the Box not called and 2 open net shots missed by Wesleyan's Haskell

Someone doesn't like the Jumbos...

No, just making observations like everybody else on this thread

Just joking around, my friend....😊😎😉

Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha

Oh My, nicked twice on this thread for expressing opinion on Tufts.  Are we getting a bit sensitive?  Sorry Jumbo fans, you are just not as good as last year!!

[PaulNewman]

ECSU, the irony is that Tufts arguably is better than they were at this exact same time last year.  The Jumbos unquestionably are among the top handful of teams in the country.

[ECSUalum]

ECSU, the irony is that Tufts arguably is better than they were at this exact same time last year.  The Jumbos unquestionably are among the top handful of teams in the country.

So another National Championship for the Jumbo eh? That remains to be seen!!

[Mr.Right]

http://athletics.amherst.edu/sports/msoc/2015-16/videos/20150928-omb8p99w


This is the link to Amherst 2 goals in their comeback victory over Williams this past Saturday.

The 1st goal is a ball pumped into the box that bounced off a few heads until Amherst #2 Bean headed it to NPL. Williams #22 Moutenot who is very skilled and fast and technical but SOFT could have battled harder to win that b all and clear it but he shied away from the ball and Bean overpowered him to it. See Willtheman even technical players must defend sometimes and this is a classic example of "shying away" from the ball that a Tom Young or Moutenot or De-Stefano who are all technical but also very SOFT. This is one of the errors on the play. Now the ball is in the air and NPL who is smaller than Williams TL Guest wins that ball as TL Guest jumps and misses the ball AND LOOKS LIKE HE ALMOST SHIED AWAY FROM IT.  Then an excellent cross on the ground finds the wide open Greg Singer in the box who buries it. If you look closely Wlliams #6 Frosh Andreau is caught ball watching and does not track Singer.

The 2nd goal was a fake long throw by NPL and the he threw it short and the ball was pumped into the box and a nice flick header by Amherst found the WIDE OPEN Singer again. AGAIN Williams #6 Frosh Andreau is caught ball watching and Singer buries it wide open..

I realize Frosh will make mistakes but as a defender you cannot keep ball watching and expect to stay on the field. Both goals were preventable if Williams had shown some FIGHT and toughness and of course not losing concentration on set pieces at the end of games when players start to get tired.

[blooter442]

ECSU, the irony is that Tufts arguably is better than they were at this exact same time last year.  The Jumbos unquestionably are among the top handful of teams in the country.

That is definitely true, but a big part of Tufts' postseason run was because Santos and Hoppenot really turned it on in the latter part of last season. The Jumbos don't have those two to call on this year, although it remains to be seen whether Majumder could potentially fill that void.

[PaulNewman]

ECSU, the irony is that Tufts arguably is better than they were at this exact same time last year.  The Jumbos unquestionably are among the top handful of teams in the country.

So another National Championship for the Jumbo eh? That remains to be seen!!

Didn't say that because the odds of any one team versus the field is low, especially this year, but I certainly think the Jumbos will be in the mix.  Of course I may be overly influenced by having just seen them live.

[PaulNewman]

ECSU, the irony is that Tufts arguably is better than they were at this exact same time last year.  The Jumbos unquestionably are among the top handful of teams in the country.

That is definitely true, but a big part of Tufts' postseason run was because Santos and Hoppenot really turned it on in the latter part of last season. The Jumbos don't have those two to call on this year, although it remains to be seen whether Majumder could potentially fill that void.

Right, but Hoppenot and Santos were on the team at this point last year.  Any team that is going to make a run to the Final Four (and win it) will need a few of their star guys to get hot.  I guess what I'm saying is that I can't think of any teams that have a significantly better chance than Tufts.  There's probably at least 8-10 teams that have a good chance and probably one or two that we aren't even thinking about.

[ECSUalum]

ECSU, the irony is that Tufts arguably is better than they were at this exact same time last year.  The Jumbos unquestionably are among the top handful of teams in the country.

So another National Championship for the Jumbo eh? That remains to be seen!!

Didn't say that because the odds of any one team versus the field is low, especially this year, but I certainly think the Jumbos will be in the mix.  Of course I may be overly influenced by having just seen them live.

Tufts men's soccer comparison after 7 games:
Goals For vs Goals against
2014      2015
19-4        11-4
so how are they better this year vs last, they have scored almost half as many goals this year, perhaps even vs weaker competition!

[Mr.Right]

I think against really quality defensive sides Tufts is going to have trouble scoring. I am waiting to see how they do against Midd and Amherst. Kind of like RPI will have trouble scoring against good teams I feel Tufts will have trouble against great teams

[blooter442]

Right, but Hoppenot and Santos were on the team at this point last year.  Any team that is going to make a run to the Final Four (and win it) will need a few of their star guys to get hot.

Of course, but I guess my point was that those two - specifically Santos, who made just one start in eight September games - weren't playing much at the end of this month last year. Not to say that two players are the sole decider of team results, but I'd say last year's Tufts would have been equal or better than this year's team if those two been playing their normal minutes at this point of the 2014 season. Of course, there's no way of ever knowing, but a thought nonetheless.

I guess what I'm saying is that I can't think of any teams that have a significantly better chance than Tufts.  There's probably at least 8-10 teams that have a good chance and probably one or two that we aren't even thinking about.

Certainly don't disagree with that. As we all know, there is a ton of parity this year, and the Jumbos return a talented core of players.

[Mr.Right]

Hoppenot is replaceable by Majumder. Majumder doesn't track back and press like Hoppenot but he can finish and score goals.

Santos is another story. Along with Tufts talented Midfield last year and this year for that matter you also need that "special" player who you can rely on to do something "special" when needed. Beating a couple guys 1v1, finishing a chance that most players would not be able to finish, etc. Santos has that quality that is not easily replaced.