NESCAC

[Mr.Right]

Since I only caught the 1st Half of Amherst v Bowdoin I can only comment on what I saw. Amherst was whacking everything in sight(no shock there) but without an NPL or even a Martin there seems to be even more whacking and even less skill. They absolutely bullied Bowdoin's backline as they were out muscled and looked very under sized. When Bowdoin plays Amherst again or even when they play Midd they will need to switch some players around as they need more height and muscle at back or the same thing will happen again. If I was a coach playing Amherst and I fully trusted the refs and AR's( hard to do) I would be trapping them all game. If Amherst is going to completely bypass midfield and whack it to their speed up top then offside trap them all game and maybe play a 4-2-4 as why do you need anyone in midfield? I will say that Amherst was impressive physically against Bowdoin and looking at other Nescac's they will be able to do the same against Trinity, Williams, Bates, Colby, Hamilton and Wesleyan. They just have to much size and strength for those teams. It will be interesting to see what  Midd can come up with against them on Saturday as they can match Amherst physically but they do not have the same depth and talent that Amherst has.

Side Note: Just noticed longtime Williams assistant Jeff Huffman is now an assistant for Serpone at Amherst. That must be playing real well in Williamstown.

[Mr.Right]

Just noticed the Tufts v Brandeis match in 2 weeks will be on Friday night in Medfa not Saturday. Should be a great game and a great crowd.

[Ommadawn]

Bowdoin v Husson and Conn College v Salem State are both scoreless ties at the half.

[SoccerMom_5]

Since I only caught the 1st Half of Amherst v Bowdoin I can only comment on what I saw. Amherst was whacking everything in sight(no shock there) but without an NPL or even a Martin there seems to be even more whacking and even less skill. They absolutely bullied Bowdoin's backline as they were out muscled and looked very under sized. When Bowdoin plays Amherst again or even when they play Midd they will need to switch some players around as they need more height and muscle at back or the same thing will happen again. If I was a coach playing Amherst and I fully trusted the refs and AR's( hard to do) I would be trapping them all game. If Amherst is going to completely bypass midfield and whack it to their speed up top then offside trap them all game and maybe play a 4-2-4 as why do you need anyone in midfield? I will say that Amherst was impressive physically against Bowdoin and looking at other Nescac's they will be able to do the same against Trinity, Williams, Bates, Colby, Hamilton and Wesleyan. They just have to much size and strength for those teams. It will be interesting to see what  Midd can come up with against them on Saturday as they can match Amherst physically but they do not have the same depth and talent that Amherst has.

Side Note: Just noticed longtime Williams assistant Jeff Huffman is now an assistant for Serpone at Amherst. That must be playing real well in Williamstown.

I saw that match also - that kid they had up top was at least 6'4" and 200lbs -- minimum.  The Bowdoin player who was matched up with him is 6' ... and he was jist dwarfed.   
And the Amherst kid really did just run like a frieght train through  everything..  And yet... Amherst's only goal was on a PK. Which is probably a consequemce of the skill issue you commented on. 

Bowdoin did look mucb better in the second half.  Midfield improved their organization and then they finally got some offense going.    Bowdoin needs to start each game with the same motivation and organization in the midfield as they show in the second half.   That was true in many games last year as well.

[Mr.Right]

Since I only caught the 1st Half of Amherst v Bowdoin I can only comment on what I saw. Amherst was whacking everything in sight(no shock there) but without an NPL or even a Martin there seems to be even more whacking and even less skill. They absolutely bullied Bowdoin's backline as they were out muscled and looked very under sized. When Bowdoin plays Amherst again or even when they play Midd they will need to switch some players around as they need more height and muscle at back or the same thing will happen again. If I was a coach playing Amherst and I fully trusted the refs and AR's( hard to do) I would be trapping them all game. If Amherst is going to completely bypass midfield and whack it to their speed up top then offside trap them all game and maybe play a 4-2-4 as why do you need anyone in midfield? I will say that Amherst was impressive physically against Bowdoin and looking at other Nescac's they will be able to do the same against Trinity, Williams, Bates, Colby, Hamilton and Wesleyan. They just have to much size and strength for those teams. It will be interesting to see what  Midd can come up with against them on Saturday as they can match Amherst physically but they do not have the same depth and talent that Amherst has.

Side Note: Just noticed longtime Williams assistant Jeff Huffman is now an assistant for Serpone at Amherst. That must be playing real well in Williamstown.

I saw that match also - that kid they had up top was at least 6'4" and 200lbs -- minimum.  The Bowdoin player who was matched up with him is 6' ... and he was jist dwarfed.   
And the Amherst kid really did just run like a frieght train through  everything..  And yet... Amherst's only goal was on a PK. Which is probably a consequemce of the skill issue you commented on. 

Bowdoin did look mucb better in the second half.  Midfield improved their organization and then they finally got some offense going.    Bowdoin needs to start each game with the same motivation and organization in the midfield as they show in the second half.   That was true in many games last year as well.

That is correct....However, we went through this last year and the year before that and the year before that....Bowdoin always starts the year sluggish...EVERY year since Wiercinski took over they start the year with 2 to 3 losses and then win 7 of 8 games or 8 of 9 in October to get themselves into the NCAA Bubble talk and regionally ranked BUT it is always just not enough to get a Pool C. Of course, they could just win Nescac as they did in 2014 and 2015 to get the Pool A. Brandeis over matched them in the 2014 NCAA 2nd Round but they under performed v MIT in the 2015 NCAA 2nd Round and really should have won that game. Anyway, his out of conference scheduling is weak sauce and has been since he took over. Bowdoin cannot afford to come out "flat" against a pumped up Amherst side on the 1st conference game of the year especially at Amherst. It should not take them until the 2nd Half to get going.

[nescac1]

Any word on how serious Tom Young was injured for the Ephs?  Despite the strong showing from young players up front vs. Trinity in his absence, Williams can ill afford to lose one of its few established playmakers ...

[EasyGoer27]

Another Williams family told me he was done.  Surgery scheduled sometime soon.  Can only wish him the best, classy player and classy young man.

[Striker22]

I was at the game and the ref shared with someone in the stands that it looked like a high broken ankle (tib/fib).  Such a shame and a reminder of how fragile the playing careers can be of these young men at this level.  Need to enjoy and get the most out of every game and every minute because you never know.

[nescac1]

Wow, such a shame, that sounds brutal. Tough blow for the team but of course moreso for Tom Young.  Just so tough when you work hard heading into your senior year ready to be a team leader and it's all over in the first game.  He made great contributions to the program, and I'm sure will be a leader from the sidelines going forward. 

[Mr.Right]

Yes. Confirmed that Tommy Young is done for the season for Williams. That is a key injury that Williams can ill afford. That is one of those key injuries I was talking about for my season predictions that Williams needed to avoid. The one thing it does is give younger players some playing time and others to prove themselves and show what they can do. One of those players that I was impressed with last night v RPI was #13 Demian Gass a Soph out of Texas.. He showed his value out on the flank with some impressive speed and skill. He has some potential. Williams defeated RPI 1-0 in a sloppily played game from both teams. Something not out of the ordinary for 2 teams starting the season. Unfortunately, for RPI they have been playing for at least a month now with pre-season and a team trip to Costa Rica. I can give Williams a small pass as they have only been out for 2 weeks. Not only did Williams not have Tommy Young but i did not see local Troy, NY kid Sean Dory in Williams starting line-up. Dory had been playing very well and had a nice game at Trinity on Saturday. They cannot afford to lose him for an extended period of time. With Gass and Singleton they will be fine speed wise but when Sullivan put Sophmore Bobby Fabricant out wide I was shocked. Fabricant had a poor game and is not a wide player as he might be the slowest player on the field. If anything, he should be a target striker but Sisco keeps getting the nod up top. Sisco has 15 career goals for Williams which is no small feat especially because Williams does not play many cupcakes. I find it hard to fault the kid because he is a worker bee up top but his touch has not improved in 4 years. I would have a hard time distinguishing him between his senior year and his frosh / soph years. That is not the type of a progression a player should have and the only reason I am being critical is because of the hype surrounding him when he enrolled at Williams. He can score goals which is something Williams is going to need this year. If he can get 5-10 goals this season that would be all you can ask for. With a back to back Maine trip this weekend, Williams will find a stern test at Colby and at Bowdoin and if they can go 1-0-1 that would have to be considered successful.

[Mr.Right]

I caught the last 5 minutes of Bates v Univ Of New England last night just in time to catch a nice game winning goal by Nate Merchant with about 2 minutes left. Bates defeats UNE 2-1. I knew UNE would give Bates a tough game but a nice win for Bates to go 2-0-0. I did notice that Merchant did not start the game which is very odd as he is 1 of there better players.

Side Note:  We all know what kind of rivalry game and the history of the Babson v Brandeis game in D3. Another one of those type of games has always been Conn College v Coast Guard. Both a stone's throw away from each other and always a really tight match. That is why I was shocked to see that they are NOT playing each other this year. It could be just a scheduling quirk for both or 1 of the teams but normally you would have them penciled in way back in December. Maybe some bad blood brewing between the coaches? I have no idea but maybe on of you Conn College guys can weigh in on it. I am curious.

[letsGOswans!]

Mr. Right, curious to see what your predictions for this weekend are. Of course, I'm most curious about how you think my Camels will do against the Jumbos. They have had some great games over the last few years. Although Tufts is the defending champions, never count Murphy's teams out. This young Conn  team is not close to as physical as those from previous years (13/14 and 14/15 teams especially), so it will be interesting to see how they match up with the Jumbos who, although known for their soccer ability, can definitely play with a bite.

[blooter442]

Mr. Right, curious to see what your predictions for this weekend are. Of course, I'm most curious about how you think my Camels will do against the Jumbos. They have had some great games over the last few years. Although Tufts is the defending champions, never count Murphy's teams out. This young Conn  team is not close to as physical as those from previous years (13/14 and 14/15 teams especially), so it will be interesting to see how they match up with the Jumbos who, although known for their soccer ability, can definitely play with a bite.

I'm not Mr.Right, but I like Conn. in this one. Tufts has to be favored due to home field advantage and its incredibly deep roster, and the Jumbos hammered Plymouth State last weekend, but, before that, it took them OT to get by Babson and Colby at home. And while both of those teams are solid sides, and the Jumbos bossed the shot count against Babson (who was kept in the game by Takami, a very good goalie), I think those two games illustrated that Tufts may struggle for goals against good opposition this year. Plus, Murphy has gotten good results against Tufts in the not-so-distant past (2013 regular season and 2014 NESCAC tournament) so I think he knows his tactics, and the win at Middlebury will no doubt have boosted the Camels' confidence. Just a hunch, but my hunch has been right before.

[letsGOswans!]

Good to hear this coming from a Jumbos fan. Yes, I agree that we can never count Murphy's team out. Seems like Conn always turns up a gear against the Jumbos.

[blooter442]

Good to hear this coming from a Jumbos fan. Yes, I agree that we can never count Murphy's team out. Seems like Conn always turns up a gear against the Jumbos.

Not a Jumbos supporter, but I do like watching them and (I like to think) am pretty fair in assessing their strengths and weaknesses.