NESCAC

[SoccerMom_5]

Nice article on future Eph:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/winnetka/sports/ct-wtk-new-trier-boys-soccer-will-felitto-tl-0919-20170921-story.html

Now THAT is a kid that Williams could use...A 6'2 physical striker..however my cynical side say's if he was that good why would D1's pass on a kid of his size?  Anyhow with him and Oberg coming next fall that will be something to look for.

As much as I would like to see Trinity/Conn at 4pm I cannot possibly pass up Dortmund/Real Madrid...Will catch the 2nd Half

Sometimes the D1s don't pass on the kid...the kid passes on the D1s.  That isnt everyone's aspiration.

I wish I could have watched the Conn game; I am curioius now, to see if the game I had watched was uncharacteristic.  Although...I am not sure that Trinity is going to tell me that much new information.  But,  I haven't seen Trinity play yet.  I guess I will have to settle.through the vicarious reading of commentary.   

[Mr.Right]

I do not know what my takeaway is from this Conn v Trinity match. How impressed I was with Conn or how disappointed I was with Trinity. I might have to re-think what I said about Trinity not going 0-10-0. They looked horrific today. They were barely in Conn's half the entire 2nd half and when they were they were giving the ball away each time. They have no skill going forward and very little workrate. Conn's GK sweated more in pre-game than the actual game. In fact if Marcucci was not in the net it still wouldn't of mattered. It's a good thing Trinity could care 2 sh*ts about soccer and only care about football because Pilger would be in some trouble with this bunch.

[Mr.Right]

Nice article on future Eph:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/winnetka/sports/ct-wtk-new-trier-boys-soccer-will-felitto-tl-0919-20170921-story.html

Now THAT is a kid that Williams could use...A 6'2 physical striker..however my cynical side say's if he was that good why would D1's pass on a kid of his size?  Anyhow with him and Oberg coming next fall that will be something to look for.

As much as I would like to see Trinity/Conn at 4pm I cannot possibly pass up Dortmund/Real Madrid...Will catch the 2nd Half

Sometimes the D1s don't pass on the kid...the kid passes on the D1s.  That isnt everyone's aspiration.

I wish I could have watched the Conn game; I am curioius now, to see if the game I had watched was uncharacteristic.  Although...I am not sure that Trinity is going to tell me that much new information.  But,  I haven't seen Trinity play yet.  I guess I will have to settle.through the vicarious reading of commentary. 

No need to worry hun I am a fantastic surrogate. Maybe 20 years ago kids did not care as much but in my experience these kids today do not get missed by D1's and if they are that good the D1's will put enough pressure on the kid especially with scholarships that the kid will give in.

[blooter442]

Gordon gets a 1-0 win at Colby as a goal six minutes in stands up. Colby might not get a ton of love on this forum (particularly when compared to other NESCACs), but, make no mistake, they are a decent side particularly compared to many of Gordon's peers in the CCC (I'm not saying that Colby is better than the entire CCC, but I think we can all agree the NESCAC as a conference is more competitive). That is a good win for the Fighting Scots, who have had some hard-luck losses on the road, and might be a momentum-builder.

[4231CenterBack]

IMO Colby is a 3rd to 5th place side in the CCC.  Endicott and Gordon clearly better.  Maybe Wentworth and WNE too.  Obviously the bottom half of the CCC is awful. Only saw today's match but Colby looked big, slow, and lacking ideas.  Might have been the oppressive heat....

[SoccerMom_5]

Gordon gets a 1-0 win at Colby as a goal six minutes in stands up. Colby might not get a ton of love on this forum (particularly when compared to other NESCACs), but, make no mistake, they are a decent side particularly compared to many of Gordon's peers in the CCC (I'm not saying that Colby is better than the entire CCC, but I think we can all agree the NESCAC as a conference is more competitive). That is a good win for the Fighting Scots, who have had some hard-luck losses on the road, and might be a momentum-builder.

That is what I said, too.  I was impressed with Colby against Conn.  I thought it was kind of a "blue collar" team, without the "flashy" offensive "stars" that people seem to be drawn to in NESCAC soccer, but that they moved the ball well, their off-ball movement was good, and that they play pretty decent soccer.  I am looking forward to watching a bunch of their games to see how their bavk line is.  The game I watched didn't see their back line overly tested... most of the game was played on the ground in the middle.  It.made me wonder if their losses happen when their backline cant match up with the front-line speed/power that some of the "winning" programs throw at them. 

I am fairly new to watching NESCAC soccer,  but from last year, I thought that it seemed as if teams often won or lost based on whether or not their  forwards could out pace or out muscle the opposing backline on a breakaway.  (...and then could finish, of course...)

Any thoughts on that, re: Colby?  That is what I was wondering.  I did enjoy watching them move up and down the field as a cohesive unit.

[blooter442]

That is what I said, too.  I was impressed with Colby against Conn.  I thought it was kind of a "blue collar" team, without the "flashy" offensive "stars" that people seem to be drawn to in NESCAC soccer, but that they moved the ball well, their off-ball movement was good, and that they play pretty decent soccer.  I am looking forward to watching a bunch of their games to see how their bavk line is.  The game I watched didn't see their back line overly tested... most of the game was played on the ground in the middle.  It.made me wonder if their losses happen when their backline cant match up with the front-line speed/power that some of the "winning" programs throw at them. 

I am fairly new to watching NESCAC soccer,  but from last year, I thought that it seemed as if teams often won or lost based on whether or not their  forwards could out pace or out muscle the opposing backline on a breakaway.  (...and then could finish, of course...)

Any thoughts on that, re: Colby?  That is what I was wondering.  I did enjoy watching them move up and down the field as a cohesive unit.

I've watched them a few times, but don't know them super well. From what I can tell, I would agree with your observations -- a solid team, but not a lot of offensive firepower, and could be overwhelmed defensively by the top NESCAC sides. I think part of the reason they're described in less-than-glowing terms is that they were pretty abysmal a couple of years back, dropping some non-conference clangers, and maybe that sentiment has carried over a bit. I think they have certainly improved even if not a top NESCAC side.

On another note, Mieth is starting in goal for Tufts tonight over Johnson. Interesting.

[Once_A_Metro_Always_A_Red]

Anyone else having trouble with the Wesleyan/Tufts stream?

[blooter442]

Anyone else having trouble with the Wesleyan/Tufts stream?

Yuuuuuuuuup.

[Once_A_Metro_Always_A_Red]

Anyone else having trouble with the Wesleyan/Tufts stream?

Yuuuuuuuuup.

Ok, cool. Just wanted to make sure I wasn't crazy/it was something with my computer.

[letsGOswans!]

Very impressed with Conn's workrate today especially in this heat.

That is one attribute you can always count on Murphy's team to possess.

[blooter442]

Ok, cool. Just wanted to make sure I wasn't crazy/it was something with my computer.

Ditto. I'll try a different browser (currently on Chrome) and see if it helps.

[Falconer]

Nice article on future Eph:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/winnetka/sports/ct-wtk-new-trier-boys-soccer-will-felitto-tl-0919-20170921-story.html

Now THAT is a kid that Williams could use...A 6'2 physical striker..however my cynical side say's if he was that good why would D1's pass on a kid of his size?  Anyhow with him and Oberg coming next fall that will be something to look for.

As much as I would like to see Trinity/Conn at 4pm I cannot possibly pass up Dortmund/Real Madrid...Will catch the 2nd Half

Sometimes the D1s don't pass on the kid...the kid passes on the D1s.  That isnt everyone's aspiration.

I wish I could have watched the Conn game; I am curioius now, to see if the game I had watched was uncharacteristic.  Although...I am not sure that Trinity is going to tell me that much new information.  But,  I haven't seen Trinity play yet.  I guess I will have to settle.through the vicarious reading of commentary. 

No need to worry hun I am a fantastic surrogate. Maybe 20 years ago kids did not care as much but in my experience these kids today do not get missed by D1's and if they are that good the D1's will put enough pressure on the kid especially with scholarships that the kid will give in.

I'm in no position to question your experience, Mr Right, any more than I can question anyone else's experience. You heard what you heard, you saw what you saw, and I didn't.

However, my experience differs from yours on the matter of very talented athletes always "giving in" to D1 scholarship offers. This must also happen at many other D3 schools in various sports, but I can't speak to that from my own experience. I can, however, point out that D1 Dartmouth College (where you probably have some friends, given your very wide knowledge of New England athletic programs) gives no scholarships for athletics and very successfully recruits at the highest national level for men's and women's cross country and other distance running events. I understand that even D3 Messiah can boast of three men who qualified for the Olympic trials in track & field, one in the decathlon (former soccer goalie Chris Boyles), one in the marathon (Brian Sell, who transferred to D1 Saint Francis and later finished 22nd at Beijing), and one in the 800 (Patrick Roach, a transfer from D3 Gettysburg).

If we limit things just to soccer at Messiah, I understand that Kai Kasiguran (a national HS AA) actually turned down a scholarship from Akron, who were at that time ranked #1 or 2 in D1. I know Kai personally; he's now a very successful accountant in the Philly area. He thought about playing in D1, and even though he later played professionally and narrowly missed (owing to an ill-timed injury) playing for the Chicago Fire, he really wanted to play at D3 Messiah or Wheaton, b/c he bought the religious mission of both schools (and he still does) and wanted to play in such an environment. Given that Kai was obviously a highly sought D1 level recruit, he stands as a clear counter-example to your claim.

It would be fair to point out that Kai went to college about a dozen years ago, and you were comparing players today with those of 20 years ago. OK. But, Jack Thompson was also a high D1 level prospect, and he played on the 2011 and 2012 champions (as well as the 2013 team that lost 1-0 to Tufts on a small, muddy field). I'm told that several current players were approached by various D1 teams, but I have personal knowledge of just two specific situations: senior Colby Thomas visited at least one ACC program, and (as you know) Danny Brandt spent just a few days at a very high level ACC program before deciding that the overall atmosphere was not what he wanted.

You are probably right that most highly sought players do accept a D1 scholarship at some level (many such are not full scholarships, since men's soccer can award only 9.9 for the whole team), but some decline those offers in favor of D3 schools for various reasons. As with athletes in other so-called "minor sports," they choose the school rather than the scholarship.

[PaulNewman]

Halftime....Tufts 13 fouls, Wesleyan 4

[Buck O.]

That is what I said, too.  I was impressed with Colby against Conn.  I thought it was kind of a "blue collar" team, without the "flashy" offensive "stars" that people seem to be drawn to in NESCAC soccer, but that they moved the ball well, their off-ball movement was good, and that they play pretty decent soccer.  I am looking forward to watching a bunch of their games to see how their bavk line is.  The game I watched didn't see their back line overly tested... most of the game was played on the ground in the middle.  It.made me wonder if their losses happen when their backline cant match up with the front-line speed/power that some of the "winning" programs throw at them. 

I am fairly new to watching NESCAC soccer,  but from last year, I thought that it seemed as if teams often won or lost based on whether or not their  forwards could out pace or out muscle the opposing backline on a breakaway.  (...and then could finish, of course...)

Any thoughts on that, re: Colby?  That is what I was wondering.  I did enjoy watching them move up and down the field as a cohesive unit.

I've watched them a few times, but don't know them super well. From what I can tell, I would agree with your observations -- a solid team, but not a lot of offensive firepower, and could be overwhelmed defensively by the top NESCAC sides. I think part of the reason they're described in less-than-glowing terms is that they were pretty abysmal a couple of years back, dropping some non-conference clangers, and maybe that sentiment has carried over a bit. I think they have certainly improved even if not a top NESCAC side.

On another note, Mieth is starting in goal for Tufts tonight over Johnson. Interesting.

Based on the one Colby game I saw, I'd agree with most of what you said, Blooter.  But the game I saw was the Tufts game, and I certainly don't think Colby was overwhelmed defensively.  Tufts had more opportunities, especially in the last 10 minutes and OT, but not overwhelmingly so.  There were significant stretches where Colby was carrying the play.  And if Tufts isn't a top NESCAC side, I don't know who is.