NESCAC

[Mr.Right]

1-0 Tufts beats Colby 2 minutes into OT...Tough loss for Colby but they should keep their heads high...They played very well today...Nice play by Max Jacobs after receiving a ball on his right foot a nice touch brings it to his left to turn his defender just enough to get off a left footed rocket into the corner of the net...Nice goal by Jacobs and a good start for Tufts

[FelixCloudy]

Nescac predictions:
....

Wesleyan at Haverford----I did not catch Wesleyan's 1-0 loss at Home to WPI and have not seen Haverford play so this is a toss-up. I will say this is a big weekend for Wesleyan with 2 games back to back at Haverford and at Eastern on Sunday. If they go home 0-3-0 on Sunday night that will not be good for Wheeler and Co.

Haverford beat Wesleyan 2-1 in OT.  Today's game against Eastern moved to Bryn Mawr's turf field due to weather.  Video stream might not happen due to the location change.  The Cardinals have only 2 away this weekend (not 3).

[Bobcat1]

The 'Cats head to UNE tonight which should be a decent opportunity to get the offense cranked up.  Tough result on Saturday with the 1-0 loss to Hamilton despite a decided advantage in possession, shots, and corners. Unfortunately only 1 shot was on frame... Coach Sheikh has the boys playing hard, just need to start finding the back on the net (especially veterans like Opoku and Kimpolo-Pene).  It won't get easier any after tonight as Bates heads to Medfa on Saturday.

[Mr.Right]

The good news is I like the way Bates played v Farmington and you are correct he had those boys working very hard. I can guarantee Tufts will be OVER CONFIDENT against Bates this weekend. Does that mean Tufts will lose? Nah...I have a hunch some of these Bates players remember how their season ended last year...Speaking of last year and Bates it looks like former Head Coach Stewart Flaharty has brought his winning tradition to the Dartmouth Men's Soccer program as they are off to a flying start 0-3-0...In all fairness they have lost to Indiana, Notre Dame and UCONN but still it will be interesting to watch play out.

[Mr.Right]

Some Big games today/tonight:

Endicott at Conn----This game which starts in a 1/2 hour should be tight. I really have not seen Conn yet at all but Endicott still has that dangerous poacher who can score against anyone. Not sure what is going on in midfield but I am confident Coach Joe will fix it. Conn was lucky to beat Midd on a horrible GK'ing mistake by Midd. I still say Conn is struggling to score goals this season. Mid-week 2 1/2 hour road game for Endicott is a bit odd and I am sure Conn has had ample opportunity to scout Endicott. Not sure if Endicott has scouted Conn yet.  I think this ends 1-1.

Husson at Bowdoin----Bowdoin has started the year 1-2-0 and they should be pissed off for this game after dropping two games in a row on their Home field. 3rd game in 4 days IS A LOT TO ASK. Wiercinski will be hoping to go to his bench ASAP v Husson. If this game is 0-0 at the break it only helps one team...Wesleyan...who Bowdoin will travel to on Saturday. Husson is coming off one of the more crazy games in 2018 as they had a 1-0 lead over a very solid Roger Williams side in the 88th minute...They give up a PK with 2 minutes to go and the Husson GK mad a fantastic save, the problem was his teammates were sleeping and Roger Williams scored off the rebound to tie the game up 1-1 with about a minute left. Then 30 seconds later Roger Williams adds insult to injury with a game winner off a rebound from a save by that same Husson GK...Sometime the game is not fair...For some reason I think Husoon can keep it close for at least a Half and Wiercinski will not be able to give his guys the rest they need. 2nd Half all Bowdoin and they cruise to victory.

Ithaca at Hamilton---This is a big game for Hamilton. They have not lost to Ithaca in 5 years. I have not seen Ithaca yet this season and will be curious to see if they have improved from last season because last season when I saw them play I was impressed especially that victory at Skidmore. I guess I am curious if Coach Dezotell can make this program into a consistent winner and one of the top dogs in the Liberty League. Hamilton might just want to win this game because knowing the East Region there is a good chance Ithaca could sneak into the East's Regional Rankings by the end of the year. Those 7th, 8th and 9th spots are usually up for grabs which means a Hamilton W v ranked....This will be a tight game and not sure what Ithaca has in net and on D which will determine the outcome of this game IMO.

Trinity at ECONN----This young and inexperienced Trinity side show will show their true colors tonight. Do they come out flat / uninterested / down on themselves and get beaten 2-0 by ECONN or do they come out heads high / new game attitude / energy etc? Basically, do they have any guts?  I think they do but ECONN has reloaded with a real solid Frosh class that might get them a victory tonight even if Trinity plays its ass off..

Keene St at Tufts---What has happened to this Keen St program. 10 years ago this was a program that was winning the Little East every year and advancing in the NCAA's. Not far but still they were a real tough outfit. The past 5-6 years the program has really gone down hill but I thought I saw the tide turning in 2017 a little but they have come out in 2018 and the results are not good so far. On Tufts field I am betting Shapiro gets every member of his bench in the game tonight..I think this game could go 4-0 Tufts

Colby at Gordon---I must ad,it I am not a fan of Seabrook just automatically resting starters in Non-conference games. Almost like conceding that Colby never has a chance at a Pool C. Well you never know and I just feel like you want to win games and get starters in a rhythm and get guys scoring goals that need confidence. I do see the point though in giving your bench guys big minutes to rest starters and to keep team morale high so all the guys feel like they are part of the program and everyone is impacting it.  I am just rambling and I guess I am more curious what happened to Aoyama and Avery Gibson?  Colby gets out of town with a 2-1 victory.

Bates at UNE----I have talked about Bates and truly believe and hope they are headed in the right direction. UNE is usually a walkover when you are hosting them BUT they can win games at Home. I just truly respect Coach Oostegaard at UNE for the way he play the game. He truly is a class act and even though he doesn't have the talent he is NOT SCARED to play futbol unlike some of these other spineless Coaches

[Mr.Right]

Conn playing Endicott on the turf this afternoon. Could be an advantage to Endicott but I am guessing because of the rain they do not want to tear up their grass field. Much better camera angle though on the turf.

[Mr.Right]

Conn College goes up 1-0 on a nice cross on the carpet by #17 Christian Murphy to find an open #10 Ben Highton right in front of the net unmarked who taps it in. Very sloppy defending by Endicott and they look sloppy and out matched so far in New London.

[Mr.Right]

Conn 1-0 Endicott at the Half.....Conn outplayed Endicott the first 15 minutes and were all over them but slowly Endicott has started to even things up as they have started to grow into the game. Conn might be upset they did not grab another goal in that first 15 minutes because they had 1 or 2 decent chances to do so. After the first 15 minutes Endicott woke up and it has been a fairly even game since. Not getting that 2nd goal might sting because Endicott is more than capable of tying this game up. I am a little surprised at how Endicott has been playing as they have been hitting long balls over the top more than building thru midfield which they were more prone to do in years past. Whoever wants it more and gets a bit of luck will walk out of here with the W. Conn looked to be in a 4-2-3-1 to start the match. #1 Marcucci GK, backline was LB #15 Tyler Hoadley CB's #11 Liam Donelan and #20 Luke Stoneback(Frosh at CB impressive) and RB #2 Freddy Stokes with holders # 13 Michael Milhollen and #18 Ben Manoogian with #3 Matt Butera(who scored v Midd Saturday) attacking. Conn's 3 of Milhollen, Butera and Manoogian all interchange nicely with all 3 looking quite fit and with decent skill. Not sure if any of the 3 are real holding middies but they all have skill and grit. Out wide you have #17 Christian Murphy wide left and # 7 Uzii Dieng wide right. Up top #10 Ben Highton.

[Mr.Right]

Well about 13 minutes into the 2nd Half Conn goes up 2-0 off a corner with perfect service from #17 Christian Murphy(2nd assist today) and nice header by CB #11 Liam Donelan...Free header into the net...WAY TO EASY...Endicott in a zone defending corners..HATE IT...Hate a zone for that reason as Conn was allowed to attack the ball before Endicott even reacted. If there is the least bit of confusion in a zone it all breaks down rather fast...2-0 Conn 30 min 60th minute

[Mr.Right]

Conn's #7 Dieng I remember in 2015 but must have been injured all year last year? I know for sure he did not play last year because Conn could have really used him in 2017 on the flank. He could have been a difference maker and possibly Conn could have made a little run in the NCAA"S in 2017. Either way he is back and looks really dangerous on that flank. Conn looks very good this game and I am ready to admit predicting them to finish 9th in Nescac was a massive mistake...This team looks like a Top 4 side.

[Mr.Right]

Just as a post Endicott gets right back into this game as they score on a PK to make it 2-1 with about 20 minutes left. Endicott's stud striker Evan Couchot created the PK chance with some fancy foot work about 35 yards away from net and jukes his defender to the carpet and feeds #33 Jamie Becker who get fouled when he cuts to the right in the box by #11 Liam Donelan. Lazy foul there as you hold the kid up as there were a couple defenders behind Donelan to block the shot. Instead Donlan trips him up and Couchet comes up to the spot and burries it.....2-1 Conn 20 left

[Mr.Right]

Dagger....3-1 Conn as another corner almost got scored on a header but deflected wide and sent back into the middle of the box by Conn's #7 Dieng and #10 highton finishes it easily...I must say Endicott is very WEAK defensively. Lazy defending and frankly weak defending. Endicott's GK Jack Bacon is being left high and dry by his teammates. On top of this they are zoning on corners...Coaching 101 IMO...Calabrese MUST try some new players in different positions as Endicott is going nowhere fast with this crew on defense.

[1970s NESCAC Player]

Conn looks very good this game ... This team looks like a Top 4 side.

I agree.

[Mr.Right]

JESUS...almost 4-1 as a free kick by Murphy finds a WIDE OPEN Conn player streaking towards net and he fluffs it...Horrible Horrible defending...how do u let a kid run free like that on a set piece? There is a definite lack of communication, talent and hunger by Endicott's backline. Calabrese needs to clean this up before conference play or they gave no chance to win the CCC. Could be RWU and WNEC if this continues...

[NEsoccerfan20]

Conn the much better team, bizarre how poor Endicott has been defensively given the past 3 years or so how stingy they have been.