NESCAC

[Mr.Right]

It is what it is in regards to Serpone but to insinuate that he has a multiple personality disorder might be a little much even for these pages....Or to say one of the Amherst assistants looks like a meth head is crossing a line IMO and this is coming from someone that has crossed many lines....


As far as refs it all depends on the refs in that particular game. I have never heard of Mike Wallace but he must be a Roger Taylor guy....So usually the schools with the bigger Men's Soccer budgets like Nescac, Newmac, Brandeis,Endicott etc etc use the more expensive refs under Roger Taylor. Usually these refs are doing D1,D2,D3 games throughout the season in New England. That however does not mean they are any better than the ECAC/ NISOA refs that the rest of New England use but they usually are a tad better. Some are much better and some have been reffing WAY longer than they should(Ed Shea, Mike Mason, Lou Labbadia) to name a few. Shea and Mason both have bum knees and cannot keep up with the play but in their day they were considered solid refs and former players. I know that under Nescac rules the Head Coaches back in like 2010 decided to ONLY use Taylor's guys for the Nescac Championship as this was mainly done to force the Maine schools primarily Bowdoin who usually hosted a Nescac Quarterfinal game to not use Maine refs who have some biases with Maine schools. Some did as obviously not all but in the past Maine refs had cause some problems before 2005 in games in Maine.

My question is if the Amherst bench got two yellows does that mean Serpone misses the Nescac Semi-Final? I am actually not sure the rule but I always thought if the bench got a Yellow that was considered the Head Coach. Amherst bench got 2 Yellows but no Red in the Bowdoin match so I am confused about that situation. Anyone???

[PaulNewman]

It is what it is in regards to Serpone but to insinuate that he has a multiple personality disorder might be a little much even for these pages....Or to say one of the Amherst assistants looks like a meth head is crossing a line IMO and this is coming from someone that has crossed many lines....

You're right.  My bad, and I apologize.  I obviously did not intend any literal interpretation or inference, if any clarification is needed in that regard. 

[Mr.Right]

No worries....all good

[NESCAC11]

Regional Rankings are out:

New England   
1. Tufts 13-0-3 13-0-3
2. Connecticut College 12-2-2 12-2-2
3. Amherst 12-3-1 12-3-1
4. Babson 11-2-4 11-2-4
5. Middlebury 10-3-3 10-3-3
6. Williams 9-5-2 9-5-2
7. Endicott 10-5-2 10-5-2
8. Bowdoin 9-5-2 9-5-2
9. Hamilton 9-6-1 9-6-1
10. St. Joseph's (Maine) 18-0-0 18-0-0
11. Gordon 10-6-1 10-6-1
12. WPI

[NESCAC43]

Tomorrow's Predictions:

Amherst over Colby 2-0
Hamilton over Williams 3-2 in 2OT

[NESCAC11]

NESCAC 43, I think there are 2 goals scored in tomorrow's games total. Williams and Hamilton don't really score. Colby packs it in quite a bit. In addition, it will be a rainy day. I wouldn't mind seeing a shootout but not sure it can happen with those teams.

[blooter442]

Are you guys related, 11 and 43? Looks like the same username stacked one on top of the other.

[NESCAC11]

Everyone on this thread is related by NESCAC blood. However, 43 and I are locked in disagreement over tomorrow's predictions. I think Williams and Amherst win in 1-0 games and he is predicting an explosion of goals. Either way it should be fun.

[blooter442]

Everyone on this thread is related by NESCAC blood. However, 43 and I are locked in disagreement over tomorrow's predictions. I think Williams and Amherst win in 1-0 games and he is predicting an explosion of goals. Either way it should be fun.

No NESCAC blood here (although I guess that's debatable with my mother being a Bowdoin alumna and with me being a keen observer of NESCAC soccer).

[Mr.Right]

Nescac Semi's Notes........

-Bubble teams across the country should be rooting for Amherst(I know that is tough to swallow) to win the Nescac Championship as they have wrapped up a bid no matter what. Bubble teams also should be rooting for Williams to lose because right now they are ranked #6 right behind Midd at #5. If Williams were to beat Hamilton I think they would pass #5 Midd and maybe even #4 Babson. They would be 5-3-1 RvR if they beat Hamilton and frankly that would be enough I think and they would most likely steal Midd's bid. Hamilton randomly got ranked this week but they would need to beat Williams and draw Amherst lose in PK's and still I think would come up short of a Pool C. So Hamilton and Colby need to Win the whole damn thing. Bubble teams should be rooting for Hamilton and Amherst in the Semi's. Honestly, I think we are going to see some real upsets starting tonight to tighten the bubble.


Colby at Amherst------Interesting Serpone chose to play the early game because he used to like the late game but it does give you a little more rest then then the winner of the next game. Colby is going to play Amherst exactly how they played Tufts but I would expect to see more of striker Tower who along with Clouse and Dickey are all like 6'7. Tower did not play much against Tufts and is a bit of a stiff but is dangerous with his head and will be needed in this game. The narrow field actually helps Colby just as much as it is an advantage for Amherst. Both teams have some monster's all over the field mixed in with guys who have skill and speed. Both teams have long throwers that will get a nice advantage with the narrow field and both teams have guys that can finish set pieces. Colby's compact defense will smother Amherst on that field and vice versa. So basically this game is going to be won off a set piece or a scrum after a set piece. Amherst just flat out has more talent in their starting 11 than Colby but so did Tufts so as long as Colby executes the same gameplan and gets some luck they will be right in this game. Colby must MAKE SURE they go into halftime even IMO and whatever they do they cannot give up an early goal to Amherst or the whole gameplan goes out the window and they will be forced to come out of their shell. Colby still has talent in their starting 11 so I do expect them to get some chances on the counter and throughout the run of play maybe even more chances than they did against Tufts. Should be very interesting to see if Colby can keep this going as like I said if they can get to Halftime level they could find an early 2nd Half goal and hold on. Of course I could also see Amherst coming out and putting an unbearable amount of pressure on Colby in the first 15-20 minutes and get a goal or two. Honestly, not sure which way it will go. In the regular season Amherst beat Colby 3-0 at Home but it was close than the score suggests as Amherst scored on a nice half volley and a PK IIRC but Colby had some sniffs. I expect Colby GK Dan Carlson to be on top of his game as he is a legit shot stopper and a great reactive GK which will be needed against Amherst as those long throws have tons of scrums after the play and quick shots on net.



Williams v Hamilton------I bet no one saw this Semi-Final matchup coming as I do not think I have ever seen a 6v7 seed match in a Nescac Semi-Final. Williams played very well at Midd but still could not finish and are really struggling scoring goals and luckily Midd's GK gifted them a goal in the 2nd Half as that game was certainly headed for PK's IMO. That mistake by Hyer was absolutely dreadful and it is looking like it could really cost Midd a bid. Midd will be rooting for Hamilton as a Hamilton win should prevent Williams from passing Midd in the rankings. The good news for Williams is the return of their best striker Gass as he was a bit rusty at Midd but still showed his skill and speed on the turf and at times looked good. Also, the return of wingbacks Ranieri and Mathew is a big help. Not sure why Sullivan sacked Oberg as I thought he was playing well at CB but he was replaced by Sean Dory who is not a CB and that would concern me if he is starting at CB v Hamilton. Dory is a holding midfielder but Williams right now has to many holders with Bardong, Oberg and Dory. Fabricant and Petrik also got the sack at Midd which was interesting but not surprising as Fabricant has not scored a goal in over a month. So I am not quite sure what their lineup will be. Sullivan has nver lost to Hamilton since arriving at Williams and is 4-0-0 against Hamilton in his 4 years at Williams. The regular season game was Won by Williams 1-0 at Hamilton. Williams was the better team in that game as Hamilton had trouble getting good looks on net. Hamilton has had trouble scoring goals all year and frankly have had some trouble creating chances as well. I missed their big win at Conn in the Quarters but it sounds like they snuck a goal 2nd Half but Conn had a good run of the play. I expect the same in this match BUT Hamilton is quite capable of winning this whole Championship if they can get Aidan Wood going who did assist on the goal at Conn. Hamilton;s other striker Schmidt has not played in a few games and he would be a big loss for them. Chapman played better last season IMO and they just need more bite in attack. Also, Hamilton;s defense is big and physical but also have made some bad mistakes that have cost them games so they must have all that cleaned up. If they shutout Conn at Conn then I am guessing the back 4 plus the Frosh in net played well all game. This is a toss-up but should be a little easier on the eye than the first Semi as both teams will have spurts of playing some futbol....

[1970s NESCAC Player]

A couple of thoughts on Colby-Amherst.  First, I've heard that Amherst returned the field to normal dimensions, and that it is not as narrow this year.  The reasoning is that the narrow field was only helping the opposition:  Amherst's long thrower can reach the goal mouth regardless of width, but a narrow field also enables the opposition to make dangerous throws.  Plus, Amherst only penalizes their wide players by narrowing the field (who don't have as much room to operate).  I haven't seen the field myself this year, so I can't verify.

Second, I think that Mr. Right hit the nail on the head:  the key for Colby will likely be surviving the first half.  I expect Amherst to come out with a barrage and try to swarm Colby to get the early goal.  This is what happened in the 2014 Q-final, when Amherst scored in the 3rd minute and won 1-0.  If Colby can grow into the match, they may be able to pull off another upset.  The program could really use the boost . . .

[Mr.Right]

I have been to Amherst field in late September and it was still the same dimensions. It was a narrow mess and just mucks up the game. Now maybe the past month they moved the dimensions back but pretty sure the buildings and grounds crew would be snarling venom if Serpone changed his mind halfway thru the season.

[Bobcat1]

Today's games have been moved to the turf field at Amherst...

[Mr.Right]

Understandable as Amherst grass field must be flooded especially in the corners by the fence...That field cannot drain rain very well being at the bottom of that hill. The turf field is still narrow but nearly as narrow as the grass field. This weather is forecast all day so it will definitely be a factor for both games. Hopefully, the stream is not affected. When Amherst hosted the Nescac Championship in 2007 on this field the stream was from the corner of the field and was not a very good view. Hopefully, eleven years later we will get a better stream.

[Mr.Right]

Amherst v Colby about to kickoff and I see no changes to Colby's lineup. Amherst is missing 4 key players from their starting lineup...Luke Nguyen, Jimmy McMillian, Dane Lind and Derby. Those are 4 very solid players but a couple of them have come off the bench in the past except Lind. Lind has always started the game. Something to watch for....