NESCAC

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

One has to have a 3.30 GPA to be eligible. Considering that was well above my GPA in college ... not sure any comment about setting a low record are needed.

[PaulNewman]

One has to have a 3.30 GPA to be eligible. Considering that was well above my GPA in college ... not sure any comment about setting a low record are needed.

Not sure how your GPA correlates with whether a comment is needed or warranted.

Anyways, I think you stepped into a joke internal to the Tufts crew.  In other words, the poster Mr. Zinner was a teammate of both Braun and Coleman, and so very likely the comments are good-natured banter with minimal correlation to reality.

[nescac1]

Any chance Giammattei looks to move to D1? I would think that he could earn a full ride almost anywhere outside of maybe the very top echelon of D1 soccer after that year (and I know he could have gotten a scholarship out of high school, but now his options would be far broader).  For whatever reason, this seems to be happening routinely now in NESCAC basketball, but not in any other sports ...

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

One has to have a 3.30 GPA to be eligible. Considering that was well above my GPA in college ... not sure any comment about setting a low record are needed.

Not sure how your GPA correlates with whether a comment is needed or warranted.

Anyways, I think you stepped into a joke internal to the Tufts crew.  In other words, the poster Mr. Zinner was a teammate of both Braun and Coleman, and so very likely the comments are good-natured banter with minimal correlation to reality.

My GPA comment was to have a little fun at my own expense ... and to state that 3.30 is pretty solid. The comment seemed needed because it is hard sometimes to differentiate when people are joking and when they aren't unless indicated. So in case it wasn't a joke, it seemed like something that needed to be said. I am always impressed with student-athletes who excel on the field/court while also tearing it up in the classroom. I wasn't much of a book learner, so it was tough in college. Those who are that good in the classroom, especially those in the NESCAC that continue to impress me, are worth celebrating.

So not knowing if it was a joke ... it didn't seem like the thing that should go without checking.

Any chance Giammattei looks to move to D1? I would think that he could earn a full ride almost anywhere outside of maybe the very top echelon of D1 soccer after that year (and I know he could have gotten a scholarship out of high school, but now his options would be far broader).  For whatever reason, this seems to be happening routinely now in NESCAC basketball, but not in any other sports ...

How routine is it? I can think of it happening a few times, twice maybe of late? Maybe I am missing things. Are there others who left for D1?

That said, Giammattei is similar to Duncan Robinson in the fact he is an incredible talent who certainly could play at a higher level. I think many were impressed Robinson was able to succeed at D1, but I think that came down to finding the right program. Hamilton MBB had one go to George Mason(?) and while he certainly ended up contributing, he didn't gain the notoriety Robinson gained.

I think Giammattei could end up at D1 school, but does he have the talent to stand out at a top-notch school? Is that worth sitting for a year (granted, Robinson made that year a good one by getting built up physically and working on his game)? Will it allow him to go further with his game?

It is a tough decision with challenging questions. Personally, I think it makes sense to stay, get an incredible education, and be a stand out. But I am selfishly DIII through and through.

[nescac1]

Dave, there have been a surprisingly large number of NESCAC to D1 hoops transfers this decade ... most notably Robinson and Austin Hutcherson, who is currently redshirting at Illinois (also had offers at Notre Dame and Creighton), but also Hunter Sabety (Hofstra), Matt Hart (George Washington) and Varum Ram (Maryland).  All of those guys played meaningful roles at the D1 level, even Ram, who was a pure walk-on but worked his way into a back-up ACC point guard.  I have little sense for the D1-D3 talent disparity in soccer vs. basketball, but I'd say other than Duncan, Giammattei was clearly more dominant as a D3 player than any of those guys. 

Also, given that Robinson is now starting for a top-tier NBA team just two years out of Michigan, I think he would have ultimately succeeded in a wide range of D1 programs! 

I think usually staying D3 makes sense.  But if your goal is to be a professional athlete, then going D1 is a no-brainer.  So it depends on how serious Giammattei is about playing soccer vs. his education.  (There have been some NESCAC soccer players who have had solid pro careers, most notably Khari Stephenson and Dan Calichman, but it's certainly tougher to get noticed out of D3). 

[PaulNewman]

I doubt Robinson went to Williams with an eye on an NBA career....or even a D1 career.  GG is certainly entitled to change his mind, but if he wanted to pursue professional soccer I don't think he would have picked Amherst.  Why wouldn't he have gone D1 up front?  He knew he was good.  Anyway, I am sure he could succeed in a decent to good D1 program, but are we so sure he wouldn't be sitting on the bench at the top tier like UNC, Wake, UVA, Gtown, etc?

[SlideTackle]

I doubt Robinson went to Williams with an eye on an NBA career....or even a D1 career.  GG is certainly entitled to change his mind, but if he wanted to pursue professional soccer I don't think he would have picked Amherst.  Why wouldn't he have gone D1 up front?  He knew he was good.  Anyway, I am sure he could succeed in a decent to good D1 program, but are we so sure he wouldn't be sitting on the bench at the top tier like UNC, Wake, UVA, Gtown, etc?

Tend to agree here.  GG was one of the top 3 goal scorers in the DA during his senior year with over 30 goals.  He could have easily gone DI if he wanted. He "committed" to Amherst his junior year and didn't renege when he surely could have. 

[Mr.Right]

Conn Ramblings:


One story to go under the radar this season was Conn College. Kenny Murphy retired and handed over the reins to Reuben Burk. Burk, 27,  had only been at Conn for 1 year as an assistant and had bounced around like most young assistants do from school to school learning different styles and methods from as many Head Coaches as they can. These Assistants are trying to soak it up or at least that was what used to happen. Burk, who should forever live by the motto "life is about being in the right place at the right time" must have proven to Murphy and Conn his worth and that he knew what he was doing. You rarely see a Head Coach leave such a promising outfit, like Conn, with the potential to contend like Murphy did but here we are today. I was skeptical of the whole situation at first until I saw Conn play to open the season. Burk and his staff decided to turn Conn into a more possession oriented attacking team BUT you could tell he did not want Conn to lose its lock down defensive mindset in the process. I would say he succeeded expeditiously because overnight Conn was a much more entertaining team to watch and were still getting the results the team was used to.  To make a deep NCAA run while in the process of overhauling your team's identity is no easy task. An entertaining style IMO is important in attracting and keeping students and local community at your Home games. More fans with more passion = players getting more pumped to produce for the crowd. A group of alums starting to show up at random Saturday afternoon Home games = only way for current players to thank alums for the support is to play hard and win. Conn attendance at Home this year improved steadily throughout the year and no question the winning was a big part of it but a small part of me hopes the style also had a hand in that as well.

Conn has now proven they can make a deep NCAA run. The next hurdle is the NCAA Final 4 / Tufts and frankly Conn has a ton of work to do to get there. Let me take an outsiders go at Conn. By the end of the year Conn looked to be in a 4-1-4-1 or 4-2-3-1 depending upon how you look at it but tactically there was no difference. Marcucci in net..LB Aquadro, CB Donelan, CB Stoneback, RB Stokes. Holding was Bocchetti with Butera and Djerdjaj in midfield. Noonan and Yeonas out wide with Tshuma up top. That is a pretty solid starting 11.  Djerdjaj and Yeonas are studs. Noonan is a quick winger with skill who can finish, same goes for Thsuma. Conn is loaded in attack and are a really good countering team. The bench was ok but a bit thin. Ludwick played out wide and is a solid player that is a threat to score. Balbontin graduates with 9 career goals and 62 games played with 4 starts. To have 62 GP and 4 GS tells me Balbontin understood his role and did his job for the team. He was a good target and could hold the ball up top. Miranda comes off the bench or starts for Bocchetti sitting in front of the back 4. He is a good athlete that does his job. Conn also used a couple Frosh (Pinyochon, Robles,) that I have not seen enough of to get a read yet.   Marvel is a Frosh I have seen at Tabor Academy and is a skilled player but Conn needs more help from its bench in 2020 if they are going to contend.  Another issue is this team has a few to many players from Marion(MA),Malibu(CA), Riverside(CT), McLean(VA), Winnetka(IL) to name a few. More kids from the athletic rich St.Mary's Prep, like Stoneback, would be nice but this has always been an issue with Conn admissions. They need as many kids as they can get that can pay full pop. Still, bench production and roster manipulation are minor concerns in the big picture that can be fixed over time.

I think the one position that needs to be shored up is holding midfielder. Bocchetti and Miranda are both good athletic players with skill that need to be on the field but just not in this position. WAY to many teams(Tufts, Swathmore come to mind) absolutely sliced and diced thru the middle of Conn's defensive 3rd at will and were getting some decent looks. Conn's CB's need more help then what the holding midfielders are giving them defensively. Opposing teams and especially opposing players HAVE TO THINK TWICE about attacking thru the middle of the field and wide guys(think Lane and Tasker) need to think twice about cutting inside on Conn. Conn needs like a 90 minute Zach Trevorrow with those crazed Hawaiian game day eyes at holding midfielder. POINT--This position requires a nutter with a genuine desire to be competitive when your team is being challenged. Someone needs to step up here, tackle hard and hunt the ball. Maybe Miranda or Bocchetti can change their game a bit?

Captains this season were JR CB Donelan and SR RB Stokes. Interestingly, Conn loses 4 key Seniors but 2 of them have eligibility(Stokes and Aquadro). Butera is a big loss in midfield and would have to be in my Top 5 Set Piece takers in Nescac if I am looking for a goal from about 25-30 yards. He scored 2 against Catholic and Midd that I witnessed  Actually, since I mentioned Trevorrow(Tufts) he would be in my Top 5 set piece takers as well in Nescac. So Donelan will be Captain as a SR but does Marcucci join him? Personally, this is most definitely Augie Djerdjaj's team now if anyone had any doubts anyways so I would make him a Captain as a JR along with Donelan and Marcucci. Djerdjaj is an old school player who has all the attributes of a top Soccer player and is an absolute danger man in attack. He hits some of the sweetest thru balls in Nescac and can finish as he had 9 Goals. He needs to take this team over and has the perfect Nescac villain futbol name and talent to put daggers in Amherst, Tufts and the rest. More importantly, Djerdjaj does not mind throwing his body around. In the match at Tufts in the regular season, Conn and Djerdjaj dominated long stretches of the ball and play but just were not clinical in the final 3rd. Still, the one player I saw give Aroh(Tufts) a game was Djerdjaj. At the very least he kept Aroh a little more busy than usual and freed up more space on the field for his teammates. Strangely, Aroh's body language is sometimes quite humorous as he almost looks annoyed to have to clean up his teammates mistakes, as if the big King cannot be bothered and he points to his little minions(Van Brewer, Enge) to do all the gritty grunt work.

More Notes:

-Conn MUST commit to absolute fitness in the offseason. I see a couple players that would benefit from being in top fitness and could be better overall players.

-Even with all the possession, Conn managed to have less SOG than they did in 2018 and in more games. Is it concerning? not really but something to be aware of and more importantly...why? 

-Tshuma, Noonan, Yeonas and Djerdjaj are a real solid and dangerous attacking 4 that combine well with each other especially Djerdjaj and Thsuma. 

-Stoneback and Donelan are two solid starting CB's but who will be playing wingback next season?

We do have to take a quick look at what happened in the Elite 8 because Head Coach Burk adjusted his whole lineup for the Tufts match. He sacked the LB Aquadro and put the speedy winger Yeonas at LB.  He then moved Djerdjaj up top with Thsuma and Noonan wide. Butera took Djerdjaj's spot and then both Bocchetti and Miranda were in midfield. That is a TON of moving parts and possibly made the game more uncomfortable than necessary for Conn.  Burk must not have liked the Aquadro v Lane(Tufts) matchup and while I agree I also do not see moving one of your best attacking players to wingback just for his speed. The better option would have been to just have Stokes and Aquadro take 2-3 steps back when defending quick wingers like Tasker and Lane and do the best they can.  Conn's starting lineup had been in a consistent stable place and to shake it up just for supposed matchup problems can/will have consequences sometimes. Kind of like Lane absolutely catching Yeonas napping two minutes into the game by scoring a beauty before Yeonas knew what had happened. That had to be a massive punch to the gut for the Head Coach but he's young and will learn and about 20 minutes in he got his original lineup on the field. IMO Conn outplayed Tufts 18 to 18 but Tufts was clinical finishing and defending and outplayed Conn where it matters. Conn's attacking third left a ton to be desired.

[Mr.Right]

Alex Blake(Williams 03') holds all these records for now.

Goals(Career)--81
Points(Career)--195
Points(Season)--63

I am going to have to call Giammattei something other than GG. I cant take it anymore..Gforce? how about just 'G" Does this kid have a nickname I can use? 

Anyway, he almost got Blake's Season Point Record with 57 and obviously tied his season scoring record at 26. Those career numbers are going to be tough especially with only two years left but if anyone can get it done its this kid. His most prized possession have to be those quick feet and when you watch him watch his feet when he is in the box.

[Mr.Right]

Also must be mentioned Joe "the repo man" Braun was named national scholar player of the year. Affectionally known since his sophomore year as "the brain" Braun must have set the record for lowest GPA of any winner, eclipsing the bar set by fellow Jumbo Conor Coleman.  In Braun's defense at least he was good at soccer. I don't know how Coleman scammed his way into it.

Well done to Braun......

[College Soccer Observer]

Conn Ramblings:


One story to go under the radar this season was Conn College. Kenny Murphy retired and handed over the reins to Reuben Burk. Burk, 27,  had only been at Conn for 1 year as an assistant and had bounced around like most young assistants do from school to school learning different styles and methods from as many Head Coaches as they can. These Assistants are trying to soak it up or at least that was what used to happen. Burk, who should forever live by the motto "life is about being in the right place at the right time" must have proven to Murphy and Conn his worth and that he knew what he was doing. You rarely see a Head Coach leave such a promising outfit, like Conn, with the potential to contend like Murphy did but here we are today. I was skeptical of the whole situation at first until I saw Conn play to open the season. Burk and his staff decided to turn Conn into a more possession oriented attacking team BUT you could tell he did not want Conn to lose its lock down defensive mindset in the process. I would say he succeeded expeditiously because overnight Conn was a much more entertaining team to watch and were still getting the results the team was used to.  To make a deep NCAA run while in the process of overhauling your team's identity is no easy task. An entertaining style IMO is important in attracting and keeping students and local community at your Home games. More fans with more passion = players getting more pumped to produce for the crowd. A group of alums starting to show up at random Saturday afternoon Home games = only way for current players to thank alums for the support is to play hard and win. Conn attendance at Home this year improved steadily throughout the year and no question the winning was a big part of it but a small part of me hopes the style also had a hand in that as well.

Conn has now proven they can make a deep NCAA run. The next hurdle is the NCAA Final 4 / Tufts and frankly Conn has a ton of work to do to get there. Let me take an outsiders go at Conn. By the end of the year Conn looked to be in a 4-1-4-1 or 4-2-3-1 depending upon how you look at it but tactically there was no difference. Marcucci in net..LB Aquadro, CB Donelan, CB Stoneback, RB Stokes. Holding was Bocchetti with Butera and Djerdjaj in midfield. Noonan and Yeonas out wide with Tshuma up top. That is a pretty solid starting 11.  Djerdjaj and Yeonas are studs. Noonan is a quick winger with skill who can finish, same goes for Thsuma. Conn is loaded in attack and are a really good countering team. The bench was ok but a bit thin. Ludwick played out wide and is a solid player that is a threat to score. Balbontin graduates with 9 career goals and 62 games played with 4 starts. To have 62 GP and 4 GS tells me Balbontin understood his role and did his job for the team. He was a good target and could hold the ball up top. Miranda comes off the bench or starts for Bocchetti sitting in front of the back 4. He is a good athlete that does his job. Conn also used a couple Frosh (Pinyochon, Robles,) that I have not seen enough of to get a read yet.   Marvel is a Frosh I have seen at Tabor Academy and is a skilled player but Conn needs more help from its bench in 2020 if they are going to contend.  Another issue is this team has a few to many players from Marion(MA),Malibu(CA), Riverside(CT), McLean(VA), Winnetka(IL) to name a few. More kids from the athletic rich St.Mary's Prep, like Stoneback, would be nice but this has always been an issue with Conn admissions. They need as many kids as they can get that can pay full pop. Still, bench production and roster manipulation are minor concerns in the big picture that can be fixed over time.

I think the one position that needs to be shored up is holding midfielder. Bocchetti and Miranda are both good athletic players with skill that need to be on the field but just not in this position. WAY to many teams(Tufts, Swathmore come to mind) absolutely sliced and diced thru the middle of Conn's defensive 3rd at will and were getting some decent looks. Conn's CB's need more help then what the holding midfielders are giving them defensively. Opposing teams and especially opposing players HAVE TO THINK TWICE about attacking thru the middle of the field and wide guys(think Lane and Tasker) need to think twice about cutting inside on Conn. Conn needs like a 90 minute Zach Trevorrow with those crazed Hawaiian game day eyes at holding midfielder. POINT--This position requires a nutter with a genuine desire to be competitive when your team is being challenged. Someone needs to step up here, tackle hard and hunt the ball. Maybe Miranda or Bocchetti can change their game a bit?

Captains this season were JR CB Donelan and SR RB Stokes. Interestingly, Conn loses 4 key Seniors but 2 of them have eligibility(Stokes and Aquadro). Butera is a big loss in midfield and would have to be in my Top 5 Set Piece takers in Nescac if I am looking for a goal from about 25-30 yards. He scored 2 against Catholic and Midd that I witnessed  Actually, since I mentioned Trevorrow(Tufts) he would be in my Top 5 set piece takers as well in Nescac. So Donelan will be Captain as a SR but does Marcucci join him? Personally, this is most definitely Augie Djerdjaj's team now if anyone had any doubts anyways so I would make him a Captain as a JR along with Donelan and Marcucci. Djerdjaj is an old school player who has all the attributes of a top Soccer player and is an absolute danger man in attack. He hits some of the sweetest thru balls in Nescac and can finish as he had 9 Goals. He needs to take this team over and has the perfect Nescac villain futbol name and talent to put daggers in Amherst, Tufts and the rest. More importantly, Djerdjaj does not mind throwing his body around. In the match at Tufts in the regular season, Conn and Djerdjaj dominated long stretches of the ball and play but just were not clinical in the final 3rd. Still, the one player I saw give Aroh(Tufts) a game was Djerdjaj. At the very least he kept Aroh a little more busy than usual and freed up more space on the field for his teammates. Strangely, Aroh's body language is sometimes quite humorous as he almost looks annoyed to have to clean up his teammates mistakes, as if the big King cannot be bothered and he points to his little minions(Van Brewer, Enge) to do all the gritty grunt work.

More Notes:

-Conn MUST commit to absolute fitness in the offseason. I see a couple players that would benefit from being in top fitness and could be better overall players.

-Even with all the possession, Conn managed to have less SOG than they did in 2018 and in more games. Is it concerning? not really but something to be aware of and more importantly...why? 

-Tshuma, Noonan, Yeonas and Djerdjaj are a real solid and dangerous attacking 4 that combine well with each other especially Djerdjaj and Thsuma. 

-Stoneback and Donelan are two solid starting CB's but who will be playing wingback next season?

We do have to take a quick look at what happened in the Elite 8 because Head Coach Burk adjusted his whole lineup for the Tufts match. He sacked the LB Aquadro and put the speedy winger Yeonas at LB.  He then moved Djerdjaj up top with Thsuma and Noonan wide. Butera took Djerdjaj's spot and then both Bocchetti and Miranda were in midfield. That is a TON of moving parts and possibly made the game more uncomfortable than necessary for Conn.  Burk must not have liked the Aquadro v Lane(Tufts) matchup and while I agree I also do not see moving one of your best attacking players to wingback just for his speed. The better option would have been to just have Stokes and Aquadro take 2-3 steps back when defending quick wingers like Tasker and Lane and do the best they can.  Conn's starting lineup had been in a consistent stable place and to shake it up just for supposed matchup problems can/will have consequences sometimes. Kind of like Lane absolutely catching Yeonas napping two minutes into the game by scoring a beauty before Yeonas knew what had happened. That had to be a massive punch to the gut for the Head Coach but he's young and will learn and about 20 minutes in he got his original lineup on the field. IMO Conn outplayed Tufts 18 to 18 but Tufts was clinical finishing and defending and outplayed Conn where it matters. Conn's attacking third left a ton to be desired.

Mr. Right:  When was the set piece goal you were referring to vs. Midd?  The teams played twice this year.  Djerdjaj scored from the run of play in a 2-1 loss at Midd, and the two teams played to a scoreless draw in NESCAC quarters at Conn, with Midd winning the penalty tie-breaker.  While Conn had an excellent year, I would also be on the lookout for Middlebury next year.  If they can figure out how to score a few goals, they will be even tougher to beat.  Against the other NCAA qualifying teams in the NESCAC, Midd went 2-2-2 (wins vs Amherst and Conn, ties vs Amherst and Conn, and two losses by 1 goal to Tufts, including 1 in OT.)  They struggled to finish off other teams, with 0-0 draws with Wesleyan and Bowdoin and 1-1 draws with Colby and Williams.  Midd loses 5 starters:  CB Aidan Robinson, along with D Davis Oudet, MF Henry Wilhelm, and Forwards Ben Potter and Drew Goulart.  The last 3 combined for 12 goals.  Their defense should be solid once again, as goalkeeper Ryan Grady, who wound up leading all NESCAC keepers in goals against average, save percentage, saves, minutes played, and shutouts, returns for his sophomore campaign.  2nd team All NESCAC center back Michael McFarlane returns along with Jack Spiridellis. Rising sophomores Ben Powers and Ben Taylor will be in the mix along with senior to be Kenan Ulku-Steiner.  In the midfield, Midd has Raffi Barsamian, who missed half the season due to injury, Liam Sloan, and Tanner Hellickson, along with a strong incoming recruiting class.  Up front, Brendan Barry, Brendan Reid, Max Drazen, Noah Hannam, and Jacob Charles all found the scoresheet this season.  If Midd can put the ball in the net consistently, look out.

[Mr.Right]

I could be thinking of a different year or game...sometimes stuff blends.....I watched the Midd v Conn game in the regular season and now I do remember Djerdjaj goal and Midd winning in OT. I did not see the Nescac Quarter-Final game. I think the loss of Reid really hurt Midd at the end of the year.

I am not so bullish as yourself on Midd 2020...they lose 5 starters and all rather productive ones. Some have started for 3-4 years now. The replacements will have to find their stride but until they do the whole situation is a question mark...

[Ommadawn]

Well done to Mr. Right! I hope he finds himself awash in positive karma for finishing the year with a customarily strong effort.

[blooter442]

I am not so bullish as yourself on Midd 2020...they lose 5 starters and all rather productive ones. Some have started for 3-4 years now. The replacements will have to find their stride but until they do the whole situation is a question mark...

Would tend to agree. They'll be solid, no doubt, but I think — going back even past the 2007 National Championship — the whole thing with Midd. is that they are tough to beat but putting the ball in the net is an issue. They did score 7 and 5 against Castleton and Maine Maritime this year, but those were the exceptions; the Panthers averaged 1.45 goals/game (and, excluding the two blowouts mentioned, that average was less than a goal a game!), while Tufts, for comparison, averaged 2.42. For comparison, Midd's 2007 team averaged 2.00, while the 2010 Elite 8 side averaged 2.11.

You could argue it's partly down to personnel, but their style doesn't make it easy; it's tough to go "hey we're gonna (intelligently) commit guys forward and try to score a lot of goals" when the whole system is seemingly predicated on being tough to break down. And hey, being tough to beat is important in the NESCAC, where teams have to scrap for points, but being able to win games by being good at both ends of the field is what makes the top teams different than those who pack it in and rely on set pieces and counters. You can be somewhat successful doing the latter, but your luck can just as easily run out.

I will say that Grady had a monster year and he is worth a few wins himself (in terms of making big saves which keep a shutout). Ultimately, if Midd. could better balance defensive solidity with a coherent attacking philosophy on a regular basis, I'd be a lot more sold, but — while I think they'll be an NCAA team again — I'm not sure that they're finishing above Tufts or Amherst (or even Conn.).

[College Soccer Observer]

The offensive starters they are losing did not put up monster numbers, and they have a very good recruiting class coming in.  This is Elias' 3rd year as head coach, so he has not had a chance to bring in a 4 year cycle of his recruits.  The graduating seniors were all part of Saward's last few years.  Midd knows they need to raise their offensive output.  My point was that if they do, their defense will make them a tough out.