NESCAC

[d4_Pace]

A young Tufts alumni had predicted a big Tufts win and the older guys had to explain the MIT curse to him. Those two losses to MIT featured legitimate 20-1 shot ratios. MIT is the out of conference Bowdoin

[College Soccer Observer]

NESCAC office seems to still be on summer break.  No preseason coaches polls have been shared for either men's or women's soccer.  Conn College has shutdown athletics for an indefinite period, resulting in the cancellation of at least 2 games, including the conference opener between Conn and Colby scheduled for tomorrow.  Will this be made up?  Is it going to be a forfeit? How are they going to deal with conference standings if teams do not play an equal number of games? What is the plan for these types of situations? Crickets from NESCAC. 

[Mr.Right]

This Williams coach will lead the program in a brilliant way.
95 Champions Williams are Back and Coach Russo would be proud of this performance

This new coach had a team that was down 1-2 after one half and wins 5-2.

Watch out for these guys.

My guess is the fitness....I was not able to catch the game but in the scrimmage v Midd I noticed Williams had the fitness...Now of course every team as the season goes on will get "the fitness" but Williams I am guessing used it yesterday. 4 goals in the 2nd Half is a solid effort.

I agree with most of what Nescac1 was saying as far as the team and roster.

Tufts will present a size problem when Williams is trying to attack tomorrow that I am guessing RPI did not.

[Mr.Right]

NESCAC office seems to still be on summer break.  No preseason coaches polls have been shared for either men's or women's soccer.  Conn College has shutdown athletics for an indefinite period, resulting in the cancellation of at least 2 games, including the conference opener between Conn and Colby scheduled for tomorrow.  Will this be made up?  Is it going to be a forfeit? How are they going to deal with conference standings if teams do not play an equal number of games? What is the plan for these types of situations? Crickets from NESCAC.

League games have to be made up. I would be more worried about non-league games which are under no obligations to be made up if an opponent felt like slow walking it. It would be pretty rare and stupid to do so but it has and could be done.

[Mr.Right]

Maybe D4 can help me with Tufts lineup......In looking at the box score v MIT I am trying to figure Tufts starting lineup for Williams.....we have a 6'3 Froshy poop(#0 Lauta) in net that likes to climb big rocks. 3 other GK's on the roster to challenge him but this position is a question mark for now. The defenders were Daly, Clivio, Campbell but then I see Aroh and Welsh starting with both Seigelstein and Van Brewer in midfield. Mati Cano and Traynor wide? or Woovin Shin wide or was he up top.

However, I do not see some of the other regulars that came back to play like Aroh, Daly, Van Brewer and Cano played but I do not see the others like Ratzan, Jacobs, Enge and Paoletta....Tufts has basically all JR's back except the 2 GK's Kindermann and Harned. Most teams lost more players than that.

[Mr.Right]

Just getting a chance to study the rosters in Nescac....This year more than other years will be so important for veteran players to lead the younger players. All Frosh and Soph have not played and most Juniors probably have limited experience. It will be the 4th and 5th year guys that determine the way these teams go.

Conn College---Not one player came back from what would have been a loaded 2020 Conn Mens Soccer team. Gone are the 2 starting CB's Liam Donelan and more surprisingly Luke Stoneback(who was only a Soph in 2019). The GK Marcucci was gone from the get and the speedy winger Liam Noonan also decided against returning. Still Conn has talent returning with MT Tshuma up top, Augie Djerdjaj the big stud running the attack and Steve Yeonas out wide with the wheels. These 3 must put up big numbers for Conn to be as successful as they were in 2019. The players Pinyochon, Bocchetti, Scales, Robles and others have experience but the rest of the roster has no college playing experience and this will all take time to gel. The COVID thing is unfortunate but more so for Colby who will be the team making the trip later in the season.

[d4_Pace]

Mr. Right Tufts is experiencing an early season injury bug, particularly amongst the 5th years. The lineup was confusing because due to injuries they essentially started without a striker and played with a false 9. In the second half, Freshmen (Sophomore?? I don't know what to call last years freshmen class) Mikey Brady played the whole half and looked dangerous. Clivio seems like he can be a good player if he keeps working hard but the first year that stood out to me was Gibson Campbell. Outside backs never get enough love here but he looked solid defensively and was dangerous going forward, including the hockey assist on the OT winner.   

[Mr.Right]

Colby- An even more interesting team because in 2019 they were extremely young with only 3 Seniors and 3 Juniors on that 2019 roster. Berolzheimer graduated but Paul Harkins and Jack Fletcher have come back for another run. These are veteran guys that along with a bunch of rising Seniors like Fabricant, Wood, Sullivan etc can give this team veterans who know how to win games.

[Mr.Right]

Hamilton----This team got a victory to start the season against Oswego but at Bates will be a real test tomorrow. Hamilton is really young and inexperienced. Spencer Royal the Senior who netted 3 goals in the game has only played in 13 career games and he is one of the few veterans on the squad. Matt Jordan, Sam Dils, Roth Wetzel and a few others are back. 2 GK's have returned the veteran Thomas Benson and Liam Dorsey to go along with 4 others to make for 6 GK'S ON THE ROSTER. That would be a record but I am hoping and assuming this roster is before cuts were made. I mean what in hell are u to do with 6 GK's??  However, no JR decided to take a 5th year. I see a young and under sized team struggling here unless I am proven wrong they will need to find ways to score goals against the top sides in Nescac. A result at Bates would be strong statement.

[Mr.Right]

Mr. Right Tufts is experiencing an early season injury bug, particularly amongst the 5th years. The lineup was confusing because due to injuries they essentially started without a striker and played with a false 9. In the second half, Freshmen (Sophomore?? I don't know what to call last years freshmen class) Mikey Brady played the whole half and looked dangerous. Clivio seems like he can be a good player if he keeps working hard but the first year that stood out to me was Gibson Campbell. Outside backs never get enough love here but he looked solid defensively and was dangerous going forward, including the hockey assist on the OT winner.

No worries...It will all work itself out.... No love for outside backs?? Daly and Stern in 2019 got tons of love on here not to mention Stern ending up on the cover of Soccer New England winning Tufts a 4th title after he had not played for 3 years.

[d4_Pace]

I think it is interesting to see which programs have had guys come back for fifth years. It is certainly a marker of how much of an impact the program has on them. It takes a significant commitment of time or money to make it work. I don't think its any coincidence that you are seeing teams like Tufts, Amherst, and Messiah having their 5th years come back. 

Now its the old chicken/egg question. Are these programs successful because of the culture or does being successful help build that culture?

[Mr.Right]

Bates---I am most interested in this team. Reading the team preview online the team expects to be an NCAA tournament team and make a run. Looking at the Maine Maritime box score and highlights the team remembered the loss MMA put on them last year. It looks like it was a half field scrimmage. This is all really good stuff. I love the crosses Bates was putting in all low crosses on the grass that were easily getting finished. The MMA defense was horrific and was so bad at times on the highlights(which u must CC) it almost looked like MMA was throwing the game and allowing for Bates to hit the Over. Max McKersie and Alex Kovacs must be the 2 CB's and both are talented and athletic with experience starting in 2019. James Peter also with experience at wingback. Maybe Niehenke was the other wingback a Seton Hall Prep kid..who got a beautiful assist on the 2nd Goal, I love the low cross as defenders have trouble turning and dealing with it and are not expecting it...The big and experienced Hohmann must have been holding with Keleher attacking or up front. Keleher hit a beauty from outside the box for the 6th goal. Rex Lane gets a Hat Trick in his first game on the field...Unreal to christen the field like that...This team is loaded...Bardong, Iwowo etc off the bench?  Still to be an NCAA team they must win games like Hamilton at Home tomorrow.

[Mr.Right]

I think it is interesting to see which programs have had guys come back for fifth years. It is certainly a marker of how much of an impact the program has on them. It takes a significant commitment of time or money to make it work. I don't think its any coincidence that you are seeing teams like Tufts, Amherst, and Messiah having their 5th years come back. 

Now its the old chicken/egg question. Are these programs successful because of the culture or does being successful help build that culture?

haha love the chicken /egg question---being successful helps build the culture IMO but also bring the talent. Without question that 2020 graduating class of 7 with Braun, Jameson, Tasker, Lane, Rojas, Stern and Trevorrow was easily the MOST TALENTED of all the classes Shapiro brought in there and they won the most Championships(3) and basically got him hired at Harvard...Anyhow the culture from 2011 and the first NCAA appearance in over a decade to 2014 with the backline to 2016 and then another most talented side in 2017 that happened to not win but 2018 was the make up for that and I never gave enough credit to Weatherbie and Mieth for 2018. Anyway it is the culture IMO that attracts the talent and keeps the ball rolling.

[PaulNewman]

I think it is interesting to see which programs have had guys come back for fifth years. It is certainly a marker of how much of an impact the program has on them. It takes a significant commitment of time or money to make it work. I don't think its any coincidence that you are seeing teams like Tufts, Amherst, and Messiah having their 5th years come back. 

Now its the old chicken/egg question. Are these programs successful because of the culture or does being successful help build that culture?

A LOT of teams seem to have a large number of 5th years.  I assume for many at upper tier programs they may be motivated by a title or get to the Final Four run.  But surely many returned who know their team has minimal chance to even make the tournament.  Maybe some want to help their team make the conference tournament for the first time in a long time.  Maybe some hugely overvalue D3 collegiate soccer and/or just can benefit from another year of figuring out "what do I want to do with my life."  Maybe for some it's easy because they are at a school where they could slide into a graduate program.

The chicken/egg question IS interesting.  There is no question in my mind that success builds culture.  Once it's built then you can argue that culture feeds off of itself to give schools a chance at building a sustained tradition of winning.  Your Tufts program clearly was on the rise under Shapiro, but what if you don't win that game against Messiah followed by a Sweet 16 exit the following year?  Does Tufts still have 3 national titles?  Two?  None?  Would they have gotten all of those recruits without 2014?  IIRC, Tufts sweated out even getting a bid in 2014 after a quarterfinal NESCAC loss.

Another question is how and why hugely successful programs with very well rooted cultures can slip.  Again, the reasons in various scenarios may be different.  A coaching change.  A rival overtaking you.  A change in college/university philosophy, etc.  But right off the top of my head I think of Wheaton (Ill), Loras, and Williams.  Now any of those three could have a major resurgence but there is no question that they slipped from their very lofty perches. 

[blooter442]

Another question is how and why hugely successful programs with very well rooted cultures can slip.  Again, the reasons in various scenarios may be different.  A coaching change.  A rival overtaking you.  A change in college/university philosophy, etc.  But right off the top of my head I think of Wheaton (Ill), Loras, and Williams.  Now any of those three could have a major resurgence but there is no question that they slipped from their very lofty perches.

Paul, this is something I've thought about recently. Without even considering coaching/academics/location/etc., the fact that NCAA soccer programs (by design) have players for a maximum of four seasons does keep the talent pool (if not the talent level) consistently changing. Having a great culture/program/academics to lean on certainly gives some NESCAC programs recruiting advantages that we might correlate with success, and it certainly helps, but the fact that personnel consistently changes makes for a pretty fluid "top tier" of programs. Of course, there are schools that are there or thereabouts (mostly) every year, but those are the exceptions rather than the norm.

Williams' "travails" since 2013 have been well-documented, but (aside from Tufts and Amherst's consecutive NCAA berth streaks) most of the Ephs' NESCAC peers have not been "top tier" consistently: Middlebury, national champions in 2007, had a few years in the wilderness between an Elite 8 exit in 2010 and their next NCAA appearance in 2017 (IMHO they were harshly omitted in 2015), while Bowdoin went to the 2010 Final 4 and has made a few appearances in the first NCAA weekend since, but haven't been present beyond that. Both are academically top-tier schools with excellent D3 athletic programs, but neither has been a consistent powerhouse in the way the Mammoths (in terms of NESCAC titles and consecutive NCAA berths) and the Jumbos (in terms of national titles) have.

TL;DR: Getting to the top table is tough, and staying there is even more difficult, particularly when your personnel changes so much. But if anyone's looking for help with recruiting, I hear Michael Edwards will be out of contract next summer...perhaps he can do another PhD. and be a graduate assistant somewhere who only does recruitment and analysis (kidding).