NESCAC

[Mr.Right]

Individual Nescac Stats(in conference only)

1. Goals-------Tufts------Calvin Aroh--3
2. Assists-----Bowdoin--Drake Byrd--3
3. SOG-------Conn-------MT Tshuma---12
4. Total Pts---Conn-------Rye Jaran(Frosh)---2G and 2A for 6pts and Aroh with 3G for 6pts.

Team Stats(in conference only)

-----Note----Some teams have played 5 games and the others have played 6.

Goals

1. Conn-------11
2. Tufts--------9
3. Colby-------6
3. Amherst----6
11. Trinity-----1

Goals Against

1.  Tufts--------2
1.  Amherst----2
3.  Midd--------3
11. Hamilton---11

Corners

1. Tufts---------45
2. Conn---------33
3. Bowdoin-----32
11. Midd--------13


Fouls

1. Bowdoin----------88
2. Amherst----------80
3. Hamilton---------76
11.Colby------------43

YC

1.  Midd--------12
2.  Amherst----11
3.  Hamilton----9
11. Tufts--------3
11. Williams----3

[d4_Pace]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfxYWu_yj3s

The Aroh goal from last week discussed is about halfway through these highlights

[Mr.Right]

That was a nice run and pinpoint cross by LB#26 Gibson Campbell especially if he is as you say a natural right footed player. U gotta love players that can use both feet. Aroh buried that one with the inside of his right. I gotta say Aroh's 2nd goal of the game(Tufts 3rd goal) was just as clean as Aroh made a run to the top of the box, lost his mark as the pass was made and calmly banged it home with the inside of his left.

Saturday's Goal of the day was by Wesleyan's #10 Lucas Ruehlemann. Wesleyan is slow posting highlights so maybe we will get a glimpse of it next week. Two consecutive one-two's by Ruehlemann off of a harmless throw-in and helped along by some serious Amherst ball watching allowed Wesleyan to tie the game in the 80th minute and get a deserved Draw. Wesleyan got rewarded for being creative in the attacking 3rd.

[College Soccer Observer]

New Nominee for outstanding team goal

Middlebury's 3rd vs Bates on Saturday.  Quite a passing sequence finished with an outstanding pass into Reid, who lays it off first time for Saint-Louis to finish.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CU54--LpO4d/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

[Mr.Right]

A great goal..      Fast Forwarding an unnecessary add on but I get the point. Midd has been knockin' the ball around the park a bit more this year especially against common opponents and on their turf.  I am guessing against Tufts and Amherst it might have looked a little different but hey they should still be applauded. They have the skill to do it. Frosh#6 Eujin Chae is a technical player and when he is sitting he gives Midd a different look.  Both #6 Chae and #8 Brendan Barry had been sacked from the starting lineup last weekend at Conn and v Amherst. I caught the 1st Half v Bates and both players were back in the lineup and were productive. #8 Barry muscled a goal in after a scrum about 3 minutes into the game and got another off his noggin in the 2nd Half. After tomorrow's Home game they finish the season with 4 straight Away matches at Colby, at Keene St, at Trinity and at Williams. It will not be easy but those are all winnable games if Midd play like they did v Bates. Midd has been an NCAA team for the past 3 seasons but have not been able to advance past the 1st weekend. They have not hosted an NCAA game in over a decade(Nov 14th 2010 a 2-1 victory over William Paterson). That was also the last time Midd advanced past the 1st NCAA weekend. Hosting should be a target for them now. I am allowed to jump ahead a couple weeks but the players and coaches need to be focused from one game to the next. 

Bates had a few chances of their own in the 1st Half as the striker #31 Sam Assantha looked dangerous up top. He pushed #5 Max McKersie into midfield which gave Bates more skill in the middle of the park. #18 Alex Kovacs was back in the lineup along with Senior #4 James Peter at CB.  Bates has a lot of individually talented players but at times look disjointed as a unit. They have been shutout in 4 Nescac Away matches, the 5th was a 2-1 victory at Trinity. They finish the season with 4 straight Home matches v Wesleyan, v UMF, v Williams and v Colby. That is 9 pts staring them in the face. While it will not be enough to get them a Top 4 and Nescac QF at Home, they can at least clinch a Top 8 and try to avoid Tufts or Amherst in the 1st round.


Goals can be scarce in Nescac so we should keep posting the good ones.

[PaulNewman]

Great example of good, quick, sharp passing that also leads to a goal, and further proof of what seems like a pretty obvious truism that level of competition determines whether a team looks like they can play soccer or not. 

[SlideTackle]

That was a nice run and pinpoint cross by LB#26 Gibson Campbell especially if he is as you say a natural right footed player. U gotta love players that can use both feet. Aroh buried that one with the inside of his right. I gotta say Aroh's 2nd goal of the game(Tufts 3rd goal) was just as clean as Aroh made a run to the top of the box, lost his mark as the pass was made and calmly banged it home with the inside of his left.

Saturday's Goal of the day was by Wesleyan's #10 Lucas Ruehlemann. Wesleyan is slow posting highlights so maybe we will get a glimpse of it next week. Two consecutive one-two's by Ruehlemann off of a harmless throw-in and helped along by some serious Amherst ball watching allowed Wesleyan to tie the game in the 80th minute and get a deserved Draw. Wesleyan got rewarded for being creative in the attacking 3rd.

That was a nice run and pinpoint cross by LB#26 Gibson Campbell especially if he is as you say a natural right footed player. U gotta love players that can use both feet. Aroh buried that one with the inside of his right. I gotta say Aroh's 2nd goal of the game(Tufts 3rd goal) was just as clean as Aroh made a run to the top of the box, lost his mark as the pass was made and calmly banged it home with the inside of his left.

Saturday's Goal of the day was by Wesleyan's #10 Lucas Ruehlemann. Wesleyan is slow posting highlights so maybe we will get a glimpse of it next week. Two consecutive one-two's by Ruehlemann off of a harmless throw-in and helped along by some serious Amherst ball watching allowed Wesleyan to tie the game in the 80th minute and get a deserved Draw. Wesleyan got rewarded for being creative in the attacking 3rd.

Here is the Ruehlemann goal.  Around 1:09.

https://vimeo.com/630336366

[Mr.Right]

I love the overall video but a disservice to Ruehlemann's goal. They edited out the whole lead up from the throw-in on out and shockingly cut the first give and go.  But appreciate you finding the video

[Mr.Right]

Nescac Predictions Week 6

Conn at Bowdoin----Bowdoin 6-4-1(3-4-1) are coming off of a tough weekend on the road. A Loss at Hamilton and a Draw at Williams have left them in a tough spot. They have only 2 conference games left(everyone else have 3) v Conn and v Tufts. Sitting on 10pts and ahead of 9th place Colby by only 3 pts they are probably going to need to find 1 point in those final two games to qualify for the Nescac Championship. I suppose if they could Win both those matches they could grab the #5 spot. I caught Bowdoin at Williams on the back half of a back to back and they were gassed by the 75th-80th minute. Still they gutted out a Draw for 30 more minutes. Bowdoin came out of the gates roaring as they took it too Williams for the first 20-30 minutes knocking the ball comfortably on Williams Home field while sitting in a 4-2-3-1. The reason they were was the play of #10 Harry Cooper who was holding with #16 Luke Macaione. Cooper used his left peg to hit some penetrating passes both long and short but most importantly kept it on the grass. #11 Drake Byrd scored a beauty with his left foot and was getting whatever he wanted in the first half. Conn defenders will need to force both Cooper and Byrd on to their right foot. Bowdoin's back 4 was LB #7 Brown, CB's #3 Reid, #12 Donlan and RB #28 Drew Phillips. Both Reid and Donlan are big boys but Donlan struggled against the press when Bowdoin was knocking it around as Williams #9 Petrik stripped him and should have finished in the 1st Half. I liked Brown at LB as he has speed and can defend. The RB Phillips got his first start of the year so not sure who they usually use there. #4 Chaban got his first start as an attacking CM and #22 Xander Cardia his first start up top. Not sure why 6'4 striker Charlie Ward did not start but Cardia looks more like a midfielder than striker but what the hell do I know. My guess is that Bowdoin is as consistently inconsistent as their play was last Sunday. One Half pretty good the next not so much or maybe they were just really tired. Anyhow, they need to figure that out fast because they have 3 games in 5 days starting with Conn. Conn 8-2-0(6-1-0) are holding 1st Place with 3 games to go. They also finish with a brutal 5 games(4 Away) in 11 days with the biggest next weekend v Tufts. Conn have 4 straight shutouts going and have not conceded in 3 weeks which is amazing to me with a whole new backline and GK to start the year. #25 Steve Yeonas bagged 2 Goals at Trinity midweek and #13 Matt Scoffone got 2 assists and must be a winger. I have not seen Conn since the Williams game so not sure why he sacked both his starting wingbacks or why his starting CB #21 Dutkewych did not play at Trinity. I think Bowdoin will be able to neutralize #14 Djerdjaj in this game and if Bowdoin can again come out of the gates hot and score early they will sit on it.    2-1 Bowdoin



Trinity at Hamilton-----I keep saying Trinity 2-9-0(0-7-0) is an improved side but that rings hollow if they cannot find some Wins. This program is a great example of rebuilding from scratch, but it also proves it takes time and you need a couple of talented recruiting classes. I know they are improved but unfortunately your record is your only tell. Hamilton 5-6-1 (1-6-0) are showing the willingness to make changes to their lineup and tactics to find Wins. They have now Won 3 games in a row v SUNY Oneonta, Bowdoin and SUNY Poly. On the stream it looked like Hamilton was in a 4-1-4-1. They are starting 6 Frosh with 4 Seniors. The result looks like a whole lot of hustle on the field almost like a shot of adrenaline Soccer. Nizzi has his Senior leader and Captain #8 Matt Jordan manning the back line surrounded by 3 Frosh. LB #22 Kantrowitz, CB #24 Ghosh and #30 O'Dowd at RB. Holding is Frosh #17 Margaronis while another Frosh #27 Peplowski is linking. He has his veterans in attack with #9 Dils up top who is quick and skilled and #10 Wetzel playing behind him cleaning up any scraps. Wide right is the pacey #11 Webber and wide left Frosh #21 Ehrenfreund. Rumor has it the first PA guy quit on the spot when he saw what he had to pronounce. If Hamilton can Win this game they are right back in the hunt for a Top 8. Props to Hamilton student Admissions workers (i.e tour guides) for deciding to petition the National Labor Relations Board to unionize. The vote was 25 to 20 but it is the first win by undergrads to unionize since Devos made them ineligible for collective bargaining. This was in the face of Hamilton College using a friendly smile and Fortune 500 scare tactics in an FAQ sent out to demonize unions. According to "The Spectator", More than 40 faculty members signed a letter backing the students. That is gutsy even for tenured faculty because "at these Corporate Universities tenure has little meaning(especially large public univ), whistle blowers can be fired, donors can determine who is granted tenure or who is not (same for Coaches) and the faculty become at-will contract employees". These well-endowed schools are acting more and more like a conglomerate gone wild and while the students goal probably was not to stick it to the college, they stuck it....4-3 Hamilton



Wesleyan at Bates----Bates 6-5-0(3-4-0) had a brutal weekend getting shutout in both losses at Midd and at Amherst. The good news is they had some chances in both games. Bates is bunched up in the middle of the Nescac table as only 3 pts separate 5th from 9th. Bates back 4 have decent speed to match Wesleyan with. Their midfield is not pacey but that is ok as long as you have fast wingbacks and wingers you can hide your lack of speed in central midfield. I am a big fan of #10 Szwarcewicz who is a scrapper and a finisher. His two goals a couple weeks ago at Trinity are legit. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUpyLgH5hog I have noted the individual talent Bates has now they need to work as a team for 90 minutes. Wesleyan 6-2-2 (2-2-2) are playing with confidence right now as they have not lost a game in over a month. They finish with a brutal schedule of 5 games in 11 days including at Bates on Saturday, at Colby on Sunday, at Springfield, v Hamilton and v Conn. If they can survive that gauntlet without a loss they will find themselves regionally ranked in a good position before the Nescac Championship. This game all depends on how Wesleyan decide to play it because Bates will try to come at them either way. I do not think they will sit in at Home as they are hungry for goals and Wins.  Bates 3-2



Midd at Colby----Midd 8-2-1(4-2-1) are coming off their second back to back weekend in a row. This time they gutted out a Win v Bates and a Draw with Tufts. They played with 10 men for 50 minutes because their Captain #5 Barsamian got sent off. A Captain sitting on a Yellow absolutely knows he has to be extra cautious. In the midst of a game, some players allow their frustration to transform into an emotional train wreck of aggression. "Mind control to Major Tom". I saw Colby last Saturday lose to Williams 0-2. They came out in a 4-1-4-1 with starting GK #1 Noah Jackson back from injury. He had to leave 5 minutes in as he looked uncomfortable walking off the field. In his stead came a 6'4 Frosh GK #00 Brendan McCarthy. He is a big kid and dominates the air. His weakness is his lack of quickness getting to the grass. Middlebury have got to force him down to the ground with some low rips. Colby was playing conservative almost for a Draw on the Road. Neither Williams nor Colby used the width of the field. Colby does have depth and the level does not drop off much from how they start. They use #9 Fabricant up top with the wiry Soph #22 Ethan Franco right behind him.  #21 Josh Rubin is a kind of dart in attack. It was #26 Aiden O'Brien wide left and wide right #28 Justin Lauer. Colby started #5 Aboubacar Traore and #14 Grant Pugh at CB. Traore is 6'6 and does not run too badly for a big guy. Where he must improve is playing faster with the ball at his feet as Williams stripped him once but could not convert. #14 Pugh looked like he is coming back from injury and had a nightmare 1st half. A Williams corner was cleared out of the box but behind the play Pugh recklessly took down Williams #18 Jaime Holland inside the box. The ref caught it and called a PK. In the 2nd Half down two goals, Seabrook pushed Pugh into midfield and used Traore and Garrison at CB. Wingbacks he used #27 Jered Garrison and #29 Max Jacobs. Garrison is a solid athlete and moves up and down the field well as does LB #3 Jayde Franklin. Franklin came off the bench but he is a good wingback. Quick, skilled, and aggressive he hustled and was not afraid to push forward. Does he play like that consistently? IDK because that is the first time I have seen him play but if he does and he was 6'4 he would be a solid D1 player. He was one of the few that were in top fitness. Colby looked tired late in the game as the final 15 minutes was all Williams. I will say Colby had some dangerous chances throughout the game but could not finish. I am guessing they play much better on their Home field.         1-1




Amherst at Tufts----Tufts 9-0-2 (5-0-2) is just starting to get into the most challenging part of their schedule. It started with a 0-0 Draw at Midd. This weekend it is v Amherst and then at Conn and at Bowdoin to finish the year. Their transition defense looks as good as it has been in the past. They are still organized defensively and nothing has been drastically changed since the Coaching switch. Tufts 6'3 Frosh GK #0 Erik Lauta is the real deal in net. He has made some acrobatic saves this year. He has 5 straight shutouts and has only conceded 3 Goals all season. Tufts have not had many issues scoring Goals even though their attacking players have been coming and going with injuries all year. The Seniors are scoring all the Goals and are led by #11 Cano with 5.  Amherst is 9-1-1 (5-1-1) and on paper are basically the same team that faced Tufts in 2019. Amherst does not have Lind and Coleman but everything else is the same. Lind and Coleman were stereotypical Amherst players meaning you would have seen them playing for the Gooding's as well. Will be interesting to see what approach Serpone takes. Maybe a good idea to re-watch that National Championship game. Amherst GK #1 Bernie White has not played since he left the Williams game but #00 Hope-Gund has 2 shutouts in his place. They do not look like they have any other major injuries although #33 Gittler did not play v Bates. Amherst has a history of winning regular season revenge games but can they advance past Tufts in the NCAA's?      Amherst 2-1

[blooter442]

"There is an injured Mammoth on the field" says the Tufts PBP guy. Great line even though I don't think he intended it, and brought me back to The Way Things Work by David Macaulay.

Working on homework and watching in the background — good game, this. Amherst started stronger and probably deserved to be in at half 1-0 but Tufts equalized on the break and seems to have been the better side since halftime.

[blooter442]

Aroh in 2OT for a 2-1 Jumbos victory. Great ball by van Brewer from the set piece and Aroh — who was being manhandled as the ball came in — was taken down in the box but still managed to finish.

[Mr.Right]

Weekend Recap

Wesleyan--Wes goes up to Maine and grabs 6pts at Bates and at Colby. Most impressive was how unselfish they played as a team. They have much more team speed than in years past and that has made them a more dangerous attacking team. I think each Half they played this weekend they got stronger. 1st Half at Bates was not great . Bates scored on a nice individual effort by #12 Simon Clarke just 10 minutes into the game but Wesleyan did not panic and kept to the game plan. The 2nd Half was all Wes as they stunned Bates with 2 Goals in 2 minutes and then finished them off in the 82nd minute. #3 Hofstetter and #9 Harmaty had a nice one-two and Hofstetter buried it. Harmaty is Wesleyan's target man and has a good touch so as teams start to pick up on the give and go's he can also fake the one-two and go himself. The one-two is classic futbol and also gets you in the habit of running off the ball. I cannot remember if the 2nd Goal was off a corner or a set piece near the goaline but the CB #5 O'Brien got free from his man and had a clean finish. The pacey winger #21 Texter finsihed off a scrum in the 82nd minute. The Colby match had to be moved to the turf and I actually think that helped Wesleyan. They were playing some really nice futbol spraying it around the carpet. They got rewarded in the 2nd Half with a pair of goals. Harmaty again played a nice ball in space that #10 Ruehlemann ran on to but Colby's CB #23 Assadourian read it well and broke the play up. However, his brain was working faster than his feet as Ruehlemann stripped him, quickly pulled the ball back and ripped one off the crossbar that dropped right in front of the net. The cagey Captain LB #6 Wallick finished while Colby defenders were watching the play develop. Just two minutes later Ruehlemann sent a beautiful ball into the box that #8 Rubinstein headed off the post. Rubinstein is not just skilled but also strong on the ball. Ruehlemann is quick and was causing Colby defenders headaches. Interestingly, the one guy that ate him up was the biggest guy on the field #5 Traore. But Traore did not start playing until the 70th minute and by then too late. Wesleyan finished Colby off when Wallick sent a cross into the box that #4 Hartzfeld buried with his head. Hartzfeld played well this weekend. I was wrong about Wesleyan's depth as they have some good young players. #11 Oliver Clarke was sitting for #24 Kimball and is a mixture of skill and spice. I like the starting wingbacks Wallick and #14 Davisson as they are not afraid to push forward with pace. #16 Ethan Barrett is young but you can see he has wheels. #12 Wheeler is a good player so they do have guys that can help. This is a confident team right now and when clicking a fun team to watch. At 8-2-2 they will be regionally ranked and head off to Springfield midweek. Springfield plays well on their Home turf and cannot be taken lightly.

Conn-----Conn at Bowdoin was another great game. Conn lost the match but played extremely well box to box. You can tell their mentality has improved.  Conn is playing some serious futbol. They have dangerous attacking wingbacks #4 Mendo and #6 Horvath Diano. I mean they were building out of the back thru #4 Mendo(Frosh) the whole 1st Half. The big man #14 Djerdjaj was in street clothes and they lost their striker #9 Tshuma early in the game but other players stepped up. #25 Yeonas stepped in centrally and battled all game. #18 Marvel was hitting some great balls from midfield to either his striker or wingbacks pushing forward. Both Marvel and Yeonas have gotten stronger on the ball thanks to the weights. Their holder #16 Lorenzo Bocchetti(they call him Lobo) has beefed up. His skill is solid but he is not afraid to mix it up and tackles hard. Unfortunately, Bowdoin's key CB #3 Reid felt a late tackle/foul from Lobo and had to be helped off the field in the 1st Half. Reid had intercepted a pass in his half of the field and was pushing forward with the ball at his feet with a counter in the making. Lobo correctly had to either tackle or foul to prevent Reid from opening up. I know Bowdoin thought it was malicious but he was doing his job. Of course easy for me to say I did not feel or see where the foul landed. I like the CB #21 Dutkewych as I saw some old school tackles out of him. #12 Gehron is an active player and frankly they have obviously been training hard because just about everyone was solid on the ball. When they went down 2-1 they went to a 3-4-3 and that is when Bowdoin started to expose them and eventually got the 3rd goal to finish them off.


Bowdoin--They did what they had to do on their Home field and were rewarded with a Win. They finished their chances and Conn did not. The time wasting tactics have always burned me. It is antithetic to the spirit of the game but it is up to the ref to move them along. If Conn knows they are going to do this they have got to keep the ball in play and not foul. Even more unsporting, they stuck 2 goons ($100 they are lax defensmen) on the far side as ball boys. These two knuckleheads would slow walk the play and frankly just hold the ball and not give it to Conn. Conn players are standing there asking for the ball and not getting it. Refs not really doing anything. What to do? How about going over there and ripping it out of their hands. What would these guys do? Wrestle you to the ground while holding the ball during the match? Maybe...but who is going to look like the fool? The player who is playing the game and trying to get the ball or the thug wrestling a player to the ground while holding the ball. It was pure intimidation and sadly it worked. Soccer players have got to stick up for themselves


Midd----Tale of two Halves. 1st Half Midd was playing well and passing the ball crisp all over the field. Central Midfielder #30 Farrell used his left peg to play a great thru ball into space that #9 Reid ran onto. Reid got control of the ball and turned to shoot but a Colby defender blocked it. The ball then bounced perfectly into a running Farrell and he hit a low shot with his left foot to beat Colby's GK. Both Farrell and #21 Juarez coming off the bench have skill in midfield but do lack some pace. That is not to say Colby didn't play well 1st Half as they had a couple looks and also looked comfortable knocking it around. 2nd Half Colby came out ready to play and Midd came out to sit on their lead. Colby burned them. A great goal by the striker #25 Mario Simoes who had the courage to get on a great cross that #22 Franco dropped in between Midd CB's #15 McFarlane and #32 O'Brien. Simoes goal was legit. The controversy happened when Midd's GK Grady picked the ball up after using his feet when he had already had the ball in his hands. I did not see it on the stream but the rule is the rule and the ref called it. Midd was pissed but frankly more concerning to me was their wall. The GK does not set up a wall for sh*ts and giggles. Franco was standing just inside the top of the box and ready to rip the indirect kick.  It was indirect and technically should take a second or two longer but it is almost like the wall jumped and dove but turned sideways. The wall parted like the red sea and frankly someone has to have the courage to take it on the chin for their GK.  Either that or the wall was completely lined up wrong. Either way Franco blasted that baby into the net. Great goal as Grady had no chance at it.

[SlideTackle]

Weekend Recap

Wesleyan--Wes goes up to Maine and grabs 6pts at Bates and at Colby. Most impressive was how unselfish they played as a team. They have much more team speed than in years past and that has made them a more dangerous attacking team. I think each Half they played this weekend they got stronger. 1st Half at Bates was not great . Bates scored on a nice individual effort by #12 Simon Clarke just 10 minutes into the game but Wesleyan did not panic and kept to the game plan. The 2nd Half was all Wes as they stunned Bates with 2 Goals in 2 minutes and then finished them off in the 82nd minute. #3 Hofstetter and #9 Harmaty had a nice one-two and Hofstetter buried it. Harmaty is Wesleyan's target man and has a good touch so as teams start to pick up on the give and go's he can also fake the one-two and go himself. The one-two is classic futbol and also gets you in the habit of running off the ball. I cannot remember if the 2nd Goal was off a corner or a set piece near the goaline but the CB #5 O'Brien got free from his man and had a clean finish. The pacey winger #21 Texter finsihed off a scrum in the 82nd minute. The Colby match had to be moved to the turf and I actually think that helped Wesleyan. They were playing some really nice futbol spraying it around the carpet. They got rewarded in the 2nd Half with a pair of goals. Harmaty again played a nice ball in space that #10 Ruehlemann ran on to but Colby's CB #23 Assadourian read it well and broke the play up. However, his brain was working faster than his feet as Ruehlemann stripped him, quickly pulled the ball back and ripped one off the crossbar that dropped right in front of the net. The cagey Captain LB #6 Wallick finished while Colby defenders were watching the play develop. Just two minutes later Ruehlemann sent a beautiful ball into the box that #8 Rubinstein headed off the post. Rubinstein is not just skilled but also strong on the ball. Ruehlemann is quick and was causing Colby defenders headaches. Interestingly, the one guy that ate him up was the biggest guy on the field #5 Traore. But Traore did not start playing until the 70th minute and by then too late. Wesleyan finished Colby off when Wallick sent a cross into the box that #4 Hartzfeld buried with his head. Hartzfeld played well this weekend. I was wrong about Wesleyan's depth as they have some good young players. #11 Oliver Clarke was sitting for #24 Kimball and is a mixture of skill and spice. I like the starting wingbacks Wallick and #14 Davisson as they are not afraid to push forward with pace. #16 Ethan Barrett is young but you can see he has wheels. #12 Wheeler is a good player so they do have guys that can help. This is a confident team right now and when clicking a fun team to watch. At 8-2-2 they will be regionally ranked and head off to Springfield midweek. Springfield plays well on their Home turf and cannot be taken lightly.

Conn-----Conn at Bowdoin was another great game. Conn lost the match but played extremely well box to box. You can tell their mentality has improved.  Conn is playing some serious futbol. They have dangerous attacking wingbacks #4 Mendo and #6 Horvath Diano. I mean they were building out of the back thru #4 Mendo(Frosh) the whole 1st Half. The big man #14 Djerdjaj was in street clothes and they lost their striker #9 Tshuma early in the game but other players stepped up. #25 Yeonas stepped in centrally and battled all game. #18 Marvel was hitting some great balls from midfield to either his striker or wingbacks pushing forward. Both Marvel and Yeonas have gotten stronger on the ball thanks to the weights. Their holder #16 Lorenzo Bocchetti(they call him Lobo) has beefed up. His skill is solid but he is not afraid to mix it up and tackles hard. Unfortunately, Bowdoin's key CB #3 Reid felt a late tackle/foul from Lobo and had to be helped off the field in the 1st Half. Reid had intercepted a pass in his half of the field and was pushing forward with the ball at his feet with a counter in the making. Lobo correctly had to either tackle or foul to prevent Reid from opening up. I know Bowdoin thought it was malicious but he was doing his job. Of course easy for me to say I did not feel or see where the foul landed. I like the CB #21 Dutkewych as I saw some old school tackles out of him. #12 Gehron is an active player and frankly they have obviously been training hard because just about everyone was solid on the ball. When they went down 2-1 they went to a 3-4-3 and that is when Bowdoin started to expose them and eventually got the 3rd goal to finish them off.


Bowdoin--They did what they had to do on their Home field and were rewarded with a Win. They finished their chances and Conn did not. The time wasting tactics have always burned me. It is antithetic to the spirit of the game but it is up to the ref to move them along. If Conn knows they are going to do this they have got to keep the ball in play and not foul. Even more unsporting, they stuck 2 goons ($100 they are lax defensmen) on the far side as ball boys. These two knuckleheads would slow walk the play and frankly just hold the ball and not give it to Conn. Conn players are standing there asking for the ball and not getting it. Refs not really doing anything. What to do? How about going over there and ripping it out of their hands. What would these guys do? Wrestle you to the ground while holding the ball during the match? Maybe...but who is going to look like the fool? The player who is playing the game and trying to get the ball or the thug wrestling a player to the ground while holding the ball. It was pure intimidation and sadly it worked. Soccer players have got to stick up for themselves


Midd----Tale of two Halves. 1st Half Midd was playing well and passing the ball crisp all over the field. Central Midfielder #30 Farrell used his left peg to play a great thru ball into space that #9 Reid ran onto. Reid got control of the ball and turned to shoot but a Colby defender blocked it. The ball then bounced perfectly into a running Farrell and he hit a low shot with his left foot to beat Colby's GK. Both Farrell and #21 Juarez coming off the bench have skill in midfield but do lack some pace. That is not to say Colby didn't play well 1st Half as they had a couple looks and also looked comfortable knocking it around. 2nd Half Colby came out ready to play and Midd came out to sit on their lead. Colby burned them. A great goal by the striker #25 Mario Simoes who had the courage to get on a great cross that #22 Franco dropped in between Midd CB's #15 McFarlane and #32 O'Brien. Simoes goal was legit. The controversy happened when Midd's GK Grady picked the ball up after using his feet when he had already had the ball in his hands. I did not see it on the stream but the rule is the rule and the ref called it. Midd was pissed but frankly more concerning to me was their wall. The GK does not set up a wall for sh*ts and giggles. Franco was standing just inside the top of the box and ready to rip the indirect kick.  It was indirect and technically should take a second or two longer but it is almost like the wall jumped and dove but turned sideways. The wall parted like the red sea and frankly someone has to have the courage to take it on the chin for their GK.  Either that or the wall was completely lined up wrong. Either way Franco blasted that baby into the net. Great goal as Grady had no chance at it.

Thanks, as always, for your insights.  Love them! Was very surprised by the Midd/Colby result.  Didn't watch the game but have seen both play and thought Midd was a much stronger side, but the score certainly said otherwise.  Colby hasn't been terribly consistent.

Also suprised a bit by the Bowdoin result.  Do you know why Djerdja was in street clothes?

On Wes, I saw they were ranked 8 last week in the Region I Coaches' poll.  They've improved.  I googled that kid Hofstetter who scored the pretty goal and at one time he played for the NE Revolution academy.  Stronger and stronger players are playing d3 nowadays.  Nice to see.   

[College Soccer Observer]

On the Midd-Colby game, they had lots of chances to be up multiple goals in first half and did not finish.  The go ahead goal was from an indirect free kick given after a shocking piece of officiating.  Ball went back to keeper from Colby.  Keeper used his feet, and then picked the ball up with his hands.  Ref called timewasting after 8 seconds.  Is that technically a violation--sure, but when is it ever called that tightly.  Why would the keeper of the team that expects to win be wasting time in that scenario?  There are times that all goalkeepers waste time, but this was not one of them. 

[d4_Pace]

Don't have time to give a full in depth analysis of the Tufts-Amherst game, but my overall take away was that it wasn't a great performance from Tufts but a great result. I think they allowed Amherst to dictate the terms of the game did not do a good enough job of getting the ball down and playing. Despite that they probably had 4 of the 5 big scoring chances in the game and took two of them and conceded on the one they gave up.