NESCAC

[Ejay]

Sounds like a great hire.  I wish him the best of luck.  I always felt Trinity had the potential to be a big time program. I know lots of players who wanted that NESCAC experience but weren't interested going into Northern New England.

[Novacat]

Sounds like a great hire.  I wish him the best of luck.  I always felt Trinity had the potential to be a big time program. I know lots of players who wanted that NESCAC experience but weren't interested going into Northern New England.

I think something like 11 of the top 12 players from Trinity in minutes played were first year players.  They competed fairly well in most NESCAC games so the future is pretty bright if they can learn to find the net.

[EnmoreCat]

Greetings from Sydney, Australia.  I was quite excited to learn of the existence of D3Boards and moreso when I discovered the specific NESCAC board.  My son is a transfer and will start in the Fall at one of the NESCAC schools (not sure what's okay to disclose etc, in any event, it won't take Gil Grissom and his team much to eventually work it out when the season arrives) and I did have a few questions for the regulars here:

1.  We have been a bit spoilt being able to watch ESPN+ here to view D1 games, what is the set up like for NESCAC, will there be any live streams or will it be more of a case of relying on what individual colleges are able to put together?
2. I understand the much more academic emphasis that's part of the D3 landscape, but having spent some time with the Trinity, Texas, team a few years ago, also got that the soccer is of a good standard and definitely competitive (I know they regularly do well against UIW and St Marys in scrimmages).  My questions are, do many D3 players who have eligibility articulate to D1 schools for post-grad after graduating and also are there many examples of players who successfully join USL/USL 1 squads.  I  know longevity in a soccer career is another thing entirely, but interested to hear how open-minded those coaches are when initially recruiting.
3. In a similar vein to 2. Are USL 2 teams open-minded about the division that their potential players come from?

We have a plan to get to the US in September for the season, at this stage, Ms EnmoreCat doesn't realize that our itinerary may be quite game day dependent!

[Hopkins92]

Since your questions aren't really all that NESCAC specific, I'll chime in a bit.

First off, welcome to the board! This is certainly a very active thread, but I'd encourage you to wander out and check-in on the national discussion, as well. Lots of folks with a ton of knowledge about D3 soccer. Though, again, this is a very active thread with a lot of great posters to get you started. Also, to state the obvious, it's a pretty dead time right now. Things won't pick back up until spring, where some scrimmages will pop up, and then August, when things start to really ramp up.

I can only really speak to your first question: You will be able to watch the vast majority of NESCAC games through a live stream. Especially league games, which I believe are covered by a regional internet-based sports channel. I think it's the Northeast Sports Channel? At any rate, on your son's page there will be a schedule and on that schedule you'll see a "Watch" link... 9 times out of 10, that's going to send you to a FREE streaming page to watch the games.

This, by the way, is a relatively new development. Up until 3 or 4 (?) years ago, the streaming was a) not free and b) very spotty in terms of who offered the service. So... It's a great time to be a D3 soccer fan!

I'll let others chime in on the USL1 and 2 questions. It's not uncommon for a handful of players to transfer from D3 to D1 schools, BUT... Just in general, the majority of D3 soccer players aren't looking to make a career out of the sport. Many are good enough to have gone that route, but choose an academics-first approach that somewhat downplays the sport in their overall college experience. As you note, top D3 programs are quite a big commitment and D3 athletes certainly take things seriously. Just not at the level of a D1 school.

[maineman]

I know that Covid wasn't as bad then, but too bad this couldn't have happened for soccer.

https://nescac.com/news/2022/1/31/nescac-news-nescac-announces-modified-basketball-and-ice-hockey-championships.aspx

[Viking]

Nescac1 and maybe others brought up recruits earlier in the thread. Here's a quick compile of '22 NESCAC recruits I've seen in various places. Please add!

Amherst
Andrew Tremante F/M Delbarton NJ

Bates
Lane Foushee M/D Phillips Exeter ME/NH
Kobby Nimako D Cate CA
David Ortiz D Wake FC/Heritage NC

Bowdoin
Alex Ainsworth G FC United/Loyola IL
Paul Cluskey D SD Surf/Bishop's CA
Mateo Pacelli M Del Mar Carmel Valley Torrey Pines CA
Felipe Rueda F United PDX/Catlin Gabel OR
Paul Surkov M TB United/JW Mitchell FL

Colby
Cameron Ashley G Crossfire Premier/Redmond WA
Braden Jondro D Worcester Acad MA
Peter Papavasiliou D Worcester Acad MA
Noah Radecki M Beachside CT

Connecticut College
Sam Brockelman F Maconomet MA
Aidan Keith M/F Match Fit/Pennington NJ
TJ Krongard G Northfield Mount Hermon NJ/MA
Maurice Pigola D Northfield Mount Hermon Germany/MA
Matthew Quiros-Newton M Taft OK/CT
Matthew Sharretts D Seacoast/Pinkerton NH
Gavin Vanden Berg F Seattle United/Shorecrest WA

Hamilton
Ross Eagle M Chelsea Piers Shoreline/Byram Hills NY
Cole Wassiliew M Bethesda/Walt Whitman MD
Griffin Weidner D Charlotte SA/Providence Day NC

Middlebury
Alem Hadzic FC United IL
Daniel Kaye FC United IL
Gavin Randolph F Milton MA
Will Sawin M Stonington CT
Joseph Waterman G Seacoast/St. John's Prep MA

Trinity
Finn Hackett D/M Boston Bolts Milton MA
Josh Ruthfield D NEFC/Worcester Acad MA
Elias Zobran M Taft Malawi/CT

Tufts
Mateo Bargagna F Atlanta Utd/Atlanta Int'l GA
James Gunn M Crossfire Premier WA
Ben Pensky M FC Alliance TN
Henry Perkins F/M Northfield Mount Hermon OH/MA
Luke Randolph F Milton MA
Mason Shultz F Rivers MA
Daniel Yanez M PDA/Pingry NJ

Wesleyan
Joshua LaCorte D FC Florida/Pine FL
Will Martin F Arlington SA/DeMatha DC
Kofi McFadgion D Arlington SA/DeMatha HS DC
Josh Nadison G Cedar Stars/Montclair NJ

Williams
David Armini D Northfield Mount Hermon MA
Sam Gibson F FC United/Latin IL
Mohamed Keussom Two Bridges NY
Cole Moriello M Pingry NJ
Evan Vasquez F FC Copa/Hunterdon Central NJ

[nescac1]

Seems like Siebert has acquitted himself well for being in an interim spot.  The two Central Jersey recruits are both from really strong programs, and Vasquez in particular looks like a guy who could give an immediate jolt to the Ephs up front. 

[Another Mom]

@enmorecat, welcome! I also have a son playing in college.  As to ypur USL questions,  I would say it's likely to very likely that a player getting good minutes at a good/top program could play on a USL2 team. I would also say that it's highly unlikely for a d3 player to make a usl1, or championship,  team. It's rare for d1 players to make a usl1 team.  As you probably already know, the usl2 teams are aimed at college players,  and have games over the summer.  Usl1 is professional and has a more regular season.

Hope that helps! Enjoy the upcoming experience and please do continue to post on these boards.

[Ephraim_Williams1]

Seems like Siebert has acquitted himself well for being in an interim spot.  The two Central Jersey recruits are both from really strong programs, and Vasquez in particular looks like a guy who could give an immediate jolt to the Ephs up front.

it'll be interesting to see where the Williams program goes in the next couple of years. Many alums aren't all that happy with the Siebert hire and the current state of things in the program, in particular how a program that's been around for 100 years is carrying itself (just take a look at the social media as one example...)

Now that he's the permanent hire the hope is the program gets back to truly competing in the NESCAC, but with the new Trinity hire there will soon be no easy-out in the league. And Williams barely scratched into the playoffs this fall. 

[EnmoreCat]

@enmorecat, welcome! I also have a son playing in college.  As to ypur USL questions,  I would say it's likely to very likely that a player getting good minutes at a good/top program could play on a USL2 team. I would also say that it's highly unlikely for a d3 player to make a usl1, or championship,  team. It's rare for d1 players to make a usl1 team.  As you probably already know, the usl2 teams are aimed at college players,  and have games over the summer.  Usl1 is professional and has a more regular season.

Hope that helps! Enjoy the upcoming experience and please do continue to post on these boards.

Thanks Another Mom and Hopkins92, appreciate the insights.  Can't wait for the season to start, but guess we're gonna have to...

[smoova]

... and Siebert cancelled some of Sullivan's recruits for 2022.

If this is true, it is bad, really bad.  A move like that will hurt recruiting for several years.

[Another Mom]

Before Sullivan left the recruiting was messed up. Not all of that was his fault (apparently the Admissions Office told all coaches to not make any offers until they sorted out already admitted kids to see how many were deferring etc). But he was a very poor communicator.

My son got an offer from Sullivan, and us parents urged him to seriously consider it, but my son absolutely refused.  It seems he may have dodged a bullet!

[nescac1]

I have no knowledge at all about what Siebert may or may not have done with regard to recruiting.  I just note that Sullivan was relieved of his duties way back in July, before guys had even submitted an application to Williams.  It's not like by then recruits are generally locked in, like they are in the middle of the fall ... who knows whether admissions had even weighed in by that point.  I think a new coach hired over the summer is within reason to instead start focusing on his own recruits who will be arriving more than a year away from the date of his hire; recruits who were planning on attending to Williams (but of course, had yet to be admitted) certainly have ample time to figure out another great destination if the coach who was doing the recruiting is no longer around.  Again, it would be a very different story if we were talking about October/November, after kids had already at least applied to Williams.

Oh, and I like Siebert's approach to social media.  At least it shows energy, enthusiasm and positivity.  Next year will be telling in terms of whether he is able to start to see some more positive results on the field.  Again, basically the entire roster is back, the team now has a year in his system, he's adding some promising reinforcements, and Williams lost a lot of very close games this year, perhaps reflecting some bad luck. Plus, a bunch of the teams ahead of Williams suffer massive losses to graduation (Tufts, Amherst, Colby, Bowdoin in particular).  I think anything short of an NCAA bid next year would be disappointing.   

[smoova]

I just note that Sullivan was relieved of his duties way back in July, before guys had even submitted an application to Williams.  It's not like by then recruits are generally locked in, like they are in the middle of the fall ... who knows whether admissions had even weighed in by that point.

NESCAC coaches obtain pre-reads from admissions in late June and begin offering admissions support to recruits beginning on July 1.  A positive pre-read and an offer of coach support is near guarantee of admission (unless grades fall dramatically, recruit runs afoul of the law, etc).  Recruits accept coach support in exchange for a commitment to apply ED1. Committed recruits then inform coaches at other schools of their commitment. Those coaches move on to other recruits.

If a new coach rolls in and pulls support just because he didn't personally recruit the player, it is a really sh!tty move and something that future recruits should understand about that coach. Fortunately, most new NESCAC coaches honor their predecessor's support commitments - e.g. both Amherst and Bowdoin hired lacrosse HCs after July 1, 2021 and both of those coaches did honor the support that was previously offered to recruits.

[Another Mom]

With respect, most top recruits are spoken for (as locked in as any recruit can be) by July/August. Prereads are submitted July 1. Sullivan made the offer to my son in early August, and it was my son's last offer. His earliest offer was in May. So the current timing is earlier than you are thinking,  though I am sure the musical chairs continue into the Fall.

I certainly hope the new coach didn't pull any offers Sullivan made. I agree with smoova, that would be a really ****ty move with repercussions for the program going forward.