NESCAC 2012

[Jump4Joy]

Because they are scheduled to host the men's and the women's tourneys, if they use turf, they'll probably have to split between their own and the field at MCLA. Will NESCAC split the site of either tourney, allowing Williams to have their home field for the men and the women, thus creating a special schedule, or will the league insist on one site for each individual tourney as is tradition? If both semis have to be played at the same site (one could argue that playing at two different fields could give an unfair advantage to one team--i.e. Williams men play at home against Tufts, but Wesleyan plays at MCLA against Amherst), then who has to move off campus--the men or the women?

In the event of flooding, it seems like the easiest and fairest thing to do is move the whole shebang to Amherst! 

[frank uible]

Williams has a synthetic turf lacrosse field with flood lights.

[Jump4Joy]

Those "flood" lights might come in handy! Still, tough to get 4 games in on one field in one day. Reasonably, they won't start before 11 a.m. If you figure 2.5 hours between the start of one game and the start of another (that's without overtime), we're talking a night game where the loser might be one that gets on a bus to travel home after 9 p.m. Not sure NESCAC will go for it. Hopefully, the grass fields hold up well and don't get flooded. (Or, if they do, NESCAC has the sense to move the event to Amherst  !)

[frank uible]

The only "long" (over 3 hour) NESCAC trips from Williamstown are the trips to Maine and possibly Conn College. There is only one such college in either of the two tournaments - that is Bowdoin. Surely the game in which Bowdoin plays can be scheduled early.

[Giggs]

Seriously, Williams will not give up home field.  They will find a way to make it work.  Amherst will NOT get a home game.  No AD would allow this to happen.

[frank uible]

A non-professional indoors assessment in the dark (3:30 am) seems to indicate that rainfall in Williamstown has been modest (much less than one inch) with little or no wind damage. It is suspected that with a little possible cleanup of windblown debris the two Williams College pitches will on Saturday be at worst acceptable for play.

[Jump4Joy]

Thanks for the update, FrankU. I hope you got some sleep last night! Stay dry. See you Saturday.

[Jump4Joy]

Here are the NCAA regional rankings for New England, the final rankings before league championship weekend. This is the one that factors into seeding and host sites for NCAAs. Bowdoin will be hoping Wheaton wins its tournament to secure the automatic bid, leaving Bowdoin in good position to get an at-large bid. Go NESCAC!
   
1   Amherst       13-1-1   13-1-1
2   Middlebury       12-2-1   12-2-1
3   Wheaton (MA) 15-1-4   15-1-4
4   Williams       11-3-1   11-3-1
5   Bowdoin       11-3-1   11-3-1
6   Brandeis       12-4-2   12-4-2
7   MIT               13-3-1   13-3-1
8   Springfield       12-4-1   12-4-1
9   Westrn CT St   13-3-2   14-3-2
10   Westfield St    15-0-1   16-0-1
11   UMass-Boston 16-2   16-2
12   St. Joseph (CT)14-2-1   14-2-1

[machine54]

Doubtful that bowdoin makes big dance - hard to imagine committee taking 4 Nescac teams - but 11 wins in 15 games is quite impressive especially after losing co-player of year to graduation thought here is that bowdoin will have to run the table - but batman and robin look like they may ride again this year - midd still 11 nationally - panthers may even get a home pod

[Ocean 1]

Batman and Robin combine to dismantle Williams. Seriously flawed gameplay/execution by the Ephs playing into what Midd likes to do best.  This is Midd's window of opportunity but Wesleyan will be a tough opponent and after making some adjustments played a great second half v. Midd when they met during the season. Should Midd advance loser of Amherst/Williams semi-final would appear to be in jeopardy of not receiving NCAA bid.

Two thoughts:

1. Let's not get too carried away here. No doubt Midd played a near perfect pressure game yesterday and the Ephs had some key defensive breakdowns. That happens in soccer as Midd can testify in its 1-0 loss to Conn this season. The fact that Midd has by far the highest percentage of Upperclassmen on its roster in NESCAC doesn't hurt either. Can you imagine if they don't win it all with this line-up?
2. If Williams-Amherst do in fact meet in the NESCAC semi's, doubtful that the loser will not make it in as an NCAA at-large pick. Logic is based on the current Regional Rankings (with one left to go) and the observation that conference round robin tournaments seem to have little influence at season-end on NCAA officials as they represent a small percentage of overall in-season play as an indicator of strength. Of course, when it comes to NCAA logic and rankings...who really knows.

Could you elaborate on this? Is there a strong correlation between a team winning and the number of seniors on the roster? Are seniors on average better players than younger players? What if the seniors don't start or are not impact players? What about a strong recruiting class behind the seniors?

Sorry for the delayed response. In this case, upperclassmen were considered as juniors and seniors. And, I've not done an exact correlation analysis over time...just an opinion, particularly at schools that seem to attract top talent...i.e., Williams, Midd and Amherst and that are typically in the NESCAC soccer hierarchy mix.

Opinion is based on perception that the longer a talented group plays together, the more cohesive/effective their game becomes over time, all other considerations (injuries, dissension, etc.) being equal. These all other considerations are always difficult to factor during a season. And, blending in talented newcomers with a talented veteran team makes a ton of sense.

[Giggs]

My picks.  My reach is that Bowdoin wins one to nothing. And Williams is too much at home and wins 3-1.

[amh63]

Amherst and Bowdoin goes into penalty kicks and the Panthers win the game 6-5 on PKs.  It was 3-3 at the end of the regular session.

[GUBFL]

Sorry Amh63, but it is Bowdoin moving on to the finals.  Given the result 2 weeks ago, I huge upset for Bowdoin especially coming back from 2 goals down late in the game to get the tie.  Regardless of how the finals turn out should make things very interesting come NCAA selection time.

[2xfaux]

I think amh63 just got the Polar Bears mixed up with the Midd. Panthers.  If Bowdoin can beat Williams tomorrow (big if) you are right about a selection zoo.

[Jump4Joy]

Wow. Two major upsets with Wes over Midd last weekend and Bowdoin advancing on PKs past Amherst today. The consolation for the Jeffs should be their position for an at large bid to NCAAs next weekend, given their #1 NCAA regional ranking heading into the seeding meeting for the NCAA tourney. Congrats to Bowdoin and Williams for making it to the finals.