NESCAC 2014

[amh63]

Becks....do not have a clear/ definitive answer on your question of club associations on the women's soccer team at Amherst...and not on the men's side.  Only speculation.  I notice the club posting on the women's hockey team awhile back.  Having seen the women's hockey team in its early days when there were not enough players...only one goalie....to its rise to win two national titles, I believe it is a sign of affiliation to indicate the level of experience of the player.  In the D.C. Area, there are few schools with women hockey teams and few men's teams even.  Players have to join clubs to learn the game, etc.  Same situation lacrosse teams in the public HS.  Need to join AUU type teams and clubs.
Believe it is up to the coaches.  Some women players do not even want to give their height...tennis team...unless the coach insist.

Do want to point out that the Amherst team has added a new assistant coach...a former goalie star from Colgate.  Interesting in that the other assistant is also one with experience with goalies.  To top it off, one of Amherst's top player returning is the FY goalie...a CT player.

[Becks]

I just discovered that at least some of the stats on the NESCAC site -- SOG and SOG% -- are garbage. It appears that the stats keepers for some of the schools - eg Colby - don't bother to put SOG stats on their score sheets. In and of itself, this wouldn't be a problem because SOG = goals + saves, so SOG can always be calculated. However, no one either at the school or at NESCAC seems to have bothered to do this, so the stats get entered in the NESCAC site database as 0 SOG.

[amh63]

Becks.....need some info.  Been awhile since one of my children reported to college.
Suddenly struck by the fact that students arrive "early" this year.  At Amherst, classes start the  2nd of Sept.  FY students arrive by 24th of August!  In the D.C area, the FY students sent-off reception is the 3rd of August.
Anyway...straight to the point.  At Wesleyan, when does your daughter report for orientation?  Is she allowed to start soccer practice during the period of orientation?   At Amherst, my understanding is athletic practices are not to interfere with FY orientation sessions. 
My question is due in part that you cited that there is an additional game scheduled this year....and I notice that the first soccer game is early in Sept.

[Becks]

For Wes, player move-in date is August 25, pre-season starts with AM fitness testing on August 26, freshman orientation starts on August 27, scrimmage on August 31, classes start on Sept 1; first game is at UMass Boston on Sept 3. My guess is that frosh orientation doesn't take all day so there is time to get practices in during orientation.

Interesting that, with the additional game, Wes actually starts its season (first game) before Yale does and has only 1 less regular fall season game. The travel is roughly comparable too - depending on whether Wes plays away at Hamilton or Yale plays away at Cornell.

[Becks]

All-time best/worst in NESCAC women's soccer (2000-2013)

Best/Worst Teams:
Best - tie- 2011 Amherst - 10-0-0 in league (GF/GA 27/3), NESCAC champion, NCAA quarterfinals, 20-1-0 overall
Best - tie - 2009 Williams - 9-0-0 in league (GF/GA 28/2), NESCAC champion, NCAA sectionals, 19-1-0 overall
Worst - 2009 Conn - 0-9-0 in league (GF/GA 1/32)

Best/Worst Offense:
Best - 2009 Amherst - 34 goals in league play
Worst - 2009 Conn - 1 goal in league play

Best/Worst Defense:
Best - tie - 2009 Williams - 2 GA in league play
Best - tie - 2007 Williams - 2 GA in league play
Worst - 2003 - Wesleyan - 33 GA in league play

Dirtiest/Cleanest Teams (2008-2013; no foul stats available <2008)
Dirtiest - tie - 2008 Williams - 11.4 fouls per game (most ever), 0 cards
Dirtiest - tie - 2011 Conn - 11.2 fouls per game (tied for 2d most ever), 5 cards (tied for most ever)
Cleanest - tie - 2009 Bowdoin - 4.2 fouls per game (fewest ever), 1 card
Cleanest - tie - 2008 Bowdoin - 5.1 fould per game (2d fewest ever), 0 cards

[Becks]

League-wide average fouls per team per league game (2008-2013)
2013 - 6.9
2012 - 7.4
2011 - 8.2
2010 - 8.1
2009 - 6.6
2008 - 6.6

Fouls per team per league game jumped up in 2010 and 2011 but have slid back since then. It's not clear whether changes in the fouls per game number reflect actual changes in the physicality/dirtiness of the play or just changes in the way the refs call the games.

Team average fouls per league game 2008-2013
1 - Williams 9.5 (Williams has been above average in fouls per game every year, although last year they essentially hit the league average. Peak year was 2011, when they averaged 11.2 fouls per game; lowest year was last year, when they averaged 7 fouls per game.)

2 - Amherst 9.4 (Like Williams, Amherst has been above average in fouls per game every year. Peak year was also 2011, with 11.2 fouls per game; lowest year was also last year, with 7.7 fouls per game.)

3 - Conn 9.3 (Shows you don't have to have good teams to foul a lot. Like Williams and Amherst, Conn has had an above average number of fouls every year. Their peak year was 2010, with 11.2 fouls per game. Their fouls have tapered off in the past 3 years and last year were close to the league average at 7 fouls per game.)

4 - Wesleyan 8.6 (Wesleyan was actually below the league average in 2008 (only 5.3 fouls per game) and only slightly above it in 2009 and 2010. They've made up for it recently, however, and have led the league in fouls per game in each of the last 2 seasons (11 in 2012, 10.4 in 2013).)

5 - Middlebury 8.3 (Middlebury has been counter-cyclical. Their fouls per game have been highest when the league average is lowest and vice versa. Their low was 6.8 fouls per game in foul-plagued 2011. Their high was 9.4 fouls per game in relatively foul-free 2008.)

6 - Bates 7.9 (Bates has tracked just a bit above the league average most years. Their spike was in 2011, when they averaged 10.6 fouls per game; their low was in 2009, when they averaged 6.6 fouls per game.)

7 - Tufts 7.7 (Another team that tracks just slightly above the league average. Tufts maxed at 10 fouls per game in 2010, and had a low of 5.8 fouls per game in 2009.)

8 - Colby 7.6 (Colby has generally averaged fewer fouls per game than the league average, but spiked at 9.1 fouls per game last year.)

9 - Hamilton 7.5 (Hamilton has been around the league average in each of its 3 seasons in the league.)

10 - Trinity 6.5 (Trinity has been below the league average every year, except one where they were just slightly above. The peak was 8 fouls per game in 2012 and their low was 5.2 fouls per game in 2008.)

11 - Bowdoin 6.0 (Winners of the NESCAC Lady Byng. Bowdoin had had a lower average fouls per game than the league every year. Their peak was 7.3 fouls per game in 2010 and their low was 4.2 fouls per game in 2009.)

The correlation coefficient between a team's average fouls per game in a season and its winning % in a season is only 0.13, which qualifies as a negligible or weak correlation. Good teams may be aggressive, but so may bad teams.

A few years of above- or below-average fouling stats may just reflect the natural tendencies of the members of that particular team. However, in other cases, particularly where the fouling average is consistently above or below league average, it may reflect how much the coach values aggressive play by his/her players.

[Becks]

Average League Finish

All-Time (13, 12, 11, 10, 09, 08, 07, 06, 05, 04, 03, 02, 01, 00)
1 – Amherst 2.36 (5, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 1, 1, 2, 2, 4, 3, 4)
2 – Williams 2.43 (2, 1, 2, 2, 1, 1, 1, 4, 4, 6, 2, 1, 1, 6)
3 – Middlebury 3.14 (1, 1, 2, 4, 3, 3, 6, 3, 6, 1, 6, 5, 2, 1)
4 – Tufts 3.86 (6, 10, 4, 1, 4, 4, 2, 2, 1, 3, 7, 1, 6, 3)
5 – Bowdoin 3.93 (2, 4, 8, 7, 6, 4, 3, 6, 3, 5, 1, 1, 3, 2)
6 – Hamilton 6.33 (8, 5, 6)
7 – Trinity 6.64 (4, 7, 9, 4, 4, 6, 5, 9, 10, 7, 5, 7, 7, 9)
8 – Bates 7.00 (11, 11, 9, 8, 9, 9, 9, 6, 4, 4, 2, 8, 3, 5)
9 – Colby 7.43 (8, 6, 7, 9, 8, 8, 9, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 8, 6)
10 – Wesleyan 7.93 (7, 7, 5, 6, 6, 7, 7, 8, 8, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10)
11 – Conn 8.36 (8, 7, 11, 9, 10, 10, 7, 9, 8, 7, 9, 5, 9, 8)

Last 5 years (13, 12, 11, 10, 09)
1 – Williams 1.60 (2, 1, 2, 2, 1)
2 – Amherst 2.20 (5, 1, 1, 2, 2)
2 – Middlebury 2.20 (1, 1, 2, 4, 3)
4 – Tufts 4.40 (6, 10, 4, 1, 4)
5 – Bowdoin 5.40 (2, 4, 8, 7, 6)
6 – Trinity 5.60 (4, 7, 9, 4, 4)
7 – Wesleyan 6.20 (7, 7, 5, 6, 6)
8 – Hamilton 6.33 (8, 5, 6)
9 – Colby 7.60 (8, 6, 7, 9, 8)
10 – Conn 9.00 (8, 7, 11, 9, 10)
11 – Bates 9.60 (11, 11, 9, 8, 9)

Probably the most remarkable aspect of the standings is that, although they bounce around from year to year, they have been pretty consistent over time. In the past 5 years, Williams has jumped into the #1 spot (largely as a result of Amherst's #5 finish last year), Middlebury has closed the gap on Amherst and Williams to form a very competitive top 3, and Tufts and Bowdoin have dropped back a little bit. One other noticeable difference is that, while Wesleyan ranks 10th in the history of the league, it has moved up into 7th for the last 5 years. On the flip side, while Bates ranks 8th in the history of the league, it ranks last for the last 5.

[Becks]

Based on the teams' rankings history, it seems that each team has an expected mean ranking based on the school and the coach and that most changes in ranking are just variation around the team's mean as a result of luck, injuries, particularly good or bad recruiting classes, etc. The biggest changes in a team's expected mean happen when there are coaching changes.

[Becks]

Histogram of how much teams move up or down in the standings from one year to the next

+6 *
+5 ***
+4 ******
+3 ******
+2 ***************
+1 *******************
+0 *******************************
-1 *******************
-2 *************
-3 *********
-4 *****
-5 ***
-6 **

A pretty nice normal distribution curve.

[Becks]

Updated incoming frosh list. New additions are in bold. New additions are from Wes roster page which now has a 2014 pre-season roster.

Amherst - Delancey King - Braintree, MA - Scorpions SC ECNL U18 - MF
Bates - Sarah McCarthy - ? - East Meadow SC Dynamite NPL U18 - GK
Bowdoin - Rachel Stout - Lakeville, MN - Shattuck-St Mary’s Sabres U18 - GK
Conn - Aimee Manderlink - Ridgefield, CT - Yankee Utd U18
Conn - Michelle Medina - CT - Oakwood SC U18
Conn - Nicole Medina - CT - Oakwood SC U18
Trinity - Alexa Barbaresi - CA - West Coast FC - D
Trinity - Maddie Snyder - Montclair, NJ - Match Fit ECNL U18 - M
Tufts  - Chandler Quintin - MA - Scorpions SC ECNL U18 - MF
Wesleyan - Samantha Ashley - New Canaan, CT - Connecticut FC ECNL U18 - M
Wesleyan -  Meghan Cunningham - Washington, DC - formerly on VSA Heat Blue U17 - M
Wesleyan - Ellie Dempsey - Stamford, CT - Connecticut FC ECNL U18 - M
Wesleyan - Meghan Hanan - Sammamish, WA - ISC/Arsenal? Crossfire? - GK
Wesleyan - Emma Seaman - Pacific Palisades, CA - Real So Cal ECNL U17 - F/M
Wesleyan - Elise Waller - Dallas, TX - Dallas Texans Red North '96 - M
Williams - Natasha Albaneze - Northport, NY - East Meadow SC ECNL U18 - F
Williams - Hanna Kaeser - Pelham, NY - Connecticut FC ECNL U18 - MF
Williams - Katherine Sands - Rye, NY - Connecticut FC ECNL U18 - DM
Williams - Jacqueline Simeone - Milton, MA - IMG Soccer Academy - D

[Becks]

Time to start rolling out preseason team evaluations. We've already discussed Williams some, but I'll go in alphabetical order and start with Amherst.  I am not going to try to factor in the impact of incoming freshmen both because I only know the names of a faction of them and because it is hard to evaluate their impact before they actually play against league competition. All stats are NESCAC league only.

AMHERST

Team History

The following is conference-only; league ranking in parens.
2013 – 5-2-3 (5), GF: 14 (3), GA: 4 (1), GD: +10 (1), Coach: Hughes
2012 – 8-1-1 (1–tied), GF: 22 (1), GA: 6 (2), GD: +16 (1), Coach: Hughes
2011 - 10-0-0 (1), GF: 27 (1), GA: 3 (1), GD: +24 (1), Coach: Hughes
2010 - 5-2-2 (2), GF: 14 (2), GA: 10 (4), GD: +4 (3), Coach: Hughes
2009 - 7-1-1 (2), GF: 18 (2), GA: 4 (2), GD: +14 (2), Coach: Hughes
2008 - 7-0-2 (2), GF: 34 (1), GA: 9 (3), GD: +25 (1), Coach: Hughes
2007 - 5-2-2 (3), GF: 14 (4), GA: 6 (3), GD: +8 (2), Coach: Hughes
2006 - 7-0-1 (1), GF: 20 (2), GA: 7 (1), GD: +13 (1), Coach: Hughes
2005 - 6-2-1 (1), GF: 16 (4), GA: 8 (2), GD: +8 (3), Coach: Hughes
2004 – 6-0-3 (2), GF: 17 (1), GA: 5 (2), GD: +12 (2), Coach: Hughes
2003 – 5-2-2 (2), GF: 17 (3), GA: 8 (1), GD: +9 (2), Coach: Morgan
2002 – 5-2-2 (4), GF: 14 (8), GA: 8 (2), GD: +6 (5), Coach: Morgan
2001 – 5-3-1 (3), GF: 12 (6), GA: 9 (1), GD: +3 (5), Coach: Morgan
2000 – 5-3-1 (4), GF: 10 (7), GA: 7 (2), GD: +3 (5), Coach: Morgan

Jen Hughes took an Amherst team whose average league finish was a very respectable 3.25 and raised it a notch so that, under her, its average league finish has been 2.0, and that's including a worst ever league finish of 5th last year. The improvement was mainly on offense. Prior to Hughes, the Amherst offense had not ranked in the top 2 in the league. Under Hughes, the Amherst offense has ranked 1st or 2d 7 times. The defense has continued to be strong, ranking out of the top 2 only 3 years.

2013 League Season

2013 was a strange league season for Amherst. If you looked at their season-long stats without looking at their record, you might have predicted that they finished tops in the league, certainly not worse than top 3. Offensively they ranked 3d, defensively they were the best in the league, and they had the league's best goal differential. They were not as good as in the 2012 team or the exceptional 2011 team, but better than their 5th place league finish suggests. The problem was lack of clutch scoring – in their 5 ties/losses combined, they only scored 1 goal.

Who Graduated/Who's Returning

Amherst is losing 7 seniors, including 5 regular starters and 1 regular sub, from last year's team. The departing players contributed 8 of the team's 14 league goals (57%) and include Sarah Duffy (3 goals, 3 assists) and Amanda Briscoe (2 goals), as well as regular starters Kate Sisk, Hannah Cooper, Chloe McKenzie and Sarah Abrahams. However, none of the departing players were first or second team all-conference. 8 players return who were regular starters last year: Holly Burwick (2d team all-conf keeper), Maya Jackson-Gibson (2d team all conf), Mel Stier, Ariana Twomey, Saray Zuckerman, Jessy Hale, Maggie Belhap, and Megan Kim.

2014 Forecast

Amherst is losing a lot of their offense, but seems to be returning the spine of their league-best defense. They'll have to pick up some additional offense from somewhere, but given their consistent finishes in the top 2 of the league under Jen Hughes, odds are they will find it and bounce back up into the top 2 or 3. A warning to the rest of the league: each of the prior years under Hughes where they finished with a similar record to 2013 (the statistically weaker 2007 and 2010 seasons), Amherst at least tripled its goal differential the following year and were undefeated in league play.

[Becks]

BATES

Team History

The following is conference-only; league ranking in parens.
2013 – 1-7-2 (11), GF: 6 (9), GA: 17 (10), GD: -11 (10), Coach: Ross
2012 – 1-8-1 (11), GF: 4 (11), GA: 20 (11), GD: -16 (1), Coach: Ross
2011 – 2-6-2 (9), GF: 5 (10), GA: 11 (5), GD: -6 (8), Coach: Ross
2010 – 2-6-1 (8), GF: 7 (9), GA: 14 (7), GD: -7 (8), Coach: Murphy
2009 – 2-7-0 (9), GF: 6 (8), GA: 17 (9), GD: -11 (8), Coach: Murphy/Flaherty
2008 – 2-7-0 (9), GF: 6 (8), GA: 20 (9), GD: -14 (8), Coach: Flaherty
2007 – 1-8-0 (9), GF: 4 (10), GA: 23 (9), GD: -19 (10), Coach: Murphy
2006 – 4-4-0 (6), GF: 11 (6), GA: 16 (6), GD: -5 (7), Coach: Murphy
2005 – 5-3-1 (4), GF: 25 (1), GA: 11 (5), GD: +14 (1), Coach: Murphy
2004 – 4-3-2 (4), GF: 15 (3), GA: 10 (3), GD: +5 (3), Coach: Murphy
2003 – 5-2-2 (2), GF: 18 (2), GA: 9 (2), GD: +9 (2), Coach: Murphy
2002 – 3-6-0 (8), GF: 16 (4), GA: 22 (8), GD: -6 (8), Coach: Murphy
2001 – 5-3-1 (3), GF: 18 (4), GA: 14 (5), GD: +4 (4), Coach: Murphy
2000 – 5-4-0 (5), GF: 16 (4), GA: 14 (6), GD: +2 (6), Coach: Murphy


Bates bounced around in the league standings from 2000-2006, but averaged a respectable 4.6. Under the same coach, however, from 2007-10, Bates dropped significantly down to an 8.75 average finish. No surprise that they made a coaching change. However, the team’s fortunes since then have not improved and, in fact, have slipped a bit farther, with an average finish from 2011-2013 of 10.33.

2013 League Season

Bates’ 2013 season was a modest improvement from their 2012 season, when they finished last in the standings and ranked last in both GF and GA. Despite some improvement in both GF and GA, they still finished next to last in both categories and tied for last in GD with -11. Given the bunching at the end of the table, however, they were only 1 tie-breaking goal away from finishing in 8th and making the NESCAC tournament.

Who Graduated/Who’s Returning

Bates is losing 6 seniors, all of whom were regular starters. The departing players contributed 2 of the team’s 6 league goals (33%), and include Anabel Schmelz (keeper), Kara Stefaniak (forward, 1 goal), Julia Rafferty (mid, 1 goal), Jaimie Cappucci (mid), Abby Alexander (defender), and Chelsea Thompson (defender). None of the departing players were first or second team all-conference. 8 players return who were regular starters last year: Leah Humes (forward and the team’s leading league scorer with 3 goals), Caitrin Griffin (defender), Nicki Brill (mid), Hannah Graves (defender), and Kyla Rabe (defender).

2014 Forecast

Bates is losing a lot of starters, including their keeper, but, on the plus side, are returning their leading scorer. Given their performance in the last 7 years, including the last 3 under their current coach, there is no reason to expect a huge improvement in performance. However, considering how close the bottom teams were last year, a finish anywhere from 7-11 would be within reasonable expectations.

[Becks]

BOWDOIN

Team History

The following is conference-only; league ranking in parens.
2013 – 7-2-1 (2), GF: 18 (1), GA: 10 (5), GD: +8 (3), Coach: Weaver
2012 – 6-3-1 (4), GF: 14 (5), GA: 10 (3), GD: +4 (4), Coach: Weaver
2011 – 2-5-3 (8), GF: 14 (4), GA: 17 (9), GD: -3 (5), Coach: Rojas
2010 – 3-5-1 (7), GF: 14 (3), GA: 14 (7), GD: +0 (6), Coach: Rojas
2009 – 4-5-0 (6), GF: 11 (5), GA: 12 (6), GD: -1 (6), Coach: Rojas
2008 – 4-3-2 (4), GF: 15 (3), GA: 12 (5), GD: +3 (4), Coach: Rojas
2007 – 6-3-0 (3), GF: 19 (3), GA: 12 (6), GD: +7 (3), Coach: Rojas
2006 – 4-4-1 (6), GF: 21 (1), GA: 18 (8), GD: +3 (5), Coach: Sheridan
2005 – 6-3-0 (3), GF: 20 (2), GA: 10 (4), GD: +10 (2), Coach: Sheridan
2004 – 4-4-1 (5), GF: 12 (6), GA: 10 (3), GD: +2 (5), Coach: Cullen
2003 – 7-2-0 (1), GF: 17 (3), GA: 9 (2), GD: +8 (3), Coach: Cullen
2002 – 6-2-1 (1-tied), GF: 22 (2), GA: 8 (2), GD: +14 (1-tied), Coach: Cullen
2001 – 5-3-1 (3), GF: 19 (3), GA: 10 (2), GD: +9 (2), Coach: Cullen
2000 – 7-1-1 (2), GF: 27 (1), GA: 10 (4), GD: +17 (2), Coach: Cullen


Bowdoin had excellent records for most of John Cullen's 20-year tenure as coach, including a league-best average finish of 1.75 from 2000-2003. They slipped to 5 in his final year. They had middling results in his immediate replacement's short 2-year terms, with an average finish of 4.5, and then entered into a steady period of decline under Maren Rojas. They league finish dropped each year of her term and bottomed out with their 8th place finish in 2010. So far, it appears that Coach Weaver has engineered a sharp turnaround and, last year, managed the team to its best finish since John Cullen.

2013 League Season

Bowdoin's 2013 season was a significant improvement over their 2012 season. In 2012, Coach Weaver improved on they abysmal 2011 team by tightening the defense. In 2013, it was the offense's turn. The defense allowed the same number of goals as in 2012, but the offense increased its scoring tally by 4 and went from being the #5 offense in 2012 to the #1 offense in 2013.

Who Graduated/Who's Returning

Bowdoin is losing 3 seniors, including 2 starters. The departing players contributed 2 of the team's 18 league goals (11%), and include Molly Popolizio (mid, 2 goals, 2d team all-NESCAC) and Becky Stoneman (defender, 1st team all-NESCAC). 9 players return who were regular starters last year: Bridget McCarthy (keeper), Kaley Nelson (defender), Jamie Hofstetter (forward, 2d team all-NESCAC), Sarah Wallace (defender), Jenne DiCicco (mid), Abby Einwag (mid), Kathleen Smith (defender), Maya Norman (mid), and Kiersten Turner (forward, 1st team all-NESCAC).

2014 Forecast

Bowdoin is losing a couple of quality players, but only a couple. With 9 starters returning and a coach that has the team playing winning soccer again, expectations should be high for the upcoming season. A finish anywhere from 1-4 is probable.

[Becks]

COLBY

Team History

The following is conference-only; league ranking in parens.
2013 – 1-6-3 (8), GF: 6 (9), GA: 14 (8), GD: -8 (8), Coach: Holsten
2012 – 4-6-0 (6), GF: 10 (7), GA: 18 (10), GD: -8 (10), Coach: Holsten
2011 – 3-6-1 (7), GF: 8 (10), GA: 20 (11), GD: -12 (10), Coach: Holsten
2010 – 1-5-3 (9), GF: 8 (8), GA: 17 (10), GD: -9 (9), Coach: Holsten
2009 – 2-6-1 (8), GF: 3 (9), GA: 14 (8), GD: -11 (8), Coach: Holsten
2008 – 2-6-1 (8), GF: 2 (10), GA: 16 (8), GD: -14 (8), Coach: Holsten
2007 – 0-7-2 (9), GF: 5 (9), GA: 19 (8), GD: -14 (8), Coach: Holsten
2006 – 3-2-3 (5), GF: 10 (6), GA: 8 (3), GD: +2 (6), Coach: Holsten
2005 – 3-2-4 (6), GF: 17 (3), GA: 11 (5), GD: +6 (5), Coach: Holsten
2004 – 2-5-2 (7), GF: 11 (7), GA: 16 (8), GD: -5 (8), Coach: Holsten
2003 – 3-5-1 (8), GF: 11 (8), GA: 16 (8), GD: -5 (8), Coach: Holsten
2002 – 1-8-0 (9), GF: 9 (10), GA: 32 (10), GD: -23 (10), Coach: Holsten
2001 – 2-6-1 (8), GF: 12 (6), GA: 17 (7), GD: -5 (7), Coach: Holsten
2000 – 4-5-0 (6), GF: 16 (4), GA: 20 (8), GD: -4 (7), Coach: Holsten

Colby has had the same coach for its entire league history and has bounced around the bottom half of league, with an average league finish of 7.43. Colby’s best seasons were 2005 and 2006, when they had winning records in league play and positive GDs.

2013 League Season

Colby’s 2013 season was a slight drop off from their 2012 season. Their defense tightened up a bit, but that was offset by a drop-off in offensive production, leaving their GD unchanged at -8. A few balls bounced the wrong way, 3 wins turned into 3 ties, and a 4-6-0 season in 2012 turned into a 1-6-3 season in 2013. They still managed to slip into the NESCAC tournament as the 8th seed, however, by virtue of a tie-breaker Hamilton and Conn.

Who Graduated/Who’s Returning

Colby is losing 8 seniors, including 6 regular starters. The departing players contributed all 6 of the team’s league goals, and include Annie Papadellis (forward, 4 goals), Carly Dee, Grace Dickinson (defender), Amelia Barnett (defender, 2 goals), Crysti Tsujiura and Alex Yorke. Only 5 returning players were regular starters last year: Emily Brook (keeper), Maddie Tight, Nora Mabie (defender), Aliza Van Leesten (defender), and Emilie Klein (defender). Neither any of the departing players nor any of the returning players were first or second team all-NESCAC.

2014 Forecast

Colby is losing a lot of players and all their league goal production from last year, which could make it challenging for them to improve over last year. In the past, however, Colby has managed to improve 1 or 2 spots every year after they have posted a 1-win season, so a move up is certainly possible. A finish anywhere from 7-11 is most likely.

[Becks]

CONNECTICUT COLLEGE

Team History

The following is conference-only; league ranking in parens.
2013 – 1-6-3 (8), GF: 10 (7), GA: 21 (11), GD: -11 (10), Coach: Riker
2012 – 3-7-0 (7), GF: 12 (6), GA: 17 (8), GD: -5 (8), Coach: Riker
2011 – 1-8-1 (11), GF: 5 (10), GA: 18 (10), GD: -13 (11), Coach: Riker
2010 – 1-5-3 (9), GF: 5 (10), GA: 14 (9), GD: -9 (9), Coach: Edmed
2009 – 0-9-0 (10), GF: 1 (10), GA: 32 (10), GD: -31 (10), Coach: Edmed
2008 – 0-8-1 (10), GF: 5 (9), GA: 20 (9), GD: -15 (10), Coach: Edmed
2007 – 2-6-1 (7), GF: 9 (6), GA: 27 (9), GD: -18 (9), Coach: Edmed
2006 – 0-8-1 (9), GF: 10 (8), GA: 24 (9), GD: -14 (9), Coach: Edmed
2005 – 2-7-0 (8), GF: 10 (8), GA: 24 (9), GD: -14 (8), Coach: Kline
2004 – 3-6-0 (7), GF: 9 (9), GA: 13 (7), GD: -4 (7), Coach: Kline
2003 – 2-7-0 (9), GF: 10 (9), GA: 20 (9), GD: -10 (9), Coach: Kline
2002 – 5-3-1 (5), GF: 16 (4), GA: 12 (5), GD: +4 (6), Coach: Kline
2001 – 1-6-2 (9), GF: 10 (9), GA: 19 (9), GD: -9 (9), Coach: Kline
2000 – 2-7-0 (8), GF: 7 (9), GA: 17 (7), GD: -10 (8), Coach: Kline

With the exception of one Black Swan season in 2002, when Conn had a winning record in the league and a positive GD, Conn has consistency languished in the bottom 4 of the league, with an overall average league finish of Colby has had the same coach for its entire league history and has bounced around the bottom half of league, with a league-low average league finish of 8.36. The team's results under current coach Riker seem to have improved modestly over those under former Coach Edmed, but still average only 8.67 (albeit in a 11 team league).

2013 League Season

Conn's 2013 season was a bit of a drop off from their 2012 season. Their goals production dropped from 12 to 10, while their GA increased from 17 to 21. The combination dropped them to 10th in the league in GD, with a -10. Given how tightly bunched the record of the bottom 5 teams were, however, they only missed the NESCAC tournament by virtue of losing a tiebreaker with Colby.

Who Graduated/Who's Returning

Colby is losing only 4 seniors, of whom only 1 was a regular starter and 2 others regulars subs. The departing players contributed 4 of the team's 10 league goals (40%), and include Aina Torres (3 goals, 2d team all-NESCAC), Rebecca Raymond (1 goal), and Julia Byrne. 10 returning players were regular starters last year: Natalie Signor (keeper), Amanda Onofrio, Abby Fagan (1 goal), Katelyn Murray, Nicole Dellapasqua, Astrid Kempainen, Lily Cannon, Amanda Proulx, Morgan Cowie-Haskell (1 goal), and Annie Higgens (1 goal). None of the returning players were first or second team all-NESCAC.

2014 Forecast

Conn returns 10 starters from last year's team, but loses its leading scorer and only all-NESCAC player. Based on the past performance, a finish anywhere from 7-11 is possible.