Liberty League

[kevdog]

Almost summer so we're all off doing our usual summer activities but given it's a Monday afternoon with not much going on I figure I'll stoke some discussion.

SLU's incoming class now up to 9.  On paper there are 6 lost to graduation, but an additional 3 players on the roster does not necessarily mean that the roster size this upcoming season will be identical to last.  I do wonder if the roster gets trimmed down, it happens most seasons.   

Saint has mentioned that Tosh has found his sea legs, which I can't really disagree with.  This year's incoming class has the usual pedigree the program has come to expect.  3 players in particular I think will make an immediate impact.  I sometimes think back to what Saint of Old said last year in that the league had a chance to bury the Saints at the end of 2021 but Tosh and the squad flipped the script and started something going forward.  Reminds me of the mid to late 2000s Durocher teams, who did not have spectacular success in terms of win % but nonetheless made league and NCAA tournament runs as a result of teams not burying them when they had the chances.  That in turn reinvigorated recruiting and elevated the Saints in the last 5 years of Durocher's tenure.

I've rambled too much on the Saints, so I'll mention the rest of the league.  Vassar has brought in a good class as well, as Hood is maintaining the Andy Jennings connections by bringing in a very wide ranging national class.  They'll be picked 1st or 2nd, as they have Fauth for a final year who was the engine to the Brewer midfield last season.  Wnorowski leaving might hurt, but added experience on the back line could alleviate his absence.

I'm curious about RIT.  It appears they're bringing back around half of last year's senior class for a 5th year so their experience could pay dividends.  They made a late run last season and with Dickersbach returning (don't quote me, I'm not 100% positive) they could make some noise.

RPI is the wild card.  They're always good, and last year was an anomaly.  They lose impact players, but there is a chance Gaudiano comes back next season.  He wasn't mentioned in any graduation posts so one would assume he'll be playing next year.  Clinton is one of the better coaches in the league, and they always bring in a good class.

Do you know how the other 4 recruits that coming in to SLU. I know that you posted some of the recruits in earlier posts. Also wondering who are the 3 recruits that you think are going to make an immediate impact. I was wondering where the Northwood School AA Thebe Moseburgh(spelling) and Amityville AA Roberth Perez went to college. I read about them but couldn't find where they decided.

Looks like Hobart got a recruiting coup as the Northwood student newspaper says that Mosehathebe is headed to Geneva next year.   Perez on the other hand is headed to NC State.  Mosehathebe likely starts as a first year given his pedigree, but even if he doesn't he'll probably be giving the rest of the league headaches the next 4 years.

The added recruits to the list from my first post are 2 GKs, Parker Sinclair from Westminster CT (first team all NEPSAC) and a local product Evan Widrick from South Jeff NY.     The other 2 are midfielder Dennis Argueta from Bedford NY (NY Soccer Club) and CB/LB Baker Diaz from Brooklyn (FC Copa).    I think there's a pretty good chance MacGillivray, Petrone and Brown make an impact this upcoming season.  For all I know they could not get a single minute next season and I end up looking like an idiot, but they were top targets and committed fairly early in the process and all play positions where SLU needs to replace in the starting lineup or for immediate depth.  Most of the incoming class played for MLS Next and ECNL clubs, which is the case for a lot of schools but historically been the type of talent SLU is supposed to attract.

Thank you for the information. I was hoping that SLU would get Mosehathebe. He could be a problem for the next 4 years. SLU has always had a dominant player for years and I guess sometimes I just take it for granted we will have one but we will see how they do in the field.

[stlawus]

Nice to have another SLU poster in here, didn't know you were a scarlet and brown fan. We're growing in numbers on this board it seems.

I too was hoping they'd snag Mosehathebe, but there's a lot we don't know going down behind the scenes. It's not unusual for HS AA's to end up in dIII, but you'd rather have them than not. Myles Palmer is another HS AA without an announced destination.  He's from Fairport and SLU has mined that area in the past getting guys from UR's backyard so I imagine he was recruited as well. He's not on UR's commit list so you never know.

[kevdog]

Nice to have another SLU poster in here, didn't know you were a scarlet and brown fan. We're growing in numbers on this board it seems.

I too was hoping they'd snag Mosehathebe, but there's a lot we don't know going down behind the scenes. It's not unusual for HS AA's to end up in dIII, but you'd rather have them than not. Myles Palmer is another HS AA without an announced destination.  He's from Fairport and SLU has mined that area in the past getting guys from UR's backyard so I imagine he was recruited as well. He's not on UR's commit list so you never know.

Palmer was another guy I was hoping we could get. Another kid was the Northwood Prep player Junior Happi. I read a little about him and from what I read he appears to be very good. I know that Coach Tosh wants to build his own program away from Durocher. Just wish he would have kept up some those ties Durocher with schools MLK, Beacon and some of the other perennial hood soccer schools. Maybe he has and they want to go elsewhere. Like you said we don't know what goes on behind clew doors and I don't know Coach Tosh at all. I know Durocher though and yes I am SLU fan. I try to keep up with what is happening. That is why it is nice to have you and others on this board for some insight with players and recruits. Thank you for doing that and thanks to all the others who provide info. It is appreciated.

[stlawus]

The ties are still there, Mogul came through the Beacon pipeline I believe.   A lot of those schools these days are sending their players to prep schools.   Recruiting has changed a great deal even just within the last 5 years or so, especially when it comes to clubs.

[Another Mom]

Max Mogul was at The Millbrook School and played club with Black Rock in their now discontinued prep academy.

[Saint of Old]

Saint Maxima will have to step up his game even more next year to fill the shoes of the Craque on the team.
I think he has the ability to.
One of the best#7s the program has had and he has been bringing it since his freshman year.

Like everyone else, I am excited to take a look at the new crop of Saints and Statesmen Brewers etc... that is always the best part of the upcoming season.

I am more interested however to see who explodes onto the scene. That player who has been playing bad or ok, or not playing at all, who decides enough is enough and sets the league on fire.
This could be their junior or even senior year coming up, but their confidence is now where it needs to be.

I'm hoping that one or 2 Saints explode in the 23 season and write their name in the Book of Saints.

[Racoon72]

Good to see new faces on this board.   Clarkson has a new AD so hopefully things change a bit for the better.  The lacrosse team created a buzz this spring so maybe it will spill over in to the entire department with the change in regime.

If you go to Indeed.com to look at current job openings at Clarkson, you will find a 11/22 review left by a former employee of the University.  IMO, the culture of the University plays a huge role in the success of the athletics programs at a University and the engagement of alumni.  Here is his review:

"Clarkson University is going through a dark season. They are financially struggling due to extremely poor accounting practices and unsuccessful recruiting of students. The culture is defined by a few very dictatorial leaders at the top of the organization who micromanage administrative staff and leave most employees paralyzed, unable to do their jobs because of fear. There are major culture clashes and resentments between the three campuses which cause poor decision making. The university does not work through conflict well, avoiding face to face discussions and going around people instead of discussing the conflict directly. There is a large amount of bureaucracy that makes it difficult to efficiently do work. Many good people have left the organization due to the culture and low pay, which further adds to the inability to work effectively. In general, they are not replacing the people who leave.

Feedback for improvement is not welcomed but instead met with defensiveness and retribution. This is all very sad because the university does have good work to do, has great potential, and there are some people of good character who work there."

[kevdog]

Just FYI,
Some of the Liberty League teams have posted their schedules for next year. SLU, RIT, Skidmore(?) and maybe Bard have not. Hobart looks like they have difficult non league games from the teams that were good last year. RPI has a strong non league scheduled also. I know SLU will be playing Canton, Plattsburgh, Potsdam, Cortland, and Oneonta for some of their non league games. Well at least that what it says on the teams respective schedules. I know there is thread already for schedules but I am not great at copy and pasting into threads.

[Racoon72]

We all know the quality, comfort and availability of athletic facilities often plays a role in a new recruit's decision to play D3 soccer at a university.  I thought it was interesting to rank the current Liberty League universities by the strength of their 2022 endowment funds.  I believe Clarkson is struggling to solicit former D3 alumni in supporting their overall endowment fund and capital project campaigns. Just my 2 cents ...

RIT         1248 million
Vassar     1196 million
RPI.          864 million
Union        498 million
Skidmore  427 million
Bard         412 million
Ithaca       357 million
St. Law     353 million
Hobart      231 million
Clarkson   217 million

[Shamrock]

Divide that endowment number by the number of full time students you have on campus.  If the per student number exceeds a student's annual tuition, you're in good shape.  If it's below annual tuition, you've got work to do.

[Racoon72]

Excellent point! 

In Clarkson's case their endowment in 2021 was $240 million, with a full time enrollment of 3953 and an average tuition of $56,258.  That would provide $60,713 of endowment $$ per student. OK status, but not by much.

But Clarkson's 2022 endowment dropped by 10% to $217 million.  If full time enrollment and average tuition stayed the same, then that would now provide $54,895 of endowment per student. Less than average tuition.  That situation would cause cost cutting measures to be imposed across the university and a delay of capital spending, especially for D3 athletic programs/facilities.

Obviously, "they have work to do!"  A new university President and a new AD, makes a quick financial turnaround that much more challenging!

[stlawus]

Clarkson facilities really are lacking.  20 years ago SLU saw the writing on the wall when it came to recruiting and facilities and basically overhauled the entire athletic facility apparatus.  Admittedly it helped that they had and still have alumni that donate generously to fund these projects, but I'd argue that the current state of the art facilities is a big reason why they've been able to maintain enrollment and athletic competitiveness in the age of covid.  I graduated in 2015 and still use the facilities and trails several times a week, mainly due to how nice and well maintained they are.

Aside from Cheel, Clarkson doesn't really have much to sell recruits on aside from the academic prowess of the school (which is substantial).  Walking through the Alumni Gym complex this past winter I was actually shocked at how poor the facilities were, it gave off 80s Soviet bloc vibes.  The soccer field seems decent enough but could use an upgrade, but the main thing about that complex is that there is barely any seating.  Clarkson has alums with the financial prowess that SLU donors have, so I see no reason why they can't also devote the necessary resources to get up to par with the rest of the league and division III for that matter.  The new AD regime might have all this in mind, so hopefully things start to change.  Except for SLU/Clarkson games I always root for Clarkson teams. The school is a big part of the North Country community and I'll always be equally interested in the success of the university as I do SLU.

[stlawus]

Everyone's schedules are now up. Lot of the same from last year.  Can't see any real non challenging out of conference schedule aside from Bard.   Good to see Vassar get Middlebury, it's not often Liberty League teams play the NESCAC in the regular season.

As it stands the most intriguing matchups seem to be Hobart vs JHU and UMW, Vassar vs West Conn, MSU and Middlebury, SLU vs Cortland and Oneonta and RPI vs UMW and Oneonta.

Still not ready to make preseason predictions given there are some unconfirmed roster implications.

[kevdog]

Everyone's schedules are now up. Lot of the same from last year.  Can't see any real non challenging out of conference schedule aside from Bard.   Good to see Vassar get Middlebury, it's not often Liberty League teams play the NESCAC in the regular season.

As it stands the most intriguing matchups seem to be Hobart vs JHU and UMW, Vassar vs West Conn, MSU and Middlebury, SLU vs Cortland and Oneonta and RPI vs UMW and Oneonta.

Still not ready to make preseason predictions given there are some unconfirmed roster implications.

St. Lawrence use to play Hamilton and Middlebury on a regular basis back in the early 90's.  In fact Durocher's first 3 games as a HC was against the defending Division III champion Elizabethtown and a final 4 Division 1 Vermont.  Of course they also played in one of the best division 3 school league in nation with RIT, Ithaca, Hobart, and Clarkson as one of them being ranked in the top 5 and the others in the 10-20.  Plattsburgh St. was also on their schedule who were very good.  I think Williams plays RPI this year or they have in the past.  I am glad that the Liberty League and NESAC are plyaing against each other.  Could be a very interesitng upcoming season.  Best of luck to all the teams.

[stlawus]

Hamilton of course used to be in the league. SLU-Hamilton was always a great matchup.  Saint of Old still has open wounds as a result of the Continentals, but Durocher usually got the best of them.  The Saints are 26-19-10 all time against them, with lion's share of the wins coming under Durocher's tenure.   Overall I suspect Hamilton likes being an exclusive NESCAC member but one has to think they would be better off in the Liberty League.