Liberty League

[TheSwayzeTrain]

Time will tell. Just unfortunate to see teams having good years not get in and a St. Lawrence gets a bid because they are just known for being a tournament team. Rochester is like that too, getting an at large going 8-4-5 (going on memory here) a year or two ago. I think with the NESCAC down this year it opens up some conferences getting other bids. No way that the 4th NESCAC team is better than the 2nd best Liberty or SUNYAC squad. For that style of soccer, they get too much love.

[Mr.Right]

First of all SLU will not get get a Pool C this year as it stands right now unless they win out and lose in Final. Nescac is not down this year. Amherst, Tufts, Wes and Conn all have good Pool C chances with Midd another possible one. In the Liberty, Skidmore is the best team right now for a couple reasons and I have stated them more than once. Yes, they are a bit anemic scoring and will not be able to come back from a 2-goal deficit against some of the top teams in the country but they are extremely athletic and organized and have a GK who is very solid. That makes for a good tournament team come November. Comparing Skidmoe and RPI you can see that both teams struggle to score against better competition but the difference is RPI is not as athletic as Skidmore. They sat 7 deep against Williams and frustrated them but still only had 2 VERY good scoring chances. Those %'s are not good. A 4-4-1 Williams side has now beaten a couple of your "top" teams in the East, Oneonta and RPI. Oneonta, with 3 losses cannot afford another slip either as there only real significant win is at MSU.

[Mr.Right]

Actually, SLU at 8-3-2 has more of a shot then I realized because they have 2 wins against teams that will be ranked Rowan and Plattsburgh. If they can beat Skidmore who I also feel will be ranked in 2 weeks then they are starting to produce 3-4 wins v ranked opponents and will have a shot.

[TheSwayzeTrain]

Can understand your loyalty to the NESCAC. Regarding Williams results against "top" East teams, they beat Oneonta early in the year at home. Oneonta certainly wasn't playing the level of soccer they are now as they just got their first blemish after ripping off 6 straight wins. Eventhough their opponents weren't ranked, conference games are always tough in the majority of conferences, including the SUNYAC. I don't think the result would be the same if they met again. They got RPI possibly at their worst during their second half of the season slump. RPI is ranked as a top team in the East because their coach is on the committee who fights to rank his team there. They are a ranked team, but certainly not a "top" team in the East.
St. Lawrence could be in a good position come the end of the season. 3 of 4 left at home, and they only have to travel down the road to Clarkson on the last day. With two regionally ranked teams left to play, arguably a third with Union as they could sneak on the next poll, they control their own finish. Based on their last couple games its hard to predict what those results will be seeing as we don't know which St. Lawrence team will show up on the day.
Based on regional rankings, New England has 3 NESCAC's, #1, #9, #10, with a lot of teams between them that are strong or have very good records. Endicott will be tested for the first time in a while meeting Williams as I am not quite sold on them. In the East, apart from Plattsburgh, Oneonta, Stevens and some would argue for Rochester; the next poll could potentially have 6 Liberty League teams on it if Union sneaks on as they usually do this time of year. There aren't a ton of teams making a statement to get on that ranking. With the Liberty going as it is, besides Bard and Clarkson no team has taken themselves out of the post season question.

[Flying Weasel]

There have been a number of suggestions that teams have gotten (and could again get) at-large bids on name recognition.  Anyone want to give a specific example?  I can't think of any cases of this over the past 5 to 10 years besides maybe Rochester who was gotten in with some high loss totals.  Salisbury last year was questionable, but Salisbury was questionably left out one year if memory serves.  The committee loves high SOS and wins vs. ranked teams, and their selections reflect this.  There's plenty about the system and process that I do not like (e.g. flawed SOS calc. and over-emphasis on SOS), but I haven't sensed any name-recognition selections.

[Sandy]

SLU playing on Sandy will help them. Having a new coach coupled with some untimely injuries to key players is never a good combination to have and yet this is where they find themselves. Hopefully they get their act together for this weekend and close out the regular season strong.

[Saint of Old]

Very true.
Actually, both SLU and Union are in better position than it seems.

Either way, this game is a must win for the men from Canton!

[TheSwayzeTrain]

Any predictions for the weekend? I believe Skidmore does not have conference games this weekend so that will allow the gap to be narrowed at the top of the table. One of those weekends where two wins could get you into the post season or two losses means better luck next year. Game of the weekend for me is Vassar @ Hobart.

[Mr.Right]

SLU playing on Sandy will help them. Having a new coach coupled with some untimely injuries to key players is never a good combination to have and yet this is where they find themselves. Hopefully they get their act together for this weekend and close out the regular season strong.

At 8-3-2 SLU is still in control of their own destiny. Try being Williams at 4-4-2 with a new coach and no injuries.

[Ommadawn]

Any predictions for the weekend? I believe Skidmore does not have conference games this weekend so that will allow the gap to be narrowed at the top of the table. One of those weekends where two wins could get you into the post season or two losses means better luck next year. Game of the weekend for me is Vassar @ Hobart.

I'll give it a go! Here are my picks:

SLU 2 - RPI 0. The nightmare continues for the Engineers.
Union 2 - Clarkson 1 A big road victory for the Dutchmen.
RIT 1 - Bard 0 The Tigers roar back into contention (sorry).
Hobart 2 - Vassar 0 The Statesmen look to capitalize on their upset of SLU.

SLU 2 - Union 1 It's tough to go against the Saints at home.
RPI 1 - Clarkson 1 Coach Taylor's boys are a tough out.
Hobart 3  - Bard 0 Talent prevails.
RIT 1 - Vassar 0 The home team gets the job done.

[deutschfan]

Here goes at least in the games between contenders for playoff spots:
SLU 1 v. RPI 0
Hobart 0 v. Vassar 0
SLU 2 v. Union 1
Vassar 3 v. RIT 1

While my posts have been less than positive about SLU's season to date, this is the weekend they will turn it around against a free-falling RPI team and an over-achieving Union squad.  Hobart v. Vassar is a game between two very hungry teams who each should have had 0-0 results last weekend.  I see Vassar's offense coming out of hibernation against RIT. 

[Mr.Right]

I will give it a go...Home team listed 1st...Fast Food style
Most teams are halfway thru the schedule so this weekend is MASSIVE


SLU v  RPI----------------0-0   Both teams need this game. The loser could be in trouble. RPI sits deep and will try to counter. RPI's rest of the years schedule is not favorable.
Clarkson v Union---------0-1   Union playing with more confidence and I thought the one game I saw at RPI they looked like a decent side and outplayed RPI.
RIT v Bard ---------------0-0   RIT I have not seen but I think they are lucky to have 2 league wins already.
Hobart v Vassar----------2-1   I say Hobart goes clean on the weekend and puts them in the drivers seat to qualify for LL Tournament.

SLU v Union--------------2-0   
Clarkson v RPI-----------0-1
Hobart v Bard------------2-0
RIT v Vassar-------------0-3

[stlawus]

SLU beats RPI 3-0.  Big win for the Saints.  RPI never looked threatening, 2 shots and only 1 on goal.  All 3 goals coming from freshmen.

[Mr.Right]

I think RPI finally came back down to earth.

SLU and Hobart will battle it out for 2nd / 3rd...Hobart Frosh got ANOTHER goal. He is the real deal.

Skidmore will most likely be hosting.

The 4th team will either be Vassar or Union.

After today's games it will become much clearer

[stlawus]

Crazy finish to the first half between SLU and Union.  Scramble in front of the net sees SLU put one in at the very last second of the half.