Liberty League

[Saint of Old]

Thats  why you do it with a young man who can build a legacy himself with support of the school.

This coach clearly has great mentors who has shown him what it is about. Worked and attended programs with championship roots.

I wish him luck... not too much, but you know what I mean

[stlawus]

We're a ways off from the start of the next season, but I figure I'll try to stoke some discussion.  Anyone have predictions for next year in terms of standings?   I have SLU glasses on obviously, but one would have to think they'll get quite a few first place votes.  They lose some defenders and Reynolds, but Sibanda is back who is good enough to make up any loss.   Max Mogul came on the 2nd half of the season and played a crucial role in the Saints run through the LL tournament, and he'll only be a sophomore next season.  Couple defenders will be lost to graduation so that aspect remains to be seen.   

RPI loses quite a bit to graduation, though you can never count them out with Clinton running the show.  Gaudiano seemed to have been figured out last season, so a lot is riding on his performance.

Ithaca loses a good deal, and Vassar will lose some impact players as well.  They do have some goal scorers returning next season, so they will likely be up there at the start. 

A team to look out for in my opinion is RIT.  Some really good young players who will be looking to take another step forward. 

I am hoping Toshack is hitting the recruiting trail hard in the offseason!

[Ejay]

The program that intrigues me now is Union.  Union has a lot going for it as a school, and now with a new coach (and hopefully new philosophy) I would not be surprised if they were consistent contenders within the next 2-3 years. 

[stlawus]

Only if they finally strengthen their schedule.  If they keep scheduling the usual slate of cupcakes they'll never make the leap.

[Ejay]

That's the "new philosophy" I was referencing.  I assume new coach will be interested in upgrading from Albany Pharmacy, which would make them a legit option decent recruits.

[Saint of Old]

Union is in a tough spot, but a little hard work and knee (elbow)grease should do the trick with anew coach getting good support.
Problem in this league is that it is so tough to break out out of the bottom half to the to the top half, and even harder to be elite and possibly win the league.
Best example was Clarkson a few years back who played well for a season or 2 and made a final, then fell back the season after that.
Clinton and Jennings held on to the upper half of the league with RPI and Vassar  and are coaches who at this point can rinse and repeat with a tried and proven formula.
There is also Skidmore to contend with who run like horses and are always going to be fighting for top half.
Hobart since the 90s are at the top end of the league and not going anywhere with a super experienced coach as well.
SLU showed that even on a REALLY bad season they can have a flashback and destroy people.

That means Union will have to overcome atleast 2 of the above5 teams to get to where they want to be, top half and consistently challenging. It can be done, but will take very hard work.
This is an extremely competitive league. Unfortunately, Idont think it gets the respect it deserves... normally 1 bid and at times 2 to the dance, but some good football is played and the competition is always high.

Last season was a perfect example.

[Ejay]

Being in a tough spot isn't unique to Union.  As you noted, the league is extremely competitive so there are no guarantees of year-over-year success.  Look at Vassar as an example.  Since 2012, they've finished:
1st - 1x
2nd - 2x
3rd - 2x
4th - 2x
5th - 1x
6th - 1x

With a new coach and new philosophy, there's zero reason Union can't be competitive with the top of the league. I liken them to Gettysburg who isn't ever the consensus #1 team in the Centennial, but they're certainly a good enough team to compete at the top of their league.  Under new management, Union should find themselves in a similar situation.  They will never be the runaway favorite in the Liberty, but within 2-3 years they should no longer be a 2-7 bottom feeder. The school has a lot going for it outside of soccer, so improvements on the field will definitely make it a more attractive option for recruits.

[Saint of Old]

Yes. Jennings had that program as a constant threat to the teams up North. Tough place to go and play.
I feel like Vassar are securely and consistently at the top end of the league though... maybe just my perception.
Great points on Union though. The one thing I know is that the alumni is a passionate group and will be helping out in the transition.
You really only need to finish 6th in the league ad you have a shot at dancing, like SLU showed last year.
Clarkson and RIT are there fighting the same fight and Bard wont be sleeping forever either... like Union it has a nice campus and good reputation to attract quality talent.

[stlawus]

Not much going on these days obviously, but I see that Marvin Sibanda is starting for the Arkansas Wolves in the NPSL for the summer season.  Hopefully he gets some good experience and turns it into a phenomenal year for the Scarlet and Brown!

[OldNed]

Hey Liberty League guys,
my son is going to be a grad assistant coach for a Liberty League team for the next 2 years, so I'm going to try to become much more familiar with the ins and outs of the LL.  I've mostly followed New England teams up to now, but I had nephews who played at RPI and I know St. Lawrence has Sibanda so they've got a good shot to get back to the tournament next year.  Who else should I be looking out for, both as far as teams and players in the LL next year?

[stlawus]

I'd keep an eye on RIT.  They have the reigning LL rookie of the year in Jaden Longdon and the Tigers had a very solid season.  They return a pretty good core this year as well.   

I expect RPI to be down a bit given the amount of seniors and 5th years they had last season, but their coaching staff should keep them competitive.

Hobart is always a team to watch.  They had some bad luck last year, but had several freshman and sophomores on the All Liberty League teams last season. 

[stlawus]

Schedules are starting to trickle in.  Clarkson, Hobart and Vassar with their full schedules up.   SLU's isn't up yet but so far they have SUNY Potsdam, SUNY Canton and Plattsburgh on the non-con docket.    I would assume Cortland and Oneonta will be on there as well, which leaves 2 or 3 more non-con games.     Last year the rest of the league had all the schedules posted around mid July.

[deutschfan]

Didn't know y'all would be starting so early.  Glad to see the preseason banter.  It will be interesting to see Union's schedule and whether the new regime changes the approach of its predecessor.  I never understood Coach Guinn's scheduling strategy.  While pre-league patsies might make for early wins and accolades, Union was woefully unprepared for league competition.  Guinn had an excellent sideline presence and generated team excitement on the field.  Unfortunately the league results were abysmal, especially in the past few years.  I was surprised by Vassar's hire of Coach Hood.  I thought they would replace Coach Jennings with someone with college level head coaching experience.  Vassar's results over the past decade have placed them in the top echelon of Liberty League teams, and given the academic prestige of the school, its head coach position is a plum job.  I also assumed that if Vassar promoted an assistant coach it would be one that was home grown as opposed to coming from one of their top rivals.  It will be interesting to see how it turns out, especially against SLU.  When Coach Taylor left Vassar for Clarkson in 2014 he won his first game against his mentor. 

[Saint of Old]

If there is one thing we can all agree on new regimes is that they are unpredictable.
Wishing the young coach good luck.

Vassar have indeed cemented themselves as a power in the league.

This leaves Clinton from RPI as the most experienced coach in the league.

Jennings was a powerhouse, and I dont think he gets quite the credit he deserves. He built the Vassar program, brick a brick and had them always competing for a title or going deep into the league tourney with a couple dances thrown in for good measure.
He is a class act and will leave huge shoes to be filled. The gap in talent in down state and upstate is huge, ask any of the CUNY schools, yet Jennings always had Vassar competing at the very top.

SimpleCoach should do a feature on him. Great service for 2 decades including being an Athletic Director  and seeing it from a bigger side.

As for the league, I have not seen this much parity in a long time or ever. The 5th place team who did not play that well ended up in the dance after winning the Tourney. A top contender loses their coach after a couple decades at the helm. Skidmore always a threat RIT always a threat, same for Hobart... this league is wide open and will likely beat each other up again, leading to just a single NCAA bid going to the luckiest team playing the best ball at the business end of the season.

[stlawus]

I am going to differ from my Laurentian brother and predict that the league will be top heavy with 2 or 3 teams and then everyone else. The league has been snubbed in Pool C in recent years (Ithaca in 2018 comes to mind) so I don't know if I'll go as far as to say 2 teams will make the dance, but I get the feeling there won't be as much parity.    This take will most likely age like milk, but I'm sticking with it.