Liberty League

[stlawus]

One of the things I like most about Tosh is how he acts immediately after a game ends. Very gracious after a win, and after his team bows out in shootout exit he's still congratulating and offering words to every opposing team player. Some may see these as small or expected gestures but after seeing the way some staffs around the country (and in the league for that matter) conduct themselves in the post game it's something for this program to hang their hat on.  Great representation of SLU on Tosh's part.

[deutschfan]

Tosh is certainly a gentleman.  Kudos to Vassar for their first double.  Last time they won the regular season in 2012 they lost in PKs in the final.  Given their NPI they are unlikely to have an easy draw in the first round and it seems like pretty much every team east of the Mississippi will be playing a NESCAC squad by the second round.  St Law is right--7 bids is absurd if it goes down that way.  For SLU it was a season on the brink with late heroics against Vassar in the regular season and against Skidmore in the semis keeping them in the conversation.  Their current NPI will not generate an invitation to the dance unless the committee mistakenly inverts their number.  Another 1 bid year for the LL.  Hopefully it is not 1 and out like last year.  Case was a tough first round draw for Hobart. 

[ArsenalFan]

Hard loss for the Saints today. I thought they did well to absorb some of the early pressure from Vassar. You have to do that playing away in a cup final. Vassar had the better of play but it wasn't lopsided by any stretch. SLU created problems for them and the game could have fairly gone either way. I'm gutted for the boys who gave a really good account of themselves this season. I hope Tosh can go out and bring in a banner class with some kids who will be ready to step in as freshman next year. I care little about their background or where they come from - I want to see quality footballers.  And that the returners invest themselves in the offseason - which starts tomorrow for any player who truly wants to do something special with their short time in Canton.

[Saint of Old]

I will save my assessment of the team playing style and lack of diversity in recruiting for another day.
For now I want to give great props to the Dutchman, who signed off his career at Canton in style with a wicked goal that will go down in SLU history.
He can leave knowing he wrote his page very well in the Book of Saints.
Another great Saint was  Saint Maxima.
I met him as ayoung freshman playing beyond his years in the NCAA quite a while ago!
He improved each and every single year and was a joy to watch.
He has great talent and also great work ethic. A combination used by the greats in this game to great effect.
Besides another winger from a Saint team in the days of old... he was maybe the first man to wear the #7 shirt all 4 years.
My hat is off to you kid. You are a great Saint.
Dutchman and Max can leave knowing the program is in great hands.
Henry Scarlet and  Brown is here to keep this thing going.
Amazing job boys.
You should all be proud of an amazing season.

[Saint_Dad]

What an amazing game! The best performance I've seen by a pair of keepers. George from SLU refused to let one go in, and his defense recorded 3 saves of their own.
Undefeated their last 16 games of the season after losing the first two, SLU will not be going to the dance. But Nescac will be sending 8?
Saint of old gave nice parting comments for Max and Sam. I concur, and would also add that Will Baker was one of the toughest never say quit defenders. Owen Lillis a great talented defender on the other side who added to the offense with his great ball skills. And the keeper, George Charalambous, who patiently waited an extra year to get his opportunity.  George showed just how good a keeper he is, in a conference with some of the best keepers in the country.
It was a shame it had to end. Congrats to Vassar. Hope you give a good showing in the NCAAs. 

[stlawus]

Lol of course Vassar gets sent to Middlebury to play Rowan in the first round.  The disrespect of this league continues.  Hope Vassar bulldozes their way through the pod to put everyone else on notice.

[Saint_Dad]

Rowan is the 29th seed and Vassar is ranked 39th, but 35th ranked team in tourney.  So 29 vs 35 is pretty accurate. Playing the one seed after that seems fine.  So I don't have a problem with it. I really hope they take Rowan, so we can see what a Liberty League vs Nescac game looks like.

[College Soccer Observer]

Let's look at recent history to see what the LL has done in the tournament.

2023 Hobart lost to Case Western
2022 Vassar advanced on PKs in 1st round vs Babson, knocked out on PKs vs Bowdoin
2021 St. Lawrence lost to Washington College
2019 Ithaca beat Keene St., lost to Amherst; RPI beat Eastern Nazarene, advanced on PK vs Middlebury, beat Messiah, lost to Amherst.

Record of 3 W, 4 L, 3 Ties in last 4 tournaments.  No wins without PK since 2019. 

[deutschfan]

You forgot in 2022 St. Lawrence advancing in PKs in Round 1 and then losing to Amherst.  While I respect SLU greatly, I rarely feel bad for them as I think they rarely get the short end of the stick either from the LL or the NCAA.  That said, their omission from the tournament this year is a travesty.  Maybe not if you go just by the NPI math but the notion that you can lose your first two games, one to a very strong Cortland team, and then go undefeated the rest of the way and not make the dance makes no sense to me.  I don't know how ties are rated but I do know that Williams had a ton of ties in 2022, was a bubble team, and made it to the finals.  The notion that 6 NESCAC get at large bids and the LL none given SLU's performance this year just frosts me.

[PaulNewman]

You forgot in 2022 St. Lawrence advancing in PKs in Round 1 and then losing to Amherst.  While I respect SLU greatly, I rarely feel bad for them as I think they rarely get the short end of the stick either from the LL or the NCAA.  That said, their omission from the tournament this year is a travesty.  Maybe not if you go just by the NPI math but the notion that you can lose your first two games, one to a very strong Cortland team, and then go undefeated the rest of the way and not make the dance makes no sense to me.  I don't know how ties are rated but I do know that Williams had a ton of ties in 2022, was a bubble team, and made it to the finals.  The notion that 6 NESCAC get at large bids and the LL none given SLU's performance this year just frosts me.

Just wait until you find out NESCAC got SEVEN at large for a total of EIGHT.

[stlawus]

Once I saw that the dials had SOS weighted 75% of the NPI formula I had a feeling this would happen.  I don't think SLU makes it under the old system, but independent of my own stake in the tournament field no conference should get that many at large bids.  Completely contra to the mission of division 3. 

[paclassic89]

Even worse, the SOS dial was at 85% this year.  Also, the QWB multiplier was set at .750 which increased the value of "quality" ties.

[Saint_Dad]

You forgot in 2022 St. Lawrence advancing in PKs in Round 1 and then losing to Amherst.  While I respect SLU greatly, I rarely feel bad for them as I think they rarely get the short end of the stick either from the LL or the NCAA.  That said, their omission from the tournament this year is a travesty.  Maybe not if you go just by the NPI math but the notion that you can lose your first two games, one to a very strong Cortland team, and then go undefeated the rest of the way and not make the dance makes no sense to me.  I don't know how ties are rated but I do know that Williams had a ton of ties in 2022, was a bubble team, and made it to the finals.  The notion that 6 NESCAC get at large bids and the LL none given SLU's performance this year just frosts me.

Agreed.  Their first loss was with their third string freshman goalie, and they dominated Cortland the first half until their legs gave out in the 80th minute of back to back games.  Sure, it would have been better to have more wins than ties. But who knows if it was even possible to move up to 33 after losing the first two games. 70th with 16 in a row without a loss. Meanwhile Hamilton is 30? Anyway. Would have loved to see Mogul, Brown and Pijpers take on a NESCAC team with Diaz and Charalombous leading the defense.  The seniors will be missed, but I expect good things from them next year as well.

[kevdog]

That is no excuse to have back to back games for a loss. It is the same for the other team and use to be how it was every weekend for years. Some games were not even 24 hours between games. You have to do it in the NCAA tournament so you might as well get some experience in how it is.

[Another Mom]

Isn't that why you have a deep bench?