2014 D3 Season: National Perspective

[Flying Weasel]

According to the interactive bracket (http://www.ncaa.com/interactive-bracket/soccer-men/d3) the men's Sectional hosts are: Oneonta St., Wheaton (Ill.), Muhlenberg, and Kenyon.

And now the women's interactive brackets are indicating Messiah, Chicago, Carnegie Mellon, and Williams as Sectional hosts.

[Cheesehead Henry]

Can anyone give a breakdown of the sweet sixteen teams? Important players, the way each team prefers to play...etc? Just stirring the pot a bit as we have another week of waiting!

[PaulNewman]

Given the number of OT and especially PK games, it seems remarkable that all 4 sectionals boast two heavyweight matchups.  There isn't a weak matchup in any sectional, and some of them are outright compelling.  Wish I could see every one of them in person.  What a tournament so far.

[Christan Shirk]

It has been asked how the number of overtime games and PK's this season compare historically.  Well, here you go:

YEAR	TOTAL GAMES	OT GAMES	PK's
1974	16	5 (31%)	0 (0%)
1975	16	3 (19%)	0 (0%)
1976	16	5 (31%)	1 (6%)
1977	16	1 (6%)	2 (13%)
1978	16	3 (19%)	1 (6%)
1979	16	4 (25%)	0 (0%)
1980	24	9 (38%)	0 (0%)
1981	24	7 (29%)	1 (4%)
1982	23	5 (22%)	1 (4%)
1983	23	3 (13%)	2 (9%)
1984	23	6 (26%)	3 (13%)
1985	23	6 (26%)	2 (9%)
1986	23	5 (22%)	2 (9%)
1987	23	9 (39%)	7 (30%)
1988	23	7 (30%)	7 (30%)
1989	23	7 (30%)	3 (13%)
1990	31	9 (29%)	4 (13%)
1991	31	8 (26%)	4 (13%)
1992	31	8 (26%)	4 (13%)
1993	31	7 (23%)	4 (13%)
1994	31	10 (32%)	7 (23%)
1995	31	7 (23%)	4 (13%)
1996	31	8 (26%)	4 (13%)
1997	39	8 (21%)	4 (10%)
1998	39	11 (28%)	3 (8%)
1999	43	8 (19%)	3 (7%)
2000	43	4 (9%)	1 (2%)
2001	43	14 (33%)	4 (9%)
2002	43	12 (28%)	6 (14%)
2003	43	12 (28%)	8 (19%)
2004	43	9 (21%)	6 (14%)
2005	56	10 (18%)	5 (9%)
2006	56	12 (21%)	10 (18%)
2007	56	14 (25%)	7 (13%)
2008	57	16 (28%)	8 (14%)
2009	58	12 (21%)	11 (19%)
2010	59	17 (29%)	5 (8%)
2011	60	11 (18%)	5 (8%)
2012	61	15 (25%)	9 (15%)
2013	60	12 (20%)	3 (5%)
All-Time	1404	339 (24%)	161 (11%)
Last 10 Yrs.	566	128 (23%)	69 (12%)
2014	45	12 (27%)	8 (18%)

We've had 12 overtime games this year out of 45 total games.  That's 27% which is on the high side, but the rate was even higher as recently as 2010 (29%) and 2008 (28%). 

Eight games this year have required a penalty shootout.  That's 18% of all games and 67% of overtime games. Again, high, but not unusually so.

If instead of looking at the fluctuations of individual years, 5-year averages are considered, the percentage of overtimes games in the past decade and a half has stayed between 22 and 25%.  The percentage of overtime games that are subsequently decided by penalty kicks had been less steady.

[KICKIN95]

2007 was a huge year for PK's as well. Maybe not quantity as much as at what stage they took place. Middlebury rode on the back of their keeper Dan Brown and won the National Championship by eliminating Loras in the Final 4 and Trinity for the Championship match by  taking the game to PK's.  Brown was a beick wall that no team could seem to penatrate. 

[lastguyoffthebench]

Live Table:

UAA-           3-1-0      Brandeis and UR at 5pm    Chicago down 1-0 at Half
Nescac        4-0-1     Bowdoin at 5pm    2  possibly 3 teams in Sweet 16
Centennial   2-1-1      F&m at 5pm          1 possibly 2 teams in Sweet 16
Sunyac        3-1-0      2 teams in Sweet 16
Newmac       1-3-0     Heavily over ranked tams in Regional ranking.

The NCAC is 4-0 and is guaranteed to get one team in the elite 8...

Technically the NCAC is 2-0-2...

I think Kenyon should get to the final 4, but with two great games on the card it's wide open.

Still see Messiah reaching the final 4.

Wheaton vs Wartburg /  Loras vs Trinity... IIAC representing again.   I see Wheaton winning this one, but does Trinity get revenge from last year? 

Roll the dice on the Oneonta St sectional here too... 

[oldonionbag]

Question for the board: Who do you think has a better (notice I didn't say fair) match-up against Messiah in the Elite 8... Tufts or Muhlennberg? Why?

[blooter442]

Question for the board: Who do you think has a better (notice I didn't say fair) match-up against Messiah in the Elite 8... Tufts or Muhlennberg? Why?

Hard to say. I think the home-field advantage may be key for Muhlenberg, as their lone loss was on the road at F&M, but if it were at a neutral venue I would give a slight edge to Tufts. Given that the next two rounds are at Muhlenberg, I think it depends on what kind of game it would play out to be. Offensively, I think Tufts is the more likely to score against Messiah. Defensively, I think Muhlenberg might be a bit more solid, while Tufts is plagued by "off days."

The Jumbos seem to have (for the most part) rid themselves of the finishing woes that have plagued them for the last two years. Shapiro seems to have figured out that good things happen when Santos plays (duh). Greenwood has been excellent in goal. I really like Kayne as a player; I still think he should have been first team All-NESCAC over Hoppenot, but I digress.

I have only seen Muhlenberg a few times, but to their credit, Dotzman has an excellent 13 goals in 56 shots. That is a shot percentage of .232, which I think is incredible. Someone used the phrase "offensively challenged" when describing Muhlenberg, but I prefer to think that they are well-balanced and incredibly deep if not as offensive as they should be. They seem to be a very cohesive unit.

Excited to see the two square off on Saturday, which would be a great precursor to Sunday's matchup.

[stlawus]

STLAWUS the better team won.
Congratulate Amherst. This is not the way we act.

Now hope that they win it all.

Good job Amherst. Man down to a possession team with 15 minutes to play and they advance!

I disagree - the better team lost. With that said, SLU fell victim to the lack of a pure goal scoring threat again. Outside of Gorman few years back, I can't remember the Saints having an out and out striker with a killer instinct for gaol. The '99 team had loads of them, but that was a D1 team on the D3 level. Since then, they have had a ton of offensive minded middies. I hope they find a kid who can create separation up top, has the 1v1 ability, and a knack for the goal - they need it.

SLU does have a pure out and out striker, but he tore his ACL early in the year in the game against Potsdam. He's a transfer from Syracuse where he played on the team for a year.  He's insanely fast and can finish.  Team really missed him this year. He's a junior so he'll be back next year.

[Saint of Old]

True.
MS is a stud and can finish.
He will not be able to do it alone however. Other guys must step up.
The boyz had a good season.
The Senior class have a lot to be proud of.
4 trips to the NCAA
2 trips to the Sweet 16
3 Regular season Championships
2 League Tournament Championships
Perfect regular season as freshmen (First since '99)
66-9-8 record.

The Saints will be back.

[stlawus]

For sure.  3/4 of this year's back 4 will be back next year.  We'll lose our #10 and starting winger but the CAM spot is our most deep and Short played very well on the wing as a freshman. Everyone else is back.

[KICKIN95]

Wheaton vs Wartburg /  Loras vs Trinity... IIAC representing again.   I see Wheaton winning this one, but does Trinity get revenge from last year? 

[/quote]

After watching Loras play this weekend it is clear they have stepped up their performance level and are primed for the Tourney.  The Duhawks absolutely throttled the Bluejays of Westminster completely dominating both offense and defense.  The GAC match was a more balanced affair, GAC came out and tried to play possession and take advantage of their technical side of the game.  For the first 20 they looked to be the better side and in different conditions I think this game plan would have worked more to their advantage, but not on a frozen field turf surface.  Brown was held in check by great defending combined with slippery footing.  Both teams missed their early breakaway efforts and some "sitters".  Pizzello scoring just before half was a big blow to GAC mentally and after Loras scored their 2nd the wind completely left the Gusties sails and the Duhawks controlled the match. 
    The Trinity match last year was very much the same weather conditions as the GAC match sans the snowy surface.  If Loras can come out and find their groove in the first 5 minutes this game will tilt towards the Duhawks, but they will have to keep the Tiger's midfielders in check and impose the Loras game plan.  Trinity is a very solid team with some highly skilled players and needs to be corralled.  Loras has the skills, size, and the depths to take down the Tigers and I think that's just what will happen.

[KnightFalcon]

FYI - game time on Friday night in wheaton is showing clear skies with temps in the 20s. How will that impact Trinity? Surface should be free of snow and ice by then.

[KICKIN95]

Last year Trinity played Loras and it was clear skies and 12 degrees.  They didn't seem to be bothered by it to start off because the scored 9 minutes in to the match, but I think that it began to take it's toll on them as time went on.  Loras scored 2 in the 2nd to take the win.  I hope this proves true again.

[Jump4Joy]

Point of contention: While the Amherst coach may receive yellow cards here and there for dissent, I don't understand why folks are so against the boys on the bench. They are more spirited than their opponents (always), standing to shout and cheer for the entire game (they didn't sit on the heated bench nicely provided by SLU), but I'm not sure why people get so upset about it. What's so offensive about an enthusiastic bench?