2014 D3 Season: National Perspective

[gustiefan04]

CC is pretty isolated. It's not practical for them to travel anywhere. I've been following d3 soccer for over a decade. The financials are a big driver in travel/match ups, particularly with early round games. I believe this is even reflected in the NCAA handbook, but there are exceptions from time to time.

[backyarddawg]

A ton of good match-ups this weekend:

Brandeis @ Rochester  1:00 pm
Oneonta St @ Plattsburgh 1:00 pm
Chicago @ Emory 11:00 am
CNU @ Frostburg 2:00 pm
Wheaton (MA) @ MIT 1:00 pm
Wash U @ CMU 11:00 am
Wesleyan @ Williams 12:00 pm
Tufts @ Conn 2:30 pm
Haverford @ Dickinson 7:00 pm


Any I am sure many more.

Who do people got?

[PaulNewman]

backyarddog, great call on Muhlenberg in the other thread.

Apologies to Brandeis at Rochester, but your list above left out the biggest game of the day, which is DePauw at OWU (7:00 pm).

I see Rochester tripping up Brandeis, mostly because Rochester desperately needs a huge win to get back on track.

I think Wesleyan has enough to win at Williams.

Tempted to pick MIT but Wheaton (MA) needs to reassert how good they are.

CNU continues rolling, as does Oneonta.

Chicago upsets Emory and Wash U finds a way to get by CMU.

Can't decide on Haverford-Dickinson so I'll call that a draw.

As for the massive DePauw-OWU tilt, it's hard to picture either team losing this one.  Will have tournament-level intensity, DePauw is the only NCAC squad to beat OWU in the last 4 years, and I believe both times it was on OWU's famed Roy Rike pitch.

[blooter442]

UChicago pulls the upset 1-0 at Emory. Surprise of the season (so far) for me.

[blooter442]

Brandeis losing 2-0 at Rochester. Having missed the second half livestream, I've heard that both of Rochester's goals have been somewhat fortunate (a cross that went top corner and a corner kick—unconfirmed) but from what I saw in the first half the Judges didn't created a whole lot and have been outshot. Thus, U of R probably deserves to be in front.

[KnightFalcon]

Messiah survives a challenge at Lebanon Valley winning 3-2 after falling behind early 1-0.

[PaulNewman]

Colton Bloecher, the senior All-American at OWU, proved again why he is one of the best and most clutch players in D3.  In a massive NCAC duel where DePauw and OWU battled to a 0-0 scoreline through 84 minutes, Bloecher delivered an EPL-quality free kick from 25 yards out to stun the Tigers.  3 minutes later Bloecher earned a PK for OWU that made the victory look more comfortable than it was.  Over his 4 years Bloecher has decided games in the final 5-10 minutes (and I believe in the final 10 seconds on one occasion against Denison) too many times to count. 

The loss has to be a bitter pill for DePauw who were denied a NCAA bid last year and now are likely looking down the barrel of having to win consecutive road games in Delaware and Gambier (or Gambier and Delaware) in the NCAC tourney to earn a bid.  On the other hand, the Great Lakes region does not have the number of teams with stellar records thus far as in recent years, so the region either is going to earn less bids or a team with a more mediocre record than usual may get in.  We wait to see what happens with Wabash, whether John Carroll can win the regular season OAC crown and their tournament, and if a Carnegie Mellon and/or Centre forces their way into serious consideration.  Carnegie Mellon has rebounded from a very rough start (but has a gauntlet of better UAA teams to play) and Centre had a nice 4-0 win over Berry last night.  A wild card would be a team like Ohio Northern, currently out of the picture, surging to win the OAC tournament.

[D3soccerwatcher]

Messiah survives a challenge at Lebanon Valley winning 3-2 after falling behind early 1-0.

The score certainly looks like it was a challenge, but the stat sheet shows a somewhat different story.

[D3soccerwatcher]

Keep an eye on Wheaton (Ill).  They just keep winning.

[PaulNewman]

Wheaton(Ill) indeed is a strong final four candidate and arguably one of the few teams equipped to go head-to-head against Messiah.

Upstarts Gordon and Lycoming have now dropped two in a row.

Dickinson wins impressively against a red-hot Haverford squad and are looking like a worthy challenger to F&M.  Gettysburg has gone in a tailspin, so Muhlenberg and Haverford seem to be the other Centennial bid candidates at the moment.

The Salisbury loss was surprising, as the Sea Gulls seem to be a popular darkhorse choice nationally.  CNU stumbles to a draw at Frostburg, and York just continues to lose.

Rutgers-Newark has won 13 in a row, and has played 15 games overall (while many schools have only played 11 or 12).  Montclair quietly has rattled off 7 wins in a row since a loss to Messiah, and don't look now but Rutgers-Camden at 8-6 overall is 4-1 in the NJAC.

Oneonta keeps rolling, and in the Liberty SLU has won 7 straight with RPI and Vassar still in a good position.

Carnegie Mellon and Chicago remarkably sit atop the UAA, and Chicago suddenly looks viable with a huge road win at previously unbeaten Emory and what must be one of the highest SOSs in the country.  Wash U currently is in the UAA basement at 0-2.  Rochester came through in a game it really had to win against powerhouse Brandeis.

Calvin has run off 10 straight.

Tufts is looking more and more legit and should be a formidable NCAA tournament foe.  Middlebury, who some viewed as a strong contender for #2 in the NESCAC has slumped.  Williams (don't count them out unless they are mathematically eliminated) got a massive win at home over Wesleyan just when I thought the Cardinals were ready to separate themselves as a top 3 NESCAC squad.

The Loras crowd seems more subdued than usual.  They remain positioned just fine while not blowing everyone out.  Is Loras vulnerable or are they just treading water until tourney time?  A big clash at home next Saturday with Luther looms.

[Midwest Soccer]

Colton Bloecher, the senior All-American at OWU, proved again why he is one of the best and most clutch players in D3.  In a massive NCAC duel where DePauw and OWU battled to a 0-0 scoreline through 84 minutes, Bloecher delivered an EPL-quality free kick from 25 yards out to stun the Tigers.  3 minutes later Bloecher earned a PK for OWU that made the victory look more comfortable than it was.  Over his 4 years Bloecher has decided games in the final 5-10 minutes (and I believe in the final 10 seconds on one occasion against Denison) too many times to count. 

As many great players that OWU has had, it's hard to think about one player that has meant more to his team than Bloecher does to this one. Without him, it's scary to think what their record would be. Bloecher also was a starter on the 2011 championship team who if I remember correctly, scored a huge goal in the elite 8 against Hope and delivered a great assist on the tying goal vs ONU in the round of 16.

I think the more deserving team won the game last night at OWU. I guess we will see how legit Wabash is when they travel to Delaware this week. Their belief tank is probably as high as anyones in the country and deservedly so, for a program that has been synonymous with last place and sub .500 seasons, they should be over the moon with their season so far, weak scheduling or not.

The Messiah train keeps rolling. Wheaton keeps rolling. Trinity (TX) keeps rolling. Kenyon keeps rolling. I don't know much about the northeast but Amherst continues their 3 year stretch of being undefeated in regular season games sitting at 9-0-2 as of now. Is this the year they get out now that Williams is down?

[PaulNewman]

Wabash escapes in Meadville 4-3 with winning goal at 89:48.  Wabash came back from 2-1 deficit in lst half, led 3-2, Allegheny tied at 3 with about 11 minutes left, and Allegheny seemed to dominate possession with numerous corners and throws deep in Wabash territory, and then the Little Giants hit on the counter in the last 20 seconds.  Happy ride back to Crawfordsville as they get ready for the trip to Delaware.

[backyarddawg]

Saw Dickinson won 3-1 vs Haverford- anyone watch the game? 

[Professional Ballboy]

Wheaton(Ill) indeed is a strong final four candidate and arguably one of the few teams equipped to go head-to-head against Messiah.

Upstarts Gordon and Lycoming have now dropped two in a row.

Dickinson wins impressively against a red-hot Haverford squad and are looking like a worthy challenger to F&M.  Gettysburg has gone in a tailspin, so Muhlenberg and Haverford seem to be the other Centennial bid candidates at the moment.

The Salisbury loss was surprising, as the Sea Gulls seem to be a popular darkhorse choice nationally.  CNU stumbles to a draw at Frostburg, and York just continues to lose.


CNU did not STUMBLE.  FSU has the 3rd best defense in the country.  Jalon Brown did not know what to do and after watching this it is evident that he is in a more difficult conference.  Its amazing that FSU started, I believe 6 or 8 freshman against this nationally ranked team and held them off. 
Rutgers-Newark has won 13 in a row, and has played 15 games overall (while many schools have only played 11 or 12).  Montclair quietly has rattled off 7 wins in a row since a loss to Messiah, and don't look now but Rutgers-Camden at 8-6 overall is 4-1 in the NJAC.

Oneonta keeps rolling, and in the Liberty SLU has won 7 straight with RPI and Vassar still in a good position.

Carnegie Mellon and Chicago remarkably sit atop the UAA, and Chicago suddenly looks viable with a huge road win at previously unbeaten Emory and what must be one of the highest SOSs in the country.  Wash U currently is in the UAA basement at 0-2.  Rochester came through in a game it really had to win against powerhouse Brandeis.

Calvin has run off 10 straight.

Tufts is looking more and more legit and should be a formidable NCAA tournament foe.  Middlebury, who some viewed as a strong contender for #2 in the NESCAC has slumped.  Williams (don't count them out unless they are mathematically eliminated) got a massive win at home over Wesleyan just when I thought the Cardinals were ready to separate themselves as a top 3 NESCAC squad.

The Loras crowd seems more subdued than usual.  They remain positioned just fine while not blowing everyone out.  Is Loras vulnerable or are they just treading water until tourney time?  A big clash at home next Saturday with Luther looms.

[PaulNewman]

Professional Ballboy, no disrespect was intended.

When a highly nationally ranked team outshoots the opponent 25 to 6 and 12 to 1 for SOG, AND misses a PK, I would call that stumbling to a draw.  Obviously Frostburg did a great job holding them off, especially the GK, but the highly rated defense still yielded 25 shots and from the CNU point of view I'm guessing it's a game where they feel they shouldn't have dropped points.

And I would guess that Jalon Brown will be fine.