2014 D3 Season: National Perspective

[PaulNewman]

OWU beats Oberlin tonight 4-1.  Impressive win.  Unclear why game scheduled for tomorrow night occurred today.

[PaulNewman]

Centre gets by Birm-Southern 1-0, leading in shots 24 to 13 (16 to 7 on goal).  The Colonels are now 7-2-5 and should have a pretty good SOS to go with it.

[wchandy22]

The dream of everyone on this board is to win NCAA championships and one day watch your son win one.  Nuff said.  Brandt is a genius.

Let's not forget that his daughter also won two NCs (and a POY) during her 3 years at Messiah.

It's a gorgeous day here in south-central PA and even though Messiah is without an opponent today, I am provided the opportunity to see one (or two) of the following matches, all just minutes away.  In order, they are: Swarthmore at Dickinson (1:00), CNU at Penn State-Harrisburg (2:00), and then Haverford at Franklin and Marshall (6:00).

What to do . . . what to do.

[lastguyoffthebench]

Psu Harrisburg, a 3 win season last year, now with wins over York, Salisbury, and CNU in 2014

[repete]

Amazing that Harrisburg has won those three being outshot 51-18. That's a tough trend to continue.

Not sure how it will play out but those bad losses -- S. Virginia, Hood and Wesley -- might mean the AQ is the only guarantee for the NCAA tournament.

[wchandy22]

York and Salisbury end in a scoreless draw; Wesley over Mary Washington 3-2 in OT.  With only Marymount at Frostburg left on today's CAC schedule, 7 of the 10 teams are still eligible for the playoffs.

Salisbury 5-1-2 (17)
Mary Washington 5-3-0 (15)
PS Harrisburg 5-3-0 (15)
St. Mary's 5-3-0 (15)
CNU 3-2-3 (12)
York 3-3-2 (11)
Frostburg 3-3-1 (10)
Wesley 3-5-0 (9)
So Virginia 2-6-0 (6)
Marymount 1-6-0 (3)

This should make for a very nervous and exciting Wednesday with the final regular season games:

PS-Hbg at Mary Wash
York at St. Mary's
Frostburg at So VA
Marymount at CNU
Salisbury at Wesley

[chelseafc30]

Lots of shuffling today in the NCAC. Denison trounces Wabash 4-0 and Allegheny beats Depauw 1-0. Kenyon handles Hiram 4-0, it looks like Kenyon's offensive struggles ended today. I'm not sure how this bad loss to Denison affects Wabash's tourney hopes, but it certainly puts a huge dent in them.

[wchandy22]

Wartburg up on Loras 1-0 early, goal by Azari.  Seems like a very enthusiastic crowd in attendance.  Very exciting game thus far with action at both ends.

[PaulNewman]

chelsea30, could be a devastating loss for Wabash and would likely have to win NCAC tourney or at least get to final to get a NCAA bid since they didn't even crack regional rankings yet.  They were aided by DePauw unbelievably losing to Allegheny.  Really shocked because I expected DePauw to be a top 12 team and top 25 team at worst.  DePauw still alive because if win at Wabash both would have 3 losses and DePauw would have head to head.  Denison would obviously have the head to head with Wabash at the moment but Denison finishes up with OWU and DePauw.  Wabash should still be in good shape to qualify for NCAC tourney IF they beat or even draw with DePauw, but their NCAA chances have really suffered now.  At the moment it is looking like Kenyon would have a home game with Wabash most likely (even if Wabash loses to DePauw) with Denison and DePauw playing for the last NCAC slot in the final game of the season.  Who benefits the most from today's NCAC results?  Probably Carnegie Mellon and Case Western.

Kenyon still had not scored 65 minutes into today's game with Hiram when the offense finally awakened from its long slumber.  We'll see soon enough if putting 4 on the board will jumpstart the Lords for the next few games.

[wchandy22]

Loras up 2-1 at the half with a header by Irwin (36th minute) followed by a goal by Perez (41st minute).  It continues to be a very exciting match with action up and down the pitch.  I am expecting a very exciting 2nd half.

[wchandy22]

Salisbury, PSU-Hbg, Mary Washington, and St. Mary's have all clinched berths in the CAC soccer playoffs with the final two positions up for grabs among the trio of Frostburg, CNU and York.  The current standings are as follows:

1. Salisbury [17], 2t. Penn St. Harrisburg [15], 2t. Mary Washington [15], 2t. St. Mary's [15], 5. Frostburg St. [13], 6. Chris. Newport [12], 7. York [11], 8. Wesley [9], 9. So. Virginia [6], 10. Marymount [3].

Frostburg is in with a win or tie against So. Virginia.  CNU, hosting Marymount, is in with a win or any result equal to or better than York.  York not only needs a win at St. Mary's but they will need either a loss by Frostburg or a loss (or tie) by CNU.

I was able to attend the PSU-Hbg / CNU match yesterday and had the following observations.  Even though CNU was the more dangerous side the Lion's were not without a bit of flair (especially with regards to Kline, Panuccio and Amedza) and did an excellent job of finishing the chances they were given.  The pitch was very small and I believe this assisted PSU-Hbg greatly as they could keep their defense compact at all times.  The final impression is one of utmost optimism for the future of this team.  This is a team that was 0-8 in the conference last year and has now secured a tournament spot and may even host a playoff game.   I talked with some of the parents and they mentioned that the athletic staff is proposing the design and construction of a new field (very near the existing field) so that they might be better situated to host NCAA tournament games in the future.  That's optimism . . . well done Lions!

[Ron Boerger]

The Weekend Ahead

Finally, University of Dallas is at Trinity (TX).  Trinity's only loss was very early to Texas-Dallas.  Can the other Dallas squad pull an upset?  I don't think Tony Romo is walking through that door.

Thanks for the mention.   UT-Dallas is decent side that is tied for the lead of the American Southwest; UDallas is a much smaller private school that wins about as often as they lose.   Trinity (TX) 4 - 0 U Dallas today.

[Soccergeek]

Big week ahead in the MIAA.  Although Calvin has already locked up the regular season title and is making a push for a number one seed in the NCAAs, the remaining three slots in the season-ending tournament are up for grabs among four teams: Hope, Kalamazoo, Olivet and the surprising Scots of Alma.  Each contender's schedule this week (games Wednesday and Saturday):

Hope: Hosts Alma, travels to Kalamazoo
Kalamazoo: Travels to Trine, hosts Hope
Olivet: Hosts Adrian, travels to Calvin
Alma: Travels to Hope, hosts Adrian

Good luck to each squad.

[Domino1195]

In the OAC, John Carroll locks up conference championship with their 3-2 victory over Capital.  And with two remaining games against teams that most likely will not make the conference playoffs, they have the option of resting some starters. JCU is a very solid team - physically and technically. If anything the coaching staff might be guilty of making tactical changes that negatively impact the team - as in losing a 4-1 lead at Otterbein and reducing the high pressure in the Capital game (ended first half with 3 goals in the last 7 minutes for a 3-1 lead; relaxed in the second and allowed Cap to get back in and almost tie things up).

If they apply high pressure continuously during conference tournament games they should win the OAC.  ONU is coming on but there are questions in the back; when the gain possession in the attacking third they are very strong. Cap and Otterbein should battle it out for third and fourth place. Schedule favors Otterbein to get two wins in their last two games.

Barring schedule changes (!) I will attend the OWU-Denison game Wednesday . . .

[PaulNewman]

Around the Horn with some Odds and Ends

A good number of high profile to fairly high profile teams continue to play themselves off or onto the right side of the bubble.  Wesleyan, Centre, Babson, North Park, Chicago, Rochester, Hope, Christopher Newport, Brockport, Rutgers-Newark, Rutgers, Camden, WPI, Carnegie Mellon, and Case Western come to mind. 

Does Luther have any worries?  What about Emory, surprisingly still ranked #1 in the South Atlantic, if they lose and/or draw a couple of the their final games?  Can GAC and/or Hobart play themselves on to the bubble, or are they already on?

How quickly things can change.  As noted above or in another thread, Christopher Newport went from very highly ranked nationally to struggling to qualify for the CAC tourney.  Kenyon was on the cusp of #1 in the land and within 4 days had dropped to 3rd in teh NCAC (although now back to 2nd).  Wesleyan seemed in pretty shape in the NESCAC and now may end up with a 1st round away game.  Denison went from devastation in a double OT loss to 3rd place in the NCAC (but they have OWU and DePauw as their final two games).  Hope seemed sure of a bid but now is in trouble.  Same with Babson.  Centre was looking good but then drops a home game.

Can both Dominican and MSOE get bids from the NACC?

With a regular season showdown looming, will Thomas More or Grove City take the PrAC?

Transylvania and Rose-Hulman are tied in the HCAC, and drew against each other, and both have to play 3rd place Anderson over the next week.

Will the SUNYAC get 3 bids?  Oneonta and Cortland should be locks, so what about Brockport?

The Centennial looks pretty clear with F&M, Dickinson and Muhlenberg all getting bidding barring another team snagging the AQ.

Montclair is in.  What about Rutgers-N and Rutgers-C?  And does Richard Stockton have an outside chance?

3 bids for the NWC?  Whitworth, Puget Sound, and surprising Willamette?  Willamette is 12-4-1 but 9-1-1 in conference.

Speaking of under the radar standouts, how about Minnesota-Morris in the UMAC at 9-1-2 in conference and 11-4-2 overall?

On the rankings front, F&M seems very deserving of the #2 slot and ready to take #1 should Messiah have a slip again (of course doubtful).  F&M has played a very strong schedule with no slumps and at least by scoreline easily handled a good and desperate Haverford team 4-1.  Oneonta also just keeps rolling, as do Trinity, Brandeis, and Calvin.  Loras has proven again that they are contenders for the national title.  Other key teams in the national and possible final four run mix would appear to be Montclair, Kenyon, Wheaton (Ill), Amherst, OWU, Tufts, and Dickinson/Muhlenberg.  Hard to trust at the moment are Whitworth, Salisbury and Christopher Newport.  Sleepers include Wheaton (MA), Cortland, SLU/RPI, Wartburg, St Olaf, John Carroll, Colorado College, and Puget Sound.  A big question mark is who if anyone is going to emerge as a real challenger from the UAA beyond Brandeis.