2014 D3 Season: National Perspective

[Domino1195]

Hi all - first time poster!  I regularly go to OAC and NCAC games. Been on a pitch for 50 years now: player,ref, coach, etc.

Per the OWU-Wabash game:  I was there - and I was at the OWU -Otterbein and OWU - Capital games. Obviously OWU had to replace many players from last year's squad and is starting to find their chemistry.  They have some weaknesses on defense - one dad of a current  player told me they are an OK team - nothing like teams from the past few years.  Biggest issue is consistency from game to game.  He said "we never know which side is going to show up."

Wabash fielded a great team of complementary players last night - can't say any one player jumped out as a "star."  Except the keeper - as previously posted but for his two incredible saves and the blown offside call (I sat next to the assessor when that play occurred - he winced) the score would have been a minimum of 5 for OWU.  Wabash played their hearts out first 45; second half the field was tilted towards their defensive end.

OWU's Kyle Baum is the player to watch against Kenyon.  Kenyon's backs remind me of the German side from this summer: big, not necessarily quick. Baum gave Capital troubles and he was a handful last night. If he posts up against Kenyon's center back he will be able to turn and run past him.  He's a good finisher - if he gets 2-3 chances he will finish at least one.

Cap scrimmaged Dension preseason: 1-1 draw. I think Kenyon was a bit guilty of looking ahead yesterday, combined with opponents bringing their A game against them. Kenyon protects the middle well and applies high pressure - thrives on turnovers in their opponents defensive end.  Capital was very obliging in their 5-1 defeat to them.

Tony Amolo makes everyone around him look great.  Wonderful distributor of the ball.  The hat-trick Glassman scored against Capital was as much due to Amolo's passes as anything else.

[PaulNewman]

Welcome Domino and great, informative post. 

OWU at Kenyon should be a great one. I'm sure OWU will be at their best and I would expect Kenyon to play well.  I have noticed the Baum kid also.  Very good.  That said, Justice for Kenyon may be the best centerback in the country. Never calls attention to himself but is outstanding.  And their all-senior back line is very experienced (and very good).  Kenyon has seemed out of rythym offensively, including Amolo, but I think they will get it back.  In terms of pressure getting to them, I fully expect the Lords to relax after getting through the Denison game last night.  I think they will play well against Wabash, and win, lose or draw playing OWU next week will be good for them in terms of getting focused and sharpening the rough edges. As for possibly getting rattled, I don't see it.  This is a team that took Messiah to the wire in a high-pressure tournament game on Messiah's extremely energized and partisan home pitch.

Wacky Wednesday night last night.  Loras loses.  Wheaton (Ill) loses.  I watched the end of the Wheaton game that ended bizarrely with Wheaton getting a free kick with .1 second left.  Can a goal count if it goes in after the horn has sounded?

[lastguyoffthebench]

Has to cross the line before the horn sounds... and if there is no horn, ball has to cross the line before 0.0

[PaulNewman]

Emory potentially in some real trouble.  Down 1-0 to NYU in 2nd half and at Brandeis Sunday.

[lastguyoffthebench]

The bottom feeding NJCU Gothic Knights only lost 1-0 to NYU.   Granted, Emory had to travel quite the distance (much like Newark had to earlier in the year).   Emory could be on the outside looking in with a bad result today...

[blooter442]

Emory potentially in some real trouble.  Down 1-0 to NYU in 2nd half and at Brandeis Sunday.

1-0 final. A shock result, but NYU have quietly put together a solid season and are underrated IMHO.

[backyarddawg]

Great result for NYU and Coach Behan.  NYU moves to 11-2 & 2-1 in the UAA.  If they can some how defeat CMU on Sunday, they have to be in the mix with chances to improve on their SOS.

Great games this weekend.  These 2 weeks could be the best 2 weeks of college soccer.

[blooter442]

Brandeis downs Carnegie 1-0 in 2OT. Judges were the better team but couldn't find a way through, while Carnegie had a couple of opportunities on the counter. Probably a fair result but the Judges will come up against a wounded animal in Emory on Sunday. Will be a tough test.

[PaulNewman]

Recent results really show that a team's fortunes can be determined by a couple of bounces here and there. 

I never imagined Rochester to be in this position.  I expected the Yellow Jackets to be serious final four contenders along with SLU.  Now they have to play a Wash U team that is winless in the UAA.  Emory suddenly has their backs against the wall with Brandeis up next.  And Brandeis has won two UAA games very late in the 2nd OTs.  And are NYU and Chicago really going to end up getting at large bids from the UAA.  If Emory goes to 1-3 in the UAA can they recover from that.  Is Wash U going to 0-4 or will Rochester go to 1-3 on Sunday?  And then Emory hosts Rochester in the next game for both of those teams after that.

What conference would likely pick up a bid if the UAA only gets 2 or only 3 (as I think they got 4 last year)?  Is that good for the NESCAC, or the Liberty?

Did Cortland wrap up a bid with the win over Brockport?

Next couple of weeks are going to be intense.

[Mr.Right]

Brandeis downs Carnegie 1-0 in 2OT. Judges were the better team but couldn't find a way through, while Carnegie had a couple of opportunities on the counter. Probably a fair result but the Judges will come up against a wounded animal in Emory on Sunday. Will be a tough test.

Not sure which game you were watching but I caught the game on video and could not disagree more. I was pleasantly surprised by Carnegie Mellon. I thought both teams were extremely even and Carnegie Mellon had better chances but couldn't find a way thru. Both teams play some attractive futbol and maybe even over possess a touch. To may giveaway's in midfield from both teams but neither team could finish their chances.  had some dangerous scoring chances. Neither of these teams are Final 4 material but they are very good.

[Off Pitch]

It is very difficult to determine what is Final 4 material.  I saw Williams several times last year and have seen Brandeis three times this season, and Brandeis is the better, more complete team.  Yet Williams somehow was Final 4 material last year.  I believe that Brandeis is the best in New England. 

However, with NESCAC being down a little this year, perhaps your argument is that there is not a team in New England that is Final 4 material.  That might be a valid point.  Time will tell.

[Mr.Right]

Williams has beaten Brandeis rather soundly the past 2 years. In 2012, Brandeis didnt have a sniff at goal. 2013 might have been a bit more even but Brandeis was not the better team. Nescac is not down they are beating each other up , kind of like the UAA this year.

[Off Pitch]

If you read more carefully, I was comparing this year's Brandeis team to last year's Williams team.  Brandeis was decent the past couple of years and even you admit that it was more even last year, but Brandeis is a stronger team this year than last.

Meanwhile, Williams and the rest of the NESCAC is most certainly down.  It may not even be the best conference in New England based on head to head results.

[Mr.Right]

Brandeis when going up against physical teams will get manhandled. Also, if I saw correctly it looked like they were playing with 3 in the back at times. They are not good enough to get away with that against really good teams. They over possess out of the back and give the ball away a ton in midfield. That is a recipe for disaster against teams that whack it. 2 bets:1. Brandeis gets eliminated in NCAA's before final 4. 2. They do not end up with the #1 seed in New England

[Off Pitch]

You may be correct about the #1 seed.  Although Brandeis dominated their New England competition including taking down Tufts 2-0 (who some say is the most talented NESCAC team this season), they play in arguably the stongest conference in the country this year.  They tend to beat each other up.

Regarding the strength of the NESCAC this year, it is still a tremendous conference with 4 of the top 9 teams in the most recent NSCAA New England rankings.  However, NEWMAC has 4 of the top 7 in the same rankings and holds a winning record vs NESCAC on the season.