2014 D3 Season: National Perspective

[blooter442]

Wesleyan beats Amherst but I can't find anything other than the score and that it was in OT. Anyone have any info?

[Midwest Soccer]

And Kenyon goes down at the hands of Wabash 1-0....HUGE win for Wabash as they are right back in the thick of things in the NCAC title race. Kenyon now shifts their attention to....OWU at home on Tuesday. Should be a good one! Now Wabash needs Kenyon to get a result against OWU to potentially force a 3-way tie. If OWU wins it, they are in the drivers seat.

Wabash's out of conference schedule was so soft that I'm not sure 1 win over the #2 ranked team in the country will help them as dramatically as they need when the regional rankings come out but what a moment for Wabash...congrats Little Giants.

[PaulNewman]

Kenyon loses 1-0 to Wabash.  Must be one of biggest wins in Wabash history.  Congrats to the Little Giants.  And has to be bitterly disappointing for Kenyon where very mediocre play that was catching up to them now has them in a bit of trouble with OWU looming.  On cusp of a possible #1 ranking and now could be 3rd place in the NCAC in another few days and no longer controlling their own destiny.

Wesleyan gets a big win so Amherst also no longer unbeaten.  And Tufts just completed a 1-0 win over Williams. 

Noticed that Cortland lost to Geneseo and Vassar was leading SLU last I checked.

[Midwest Soccer]

NCAC New England,

What can you tell us about the Kenyon v Wabash game?

[Flying Weasel]

Well, so much for Kenyon moving to No. 1.  Wabash matched them in a defensive duel (only 8 shots for each side), and netted the games lone goal in the 70th minute.  My take is that Kenyon was a little overrated (their schedule has not been that challenging) and that Wabash is maybe a little better than I gave them credit for, but as the comprehensive defeat to Ohio Wesleyan shows, probably not Top 25 material either.  This is going to make the Top 25 vote very interesting.  Certainly opens the door for F&M, Trinity, and Oneonta St. to grab some 1st and 2nd place votes if they can win their weekend games, although it's most likely that Messiah retains enough votes at the top to stay No. 1.

[PaulNewman]

Midwest, I don't know a lot.  I think Flying Weasel probably has it right.  Kenyon may have been overrated and Wabash is better than many of us thought.  Sounds like it was a pretty even game, which is a surprise in itself and then Wabash gets the one goal they needed off a corner.  I imagine Wabash really packed it in for the last 20 minutes after the goal.  I'm curious as to what kind of game plan the Wabash coach put together, and I did notice that he subbed a ton.  There is also a big difference between how a team might look away on the OWU pitch in a game OWU was ready for and playing an out-of-sorts Kenyon on your home field on senior day.  I guess the obvious most concerning thing is what has happened to Kenyon's offense.  There is no doubt that Kenyon does have a good deal of talent and their defense still is going to be tough break down, but clearly they need to right the ship in a hurry.  Ironically, this may take some of the fun out of the game for OWU, but they are mature enough and well-coached enough that the psychological stuff probably won't phase them much.

[PaulNewman]

I guess another way of looking at it is it's tough out there.  If you had asked me a week ago who is the best team in the country after Messiah I would have said Wheaton (Ill).  And then they lost.  Loras has lost. Brandeis was undefeated and then they lost.  Now Emory has lost two in a row.  Middlebury barely gets by Bates AT HOME in OT.  Amherst loses today.  I never expected Rochester to be struggling as they are.

We often say that a loss can be good for teams, and certainly it is possible that after 5-6 straight weeks of being #2 Kenyon started to believe in their press clippings and lost their edge.  The problem with one loss, though, is that one can become two, or three.  Emory could lose their 3rd straight tomorrow, but then if Brandeis loses there will be some saying Brandeis has been overrated.

One thing is for sure.  Everything is still wide open and now looks as though some of the conference tournaments are going to critical, and some teams that have been highly rated may find themselves abruptly on the outside looking in.

[chelseafc30]

I think NCAC is probably right. From what I know about Kenyon, they run a very high tempo and high pressure style that thrives off of being an underdog and is built for games against big teams like an OWU or Messiah. It seems that with Kenyon being at #2 for some time now, they have taken their foot off the pedal and got complacent, and their style doesn't work if they are complacent. They aren't scoring goals anymore and they seem to be overlooking teams including today at Wabash. With that being said however, a team like Kenyon IS one of the teams, like NCAC referred to, that should get their edge back after a loss and therefore be a very dangerous team again. A Kenyon loss today was worst case scenario for OWU, who now finds themselves back in the favorite role with a team that isn't as superior to Kenyon like years past. Tuesday will be a very interesting game and will really decide a huge part of how the NCAC will play out. I really hope the loss today at Wabash gives Kenyon the spark they've been missing recently because if they get it back, OWU will have many issue on Tuesday. I'm secretly hoping Kenyon finishes the year well because I do believe that they are one of the few teams, because of their team is built and their style of play, that can beat Messiah in the tournament. They were very close last year.

[lastguyoffthebench]

Livestats are up, NCAA football on a some beers for a nice Saturday evening.

The basketball shootout has begun... Camden with a goal on MSU 2 minutes into the game.

Luther vs. Loras, JHU vs F&M, Albright vs Messiah...   

[lastguyoffthebench]

MSU responds to RUC in the 4th min... 1-1.   SHEEESH

[lastguyoffthebench]

MSU goals in 15th and 16th min...  up 3-1.


With the Wabash win over Kenyon...  looks like Wabash should be #1 in the Great Lakes region now (for NSCAA).   

[njf1003]

JHU leads F&M 1-0 at the half.

[blooter442]

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.

Well, I was at that game and saw Brandeis hit the crossbar and record more shots on goal, and what I thought were better opportunities overall. But, you are entitled to your own opinion. Agree that Carnegie did play well.

[KnightFalcon]

Always great to get to Grantham and watch a game at Shoemaker field. Messiah gets back on track and thrills the Homecoming crowd with  7-0 win over Albright

[Mr.Right]

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.

Well, I was at that game and saw Brandeis hit the crossbar and record more shots on goal, and what I thought were better opportunities overall. But, you are entitled to your own opinion. Agree that Carnegie did play well.

They hit the crossbar from 25 yard out...it was a great shot but just because they hit the crossbar doesnt mean they had better overall chances. I thought Carnegie countered well and had 2 or 3 clear chances to score in the 18. That being said the 2 teams were very even. I am responding to a poster who said Brandeis dominated which was not the case