2014 D3 Season: National Perspective

[D3soccerwatcher]

I wonder if that has something to do with that terrible high-speed, 1980s style artificial turf.

FYI, OWU probably is closest to Messiah style-wise, and while they are certainly not small, they are small compared to Messiah and probably don't match what Messiah can do in terms of all 10 players on the field.  Bloecher, though, is a stud.  If you to the OWU website you can watch his great goal against Kenyon about 20 times from several different angles.  That was a tremendously athletic play and finish that few players in the country could have managed.

I think the turf is a contributing factor to Wheaton's frantic pace.

As for OWU size...
Rostered players 6.0 feet or taller
OWU - 14 players
Messiah - 12 players
OWU doesn't look to be a smaller team than Messiah.

Do you think Bloecher is in the same league as Payne (MC)?
His numbers aren't quite there...
Bloecher 15 g, 4 a
Payne 19 g, 9 a

[WarhawkFan]

Sweet 16
UWW/Wartburg
Loras/Trinity

Hey Wingtips, while I would love to see this matchup, how do you imagine the UWW/Wheaton game goes in order for this to happen?

[PaulNewman]

When you look at them on the field Messiah looks much bigger and in some spots have a burst of explosion that is unique to them.  You need to compare starting line-ups for size, and OWU does have two tall center backs but they are thinly built. 

I think Bloecher and Payne are two very different players, and Vegter is different from either of them too.

Bloecher generally isn't going to dribble a lot or cut through 4 defenders, but he has an uncanny ability to find the right spots to be dangerous, and he can hurt you in several different ways.  He's not often going to score from 25 yard blasts (although he can), but his runs into the box and plays inside the box are top-notch and he finishes his chances at a very high clip.  He's also a high level competitor and extremely clutch.   Also very dangerous on any free kicks from 25 yards and in.  I'd have to see Vegter play again to be sure, but I tend to think Bloecher and Payne are more versatile while Vegter has a lethal shot and will score if he has space from 25-28 yards out with regularity.

[KnightFalcon]

Wheaton's current artificial turf is brand new this year.  More like grass than their previous turf...but still turf unfortunately.

OK, that's good.  Glad to hear they addressed what was a blemish on an otherwise great venue.

Now, if only Calvin...

True that about Calvin's field - it has not changed one bit in over 40 years. That said, they have major plans to completely rebuild the entire outdoor sports complex including a new soccer venue with field turf. But those are on hold for the foreseeable future due to financial constraints.
On a related note - I wonder if they will be shoveling snow off the field for this weekend's games due to the polar vortex storm blowing through there now. They had to do that a few years ago if I recall.

[KnightFalcon]

When you look at them on the field Messiah looks much bigger and in some spots have a burst of explosion that is unique to them.  You need to compare starting line-ups for size, and OWU does have two tall center backs but they are thinly built. 

I think Bloecher and Payne are two very different players, and Vegter is different from either of them too.

Bloecher generally isn't going to dribble a lot or cut through 4 defenders, but he has an uncanny ability to find the right spots to be dangerous, and he can hurt you in several different ways.  He's not often going to score from 25 yard blasts (although he can), but his runs into the box and plays inside the box are top-notch and he finishes his chances at a very high clip. The   He's also a high level competitor and extremely clutch.   Also very dangerous on any free kicks from 25 yards and in.  I'd have to see Vegter play again to be sure, but I tend to think Bloecher and Payne are more versatile while Vegter has a lethal shot and will score if he has space from 25-28 yards out with regularity.

How does Bloecher compare to Travis Wall, the POY in 2011? Wall was tough for Messiah to mark and scored their lone goal in Messiah's 2-1 victory at OWU in 2011.

[PaulNewman]

Just my impressions keep in mind....Wall needed the ball and he could cut through 3-4 defenders and produce some magic all on his own, although OWU has a definite passing game and a lot of their goals come off some clever combination play.  Bloecher is superb moving without the ball.  That doesn't mean he can't handle the ball because he can.  What Wall and Bloecher share is an uncanny ability to produce something unexpected, sometimes seemingly out of nothing, and Bloecher seems to beat you in some way you haven't seen him beat you before.  Wall probably a little more technically skilled and Bloecher a little more athletic.

[D3soccerwatcher]

As for Vegter (CC)...his stats are interesting versus Payne (MC)...

Vegter has 23 goals (10 assists)
10 of his goals came from games where CC finished with a 5 goal or more lead
7 of his goals came in two games where he scored 3 and 4 goals
Looks like stats might be a little padded, letting him run up some big games.

Payne has 19 goals (9 assists)
Only 4 of Payne's goals came from games where MC finished with a 5 goal or more lead
Payne has not scored more than 2 goals in any game this year.  I don't think MC would allow it.  As soon as they go up, he's out (and of course MC has the horses to substitute for him).  I'd venture to guess he has fewer minutes than any other leading scorer in the nation.

I think Payne, D3POY in 2012 as a sophomore, will repeat in 2014.  Just my opinion.

[PaulNewman]

Payne may well win that but he also benefits from the playing with the other "best 9" in the country.  And his competition easily could come from within his own team via Thompson and Ramirez.

[D3soccerwatcher]

Good call on Thompson and Ramirez -also great players - and they are younger brothers of former Messiah players (one of Messiah's many strengths seems to be getting multiple players from the same family).

[Allsoccer7]

Possible greatest upset?

[PaulNewman]

Looks like we got some very late night ballot stuffing out of Northfield, MN.

[lastguyoffthebench]

Possible greatest upset?

Committee placed two close ones together again:

Rose-Hulman over Kenyon AND OWU (just kidding)
Neumann over Messiah (just kidding)
Does Westminster (MO) have a chance vs a banged up Loras school in a rematch from last year?
MSOE over Wartburg (MSOE one or two good wins, but can they pull this one out?)

The possible ones I see:

CSS over Chicago
Catholic over Coast Guard
Berry over Emory  (Emory won 1-0 earlier in year, shot count was 11-11).
Thomas More over North Park

[Mr.Right]

My 6 Possible Upsets. I think maybe 3 of these might happen just not sure which ones

Lynchburg over CNU
Thomas More over North Park
Catholic over Coast Guard
St.Sch over Chicago
Berry over Emory
Husson over Brandeis

[Mr.Right]

4 team pod of CNU,Lynchburg,MSU and Stevens is one of the more intriguing pods. Stevens is young with only 1 senior but they looked decent enough to maybe win a couple games.

[wingtips2]

Can someone explain to me how a team with 3 losses (Wheaton, IL) gets one of only three byes in the tourney?  The other two teams with byes were undefeated and there are numerous teams between undefeated and 3 losses.

I'm still perplexed that the NCAA can't add 3 more teams to make it a full 64 team field....
So the decision to awards byes is beyond baffling to me.