Mr.Rights Thoughts

[Brother Flounder]

Mr. Right,

I'd love to see your NESCAC predictions for '15.

Me too!

[lastguyoffthebench]

How would you rate the conferences in the New England Region, Mr.Right?

1) NESCAC
2) NEWMAC
3) CCC
4) LEC
5) GNAC
6) MASCAC
7) NECC

[nescac1]

Thanks for the info re: Erin Sullivan.  A good guy and I hope he takes it.  Williams is not exactly financially overly generous with coaches across the board (see football situation, for example) but I imagine this is Sullivan's dream job and hopefully in light of his long tenure as a coach, Williams will pay him a fair amount.  If they do, I'd be stunned if he didn't make the move -- he's brought WNEC as far as they can go but the recruiting base for Williams is dramatically different and he will have a chance to win a national title there, plus the appeal of leading his alma mater. 

But success probably won't come right away.  The Ephs lose a big and pretty talented senior class, albeit one that didn't really perform to expectations this past season.  The Ephs struggled to score goals outside of Grady, and he is gone.  Rashid if healthy (a big if) should essentially replace that production up front, but who else will score for the Ephs?  They will need one of this year's frosh to really step up, unless a big-time scorer joins the program.  Danilak is top-tier talent in the back but unclear who will start around him besides Muellers.  It seems like Russo didn't bring in his usual talent over his last few recruiting classes; the rising sophomore and junior classes at Williams don't have any all-American types.  Moutenot could break out as an upperclassman but unclear who will even be all-NESCAC guys from that group. 

Good to hear from Mr. Right that they are bringing in a top-notch MF as they need to generate more offense from that area, and maybe Sullivan can recruit hard over the next few months and add another strong recruit or two.  Still, it will likely take him a few years to rebuild the talent base.  A younger coach with new energy should really help as given the soccer legacy at Williams, it should be pretty easy to attract top-notch players, but maybe that was a bit tougher since everyone knew they wouldn't be coached by Russo going forward over the past few years, and I imagine he didn't have the same energy to devote to recruiting which increasingly has become a long off-season slog.

As for NESCAC next year, Tufts as defending national champion and Amherst as perennially dominant in NESCAC play have to be the co-favorites (although Tufts does lose a ton), but Midd should be primed for a really big year with four returning all-NESCAC players, including the goalie and the POY.  They were a young team this year but now are a veteran squad.  It seems like it will be difficult for any coach at Williams to break into the top three next season ...

[Mr.Right]

How would you rate the conferences in the New England Region, Mr.Right?

1) NESCAC
2) NEWMAC
3) CCC
4) LEC
5) GNAC
6) MASCAC
7) NECC

This is correct for the most part. Mascac might be better than GNAC but not this year. LEC used to be #3 but has fallen off a bit in recent years.

[Mr.Right]

Thanks for the info re: Erin Sullivan.  A good guy and I hope he takes it.  Williams is not exactly financially overly generous with coaches across the board (see football situation, for example) but I imagine this is Sullivan's dream job and hopefully in light of his long tenure as a coach, Williams will pay him a fair amount.  If they do, I'd be stunned if he didn't make the move -- he's brought WNEC as far as they can go but the recruiting base for Williams is dramatically different and he will have a chance to win a national title there, plus the appeal of leading his alma mater. 

But success probably won't come right away.  The Ephs lose a big and pretty talented senior class, albeit one that didn't really perform to expectations this past season.  The Ephs struggled to score goals outside of Grady, and he is gone.  Rashid if healthy (a big if) should essentially replace that production up front, but who else will score for the Ephs?  They will need one of this year's frosh to really step up, unless a big-time scorer joins the program.  Danilak is top-tier talent in the back but unclear who will start around him besides Muellers.  It seems like Russo didn't bring in his usual talent over his last few recruiting classes; the rising sophomore and junior classes at Williams don't have any all-American types.  Moutenot could break out as an upperclassman but unclear who will even be all-NESCAC guys from that group. 

Good to hear from Mr. Right that they are bringing in a top-notch MF as they need to generate more offense from that area, and maybe Sullivan can recruit hard over the next few months and add another strong recruit or two.  Still, it will likely take him a few years to rebuild the talent base.  A younger coach with new energy should really help as given the soccer legacy at Williams, it should be pretty easy to attract top-notch players, but maybe that was a bit tougher since everyone knew they wouldn't be coached by Russo going forward over the past few years, and I imagine he didn't have the same energy to devote to recruiting which increasingly has become a long off-season slog.

As for NESCAC next year, Tufts as defending national champion and Amherst as perennially dominant in NESCAC play have to be the co-favorites (although Tufts does lose a ton), but Midd should be primed for a really big year with four returning all-NESCAC players, including the goalie and the POY.  They were a young team this year but now are a veteran squad.  It seems like it will be difficult for any coach at Williams to break into the top three next season ...

Williams has plenty of talent to contend nest year. Williams coaches get paid very well. Russo built the legacy you are talking about. You certainly have no clue about Williams but keep pretending. Reality is a .....

[nescac1]

Russo absolutely built the tremendous Williams legacy, he is the greatest coach in any sport in Williams history, in my view, and certainly the greatest soccer coach in NESCAC history.   But that doesn't mean that a dose of fresh energy at THIS point is necessarily entirely a bad thing ... recruiting has only gotten more and more competitive and more and more national over time, and it seems like in recent years Amherst (in particular) and Tufts have brought the most talent overall in, and Middlebury has also had a big infusion of talent the past two years.  For years Russo brought an all-American or two in every year, like clockwork.  I'm just saying that hasn't really been the case over the past few recruiting classes.  Would you contend otherwise?  Part of that, of course, is probably due to uncertainty -- if you were a recruit and knew that Russo was leaving and didn't know who your coach would be for 2-3 of your 4 years at Williams, wouldn't you hesitate if you have other great offers? 

As for resources, at least in football, there is a reason that Williams has bled coaching talent and part of that is financial.  Look at the assistant coaches Wesleyan has hired, for example, let alone the head coach.  I know less about soccer, but some other prominent coaches also made surprisingly little in light of their level of success.  For a school with the most resources overall in NESCAC, Williams spends surprisingly little on its athletic budget, among the lower on a per-athlete basis in the conference.  Coaches at Williams (especially assistants, who make almost nothing) are not getting rich, believe me, and constantly have to make due with less than some peer schools.  Same deal for the athletics facilties at Williams, which outside of the spectacular new football / track facility, are in need of a SERIOUS upgrade.   

[Brother Flounder]

Russo absolutely built the tremendous Williams legacy, he is the greatest coach in any sport in Williams history, in my view, and certainly the greatest soccer coach in NESCAC history.   But that doesn't mean that a dose of fresh energy at THIS point is necessarily entirely a bad thing ... recruiting has only gotten more and more competitive and more and more national over time, and it seems like in recent years Amherst (in particular) and Tufts have brought the most talent overall in, and Middlebury has also had a big infusion of talent the past two years.  For years Russo brought an all-American or two in every year, like clockwork.  I'm just saying that hasn't really been the case over the past few recruiting classes.  Would you contend otherwise?  Part of that, of course, is probably due to uncertainty -- if you were a recruit and knew that Russo was leaving and didn't know who your coach would be for 2-3 of your 4 years at Williams, wouldn't you hesitate if you have other great offers? 

As for resources, at least in football, there is a reason that Williams has bled coaching talent and part of that is financial.  Look at the assistant coaches Wesleyan has hired, for example, let alone the head coach.  I know less about soccer, but some other prominent coaches also made surprisingly little in light of their level of success.  For a school with the most resources overall in NESCAC, Williams spends surprisingly little on its athletic budget, among the lower on a per-athlete basis in the conference.  Coaches at Williams (especially assistants, who make almost nothing) are not getting rich, believe me, and constantly have to make due with less than some peer schools.  Same deal for the athletics facilties at Williams, which outside of the spectacular new football / track facility, are in need of a SERIOUS upgrade.

Mr. Right, I believe Rashid has had knee injuries the last 2 years.  How is his health?  Is he fully recovered?  A healthy Rashid should really help Williams.....

[Brother Flounder]

Thanks for the info re: Erin Sullivan.  A good guy and I hope he takes it.  Williams is not exactly financially overly generous with coaches across the board (see football situation, for example) but I imagine this is Sullivan's dream job and hopefully in light of his long tenure as a coach, Williams will pay him a fair amount.  If they do, I'd be stunned if he didn't make the move -- he's brought WNEC as far as they can go but the recruiting base for Williams is dramatically different and he will have a chance to win a national title there, plus the appeal of leading his alma mater. 

But success probably won't come right away.  The Ephs lose a big and pretty talented senior class, albeit one that didn't really perform to expectations this past season.  The Ephs struggled to score goals outside of Grady, and he is gone.  Rashid if healthy (a big if) should essentially replace that production up front, but who else will score for the Ephs?  They will need one of this year's frosh to really step up, unless a big-time scorer joins the program.  Danilak is top-tier talent in the back but unclear who will start around him besides Muellers.  It seems like Russo didn't bring in his usual talent over his last few recruiting classes; the rising sophomore and junior classes at Williams don't have any all-American types.  Moutenot could break out as an upperclassman but unclear who will even be all-NESCAC guys from that group. 

Good to hear from Mr. Right that they are bringing in a top-notch MF as they need to generate more offense from that area, and maybe Sullivan can recruit hard over the next few months and add another strong recruit or two.  Still, it will likely take him a few years to rebuild the talent base.  A younger coach with new energy should really help as given the soccer legacy at Williams, it should be pretty easy to attract top-notch players, but maybe that was a bit tougher since everyone knew they wouldn't be coached by Russo going forward over the past few years, and I imagine he didn't have the same energy to devote to recruiting which increasingly has become a long off-season slog.

As for NESCAC next year, Tufts as defending national champion and Amherst as perennially dominant in NESCAC play have to be the co-favorites (although Tufts does lose a ton), but Midd should be primed for a really big year with four returning all-NESCAC players, including the goalie and the POY.  They were a young team this year but now are a veteran squad.  It seems like it will be difficult for any coach at Williams to break into the top three next season ...

As far as next year goes, Tufts loses some exceptional talent (don't know if Kramer is coming back and maybe someone from Tufts can confirm), and everyone will be gunning for them.  They will have to enjoy their championship now, and work hard next year to defend their title. They do have some excellent talent coming back so should be in the upper end of the pack or even at the top.  Once we see the recruiting classes for the colleges we will have some better ideas.

I am already looking forward to next year!

[All NESCAC]

Middlebury and Amherst will be the teams to beat next year in NESCAC.  My early pick is Middlebury based on returning players.  Tufts and Williams are losing too many to graduation (and Williams will have a new coach which may or may not help initially).  the rest are the rest.  Two team race next year.

[oldonionbag]

I wouldn't dismiss Tufts chances completely, though. They are returning Kayne, Brown, Pinhiero, Patel, Greenwood, Majumder, and possibly Kramer. They obviously will be hurt by the losses of Santos, Williams, and Hoppenot. Still, I think they will be solid all around.

Additionally, if Shapiro's track record of recruiting continues, there's no reason to think that some of the freshmen and sophomores (Halliday in particular),  who didn't play that much this year won't be ready to fill in, especially seeing what it's like to win on the biggest stage. In my opinion, I think it's Amherst, Midd, and Tufts in a three team race, with Wesleyan/Bowdoin in the 4th.

[All NESCAC]

I wouldn't dismiss Tufts chances completely, though. They are returning Kayne, Brown, Pinhiero, Patel, Greenwood, Majumder, and possibly Kramer. They obviously will be hurt by the losses of Santos, Williams, and Hoppenot. Still, I think they will be solid all around.

Additionally, if Shapiro's track record of recruiting continues, there's no reason to think that some of the freshmen and sophomores (Halliday in particular),  who didn't play that much this year won't be ready to fill in, especially seeing what it's like to win on the biggest stage. In my opinion, I think it's Amherst, Midd, and Tufts in a three team race, with Wesleyan/Bowdoin in the 4th.

Tufts losing Santos, Williams and Hoppenot is a killer, and Kramer won't be back he'll graduate with his class.  Thus, losing 4 of your top 6 players and all difference makers.  Too much to overcome and will have the hangover from NCAA Championship.  I believe next year is Middlebury's year.  Everyone is basically coming back from a team which was very very good this past season. 

[Brother Flounder]

I wouldn't dismiss Tufts chances completely, though. They are returning Kayne, Brown, Pinhiero, Patel, Greenwood, Majumder, and possibly Kramer. They obviously will be hurt by the losses of Santos, Williams, and Hoppenot. Still, I think they will be solid all around.

Additionally, if Shapiro's track record of recruiting continues, there's no reason to think that some of the freshmen and sophomores (Halliday in particular),  who didn't play that much this year won't be ready to fill in, especially seeing what it's like to win on the biggest stage. In my opinion, I think it's Amherst, Midd, and Tufts in a three team race, with Wesleyan/Bowdoin in the 4th.

Tufts losing Santos, Williams and Hoppenot is a killer, and Kramer won't be back he'll graduate with his class.  Thus, losing 4 of your top 6 players and all difference makers.  Too much to overcome and will have the hangover from NCAA Championship.  I believe next year is Middlebury's year.  Everyone is basically coming back from a team which was very very good this past season.

I still wouldn't count out Williams at this point.  As far as Tufts goes, Kayne and Brown were the second and third leading scorers. They return. The goalie returns. Yes, some others will have to step up and fill some gaps, but Tufts can certainly be there.  Did you confirm the Kramer graduation issue? I would like someone from Tufts to confirm, if possible. His return would no doubt help Tufts next year.

[Nutmeg]

I think 5-6 teams could be in the mix.... I also don't think Tufts should be discounted at this point.

[Mr.Right]

Russo absolutely built the tremendous Williams legacy, he is the greatest coach in any sport in Williams history, in my view, and certainly the greatest soccer coach in NESCAC history.   But that doesn't mean that a dose of fresh energy at THIS point is necessarily entirely a bad thing ... recruiting has only gotten more and more competitive and more and more national over time, and it seems like in recent years Amherst (in particular) and Tufts have brought the most talent overall in, and Middlebury has also had a big infusion of talent the past two years.  For years Russo brought an all-American or two in every year, like clockwork.  I'm just saying that hasn't really been the case over the past few recruiting classes.  Would you contend otherwise?  Part of that, of course, is probably due to uncertainty -- if you were a recruit and knew that Russo was leaving and didn't know who your coach would be for 2-3 of your 4 years at Williams, wouldn't you hesitate if you have other great offers? 

As for resources, at least in football, there is a reason that Williams has bled coaching talent and part of that is financial.  Look at the assistant coaches Wesleyan has hired, for example, let alone the head coach.  I know less about soccer, but some other prominent coaches also made surprisingly little in light of their level of success.  For a school with the most resources overall in NESCAC, Williams spends surprisingly little on its athletic budget, among the lower on a per-athlete basis in the conference.  Coaches at Williams (especially assistants, who make almost nothing) are not getting rich, believe me, and constantly have to make due with less than some peer schools.  Same deal for the athletics facilties at Williams, which outside of the spectacular new football / track facility, are in need of a SERIOUS upgrade.

Not sure how you can argue Russo falling off in recruiting and motivation when they had 2012 and 2013 Final 4 teams and would have been 11-4-1 or 12-3-1 with Rashid all year and Murralles and Madding playing to their potential. Muellers and Tom Young are VERY good players and might have a chance at All-American down the road. Mark Sisco was disappointing but I think he will improve greatly as he has to much drive and talent not to improve. The Sophomore class is a bit weak but Moutenot is legit and Alcorn is turning into a good keeper. That class would have been top notch but two things happened. Greg Conrad and Adam Glaser were heading to Williams ED but I have heard when Midd was recruiting them the players told them to avoid Williams because it was "way more work and a hell of a lot tougher than Midd" In reality this is total BS and the schools are basically even in toughness depending on what you major in. It was a cheap move by former assistant McCabe who now is the head man at Bard. So that would of been a very solid class. Conrad also most likely chose Midd because of its superb hockey facilities which Williams does not compare because he plays Hockey. Russo stole Rashid and convinced him to come to Williams over D1 Villinova and a couple of others. It is harder and harder to recruit in Nescac these days anyway. Admissions at Williams is getting harder to get some 6 and 7 academic band players in. FYI Alex Blake was an 8 band which would not even be touched now. Sullivan will be good but that doesnt mean he will improve the recruiting but he may and I was most annoyed with your saying it will take 3 years to rebuild. That is nonsense and Sullivan does not need a "pass" to be average for the next few years. The one thing I think he will improve is the players fitness which is what Tufts had. Tufts was VERY fit. Sullivan will run them for sure. Shapiro snuck Santos in when BC could not support him and took his NMH teammate Medina-Mendez instead. He also has an incredible Princeton NJ connection from his days at Georgetown and that has really helped. To be honest Amherst recruits are getting worse each year.2009-2012 was very legit but it is quite possible Amherst faculty and admissions is making it tougher for atheletes with questionable academics becuase of all the recent sexual assault incidents on campus recently

[Corazon]

Hmm...interesting insights. I must say the "way more work and a hell of a lot tougher" sure sounds familiar. When you're dealing with the decision making process of 17 year old kids, those types of comments do matter, especially if their academic prowess does not quite match their skills on the soccer field. I was hoping mine would go to Williams but he instead chose another precisely due to that type of a comment (though I think he heard it from his peers and not from an assistant at his school) and academic insecurity. I have another younger player coming up. I Plan to emphasize the academic side more.