2015 D3 Season: NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

[stlawus]

How about Buffalo State making a statement at 4-0-0 out of the SUNYAC...Does anyone have any info on this team?  They beat RIT which usually was a good win but they have dropped off in recent years. Upcoming games against SLU, Clarkson, and U of R should give us a better indication

Buff State gave us a good game last year.  A 4-3 thriller at their place.  Granted we had a ton of injuries but they played well.

[PaulNewman]

Have to credit Centre's coach scheduling-wise or question his sanity.  Last year played OWU and Kenyon on the road back to back.  And this year, in their own tournament, give themselves Emory tonight followed by OWU tomorrow while OWU will be nice and fresh after coasting against Spalding.

[PaulNewman]

And UMass-Boston wins their first game out west 2-1.

[D3soccerwatcher]

In top ranked (at least for the moment) soccer today:

#2 Wheaton beats Oglethorpe 2-1 and improves to 2-2 on the season.  Marshal Hollingsworth nets his second goal of the season.

#3 Messiah beats Randolph 4-0.  With goals by four different players.  The game recap shows Messiah played 23 players during the match.  Game attendance reported on Messiah's website was a very impressive 3,150.

#1 Tufts back in action tomorrow.

[PaulNewman]

Of course Centre goes to double OT and wins 1-0.

[D3soccerwatcher]

Wheaton (IL) sneaks by Berry in the 100th minute.  Final 1-0.

[Mr.Right]

Observations:

1. Is the SUNYAC back? Geneseo another great result this year 1-1  at SLU. You have Geneseo, Brockport, Cortland and Oneonta not to mention Buffalo State.

2. ECONN another impressive win over Ramapo and are now 4-0 against good competition. Is the Little East a 2 bid league with ECONN and UMASS Boston.

3. I watched a bit of the Kenyon v CM game and from what I saw that was a great college soccer game. Good win for Kenyon and you gotta love all the goals.

4. RPI another HOT start beating two good NJAC teams this wknd and is ow 5-0. Last year they started 6-0-1 and I am still miffed they got shafted not getting into the 2014 NCAA's with the schedule and results they had.

5. I am glad NYU is finally playing 1 or 2 good teams before the UAA even though they lost to Rutgers Newark today
. That out of conference schedule they had last year and still somewhat have this year is BAD.

6. Oneonta St draws with Vassar after losing to Williams mid-week. They still are at Montclair St and RPI next week. Of the limited time I saw them play Williams I still say they have dropped off from the great year they had last year. I saw them including the NCAA Final 4 about 4 times last year and was very impressed. This year it seems they are missing a couple of those studs in the line-up. Maybe it is just one of those stretches teams go thru and they will bounce back

[PaulNewman]

Kenyon gets by CMU 4-3.  Came back from down 2-1 at the half to go up 4-2, and then gave up a goal that actually looked to be after the buzzer.  Goalie had the ball on other side of the field during the 10 second countdown.  Reminiscent of goal that almost got counted after the horn last year against TMC in NCAA game.  Terrible lapse in defending.  In any event, first CMU goal looked questionable as Clougher appeared to have ball while Webb pushed him back into the goal (although hard to tell watching online but Clougher was all over the referee on calling a goal).  Kenyon got a freebie back later to even things up at 1-1 when CMU GK literally dropped the ball to Amolo's feet for a walk-in score.  Missed the 2nd CMU goal off a corner but sounds like was a good goal.  Except for the first 6-8 minutes of the game when CMU dominated, Kenyon carried the possession by far and in my opinion looked like the superior team.  CMU is dangerous though on the counter and especially set pieces as Webb has an uncanny ability to get the ball on the end of set pieces even though everyone knows the ball is going to him.  Webb now on 8 goals.  Amolo at 7, although gifted the first one and the 2nd was on a PK earned by another player.

[PaulNewman]

Impressed with Brandeis playing Babson right now.  0-0 at half.  Judges have probably 70% or more of possession.  That said, I think they are really going to struggle scoring enough goals without Savonen and Soboff.  Look great except for play and finishing in final 3rd.  Tough to keep winning 1-0 against the better teams, and wouldn't be surprised to see Babson sneak a goal against run of play and get the win.

[PaulNewman]

KZoo and RPI video have got to be the best out there.  Watching KZoo vs DePauw (good) and it's like watching regular HD TV.  KZoo desperately needs this one after dropping both games at OWU weekend.  Brandeis video pretty good too.  Still 0-0 there.  Pretty chippy game and an alleged spitting incident too.

[Mr.Right]

Brandeis 1-0 over Babson in the 108th minute...cross in and a nice header past the Babson keeper. It did not look like he was marked very well. Was a chippy game but Brandeis still has a swagger even though they lost Soboff and Savonen. Heartbreaking loss for Babson as a draw could of helped in November.

[blooter442]

Brandeis certainly with the better of the chances although the Beavers made them work for that win. Babson had an excellent chance at the end of the first half from 25+ yards that was just high (from my angle at the game, I thought it was going in.) Judges have been keeping the ball well, and their issue isn't so much "poor shooting," but rather a lack of a true striker; the guys they're playing at CF (Vieira et al) are WFs by trade, so their instincts result in them dropping too wide or too deep. At this point, they lack a target man. Something they'll have to improve before conference play comes around.

[PaulNewman]

Great service and finish on the Brandeis goal.  They'll have a good season.  Just not sure how they will do against Tufts, Amherst, etc.

Rochester off to rough start.

KZoo and DePauw ended 0-0.

Centre draws with OWU 1-1.  Video was unwatchable but seemed like a good game with OWU getting the better possession but Centre still finding their own chances.  Seemed like Centre had several point blank looks around the six yard box in the 2nd OT.

Ohio Northern loses at home to Brockport.

WNEC beat Gordon.

[PaulNewman]

Watch out for Chicago.....4-0 and beat North Park last night 3-1, and play St. Olaf today.  Whitworth also unblemished.

Some very interesting games today.

Trinity (TX) vs Texas-Dallas....both undefeated and T-D put the only regular season loss on Trinity last year.

Christopher-Newport vs. Rutgers-Camden......heavy hitters go at it, and this one probably more important to Camden.

Wartburg vs Colorado College....both could use a signature win.

Denison vs Thomas More....a key Great Lakes match-up for unblemished teams....is Denison legit this year, and can TMC continue living on the edge and remain undefeated?

Santa Cruz vs Whitworth

Muhlenberg vs Stevens....Mules already with the number of losses had all last year.

Birm-Southern vs Wash U....B-S undefeated but very soft schedule until today.  Wash U squandered huge shot advantage to draw with Dominican last night.

UMass-Boston vs Puget Sound....If UMass-B still undefeated after this one may have to wonder if they'll have a chance to pull an upset or two in NCAA play.

Colby vs Wheaton (MA)....a lot of interest in this one from NESCAC and New England fans....Colby looking to make a statement about their program and Wheaton cannot afford more stumbles unless sure will win the NEWMAC bid (which looks like could be heading for a 1 bid season compared to getting 3 bids last year).

[Homegrown Harry]

Wartburg vs. Colorado College.
A signature win would be nice for either team.
Which Wartburg team will show up, the one that dispatched U Dallas yesterday or the underacheving team that lost 0-1 to UW-Superior?
Wartburg has some talent but it's unclear if they've figured things out yet which is unfortunate for them maybe considering preseason is over.