2015 D3 Season: NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

[Mid-Atlantic Fan]

Mr. Right I remember watching that game online. Heads up play by I believe Brain Ramirez to play it to Payne. Alvernia was still arguing the call. Terrible way to lose that game for them last year.

I don't recall Alvernia arguing much on the foul call itself (the arguing came due to the quick free kick).  They thought they had time to set-up as the Messiah player who was fouled was still on the ground.  We'll never know if Alvernia would have reacted differently (more rushed, more attentive) if the Messiah player hadn't still been on the ground, but that was certainly their argument to the ref after the play that the ball shouldn't have been able to put in play with a player still down on the ground right where the ball was to be played.  Sometimes the fouling team assumes their opponent will ask the ref for the 10 yards and thus feel they have more time, and that may have been Alvernia's mindset as well.  Who knows.  But just wanted to say that in my recollection, Alvernia wasn't victimized on the quick kick because they chose to argue with the ref instead of set-up defensively.

Yes that is correct. Lots of arguing followed after the goal about the man on the ground. Good catch and my mistake!

[lastguyoffthebench]

Cannot attest to Salisbury as I missed the game vs. Camden.  But I'll say that Camden is on the same level, if not better than CNU.   

I heard Salisbury scored off a mishap/miscommunication in the back by the GK who stepped outside the 18 with the ball in hand, awarding the Gulls a free kick late in the 1st half... Camden struggled to put shots on the frame.   The same thing happened vs CNU... they literally missed 5 breakaways (1 off the post, 1 wide, 3 worm burners straight to the GK), and a shot from the edge of the 6 went high and wide.

#9 from CNU is a decent target player.  #3 was good on the ball and made some decent runs out of the back.  #14 very crafty with some pace and good distributor. #30 was an excellent ball winner.  GK made two decent saves.   Tons of separation from def to fwd and were not as organized as a top 10 team should be.   Lots of flopping around and shirt grabbing.   They will struggle in the future vs possession oriented teams or ones that pack it in because they play a bunch of aerial balls.   However, judging their remaining schedule, they could run the table (@ Methodist, @ York, @ Mary Washington will be their tough tests).  They have Salisbury and Frostburg St at home.  Realistic expectation for CNU in my opinion is Sweet 16 loss when they play a more organized, experienced side.

[PaulNewman]

FW, back to your question, I definitely could have seen Tufts, Trinity, Loras and F&M ahead of Kenyon, and maybe, in no particular order, a couple more out of SLU, Montclair, OWU, Messiah, Chicago, Amherst, Whitworth.  OWU's drop makes no sense, as only blemish is a tie at Centre which is a tough place to play.  Kenyon very easily could come back from Danville, KY with a loss as they did 2 years ago on a late goal in last 5 minutes.  Centre is a hard progrma to figure out.  They play well against highly ranked Great Lakes teams and then struggle in a conference seems like they would dominate.  Also think Messiah's drop makes no sense.  Lost a heartbreaker away in a game they were the better team, and the team they beat ended up at #3.  And the Loras win over Wheaton may be the single most impressive win so far, with Williams over Oneonta a close second.

Oh, and major congrats to Coach Coven.  I was convinced Brandeis and Kenyon were both going to get to the Final Four last year.  Oh well.

Oh, and forgot about CMU over Messiah, obviously another huge win.

[lastguyoffthebench]

I don't understand OWU drop either, NCAC.    In terms of a blemish... CNU tied at Camden (tough place to play) and still remained #1 in the region.

[ECSUalum]

Where is the love for UM Boston???  Last two wins out west were pretty convincing vs decent squads!  Should have gotten a couple of votes at least!

[PaulNewman]

Where is the love for UM Boston???  Last two wins out west were pretty convincing vs decent squads!  Should have gotten a couple of votes at least!

Agreed!  Great point.

[Mr.Right]

Where is the love for UM Boston???  Last two wins out west were pretty convincing vs decent squads!  Should have gotten a couple of votes at least!

Agreed!  Great point.

I also agree and have been a neutral fan of UMASS Boston since the job went full-time. However, since we have basically no posters from the Northwest do we know how good Puget Sound and Pacific Lutheran are? Just going 2-0-0 after a 7 hour flight gets my respect and I was quite impressed with Whitworth last year in the NCAA's. I believe they took out Emory or something like that.

[PaulNewman]

Last year Puget Sound and Willamette were challenging Whitworth for that conference title down to the last week.  Don't know if the Loggers (yeah, I think they're the Loggers) are supposed to be strong this year, but they are usually at least decent.  UM-B will get some love soon, I'm sure.

[Corazon]

Yep, Puget Sound is indeed the "Loggers."  Old roommate in grad school was a soccer player there way back when. In fact, in the early days of the internet, I saw that he was listed as their all-time scoring leader (haven't checked since).  I think the school might have had some ties in the early years to the Weyerhaeuser forest products family, hence the nickname.  Students apparently chanted "log jam" during goal line stances at football games.  Speaking of Weyerhaeuser, I heard one of the decendents played women's soccer for Williams a few years ago.  "UPS" is a nice, pretty school - has a fierce rivalry with Pacific Lutheran, which is just down the road.

[PaulNewman]

Yep, Puget Sound is indeed the "Loggers."  Old roommate in grad school was a soccer player there way back when. In fact, in the early days of the internet, I saw that he was listed as their all-time scoring leader (haven't checked since).  I think the school might have had some ties in the early years to the Weyerhaeuser forest products family, hence the nickname.  Students apparently chanted "log jam" during goal line stances at football games.  Speaking of Weyerhaeuser, I heard one of the decendents played women's soccer for Williams a few years ago.  "UPS" is a nice, pretty school - has a fierce rivalry with Pacific Lutheran, which is just down the road.

Agree.  There are a handful of colleges in the Pac NW, including Puget Sound, that are underappreciated.

[Flying Weasel]

Postsdam St. upsets St. Lawrence 1-0.

Skidmore beats Williams 2-0.

Who's next to stumble?

[lastguyoffthebench]

MSU to Oneonta St maybe?

Chicago to Loras, yes

[PaulNewman]

CNU to Methodist?

RPI to Oneonta?

Montclair to Haverford?

F&M or E'town

WPI or Brandeis

Saturday

Loras to DePauw? (doubtful but HUGE opportunity for DPU at home)

Tufts to Conn? (too scripted...last Tufts loss to the Camels)

F&M to Swat?

Whitworth to Willamette? (probably not)

Denison to Capital? (tempted to pick this one)

Sunday

Trinity (TX) to Colorado College? (one of few chances for Trinity to lose rest of regular season)

Kenyon to Centre? (very possible especially if Lords go down early and get rattled in a hostile environment)

[lastguyoffthebench]

CONFERENCES

SUNYAC:  37-11-4   .750  SOS AVG: 126    HIGH: 12  LOW: 367   (2 teams w/SOS lower than 200)
NJAC:       37-14-3   .713  SOS AVG: 171    HIGH: 22  LOW:  324  (4 teams w/SOS lower than 200)
NESCAC:  21-9-1     .694  SOS AVG:  164   HIGH: 2    LOW: 366   (5 teams w/SOS lower than 200) 
NCAC:      32-12-8   .692  SOS AVG:  202   HIGH: 71  LOW: 370   (5 teams w/SOS lower than 200)
UAA:        25-12-4   .659  SOS AVG:  107   HIGH: 6    LOW: 238   (2 teams w/SOS lower than 200)
IIAC:        21-13-6   .600  SOS AVG:  252   HIGH: 10  LOW: 401   (5 teams w/SOS lower than 200)

*SOS determined by Massey Ratings...

SUNYAC:  36, 136, 111, 115, 18, 213, 117, 135, 367, 12, 126
NJAC:      217, 189, 52, 22, 80, 108, 317, 248, 151, 324
NESCAC:  56, 90, 237, 243, 2, 3, 110, 100, 350, 366, 250
NCAC:   233, 183, 71, 267, 169, 370, 220, 93, 89, 321
UAA:      13, 20, 155, 6, 211, 85, 131, 238
IIAC:     10, 244, 167, 174, 336, 312, 375, 401

SOS is numbered in accordance with Massey overall ranking.   

[Mr.Right]

That RPI v Oneonta game interests me. I have a funny feeling Oneonta is going to come out pumped up and like gangbusters. If RPI can hang on in the 1st half they will have a chance but Oneonta has something to prove.