2015 D3 Season: NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

[Mr.Right]

The year that BURNS me is 2006. You had a Sweet 16 quad of a 1 loss Messiah and Williams side with a WNEC side that upset someone and a I believe 2 or 3 loss Johns Hopkins in 1 QUAD. Williams was forced to host on a Friday at 11am because of the religious thing so basically had no home field advantage and on and on I could go but the other QUADS that year were not nearly as tough. I mean you had NYU ahh forget it

[Mr.Right]

Can someone just put Green Mountain out of their misery..coached by former Colby-Sawyer head coach Peter Steese they have scored 2 goals in 6games and have now lost to D3 lightweights Bard, Norwich, Johnson St, Newbury by scores of anything from 8-2 or 11-0.

[PaulNewman]

Big win, a must win, for Gordon over ECSU.  Messiah survives at York but outshot in the game which seems stunning.

[PaulNewman]

F&M going OT with Stevenson.  Stevenson GK has made numerous UNBELIEVABLE saves.  And Stevenson had virtually open net to win it and F&M barely gets left paw on ball for the save and 2 minutes later A F&M defender has to to chest-clear a volley off the line.  Very similar to CMU game last night.  F&M leads on shots 20+ to 5.

[blooter442]

Big question is where does ECSU go from here? They were top 25 (and deservedly so IMHO) with some big wins over Wesleyan, Muhlenberg, and Babson. They've got to go to Conn, who played Tufts close, and play UMass-Boston at a neutral venue, but I think if they go clean other than that they could be in good shape. Drop another game outside of that, though, and they might be in trouble.

[PaulNewman]

Going to 2nd OT.  Good video with replays and good announcer.  Stevenson missed a PK in 1st minute of OT!!!

[PaulNewman]

TenBrook wins it for F&M.

[Mr.Right]

Big question is where does ECSU go from here? They were top 25 (and deservedly so IMHO) with some big wins over Wesleyan, Muhlenberg, and Babson. They've got to go to Conn, who played Tufts close, and play UMass-Boston at a neutral venue, but I think if they go clean other than that they could be in good shape. Drop another game outside of that, though, and they might be in trouble.

Why is ECSU playing a league game vs UMASS Boston at a neutral venue and what venue?

Neutral win is better than a home win. Also, they won at Muhlenberg and at Wesleyan. Babson at home. If all 3 end up being regionally ranked which is a good possibility they are set. Even with tonight's loss. However I would not be losing more than a total of 3 games all year. At that point you will letting a couple Nescac's and / or Brandeis pass you

[Mr.Right]

I watched the York v Messiah 2nd half and thought York had 4-5 good chances to tie that match up. I did not see the 1st half or the goal. York has some flair going forward for sure but they kept sitting with 6 and attacking with only 4 DOWN BY A GOAL WITH UNDER 20 minutes to go...GO FOR IT...There was one instance where a York player did a Messiah player 1v1 and wound up at the endline ready to cross to a sea of BLUE no WHITE JERSEYS in sight. York looked a bit gassed at the end.

[Mr.Right]

And Catholic University welcomes the Pope to campus with a 2-2 draw.

[ECSUalum]

Big question is where does ECSU go from here? They were top 25 (and deservedly so IMHO) with some big wins over Wesleyan, Muhlenberg, and Babson. They've got to go to Conn, who played Tufts close, and play UMass-Boston at a neutral venue, but I think if they go clean other than that they could be in good shape. Drop another game outside of that, though, and they might be in trouble.

Why is ECSU playing a league game vs UMASS Boston at a neutral venue and what venue?

Neutral win is better than a home win. Also, they won at Muhlenberg and at Wesleyan. Babson at home. If all 3 end up being regionally ranked which is a good possibility they are set. Even with tonight's loss. However I would not be losing more than a total of 3 games all year. At that point you will letting a couple Nescac's and / or Brandeis pass you

I think there is some renovations going on at UMB soccer facility.  Boston College High is next door in South Boston and they use their facility when available, otherwise as you can see from UMB's schedule, most of their matches are away.
BTW if ECSU plays like they did today at Gordon, they may be going nowhere in post season.  However, it seems Gavin Neuendorf may have an injury and DeVito is playing a freshman in the back which has caused confusion today and at Plymouth state

[PaulNewman]

I am going to reiterate that Thomas More is a team you DO NOT want to play in the NCAA tournament.  In what I thought might be a trap game after the big OWU away win they are taking care of business on the road in a mid-week game at Heidelberg.  One slip against Denison but they've played a very good schedule and only have 1 loss and I would bet that the Denison loss was a bit of a fluke.  They are a little unpredictable, and a lot chippy, but if they go down a goal they expect to get it right back.  They are very competitive and will fight for the win to the bitter end.  I doubt there is any game where they don't want it more than the opponent.  They come across a little bit like a rag-tag bunch and don't mind lulling you to sleep with the Hillbilly act, but they are far from all that.  I also think being chippy is how they focus, and so when the opposing team falls into that trap it is the opponent that gets distracted and off their game.  Having said all that, they cannot afford ANY injuries to their top 4 or 5 players.

I'm a little down on Kenyon right now.  Blase 2-0 win over Muskingum in game coach obviously played a different line-up and went in expecting to get subs a lot of playing time.  But beyond that, they must play with (I'm starting to write like Mr.Right lol) MATURITY, PURPOSE, and FOCUS.  They are the opposite of TMC.  When they fall into getting chippy or mouthy they get out of their game and LOSE FOCUS.  Just like last year, they cannot assume they are good enough to coast.  THEY HAVE WON NOTHING.  And a couple of players would likely play better if they were more hungry and less comfortable.  In other words, coming off the bench might make a few play with more fire and focus with an eye on the bigger picture.  They are going to need leaders to take over and speak up, even if that means getting in someone's face and telling him to kick himself into high gear.  The team, including the coaches, have to realize they can lose any game and must not be stubborn if adjustments between games and/or within games need to be made.  This is part of why I don't like the high ranking.  That is a sedative and leads to believing you have a larger margin of error than fits reality.  Being #1 or #2 or getting a couple of big wins doesn't mean you are suddenly MESSIAH for crying out loud.

Update:  When I wrote above TMC was up 2-0 in 2nd half and just saw they ended up winning 4-1.  Juniet with a goal and 2 assists.  Runyon with a hat trick.  R J Best also is a really good player and plays with an edge.

[Ommadawn]

I am going to reiterate that Thomas More is a team you DO NOT want to play in the NCAA tournament.  In what I thought might be a trap game after the big OWU away win they are taking care of business on the road in a mid-week game at Heidelberg.  One slip against Denison but they've played a very good schedule and only have 1 loss and I would bet that the Denison loss was a bit of a fluke.  They are a little unpredictable, and a lot chippy, but if they go down a goal they expect to get it right back.  They are very competitive and will fight for the win to the bitter end.  I doubt there is any game where they don't want it more than the opponent.  They come across a little bit like a rag-tag bunch and don't mind lulling you to sleep with the Hillbilly act, but they are far from all that.  I also think being chippy is how they focus, and so when the opposing team falls into that trap it is the opponent that gets distracted and off their game.  Having said all that, they cannot afford ANY injuries to their top 4 or 5 players.

The only action of TMC that I have seen so far this season is consistent with your stance.  I caught most of their OT victory over Case.  Case outpossessed TMC, who were content to sit back, absorb the Case attack, and counter forcefully when opportunities arose.

[Mid-Atlantic Fan]

I watched the York v Messiah 2nd half and thought York had 4-5 good chances to tie that match up. I did not see the 1st half or the goal. York has some flair going forward for sure but they kept sitting with 6 and attacking with only 4 DOWN BY A GOAL WITH UNDER 20 minutes to go...GO FOR IT...There was one instance where a York player did a Messiah player 1v1 and wound up at the endline ready to cross to a sea of BLUE no WHITE JERSEYS in sight. York looked a bit gassed at the end.

Usually everybody that plays Messiah is gassed by the end of 90 minutes.

[D3 Scout]

Game winner in the 90th minute of the UW Whitewater vs. St. Norbert match. Would hate to have to cover Whitewater's 6 8 center back on corners.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ew9YvnQQe2Q