2015 D3 Season: NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

[PaulNewman]

Guess Whitworth didn't take kindly to drawing with George Fox.  Already up 5-0 with a ton of time left.

OWU already smoking Allegheny 3-0 at the half.

[backyarddawg]

Kean I believe has won a National Championship so it does not surprise what coach Irvine has done there as quickly as he does.

Strength of conference, recruiting resources, improvement on W-L record...

Lycoming was somewhat already there.  Kean has been the biggest shocker to me.

When they played Kenyon last year or two years ago, did you watch, NCAC?

[TennesseeJed]

Before I forget, want to note some of the big results today so far that may fly under the radar...

Endicott beats WNEC in OT to keep very impressive record intact.

Macalester nips rival Carleton.

Haverford continues streak beating Muhlenberg. 

My new fave, UW-Osh gets cursed, losing to Platteville!

WPI and Babson keep trending down, both held to draws in conference.

Vassar loses RIT (I think it was RIT).

Gordon over Nichols. 

W&L keeps winning in ODAC.

Rowan bounces back.

Ohio Northern quietly on long unbeaten streak.

KZoo has gradually recovered from very poor start and might almost be on the bubble and have a chance to climb on with a game with Calvin coming up.

Colby-Sawyer mimics Thomas (ME), walloping Green Mtn 14-0.

Loras vs Luther should be a good one tonight.

Forgot Eastern held to draw by DeSales.

CNU loses 2-0 to the overall 8-6-1 Wesley team, leaving them atop the CAC at 5-1-0 with Salisbury at 4-0-1, York at 4-1-1 and CNU 4th at 3-1-2.

[PaulNewman]

Barber Shop Trash Talk: the pre-coming-down-the-home-stretch edition

Gather 'round the barber poll friends and foes, as we head down the backstretch of this compelling, thrill ride of a 2015 season.

We're down to 7 unbeatens, as powerhouse Christopher Newport fell to 8-6-1 Wesley.  You could smell a loss coming for the Captains, as they left themselves dangling with too many draws, but who would have guessed Wesley?  CNU now falls into my "teasing us" category (and more on that later).  Only two unblemished squads remain -- Amherst and F&M, and at least on paper these two have perhaps created a little separation from the rest of the field.  The Diplomats, ho-hum, earned yet another 1-0 victory, away against a hungry Hopkins side.  The 'Fords of Haverford await.  Meanwhile Amherst bided their time against Colby but earned a workmanlike 2-0 W and head to Sonnylistonville today to take on the Bates Bobcats who may be well-satisfied on the weekend already having sent home the defending champs with a hard-to-digest single point.  Then there are Brandeis, Whitworth and Montclair saying not so fast regarding the top two.  Brandeis just keeps winning (and watching clips of Charlie Sheen pre-game helps).  If the Judges prevail today at home with Wash U -- are Wash U and Wesleyan really the same team, chronically losing 2OT games to play themselves off the NCAA bubble? -- Vegas puts the odds of Brandeis winning the UAA outright at about 97%.  Whitworth doesn't like blemishes and the repayment for poor 'ol George Fox was a 6-0 spanking.  And Montclair State -- are the NJAC games scripted and produced in affiliation with WWE? -- won a showcase match-up away with fierce rival Rutgers-Camden in OT after late missed and made PKs.  Moving down just a half-hair, Calvin, who only seems to get mentioned in terms of a relatively weak schedule, just keeps minding their own business and WINNING on their way to yet another high seed in the NCAA tournament.  Mark your calendar for the upcoming date with KZoo, though, as the latter want to use the Knights to climb into "you shouldn't have forgotten about me" status.  Kenyon had probably the Lords' best week of the season, with impressive showings against rivals Oberlin and Denison, and with OWU storming down the tracks, we might as well have the Lords and Battling Bishops share the same spot in the new top 10 until they meet in Delaware.  I regretfully have to downgrade the UWs after an all too brief love affair -- the UW-W version for sitting idle for 9 days, and UW-Osh for stumbling right after we put them center stage.  What to do?  Call up new girlfriend Thomas More who may be more than I can handle, and beg old trusted stand-bys, Loras, Oneonta State, and Trinity (TX), in that order, to come back home.  Apologies in advance to Kean, Eastern, Elizabethtown, Plattsburgh, and Lycoming, as I just don't know you well enough yet, so you are advised to go about continuing to win, and love will find you down the line.  What about Haverford, Case Western, Texas-Dallas, and Macalester from St Paul?  Yes, I know, but just keep winning and you'll be fine.

Contenders or Pretenders?

Oh, what to do with SLU, Tufts, Wheaton (Ill), Messiah, DePauw and Middlebury?  I really, really don't know, but please stay out of my team's bracket!

Sleepers who might deserve a little more hype?

Let's count Conn College, Brockport, MIT, Skidmore, Hobart, ECSU, UMass-Boston, Endicott, Eastern, Lycoming, Colorado College, Texas-Dallas, Oglethorpe, W&L, Randolph, Roanoke or Lynchburg, Ohio Northern, Macalester, St Johns, Redlands, Occidental, Maryville (TN), Stevens, St Scholastica, Dickinson (yes, Dickinson), King's and Springfield.

Bright lights that burned up on re-entry?

I'd say RPI, WPI, Denison and Gettysburg for starters.  What about Rowan and the two Rutgers?  And while they don't really fit the category, let's mention Williams, Wesleyan, Babson and Wheaton (MA).

Something I just can't figure out

The regulars here pretty much know who cheers for who, but where are the partisans for all of the other schools, including huge names like F&M, Trinity (TX), Christopher Newport, Haverford, Swat, Hopkins, Babson, Wheaton (MA), Ohio Northern, Calvin, the entire Pac NW, the ODAC (except for W&L guy), the SUNYAC and SAA (except when lastguy stands in), and the mightly NJAC (again, except for last guy), etc, etc, etc?  How can F&M after 3 consecutive stellar seasons and a #1 ranking not have an identified fan (not counting that some of the Messiah faithful seem to adopt F&M as a family member given close proximity and the coach being a Messiah icon)? D3soccer.com is a great site and THE site for D3... so where are the rabid fans from like Thomas More?

Poll ideas

Top venues for playing and spectating, like Messiah,Trinity (TX), OWU, SLU, the Wheatons, Christopher Newports, Loras (football lines should disqualify but when it's the Rock Bowl we'll look the other way), and one or two of those ODACs.  How about nice-looking and look-new places such as Wabash, Kzoo, and Hope?  What's the best park in the NESCAC? 

And what are the top video productions, which could have categories for best pure video stream and then best overall video production package?  For the latter we know Messiah, Wheaton (Ill) and Trinity are a few of the very best, and for my free watching and just video I like KZoo.

A glance inside Keuka College

This is my pick for a closer look as they are one of our very proud remaining seven unbeatens.

Keuka (pronounced 'Coo-ka') College is in Keuka Park, NY on Keuka Lake in the Finger Lakes region of New York State and at the bottom of a triangle roughly equidistant from Rochester and Syracuse as the other coordinates.  The campus sits right on the lake with beautiful vistas.  The college is described as a spiritual (non-specific) liberal arts environment with heavy service and experiential components and very close collaborations with universities in China and Vietnam.  The college highlights its curriculum as built around "The Field Period," which is a month long internship or self-guided personal experience that is required for each of a student's four years.  98% of students receive some type of financial assistance. The school also has graduate level programs in criminal justice, management, nursing and OT.

Keuka plays in the NEAC, where Morrisville State has been the top dog in soccer at least in recent years.  Keuka used to be the "Storm," but in 2014 changed their name to the "Wolfpack."  The Wolfpack are currently sitting at 10-0-2 and 7-0-1 in conference, and their showdown with Morrisville comes on the final day of regular season.  The 'Pack were a solid 11-5-1 last season, led by the 2014 NCAA D3 (and maybe all divisions?) goal scoring leader, Austin Gerber, who had 26 goals and 6 assists for a total of 58 points on the season.  Unfortunately for Keuka he has graduated but they are still having their finest season in program history.  3 players hail from Curacao.  They are coached by Matt Tantalo, who is in his 11th season.  Before coming to Keuka, he was an assistant at Syracuse and then the head ball coach (tip of cap to Steve Spurrier) at Elmira.  He starred in his day at RIT, starting all 4 years and helping to lead RIT to an Elite 8 appearance in 1994.  He led Keuka to its only NCAA appearance ever in 2007.

[PaulNewman]

Keuka remains unbeaten...beat SUNY Poly 2-1.

[PaulNewman]

HUGE weekend for Case.  Just beat Rochester 1-0.  UR should be done.  Brandeis down 2-0 with about 10 min to go.

I was a little harsh with Wash U earlier today.  The Bears are in much better shape than Wesleyan at 9-2-3 and 2-1-1.  Should win next 2 comfortably and then maybe only need a win or a win and a draw with CMU, Case, and Chicago.  CMU and Case are at home.

[blooter442]

WashU beats Brandeis 2-0 - Judges' first home loss since October 12, 2013 against Rochester. Bears' first goal came 5' in on a mistake, goalkeeper came out to charge a shot where he should have stayed home, got chipped 1-0. Chaput hit the post for Brandeis less than 5' later and then had some decent chances but poor final ball and shot selection let the Judges down. Then WashU capitalized on the Judges' inability to finish with the killer second goal at around the 60th minute, wide-open header that seemingly went through the keeper. Brandeis had a couple chances down the stretch but never really threatened.

It wasn't a case of WashU playing well as much as Brandeis being poor. No offensive incisiveness and very poor shot selection. They're 12-2-1 and with all the parity this year I think they'll be fine but they need to get the offense in check if they have any hope of winning the UAA or matching their Elite Eight run of last year.

I'm not a big believer in karma, but perhaps this was the karmic retribution reverse of last year's Brandeis Midwest road trip. Last season, Judges won a game at WashU that they had no business winning, tying it in the last minute of regulation on an own goal and winning in OT, before losing at Chicago in a game that they absolutely dominated. This year, at home, they beat Chicago 1-0 in a game that the Maroons dominated, while losing to WashU in a game they should have scored at least once. Not a serious thing to read into, but just a fun fact. Another fun fact: I spotted Rui Pinheiro at the Brandeis-WashU game, according to their roster his brother is a freshman midfielder for the Bears, so that would explain his presence.

Elsewhere, Carnegie and Emory tie 1-1, Chicago gets a 3-0 win at NYU, and Rochester finally snaps its streak of draws and loses at Case Western. The UAA has a ton of parity, and with over half the games having been played the second half of the league season should be exciting.

[PaulNewman]

NCAC NE Top 25 (thru 10/18)



1) Amherst (All 1st place votes)
2) Franklin & Marshall
3) Whitworth
4) Montclair State
5) Calvin
6) Thomas More
7) Kenyon
8) Brandeis
9) Haverford
10) Loras
11) Oneonta State
12) UW-Whitewater
13) Trinity (TX)
14) OWU
15) Plattsburgh
16) Elizabethtown
17) Kean
18) Lycoming
19) Case Western
20) Christopher Newport
21) Colorado College
22) Macalester
23) Ohio Northern
24) Middlebury
25) Wash U

RV (in order) -- Tufts, UW-Oshkosh, SLU, Wheaton (Ill), Eastern, MIT, DePauw, Messiah, Texas-Dallas, Dickinson, Brockport, Stockton, Washington & Lee, ECSU, Endicott, Hobart, Skidmore, Salisbury, Randolph, Roanoke, Oglethorpe, St Johns, St Scholastica, Stevens, John Carroll, Redlands, Maryville (TN), Springfield, Gordon

Watch List (no order) -- Williams, Wesleyan, Conn Coll, Carnegie Mellon, Chicago, Emory, Hopkins, UMass-Boston, Occidental, Penn State-Behrend, Rowan, Kalamazoo, Lynchburg, Birmingham-Southern, North Park, Concordia (WI), Denison/Oberlin, Knox, Rose-Hulman, King's, Cabrini, Westminster (MO), Dominican, RPI, WPI, Pacific Lutheran, Keuka, Rutgers C and N

[backyarddawg]

Interesting top 25 as you have teams are haven't been ranked all year now ranked.  Love to hear how you came up with this?

NCAC NE Top 25 (thru 10/18)



1) Amherst (All 1st place votes)
2) Franklin & Marshall
3) Whitworth
4) Montclair State
5) Calvin
6) Thomas More
7) Kenyon
8) Brandeis
9) Haverford
10) Loras
11) Oneonta State
12) UW-Whitewater
13) Trinity (TX)
14) OWU
15) Plattsburgh
16) Elizabethtown
17) Kean
18) Lycoming
19) Case Western
20) Christopher Newport
21) Colorado College
22) Macalester
23) Ohio Northern
24) Middlebury
25) Wash U

RV (in order) -- Tufts, UW-Oshkosh, SLU, Wheaton (Ill), Eastern, MIT, DePauw, Messiah, Texas-Dallas, Dickinson, Brockport, Stockton, Washington & Lee, ECSU, Endicott, Hobart, Skidmore, Salisbury, Randolph, Roanoke, Oglethorpe, St Johns, St Scholastica, Stevens, John Carroll, Redlands, Maryville (TN), Springfield, Gordon

Watch List (no order) -- Williams, Wesleyan, Conn Coll, Carnegie Mellon, Chicago, Emory, Hopkins, UMass-Boston, Occidental, Penn State-Behrend, Rowan, Kalamazoo, Lynchburg, Birmingham-Southern, North Park, Concordia (WI), Denison/Oberlin, Knox, Rose-Hulman, King's, Cabrini, Westminster (MO), Dominican, RPI, WPI, Pacific Lutheran, Keuka, Rutgers C and N

[PaulNewman]

Interesting top 25 as you have teams are haven't been ranked all year now ranked.  Love to hear how you came up with this?


Ask me about a particular team and I'll tell you why I put them there.

[backyarddawg]

Amherst jump to #1?

Haverford 9?  Not ranked in any polls and 3 blemishes.

Eastern out of top 25 - 12-0-2 and 1 of 8 unblemished teams.

Overall what's your criteria?

[PaulNewman]

Amherst jump to #1?

Haverford 9?  Not ranked in any polls and 3 blemishes.

Eastern out of top 25 - 12-0-2 and 1 of 8 unblemished teams.

Overall what's your criteria?

I had Amherst #1 last week.  More consistently dominating against slightly more difficult opposition than F&M.  I believe RH had Amherst #1 as well.  F&M has an argument but look at Amherst's GF and GA.

Haverford is one of the hottest teams in the country, with one of the toughest schedules in the country, and they've met every challenge since losing tight one to Wesleyan and Montclair.  6-0 in the Centennial, one of the top conferences. 

Eastern has played a mostly inferior schedule and just had another draw.  I think they've had a great season but when I think about all the other teams I don't think they are one of the 25 best.  Keuka is one of the seven remaining unbeatens as well.  Do you think Keuka should be in the top 25?

I base picks on a combination of record, schedule difficulty, recent results, how formidable they would be at this point in time against other very good teams.  And mostly I'm just having fun.  I am NOT predicting what I think the polls will be....just who I think truly deserve to be there all things considered.

[dontshootthegoose]

Good job New England, see no blemishes in the North or Central region. I'll take your word for the rest of the nation. Keep it up!

[Mid-Atlantic Fan]

NCAC NE Top 25 (thru 10/18)



1) Amherst (All 1st place votes)
2) Franklin & Marshall
3) Whitworth
4) Montclair State
5) Calvin
6) Thomas More
7) Kenyon
8) Brandeis
9) Haverford
10) Loras
11) Oneonta State
12) UW-Whitewater
13) Trinity (TX)
14) OWU
15) Plattsburgh
16) Elizabethtown
17) Kean
18) Lycoming
19) Case Western
20) Christopher Newport
21) Colorado College
22) Macalester
23) Ohio Northern
24) Middlebury
25) Wash U

RV (in order) -- Tufts, UW-Oshkosh, SLU, Wheaton (Ill), Eastern, MIT, DePauw, Messiah, Texas-Dallas, Dickinson, Brockport, Stockton, Washington & Lee, ECSU, Endicott, Hobart, Skidmore, Salisbury, Randolph, Roanoke, Oglethorpe, St Johns, St Scholastica, Stevens, John Carroll, Redlands, Maryville (TN), Springfield, Gordon

Watch List (no order) -- Williams, Wesleyan, Conn Coll, Carnegie Mellon, Chicago, Emory, Hopkins, UMass-Boston, Occidental, Penn State-Behrend, Rowan, Kalamazoo, Lynchburg, Birmingham-Southern, North Park, Concordia (WI), Denison/Oberlin, Knox, Rose-Hulman, King's, Cabrini, Westminster (MO), Dominican, RPI, WPI, Pacific Lutheran, Keuka, Rutgers C and N

I think you have a great sense of how teams are performing and who is deserving of a ranking. Good job! 

[TennesseeJed]

NCAC NE Top 25 (thru 10/18)



1) Amherst (All 1st place votes)
2) Franklin & Marshall
3) Whitworth
4) Montclair State
5) Calvin
6) Thomas More
7) Kenyon
8) Brandeis
9) Haverford
10) Loras
11) Oneonta State
12) UW-Whitewater
13) Trinity (TX)
14) OWU
15) Plattsburgh
16) Elizabethtown
17) Kean
18) Lycoming
19) Case Western
20) Christopher Newport
21) Colorado College
22) Macalester
23) Ohio Northern
24) Middlebury
25) Wash U

RV (in order) -- Tufts, UW-Oshkosh, SLU, Wheaton (Ill), Eastern, MIT, DePauw, Messiah, Texas-Dallas, Dickinson, Brockport, Stockton, Washington & Lee, ECSU, Endicott, Hobart, Skidmore, Salisbury, Randolph, Roanoke, Oglethorpe, St Johns, St Scholastica, Stevens, John Carroll, Redlands, Maryville (TN), Springfield, Gordon

Watch List (no order) -- Williams, Wesleyan, Conn Coll, Carnegie Mellon, Chicago, Emory, Hopkins, UMass-Boston, Occidental, Penn State-Behrend, Rowan, Kalamazoo, Lynchburg, Birmingham-Southern, North Park, Concordia (WI), Denison/Oberlin, Knox, Rose-Hulman, King's, Cabrini, Westminster (MO), Dominican, RPI, WPI, Pacific Lutheran, Keuka, Rutgers C and N

Great work!  Two quick thoughts.  First is more of a question.  I know that MSU has had a lot of games against strong opponents, but I'm surprised that the 3-0 loss to Kean hasn't impacted their relative ranking a bit more than it seems to have.  Seems to have done more for Kean than it did on the negative side for MSU.  They clearly deserve to be on the list, and in a very competitive spot, but I guess I would have expected a bit more deterioration in rank below top 4-5 teams with such a loss against a currently unranked team.  We'll see tomorrow what the polls show, but interesting to me that they haven't dropped much at all on Massey, nor here.  2nd is why Rochester didn't make your watch list.  I know the record is tough but their SOS (at least according to Massey--I know the methodology is different than NCAA) is also just about at the top of the list.  Lots of close matches against teams that are either ranked or on your other two lists.  Curious if that was a conscious decision to leave UR off or just below the radar in your thinking?  I think a post-season run for them is going to be tough but if they won the next 4 games, who knows?  They should definitely win the next 2 and then Brandeis and Emory are likely to both be hard fought games, either of which could go both ways.  I think Brandeis is clearly a favorite for that game, but it's a home game for UR and Brandeis just dropped a game to WU who UR tied recently.