SUNYAC 2015

[Mr.Right]

Looking at the SUNYAC as long as they do not beat each other up in conference games(which they usually do) they could be looking at 3 possibly 4 bids.

Cortland St-----------4-1-0  They lost to Rutgers Newark and their 4 out of conference wins have been cupcakes for the most part. They absolutely need to beat SLU today and then beat some top 4 SUNYAC teams in league play to get NCAA bid consideration.

Brockport St---------4-1-0   I liked this team last year and thought their 1st round 2014 NCAA loss to Bowdoin they showed some great athleticism and speed with a striker who played very well. This year they lost to Johns Hopkins but did beat Ohio Northern(who has some excellent wins to start the year). The rest of the wins have been cupcakes so like Cortland St they will need to beat a couple Top 4 conference teams and at least make the conference final to get NCAA bid consideration.

Geneseo St----------3-0-3  They have not lost yet and have had some impressive results against a couple top teams out of conference. They are getting to the point where some of those ties need to be turned into wins but a draw against SLU and a win of U of Rochester will come in handy in November. They also will need to take care of business in the SUNYAC and I believe would have a slight chance if they did not make the SUNYAC final but very slim.

Oneonta St----------3-2-1  The most disappointing team in D3 so far IMO. I was not impressed with what I saw of them at RPI and at Williams. They did not look like the 2014 NCAA Final 4 team. They have played the toughest out of conference schedule but have come away with a 0-1-2 record which will not help them. I do not think they will go undefeated in this conference again this year but if they only have 2 to 3 conference losses and MUST beat Montclair St and Lycoming to get a NCAA bid. Their SOS should be around .600 but they will need to get some wins against ranked teams.

Potsdam St---------6-1-0   The surprise team of D3 so far along with Eastern CT. Wins against Skidmore and SLU have been noted and will help come November but they need to finish Top 4 in conference to get a home seed and not slip up in conference games. A win against undefeated RPI tomorrow night will help their cause considerably.

New Paltz St--------4-0-0  Their 4 wins are against some BAD teams so this record is heavily inflated. They will struggle to finish Top 6 in this conference and will not be heard from again. Interestingly, they might have the oldest coach in D3.

Plattsburgh St------7-0-0   Another over inflated record with plenty of cupcake wins. However, unlike New Paltz they do have 1 win vs Hobart and still play SLU and Skidmore. They MUST beat SLU and Skidmore to have a chance but those early season wins over about 4-5 cupcakes will bring their SOS WAY down. They are going to have to have a stellar conference record to be a NCAA consideration for Pool C.

Buffalo St--------4-1-1  A great and somewhat surprising start for Buffalo St. However another over inflated record as their 4 wins are against very weak competition. They still play Clarkson and SLU but even with wins against those 2 schools in will not be enough to get NCAA consideration unless they go through conference play with 1 or 2 losses. Highly unlikely and therefore they would need to win the SUNYAC. Again highly unlikely.

Oswego St-------3-1-1  Their 3 wins are against weak competiton. Howver, I give them props for beating Nescac foe Hamilton. For Oswego St that is a good win but it will not look like anything bright and shiny to the NCAA committee. They got hammered by SLU and had an interesting 4-4 tie with Alfred(an up and coming Empire 8 side). Like New Paltz, they are going to struggle in conference and will fade away pretty quickly.

[Golden_Fan]

The first weekend of conference play will start to tell where these teams stand

The big games that weekend should be
9/25
Buff State @ Brockport

9/26
Oneonta @ Cortland which is a rematch of the SUNYAC finals last year
Buff State @ Geneseo
Potsdam @ Plattsburgh

[Mr.Right]

Golden Fan,

I have only seen Oneonta St...Any info on the others? Strengths and weaknesses? Who are you top6 and why?

Personally,

I actually like the way SUNYAC does their conference tournament. Take 6 teams and reward the Top 2 by giving them bye's into the Semi-Finals. Excellent way to giving most teams a chance and making the regular season enticing

[Golden_Fan]

I've only been able to catch a hand full of games, mostly brockports,  but what I could tell Brockport has returned their core  I believe lost only 2 due to graduation and one or two others for reasons I do not know. They seem to be moving the ball a lot better this year and their only goal they have given up so far had come off a defensive mistake in the 18.

Got to see some of the cortland vs ithaca game. Cortland looked fairly good in the first half but second half seemed to drop off and let Ithaca back in the game. I dont know if they just took their foot off the gas that second half or what. I know cortland graduated their keeper and the new kid did not appear to be confident coming out for balls in the air, one which definitely led to one of ithaca's goals.

I caught a good hour of the potsdam vs SLU game and potsdam has improved greatly over the last 5 years. Even though they were playing more defensive this game when they did get the ball they looked to counter quick and actually passed it pretty well through the midfield.

For the top six I really cant give a confident ranking as I really havent seen the other teams play but based on what I have seen and based on scores thus far the top 3 are most likely (in no order) Cortland, oneonta, Brockport. The next three would have to be geneseo, potsdam, and plattsburgh  followed closely by buff state.

I can never really tell with plattsburgh because they always play such a weak schedule in the beginning. After Wednesday I feel that we will be able to tell more about the top teams since they will have more opponents in common. SLU alone played 7/10 of the SUNYAC teams

[Mr.Right]

Excellent..Thanks for the analysis. Between the SUNYAC and NJAC we never get much info on either league.

I am also shocked SLU is playing 7/10 SUNYAC teams.

[Golden_Fan]

Agreed, they might as well join the league

[Golden_Fan]

http://www.nscaa.com/rankings/4395/NCAADivisionIII/men/East/Poll2


6 Sunyac teams make the list with geneseo receiving votes. I don't think plattsburgh should be that high until we see them play SLU tomorrow

[Mr.Right]

Are those results correct? They have SLU beating Cortland 9-0 if I am reading that right. Also, Did Stevens really draw Elmira? I would not think the Empire 8 would get started this early. I like the Plattsburgh ranking for now as they defeated Hobart and Skidmore. SLU's schedule is not much better than Plattsburgh's to be honest

[Flying Weasel]

Yeah, usually I am down on Plattsaburgh for a cupcake non-conference schedule year-in year-out, but wins over Hobart and Skidmore this year forces you to take them more seriously than usual.

[Golden_Fan]

Are those results correct? They have SLU beating Cortland 9-0 if I am reading that right. Also, Did Stevens really draw Elmira? I would not think the Empire 8 would get started this early. I like the Plattsburgh ranking for now as they defeated Hobart and Skidmore. SLU's schedule is not much better than Plattsburgh's to be honest

Cortland and SLU tied 0-0, some one must have accidentally hit that 9 when typing it in

[AUPepBand]

Are those results correct? They have SLU beating Cortland 9-0 if I am reading that right. Also, Did Stevens really draw Elmira? I would not think the Empire 8 would get started this early. I like the Plattsburgh ranking for now as they defeated Hobart and Skidmore. SLU's schedule is not much better than Plattsburgh's to be honest

Empire 8 is underway. Alfred topped St. John Fisher 4-0 on Saturday at Growney.
Tonight, the Saxons defeated Mid Atlantic Region #8 ranked King's College, 2-0 in Scranton.
Alfred now 6-1-1, while the Monarchs drop to 6-2.

[Mr.Right]

Are those results correct? They have SLU beating Cortland 9-0 if I am reading that right. Also, Did Stevens really draw Elmira? I would not think the Empire 8 would get started this early. I like the Plattsburgh ranking for now as they defeated Hobart and Skidmore. SLU's schedule is not much better than Plattsburgh's to be honest

Empire 8 is underway. Alfred topped St. John Fisher 4-0 on Saturday at Growney.
Tonight, the Saxons defeated Mid Atlantic Region #8 ranked King's College, 2-0 in Scranton.
Alfred now 6-1-1, while the Monarchs drop to 6-2.

Yes I know a kid on that team and he say's the team is all buying into former Hopkins coach philosophy and enjoy playing for him

[Golden_Fan]

Any one watch the Plattsburgh vs SLU game? I see Plattsburgh got out shot 16-5 and had no shots on goal

[PaulNewman]

Any one watch the Plattsburgh vs SLU game? I see Plattsburgh got out shot 16-5 and had no shots on goal

I watched it.  The action was very back and forth.  Plattsburgh is good with some real talent.  SLU just a bit better with a little more quality.

[Golden_Fan]

Some predictions:

9/25
Brockport 2 - Buff State 0
Cortland 3 - New paltz 0
Oneonta 4  - Oswego 0
Geneseo  3 - Fredonia 0

9/26
Oneonta 2 -  Cortland 2
Buff State 1 - Geneseo 2
Potsdam 2 - Plattsburgh 1
New Paltz 1 - Oswego 0
Brockport 4 - Fredonia 0