UAA 2015

[blooter442]

Brandeis wins the UAA title outright after WashU's 1-0 2OT victory over Case.

[PaulNewman]

Another brutal, just brutal loss for Case.  Lost in OT yesterday on a PK and lose in double OT 1-0 to Wash U today.  I like this Case team a lot, but with Cvecko being marked and double-marked Case just doesn't have enough offense. 

Case could not produce a goal in nearly 200 minutes of play.

[NERevs127]

TenneeseeJed: 10
NERevs127: 10
Mr. Right: 10
Mid-Atlantic Fan: 8
Lastguyoffthebench: 2
NCAC New England: 1

[TennesseeJed]

Another brutal, just brutal loss for Case.  Lost in OT yesterday on a PK and lose in double OT 1-0 to Wash U today.  I like this Case team a lot, but with Cvecko being marked and double-marked Case just doesn't have enough offense. 

Case could not produce a goal in nearly 200 minutes of play.

I agree with you.  I was really pulling for CWRU, as you could see in my picks in this thread...they cost me 2 W's!     Tough way for season to end, but it just seems to be the UAA conf. way...  I think that Brandeis deserved to win the UAA the way they played this season.  Congrats to the Judges.  Well played!

P.s., I had about left CMU for dead this season...they really turned things around this weekend with 2 big W's.  They too cost me big in the picks here...     

I would have given the game to CW last week, but I'm guessing it's gonna be a white knuckles ride next Saturday in Cleveland.

[PaulNewman]

Another brutal, just brutal loss for Case.  Lost in OT yesterday on a PK and lose in double OT 1-0 to Wash U today.  I like this Case team a lot, but with Cvecko being marked and double-marked Case just doesn't have enough offense. 

Case could not produce a goal in nearly 200 minutes of play.

I agree with you.  I was really pulling for CWRU, as you could see in my picks in this thread...they cost me 2 W's!     Tough way for season to end, but it just seems to be the UAA conf. way...  I think that Brandeis deserved to win the UAA the way they played this season.  Congrats to the Judges.  Well played!

P.s., I had about left CMU for dead this season...they really turned things around this weekend with 2 big W's.  They too cost me big in the picks here...     

I would have given the game to CW last week, but I'm guessing it's gonna be a white knuckles ride next Saturday in Cleveland.

It will be interesting to see if Case will turn up for the game Saturday, likely believing that they are playing for little more than pride and after what had to be an extremely deflating weekend.

BTW, I forgot to mention that the Wash U goal was scored off a nice pass and then a great run and even better finish from point blank range on an angle by a freshman that gave the Case GK no chance.

[blooter442]

Slipping under the radar: it's worth a mention that NYU won at Emory yesterday 1-0. This is an NYU side that was 5-10 and hadn't won a UAA game yet all year, so for them to get a big win at an Emory side that was reeling from a loss to Brandeis on Friday is a big deal. Definitely not enough to make any significant change in the Violets' fortune, but I thought it was worth noting that they're definitely aiming to finish the season strong.

[PaulNewman]

Slipping under the radar: it's worth a mention that NYU won at Emory yesterday 1-0. This is an NYU side that was 5-10 and hadn't won a UAA game yet all year, so for them to get a big win at an Emory side that was reeling from a loss to Brandeis on Friday is a big deal. Definitely not enough to make any significant change in the Violets' fortune, but I thought it was worth noting that they're definitely aiming to finish the season strong.

OR, this suggests Emory may have packed it in after the loss on Friday knowing they were done.

[Mr.Right]

I was shocked at that result but you may be right. I watched the Emory v Brandeis game on Friday and both teams looked good. I was pleasantly surporised with the way Emory played and while they did not have quite as many chances as Brandeis they possessed very well.

[blooter442]

Carnegie deserves some credit for getting to 11-2-3 at this point. From being down 1-0 against Emory with five minutes left at which point they seemed completely done, to going on a very tough road trip and finishing 2-0, is an impressive turnaround. Even more notable is that they went 1-0 down against WashU but came back to win 3-1, and made their one big chance count at a Chicago stadium where road victories are hard to come by. We've constantly derided them and said they're overrated and that they've shipped goals, but the fact of the matter is that they're 11-2-3 - 3-1-2 in conference - and could well finish second in the conference.

WashU is a very good, cohesive side. They were good value for their 2-0 win at Brandeis, and I was impressed by the way they kept Brandeis from establishing any rhythm. They rolled on the road at NYU, which might be more of an indication of NYU's plight rather than WashU's skill, but you still have to get the result away from home. They'll be a little upset that they managed to throw away a second-half lead against Carnegie, but WashU is one of those teams that I feel always plays better away from home and that could work to their advantage should they get a bid to NCAAs.

Things very well could change, but assuming the UAA gets two Pool C bids I think these two are it.

[TennesseeJed]

Carnegie deserves some credit for getting to 11-2-3 at this point...    We've constantly derided them and said they're overrated and that they've shipped goals, but the fact of the matter is that they're 11-2-3 - 3-1-2 in conference - and could well finish second in the conference.

Agree with you 100% Blooter.

[Mr.Right]

It is quite possible that CMU jumps to #2 or more likely #3 today because of those 2 wins in Great Lakes.

[lastguyoffthebench]

With the UAA resources at hand and the quality of education, you'd think a UAA school would at least be in the Elite 8 every single year...

Does traveling throughout the season really hurt these teams time come November?   

[Mr.Right]

Brandeis has been stepping up to the plate the past few years...Now they need to take a bite and get their butts in the Final 4. They are not as good as last year but I feel like I have been repeating that phrase for alot of teams this year. If they can stay on that carpet until the Final 4 they would be my pick but it will be a very tough road...This will not be a 2006 NYU route

[blooter442]

Does traveling throughout the season really hurt these teams time come November?

Doubt it.

What I think it has to do with is that UAA teams have long been athletic and skilled teams but not necessarily "scrappy." This ends up hurting them when they get to NCAAs. Think about how many tournament games, particularly Sweet 16 and Elite 8 games, are complete 1-0 scrapfests. Very few are open, technically-flowing games that would suit a UAA team's strengths. In other words, UAA teams play well enough technically, but just can't get the job done when push comes to shove.

My own opinion is that I think NESCAC teams are more successful in the NCAA tourney because they see that physical, scrappy nature week-in, week-out, and while UAA teams may be technically better, a scrappy NESCAC side - e.g. Bowdoin 2010 - is better suited to the game as the season wears on than a UAA side that is technically superior yet more lightweight. Tufts, and maybe Williams, is really the only NESCAC side I've seen in the last five years be successful with a technical and not completely direct approach, but their athleticism and scrappiness had something to do with them winning a national title.

It is pretty telling that Brandeis is the only UAA school to have won an NCAA National Championship, and that was back in 1976. In fact, Brandeis has probably become the scrappiest side in the UAA in the last two years, grinding out results in tough games, particularly last year against Tufts, Bowdoin, and Amherst (PKs), and this year against...well, pretty much every team! This is pretty ironic considering they were long pegged as being lightweight, but they've brought in more big, athletic players who are both technically good and physically able to handle the demands of a rough game. I've heard from people associated with the Judges that Tufts and Rochester are two of the toughest sides that they play year-in, year-out, so Rochester is probably the UAA's best historical example of a scrappy, athletic team.

[nw_ds]

One argument that I don't think I've seen mentioned about why UAA teams historically don't seem to make as many deep runs in the tournament is that because the conference is so geographically spread out, the different UAA teams are usually sent to different regions. This actually decreases the chances of any one of them making a deep run because UAA teams don't ever meet each other in the tournament. Contrast that with other conferences like NESCAC where you will often find multiple teams from the NESCAC in the same region. Naturally that will increase the chances of any one of these NESCAC schools to make a deep run because you will see NCAA matchups between NESCAC schools in the tournament, which in essence gives a "free" pass to a NESCAC team on to the next round. UAA teams never get these free passes of one of their teams moving on to the next round because they never meet each other in the tournament. Not saying there is no validity to other arguments, but just something to think about.