UAA 2015

[blooter442]

Agreed, I didn't see much of Webb this year but I also think your underestimating the tendency to reward the league champion. If it's close between the two I would expect the tie to go to Brandeis which would likely mean Ocel, although in my opinion Lanahan and Lynch would be just as deserving. But these awards usually go to offensive players.

To be fair, Brandeis didn't win the league last year and Savonen got POY - then again, he was the clear standout for the Judges, who despite not winning the conference were the most talented team in the league. Soboff could have made a case himself had he not been injured mid-season.

I would be fine with one of Ocel, Lanahan, or Lynch winning POY. In fact, my personal pick would be Lynch - he does all the dirty work, but is one of the most underrated players - nationally - IMHO with his skills, smarts, and defensive acumen. Really hope he gets the accolades that he deserves - he could very well be an all-star midfielder for the Judges (was an All-NE CM at Weymouth High) but has sacrificed his own glory for the good of the team.

CovensCorner, totally agree with the shoutout to Margolis - he has to be one of the best tacticians in the college game IMHO.

[CovensCorner]

It would have been interesting to see J. Ocel play with his brother S. Ocel, j. Ocel's freshman year.  The attack would have been quite impressive with Soboff, Savonen and s. Ocel with J. Ocel distributing the from the CAM position. 

As for Webb, he fell off the his pace once he got into conference play after such a hot start.

[NEsoccerfan]

UAA awards are out:

Most Valuable Player- Chris Cvecko (CWRU)
Rookie of the Year - Matthew Koh (Chicago)
Coaching Staff of the Year: Brandeis

First Team:
Chris Cvecko CWRU M Sr.
Jeff Greblick Rochester F Jr.
Matthew Koh Chicago F Fr.
Conor Lanahan Brandeis D Sr.
Max Lopez Chicago F Fr.
Josh Ocel Brandeis M Jr.
Chris Rieger Washington D So.
Matt Sherr Emory D Sr.
William Webb Carnegie Mellon M Sr.
Jack West Washington M Sr.
Ben Woodhouse Brandeis GK So.

Second Team
Jorge Bilbao Chicago M Sr.
Hill Bonin Chicago GK So.
Kevin Goon Washington D Jr.
Jacob Grindel CWRU M Jr.
Tristan Lockwood Carnegie Mellon M Jr.
Robbie Lynch Brandeis D Sr.
Jason McCartney Emory M So.
Christian Meyer Emory F So.
Jake Picard Brandeis M Sr.
Ben Swanger Rochester M Jr.
Zach Vieira Brandeis F Jr.

Thoughts? Surprises?

I was surprised that Cvecko won the MVP over Webb. I know we speculated that O'cell might receive the award, but I thought that if someone other than him (or a different brandeis player) would win it that it would be webb. Webb led the league with 13 goals (compared to cvecko's 10) and points with 31 (compared to cvecko's 22). Webb also had the edge in assists with 5 compared to Cvecko's 2. I'm curious why the coaches felt that Cvecko was more deserving.

As i am writing this I think i found the answer (which solves a debate we were having earlier in the thread). It appears that Webb only had 1 goal and no assists in conference play, whereas Cvecko had 4 goals and no assists in conference play. Surely this must be the reason. Interestingly enough, O'cell actually lead the conference in points (9) with 2 goals and 5 assists. So if conference statistics were the reason for Cvecko winning the MVP, I now wonder why O'cell did not get it. Perhaps an answer to that might be that Cvecko is a Sr. and ineligible for the award next year, whereas O'cell is a Jr. and could get it next year.

I'm disappointed Lynch didn't get first team. He is an absolute stud, and as Blooter mentioned a while back is playing out of position as a sacrifice for the team. It's a shame he doesn't have a first team all conference to show for it as I think he is the best outside back in the UAA.

Also surprised Lockwood didn't get first team. From the 3 CMU games I watched he seemed to be very busy and effective, despite his tiny stature.

I'm also surprised Stephen Depietto from Brandeis didn't at least receive honorable mention. As a freshman he has started all 19 of their games at outside back and has looked very very impressive.

[blooter442]

Cveko over Webb I can understand, and in terms of one individual being vital to his team, I watched Case a few different times and I would say Cveko was vital for Case. I would have liked to have seen Ocel get it, but Cveko is a worthy MVP.

The only major qualm I have is Greblick on the First Team?! He scored three goals all season, and only one was in UAA play - against Chicago - and had no assists. The other two were against Moravian, a weak non-conference team. His team didn't even come close to making the NCAA Tournament. That is a shocking selection, and I'm guessing a case of a player having his name recognized from previous years - he scored 9 goals and had 9 assists his freshman year, but hasn't done much since, and I watched several Rochester games this year. In fact, I can think of a much more worthy recipient of First Team honors who was an Honorable Mention: Desai of Chicago, who scored 11 goals this year. Granted, five of them were PKs, but I still consider him to be their most dangerous player, and he was an All-UAA First Team selection last year. I would have taken him in a heartbeat over Greblick.

Happy to see Woodhouse get first team honors, as he improved massively over the course of the year, but I think Bonin would have been just as worthy for the GK slot. Would have given ROY to Z. Masciopinto, but Koh is a good choice, although I might have picked Lopez. Robinson getting Honorable Mention was nice - he's really improved playing next to Lanahan, and while Lanahan is the director of the Brandeis D I think Robinson has been a big part of the Judges' defensive solidity.

Coven and Margolis et al are worthy Coaching Staff of the Year winners. Took a team that in my view isn't as talented as last year's squad was and got them to win the UAA going 6-1 in conference play.

[nw_ds]

Lynch is easily a first team quality player in my book. To be quite honest I'd probably have chosen Picard on the first team as well, he's not a player that immediately stands out but that's mainly due to his role and the more you watch Brandeis play the more you see how much the ball flows through him on offense and also how solid he is on defense. He also came up with a few big goals at the start of the season which I realize doesn't necessarily come into play for UAA awards but trust me Brandeis will miss him next year. That said having 4 field players on the first team may be a bit much so I'm not going to argue too much with any of the selections.

[PaulNewman]

I honestly don't understand how folks get so worked up about these All-Conference and All-American teams.  I admit that when the career is over and you want something that looks impressive on a job interview or law or med school application that they are nice things to have, and I'm sure the families of the players are very proud and all.  But that said, I know first hand that the vast, vast majority of these young men care far more about the relationships they've built with their teammates and overall team success.  I would bet money that any player who wins these awards would give up every single accolade in exchange for a national championship. 

Lynch is a perfect example.  I know him personally and part of the reason he should have made first team is that in addition to being a fantastic player, he is a top-notch competitor, leader, team guy, and winner.  I am sure he is most grateful that he came back from missing a full season due to injury to enjoy these last two years of Brandeis having exceptional seasons.

[blooter442]

Agree that Lynch would have been a justified 1st Team selection. My point was more that I couldn't understand how a player who didn't have a very good season by any means, statistically or otherwise (a striker with 3 goals and just 1 conference goal), ended up on the 1st Team, and speculated that perhaps it was due to past years' performances and legacy. Plus, it wasn't like the player was acting as a target man and holding up the ball for a high-scoring offense - this was on the 2nd-to-last place team. Just different than I would have done, but I respect the decisions and think that most of the selections were good choices.

[nw_ds]

I honestly don't understand how folks get so worked up about these All-Conference and All-American teams.  I admit that when the career is over and you want something that looks impressive on a job interview or law or med school application that they are nice things to have, and I'm sure the families of the players are very proud and all.  But that said, I know first hand that the vast, vast majority of these young men care far more about the relationships they've built with their teammates and overall team success.  I would bet money that any player who wins these awards would give up every single accolade in exchange for a national championship. 

Lynch is a perfect example.  I know him personally and part of the reason he should have made first team is that in addition to being a fantastic player, he is a top-notch competitor, leader, team guy, and winner.  I am sure he is most grateful that he came back from missing a full season due to injury to enjoy these last two years of Brandeis having exceptional seasons.

Spot on

[Jump4Joy]

Judges probably surprised to be down 1-0 early.

[Sandy]

But that said, I know first hand that the vast, vast majority of these young men care far more about the relationships they've built with their teammates and overall team success.  I would bet money that any player who wins these awards would give up every single accolade in exchange for a national championship. 

True. But damn it would be nice to tell people you were an All-American in college. First Team regional All-American doesn't have quite the same ring to it.

[Saint of Old]

These boyz need to win 5 more games and they wont  need to say anything, people will ask you about your ring!

[blooter442]

Brandeis won 2-1 against Thomas (ME). Winner came from Josh Ocel in the last minute, just like his brother Sam did in the last minute against Vassar in 2012. Thomas went up 1-0 in the 13th minute on a goal from Willie Clemons, assisted by D.J. Nicholas. Brandeis tied it around 10 minutes later on a header from Flahive after a great ball from Joshua Handler. Clemons then got sent off for a bad challenge, which didn't look worthy of a red card in my eyes, but regardless of their opponents being down to 10 men the Judges made hard work of finding that second goal, as they were held scoreless for most of the second half until Ocel blasted in a wondergoal from outside the box into the far corner with under a minute to play. Fantastic finish, and the 'keeper - who had made some great saves on Brandeis attempts - had no chance to stop it.

The game was relatively uneventful, as Brandeis had most of the ball but couldn't score for long stretches. But what was interesting was that Tre Ming, Thomas' main danger man, was sent off after the goal, allegedly for striking the ref. Mr.Right stated that Ming is a talent but a total headcase, and he was [synonym for correct] - even before the goal you could tell he was getting frustrated and was totally out of his game, and he was pretty much a non-factor throughout the game - I thought Adam LaBrie down the right flank was Thomas' biggest threat, although he was kept pretty quiet by Robbie Lynch. In the end, it didn't matter, as Brandeis ran out the final 42.3 seconds for the victory, although Thomas did hang tough especially after going down to 10 men. Judges will play the winner of RPI vs. Stevens tomorrow.

[blooter442]

With all of the UAA squads except for Brandeis - who will play Trinity in the Sweet 16 on Saturday - finished, I thought it might be interesting to take a look at where teams might be next year.

Chicago, I think, has to be the favorite. They lose Bilbao in midfield, but I think they're going to be very, very good. Like, significantly better than they were this year. Koh and Lopez, who were both excellent as first-years, will be back and a year more experienced. And while they might not possess the same unknown status as they did as incoming freshmen, I still think they're two excellent players who will only get better. Desai and Weis will be seniors, and both have proven their leadership and clutch abilities on offense and defense, respectively. Bonin will return in goal as a junior, and I already think he's one of the best, if not the best, in the UAA. I heard a comment from someone associated with the Brandeis program that Chicago was arguably stronger this year than last year, the year that they won the UAA pretty much out of nowhere, and while they didn't win the UAA this year that was more to do with Brandeis being able to win close games than Chicago faltering. Regardless, I think Chicago returns the strongest group of players, and will be legit next year.

I think WashU will be solid again. They lose Jack West but they have some great young talent coming through, most notably Ryan Sproule up top and Marco Pinheiro - younger brother of Tufts player Rui - in midfield. Geanon will be back and he's a good goalkeeper. But for a slip-up against Carnegie, WashU could very well have been in the UAA title race - I think if they'd beaten Carnegie that they wouldn't have lost against Chicago, but hypothetical situations are never really helpful. Regardless, I don't think WashU will lose much, and I think they'll be about where they were this year, and probably even better.

Carnegie will miss Webb, but he didn't have much of a second-half of the season. The Tartans also lose their goalkeeper - Bykowsky - and Greg Allen on D and Jordan Friedlander in the midfield, but Z. Masciopinto came up with some big goals in his first year, and he'll be a year more experienced. Lockwood will also be back, and I think he provides excellent fight and is the spirit of the team. The question for me is whether Carnegie can stop shipping goals, because as much as they scored a bunch this year they gave up a lot as well.

The real question mark for me is Brandeis. They'll lose Lanahan, whose presence in the heart of defense is huge, and Picard, who is excellent and possessing and retaining the ball. Yet I do think that Lanahan was more dominant last year than this year. They also lose Lynch, whose leadership and soccer smarts are huge - they're the type of thing you don't realize you've lost until its gone. But defensively the return of GK Woodhouse will help to solidify things - he improved massively as the year went on, and he commands his box well, but there are still two massive defensive holes to fill. Kyle Robinson at CB improved a lot next to Lanahan. Vieira and Jastremski return, as does Flahive, and perhaps most importantly Ocel, who might have two more seasons if he elects to use a medical hardship (he missed his entire frosh year with a broken leg) as his brother did. Brandeis returns the majority of its midfield and attack, but has some holes to fill on defense. If they can adapt, then I think they'll be OK.

Emory loses a lot. From their goalkeeper Abe Hannigan to forward Sebastian Hardington, and perhaps most importantly Matt Sherr on D. But I like Eli Curtin in midfield a lot, and everything seems to go through him. And with Sonny Travis in charge, Emory is always a competitive side, especially at home, so I think they'll rebound.

Case loses Cveko, the UAA MVP. Cveko was a really good player that could do it all, from scoring goals himself to creating them for his teammates, and even creating them for himself. If they hadn't gone 0-2 during that late October UAA weekend, they very well could have been in NCAAs or had a good chance at having at least a share of the UAA title. They bring back GK Christian Grimme, the brother of Ryan Grimme, who was a fantastic goalkeeper for Vassar, and he'll keep them in plenty of games next year.

For the first time in years, Rochester didn't even seem a legitimate threat to make the NCAA Tournament, and ultimately they didn't. Even when they missed out in 2011, it came down to them blowing their last two games. This year, they finished 6-5-5, weren't in RRs any of the 3 weeks, and posted an RvR of 1-2-3. The biggest thing was that Rochester didn't seem to have the same steeliness and resilience that they usually do, and I think that's what cost them an NCAA bid. They were anemic offensively and failed to convert UAA draws into wins, finishing with a conf. record of 1-3-3. I think losing Alex Swanger really hit them hard. The good news is they do return a lot, including Ben Swanger in midfield and Jeff Greblick up front, who had a poor season yet somehow got named 1st Team All-UAA, but is good when he's in form. They lose Fafinski, Seargent, and Buck, which is 3/4 of their back line, but their issues were on O more than D. Still, could be a problem.

For a few years, NYU has been the enigma of the UAA. They did beat Emory on the road for their lone conference win of the year, which I thought was impressive, but I think in hindsight as some others pointed out was more the case of Emory just throwing in the towel than anything. Obviously NYU has had some troubles defensively, although I don't think that can be put down to their GK Doucett because he actually looked pretty good on the occasions that I saw them. But what NYU hasn't had for a couple of years is a real X-factor, someone like Mike Soboff from Brandeis or Alex Swanger from Rochester. Someone who can play interchangably between the lines of midfield and forward and really give that extra dimension to the team's attack. I see a team that is relatively good technically and solid but not dynamic by any means. If they can address that, I think they'll be back to being a legitimate contender.

[Mr.Right]

Good work Bloots...I do not know the teams as well as you do but I must say after watching Chicago 2 times this year I felt besides Brandeis they were #2 in this conference. Not sure what happened at Kenyon as it sounds like 1st Half they were playing very well.

[Mr.Right]

Honestly, with what U of Chicago offers in terms of the school and location and everything they should be the best team in this league. I do not know if soccer is supported like it is at Brandeis but they should have the resources for this to be a Top 10 program in the country. O'Conner had some success there but wanted D1 and left for URI. 5 years later was fired after he destroyed that program completely. Wiercinski also had some success but really this program should take off. Ironically, O'Conner after getting fired at URI ended up back in D3 at Castleton St. A far cry from Chicago