Emergent programs vs Tradition-laden powerhouses

[lastguyoffthebench]

NJAC = 285 players (8 out of state)

Rutgers-Camden    0/38
Montclair St           0/26
Rutgers-Newark     0/29
Stockton               2/28   NY, DE
Rowan                  2/28   VA, DE
Kean                    2/38   PA, WV
TCNJ                    1/24   PA
WPU                     1/26   Lebanon
Ramapo                0/24
NJCU                    0/24

[luckylefty]

Rutgers Camden is an exception to the part time rule, and its partially because their coach is very good.  It's also partially because he has relied heavily on transfers over the years.  Top programs don't typically rely on transfers as much as RC does, the reason for it is very simple.  Taking on many of those transfers is a risky proposition.  It hasn't blown up in his face yet, but at some point it will.  Just the nature of transfers.

RC also has amazing athletic facilities (the field is just ok but the rest are amazing), and has an incredibly affordable tuition.  It's tough for many schools to compete against their cost and structure.  The State school thing creates a unique dynamic in division 3.

They also created a full time position in soccer, but the head coach couldnt take it because he couldnt afford to do so.  He now has a full time assistant coach.

I'm very interested to see with the rebound of Rowan and Stockton if they will chip away at RC's hold on South Jersey.  I think they will, and while RC will always be a good program, I don't think they will ever return to the heights they were at a few years ago.

[Flying Weasel]

Well, it seems in most states the "second tier" state universities participate in D-I or D-II, not D-III.  For example, universities in Pennsylvania's State System of Higher Education (Bloomsburg, East Stroudsburg, West Chester, Shippensburg, Lock Haven, Slippery Rock, Indiana, etc.) are Division II members (although some of the affiliated campuses of Penn State and Univ. of Pitt are in D-III).  Are there any other states besides New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts that have most of their state/public universitites as D-III members?  The only other state that comes to mind is Wisconsin.  Small states like Vermont, New Hampshire, and Connecticut each have two or three public universitites in D-III. Maryland has Frostburg State and Salisbury in D-III, but the rest are D-I or D-II.  Sul Ross State in Texas is D-III.

So New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and maybe Wisconsin are unique just by having so many of their state schools in D-III.  The NJAC situation is different from New York and Massachusetts in that there are very few other D-III schools in the state (Stevens, Drew, FDU-Florham, Centenary).  New York and Massachusetts have plenty of private institutions in D-III for the public institutions to compete with. 

[lastguyoffthebench]

How will some of these emergent programs handle the loss of productive AAs.  Big holes to fill:

Thomas More - Austin Juniet
MSOE - Logan Andryk
MIT - Sean Bingham
Haverford - Sam Yarosh and Brady Seitz
Rutgers-Camden - Mike Ryan and Connor Hurff

Powerhouses
SLU - Harry Copeland
Trinity - Todd Carwile and Chad Margotta
Wheaton - Marshall Hollingsworth
Amherst - Thomas Bull and NPL

[blooter442]

How will some of these emergent programs handle the loss of productive AAs.  Big holes to fill:

Thomas More - Austin Juniet
MSOE - Logan Andryk
MIT - Sean Bingham
Haverford - Sam Yarosh and Brady Seitz
Rutgers-Camden - Mike Ryan and Connor Hurff

Powerhouses
SLU - Harry Copeland
Trinity - Todd Carwile and Chad Margotta
Wheaton - Marshall Hollingsworth
Amherst - Thomas Bull and NPL

Figured I would throw in my 2 cents.

Thomas More - Juniet had a great season, and assisted 9 of 17 goals for TMC's leading scorer Brian Runyon. Losing one-half of your star strike partnership is no doubt incredibly difficult. That said, I think Runyon has what it takes to shoulder some of the responsibility. Think TMC could very well make it back to NCAAs, but not sure how far past the 1st Round.

MSOE - Scoring 21 and assisting 17 from midfield, Logan Andryk had an incredible campaign, but his brother Braden could be even better by his senior year if last year was any indication. No doubt the two worked well together and that Logan's loss will be big, but I think MSOE will cope while Braden is still there.

MIT - Bingham wasn't necessarily the fastest, most skilled, or best player, but he — perhaps befittingly, since he went to MIT — was an incredibly smart player who was at the right place at the right time more often than not, and was incredibly clinical. And that's not to suggest he was goal-hanging, but rather he moved about the pitch well. That said, while Bingham's loss isn't enough in and of itself to make MIT struggle — losing M Austin Freel and GK Jake Amereno will also be devastating — it is the single biggest factor, as he made the players around him like M Kareem Itani better. They might win the NEWMAC, but they will struggle to reach the heights they hit this year.

Haverford - Yarosh and Seitz were two incredibly dynamic players, and they were a significant part of Haverford's offensive production last year. What could also be a problem is the fact that the Fords are losing Seitz's twin brother, Colin, who was a 4-year starter on defense, as well. However, I think bringing back Corkery will give Haverford a solid base to build off of, although I don't know if they will be Elite 8 level again.

Rutgers-Camden - The fact that Ryan will graduate from R-C — a school which has a proud men's soccer tradition — as the program's all-time leading goalscorer really says it all. Hurff had some big goals in the postseason, scoring against Stockton and getting the winner over Eastern, and his impact in midfield will be missed. The Scarlet Raptors also lose their third tri-captain, Grant Taylor, who was a 4-year starter in midfield. While it is debatable whether they would have gotten into NCAAs without beating Montclair State and they lose quite a bit of talent, I think this program knows how to win, and brings enough back to have another good year.

SLU - Copeland was an instrumental player for SLU, and — much like Brandeis losing Conor Lanahan — we won't know the full impact of his loss until the season starts. A leader at CB, he will go down as one of the all-time greats for a proud, decorated program. The problem for SLU is that, in addition to Copeland, it loses center back Christian Yarros and outside back Dan Hunt, as well as GK Ryan Roethel, so SLU will be starting fresh with 4 of 5 defenders (including GK) being new starters. Still think that even with losing Ryan Grant this program has enough firepower at the other end of the pitch in Augustine and Dede, who both had great freshman seasons, to win games.

Trinity - Carwile was an excellent CB who was also very good offensively, and Margotta was a solid presence behind him. Losing your CB and goalkeeper in the same season is never easy, but the good news for Trinity is that the Tigers return 3 of 4 backs. Furthermore, they have some very good young players like Christian Sakshaug and Ryan Hunt to put the ball in the net offensively, so I'd expect Trinity to pick up where it left off.

Wheaton - Hollingsworth, who got picked up by Columbus Crew, was another once-in-a-generation talent who commanded the midfield really well, had excellent pace, and could put the ball in the net as well, scoring 18 goals his senior year. He was the engine room for Wheaton, and they will miss him incredibly. Not only is his loss huge, but the problem for Wheaton is they lose a ton of senior leadership and talent. That said, I think DeClute has the experience necessary with building and re-building programs that they'll be OK, albeit — much like Haverford — perhaps not Elite 8 level.

Amherst - Bull's command of his area, reflexes, and distribution were excellent, and he was the best goalkeeper in the country for my money. I think he made the center backs in front of him very comfortable, so it will be interesting to see how they cope with a new goalkeeper behind them (who, odds-on, will be Lee Owen, he who came up big in PKs against SLU in the 2014 2nd round.) NPL's trickery and vision will certainly be missed, and he played well with CF Greg Singer, who — as great of a target man as he was — I think will be easier to replace. That said, the Jeffs bring back Chris Martin on the outside, and while he didn't have the same trickery as NPL, his pace is an incredible asset to the team and helped him score frequently. Losing NPL and Bull will no doubt have a big impact on Amherst, as the two were the offensive and defensive cornerstones, respectively, for Amherst's run to the title, but I think they return a strong enough supporting cast that they should stay among the country's elite programs even if not in the national title conversation. Again, it's hard to judge their impact right now, but we should really know by the end of the first month of the season or so.