Mid-Atlantic Region 2016

[NEPAFAN]

Mid-Week Action

Tuesday

Lycoming@ #13 Messiah
LVC@Hood
Eastern@Misericordia

Wednesday

Dickinson@Scranton
Susquehanna@Gettysburg
Drew@Swat

Winners in bold. Scranton with a needed win over Dickinson.

[Falconer]

You were absolutely right, MAF, with your prediction that Rowan v R-Camden would be physical.  Thank you for the tip.  I didn't watch it, but here's what it says on Rowan's home page: "It was a physical battle throughout, as the squads combined for 36 fouls and four yellow cards."  That's a lot--and matches the 18 fouls that were called on Lycoming.  (The photo from the Lyco game currently on the Falcon home page is a not-so-subtle illustration of that number, though I doubt that one was called.  See http://www.gomessiah.com/news/2016/10/11/mens-soccer-messiah-earns-shutout-in-conference-tilt-over-lycoming.aspx?path=msoc )

This does seem typical for the NJAC, and I must say I have a problem with that kind of play as a regular phenomenon.  Games like that can get out of control, chippy stuff turns into cheap shots, and men can be badly hurt: I'm sure we've both seen that happen, and it can be largely prevented.  If I were officiating, I'd use my cards generously in such games; if I could instill in players and coaches a realistic threat of having to miss games for red cards or accumulated yellows, it might start to get the message across.  Recall the old adage that rubgy is a hooligan's game for gentlemen, and soccer is a gentlemen's game for hooligans?

I wonder whether the very physical play in New Jersey actually hurts those teams, come tournament time, especially after the first week as the quality of officiating goes up (or so it seems from the games I've watched).  I remember sitting in the stands at Rowan in 2000, when the Falcons won their first title.  Rowan was very physical, with lots of grabbing and other "incidental" but strategically deliberate fouling.  The officials actually called those fouls, right from the get go, even pulling out cards a couple of times for intentional fouling, and there were two interesting results.  First, Rowan had to back off, allowing the Falcons to play proper soccer.  Second, the Rowan fans were yelling things at the officials, such as "whaddya think this is, a girls' game?"   Dave Brandt was asked about this in the post-game interviews, and in response to a question about it, he rightly pointed out that those were indeed fouls that were being called.  Physical play may be part of the game, but then so are cards.  It's unfair when rules are not being enforced, such as when officials just "let them play," since it amounts to nothing less than favoring one team (and their style) over another.  If they want to "let them play," then let them have fouls be called on them also.

Well, that's more than my two cents, and I won't belabor it further.  I'm really glad that the Falcons and teams like them don't have to play in New Jersey very often.

[Mid-Atlantic Fan]

When Rowan and Lyco faced each other in the opening weekend Rowan had 18 fouls and Lyco had 13 combining for 31 fouls and 3 yellow cards for Lyco. Now if you remember my statements from this game some time ago and the statements of others, the officiating was as poor as I have seen in this game. Missed PK's and then calling PK's when they clearly were not PK's for both sides. It was awful to watch from a neutral perspective. The foul total should have surpassed 20 for each team in been in the high 40s but the ref was clueless. I do agree that some teams enjoy this kind of play as it disrupts the rhythm of the game.

Also looking back it makes me curious about Lycoming's recent struggles. They battled Rowan and F&M tougher than almost anyone has all year. They have the talent to do so as we all know and have seen last year and early on this year, but to turn around and drop games to some of the teams they are losing/tying has to be disheartening for them. Shooter mentioned that he/she believes we will see a Lyco vs Messiah final, but if Lycoming comes out of the weekend with anything but a win I do not think they will even make the postseason.

[Flying Weasel]

Well, yeah, IF Lycoming can't beat Widener, then it will go down to the wire for them making the playoffs with their final game against Stevenson likely being decisive. For Lyco to miss out, two of Stevenson, Arcadia, Alvernia, and Widener would have to finish higher then them.  Still hard to see that happening, but a loss or even a tie to Widener would change things. 

Stevenson's two conference wins came against basement dwellers Widener and Albright, and they only went 1-4-2 out of conference, so I don't see them staying in the top four.  Widener lost to Stevenson at home.  And who knows what you're going to get with Alvernia and Arcadia--too inconsistent to predict how they will finish down the stretch.

[Falconer]

When Rowan and Lyco faced each other in the opening weekend Rowan had 18 fouls and Lyco had 13 combining for 31 fouls and 3 yellow cards for Lyco. Now if you remember my statements from this game some time ago and the statements of others, the officiating was as poor as I have seen in this game. Missed PK's and then calling PK's when they clearly were not PK's for both sides. It was awful to watch from a neutral perspective. The foul total should have surpassed 20 for each team in been in the high 40s but the ref was clueless. I do agree that some teams enjoy this kind of play as it disrupts the rhythm of the game.

Also looking back it makes me curious about Lycoming's recent struggles. They battled Rowan and F&M tougher than almost anyone has all year. They have the talent to do so as we all know and have seen last year and early on this year, but to turn around and drop games to some of the teams they are losing/tying has to be disheartening for them. Shooter mentioned that he/she believes we will see a Lyco vs Messiah final, but if Lycoming comes out of the weekend with anything but a win I do not think they will even make the postseason.

Again, MAF, this is spot on.  After the first month I expected the Messiah-Lycoming game to be a barn burner between (at least roughly) equally talented teams, both playing well.  It wasn't.  I have no idea what has gone down with the Warriors recently, but they don't appear to be the same team now that they were early in the season.  Messiah is the same team as earlier, simply more experienced now.  They typically start a bit slow, as the players learn to play together on both ends, and it always takes a while for the new players (and their coach) to figure out just how they fit in best.  Until such things are sorted out, they don't really play at a tournament level.  Their failure to reach tournament level last year was a function of three factors, IMO: (a) less soccer talent than in previous seasons, after losing so much; (b) a very young starting team (with five freshman at the end of the season); and (c) this year's freshmen (very talented) weren't here yet.  They understood what they needed to do, but lacked the horses to do it as well as in previous years.  This year the horses are back, except (as you properly pointed out) they lack a real striker.

As for Lyco, who knows?  They lost zero seniors from last year's excellent team, which was better than Messiah's team and proved it.  No such evidence this year for some reason.

[D3soccerwatcher]

Lycoming has a lot of size and decent speed, but overall the Falcons are faster.  The play was very physical, often chippy as the official let a lot of things go.  On three occasions he stopped the clock to talk to Warriors, apparently for objecting to his calls, but he did not pull his card on any of those occasions.  Each team received one yellow, properly given, for fouls.  A lot of fouls were called, but IMO at least as many more should have been called.  Quite a few plays were pretty to watch, despite the constant fouling. 

Falconer I have to disagree with this statement. I think the game was normal and what you would expect for a college soccer game. I don't think it was overly physical or dirty by any means. I can only recall one occasion of it getting chippy when the Messiah player (Robbins I believe) took down the Lycoming player from behind and got a yellow card for it. That was the only malicious challenge in the game. The fouls called on Lycoming were due to Messiah's speed causing mistimed tackles. This isn't because they were dirty or trying to foul, but more simply they were to slow to anticipate a tackle. This is a common theme for many teams when facing Messiah. If anything I thought the official missed a couple fouls on Messiah that should have went for Lycoming but it wouldn't have made a difference in the result. I am not sure how many college soccer games you watch, but if you want to watch a physical game check out Rowan vs Camden tonight.

2016 Season Fouls in MAC Conference:

      # of fouls
1   Lycoming   207
2   Alvernia   157
3   King's   151
4   Arcadia   146
5   Stevenson   156
6   Lebanon Valley   133
7   Manhattanville   153
8   Eastern   141
9   Albright   135
10   Misericordia   134
11   Hood   122
12   DeSales   138
13   Delaware Valley   120
14   Messiah   120
15   FDU - Florham   113
16   Widener   110
17   Wilkes   105

[soccerfannz]

http://www.cuacardinals.com/sports/msoc/2016-17/releases/20160804pac110

Checking out teams throughout the Mid-Atlantic and felt obligated to share after the last post. Lots of teams doing a foreign tour this year.

absolutely.

[Flying Weasel]

Wow. Some exciting Centennial Conference action.

Haverford led Muhlenburg 3-0 at half, then score twice in first 87 seconds of the 2nd half for the 5-0 lead, but ended up having to defend a 5-4 one-goal lead for the final 8 minutes after conceding four goals to the Mules.

F&M scores with 11 ticks left on the clock to edge JHU 1-0

Dickinson and Gettysburg tie 2-2 with all four goals coming in the 2nd half, Dickinson scoring the equalizer with 90 seconds left in regulation.

[rudy]

Messiah bests Albright 2-0 with a 33-0 shots stat line. I've never seen such a grossly lopsided 2-0 game. Feel for  the goalie in  this game he never got a rest! Alvernia pulls another upset (maybe not an upset) over Hood. Never know what they will do from game to game. Hood started strong in conference and now has 2 losses.

[Mid-Atlantic Fan]

Wednesday's NCAA Regional Ranking Predictions
1. Messiah (11-0-3)
2. F&M (10-1-3)
3. Fords (9-2-2)
4. Etown (10-2-1)
5. Scranton (10-3-0)
6. Eastern (10-3-1)
7. Leb Val (10-2-0)
8. Hopkins (9-3-2)
9. Gettys (7-3-2)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Next in line: Misericordia (8-5-1), Lycoming (7-5-3), Drew (8-3-2)

Messiah is the unanimous #1 and will most likely stay their until the end.
F&M slides into #2 for now but wouldn't be surprised if they swap with the Fords over the next few weeks.
Fords have stayed the course without Corkey. Can they sustain this momentum when it really counts?
Etown will be top 4 for now, but the SOS and RvR will hurt the Bluejays once again. Watch for them to slowly slide in the ranks.
Scranton can catch Etown if they finish strong. Might be a similar scenario to last season for Scranton and Etown. Only 1 will advance.
Eastern is here solely off of record. They will drop when the RvR comes into play next week.
Leb Val has a HUGE game @Lycoming on Wednesday. If they have any shot of an at-large that is a must win game. Tie or loss won't cut it.
Hopkins and Gettysburg both have their work cut out for them to climb high enough for an at-large. RvR will be crucial for both.
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Misericordia with some good results but a few too many losses early on keeps them out of the picture for right now.
Lycoming with recent struggles but the SOS and RvR has to factor in and keep them close behind. Still on the outside looking in.
Drew with quality results but a tough loss in conference keeps them just outside the cut off line.

[Mid-Atlantic Fan]

October 18, 2016
D3soccer.com Men's Top 25, Week 7
Through games of Sunday, October 16, 2016

#   School (1st Pl. Votes)   Record   Pts.   Prev.
1   Chicago (17)   14-0-0   991   1
2   Trinity (Texas) (5)   15-0-0   969   2
3   Messiah   11-0-3   873   6
4   Amherst   11-1-1   862   5
5   Ohio Northern   13-0-3   833   4
6   Rowan   12-1-1   788   3
7   Franklin & Marshall   10-1-3   767   7
8   Kenyon   11-2-0   713   9
9   Calvin   12-2-0   653   11
10   Chris. Newport   12-2-1   544   12
11   Washington & Lee   10-3-0   521   10
12   Mass-Boston   12-1-1   485   8
13   St. Thomas   11-0-3   452   17
14   Elizabethtown   10-2-1   420   20
15   Haverford   9-2-2   416   18
16   Lynchburg   10-1-2   403   14
17   Colorado College   12-2-1   363   25
18   Rutgers-Newark   15-2-0   332   —
19   Rochester   8-1-3   330   22
20   Middlebury   8-1-3   304   21
21   Carnegie Mellon   9-2-2   272   13
22   Capital   11-1-2   259   19
23   Oneonta State   11-3-1   257   16
24   Tufts   7-3-2   130   —
25   St. Lawrence   10-3-0   126   15
Dropped out: No. 23 Washington U., No. 24 Springfield

Receiving Votes: Redlands 106, Oberlin 89, Lebanon Valley 71, Cortland State 64, Ohio Wesleyan 38, Washington U. 36, Springfield 36, Dubuque 20, Luther 16, St. Mary's (Md.) 13, Randolph-Macon 7, Montclair State 5, Clark 5, Connecticut College 2

The D3soccer.com Top 25 is voted on by a panel of coaches, Sports Information Directors and D3soccer.com staff, and is published weekly.

[Mid-Atlantic Fan]

I would switch Etown and Haverford but that's just me. Also would have liked to see Scranton or Eastern in the RV section alongside LVC.

[Mid-Atlantic Fan]

NSCAA NCAA Division III Men - Mid-Atlantic - Poll 6 - October 18, 2016

1. F&M
2. Messiah
3. Fords
4. Etown
5. LVC
6. Scranton
7. JHU
8. Gettysburg
9. Drew
10. Eastern

[Mid-Atlantic Fan]

NSCAA NCAA Division III Men - National - Poll 6 - October 18, 2016

Rank   School   Prev.   W-L-T
1   Trinity University (Texas)   1   15-0-0
2   University Of Chicago   2   14-0-0
3   Franklin & Marshall College   6   10-1-3
4   Ohio Northern University   5   12-0-3
5   Amherst College   11   11-1-1
6   University of St. Thomas   8   11-0-3
7   Rutgers University-Newark   NR   15-2-0
8   SUNY Cortland   23   12-2-0
9   Messiah College   12   11-0-3
10   Rowan University   3   12-1-1
11   University of Redlands   13   13-2-0
12   University of Rochester   9   8-1-3
13   Haverford College   17   9-2-2
14   Carthage College   21   12-3-0
15   Middlebury College   19   8-1-3
16   University Of Massachusetts-Boston   4   12-1-1
17   Lynchburg College   14   10-1-2
18   SUNY Oneonta   7   11-3-1
19   University Of Dubuque   NR   12-2-0
20   Colorado College   20   11-2-1
21   Oberlin College   15   11-2-1
22   Washington University (Mo.)   10   8-2-1
23   Kenyon College   NR   11-2-0
24   Luther College   16   10-3-2
25   Calvin College   25   12-2-0
Also receiving votes: Elizabethtown College (6), Tufts University (4), Christopher Newport University (3), North Park University (1), Macalester College (1)

[Flying Weasel]

I would switch Etown and Haverford but that's just me. Also would have liked to see Scranton or Eastern in the RV section alongside LVC.

Just keep in mind that to get in the "receiving votes" in the D3soccer.com rankings, some voter needs to actually think the team deserves to be in the Top 25.  No one is voting for places #26 thru #40.  If a voter thinks Eastern is the 26th best team in the nation, for example, he doesn't put them in his 25-team ballot.  There could be a consensus that a team is the 26th best team in the nation and they wouldn't get a single vote. Consequently, I'm usually more surprised by who is listed as receiving votes than by who is not listed.