2016 D3 Season: NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

[PaulNewman]

Great win for W&L over Oneonta, 3-2.  Congrats to the Generals.  Didn't watch but must have been good game.

[rudy]

F&m up 2-0 over Lycoming. Big win if they hang on for last 25

[jknezek]

Great win for W&L over Oneonta, 3-2.  Congrats to the Generals.  Didn't watch but must have been good game.

Needed that after the big loss to Rowan.

[blooter442]

Great win for W&L over Oneonta, 3-2.  Congrats to the Generals.  Didn't watch but must have been good game.

WOW!

On the train to Brandeis-Haverford. Station is adjacent to the field and the train gets in five minutes before kick off...love when logistics work out like that. Haverford is looking very dangerous, really looking forward to watching this one regardless of result.

[blooter442]

Brandeis beats Haverford 1-0. Haverford could've had a PK in the first minute but no call. The ref made up for it with one of the worst refereeing displays I've ever seen - I don't usually complain about the officiating, and it may well be my blue-tinted glasses, but he was objectively bad, and the linesmen were equally complicit. Anyway, Haverford started better, Brandeis grew into the game and scored toward the end of the first half through a good break by Miskin. Haverford threatened intermittently through the second half but the Brandeis D held strong despite double-digit corner kicks from the Fords. First half featured good attacking talent from both sides, while the second was more defensive. All in all, a very good game that lived up to billing.

[PaulNewman]

Watched Brandeis-Haverford on video.  Looked like choppy, physical action with minimal flow.  Competitiveness reminded me of recent Brandeis-Tufts games.  Shots pretty even but Haverford with whopping 15-1 advantage in corners.  Dangerous to let Corkery get that many whacks but he never got in range for one of his signature free kicks.

My Kenyon Lords are off to an underwhelming start, to put it mildly.  3 goals -- 2 Myers headers and a PK -- in 2 games against....Otterbein... and a Heidelberg squad with another new coach who Oberlin handled with ease before Oberlin got blown out by Ohio Northern.  Not good.  Not good when a centerback is your best offensive threat, as he was when the Lords had trouble scoring in the NCAA tournament last year.  Kenyon barely got past Westminster in the 1st round (on a Myers header), were lucky to get past Chicago in PKs, needed Myers late versus Tufts, and then went scoreless against Calvin.  Something not right early on this season.  Either chemistry with new faces, believing your own hype so much you think you can just roll the ball out there and win 6-0, or stubbornness about who you've predicted to be superstars so you just keep acting like it's true game after game and season after season.  I'm sure Heidelberg was physical and disrupted the Lords from getting into much flow, but all of the alleged super-dynamic offensive players generated hardly any good or clean chances against a team that will struggle to get to 5 wins.  This also wasn't a 1-0 game where shots were 30 to 5.  Heidelberg had some good chances and actually had 1 more shot overall.  Kenyon drops like a stone right out of my top 15.

[Flying Weasel]

Am I reading that correctly . . . Rhode Island 2, Montclair St. 0 ! ! !  WOW!  Is that the leading candidate for the biggest upset of the opening weekend?

Knox beating Gustavus Adolphus also a surprise.

[MidwestGrinder]

My Kenyon Lords are off to an underwhelming start, to put it mildly.  3 goals -- 2 Myers headers and a PK -- in 2 games against....Otterbein... and a Heidelberg squad with another new coach who Oberlin handled with ease before Oberlin got blown out by Ohio Northern.  Not good.  Not good when a centerback is your best offensive threat, as he was when the Lords had trouble scoring in the NCAA tournament last year.  Kenyon barely got past Westminster in the 1st round (on a Myers header), were lucky to get past Chicago in PKs, needed Myers late versus Tufts, and then went scoreless against Calvin.  Something not right early on this season.  Either chemistry with new faces, believing your own hype so much you think you can just roll the ball out there and win 6-0, or stubbornness about who you've predicted to be superstars so you just keep acting like it's true game after game and season after season.  I'm sure Heidelberg was physical and disrupted the Lords from getting into much flow, but all of the alleged super-dynamic offensive players generated hardly any good or clean chances against a team that will struggle to get to 5 wins.  This also wasn't a 1-0 game where shots were 30 to 5.  Heidelberg had some good chances and actually had 1 more shot overall.  Kenyon drops like a stone right out of my top 15.

I agree completely with this. One of my sleeper picks Chicago has looked fantastic thus far and my championship pick Kenyon has looked very subpar. That being said, I think you're overreacting a bit. The performances have been poor but at the end of the day they're 2-0. And the point you're making about Myers actually if anything should be a feather in their cap. The fact that they can have very off days offensively and still pull wins out because of the offensive prowess of their center back can only be a good thing. We all know on his day that Amolo is one of the top 3, if not the best striker in D3. He appears to be in a funk, as does the rest of the offense and midfield. There's no doubt the talent is there and the chemistry shouldn't be an issue either because Kenyon only graduated 1 player from the roster last year. That really only leaves some kind of mental issues the team is having. I agree with you that they likely have some sort of elitist attitude at the moment where they think they can just show up and win 5-0. They're likely overlooking games against these weaker teams and it could cost them if they don't watch out. I'm hesitant but I'm not going to pull the plug on picking them just yet. If they start to lose games or play poorly against the big teams (TMU, Case, DePauw), then I may have to reconsider.

[PaulNewman]

Midwest Grinder, no worries. I expect a lot out of this team.  Still do.  I've promoted the Lords as much as I can over the last 3-4 years.   Gotta be Kenyon's  biggest fan, and love the college even more.

[Domino1195]

My Kenyon Lords are off to an underwhelming start, to put it mildly.  3 goals -- 2 Myers headers and a PK -- in 2 games against....Otterbein... and a Heidelberg squad with another new coach who Oberlin handled with ease before Oberlin got blown out by Ohio Northern.  Not good.  Not good when a centerback is your best offensive threat, as he was when the Lords had trouble scoring in the NCAA tournament last year.  Kenyon barely got past Westminster in the 1st round (on a Myers header), were lucky to get past Chicago in PKs, needed Myers late versus Tufts, and then went scoreless against Calvin.  Something not right early on this season.  Either chemistry with new faces, believing your own hype so much you think you can just roll the ball out there and win 6-0, or stubbornness about who you've predicted to be superstars so you just keep acting like it's true game after game and season after season.  I'm sure Heidelberg was physical and disrupted the Lords from getting into much flow, but all of the alleged super-dynamic offensive players generated hardly any good or clean chances against a team that will struggle to get to 5 wins.  This also wasn't a 1-0 game where shots were 30 to 5.  Heidelberg had some good chances and actually had 1 more shot overall.  Kenyon drops like a stone right out of my top 15.

I agree completely with this. One of my sleeper picks Chicago has looked fantastic thus far and my championship pick Kenyon has looked very subpar. That being said, I think you're overreacting a bit. The performances have been poor but at the end of the day they're 2-0. And the point you're making about Myers actually if anything should be a feather in their cap. The fact that they can have very off days offensively and still pull wins out because of the offensive prowess of their center back can only be a good thing. We all know on his day that Amolo is one of the top 3, if not the best striker in D3. He appears to be in a funk, as does the rest of the offense and midfield. There's no doubt the talent is there and the chemistry shouldn't be an issue either because Kenyon only graduated 1 player from the roster last year. That really only leaves some kind of mental issues the team is having. I agree with you that they likely have some sort of elitist attitude at the moment where they think they can just show up and win 5-0. They're likely overlooking games against these weaker teams and it could cost them if they don't watch out. I'm hesitant but I'm not going to pull the plug on picking them just yet. If they start to lose games or play poorly against the big teams (TMU, Case, DePauw), then I may have to reconsider.

NCAC - see if you can't get some inside skinny from your son - if he's still connected to current players. There are subtle incidents - petulance - Amolo throwing his shin guards after a second half sub-out at Otterbein, gestures by players at others who may have not passed the ball or misplayed it.

Kenyon, as with all major programs, are going to get the "best effort" from teams they play. And not only is a win a win, a road win is a road win!

Not sure what to make of this first week of games in the Great Lakes. Parity? Everyone sorting through new line-ups? Going to need results from another week or two . . .

[PaulNewman]

Domino, LOL.  I have more inside scoop on the program than my son does at this point.  I have to tell him what's going on.  And if I did have inside info I sure wouldn't share it here. I certainly am not worried about Amolo.  He's my guy and he'll be fine.  I do think it takes talent and leadership within a team to handle a bunch of talented kids where there can be such a fine line between who plays and who doesn't and how much and who starts and all of that.  Of course not playing at all sucks.  But also being in the mix (and a parent of a kid in the mix) can always leave you wanting more and/or thinking you deserve more.  Assessments and decisions are always going to be something that a good portion of team rosters have to deal with.  I'm curious about the ingredients that go into coaches handling that stuff the best.  I definitely have some ideas about this which maybe I'll write about down the road, but one thing that I think is critical is symmetry between the role and style of coaching and the mission/identity of the college in general.

[lastguyoffthebench]

Montclair St loses and NJCU already surpasses 2014 and 2015 win total in the first weekend; 3-0 with shutout wins over Baruch, Yeshiva and SUNY Purchase.

Babson falls to Willy P.

Rowan should be #3 when polls come out...  A win over Oneonta St and you have your #2 until Amherst falls...

[Mr.Right]

Am I reading that correctly . . . Rhode Island 2, Montclair St. 0 ! ! !  WOW!  Is that the leading candidate for the biggest upset of the opening weekend?

Knox beating Gustavus Adolphus also a surprise.

1 of 2 things happened.

1. MSU is not quite as good as last year. This I have no idea but I doubt. Usually they re-load.

or

2. Like I talked about in an earlier post that it was a 11am start and they prob trotted on the field and just thought they could show up.


I did not see the game or stats but maybe RIC is a decent side this year. They do have decent sides every 4-5 years.


Best part of all this....2015 National Champion Amherst opens up this week at RIC....

[Off Pitch]

Rhode Island College has already lost to Clark 0-2.  Clark may be slightly better than last year, but they are always one of the weaker sides in the NEWMAC.  Either the Clark game was an aberration or Montclair St was.

[D3soccerwatcher]

Grove City College (PAC) quietly starts their season 2-0, scoring 8 goals and allowing 0.  Head Coach Mike Dreves earned his 100th win for the Wolverines!