Newmac 2017

[Off Pitch]

Babson's 2017 schedule is out - http://www.babsonathletics.com/sports/m-soccer/2017-18/schedule.  They start with Saint Lawrence, Clarkson, Tufts, Brandeis and also play Williams, New England College, Endicott and Eastern Connecticut State.

Wheaton and Springfield have not yet released their 2017 schedules.  Wheaton usually plays a schedule close to Babson in terms of strength.  Springfield, on the other hand, played one of the weakest non-conference schedules possible last year.

[Off Pitch]

Springfield's 2017 schedule - http://www.springfieldcollegepride.com/sports/msoc/2017-18/schedule

They have made major changes to upgrade their schedule replacing Western Connnecticut, Elms, Anna Maria, Keene St, Southern Vermont, Suffolk and Fitchburg St with: Gordon, Stevens, Eastern Nazarene, Wentworth, Framingham St, and UMass-Boston.   

[Off Pitch]

Wheaton's 2017 schedule is out - http://athletics.wheatoncollege.edu/sports/msoc/2017-18/schedule

Like Babson, they start with Clarkson and Saint Lawrence.  Additionally, they play:Western New England, Keene St, New England College, Roger Williams, Brandeis, Keene St, Trinity and Wesleyan.   Perhaps not quite as strong a SOS as Babson but still challenging.

Wheaton, coming off a 12-7-2 season, is losing only two regular startersand returns their top two goal scorers who netted more than half of the teams total goals last year.

[Off Pitch]

2017 predictions:

1.  Babson  - the Beavers lose their leading goal scorer (Villari) from last year but return scorers 2-7.  The defense will miss Abankroh but returns the other three starters.  Outlook:  with 8 starters returning including all-conference GK Takami, Babson is still the class of the NEWMAC.   Non-conference games against Saint Lawrence, Tufts, Brandeis, Endicott and Williams help SOS, but hoping for more than a draw against these teams may be overly optimistic for a team that will have difficulty scoring goals.  Early games to watch:  Babson vs Saint Lawrence 9/1, at Tufts 9/6 and at Brandeis 9/9.

2.  Springfield  - the Pride is coming off and 18-2-1 season and has somewhat upgraded their horrifically weak non-conference schedule.  They return 9 starters but lose leading scorer and best player Luke Alvaro.  Although known for playing some downright ugly soccer, this is a team on the upswing that is capable of challenging Babson for conference honors.  Early game to watch:  Springfield vs. Gordon 9/6.

3.  Clark  - the Cougars were the surprise of the 2016 season starting the season 9-0 before fading to a 14-5 finish.  Eight starters return, but of note is that 5 of their top 7 scorers (including leading scorer Sean Munrow) last year were freshmen.  This is a program to keep an eye on, especially if Coach O'Toole can bring in another strong freshman class.  Early game to watch:  Clark vs Dean 9/9.

4.  Wheaton - the 2016 Lyons were an enigma with plenty of talent but inconsistent performances.  How can a team beat Brandeis and yet lose to Keene St 6-1 and yield 4 goals to Coast Guard?   They return 8 starters including two of the conference's leading goal scorers Roni Diniz and dangerous Amara Sesay.  This is a team with the potential to compete for the top spot, but for some reason things have not clicked for this side the past two seasons.  Early game to watch:  Wheaton vs. Saint Lawrence 9/2.

5.  WPI  - the Engineers finished 9-4-4 last year and gave up only 13 goals.  The bad news is they scored a grand total of 1 goal against the organized defenses of Brandeis, Clark, Endicott, Wentworth and Babson.  Although they return 9 starters, they lose second leading scorer Farrell and will likely continue to have difficulty scoring against quality competition.    Early game to watch:  WPI vs Wesleyan 9/6.

6.  Coast Guard - the Bears finished a respectable 9-6-3 last year and return 9 starters.  However, they graduate leading scorer Alex Lane.  The scouting report for this side varies little from year to year - extraordinarily fit, great heart, not always the most technical players.  They should not be an easy win for anyone in the conference. (no early games worth watching)

7.  MIT - the Engineers returned to reality following the 2015 graduation of All-American Sean Bingham and recorded only a 6-10-1 season.  To make matters worse, they graduate their leading scorer (Kareem Itani) from an anemic offense that managed to only score 13 goals all season.  Whether the return of 9 other starters is a good thing remains to be seen.  Early games to watch:  MIT at Endicott 9/1 and at Gordon 9/3.

8.  Emerson - the Lions change coaches after recording their first ever NEWMAC win over Coast Guard.  New coach Bryan Harkin inherits a team that will be fortunate to duplicate a 1-6 conference record from last year.  (no games worth watching)

Overall outlook:  Virtually every team returns 8 or more starters.  The emergence of Clark and Springfield as contenders makes for a much more competitive conference and makes the NEWMAC one of the top 2 or 3 conferences in New England.  However, Babson and Wheaton continue to be the teams with the most upside potential.

[blooter442]

Great stuff, OffPitch.

I'd tend to agree that Babson is the preseason favorite, but I also agree that they'll have difficulty scoring goals, and I don't think the Beavers are quite as strong as they used to be, particularly between 2009 and 2012. During that time, they were a New England power and a safe pick for at least getting an at-large tournament bid (if not winning the NEWMAC, which they did in '09 and '10). In more recent times, I'd say it'd have been unlikely they would have gotten bids in '14 and '15 if they hadn't won the NEWMAC (yes, they got an at-large bid last year, but they got bounced in the 1st Round, and they haven't won an NCAA game since 2011). They do return a decent spine, but I think the last five years have seen Babson be more of a "functional" side rather than one with any significant pace or firepower like the Babson of '09 to '12 was. I think Abankroh and Villari both had good seasons, particularly Villari in his first year playing up top, but I don't think either is "irreplaceable" in that their losses won't be felt in the same way Anderson's was, for example. Last fall, they did get their first victory in five years over Brandeis (in 2OT, at home). This year, the Beavers will travel to Brandeis, where they are 0-4-1 since the turf was laid in 2005. Two of those defeats were in 2OT (2012 and 2015), so I wouldn't be surprised to see the contest deadlocked after 90 minutes once again.

The one side that I am really intrigued by is Clark. As you mentioned they return a good amount of offensive firepower as well as a decent spine. They really turned a corner last year, going 14-5 after having not posted a winning record since 2011 (and 8-7-2 at that). Perhaps they ran out of gas toward the end of the season -- that kind of momentum can be extremely difficult to maintain for any side, particularly one with just 25 players as they had last year. Assuming they continue their upward trajectory, I'd think they're due a big result over a New England regional contender, one which will really make people start to take notice of this program.

[Mr.Right]

Just heard thru a friend of a friend that legendary Wheaton Men's Soccer Coach Matt Cushing passed away a day or 2 ago. I have no idea what happened but that is a tremendous loss for Wheaton College and the New England Soccer Community. He took that Wheaton program and turned it into a regional powerhouse especially in the late 90's and early 2000's. They had some VERY good teams in the early to mid 2000's and culminated it with its first an only NCAA Final 4 appearance in 2003. Just a shock and a terrible loss as he was still a young guy.

[Flying Weasel]

Just heard thru a friend of a friend that legendary Wheaton Men's Soccer Coach Matt Cushing passed away a day or 2 ago. I have no idea what happened but that is a tremendous loss for Wheaton College and the New England Soccer Community. He took that Wheaton program and turned it into a regional powerhouse especially in the late 90's and early 2000's. They had some VERY good teams in the early to mid 2000's and culminated it with its first an only NCAA Final 4 appearance in 2003. Just a shock and a terrible loss as he was still a young guy.

Wow. How unfortunate and sad if true (and I have no reason to doubt what you've been told).  Probably just under 50 years old.  In addition to the 2003 Final Four team, there was the 2001 Elite 8 team that went 21-2-0, losing to Messiah 2-1 in the quarterfinals at Messiah.  Reached 300 wins back in 2014.

[blooter442]

Just heard thru a friend of a friend that legendary Wheaton Men's Soccer Coach Matt Cushing passed away a day or 2 ago. I have no idea what happened but that is a tremendous loss for Wheaton College and the New England Soccer Community. He took that Wheaton program and turned it into a regional powerhouse especially in the late 90's and early 2000's. They had some VERY good teams in the early to mid 2000's and culminated it with its first an only NCAA Final 4 appearance in 2003. Just a shock and a terrible loss as he was still a young guy.

Oh wow. What a terrible loss for the Wheaton and D3 soccer communities.

[Off Pitch]

Wheaton Mourns the Loss of Head Men's Soccer Coach Matt Cushing
http://athletics.wheatoncollege.edu/sports/msoc/2017-18/releases/20170829lpzcms

[Ejay]

He took that Wheaton program and turned it into a regional powerhouse especially in the late 90's and early 2000's. They had some VERY good teams in the early to mid 2000's and culminated it with its first an only NCAA Final 4 appearance in 2003.

That's terrible news - prayers are with the family and community. 

BTW, that 2003 team should have gone to the NCAA Championship.  They were playing Drew in teh Semi-Final and scored in the 88th minute to go up 1-0.  It was the first goal Drew had conceded in 17 games (set NCAA record with 21 shutouts that year).  Unfortunately Drew scored in the 89th minute to tie and then won in PKs.  I was there - it was absolutely crazy.

[Jump4Joy]

RIP, Cush. Sending peace vibes to his family, friends, and program.

[Sandy]

Do you think Wheaton will cancel their games this weekend or will they go on and play?

[Off Pitch]

Wheaton named an interim coach today - Mike Coven!

http://athletics.wheatoncollege.edu/sports/msoc/2017-18/releases/20170901faa3jf

[blooter442]

Do you think Wheaton will cancel their games this weekend or will they go on and play?

I'd imagine they might cancel the weekend's games, but I wouldn't be surprised to see the players have a better-than-expected season playing extra hard in their coach's memory.

Wheaton named an interim coach today - Mike Coven!

http://athletics.wheatoncollege.edu/sports/msoc/2017-18/releases/20170901faa3jf

NFW! I think the AD really nailed it -- this is a tough time for the Wheaton community but it's awesome that they found one of Cushing's best friends to help out. A great choice.

[blooter442]

On an additional note, while I think it is commendable for Coven to step in on such short notice, I am not that surprised that he is still interested in being involved in D3 soccer. I know he's retired, but I don't think he'll be far away — even down the road.