Mid-Atlantic Region

[Freddyfud]

Salisbury holding on to a 2-0 lead in the 58' at Messiah.

If last game was Messiah's first regular season loss in several years, when was the last time they lost two in a row at home in the regular season?

I'm a few minutes behind you but the announcers just said 1996 and then before that 1975.

[SierraFD3soccer]

Brutal. The 2nd and 3rd goals were pretty decent by Salisbury. All three to the keepers right. 

[Flying Weasel]

Salisbury holding on to a 2-0 lead in the 58' at Messiah.

If last game was Messiah's first regular season loss in several years, when was the last time they lost two in a row at home in the regular season?

I'm a few minutes behind you but the announcers just said 1996 and then before that 1975.

This is only the second time in the Coach Brandt/Coach McCarty era (26+ seasons) that Messiah has lost two in a row (regardless of site), the other time being opening weekend in 2019 on the road to Hobart and Ithaca.  As far as two home losses in a row, the announcers had that right with 1996 (Coach Layton Shoemaker's final season) and before that 1975 (the program's 9th season and well before joining the NCAA).  In fact, two home losses total in a season last happened nineteen years ago in 2004, the year of their third national title.

Next up for the Falcons is the midweek "Marshmallow Bowl" against Elizabethtown who will host for the fifth time in their first six games this season.  E-town got beat 3-0 by Washington College, but then held F&M to a 0-0 tie, so not sure what to expect of the Blue Jays.  Regardless, if Messiah's attack remains relatively toothless in the offensive third despite still being able to dominate possession and the make-shift D-line continues to look disjointed and extremely vulnerable, it could be a long, nervy night for the Falcon Faithful with Elizabethtown all too happy to add to Messiah's misery. 

Three Falcon losses in a row hasn't occurred since 1996 when visiting Wheaton (Ill.) spoiled Homecoming weekend with a 4-0 whitewash, followed by 0-1 home loss to Gettysburg and capped of by a 1-2 loss to who other than rival E-town in that year's edition of the marshmallow game at Messiah.

The previous time Messiah dropped three straight games, in 1989, E-town again inflicted the third loss upon the Falcons with an emphatic 3-0 road victory en route to a national championship. If one historical account is to be believed, 1989 would have been the second year in which marshmallows flew at this grudge match, and the first in which both sets of fans engaged "in battle". (Dating myself, I was a freshman that year as was current Messiah head coach McCarty.)

So in this rivalry that has been off the boil more than not in the past 20 years, there's extra plot lines and intrigue this year. Even a draw would be make this a rare skid for the Falcons who have only gone winless in three straight one time (2008) since that 3-game losing streak in 1996.  Three total losses in a entire season has only happened four times in that same timeframe.

[Freddyfud]

There is a tropical storm watch for the Carolinas.  Currently inland in North Carolina we are getting a lot of rain.  It could impact games over the next few days as the storm heads north.

https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/#Eight

It is known as Tropical Storm 8.  Evidently it prefers to play box to box in the Mid Atlantic.

[Falconer]

When Dickinson scored the last two goals vs Messiah last Wednesday and Salisbury scored the first two goals on Saturday, it was probably just the second time this century in which the Falcons yielded four goals in a row to opponents. The previous instance in my mind was in 2015, when Rowan scored 4 in Grantham before Messiah rookie Nick West got 2 of them back. That was a rare rebuilding season for the Falcons, who for the only time since 1996 failed to qualify for the tournament. They came back quickly, owing to 3 FR players who had been regional HS AAs: Nick West, David Alejos, and Samuel Ruiz Plaza. Two of those men were first-team AAs at Messiah. In their final season (2018), West had that brilliant season, scoring in the last 15 games of the season, but Ruiz Plaza--the engine of that offense--went down before the Elite Eight game vs Rochester, in which Rochester took advantage of his absence to stymie the Falcon attack on the way to a 2-1 victory.

This season so far reminds me of 2015. If that means a national title two years from now, I'll take it. But, I don't see 3 great FR who could make that happen this time. We'll see...

[Fitz@615]

Love the Messiah historical notes. Before flushing this season down the toilet, let me say that the Dickinson game should have ended in a tie as the last goal was scored by an offsides player. He said as much to the MU players. Now, Dickinson outplayed MU, especially in the 2nd half. But as badly as they were outplayed, the result should have been a tie.

The Salisbury game was a different story. MU outplayed them the entire game, simply look at the stats. The score is certainly not indicative of the game. The lads up top were close on more than 1 shot and great GK kept them off the board.  All this being stated, the team has lost an AA 5th yr CB, has several key injuries and have been starting 2 Fr. Finally, players have been playing positions they are not accustomed to playing.

Keep the faith. By season's end, it will be a different team and all of these close games and more to come, will only serve the team well as it enters the NCAAs. Being undefeated has certainly not helped them the past 2 yrs entering the tournament

[SKUD]

Fits, I used to see soccer the way you do.  But now I see it as; good teams outplay an opponent and come away without a result. Exceptional teams rarely leave points on the pitch.

[SierraFD3soccer]

FYI, may not be the best game but Swat's announcer is probably the best in D3 or at least top 5.  https://www.centennialconference.tv/swarthmoreathletics/

[Flying Weasel]

When Dickinson scored the last two goals vs Messiah last Wednesday and Salisbury scored the first two goals on Saturday, it was probably just the second time this century in which the Falcons yielded four goals in a row to opponents. The previous instance in my mind was in 2015, when Rowan scored 4 in Grantham before Messiah rookie Nick West got 2 of them back. That was a rare rebuilding season for the Falcons, who for the only time since 1996 failed to qualify for the tournament. They came back quickly, owing to 3 FR players who had been regional HS AAs: Nick West, David Alejos, and Samuel Ruiz Plaza. Two of those men were first-team AAs at Messiah. In their final season (2018), West had that brilliant season, scoring in the last 15 games of the season, but Ruiz Plaza--the engine of that offense--went down before the Elite Eight game vs Rochester, in which Rochester took advantage of his absence to stymie the Falcon attack on the way to a 2-1 victory.

This season so far reminds me of 2015. If that means a national title two years from now, I'll take it. But, I don't see 3 great FR who could make that happen this time. We'll see...

I was going to follow-up my previous post with one about 2015 and that loss to Rowan, but never got around to it. So it was interesting to see Falconer make the connection (although I wasn't thinking in terms of consecutive goal conceded).

I left the Salisbury game feeling a little like I did after watching the Rowan loss--a resignation that this will probably be a down year. With more time to think about it, it's somewhat premature to feel that way about the current season.  First, the two games played out quite differently: Rowan overall really (and fairly comprehensively) beat us while Salisbury outscored us by being opportunistic (and hats off to them for that). Secondly, the Falcons are dealing with injuries, including losing a starting CB in the first game of the season, while I don't think injuries could be used as an explanation for the problematic start to the 2015 season. 

So I think Fitz@615 is right that it's too early to write an eulogy on the 2024 season, but there are worrying signs.  That 10 minute spell from about the 75th minute when Messiah scored to the 85th minute when Salisbury got their third goal (with the near equalizer in between) shows what the Falcons are capable of and that gives hope.  But it will take a lot more than 10-minute cameos of attacking verve for Messiah to be considered a legitimate threat in November.

So, with nervousness and excitement, I am taking the kids over to Elizabethtown tonight to sling some marshmallows and cheer the Falcons on to victory.

[SierraFD3soccer]

Finally! Absolutely painful. Oscar Horwitz in the 34th min or so.

So, so many opportunities. Don't know what Cortland was about last week. This Alvernia is struggling.

Should have been 2, but keeper made a very nice save.

[SierraFD3soccer]

Finally! Absolutely painful. Oscar Horwitz in the 34th min or so.

So, so many opportunities. Don't know what Cortland was about last week. This Alvernia is struggling.

Should have been 2, but keeper made a very nice save.

Could/should have been much more that 2-0, but they'll take it. Alvernia keeper made some very good saves and F&M just inept at finishing. 2nd goal was nice header off a corner.

[stlawus]

Finally! Absolutely painful. Oscar Horwitz in the 34th min or so.

So, so many opportunities. Don't know what Cortland was about last week. This Alvernia is struggling.

Should have been 2, but keeper made a very nice save.

You can score on Cortland, they usually just outscore you.  In any case, that was already their 7th game and was played on the road, I believe fatigue had set in a bit.  Still was a good result for Alvernia but that could just be your typical odd variance in college soccer.  I wouldn't go as far to say F&M is better than Cortland or at least significantly better, just sometimes how the dice rolls when it comes to outlier results.

[SierraFD3soccer]

You can score on Cortland, they usually just outscore you.  In any case, that was already their 7th game and was played on the road, I believe fatigue had set in a bit.  Still was a good result for Alvernia but that could just be your typical odd variance in college soccer.  I wouldn't go as far to say F&M is better than Cortland or at least significantly better, just sometimes how the dice rolls when it comes to outlier results.

Was definitely not comparing F&M to Cortland, but just seemed odd that Alvernia did not appear to be the same team against F&M as it was against Cortland.

[Ejay]

You can score on Cortland, they usually just outscore you.  In any case, that was already their 7th game and was played on the road, I believe fatigue had set in a bit.  Still was a good result for Alvernia but that could just be your typical odd variance in college soccer.  I wouldn't go as far to say F&M is better than Cortland or at least significantly better, just sometimes how the dice rolls when it comes to outlier results.

Was definitely not comparing F&M to Cortland, but just seemed odd that Alvernia did not appear to be the same team against F&M as it was against Cortland.

It's Alvernia

[Ejay]

Much more surprising than Messiah losing to Dickinson is the Falcons getting outshot 19-10!!!  That's nearly unheard of, although so far this season Messiah's shot total was matched by Scranton (8-8) and Carthage (14-14)

And then Dickinson (19-10) L 3-1
And then Elizabethtown (14-11) W 4-0

Having watched this year's Marshmallow Game, I can understand why there's pause when it comes to Messiah. They're definitely not the same as past teams. Defense is not as tight as usual (see shot counts), and there is no identifiable offensive threat. With that said, they have a ton of talent and they're still a damn good team that I would love to watch, but not play against.