Mid-Atlantic Region

[justakidfromakron]

Massive fixture day in the Centennial. Specifically, Dips at Swat. Have to feel that the Dips have their backs against the wall and need a result from this game. Also a great clash of styles with Swats possession based football vs Dips run and gun attack. Swat yet to really be tested and looked very good against Gettysburg and controlled most of the game. F&M really struggling in most areas of the field right now and still haven't found a rhythm or style that's working. Watching them really feels like Kaliebe vs the world. Have to think they start mixing up the rotation a bit to find a spark, especially if Horowitz remains sidelined with injury. Should be a good watch, expect the dips to be playing for their lives.

[SierraFD3soccer]

F&M v. Swat has been very close last couple of years as well. Post Covid - F&M is 1-0-2 so pretty much anything can happen right now. Definitely will need a very dynamic Koa and a better Horwitz for the win.

[SierraFD3soccer]

Last man in the back, gk from Swat, came out and just took down Horowitz, probably did not even have a play on the ball. Only a yellow. Clear red.

FYI, Koa just had a nice breakaway but misplayed. The one size fits all announcer seems to be one of those Japanese to English translators with really really delayed calls.

[SierraFD3soccer]

0-0 F&M pretty much had its way first half. Koa hit the cross bar off a nice shot. FYI Horowitz is hurt from Wednesday and is not playing, plus their very good freshman back is out as well.

Swat was really flat most of the half and not connecting many passes.

[SierraFD3soccer]

Two upset alerts in the Cent. Conf.  1-0 McDaniel wins over WC.

Rough play by the Dickinson's keeper put Muhls up 1-0 going into the half. 

Now second half - Muhls winning 2-0 with the second off of popcorn ball in front of the goal.  Dickinson player just got a straight red. A little hard to tell but he did get the Muhl player pretty well.  Now 4-0 Muhls.

Always trying to figure out if these guys are good enough to play it out of the back.  Sometimes yes, but ehhhh. Swat just tried of a goal kick with three F&M negating any real near players, the keeper passed to the left center back in the 18 and rather than moving away from the goal tried to dribble to his right. He seemed to be looking up field as opposed to his left back who was an option and drove the ball into F&M's Adam Greene's foot and right in the goal.  Good coaching.  Tough goal for Swat. 1-0 F&M, but 35 min  left.

[justakidfromakron]

Dips win 2-1 in a scrappy game. First F&M goal was Swat's own doing. Swat responded with a nice goal but have to question the Dips backline being split open by one direct through ball although the Swat player finished nicely. Dips ultimately scored game winning goal after being awarded penalty from a Swat handball. Overall both teams had chances created from crosses in front of the face of goal but could not put them away. Big win for the dips, frustrating one for Swat.

[Hopkins92]

Interesting day, from my quick scan.

Messiah loses to Mary Wash 2-1.
Dickinson gets boat-raced at home by the Muhles 4-2.
Hop beats Ursinus 3-1. Not a surprise, but putting up 3 is a development.

But, beyond Messiah, one of the more surprising developments is the lackluster campaign being put together by the Shoremen. The 1-0 home loss to Western Maryland (aka McDaniel) drops Wash College to 3-2-4. This was a final four team last year, to state the obvious.

I had put this out there when Simple Coach was doing his preseason musings... Is WashC legit? Can they carry the F4 momentum forward?

Not looking good on this front.

[SierraFD3soccer]

Two upset alerts in the Cent. Conf.  1-0 McDaniel wins over WC.

Rough play by the Dickinson's keeper put Muhls up 1-0 going into the half. 

Now second half - Muhls winning 2-0 with the second off of popcorn ball in front of the goal.  Dickinson player just got a straight red. A little hard to tell but he did get the Muhl player pretty well.  Now 4-0 Muhls.

Always trying to figure out if these guys are good enough to play it out of the back.  Sometimes yes, but ehhhh. Swat just tried of a goal kick with three F&M negating any real near players, the keeper passed to the left center back in the 18 and rather than moving away from the goal tried to dribble to his right. He seemed to be looking up field as opposed to his left back who was an option and drove the ball into F&M's Adam Greene's foot and right in the goal.  Good coaching.  Tough goal for Swat. 1-0 F&M, but 35 min  left.

Wow, crazy game. So, so many opportunities for F&M. Swat got a goal back off of a good play. F&M would end up getting a PK off a hand ball. So 2-1 huge win for F&M. Could have been much more, but the Swat keeper played very well. 22 shots with 9 on goal by F&M v. 8 by Swat and 4 on goal. Swat definitely did not play well.

So two games into the Cent. Conf. McDaniel (win over WC and Ursinus) and F&M (win over Haverford and Swat) are the ones remaining undefeated. Nat'l ranked Dickinson and Swat both lost. However, 4 teams are 1-0-1 in the Conf. Really, really good to start off strong. A lot harder to get the results at the end of conf. play.

F&M is 4-0-5. Still a lot to do for them.

As to Dickinson, they went down 2-0 (one misplay by gk and the other off a popcorn goal) then got a straight red which I could not really see, but the ref was right there.  They then gave up 2 goals easy. In the remaining time Muhls gave up two.  Dickinson's field looked bad, very choppy and probably soaked.

Yeah, WC looks to be struggling, but who knows as it was on McD's grass. They are definitely going to have so much more. FYI, WC had a lot of super seniors last year and not so much this year.

[Freddyfud]

But, beyond Messiah, one of the more surprising developments is the lackluster campaign being put together by the Shoremen. The 1-0 home loss to Western Maryland (aka McDaniel) drops Wash College to 3-2-4. This was a final four team last year, to state the obvious.

I had put this out there when Simple Coach was doing his preseason musings... Is WashC legit? Can they carry the F4 momentum forward?

Not looking good on this front.

As to the questions about the Shorepeople this year I would look at two graduates from last year's team—-first team AA CB Chris Coomber and GK Antony Pinto.  Both were lights out especially during the post season when WAC only allowed 2 goals combined vs Otterbein, Kenyon, Mary Washington and Conn College in their run to the F4.

Maybe this is a rebuilding year.  In any case I would not count them out long term as long as Coaches Dunshee and Shera are there.

[Kuiper]

But, beyond Messiah, one of the more surprising developments is the lackluster campaign being put together by the Shoremen. The 1-0 home loss to Western Maryland (aka McDaniel) drops Wash College to 3-2-4. This was a final four team last year, to state the obvious.

I had put this out there when Simple Coach was doing his preseason musings... Is WashC legit? Can they carry the F4 momentum forward?

Not looking good on this front.

As to the questions about the Shorepeople this year I would look at two graduates from last year's team—-first team AA CB Chris Coomber and GK Antony Pinto.  Both were lights out especially during the post season when WAC only allowed 2 goals combined vs Otterbein, Kenyon, Mary Washington and Conn College in their run to the F4.

Maybe this is a rebuilding year.  In any case I would not count them out long term as long as Coaches Dunshee and Shera are there.

Actually, Pinto returned for his Covid year.  He started the first game of the season and it looks like he came out in the 35th minute.  Must have been an injury since he hasn't appeared in a game since.

[SierraFD3soccer]

But, beyond Messiah, one of the more surprising developments is the lackluster campaign being put together by the Shoremen. The 1-0 home loss to Western Maryland (aka McDaniel) drops Wash College to 3-2-4. This was a final four team last year, to state the obvious.

I had put this out there when Simple Coach was doing his preseason musings... Is WashC legit? Can they carry the F4 momentum forward?

Not looking good on this front.

As to the questions about the Shorepeople this year I would look at two graduates from last year's team—-first team AA CB Chris Coomber and GK Antony Pinto.  Both were lights out especially during the post season when WAC only allowed 2 goals combined vs Otterbein, Kenyon, Mary Washington and Conn College in their run to the F4.

Maybe this is a rebuilding year.  In any case I would not count them out long term as long as Coaches Dunshee and Shera are there.

Actually, Pinto returned for his Covid year.  He started the first game of the season and it looks like he came out in the 35th minute.  Must have been an injury since he hasn't appeared in a game since.

Yeah, I'm guessing that as well as to Pinto. Just looked at the replay and looks like he has a bad left knee (wrapped - maybe a brace as well as limping) WC has 6 5th years and 6 seniors, but not as affective this year. I think I counted 35 on the roster (I think 11 freshman, but they'll need a lot of them next year)

Problem may be their out of conf. schedule which imo is medium strength. So how they do in Cent. Conf. may push them to qual for the NCAAs. Only problem is that they lost to McDaniel, but also tied Dickinson. The tie may not mean much unless Dickinson turns around its week after losing to the Muhls.

[Freddyfud]

But, beyond Messiah, one of the more surprising developments is the lackluster campaign being put together by the Shoremen. The 1-0 home loss to Western Maryland (aka McDaniel) drops Wash College to 3-2-4. This was a final four team last year, to state the obvious.

I had put this out there when Simple Coach was doing his preseason musings... Is WashC legit? Can they carry the F4 momentum forward?

Not looking good on this front.

As to the questions about the Shorepeople this year I would look at two graduates from last year's team—-first team AA CB Chris Coomber and GK Antony Pinto.  Both were lights out especially during the post season when WAC only allowed 2 goals combined vs Otterbein, Kenyon, Mary Washington and Conn College in their run to the F4.

Maybe this is a rebuilding year.  In any case I would not count them out long term as long as Coaches Dunshee and Shera are there.

Actually, Pinto returned for his Covid year.  He started the first game of the season and it looks like he came out in the 35th minute.  Must have been an injury since he hasn't appeared in a game since.

Oh thanks I missed that.  I knew he was a senior last year and haven't seen him play this year but now I see he is on the roster.  Hopefully his injury gets better soon.

[d3tactico]

Way too early predictions for the Centennial Conference Playoffs:

4th) Washington College
Thus far, WAC has had shoddy results and hasn't lived up to the F4 hype that was going to be difficult to replicate following the loss of key players. However, I think that this is my most contentious pick as I fully believe they can the turn the season around due to their offensive talent and identity. Over the past 3-4 seasons, WAC has proved to be a formidable opponent that has shown mental resilience, offensive explosiveness, and more than anything the grit to win games. Their upcoming games against Swart and Rowan should shed light on how they will fair up towards the latter end of the season.

5th) Swarthmore
Swart has always been a team that has confused me as they possess a team that are technically gifted but slightly small physically. Moreover, they are JHU lite of the conference as they do attempt at playing a very possession oriented style. Their results thus far have been impressive yet their loss against F&M was eyebrow raising. Although possessing the talent and style they have struggled time and time again to rise up to the occasion against the other elite teams of the conference. Despite outplaying the dips they self-destructed on their first goal conceded, and got unlucky on the second. These are games that need to be won in order to be considered a top contender in the Centennial. To me, they are 4th/5th place team, but based off their recent loss I put them 5th.

4th) Dickinson
After coming off a red hot start to the season and an impressive national ranking, Dickinson has shown that they may have the turned the corner in their program rebuild. I am still very skeptical of their ability to replicate their results against tougher opponents mainly due to their 4-2 dismantling at home against Muhlenburg. By all means, Muhlenburg are a tough team to beat and have the versatility to go up against any Centennial team, but to concede four goals at home is never a good sign. In my opinion, their national ranking was a bit inflated due to their victory over a historically poor Messiah thus putting pressure on a squad that has never really seen it before. As of now, I feel it's safe to say they are a solid 4th place pick.

3rd) F&M
After retaining much of their previous years talent, it has been a shakey start from the dips. I, along with most other Centennial fans, expected more out of this squad and it has been difficult to understand what has been going on. Their 5 ties were against tough opponents, but perhaps exposed what they are struggling most with this season. Their offensive output hasn't been anywhere near where it once was, but beyond that they seem to lack a distinct tactical identity. Their victory over Swart was incredibly lucky, and at no point in the game could you put your finger on a playstyle they imposed. Their upcoming schedule of LVC (A), Muhlenburg (A), JHU (A), and Dickinson (H) will show what this team is made of. Despite the undefeated start, I think they are a 3rd place team at best and may drop depending on their upcoming results.


2nd) Muhlenburg
Year after year Muhlenburg continues to shock the conference, and this time I won't be betting against them. Their poor performances out of conference always stump most Centennial conference enthusiasts, but the reality is that they have a formidable squad and a mentality that is difficult to go up against. Their results against elite Centennial foes has shown the potential within this squad and I believe that their schedule is lined up well over the next few weeks in order to gain momentum. In my opinion, as I mentioned before, they can go up against any team in the entire Centennial and perform well. They can play a JHU, F&M, WAC, or Swart and come out with a result due to their versatility and experience. I believe they are a solid 2nd/3rd place team.

1st) Johns Hopkins University
A team that is coming off of a Centennial Championship and an impressive NCAA run was poised to do well. Thus far, this season's results have been underwhelming, but based off of last year it is always important to be patient when judging JHU. They tend to figure things out in the latter half of the season, and an important test against Swart should prove indicative of whether my pick to put them first will come back to bite me. My prediction is that they will build off their performance against Ursinus and Mary Wash to pick up momentum. However, there is one main way I can see hurting them this season and its their stubborn commitment to their system. It's brilliant watching them play, but at times they shoot themselves in the foot while in possession. At times, I feel as if their system shackles their players down to a system that limits their ability to create individual brilliance. (kind of like what people say Pep's system does)

These are all VERY VERY VERY early predictions and there is much to change. I hope the teams I left off this list prove me wrong, and the teams I ranked lower than others do as well. This is an exciting time for the Centennial with two teams outside of the JHU,F&M,WAC,Muhlenburg group that are nationally ranked. Would be interested in hearing everyone's thoughts

[Hopkins92]

First off, d3tactico... WHOA!!!!!!!!!!! Welcome to the board and please please please stick around. That is great stuff, really.

One picky thing, and maybe this is just my generation of MAC originated oldness... Gotta call them Swat. I don't know  why, but that's just the way it is has to be.

And, yes, I've stated a gazillion times that Hop's style is limiting, but it produces very consistent results. I don't begrudge Coach Appleby for sticking with a system. Full stop. But, at some point, they need a striker that can stretch the top-half of the formation into a more dangerous approach.

As it stands, they are always going to push for a Conference title and have a mini-run in the NCAA tournament, but I don't see a national championship. Which... And I want to make sure I'm not being rude here... Johns Hopkins, with its national footprint and recruiting potential... They should be in the NESCAC, Chicago mix.

[PaulNewman]

In other words, Hopkins should (still?) be in the UAA....and also Tufts. 

As a fan of another very strong program that unfortunately has been limited to decent tourney runs, I get the pessisism that a title will always be just a bit out of reach.  I share that.  That said, St Olaf showed there is hope.  And Wash Coll, W&L, North Park, UMW, Centre (yeah, flippin Centre!), etc.