Mid-Atlantic Region

[Mr.Right]

Messiah's #4 with a brutal tackle gives Lycoming a dangerous set piece that was punched out by Messiah GK but put right back into the mixer and Lycoming's striker ripped a shot that either went off the post or was a fantastic save by messiah's GK. Stream was screened. Lycoming starting to generate more dangerous chances and Messiah seems content to sit back a bit and soak the pressure.

[Mr.Right]

Lycoming reminds me of a Nescac side..Very athletic, pacey, have some skill, long throws, dangerous on set pieces and big...

[Mr.Right]

Lycoming MUST start sending #'s forward still 1-0 messiah with about 13 minutes left..I would imagine Messiah is one of the most dangerous sides on the counter in the nation but Lycoming has to push now

[Flying Weasel]

At the moment, Lyco has as many shots as Messiah.  That doesn't happen very often.  Kind of nerve-wracking with just a 1-goal lead.

[Mr.Right]

Danny Brandt almost makes it 2-0 with a shot that went just wide

[Mr.Right]

Lycoming's #16 who is HUGE gets a nice chance on net with his head but Messiah's GK was equal to the task...

[Mr.Right]

1-0 messiah about 6 minutes left..They are sending numbers now but their final pass has just not been great today..

[Flying Weasel]

FINAL:  Messiah 1, Lycoming 0

Shots: Lycoming 11 : 10 Messiah

SOG: Lycoming 6 : 5 Messiah

Corners: Lycoming 2 : 0 Messiah

Fouls: Lycoming 14 : 5 Messiah

[Mr.Right]

Final Score....Messiah 1-0 over Lycoming...Good game BUT that field does no one any favors..It obviously affected Messiah but besides long throws I think it doesn't help Lycoming as well...Their final pass just was not there in this game

[rudy]

Games to Watch

Tuesday
Messiah at Lyco
Scranton at Elmira
Leb Val at Stevenson
Eastern at Kings

Wednesday
McDaniel at Hopkins
Drew at Kean
F&M at Gettysburg
Ursinus at Haverford
Muhlenberg at Dickinson

Messiah at Lycoming is definitely the game to watch this week and maybe this year. I will be tuning into this one!

Predictions? Lyco home field is nice for them but as a Homer I'll go with Messiah 1-0 or maybe OT 2-1.

Not to brag...but you heard it here first. Messiah 1-0 . 

[rudy]

Final Score....Messiah 1-0 over Lycoming...Good game BUT that field does no one any favors..It obviously affected Messiah but besides long throws I think it doesn't help Lycoming as well...Their final pass just was not there in this game

We may see a replay on Messiah field for MAC finals if both teams are able to play through to the finals. That will be a good indicator of how both teams play each other on a wide grass field. Have to give credit to Messiah to pull out wins away at Rowan and now Lycoming on turf . That's a tall order.

[Falconer]

Final Score....Messiah 1-0 over Lycoming...Good game BUT that field does no one any favors..It obviously affected Messiah but besides long throws I think it doesn't help Lycoming as well...Their final pass just was not there in this game

Now you see, Mr Right, why I'm always nervous when the Falcons have to win in Williamsport in order to keep home field advantage for the conference playoffs. Lose there, and they are a good bet to lose again in the conference final. This year they would still get a bid in that scenario, but not necessarily in some other year. Lycoming started to become a serious threat in the conference not too many years ago, but ever since then they usually play Messiah dead even, or almost dead even, when the game is in their place.

That very narrow artificial surface just kills Messiah's offense. You saw it today. Lycoming knows how to use it to their advantage. They're very athletic, skilled, and well coached (except for a tendency to pick up needless fouls, which could really hurt them in the tournament where the officiating is usually pretty tight). They just try to create havoc, get the loose balls, and generate good shots off turnovers. They have the horses to do it, as you saw today. Not pretty soccer, not by a long shot, but very effective soccer against most teams.

[Mr.Right]

Final Score....Messiah 1-0 over Lycoming...Good game BUT that field does no one any favors..It obviously affected Messiah but besides long throws I think it doesn't help Lycoming as well...Their final pass just was not there in this game

Now you see, Mr Right, why I'm always nervous when the Falcons have to win in Williamsport in order to keep home field advantage for the conference playoffs. Lose there, and they are a good bet to lose again in the conference final. This year they would still get a bid in that scenario, but not necessarily in some other year. Lycoming started to become a serious threat in the conference not too many years ago, but ever since then they usually play Messiah dead even, or almost dead even, when the game is in their place.

That very narrow artificial surface just kills Messiah's offense. You saw it today. Lycoming knows how to use it to their advantage. They're very athletic, skilled, and well coached (except for a tendency to pick up needless fouls, which could really hurt them in the tournament where the officiating is usually pretty tight). They just try to create havoc, get the loose balls, and generate good shots off turnovers. They have the horses to do it, as you saw today. Not pretty soccer, not by a long shot, but very effective soccer against most teams.

Yup....That is why they remind me of a Nescac squad. When they played Amherst a couple years ago IMO they were not quite as athletic as what i saw today and Amherst overwhelmed them a bit. Now they have the athleticism to beat anybody playing that style. Maybe I am immune to it but you are correct it is not great futbol but it was not that bad. 2nd Half was very entertaining and full of drama and some near misses.  I mean they accomplished everything they wanted to today except win. I thought especially 2nd Half they controlled the way the game was being played. Meaning they imposed their style on Messiah and were quite effective but they just could not finish and like I said they seemed a bit tight as they were giving the ball away way to much but on that field it is very difficult not to give the ball away playing like they did.However, Messiah still possessed today just not in the back as they were forced to whack the ball a bit.  Actually, that was probably one of the best practices Messiah will have all year..Forcing Messiah to play quick 2 touch in tight spaces. BTW on that shot that Lycoming nearly scored on did the Messiah GK make the save or did it clank off the post? If he made the save that was one heck of a save. On the flip, that was one heck of a GK'ing error by Bell to let the ball go thru his hands off of that long throw in the first 5 minutes of the 2nd half. Lycoming just did not capitalize on the play...Good game though

[Flying Weasel]

The smaller field helps Lyco close down and double team opponents much more quickly than you could do on a larger field and to do so without tiring as fast because it's less ground to cover.  On a larger field, playing that way, you won't be as effective and you'll tire.  So it's a dual effect that benefits Lyco at home.  Messiah certainly has had some squads during their reign as kings of D-III that would have been able to handle this better than the Messiah of the past few years.  Glad to see the Falcons get out of Williamsport with the win and kind of get that monkey off their backs.  For so long E-town was that rival that pushed Messiah to be at their best, than is was York and now Lycoming is that team.  Would love to have all three be Top 25 caliber teams each year.  It's always great to have more dates you circle on the calendar when the schedules come out.

[Mr.Right]

The smaller field helps Lyco close down and double team opponents much more quickly than you could do on a larger field and to do so without tiring as fast because it's less ground to cover.  On a larger field, playing that way, you won't be as effective and you'll tire.  So it's a dual effect that benefits Lyco at home.  Messiah certainly has had some squads during their reign as kings of D-III that would have been able to handle this better than the Messiah of the past few years.  Glad to see the Falcons get out of Williamsport with the win and kind of get that monkey off their backs.  For so long E-town was that rival that pushed Messiah to be at their best, than is was York and now Lycoming is that team.  Would love to have all three be Top 25 caliber teams each year.  It's always great to have more dates you circle on the calendar when the schedules come out.

That is a good point...They are able to press and close MUCH faster. Also, if they are not a deep team(although it seemed like they were subbing as much as Messiah) it preserves energy.