Mid-Atlantic Region

[Shooter McGavin]

Weekend Games
Dickinson @ JHU
McDaniel @ F&M
Catholic @ Etown
Hood @ Lyco
Scranton @ Juniata
DeSales @ Misericordia
Kings @ FDU
Swat at Fords
Stevenson @ Arcadia
Eastern @ Stevens
Ursinus @ Getty
LVC @ Widener
Wash Coll @ Muhles
Albright @ Alvernia

*Bold are must see games*

[DucksFan02]

Eastern vs Stevens.....winner takes 1 seed in the MAC Freedom and potential finals home field advantage; likely to see these two match up again in a weeks time. Stevens' first season in conference and first time playing Eastern in recent memory; heard from friends still involved with the program theres even been chirping over social media (all in good fun). About as big a regular season game as it gets for both. Gotta love the storylines in D3 Soccer!!!!

[YoungBuck]

Weekend Games
Dickinson @ JHU
McDaniel @ F&M
Swat at Fords
Ursinus @ Getty
Wash Coll @ Muhles

*Bold are must see games*

WOW the CC schedule makers really did a number on the final weekend.  Let's start with the irrelevant game:

WAC @ Muhles - Both teams put together impressive non-conference results, but failed to make it count against CC foes.  The top 6 teams in the conference will thank them for their ~.500 records this year, which help them all boast above .600 SoS numbers this year.  Winner finishes in 8th place in the conference.

Ursinus @ Getty - As much as I'll be rooting for the Bears to get their first CC win since 2014 and break another SOTD, I'm gonna go ahead and pencil in 3 points for Getty at home against Ursinus.  That'll secure their spot in the 4/5 play-in game next week and give them a shot to continue to bolster their postseason resume.  In the 4/5 game, they'll face the winner of...

Swat @ Fords - (Historic) Walton Field is sure to be bouncing for this storied Philly rivalry game.  Swat gets a CC playoff spot with a win or draw.  Fords need a win at home to have any hope of continuing their season.  This could be the last opportunity to see Haverford's Nick Jannelli, whose 45 career goals are good for 14th in CC history.  If Swat loses, they'll miss a valuable opportunity to bolster their SoS and RvR in the CC tournament, and will probably be on the outside looking in come selection day.

McD @ F&M - You can probably pencil in F&M getting 3 points at home against McD to take the regular season crown and hosting duties next weekend.  2 or 3 years ago, this would have been a no contest, however McD has played well in big games this year, and will be relishing their opportunity to play spoiler. 

Dickinson @ Hopkins - Probably the best game from a quality perspective this weekend.  These teams will almost certainly play again in the 2/3 match next weekend, so an early appetizer and an opportunity to feel out styles.  Hopkins can still hold out hope to win the regular season crown, but will need a win and an F&M tie or loss to do so.  Both teams will be looking for resume boosting results, without wanting to give too much away before next weekend's expected (and more important) rematch.  Important note on this one - Dickinson's CF Kevin Gilbert has 4 YC and 1 RC on the season.  Coach Redding faces an important decision here:  sit Gilbert for the regular season finale to assure that you have him for the 2/3 game next weekend when the YC threshold goes up to 8, or risk playing him and hope that he can avoid a 5th YC that would put him out of next weekend's game.

[Ejay]

Watching a bunch of the Etown-Moravian tilt:

- The field is GARBAGE.

That's all I got right now.

GARBAGE. SHAMEFUL.

Etowns field has been awful all season and hasn't been great for a few years now.  I'm not sure if it's overuse or grounds keeping incompetence or what but it's a shame because it used to be quite nice.  At least it's not turf.

E-Town game tomorrow moved to local high school due to crappy Herr Field Conditions.

[FelixCloudy]

CC tourney seeding set.  F&M hosts, Fords beat Swat 3-1 to earn #4 seed, and will host Getty for play-in game.

http://www.centennial.org/sports/msoc/2019-20/releases/msoc_seeds

[Hopkins92]

Weekend Games
Dickinson @ JHU
McDaniel @ F&M
Swat at Fords
Ursinus @ Getty
Wash Coll @ Muhles

*Bold are must see games*

WOW the CC schedule makers really did a number on the final weekend.  Let's start with the irrelevant game:

WAC @ Muhles - Both teams put together impressive non-conference results, but failed to make it count against CC foes.  The top 6 teams in the conference will thank them for their ~.500 records this year, which help them all boast above .600 SoS numbers this year.  Winner finishes in 8th place in the conference.

Ursinus @ Getty - As much as I'll be rooting for the Bears to get their first CC win since 2014 and break another SOTD, I'm gonna go ahead and pencil in 3 points for Getty at home against Ursinus.  That'll secure their spot in the 4/5 play-in game next week and give them a shot to continue to bolster their postseason resume.  In the 4/5 game, they'll face the winner of...

Swat @ Fords - (Historic) Walton Field is sure to be bouncing for this storied Philly rivalry game.  Swat gets a CC playoff spot with a win or draw.  Fords need a win at home to have any hope of continuing their season.  This could be the last opportunity to see Haverford's Nick Jannelli, whose 45 career goals are good for 14th in CC history.  If Swat loses, they'll miss a valuable opportunity to bolster their SoS and RvR in the CC tournament, and will probably be on the outside looking in come selection day.

McD @ F&M - You can probably pencil in F&M getting 3 points at home against McD to take the regular season crown and hosting duties next weekend.  2 or 3 years ago, this would have been a no contest, however McD has played well in big games this year, and will be relishing their opportunity to play spoiler. 

Dickinson @ Hopkins - Probably the best game from a quality perspective this weekend.  These teams will almost certainly play again in the 2/3 match next weekend, so an early appetizer and an opportunity to feel out styles.  Hopkins can still hold out hope to win the regular season crown, but will need a win and an F&M tie or loss to do so.  Both teams will be looking for resume boosting results, without wanting to give too much away before next weekend's expected (and more important) rematch.  Important note on this one - Dickinson's CF Kevin Gilbert has 4 YC and 1 RC on the season.  Coach Redding faces an important decision here:  sit Gilbert for the regular season finale to assure that you have him for the 2/3 game next weekend when the YC threshold goes up to 8, or risk playing him and hope that he can avoid a 5th YC that would put him out of next weekend's game.

Both Hop and Dips rounding into form, taking fairly easy paths to victory yesterday. F&M dismantled the Green "Terror"* with a 7-0 scoreline and Hopkins didn't allow an early Red Devils goal derail them en route to a 4-1 win.

* - I once had three Western MD kids sit behind my goal and absolutely rip me for 90 minutes. I give them credit, it was absolutely hilarious and top notch heckling, but the penance for that school is that I'll probably never stop holding a mild grudge on here.

[Hopkins92]

And not to be too much of a homer, but if folks have paid any attention to me this year, I've been fixated on Younker. He's definitely been dealing with a nagging injury, as he hasn't seen the field in a couple of weeks.

My hunch is that Appleby is holding him out until the NCAA's, rather than risking him picking up another nick. They've done quite well without him, but come tourney time, you want that guy in crunch time.

[Mid-Atlantic Fan]

MAF Top 10 Rankings
1. JHU
2. F&M
3. Messiah
4. Catholic
5. Gettysburg
6. Swat
7. Dickinson
8. Stevens
9. Fords
10. Lyco
HM: Scranton, Etown

NCAA Predictions
1. Hopkins
2. F&M
3. Messiah
4. Swat
5. Gettysburg
6. Catholic
7. Fords
8. Lyco
9. Dickinson
10. Stevens/Scranton

Outside looking in: Etown, Scranton/Stevens

[Mid-Atlantic Fan]

RvR for Upcoming Regional Poll
JHU: 4-2-1
F&M: 5-1-0
Messiah: 4-2-0
Swat: 2-2-1
Fords: 2-3-2
Getty: 3-4-1
Etown: 0-4-0
Catholic: 3-1-1
Lyco: 1-4-0
Dickinson: 3-6-0
Stevens: 0-1-0
Scranton: 1-3-0

[Shooter McGavin]

Shooter's Power Rankings
1. F&M--15-2-0
2. Hopkins--14-2-1
3. Messiah--14-2-2
4. Catholic--16-2-1
5. Stevens--12-3-2
6. Swat--11-3-3
7. Gettysburg--10-6-1   
8. Lyco--12-6-0
9. Dickinson--10-7-0
10. Fords--9-5-3
HM: Etown, Scranton, Kings

NCAA Regional Prediction: Week 3
1. JHU
2. F&M
3. Messiah
4. Swat
5. Gettysburg
6. Catholic
7. Fords
8. Dickinson
9. Lyco
10. Scranton
Others: Etown, Stevens

[Hopkins Walk-On]

Younker played v. Dickinson on Sat. night, although he didn't start and didn't have much of an impact. He had a knee brace on so is clearly still troubled by some sort of injury.

It was an odd game. Gilbert, Dickinson's best forward, started despite carrying 4 yellow cards into the game and running the risk of being DQ'd for the conference playoffs. He scored quickly and then it looked like Dickinson took their foot off the gas midway through the first half. Gilbert left the game and didn't return.

Dickinson is huge (multiple players 6-3 or bigger) but couldn't match Hopkins' pace. Their back line was under siege for most of the game.

[YoungBuck]

Younker played v. Dickinson on Sat. night, although he didn't start and didn't have much of an impact. He had a knee brace on so is clearly still troubled by some sort of injury.

It was an odd game. Gilbert, Dickinson's best forward, started despite carrying 4 yellow cards into the game and running the risk of being DQ'd for the conference playoffs. He scored quickly and then it looked like Dickinson took their foot off the gas midway through the first half. Gilbert left the game and didn't return.

Dickinson is huge (multiple players 6-3 or bigger) but couldn't match Hopkins' pace. Their back line was under siege for most of the game.

Sounds to me like the Dickinson coaching staff had a bit of a change of heart mid way through the half.  Either that or they had a word with the referees before the game and asked for them to give a warning before a card, and Gilbert got warned early.  Not sure what else would explain risking the suspension for the win to start the game, getting the early goal, then deciding to take him out mid way through the half with the game still tied.

Not sure if it'll translate next weekend, but if the Red Devils were able to play 30 mins tied at full strength, then 90 minutes at full strength should be closer than 4-1.

FWIW, Hopkins beat Dickinson 3-0 in the 2017 regular season finale, only to lose to on PKs 2-2 (4-2) back in 2017.  Allow that to lead in to my...

[YoungBuck]

(Meaningful) Stat of the Day:

Hopkins has made every CC tournament since they began in 2001, but has not made a CC tournament final since 2009, when they beat Dickinson 2-1.  Since then, 5 different teams (Dickinson, Swat, Fords, F&M, Muhles) have all won the title.  Can this year's iteration break the streak and come away with an elusive semifinal victory?

[Hopkins92]

Well, as I "reported" last year, I went the last iteration of Hopkins crapping out in the CC semifinal and I'm still baffled as to what I saw. Totally listless bench, lackluster play, no sense of urgency.

The team proceeded to come out and give Messiah a decent game in the second round of the Dance, which made the loss to F&M the weekend prior so perplexing.

I never liked having to play a team twice like this, but I sure hope the Jays bring the proper mindset to this next match.

[FelixCloudy]

Well, as I "reported" last year, I went the last iteration of Hopkins crapping out in the CC semifinal and I'm still baffled as to what I saw. Totally listless bench, lackluster play, no sense of urgency.

Totally agree - I watched the game also and many of us who were there were just mystified.  Not the match we all had expected to see.  It was certainly very curious.