Mid-Atlantic Region

[LetteroftheLaw]

Travis Beauchamp and the cardinals win their 5th landmark by rolling through the postseason 6 GF 0 GA with a young squad. Will be interesting to see where they go next weekend for the opening weekend of the tournament, I doubt they get to host again like in 2019 given their record but they do have a really nice facility in DC.

[Falconer]

All three goals in the LVC-Messiah game are now up on the Falcon site. All three are just magnificent—don't often see 3 out of 3 beauties. Check them out for a legal thrill.   

[rudy]

Hey Falconer. It's been a while since I've been here but with the tournament selections starting I figured i would check out the tournament. It is a tough loss for Messiah to not have LG for the tourney. One of my favorites Matt McDonald had a nice goal there in the MAC finals. He's just a hard nosed competitor..liked his style the first time I watched him.

Would be nice to see them reach the final 4. Need some breaks here and there to win those tight 1 goal games. I'll try to watch some games here in the tournament

[LetteroftheLaw]

Good showing for the Centennial Conference once again getting 5 teams into the dance. Unfortunately I'm not sure if any of them will be able to get out of the first weekend. I think there are some very intriguing second round games as always. I would say F&M has the best chance to get out of their group but Middlebury will not be easy on Sunday.
Staying on the topic of intriguing second round games, we are looking at a potential Kenyon vs Messiah second round game. I think whoever wins that one is in a good position to make a run to the final four - another tough draw for my guys over at Catholic.

[paclassic89]

I think Hopkins might have the best chance to win 2.  I wouldn't be surprised if they make it out of the weekend

[Pilsner]

Agree that Catholic may have the toughest draw of the weekend- Kenyon and Messiah... Two top ten teams - Yikes.
Don't underestimate a senior rich Washington College squad- winning Centennial Conference was not a fluke.

[paclassic89]

Agreed on Washington College. I'll be rooting for them and  I hope they make a run

[Ejay]

Props to Muhlenberg College, who again won the post-season ECAC tournament championship with wins over Alvernia, Rutgers-Camden and then Rutger-Newark in the championship.

[The Mole]

Asking for a friend..

Potential SA inquiring about teams in Centennial  that employ a "wingback" formation. Disclosure: I have no clue what this means as soccer is not my sport. Any other place or resource that could be researched to find this out?

Thanks in advance, appreciate any guidance on the subject. Posting this to the league threads that have shown mutual interest.

[Hopkins92]

Probably a lot more efficient for this kid to narrow down the schools he/she wants to attend and then look into the style of play respective teams might employ, but, you know, that's just my random .02.

Just for your edification, the vast majority of teams play with a "wingback" at this point. A wingback just means an outside defender that is asked to join the attack with regularity. This isn't a great analogy, but it's a bit like having a tight end that you ask to catch the ball as much as you ask him to block.

[d4_Pace]

I think people are confusing the terminology between an outside back and a wingback. While all outside backs are now asked to play an attacking role a wingback specifically refers to the outside player in a 3-5-2/3-4-3. So a wingback is the player in a back 3/back 5 system where as an outside back is the player in a formation with a back 4. In the back 3 a wingback is essentially a hybrid between an outside back/outside mid/winger hence the term wingback.

[Falconer]

Just wanted to give a shout out to Messiah women's soccer player Esther Seeland, the two-time defending champion and D3 record-holder for the 800 meter run. On Saturday, Esther won the open 800 at the Larry Ellis Invitational Meet at Princeton (https://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/meet/467286/results/f/1/800m), where she defeated 27 other women, mostly from D1 schools, including Villanova, Penn, Princeton, BC, Army, and Navy. Esther is also ranked number 2 in D3 at 1500 meters. After missing a season to COVID, she will graduate this spring and has accepted a scholarship to continue running as a graduate student at Virginia.

[justakidfromakron]

Anyone have any CC 2022 pre season predictions?

[Falconer]

Here's the incoming Falcons:

https://gomessiah.com/news/2022/6/29/mens-soccer-welcomes-six-new-players-to-grantham.aspx

Seems to have some very talented players, perhaps more than the last 2-3 classes. I'm sure COVID had something to do with that.

Has anyone seen any of these guys play? As a track fan, I know that the local player, Samuel de la Riva, has serious speed--he ran 1:54 for his conference title, also won the district title at 800 meters (https://www.pennlive.com/galleries/PTDIMAW6FBGYNE7EOXJB6ZAIIE/), and ran a sub-50 second leg on the 4 x 400. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1KVMMKzXog.

I hadn't realized he was a Falcon soccer recruit. Those HS times are comparable to another soccer-track phenom from recent Falcon history--Nick West--but I would be nuts to push the comparison any further.

[4231CenterBack]

I don't see de la Riva on the 2022 roster?  There is a new addition not mentioned in the release but not de la Riva....