Mid-Atlantic Region

[Mid-Atlantic Fan]

MAF Power Rankings (9/26)

Region 4
1. Montclair
2. Leb Val
3. Stevens
4. Stockton
5. Rowan
6. Kean
7. Rutgers Camden

Region 5
1. Messiah
2. F&M
3. JHU
4. Widener
5. Scranton
6. Muhles
7. Wash Coll

[Kuiper]

MAF Power Rankings (9/26)

Region 4
1. Montclair
2. Leb Val
3. Stevens
4. Stockton
5. Rowan
6. Kean
7. Rutgers Camden

Region 5
1. Messiah
2. F&M
3. JHU
4. Widener
5. Scranton
6. Muhles
7. Wash Coll

It's interesting to compare these with the USC Regional Rankings (beyond that they go to 8 teams).  I guess the coaches give more credit to Widener's undefeated record in Region V and view Muhlenberg as doing better than F&M and JHU, perhaps because their only blips were to other ranked teams (a loss to Scranton and a tie to JHU), while F&M tied Haverford and Swarthmore and JHU's loss to Ursinus hurts them.  Not seeing a strength of schedule that warrants a ranking for FDU-Florham, but I guess they have won four in a row.

Region IV - Poll 3 - September 26, 2023
Rank    School    Prev    W-L-T
1    Montclair State University    1    7-0-1
2    Lebanon Valley College    2    6-1-0
3    Kean University    6    5-0-3
4    Stockton University    5    4-0-3
5    Stevens Institute of Technology    4    3-1-3
6    Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham    7    5-0-2
7    Rowan University    3    2-1-4
8    St. Mary's College of Maryland    8    4-2-1

Region V - Poll 3 - September 26, 2023
Rank    School    Prev    W-L-T
1    Messiah University    1    7-0-1
2    Widener University    3    7-0-0
3    Muhlenberg College    6    5-1-1
4    Franklin & Marshall College    2    5-1-2
5    Johns Hopkins University    4    4-2-3
6    University of Scranton    5    5-1-1
7    Washington College (Md.)    NR    3-0-5
8    Dickinson College    7    4-2-1

[Hopkins92]

Sounds like quite a game up in Chester last night. Stevens stomps out to a 2-0 half-time lead on the brace from one of the best names in D3 soccer: Bruno Andino.

The Pride's pride player Sean Fatiga helped storm back with goals in the 48th and 63rd minutes. Game was capped with a goal with only 15 seconds on the clock by Widener's Christian Vetter.

Hunted around for video and came up empty. Stevens has had a bumpy start to the season, but this is still a quality win for Pride Nation.

[d3ma]

The game winner was off a corner kick. Here is a link to the widener replays. The live stream wasn't working early on so you can't see the Stevens goals but the Widener goals are available if you scroll through the replay.

https://portal.stretchinternet.com/widener/portal.htm?eventId=738126&streamType=video

[Mid-Atlantic Fan]

A nice win for the Pride and solidifies they are a true contender. We will know more when the NCAA regional rankings come out, but looks like the SOS may be a bit low for them. 

Sounds like quite a game up in Chester last night. Stevens stomps out to a 2-0 half-time lead on the brace from one of the best names in D3 soccer: Bruno Andino.

The Pride's pride player Sean Fatiga helped storm back with goals in the 48th and 63rd minutes. Game was capped with a goal with only 15 seconds on the clock by Widener's Christian Vetter.

Hunted around for video and came up empty. Stevens has had a bumpy start to the season, but this is still a quality win for Pride Nation.

[Hopkins92]

The game winner was off a corner kick. Here is a link to the widener replays. The live stream wasn't working early on so you can't see the Stevens goals but the Widener goals are available if you scroll through the replay.

https://portal.stretchinternet.com/widener/portal.htm?eventId=738126&streamType=video

Nice, thanks!!

That is a very confident group, from my scan of the highlights and run of play in the second half. Their attack is pretty relentless and Fatiga, man... Some positioning issues for the Stevens goalie, particularly on the equalizer, but... The ball really leaps off his foot.

[Coach Jeff]

Watching Widener for awhile this season.  Big game on October 7 at Messiah gametime 3:00.  Definitely one to watch!

[Flying Weasel]

It's Messiah's Homecoming when Widener come to Grantham in two Saturday's.  So there will be a bigger than normal crowd for Widener to deal with.  On the other hand, Messiah has to deal with the distractions of Homecoming and some disturbances to their normal routine.  Despite being a Messiah alum and fan, the soccer fan in me wants to  see a competitive, compelling game, so I hope Widener proves to be a formidable opponent.  I still want and fully expect a Falcon win, but I still think there's some question marks around this year's squad and not sure they are at the point where they can consistently play like a Top 10 team.

[Coach Jeff]

It's Messiah's Homecoming when Widener come to Grantham in two Saturday's.  So there will be a bigger than normal crowd for Widener to deal with.  On the other hand, Messiah has to deal with the distractions of Homecoming and some disturbances to their normal routine.  Despite being a Messiah alum and fan, the soccer fan in me wants to  see a competitive, compelling game, so I hope Widener proves to be a formidable opponent.  I still want and fully expect a Falcon win, but I still think there's some question marks around this year's squad and not sure they are at the point where they can consistently play like a Top 10 team.

From what i can tell they still need to improve in a few areas on the field to make them more consistent.

[Flying Weasel]

Hopkins92 and MAF didn't mention it as a mid-week game to watch, but I think the LVC vs. E-town game is one to keep and eye on.  LVC is 6-1-0 on the season with their lone loss coming at F&M where they allowed a first-ever win over the Diplomats slip away in the final quarter hour after taking a 2-1 lead.  Despite a mediocre 3-2-2 record, E-town showed a lot of fight in their 2-3 loss to Messiah before defeating Scranton 2-1 to open Landmark play on the right foot.

LVC and E-town faced the same three opponents to open the season, swapping visiting St. John Fisher and Rutgers-Newark opening weekend before travelling to F&M.  LVC showed much better across those common opponents, picking up 4-0 and 5-0 wins before the agonizing loss to F&M.  E-town on the other hand went 1-1-1 with a 1-0 win (St. John Fisher), 2-2 tie (Rutgers-Newark) and 0-1 loss at F&M.

LVC has been ranked for the past two weeks by the coaches (USC), moving up to #13 this week.  I think this might be the first time the program has ever been ranked by the coaches.  In 2016, LVC was ranked for one week (Week 8) by D3soccer.com when they were 12-2-0 before being tripped up by a 5-10-1 Alvernia in their very next match. A low SOS kept them from ever being considered for an at-large berth that year, but they did win their first of back-to-back ECAC Championships to finish 18-4-0.  LVC's next best run was probably just two years ago when they were 12-3-0 entering their 10/26 tilt with F&M and regionally ranked by the NCAA (#8 of 8 in Region V).  A first-ever win over F&M might have earned them an at-large berth, but they fell 0-3 and although all teams ranked ahead of them in the region received berths, they probably never had a shot at #7 in the region (14-5-0, .567 SOS, 3-4-0 RvR).

Every other year it seems like LVC plays Messiah very tough, but a low SOS and inconsistency down the stretch in October has always kept LVC from reaching the NCAA tournament.  SOS might be a problem again for them this year despite adding Rutgers-Newark (who is having their worst season in years) and some other new additions to the schedule who are under-performing to date.

LVC's top player from two seasons ago, Lucas Strange, is back for a 5th year after missing last season.  He's posted 4 goals and 7 assists already.  And sophomore Nathan Prex, building upon his team leading 17 pts. (5g, 7a) last year, has scored 8 goals in the first 7 games, netting in all but one game so far. He tallied both goals against F&M.  And Jr. Aaron Weitzel is back after scoring 6 and 7 goals as a frosh and soph, respectively. So they have some firepower up top.  They have used the same starting line-up (6 upperclassmen + 5 soph) in all seven games.  Nine of the starters were full-time or part-time starters last year.  So who knows, maybe this is LVC's year to make some sort of a break through.  But there's a long way to go and a local rivalry game, even if E-town isn't world-beaters, should be an interesting test for LVC and one they need to win to continue to be taken seriously.

[SimpleCoach]

Hopkins92 and MAF didn't mention it as a mid-week game to watch, but I think the LVC vs. E-town game is one to keep and eye on.  LVC is 6-1-0 on the season with their lone loss coming at F&M where they allowed a first-ever win over the Diplomats slip away in the final quarter hour after taking a 2-1 lead.  Despite a mediocre 3-2-2 record, E-town showed a lot of fight in their 2-3 loss to Messiah before defeating Scranton 2-1 to open Landmark play on the right foot.

LVC and E-town faced the same three opponents to open the season, swapping visiting St. John Fisher and Rutgers-Newark opening weekend before travelling to F&M.  LVC showed much better across those common opponents, picking up 4-0 and 5-0 wins before the agonizing loss to F&M.  E-town on the other hand went 1-1-1 with a 1-0 win (St. John Fisher), 2-2 tie (Rutgers-Newark) and 0-1 loss at F&M.

LVC has been ranked for the past two weeks by the coaches (USC), moving up to #13 this week.  I think this might be the first time the program has ever been ranked by the coaches.  In 2016, LVC was ranked for one week (Week 8) by D3soccer.com when they were 12-2-0 before being tripped up by a 5-10-1 Alvernia in their very next match. A low SOS kept them from ever being considered for an at-large berth that year, but they did win their first of back-to-back ECAC Championships to finish 18-4-0.  LVC's next best run was probably just two years ago when they were 12-3-0 entering their 10/26 tilt with F&M and regionally ranked by the NCAA (#8 of 8 in Region V).  A first-ever win over F&M might have earned them an at-large berth, but they fell 0-3 and although all teams ranked ahead of them in the region received berths, they probably never had a shot at #7 in the region (14-5-0, .567 SOS, 3-4-0 RvR).

Every other year it seems like LVC plays Messiah very tough, but a low SOS and inconsistency down the stretch in October has always kept LVC from reaching the NCAA tournament.  SOS might be a problem again for them this year despite adding Rutgers-Newark (who is having their worst season in years) and some other new additions to the schedule who are under-performing to date.

LVC's top player from two seasons ago, Lucas Strange, is back for a 5th year after missing last season.  He's posted 4 goals and 7 assists already.  And sophomore Nathan Prex, building upon his team leading 17 pts. (5g, 7a) last year, has scored 8 goals in the first 7 games, netting in all but one game so far. He tallied both goals against F&M.  And Jr. Aaron Weitzel is back after scoring 6 and 7 goals as a frosh and soph, respectively. So they have some firepower up top.  They have used the same starting line-up (6 upperclassmen + 5 soph) in all seven games.  Nine of the starters were full-time or part-time starters last year.  So who knows, maybe this is LVC's year to make some sort of a break through.  But there's a long way to go and a local rivalry game, even if E-town isn't world-beaters, should be an interesting test for LVC and one they need to win to continue to be taken seriously.

Too bad it pay per view.

SC.

[SierraFD3soccer]

Hopkins92 and MAF didn't mention it as a mid-week game to watch, but I think the LVC vs. E-town game is one to keep and eye on.  LVC is 6-1-0 on the season with their lone loss coming at F&M where they allowed a first-ever win over the Diplomats slip away in the final quarter hour after taking a 2-1 lead.  Despite a mediocre 3-2-2 record, E-town showed a lot of fight in their 2-3 loss to Messiah before defeating Scranton 2-1 to open Landmark play on the right foot.

LVC and E-town faced the same three opponents to open the season, swapping visiting St. John Fisher and Rutgers-Newark opening weekend before travelling to F&M.  LVC showed much better across those common opponents, picking up 4-0 and 5-0 wins before the agonizing loss to F&M.  E-town on the other hand went 1-1-1 with a 1-0 win (St. John Fisher), 2-2 tie (Rutgers-Newark) and 0-1 loss at F&M.

LVC has been ranked for the past two weeks by the coaches (USC), moving up to #13 this week.  I think this might be the first time the program has ever been ranked by the coaches.  In 2016, LVC was ranked for one week (Week 8) by D3soccer.com when they were 12-2-0 before being tripped up by a 5-10-1 Alvernia in their very next match. A low SOS kept them from ever being considered for an at-large berth that year, but they did win their first of back-to-back ECAC Championships to finish 18-4-0.  LVC's next best run was probably just two years ago when they were 12-3-0 entering their 10/26 tilt with F&M and regionally ranked by the NCAA (#8 of 8 in Region V).  A first-ever win over F&M might have earned them an at-large berth, but they fell 0-3 and although all teams ranked ahead of them in the region received berths, they probably never had a shot at #7 in the region (14-5-0, .567 SOS, 3-4-0 RvR).

Every other year it seems like LVC plays Messiah very tough, but a low SOS and inconsistency down the stretch in October has always kept LVC from reaching the NCAA tournament.  SOS might be a problem again for them this year despite adding Rutgers-Newark (who is having their worst season in years) and some other new additions to the schedule who are under-performing to date.

LVC's top player from two seasons ago, Lucas Strange, is back for a 5th year after missing last season.  He's posted 4 goals and 7 assists already.  And sophomore Nathan Prex, building upon his team leading 17 pts. (5g, 7a) last year, has scored 8 goals in the first 7 games, netting in all but one game so far. He tallied both goals against F&M.  And Jr. Aaron Weitzel is back after scoring 6 and 7 goals as a frosh and soph, respectively. So they have some firepower up top.  They have used the same starting line-up (6 upperclassmen + 5 soph) in all seven games.  Nine of the starters were full-time or part-time starters last year.  So who knows, maybe this is LVC's year to make some sort of a break through.  But there's a long way to go and a local rivalry game, even if E-town isn't world-beaters, should be an interesting test for LVC and one they need to win to continue to be taken seriously.

Only saw the LVC v. F&M game. LVC was a decent team. The two goals in the first half were good and very much close together.  One in the 16th and then the 18th min. F&M scored first in the first 3 or 4 minutes.

After the 2-1 lead, LVC did not do too much the rest of the game. F&M tied in the 78th and then won in the 88th.  In my opinion, LVC looked good and probably has improved going forward.

Also note, LVC plays on a long grass field so that can definitely be an advantage. Field is probably in better shape, but last year it was not great. They played F&M in Lancaster.

[Hopkins92]

Hopkins simply can't finish at a high enough clip. They thoroughly dominated the first half possession and really should've scored on two point blank, open shots.

Rooting for them, but it's frustrating to watch. They are now about 15 minutes from tying a (no offense) pretty underwhelming McDaniel (WMD) squad.

Edit - And the reverse jinx works!! Hop scores a nice shot from 16 yards out.

[SierraFD3soccer]

Hopkins simply can't finish at a high enough clip. They thoroughly dominated the first half possession and really should've scored on two point blank, open shots.

Rooting for them, but it's frustrating to watch. They are now about 15 minutes from tying a (no offense) pretty underwhelming McDaniel (WMD) squad.

Edit - And the reverse jinx works!! Hop scores a nice shot from 16 yards out.

Yeah, a little like the Stevenson game. McDaniel never really threatened. If they had tied, that would have been crazy.

[SierraFD3soccer]

F&M v. Ursinus just started.  Big game for both teams.

Also no commentators and mike is open so you can judge for yourself as to F&M bench antics. Almost like you are sitting in the stands.