The Big Dance

[rudy]

St Scholastica--the MN school that scored zillions of goals in recent seasons--has had a high percentage of English or other foreign players as long as I've followed them. This year they show 5 Brits, 2 Canadians, and 2 Mexicans. Coach Barry Chastey hails from England, where he played semi-pro soccer.

I checked this year's Falcon roster, b/c I know that David Alejos is listed as coming from Mexico. But, as I had thought, he graduated from Lancaster Mennonite HS, which is no more than 60 miles from campus. It's the same school that has produced half a dozen Falcons in the championship era, as well as one of the best players that Gordon College had recently. Not to mention Keegan Rosenberry, who played at D1 Georgetown before entering MLS.

I was thinking of Alejos as an American--and he might be an American citizen, for all I know.

The Ramirez brothers are a similar case. Their family is from Guatemala, and that is where they are from according to the rosters, but they graduated from a HS in Harrisburg PA. I wasn't counting them as foreign players for that reason, but you could.

I am still not thinking of any unambiguous examples from Falcon rosters in the championship years.

Typically if th coaching staff hails from England, Scotland, etc, then more likely to have the foreign players. Messiah coaches have been American. Alejos is from Mexico..only  came here I believe last 2 years of high school as some type of exchange student

[Mr.Right]

Hi, I'm a long time reader, first time poster, so please take it easy on me.
Felt I had to pipe up as there was a lot of misinformation being put forward in regards to Medaille and international students in D3 soccer.
I'm originally from London, England, and played four years of D3 Soccer.
I played in four NCAA tournaments. The experiences I had here were ones I will treasure for the rest of my life.

The NCAA system is unlike anything else in the world. It is one of a kind. I believe you should be proud - as Americans - that student athletes from across the globe want to come and play here. The top level of D3 is an elite standard that should not be disrespected. Many of the elite D3 programs have D1 talent, but add the focus on academics. For an international student, to get a 1st rate degree, AND be able to play competitive soccer at a good level is incredibly attractive.

As far as scholarships etc go, many international students have a base "international" scholarship, and then add additional merit based, depending on their grades. It is certainly not just "all the rich kids." I would guess that many of those Medaille players are former Premier League (or lower league) academy kids who were cut. At that age, they don't want to give up their dream of playing pro, but need an education too. The ability to come to the US and chase both dreams is a fantastic option.

In response to Mr Right - whose posts I usually find informative and entertaining - I'm not sure what "hoops" you are referring to in the UK that Americans have to jump through. From first hand experience, it was a lot harder for me to get over here to play at college, than it has been for some Americans I've known to go to the UK for pro trials and try outs.

An internationally diverse program and team is something I was proud to be a part of and something that should be treasured and protected.

So I'm not cheering for or against Medaille, but don't think they should be picked on for providing a life changing opportunity for kids from across the world to change their lives.

I am not against some international flavor on any roster. Some. It helps everyone learn about different cultures, attitudes and the like. That Medaille roster is beyond acceptable. Not only has the coach bypassed the local landscape for players he has bypassed ANY American players. The UK used to mandate an American have an official US Cap before he could play in any of their TOP 4 divisions even if the player was more than able to make the roster. I just look at the influx of all these British coaches into are club systems and colleges and get a tad irritated. Some of these clubs will only HIRE British coaches when there are plenty of worthy Americans to hire. I suppose I look at the whole situation like a ton of UK fans look at the influx of Americans owning Premier League teams and wanting them OUT. Protesting at every game for these clueless Americans to sell their shares. A bit of a stretch I know but you get the idea. I am very happy you got such a rewarding experience and I have no problem with that. I think every school should try to accomplish this BUT this Medaille situation is not correct.

[PaulNewman]

Ah, Beatty just came on WPI so he is gonna give it a go.  Let's see if he can do anything versus Oneonta.

[PaulNewman]

Oneonta getting frustrated and now very chippy.

Ref has let Oneonta get away with 7 or 8 body slams in a row.

[blooter442]

Ah, Beatty just came on WPI so he is gonna give it a go.  Let's see if he can do anything versus Oneonta.

Ayeeeeeeeeee!!

[PaulNewman]

Nemes has played good game but has coughed the ball up in his half in middle of field at least 3 teams because didn't play fast enough and tried to dribble out.  Almost led to goals each time.  Beatty has obvious hamstring injury.  Can't really run or go hard for balls.

[Flying Weasel]

Wow!  An exciting set of games to start off the day.  UW-Superior take early lead on heavy favorite and host St. Thomas [Tommie now in command 3-1].  Oneonta being held in scoreless stalemate by WPI.  Salem State score second half equalizer to knot AMherst 1-1.  Lots of goals in the the Oglethorpe-NC Wesleyan match with Wesleyan coming back from 3 down to make it a game at 3-2 [Petrols score again to lead 4-2 late].

[PaulNewman]

WPI with a tremendous effort and have had their chances despite Oneonta dominating possession.  A healthy Beatty might have burned Oneonta on the counter at least once.  WPI likely exhausted now.

[PaulNewman]

Oneonta survives....barely. 5 PK makes in a row each team.  Beatty missed #6 and did not look like he should have been taking one.

[Wisco21]

Interesting match going on in St. Paul with UW Superior pulling within a goal with about 5 minutes to go. St. Thomas currently leads 4-3 with UWS applying the pressure.

Edit* - didn't realize St. Thomas is down to 10 men

[Wisco21]

University of St. Thomas survives the first round but will be without starting goalkeeper Aidan Hogan for tomorrow's contest. Hogan was sent off towards the end of the first half. Troy Louwagie is their second choice keeper who has only played 15 minutes all season prior to today. Needless to say, he didn't look entirely comfortable tending net in that second half.

[Falconer]

F&M just got the first goal of the game vs Drew. The usual blurry, limited view stream you get from Lycoming, so I couldn't tell who did what.

[Falconer]

And Drew got one back as I was typing.

[Falconer]

Stevens narrowly missed getting a clean breakaway vs Midd, whose keeper had to come out 20 yards really fast to knock it away. Nice play.

[Falconer]

F&M gets another on a counter, nice buildup and a "play on" foul that allowed a 1 v 1 with the keeper coming out to try to stop it. Again you can't see who did what. The Drew goal was credited to Cserhat, number 22 for the season on a header. Wish I could have seen it, but the fuzzy image and distance don't allow it.