The Big Dance

[PaulNewman]

Thanks, Paul.

No problem, 'Meg.  Any time.

[Mr.Right]

Messiah impressively dropping into a defensive shell and were not allowing North Park anything as North Park's final pass was not there but in the last minute they have had 2 VERY GOOD looks and had to finish 1 of them...Striker has got to finish that..best chance they will get

[blooter442]

Well, a 2-1 Final. Gutsy win by the Falcons, but great effort by the Vikings.

[Mr.Right]

Congrats to Messiah...A nice win to cap a 2017 D3 Soccer Season....I really enjoyed the ride this year and thank all the other posters in this community that make it fun to sign in every day

[PaulNewman]

Courageous effort for NPU. 

Congrats to Messiah.  Amazing program and all that talent doesn't hurt.

[Brother Flounder]

Congrats to Messiah...A nice win to cap a 2017 D3 Soccer Season....I really enjoyed the ride this year and thank all the other posters in this community that make it fun to sign in every day

Back at you! Good game!

[Brother Flounder]

Thanks, Paul.

No problem, 'Meg.  Any time.

Have a good winter, Petrou...

[blooter442]

Thanks, Paul.

No problem, 'Meg.  Any time.

Have a good winter, Petrou...

http://s2.quickmeme.com/img/47/472c5f4cb30c17076301ef01d3d57bb779016edd3ffb14ed44ef57f4ad1b0ed1.jpg

[Brother Flounder]

Thanks, Paul.

No problem, 'Meg.  Any time.

Have a good winter, Petrou...

http://s2.quickmeme.com/img/47/472c5f4cb30c17076301ef01d3d57bb779016edd3ffb14ed44ef57f4ad1b0ed1.jpg

BLOOTS, have a good winter! Always provide good humor!

[blooter442]

BLOOTS, have a good winter! Always provide good humor!

Same to you! I try!

[Falconer]

A terrific end to an amazing season. I don't do well with cell phones and I  on the road again so I will keep my comments short tonight. Might say more in a day or two once I am home and have a keyboard.

I saw just the final four minutes of this final four. If anyone can imagine it. Was literally sitting in live performances both nights--my daughter is a musician. Had to get just the fleeting quick glance at the live stats to follow both games until I got to my hotel room tonight. Family comes first.

So, I can't comment at all on how they played this weekend. I gather from the comments here that it was to some extent a repeat of the sectionals with the Falcons dominating possession and taking care of business.

So my comments later will be reflective on the whole season in light of the tradition and thoughts about the future. If anyone will still be paying attention.

I sign off tonight with just two comments. First, a conjecture without having time to check the data. Messiah wasn't shut out this year. I know that's true--and rare even for them. Can any other top 10 team match this? As important as defense is--very important to be sure--you gotta score to win, especially come November and December. Nobody in the running wants a shootout. This team always got at least one goal, every game. I will want to look at the archive and see how often they have done that. Maybe FW will beat me to it.

Second, many here earlier this season were saying that the second team wasn't getting it done as they had in the past, that Messiah wasn't as deep as they used to be. Well, the second team got lottof PT in the second half of the season including all 6 tournament games, and they just kept getting better. At first it was better at holding the game where it was, but then they started making a difference on the scoreboard and in the end they were pretty good. The backups scored the first goal vs Brandeis and the GW tonight by a guy who spent most of his career either recovering from major injuries or riding the bench. That's huge. And a hugely satisfying win. Much more so than some of the others. These guys played to their max.

[blooter442]

Wow...I heard someone say it was the first of the season for Haines...didn't know it was the first of his CAREER.

[Falconer]

Wow...I heard someone say it was the first of the season for Haines...didn't know it was the first of his CAREER.

Exactly. He's in the same class as West and Bell and Alejos and Bratigam and Ruiz Plaza. But, he missed the whole first year with an ACL or similar injury. Your job the first year is to figure out the system--which is complicated like Knight's motion offense and takes most of that year to master. So he didn't play much his second year either since he was basically a freshman in experience.

[Falconer]

After years of study and careful reflection, now that the final data point is obtained, I formally state Falconer's Rule: to win the big kahuna, a team must first lose a quarter final game in the NESCAC or lose the MAC Commonwealth AQ to Lycoming.

Now we know why Tufts was toast, NPU was doomed, Chicago wasn't gonna do it, and Calvin couldn't get it done. They just didn't meet the prerequisite. End of story. Class dismissed. Watch your step on the way out.

[markerickson]

I look forward to a Messiah v North Park game 52 weeks from now.  The better team won today.  Congrats, Messiah.