2018 Season - National Perspective

[Mr.Right]

Messiah up 1-0 and most likely will win that game which is a good thing as I am really looking forward to a rematch of Lycoming at Messiah. I expect Lycoming to come out gang busters and try to steal an early goal and hold on. With Lycoming's win today over a ranked team I would expect them to move up the rankings at least a spot or two. With that win I would guess they just played their way onto the bubble but still maybe the wrong side of it. In the regular season match Lycoming came out busting at Messiah but they really died off as the game wore on SO I would expect the same except they really need to focus to try to steal a goal early. Should be a good match of contrasting styles I am hoping on a Saturday night.

[Mid-Atlantic Fan]

Messiah up 1-0 and most likely will win that game which is a good thing as I am really looking forward to a rematch of Lycoming at Messiah. I expect Lycoming to come out gang busters and try to steal an early goal and hold on. With Lycoming's win today over a ranked team I would expect them to move up the rankings at least a spot or two. With that win I would guess they just played their way onto the bubble but still maybe the wrong side of it. In the regular season match Lycoming came out busting at Messiah but they really died off as the game wore on SO I would expect the same except they really need to focus to try to steal a goal early. Should be a good match of contrasting styles I am hoping on a Saturday night.

I watched bits and pieces of the Lycoming game from earlier this afternoon and Lycoming looked as good as they have all season. A nice statistic for those of you who track foul counts and card counts...fouls were 14-10 Lyco and not a single yellow or red card in the game for either team! Lycoming is most certainly a bubble team but will need a little bit of help for an at-large as all bubble teams do. If Dickinson loses to Haverford then Lycoming will certainly jump Dickinson in the final rankings regardless of the Messiah vs Lyco outcome. Being in the top 6 of the Mid-Atlantic region is a must for a shot at a bid. Even if Dickinson wins vs Haverford and loses in the final to JHU/F&M I still think Lycoming will jump them after the result today.

As for the conference final matchup it should be a spectacle! This is the 5th conference final Lycoming has advanced to in the last 6 seasons and they have won 3 of the last 5. It has proven to be a fun match to watch as a neutral fan over the last half decade. After watching these two teams throughout the year they both look like NCAA tournament teams to me along with F&M, Hopkins, Haverford, and Eastern. It would be great for the region to see all of these teams in the tournament this year!

[rudy]

Is Live Stats correct that Stevenson is holding Messiah 0-0 almost midway 2nd Half?


This is the school that I swear took Messiah to OT a couple years ago and busted their ass all game only to give up the losing goal in OT...Maybe 2016 or 2015.

They took them to OT this year at Stevenson. Both games outshot by a lot but bend dont break.  Goal tonight was by Luke G while playing center back. Missing lot of players still with injuries...3 starters.

[blooter442]

They took them to OT this year at Stevenson. Both games outshot by a lot but bend dont break.  Goal tonight was by Luke G while playing center back. Missing lot of players still with injuries...3 starters.

Didn't Luke G get the winner against them earlier this year too?

[rudy]

They took them to OT this year at Stevenson. Both games outshot by a lot but bend dont break.  Goal tonight was by Luke G while playing center back. Missing lot of players still with injuries...3 starters.

Didn't Luke G get the winner against them earlier this year too?

Yep! 2 game winners against Stevenson. They are an interesting team. 30 freshman and soph on roster with new first year coach. Something like 38 on the roster. Very young team. If they bring in more talent they may contend for top 2-3 in the league next year.

[paclassic89]

They took them to OT this year at Stevenson. Both games outshot by a lot but bend dont break.  Goal tonight was by Luke G while playing center back. Missing lot of players still with injuries...3 starters.

Didn't Luke G get the winner against them earlier this year too?

Yep! 2 game winners against Stevenson. They are an interesting team. 30 freshman and soph on roster with new first year coach. Something like 38 on the roster. Very young team. If they bring in more talent they may contend for top 2-3 in the league next year.

They just need to add a bunch of international players and they've got the North Park formula for success 

[NESCAC43]

Haven't been on as much recently but have been catching some games. Watched Calvin play Hope this week and win 5-0. I usually try to contain myself with exaggerations but I really think Vegter has the ability to play professional soccer. I've seen some crazy good athletes come through D3 soccer and realize that they simply cannot play at the professional level. But this Vegter kid is amazing. Anyone else feel like he has the potential to get invited to/impress at the MLS combine and maybe get drafted?

[blooter442]

Haven't been on as much recently but have been catching some games. Watched Calvin play Hope this week and win 5-0. I usually try to contain myself with exaggerations but I really think Vegter has the ability to play professional soccer. I've seen some crazy good athletes come through D3 soccer and realize that they simply cannot play at the professional level. But this Vegter kid is amazing. Anyone else feel like he has the potential to get invited to/impress at the MLS combine and maybe get drafted?

Yes. There have been a number of very good defenders that have come through D3 in recent years, but Vegter is different class. The best I've seen in my eight or so years of following D3 soccer. He's a freak.

[PaulNewman]

Random thoughts on a Friday morning....

On the West Coast last night, C-M-S and Redlands both lost their semis.  Redlands is probably out, but C-M-S might be scooping up another Pool C.  Pool C candidates will be hoping that Trinity (TX) doesn't falter.

Vegter is more of a career story but he belongs in the discussion of "story of the year" along with Nick West, Chewy Gordon, Joseph Fala, St. Joseph's, St. Norbert, Ramapo, maybe the Hope turnaround, etc.  Obviously all of these families got their kids playing soccer at a young age but there has to be a real genetic component as well....the Vegter brothers, Thompson brothers, Robbins brothers, West brothers, Wall brothers, etc, etc. 

Vegter reminds me of a kid that at U10 or U12 you put up top to start the game to get 3 goals, moved to midfield to help some other kids on the team score, moved to defense to shut down the other team, and then put in the goal to close it out.  I could definitely see him playing professional soccer.

More than I can recall from recent years past (although I may be wrong), this is the year when Pool C selections will be dominated by outsized focus on SoS and "ranked wins" with winning percentage the big "loser."

The UAA will get six teams in (AQ plus 5 Pool Cs)....OK, maybe five and 4 Pool Cs (but I think there is a good chance for Wash U if they get a win against Chicago).

Calvin will win the national title.

St. Joseph's (ME), assuming the Monks pull through with an AQ, will get to at least the Elite 8.

D3soccer.com "poster of the year," for the second consecutive year, goes to Mr.Right in a landslide.

[PaulNewman]

C-M-S and Trinity (TX) are both on the low side on SoS AND ranked wins, but would one or both (if Trinity loses in their tourney) benefit from a little extra consideration (compared to their Midwest and East Coach brethren) so that the West gets 1-2 Pool Cs?  Is there a general view with as a whole region it is harder for the West do well on SoS and ranked wins on a comparative basis?

[rudy]

Messiah up 1-0 and most likely will win that game which is a good thing as I am really looking forward to a rematch of Lycoming at Messiah. I expect Lycoming to come out gang busters and try to steal an early goal and hold on. With Lycoming's win today over a ranked team I would expect them to move up the rankings at least a spot or two. With that win I would guess they just played their way onto the bubble but still maybe the wrong side of it. In the regular season match Lycoming came out busting at Messiah but they really died off as the game wore on SO I would expect the same except they really need to focus to try to steal a goal early. Should be a good match of contrasting styles I am hoping on a Saturday night.

Saturday game is at 730pm after the women play at 5. While good for you so you can watch NESCAC and other New England games during the day...i wish just once Messiah would play a day game with the sun out. It's not easy killing time here between Thursday night game and Saturday night game.  At least it looks like rain today but Saturday afternoon and evening should be dry.

[Gregory Sager]

They took them to OT this year at Stevenson. Both games outshot by a lot but bend dont break.  Goal tonight was by Luke G while playing center back. Missing lot of players still with injuries...3 starters.

Didn't Luke G get the winner against them earlier this year too?

Yep! 2 game winners against Stevenson. They are an interesting team. 30 freshman and soph on roster with new first year coach. Something like 38 on the roster. Very young team. If they bring in more talent they may contend for top 2-3 in the league next year.

They just need to add a bunch of international players and they've got the North Park formula for success 

North Park has 16 American freshmen on the roster this year, 14 of which are from the Chicagoland area.

Did your favorite program bring in 16 American freshmen this year, 14 of them local, paclassic89?

Yeah, I thought so.

[NESCAC43]

Haven't been on as much recently but have been catching some games. Watched Calvin play Hope this week and win 5-0. I usually try to contain myself with exaggerations but I really think Vegter has the ability to play professional soccer. I've seen some crazy good athletes come through D3 soccer and realize that they simply cannot play at the professional level. But this Vegter kid is amazing. Anyone else feel like he has the potential to get invited to/impress at the MLS combine and maybe get drafted?

Yes. There have been a number of very good defenders that have come through D3 in recent years, but Vegter is different class. The best I've seen in my eight or so years of following D3 soccer. He's a freak.

Glad I'm not the only one that thinks this! There have been some players mostly in the New England area that I've seen where I look at them and think, "Wow, this player is a great Division 3 soccer player and could be an All American." But never have I looked at a player and thought, "Hey, this kid could play in the MLS"...... until I watched Vegter 3-4 times this year. Granted I haven't seen him play in person yet, watching him play online does his style of play justice. The kid does not lose a tackle, is one of the smartest center backs I've seen in D3, and simply has the physique to play professionally. Would most likely have to move to outside back should he make it professionally.

[blooter442]

Glad I'm not the only one that thinks this! There have been some players mostly in the New England area that I've seen where I look at them and think, "Wow, this player is a great Division 3 soccer player and could be an All American." But never have I looked at a player and thought, "Hey, this kid could play in the MLS"...... until I watched Vegter 3-4 times this year. Granted I haven't seen him play in person yet, watching him play online does his style of play justice. The kid does not lose a tackle, is one of the smartest center backs I've seen in D3, and simply has the physique to play professionally. Would most likely have to move to outside back should he make it professionally.

Exactly my thoughts. Conor Lanahan of Brandeis was an animal, particularly in 2014 and 2015, and Tufts had Sam Williams who was very good (Sullivan and Coleman obviously had very good years last year and the year before, respectively, but I rated Williams higher than both). All were very good D3 players and were D1-level talents in my view. But none of them were guys I'd think would be MLS-caliber. I think Vegter is.

North Park has 16 American freshmen on the roster this year, 14 of which are from the Chicagoland area.

Did your favorite program bring in 16 American freshmen this year, 14 of them local, paclassic89?

Yeah, I thought so.

(I get that much has been made of North Park, and I can understand why NPU fans feel aggrieved, but this is long past its shelf life.)

[Gregory Sager]

I totally agree with you that the discussion of NPU men's soccer recruiting has long since passed the beating-a-dead-horse stage, blooter, and I'm more than happy to give it a rest. It'd suit me just fine if the topic never came up on d3boards anymore. But if someone is going to go out of his way to take a swipe at NPU from out of nowhere, then I'm going to respond with the facts.