The Big Dance

[PaulNewman]

Does every pod and sectional require NCAA postgame interviews?  And if not posted on a team's website where can one find them?

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Does every pod and sectional require NCAA postgame interviews?  And if not posted on a team's website where can one find them?

This is up in the air. They are part of the set-up and planning, but if there is no media on hand, they can be eliminated (usually in agreement with all parties including the NCAA rep onsite). Sometimes schools, even with no media on site, will record post-games so that they can be uploaded (or streamed). Usually they are posted on the school's event-site. That's hard to say where each is, but usually can be found on the team (MSOC, WSOC) page.

[rudy]

I made the 90 minute drive up to Messiah to catch this game and was glad I did. Quality soccer for pretty much the entire game. Nick West, unsurprisingly, was the difference. Potted the first goal on a kind of funky deflection header on a set piece. But the second... Brilliant. Nice ball sprung him down the left flank, he used his speed and patience to beat the Hop defender and then just juked the life of the keeper for an easy knock in.

Hopkins was a MUCH better version of themselves this weekend from what I saw last weekend in Haverford. Their lone striker was just better all around, and they utilized #7 a lot more today than what I (frustratingly) observed against F&M.

The first half, really, the game was pretty much a toss up. But the goal was a dagger and a little deflating because while not against the run of play, it didn't really come with Messiah bossing the game. You guys know, as an underdog, when you're holding you're own, that first goal can be a killer.

And I know I don't post enough to be a broken record on here, but... (!!!)

Appleby never switched his formation. Never pushed two or even three forwards forward. I know you can't curse here, but wow is he a frustrating coach. There's over 35 minutes when West potted that second goal. PUSH THE FORMATION FORWARD!

The only reason I didn't leave early is due to the fact that JHU's field hockey team was locked in an epic battle with Messiah in the 3rd round of the playoffs. Hop wound up winning in ET on a sudden victory goal. Tons of fans for both teams and the atmosphere was excellent, so, kind of made the drive worth it. (I love US15 anyways, so...)

Hopkins is a quality team. Glad to play them at home as I think that gave Messiah a slight advantage. Always a scary team to play.  Probably the toughest 2nd round game for any of the big 4... Chicago, Calvin, Tufts, Messiah.  Similar style as Messiah so not easy to get the ball back once they get it as evidenced in first 20 minutes or so.  This particular starting 11 lineup was a first on the year so maybe took some time to settle down.   Looked to me like after that first 20 Messiah had a  majority of possession but not a lot of shots. They could have taken more whacks from 20-25 but chose not too. Hopkins had a couple from that range that were not far off from ending up in the back of the net.  I think along with Calvin...Hopkins is the closest in style to Messiah I have seen them play. Oddly enough though both Messiah goals came in an un Messiah fashion which is encouraging because sometimes in these tight NCAA games you have to score in a variety of ways.  No set piece goals but first was a quick 2 pass counter into the box and then double header into the net. Brit, who got his first start on the year  I believe, headed it toward Nick for the goal just beating the keeper. Second was Nick just getting the ball in the open field. Justin ran with him.to pull one defender off Nick which allowed him to beat just one defender and then finish.  That defender was in a tough position with West having a full head of steam and no help.

Hopefully in the next week we get a couple more bodies healthy so there is more depth at a few positions.   

[DagarmanSpartan]

CWRU had no trouble at all in its opening round matches.  This next game against Kenyon will be a DILLY!!!!

[Falconer]

I made the 90 minute drive up to Messiah to catch this game and was glad I did. Quality soccer for pretty much the entire game.

Thank you for making the effort, Hopkins92. I understand why you went over to the other field to watch the hockey game, but I do hope you found the soccer crowd courteous and perhaps even friendly. Falcon fans want our visitors to feel more than welcome--even though we hope they leave a little disappointed with the result on the field! 

I've always enjoyed going to games at Gettysburg, Dickinson, and Etown, though the crowd is usually pretty small except at Etown--which has the best spectator views, by far, putting you right on top of the action. Kind of like Fenway Park or Wrigley Field.

[Ron Boerger]

Another 3-0 win against a game but outmatched Mary Hardin-Baylor side sets up a rematch of the Trinity(TX)-UChicago season-opening tie, but this time in the much cooler climes in Illinois.  Current long-range forecasts have the temperatures starting in the mid-30s at match start and going down from there - roughly 55 degrees colder than when the two met in San Antonio. 

[PaulNewman]

I enjoy watching post-game interviews and also the NCAA tournament previews that some schools do with coaches and players on video talking about the teams and potential opponents, as well as what coaches say in game recaps.

Sterling Weatherbie is the focus of the Tufts NCAA preview.  Impressive guy and certainly one of the biggest sort of unsung "winners" in recent memory.

Serpone again had spot-on recap comments yesterday.  And of course for any of these coaches it sure is easier to feel really gracious and generous after a win.

No one pulls off sounding so genuine while essentially having the same comments over and over (just insert different opponent team name and name of coach) as Souders at Calvin.  Don't let the warm embrace fool ya....super-competitive warrior, and one of the very best coaches in the country right up there with Shapiro.

I've watched a couple of videos of Brandon Bianco, coach of CWRU, and he is an extremely impressive young coach.  Sounds smart with great, mature temperament, and exudes building a culture that would make both players and parents feel good.  CWRU should do whatever is necessary to keep him as I imagine he will be on the very short list when perceived bigger jobs become available (whether that be another UAA, a NESCAC, or going "home" to OWU).

One of the favorite lines of all these coaches is the "I love this group and am so happy for our guys that we all get to spend another week together," and then there is that classic Shapiro line "we might as well go grab the whole darn thing."

I said before that I would be cheering for CWRU the rest of the way, EXCEPT for a match with Kenyon.  If they get by the Lords I will be back on the CWRU bandwagon.  Kenyon should be freed up to come out flying, as they are beyond, beyond fortunate to still be playing.  The Kenyon announcer was packing up the gear and lamenting that it just wasn't going to be their day.  CMU was running out the clock frustrating the heck out of Kenyon with that deal by the corner flag until the Lords got one last gasp down the field and after a corner and scrum with the Kenyon GK in the CMU box somehow a frosh got his foot on the ball and knocked it in the net with 30 seconds left.  Despite a shots disadvantage that distorts the true feel of the game, CMU had seemed well in control.  The Tartans are a very good team with some excellent players, including the GK who makes phenomenal saves.  Brutal way to lose for CMU.

Some superb Sweet 16 games coming.....with fascinating set-ups about who will be feeling more pressure.  Amherst should feel great about taking their best shot at Tufts.  Trinity shouldn't feel intimidated by Chicago.  Will Montclair be relieved to get back to a NJAC team and/or will Ramapo be chomping at the bit after getting drilled 5-0 in the NJAC final?  Who will benefit more from having played earlier, Cortland or Messiah?  Eastern versus Rochester feels like a toss-up.  And what about St. Thomas as a sleeper pick at this point?

[oldonionbag]

Watched the Tufts/Stevens game on live stream. Tufts totally dominated (something like 10 corners to Stevens' 1), though one lapse of concentration almost cost them the game on a counter. Najjar picked up the yellow outside of the box, but Tufts was lucky to escape there, looked like a 3 on 2.

Realistically, Tufts should have had 3-4 goals. My big takeaway was the Jumbos' inability to finish - they hit the post twice, had numerous headers they put straight at the keeper or wide, and had several other great chances (notably in the 5th minutes there was a cross played into Braun's feet, who was wide open in the box but hit it straight at the keeper). Tufts can certainly grind out wins, but they will need to be much more lethal in their finishing...it doesn't matter how many opportunities you create if you can't put one or two of them away...it could come back to bite them against a team like Amherst, who will be looking to muck up the game and throw Tufts off its brand of possession soccer. Amherst is a team that knows how to grind out wins too, so Tufts must take every chance it can get in that game, as I don't think we'll see too many golden opportunities to score.

[Falconer]

Who will benefit more from having played earlier, Cortland or Messiah?

It's hard to say, actually. Teams that play Messiah regularly know exactly what they're in for--a possession-oriented team that usually builds from the back and is more likely to score in the run of play than off set pieces. In theory, once you know that, you know it and can prepare for it. In practice, however, a lot of teams find themselves shaking their heads at the skill level at some point in the game: you can see players doing just that in brief lulls. (I definitely noticed several players from Baruch doing this on Saturday, but not JHU players yesterday. They already know what it would be like--and they are also highly skilled and play a similar style game.) I would say that, having seen the Falcons once already will help Cortland players prepare mentally for what they will face.

On the other hand, Messiah players know what Cortland brought on opening day: an over-the-top physical game. I can't say whether Cortland plays that way regularly, since I've seen them just that one time. Their foul totals are ordinary, 255 fouls in 22 games (the Falcons have just 134 in 21 games), but they have 20 YCs and 2 RCs, indicating some tendency to overdo it. On opening day, fouls actually called were 22-6 Cortland, and the Red Dragons were also booked twice. IMO (as I said at the time), the official swallowed his whistle that day: both numbers should have been significantly higher, and 3 Falcons were injured and missed some games. So, I would say that a key to the game will be the quality of officiating. If those boys are on top of their game, it will probably help the Falcons more than the Dragons. In my experience, officiating in tournament games is usually much better than in the regular season--I thought both games in Grantham this weekend were expertly officiated--but, there are always exceptions.

A subtler factor, relative to opening day, is that Nick West is now being used differently--or, perhaps it's simply that his teammates know understand how to use him more fully. He still took 7 shots vs Cortland, 3 of them on frame (one more than the entire Cortland team, which scored on both of their SOG), but it wasn't until partway through the second game vs Whitworth that they started looking for him over the top, as they have done ever since. Also, the Falcons have found others scorers since West's streak ended. There are now 3 Falcons with 5 or 6 goals and 1 with 4.  Also, Kokolios has 3 in 15 starts; he was the leading point scorer behind West when he went down and missed several games. He only just returned for a few minutes on Saturday.  It would help the Falcons is he can play more vs Cortland. This weekend, they scored 7 goals with only 2 by West. So, they are now more well balanced offensively than at mid-season.

Cortland has two main scoring threats, Keller with 18(!) goals and Ormsby with 12. Neither man scored opening day. After them, it's all the way down to Ruggiero with 4 (he had a great goal opening day) and then no one else with more than 3 goals. So, job one for Messiah is to shut down Keller and Ormsby, not forgetting that Cortland has several other players very capable of scoring. While Cortland knows exactly whom they have to shut down, so who else will be open for the Falcons?

[PaulNewman]

Falconer, any thoughts about the other Sweet 16 games?

[lastguyoffthebench]

MSU dodged a bullet with their player only getting a YC vs NYU in 2nd half   Play was reminiscent of MA Boston vs Haverford where the player blasted the ball at him after the foul.    Followed by a subsequent two handed forceful shove.

[PaulNewman]

MSU dodged a bullet with their player only getting a YC vs NYU in 2nd half   Play was reminiscent of MA Boston vs Haverford where the player blasted the ball at him after the foul.    Followed by a subsequent two handed forceful shove.

Very fortunate.  That said MSU is VERY talented....a lot of players with skill and get off a ton of hard shots.  I imagine they will get by Ramapo, and if Amherst is there I'd give them a decent to good chance to prevail.  I cannot see them beating Tufts.

[daddyEzK]

MSU dodged a bullet with their player only getting a YC vs NYU in 2nd half   Play was reminiscent of MA Boston vs Haverford where the player blasted the ball at him after the foul.    Followed by a subsequent two handed forceful shove.

I thought it was a clear red.  The refs at the games at Montclair were very reluctant to give cards on Saturday and so the play got very ragged and rough.  Sunday's game was a result of that, with lots of fouls and ugly play.

[Ommadawn]

Comment of the year. I'm pretty sure it's been a year since the last time I said that, as I believe Mr.Right was saying he should bring the UChicago announcers from Freetown Christiania to his family's Thanksgiving dinner.

I hope Auntie Right does a good job with the cranberries lest she be called out for delivering "weak sauce" 

[blooter442]

I hope Auntie Right does a good job with the cranberries lest she be called out for delivering "weak sauce" 

Laughed out loud