The Big Dance

[Mr.Right]

Calvin has an unfair advantage as they can scout the John Carroll match tonight because they will play the winner. That really is not right at all and I doubt those teams would have scouted Calvin yesterday before even playing their first games last night. Calvin has a tough draw next weekend. IMO Messiah might have the easiest path as they will face Cortland/Etown winner and then either F&M/Rochester/Brockport/Eastern in the Elite 8. All decent teams but F&M did not impress me last night against WCONN who should have beaten them. I know Cortland drew Messiah earlier in the year but they are not playing the same as they were earlier this year. IDK maybe I am wrong but to me that is the easiest Sweet 16 / Elite 8 pod right now because Chicago still has to possibly get by Trinity and Tufts/Amherst will battle in another with Calvin/Kenyon/Case/John Carroll in the last.

That game won't be played until next weekend, right? Game tapes must be shared (even a certain number of those tapes) AND on-sight scouting is not allowed. So, while Calvin has an extra day, per se, I don't see how that's going to make a huge difference. Calvin, may even have restrictions on what they can do on Sundays staff-wise.

I am not aware of game tapes that MUST be shared to all Staffs.....Where is there a rule about that? Also, on site scouting always used to happen. It was never a problem up until 2015 and plenty of Coaches would do this if able to because of different gametimes. So unless there has been some new restrictions passed I do not know of anything that does not permit Coaches to scout teams if able to...

[blooter442]

That game won't be played until next weekend, right? Game tapes must be shared (even a certain number of those tapes) AND on-sight scouting is not allowed. So, while Calvin has an extra day, per se, I don't see how that's going to make a huge difference. Calvin, may even have restrictions on what they can do on Sundays staff-wise.

I am not aware of game tapes that MUST be shared to all Staffs.....Where is there a rule about that? Also, on site scouting always used to happen. It was never a problem up until 2015 and plenty of Coaches would do this if able to because of different gametimes. So unless there has been some new restrictions passed I do not know of anything that does not permit Coaches to scout teams if able to...

Yeah, I've definitely seen coaches scouting on-site both this year and last year.

[Dave B]

My vote for "feel-good" story of the tournament to this point is Jeremy Payne's (Messiah '14) Eastern Eagles heading to the Sweet 16 where they'll play on the site of so many of Payne's accomplishments - Messiah's Shoemaker field.   

[Hopkins92]

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.

Played at Etown and, yeah, tremendous field.

I'm a loner when it comes to watching games, so I usually sit up high or like I did on Sat behind a goal with no one else around for the second half. That was my first time at Messiah and I really enjoyed it. Beautiful campus and the field and environment are tremendous. Only folks I interacted with were field hockey fans up on the hill and they were gracious in defeat. I was actually pretty surprised by how many Hopkins field hockey fans were there. I didn't realize it was for a spot in the final four until after the game ended, so it made more sense.

[PaulNewman]

I had no idea how Tufts scored (or how late in the game....82nd minute) until browsing around last night and seeing the video of the goal.  Essentially the same play as the 109th minute goal for Tufts versus Kenyon in the 2016 Elite 8 game.  In 2016 it was Weatherbie with a throw to Eichhorst who headed back into the box where Majumder got a foot on the ball for a trickle in GW.  Sunday versus Stevens, on the same side of the field, a few yards further down towards the touchline, it was AGAIN Weatherbie with the throw to Paoletta who nods the ball back into the box (like Eichhorst) creating a remarkably open loose ball in space where Tasker gets foot on it and blasts the ball into the net.  I recall Halliday in the 2016 post-game say they had been trying that play all season and that was the first time it worked.

Speaking of D3's best defenders, few can be better than Bret Lowry for Kenyon.  Started almost every game since coming on campus, an AA last year, NCAC Defender of the Year this year.  Makes plays all over the field all game long.  Chased down and ran off the ball a CMU player on a breakaway that would have sealed the win for CMU in the 2nd half.  He has an amazing ability to strip balls without fouling.  Makes game winning plays that are hardly noticed and then game winning plays like the last second goal against Wabash that in retrospect might have been the difference in getting the Lords in the NCAA tournament.  Arguably the best defender in the history of Kenyon soccer.

Kudos to Chewy Gordon for a phenomenal season that unfortunately was cut short by injury.  Looks like the played the last minute of the 1st half and last minute of the 2nd half in Capital's last game with CWRU.  Incredibly painful for these seniors who have had great careers and/or great seasons who suffer a late injury. 

Jeremy Payne is a great story, but for me more because of his age than his Messiah heritage.  Must be like 26 or at most 27, and even with his pedigree it is impressive for him to do such a great job with a full college team not that much younger than him.

[Brother Flounder]

Tufts-Amherst in the Sweet 16 is going to be an absolute bloodbath. Calling Tufts 2-1 in 2OT.

Let's hope so!  But there will be blood...

[rudy]

My vote for "feel-good" story of the tournament to this point is Jeremy Payne's (Messiah '14) Eastern Eagles heading to the Sweet 16 where they'll play on the site of so many of Payne's accomplishments - Messiah's Shoemaker field.

If Eastern and Messiah both get to Elite 8 and play head to head that will really make for a great story.  Cooper Robbin's brother Kirby is assisting at Eastern as well .

[lastguyoffthebench]

I'm going to try this again....

Ramapo is legit and will beat MSU.     


Off topic, but the seeding for the ECAC was strange.   Newark hosted a pod as #1 seed, Willy P was a #4 seed and had to travel to Neumann?   

Newark hosts the semis:
Drew vs Wesley
WPU vs Newark

My guess is that WPU beats Drew in the final...   

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Calvin has an unfair advantage as they can scout the John Carroll match tonight because they will play the winner. That really is not right at all and I doubt those teams would have scouted Calvin yesterday before even playing their first games last night. Calvin has a tough draw next weekend. IMO Messiah might have the easiest path as they will face Cortland/Etown winner and then either F&M/Rochester/Brockport/Eastern in the Elite 8. All decent teams but F&M did not impress me last night against WCONN who should have beaten them. I know Cortland drew Messiah earlier in the year but they are not playing the same as they were earlier this year. IDK maybe I am wrong but to me that is the easiest Sweet 16 / Elite 8 pod right now because Chicago still has to possibly get by Trinity and Tufts/Amherst will battle in another with Calvin/Kenyon/Case/John Carroll in the last.

That game won't be played until next weekend, right? Game tapes must be shared (even a certain number of those tapes) AND on-sight scouting is not allowed. So, while Calvin has an extra day, per se, I don't see how that's going to make a huge difference. Calvin, may even have restrictions on what they can do on Sundays staff-wise.

I am not aware of game tapes that MUST be shared to all Staffs.....Where is there a rule about that? Also, on site scouting always used to happen. It was never a problem up until 2015 and plenty of Coaches would do this if able to because of different gametimes. So unless there has been some new restrictions passed I do not know of anything that does not permit Coaches to scout teams if able to...

Yes. Tape sharing is a must. For example, if you make the tournament, you are required to send your last two games (at least) to your opponent.

And you may see coaches from the teams in participation at that current pod scouting. That is perfectly allowed, but as I understand it you can't send coaches to another pod. That said, I have scoured the rules (in multiple locations) and it isn't clear about that. It is clear about video taping and such and it indicates at the championship weekend people can pay a ticket and come in and scout (which is odd), but nothing else.

So ... I'm contacting a couple of committee people I know to confirm. I'll update as soon as I can.

[Dave B]

My vote for "feel-good" story of the tournament to this point is Jeremy Payne's (Messiah '14) Eastern Eagles heading to the Sweet 16 where they'll play on the site of so many of Payne's accomplishments - Messiah's Shoemaker field.

If Eastern and Messiah both get to Elite 8 and play head to head that will really make for a great story.  Cooper Robbin's brother Kirby is assisting at Eastern as well .

I'm really hoping for that match-up and while I knew that Payne had former Falcons as assistants, I didn't realize that Robbins was one of them.  I hope Cooper is available to play this weekend.

[Bobcat1]

Tufts-Amherst in the Sweet 16 is going to be an absolute bloodbath. Calling Tufts 2-1 in 2OT.

Let's hope so!  But there will be blood...

Last time they played it only took a Dane Lind elbow 9 seconds in to the game to draw blood as well as the ensuing yellow card... It may take longer than 9 seconds this time around, but no guarantees.

[PaulNewman]

Is Rochester the most under the radar really good team in the country?  I expect the Yellowjackets to advance, and I would give them a fair chance versus the Falcons if Cortland cannot pull the upset.  Rochester has been knocking on the door for a Final Four breakthrough, and they have familiarity with Messiah.  They also easily could have won their game at Chicago where the Maroons scored in the final minute.  I was flipping back and forth between games when they played Brockport but every time I tuned in UR appeared to have Brockport pinned in and under siege, one day after Brockport disposed of SLU.

St Thomas, a team that has had back to back Final Four and Elite 8 seasons, also barely has been mentioned this season.

All of these teams know they are only two wins away from Greensboro.

[blooter442]

Is Rochester the most under the radar really good team in the country?  I expect the Yellowjackets to advance, and I would give them a fair chance versus the Falcons if Cortland cannot pull the upset.  Rochester has been knocking on the door for a Final Four breakthrough, and they have familiarity with Messiah.

Yeah, they're good. They don't have any superstars, but they're very solid and streetwise in the Tournament. If I had to pick a team outside of my Final 4 selections — Tufts, Messiah, Chicago, Calvin — to gatecrash the party, it'd be Rochester.

[rudy]

Is Rochester the most under the radar really good team in the country?  I expect the Yellowjackets to advance, and I would give them a fair chance versus the Falcons if Cortland cannot pull the upset.  Rochester has been knocking on the door for a Final Four breakthrough, and they have familiarity with Messiah.  They also easily could have won their game at Chicago where the Maroons scored in the final minute.  I was flipping back and forth between games when they played Brockport but every time I tuned in UR appeared to have Brockport pinned in and under siege, one day after Brockport disposed of SLU.

St Thomas, a team that has had back to back Final Four and Elite 8 seasons, also barely has been mentioned this season.

All of these teams know they are only two wins away from Greensboro.

You could say the same about SUNY Cortland. They have a lot of team speed and a couple dangerous scorers. Really tough team. The coach has had a very successful run the past 4 years. Messiah will have their hands full.

[PaulNewman]

What, have we morphed into the quiet period?

I mean, do we really think Chicago is going to get by Trinity?  Isn't Trinity due for a big win instead of a disappointing exit?  How does this Trinity edition compare with those from the preceding 5-6 years?

Hopefully in addition to the excellent sectional reviews for the site Mr.Right will give us a breakdown and prediction on Amherst-Tufts with maybe a bonus review of the NJAC re-match.

After I posted above about Rochester I realized that UR as a team/school mirrors Rochester the city/area in terms of being off the radar.  BTW, I'm not sure I've ever seen a UR fan post on this board.  Rochester the area is off the radar as in sort of off the map.  About midway between Syracuse and Buffalo, Rochester is closer to Cleveland than it is to Boston or NYC.  Rochester generally is not a place most folks think of going unless vacationing on the Finger Lakes or on the way to Niagara Falls.  What most think of is that the area is usually cloudy and gets really, really cold, and most don't think of UR as a school to consider.  That said, UR is a superb school, with an also under the radar but very well-respected medical school.  The library is as impressive as almost any building on any campus in America and the Eastman School of Music is first-rate.   The city is a mix of deteriorated spots and revitalized neighborhoods with a lot of culture for a city its size, lots of beautiful parks, and surprisingly manageable traffic.  It is the home of wonderful Wegmans, the deluxe grocery chain now thankfully multiplying with stores in Massachusetts.  And it played a central role in the nation's civil rights history with Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass, statues of both sharing a square down the street from the Susan B. Anthony House.  Nearby is the Freedom Trail with Seneca Falls.

Come on Rochester fans!  Come out of the shadows and make yourselves known.