The Big Dance

[Flying Weasel]

Stay warm all you D-III soccer fans.  Gonna be a chilly one out there.  Looks like Medford , MA (Tufts) is gonna be the warmest Sectional with temps in the low 40's followed by Cleveland, OH (Case Western) with temps maybe reaching 40 and Rochester just tick behind.  Chicago looks to be the worst with temps in the mid-30's , feeling like high 20's with the humidity (have fun Trinity fans!).  But no sub-freezing temps anywhere. 

My kids are playing ball in the back yard so I don't know why they had to move the games from PA to Rochester!!!  Otherwise I'd be out there freezing my buns instead of camped out on the couch in my pajamas.

[Ejay]

I'm heading to Kean University to watch NJ state championships today. High 40s so it won't be too bad. I'm sure I'll be checking the conversations here from my phone.

[Flying Weasel]

So Messiah is missing starters CB Cooper Robbins and CM Samuel Ruiz-Plaza due to injury.  Even with their depth, the Falcons will miss those players and it cuts into their depth.

[Flying Weasel]

So three of the four Sectionals are being played on American football fields.  Ugghh!  Horrible aesthetic for the beautiful game.

Messiah not looking sharp in the early going.  Way more unforced errors/give-aways/errant passes than usual.  Cortland had had a lot of possession.  The Falcons need to keep Cortland off the scoreboard until they can find their rhythm.

[NEsoccerfan]

Unsurprisingly, Tufts maintaining a good amount of possession and generating chances on the ground. Also unsurprisingly, Amherst playing dump and run and hardly maintaining any possession. All soccer purists out there should be rooting for Tufts.

As an aside, I did not realize Tufts has only 4 seniors...wow

[NEsoccerfan]

It's a shame that Giammattei plays at Amherst. He is a VERY skilled player who would absolutely thrive in a possession based system. I would guess that playing in the Amherst dump and run system causes him frustration.

[Flying Weasel]

Looked away and missed Cortland's goal with 15 minutes left in the half.  Apparently a well worked goal converted by Cortland's leading scorer.  Messiah not looking good.  May be missing Samuel Ruiz Plaza more than expected.  Who knows how different things would be if Nick West's shot off the post 6 minutes in would have gone in.

[Saint of Old]

The change of location may cost Messiah its 12th championship.

Having played at Messiah in a playoff game, I can attest to the fact thet there is indeed a 12th man factor for the Falcons when they are at home.

Cortland and Rochester know they can beat Messiah or any other team in the country...
Still loads of time left and you cannot write off a champion, but having to travel to Rochester might prove telling.

[Falconer]

Looked away and missed Cortland's goal with 15 minutes left in the half.  Apparently a well worked goal converted by Cortland's leading scorer.  Messiah not looking good.  May be missing Samuel Ruiz Plaza more than expected.  Who knows how different things would be if Nick West's shot off the post 6 minutes in would have gone in.

He's the point guard as well as the main helper on defense. You can't just move an outside defender into his spot and expect a similar result the first game. The losses of those two high level starters is very big, as I tried to emphasize going into this game.

[rudy]

Looked away and missed Cortland's goal with 15 minutes left in the half.  Apparently a well worked goal converted by Cortland's leading scorer.  Messiah not looking good.  May be missing Samuel Ruiz Plaza more than expected.  Who knows how different things would be if Nick West's shot off the post 6 minutes in would have gone in.

No excuses but injuries not helping . Turf field also not our best surface.  Cortland as I said before has great team speed and pressuring the wings as soon as they get it.  Need to figure things out second half and get even soon.

[Flying Weasel]

Cortland 1, Messiah 0 at halftime.  Not a good display at all from the Falcons.  Regularly struggled to pass out of the back and advance the ball to midfield.  I think Ruiz Plaza would have helped a lot with that. 

[Falconer]

Cortland 1, Messiah 0 at halftime.  Not a good display at all from the Falcons.  Regularly struggled to pass out of the back and advance the ball to midfield.  I think Ruiz Plaza would have helped a lot with that.

Quite possibly, Ruiz Plaza is the most skillful handler in the tournament--and now he's not in the tournament. As I said the other day, this isn't the same team that ran the table in the conference.

[NEsoccerfan]

We get it Messiah fans: you have the toughest road to the final 4, your best players are injured, the weather has cost you a home game, and playing on turf hurts you. All teams have to play with some level of adversity.

[Flying Weasel]

Cortland playing deeper and seemingly content to sit in their defensive half and let Messiah possess the ball more.  The extra possession will please Messiah, but they'd rather a team stretched than sitting compact.  Messiah isn't at their best breaking down a team putting so many men behind the ball.  Messiah is looking better and starting get some better looks and shots.

[Flying Weasel]

Nick West scores for Messiah.  1-1.