The Big Dance

[Brother Flounder]

Still couldn't handle Tufts attacking center mid though ayy Brother

D4.. was comparing the Messiah teams.... you should watch that Messiah Tufts game from 2014... a great battle...with the BOS gladly prevailing...

[d4_Pace]

Brother, I promise you I've watched the 2014 game many times over in addition to being there.  It is crazy to think the domino effect of that game. A loss that day and I don't think Tufts wins saturday. The current Juniors and Sophomores were recruited with the promise of championships. Tufts managed to win the first two championships on the back of a couple graduation classes that bought into Shapiros vision, but the classes that had already seen the promised land are on a whole different level. No disrespect to that 2014 team which I will remember for my whole life, but we have nothing on the current and future Jumbo editions.

[Brother Flounder]

Brother, I promise you I've watched the 2014 game many times over in addition to being there.  It is crazy to think the domino effect of that game. A loss that day and I don't think Tufts wins saturday. The current Juniors and Sophomores were recruited with the promise of championships. Tufts managed to win the first two championships on the back of a couple graduation classes that bought into Shapiros vision, but the classes that had already seen the promised land are on a whole different level. No disrespect to that 2014 team which I will remember for my whole life, but we have nothing on the current and future Jumbo editions.

That would be nice for the Jumbos sake!  Games still need to be played though... Stay hungry BOS!

[PaulNewman]

Brother, I promise you I've watched the 2014 game many times over in addition to being there.  It is crazy to think the domino effect of that game. A loss that day and I don't think Tufts wins saturday. The current Juniors and Sophomores were recruited with the promise of championships. Tufts managed to win the first two championships on the back of a couple graduation classes that bought into Shapiros vision, but the classes that had already seen the promised land are on a whole different level. No disrespect to that 2014 team which I will remember for my whole life, but we have nothing on the current and future Jumbo editions.

I really appreciate what you are acknowledging above.  There is always an amazing random and almost statistical improbability that yields something that feels and looks like order.  I think you're right.  Tufts loses there in 2014 and things are much different.  Even if Majumder doesn't score at 108:43 or whatever it was in 2016, or Calvin scores in the 2016 title game instead of you guys.  The power of the domino effect that you noted is huge.  And now the momentum can sort of feed itself.....until something big changes (or not) like a coaching change.

[Brother Flounder]

Brother, I promise you I've watched the 2014 game many times over in addition to being there.  It is crazy to think the domino effect of that game. A loss that day and I don't think Tufts wins saturday. The current Juniors and Sophomores were recruited with the promise of championships. Tufts managed to win the first two championships on the back of a couple graduation classes that bought into Shapiros vision, but the classes that had already seen the promised land are on a whole different level. No disrespect to that 2014 team which I will remember for my whole life, but we have nothing on the current and future Jumbo editions.

I really appreciate what you are acknowledging above.  There is always an amazing random and almost statistical improbability that yields something that feels and looks like order.  I think you're right.  Tufts loses there in 2014 and things are much different.  Even if Majumder doesn't score at 108:43 or whatever it was in 2016, or Calvin scores in the 2016 title game instead of you guys.  The power of the domino effect that you noted is huge.  And now the momentum can sort of feed itself.....until something big changes (or not) like a coaching change.

I believe Shapiro has publicly referred to that game and win as the changing point of Tufts soccer and made them believe in themselves and what could be done...

D4 May be able to elaborate...

[d4_Pace]

The reality is people often forget that before 2014 tufts had lost in the first round to vassar in 2012 and then not made the 2013 tournament. I remember the 2014 preseason guys watching Messiah highlights and saying how cool it would be to be able to play those guys. And then that selection show that year the team going wow lets hope we make the elite 8 and then well messiah is there. The day before they beat SUNY Cortland 4/5-1 and we were welp here goes nothing.  Now if the Tufts team play messiah zero guys in that room would have any fear. That speaks to both the quality of the players they have now and the mentality coach has inspired.

[Mr.Right]

Mr. Right, he just misses the point. You are an equal opportunity critic, which is what I like about you.

Haha thanks my man...I really focused hard this season on watching Brandeis as much as possible. I am glad I did because between yourself and Bloots and a couple others we all really dug deep on them this season. You can be brutally honest yourself in regards to Deis but very fair which is really all you can ask for on here. Which gets me thinking to myself about 2019 and maybe focusing more of my time on UAA schools. I mean I always caught 5-6 Brandeis games a year but this season I am betting I saw about 10 but I only would see the other UAA schools maybe 2-3 games each if that. Last season I watched Chicago a ton but yea maybe a deeper dive into the UAA is calling.

[Mr.Right]

First off Mr. Right, Cheers to you cause that was hilarious. I think you have nailed NESCAC office dynamics on the head from what I've heard. Despite having zero chance at winning a national championship football is still King. I appreciate your ability to see through my tactics. Although once again you have played right into my hands because I think we can all agree that the Amherst game is a bit of an anomaly given their much maligned style of play.  So thanks for letting me off the hook.

First off, Coach Serpone and I have always enjoyed a pretty cordial relationship since he recruited me in high school. In fact, I remember it being a little off-putting when he complimented me on my play during one of our games.  So I imagine I would go up and have a brief friendly conversation as most NESCAC coaches do pregame.  And the reality is Justin is actually a great guy, his sidelines antics are just a little much.

In terms of the Amherst game, I think the key is keeping them in their own half as much as possible. If you are able to press them so that their monsters are winning headers at half field instead of in your box you will have a much better chance of winning. Now that is much easier said than done. Amherst run of 8 sweet sixteens in a row is almost...ALMOST as impressive as Tufts 3 in 5.

Ahh you are a manipulative one as now you are steering me in another direction....you know i'll bite I just cannot resist on this one especially since you answered at least half of my previous question....lol wait.....So Serpone complimented your play while the game was going on? Like you were playing RB on the Jeffs field and while running up the field he turned to you in real time and said you were playing a great game? 

Honestly when Serpone first came into the league I would hammer him on here for all the on-field antics but now I am almost to the point of feeling indifferent to it all. For 11 years everyone that I talk to has told me what a great guy he is off the field and then you would see him on the field during a game and I just had a hard time putting it all together. I am not fixated on it but I guess now I am more curious/interested in how he goes from Justin to "game day" Justin back to Justin all in the matter of 3 hours. Is there like a purple and white button in the locker room that gets pushed an hour before the game? It is all very interesting.

Now onto Tufts I am really curious about the GK'ing situation moving forward. Without looking I think Tufts has 3 GK'ers on the roster besides Meith and 2 are Soph and 1 Frosh. I could have that wrong. I have not seen any of them play so does one of them have a leg up on the job or is it a complete toss-up going into 2019?


I know people have commented on much stronger Tasker got in the off season and it has really made a difference. He did not lose any speed and he really played out of his mind this year. He was much stronger on the ball. I also think Paoletta was another guy that looks much stronger than last season and he had a breakout season and was Tufts best defender. Kinda curious who will play alongside him next season? Also, the kid Seigelstein really impressed/surprised me this season. After watching some highlight video that someone posted I noticed he was very skilled but thought at least on the highlight he looked a bit slight and would need a year to get accustomed to the College game/get stronger. Well he also looked stronger than that shabby highlight video so maybe it was my eyes but he impressed and along with Daly and Will Raphael those 3 were real solid.


You got a huge Junior class this season so I will be interested to see who gets picked Captain(s). I would say there are probably 4-5 guys that could be Captain so that is something to watch for....

[Mr.Right]

Brother, I promise you I've watched the 2014 game many times over in addition to being there.  It is crazy to think the domino effect of that game. A loss that day and I don't think Tufts wins saturday. The current Juniors and Sophomores were recruited with the promise of championships. Tufts managed to win the first two championships on the back of a couple graduation classes that bought into Shapiros vision, but the classes that had already seen the promised land are on a whole different level. No disrespect to that 2014 team which I will remember for my whole life, but we have nothing on the current and future Jumbo editions.

This is a very important statement. Shapiro got "2-3 graduation classes" to buy into the vision before all the winning started. Really good Head Coaches know this is how you build a program. Unfortunately, those "2-3 graduation classes" are the one's that do a ton of the heavy lifting but without it none of this happens. The "buying in" part is sometimes the most challenging part of being a Head Coach. For instance, say after those "2-3 graduation classes" left and did all the heavy lifting but the program stayed pretty static it would be demoralizing for the program and especially for the Head Coach who would begin to question his own methods/tactics/ability/recruiting etc etc....Do not get me wrong there are always setbacks but there are a ton of Head Coaches that do not deal with the setbacks properly and the whole thing collapses. It happens all the time and things can spiral out of control real quick..Or sometimes you get a really great class and they buy in but then the next class you bring in you were looking for more raw talent and less "glue guys". Now you think you have what you need because you have some "glue" mixed with all this new talent. You get 2 bad apples from the talent class and they can kill the whole program if you do not have capable leadership in your JR's and SR's to keep them in check. Anyway, because I know what a tight knit program you people have with alums/friends/parents I know that "those 2-3 graduation classes" will never be forgotten for the work they put in to get the ball rolling.

[Another Mom]

First of all, I want to thank all of you as I read the boards in an effort to understand the d3 soccer landscape (my son is in prep school). Extremely helpful! (And if anyone has prep school related questions I might be able to answer).

For the poster wondering if Tufts is getting d1 recruits, the answer is apparently yes. The Northeast Soccer Journal had a piece on an Andover striker committing to Tufts, despite an offer from Lehigh.  https://www.nesoccerjournal.com/phillips-andover-striker-rolando-rabines-commits-to-tufts/

And whoever said Tufts wasn't a hot school-- what? With an admit rate around 18% (probably less!) I would say it's pretty sought after.

[Falconer]

In a few instances, high D1 level players visit campus--about 20 years ago there was a local player (son of Messiah alumni) who briefly considered Messiah but ended up as an all-conference player at Penn State. He now coaches at D2 or NAIA level.

To have a little fun with my electronic friends from New England: the man I refer to here somewhat cryptically was a two-time AA who played several years for the New England Revolution and later briefly coached a Boston-area D3 team. As I understand it, few thought he'd actually end up at Messiah, but he did express some interest in doing so and did (I think) visit campus with that in mind as a possibility. (I happen to know his father, who taught HS math very successfully just a few miles from Messiah.)

Can anyone fill in the blank? 

Derek Potteiger?

Exactly. Well done. +K for playing the game.

[PaulNewman]

First of all, I want to thank all of you as I read the boards in an effort to understand the d3 soccer landscape (my son is in prep school). Extremely helpful! (And if anyone has prep school related questions I might be able to answer).

For the poster wondering if Tufts is getting d1 recruits, the answer is apparently yes. The Northeast Soccer Journal had a piece on an Andover striker committing to Tufts, despite an offer from Lehigh.  https://www.nesoccerjournal.com/phillips-andover-striker-rolando-rabines-commits-to-tufts/

And whoever said Tufts wasn't a hot school-- what? With an admit rate around 18% (probably less!) I would say it's pretty sought after.

Geez....sorry...Tufts is the new Harvard....good enough?

What I meant is that, like I said, Tufts always has been a very attractive school, but I was trying to get at what makes Tufts suddenly THE place to go for soccer recruits, compared to when (as Mr.Right detailed) 8-12 years ago when Tufts was really not even on the radar as a national D3 soccer program.  I was crediting the amazing job Shapiro has done, and as truenorth said now "success begets success."  Is Tufts hotter than Bowdoin, Midd, Amherst, Williams, Wash U, Hopkins, Haverford...?  Are recruits falling all over themselves to get to Tufts because of the engineering program or because of the proximity to Faneuil Hall? BTW, I don't think of Tufts as the place to go for engineering.....more so international relations, and there seem to be a ton of finance/economics majors on the team who want to be the owner of Man United or running hedge funds.

I also was agreeing with truenorth that the ways in which Tufts is different than the other NESCACs (school-wise) may be overrated, including overrated by myself as I have suggested many times that Tufts is really a UAA-type school. Now I'm thinking there are ways Tufts is more like the other NESCACs in ways I don't want to try to articulate right now, and actually DOES fit more with the NESCAC than UAA.

I also don't think Tufts over Lehigh is that tough a call.  I am impressed though that Tufts is snagging Andover and Philips Exeter (Weatherbie) kids who probably have their pick of any elite D3 in the country and maybe had a shot at one of the Ivies.

[Falconer]

*The elephant in the room of this whole event is the back-to-back format.  It almost guarantees that the title game is going to be more ragged than the semifinal matches.  I am waiting (but not holding my breath) for the Final Four that features Calvin, Yeshiva, and two other teams.  They would have to play the semifinals on Friday and the final on Monday, right?

Close--but no cigar. Neither team would (presumably) object to playing the semifinals on Friday afternoon (early enough to ensure that it's over well before sundown) and the final on Saturday night (well after sundown, to ensure enough time to get dressed for the game after dark). In December, that's easy to do. You give Calvin the later game on Friday and all's well.

[PaulNewman]

D4, or others....

How do coaches of the kinds of programs we talk about here deal with social media, D3soccer.com, etc?  Are players prohibited from posting?  I'm surprised that there aren't even a bunch of alumni chomping at the bit to post?  What is the penalty if a coach figures out a kid is posting?

And what about playing time?  How does a Shapiro deal with any disgruntled rumblings.  I'm sure there are no promises but it sounds like he lays out for kids what he sees for them ahead....like not playing much frosh year, getting significant minutes and/or starting by soph or junior year, etc, etc.

[Another Mom]

Geez....sorry...Tufts is the new Harvard....good enough?

Well, let's not go overboard      Appreciate your analysis.

Also agree that it would be easy to turn down Lehigh for Tufts. The article says Rabines had strong interest from the Ivies and other d3 schools as well.