Pool C Amateur Predictions and Prizes

[Gregory Sager]

Side Note #2----Having Men and Women both hosting NCAA fixtures at the same time used to happen all the time at Williams until that odd/even rule went into effect...If support staff / facilities could handle it then I am sure they can handle it now with an extra round of b*tching for dessert.

... including hosting a home football game and a D3 women's volleyball pod on the same day, if not the same time, as well?

[d4_Pace]

Amherst also keeps the grass about 4 inches too long to slow down teams trying to play. Didn't affect them much when they were playing for flick ons from Orozco. Although I feel like this years team actually would have benefited from a faster surface and more space. Middlebury Turf is 100 years old but the field is massive.

Conn's field is a joke and Bates was as well when I played but I know they redid it this year to mixed results.

Trinity's new field is grass and one of the best surfaces in the league if not a tad small.

Tufts turf isn't soccer specific and still is lined for football, lacrosse, and field hockey which isn't great for a program with so much success.

Bowdoin and Willians are as good as you can hope for in New England.

[NokeAlum15]

I must say all the hosts this year with grass fields that I'm aware of have traditionally always been extremely well maintained (CNU, MWU, And W&L) so hopefully field conditions don't have an impact on the results this weekend. Messiahs field is okay, not as nice as the other three which have Short Bermuda grass. I'm just happy there isn't a team like Etown or Muhlenburg hosting whose field could definitely influence a result.

W&L's field is the best field I've ever played on. It was like a damn fairway at Augusta.

I'm proud to say that ALL of W&L's athletic facilities are either top notch or about to be. Both soccer fields were rebuilt to top tier specs in the mid 00s. With the current rebuilding of the gym and wrestling facilities currently in progress, and the recently finished natatorium, there will be almost no facilities that have not been completely rebuilt since about 2000 when the baseball field opened. The Duchosis Indoor Tennis Center, temporarily hosting basketball and wrestling, might be the oldest facility. And it is still one of the best indoor tennis centers in D3.

I'm obviously biased here, but 45 minutes down I-81 south you'll see what Roanoke College has built in regards to athletic facilities.  I'd put it up against any D3 school in the nation. While I'm proud of what they've built, I'm also pissed I didn't get to enjoy facilities like that when I played 1999-2003.

[PaulNewman]

The facilities arms race is an interesting topic especially given the competition among colleges, including at the top end and for those fighting for survival.  Among schools that do have resources, I'd be interested in what schools try to resist the facilities upgrade focus and might be more likely to build a new academic building.

[jknezek]

I must say all the hosts this year with grass fields that I'm aware of have traditionally always been extremely well maintained (CNU, MWU, And W&L) so hopefully field conditions don't have an impact on the results this weekend. Messiahs field is okay, not as nice as the other three which have Short Bermuda grass. I'm just happy there isn't a team like Etown or Muhlenburg hosting whose field could definitely influence a result.

W&L's field is the best field I've ever played on. It was like a damn fairway at Augusta.

I'm proud to say that ALL of W&L's athletic facilities are either top notch or about to be. Both soccer fields were rebuilt to top tier specs in the mid 00s. With the current rebuilding of the gym and wrestling facilities currently in progress, and the recently finished natatorium, there will be almost no facilities that have not been completely rebuilt since about 2000 when the baseball field opened. The Duchosis Indoor Tennis Center, temporarily hosting basketball and wrestling, might be the oldest facility. And it is still one of the best indoor tennis centers in D3.

I'm obviously biased here, but 45 minutes down I-81 south you'll see what Roanoke College has built in regards to athletic facilities.  I'd put it up against any D3 school in the nation. While I'm proud of what they've built, I'm also pissed I didn't get to enjoy facilities like that when I played 1999-2003.

There is no doubt that Roanoke's facility is extremely nice. As is Lynchburg's. Wonderful stadiums that provide a stadium environment W&L doesn't match. But they are both artificial turf. And as nice as that is for field hockey, lacrosse, and football, I will forever prefer soccer be played on natural grass. W&L's field is beautifully manicured natural grass. And because field hockey, football and men's lacrosse play and practice elsewhere (women's lax plays there in the spring) it is not over used. Especially since 2015 when Fuge Field, an artificial turf practice field nearby, was added as an alternative practice site. That helps keep Watt Field in wonderful condition except in the very worst late season conditions.

[D3Grad]

Speaking on facilities.  Gregory is correct about the north and midwest regions having to rely on turf for their fields.  Up in Minnesota it is very difficult to maintain a quality grass pitch for the entire season.  Come mid October weather can drop low enough to start hardening the ground making playing very difficult.  North Park's turf field and similar fields were great to play on because the bounce is true and ball speed was very similar to a good grass pitch.   

The facilities arms race is an interesting topic especially given the competition among colleges, including at the top end and for those fighting for survival.  Among schools that do have resources, I'd be interested in what schools try to resist the facilities upgrade focus and might be more likely to build a new academic building.

Roanoke was a beautiful facility.  I was shocked it was D3.  The facilities arms race is another reason for the MIAC and St. Thomas to not get along.  I could only imaging how much worse the MIAC would react if St. Thomas had a facility like that.  My only complaint with the Roanoke pitch is the direction it is placed.  At certain times in the day the sun will be staring directly in your eyes.  Creates a goalkeeper's worst nightmare.