Big Dance

[hiyasoccer]

A technical, possession-oriented team might benefit from playing in tight confines using quick one-touches to play through traffic. Conversely, a larger field might favor a long-ball kick and run team with speedsters because they'd have the space to outpace their opponents. The muck gives the player with the ball the advantage and possession looked fairly even between RPI and Amherst (I think?).

Uhh not quite. Possession oriented teams like large fields with nice playing surfaces that allow them to space themselves out and move the ball. Physical set piece teams like traditional Amherst sides feast on small fields where they can send a ball into the opposing box from almost anywhere. The more recent sides have also been able to use speedsters to counter into space  on the wings to counter into space on larger fields, either generating a chance or at least a throw in they can put into the box...

[PaulNewman]

Congrats to Tufts, Calvin and Amherst....very clearly the top three programs in the country right now with Messiah next at #4.  A less advertised stat for Amherst that may challenge Tufts' four out of six Final Fours is Amherst's 14 or 15 in a row minimum of Sweet 16s.  I do think the top New England sides tend to get a pretty clear road to the Sweet 16, but still, 14 or 15 straight NCAA appearances plus never losing on the first weekend is impressive.

I probably agree with your analysis here, PN. On another day, Messiah probably advances to play Amherst for a spot in the Final Four, but RPI is awfully good too--clearly better IMO than Oneonta (e.g.), although Oneonta merits a top 15 ranking. They looked bad at times yesterday, but as has been pointed out, gameday conditions were hardly fair. It's never actually fair, IMO, for teams to be forced to play on smaller fields, even without the field conditions, which were huge yesterday. Soccer isn't supposed to be like MLB, which has always had differences in home parks factor into the game as well-known factors that even out over a season. D3 soccer, especially including the tournament, is what it is. It's fair, insofar as the seeding and hosting is supposed to be determined by objective criteria; but, it's never fair if the same teams always get to play on their own inferior fields every year, giving them very large advantages. At least the Final Four itself removes that factor--and fairly so. Whoever wins that has legitimate bragging rights--and, maybe that will still be Amherst.

And, as I forgot to say, RPI defeated Oneonta this season. Another reason to say what I did.

Falconer, just to clarify, I didn't mean how I would rank them this year.  I meant over the past 5 years or so.  I think the top 4 are pretty clear and folks can argue about the exact order (after Tufts).  Then I guess Chicago and Brandeis are next with two Final Fours each over the past 5 years.  And then Kenyon and F&M who have had almost identical successes and tournament woes, North Park, W&L, Hopkins, Oneonta, Cortland, Montclair, maybe Haverford, and I'm sure a few others.

I'm not changing my view on Centre but just to defend them a little.  I raised an eyebrow at the beginning of the season when the Colonels made an unusual trip to PA/Jersey and beat Haverford and thrashed a TCNJ side that started hot with wins over Lycoming and Gettysburg.  Thy lost me when they lost back to back games in their own Bob Allen Classic to Knox and Kenyon, but then they went on a streak.  20-3-1 ain't too bad.  The 4-3 win over Oglethorpe worried me and I expected to to score versus JCU but also to give up too much.  The JCU win was a very solid win.  And yes, Centre started OT versus MSU by getting pinned in giving up several corners in a row, but in fairness, MSU scored twice kind of against the run of play and at least stats-wise Centre had an even bigger advantage on MSU than Kenyon had the day before.  I seriously doubt Centre would have beaten Kenyon in that spot with Kenyon's dominance over Centre since 2013, but as I suggested before, who knows as the Lords have come up with some creative ways to exit from the tournament in Sweet 16 and Elite tilts.   Anyway, Amherst has had some 0-0 and 1-0 types of games.  Centre has a chance if the game is like that.  Centre has to weather the first 20-25 minutes.  In terms of MSU's defense on the GW, I think in part at least the pass made them look horrible.  Most balls played over the top like that are either cut out by the defender or the GK grabs it....that ball was chipped over the top to land in just the right spot.  And the finish was nice as many players would have overhit a bouncing ball and skied it 10 yards over the goal.

You just don't know with Amherst.  Will we get the Amherst that has failed to win the NESCAC tourney when hosting, or the Amherst that can bury good teams 2-0 or 3-0 before the team can adjust to what they are dealing with?  My gut tells me that Amherst has the psychological edge, and a good draw.  They should get by Centre, and if it's Tufts in the final  Serpone will have the Mammoths watch Tufts' 3-0 win last year on s loop until game time.  Of course the Tufts faithful don't like having to share any of the spotlight with Amherst and likes to think they play more beautifully than the Amherst bullies, but Tufts is more like Amherst than unlike them, especially with their size and a few players who love to get chippy.  Calvin is the wild card.  I don't know if they can handle Tufts' size for 90 minutes especially with very limited subbing, but Souders is a great coach and a master motivator.  If Calvin beats Tufts and Amherst back to back the Knights will be thoroughly deserving.

[Buddham]

A technical, possession-oriented team might benefit from playing in tight confines using quick one-touches to play through traffic. Conversely, a larger field might favor a long-ball kick and run team with speedsters because they'd have the space to outpace their opponents. The muck gives the player with the ball the advantage and possession looked fairly even between RPI and Amherst (I think?).

Uhh not quite. Possession oriented teams like large fields with nice playing surfaces that allow them to space themselves out and move the ball. Physical set piece teams like traditional Amherst sides feast on small fields where they can send a ball into the opposing box from almost anywhere. The more recent sides have also been able to use speedsters to counter into space  on the wings to counter into space on larger fields, either generating a chance or at least a throw in they can put into the box...

Thank you - lots of big bodies on lots of rosters these days so will be interesting to see how that mixes with the higher technical levels of players.

[bballfan13]

Congrats to Tufts, Calvin and Amherst....very clearly the top three programs in the country right now with Messiah next at #4.  A less advertised stat for Amherst that may challenge Tufts' four out of six Final Fours is Amherst's 14 or 15 in a row minimum of Sweet 16s.  I do think the top New England sides tend to get a pretty clear road to the Sweet 16, but still, 14 or 15 straight NCAA appearances plus never losing on the first weekend is impressive.

Of note (not sure if it was mentioned earlier) - Calvin is playing in their 4th Final Four in 5 years.

[Gregory Sager]

In terms of MSU's defense on the GW, I think in part at least the pass made them look horrible.  Most balls played over the top like that are either cut out by the defender or the GK grabs it....that ball was chipped over the top to land in just the right spot.

Go on Twitter to @CentreAthletics and watch the play again. It's almost as though MSU looks worse every time that you view it.

The defender between Garuba and Newton was so busy ball-watching Garuba, who was 30 yards away from him and was bracketed on the sideline by two other MSU defenders, that he got caught in no-man's-land on the play, in spite of the fact that he was near enough to Newton to close down on him once Garuba turned his body and went into his swing. Instead, this particular defender took three more jogging paces and then flung up his right leg fruitlessly in the air at a pass that was already past him.

The defender who was ostensibly guarding Newton simply let the Centre junior forward blow by him (and Newton even had his hand up, signaling for a pass) and didn't even kick it into high gear until Newton had the ball at his feet and was penetrating the box, at which point you can see that MSU defender lean forward, pump his arms, and sprint in pursuit of Newton, whom he didn't catch up to until the shot was two-thirds of the way to the net.

What's worse, the right side was completely undefended; there was a Colonel coming up (I think it was #4, Nick Mazzarella) who didn't have anyone guarding him at all. Instead, he got to watch his teammate send him to Greensboro while standing all by his lonesome at the top of the box.

Garuba deserves full credit for sending in a gold-plated beauty of a chip pass, but that was epically atrocious defense by Montclair State.

[Ejay]

The defender who was ostensibly guarding Newton simply let the Centre junior forward blow by him (and Newton even had his hand up, signaling for a pass) and didn't even kick it into high gear until Newton had the ball at his feet and was penetrating the box, at which point you can see that MSU defender lean forward, pump his arms, and sprint in pursuit of Newton, whom he didn't catch up to until the shot was two-thirds of the way to the net.

Yes, this. He simply didn't track back but rather decided to pass Newton off to the center back who was unfortunately out of position to defend against the run and a perfectly weighted ball.

[Mr.Right]

Calvin's first goal a great finish; the second a well-executed counter. 2-0 at half.

Calvin wins, 3-0. The stats, which favored Luther, are extremely deceptive, because the game was as lopsided in Calvin's favor as the score indicates. The Knights had the clear run of play throughout, and their pace made the Norse look like they were standing still.

I interviewed Calvin coach Ryan Souders after the game, and I sure hope that he knew I wasn't serious when he mentioned how familiar he was with Hedstrand Field from his CCIW days and I jokingly responded by referring to that as time he spent as "the enemy". He seemed rather taken aback. I'm not sure that Wheaton folks always catch on that when we NPU types call them "the enemy" we're kidding.

(Well, mostly.)

I think I can speak for everyone on these boards....please in holy hell tell us someone has video of Souders reaction and then ur next move...BTW you did a very solid job this weekend. I was impressed you do this without any color guy. Do you do that for all sports? Well done

[MIAA]

I wish schools would leave the games on their feeds for longer. As a parent of a team playing at North Park this weekend I would love to have been able to go back and watch the games again but with Mr. Seager's commentary. Do schools do this so other teams don't get advanced film on the teams playing? It seems like some school feeds leave the video up for a while or even post it to Youtube, and others its gone as soon as the game ends.

[blooter442]

I wish schools would leave the games on their feeds for longer. As a parent of a team playing at North Park this weekend I would love to have been able to go back and watch the games again but with Mr. Seager's commentary. Do schools do this so other teams don't get advanced film on the teams playing? It seems like some school feeds leave the video up for a while or even post it to Youtube, and others its gone as soon as the game ends.

That's pretty much it from my understanding. I do wish more schools published highlights of all goals even if they don't leave the games up to view, but I imagine that cutting a highlight reel for a soccer game's goals is not high on most athletic department's list of priorities (although some schools do it well and regularly, and kudos should be given to them).

[lastguyoffthebench]

Swat has all three games on YouTube, search Swarthmore Athletics...

[Hopkins92]

The defender who was ostensibly guarding Newton simply let the Centre junior forward blow by him (and Newton even had his hand up, signaling for a pass) and didn't even kick it into high gear until Newton had the ball at his feet and was penetrating the box, at which point you can see that MSU defender lean forward, pump his arms, and sprint in pursuit of Newton, whom he didn't catch up to until the shot was two-thirds of the way to the net.

Yes, this. He simply didn't track back but rather decided to pass Newton off to the center back who was unfortunately out of position to defend against the run and a perfectly weighted ball.

It really comes down to the CB that tries one of the worst bike-clearances I've ever seen, when as has been noted, the ball is already 5-7 yards over his head and past his body. He very easily could've just trucked it for a 3 or 4 more paces and met the ball and the forward simultaneously (worst case, he also had a legit shot of just catching it of the hop and clearing it.)

Not knowing what led up to that, it looked like a guy playing on absolutely destroyed legs... Was he perhaps having to chase the opposition's forward a bunch? Because, man, that was the play of a desperately fatigued player.

[Gregory Sager]

Calvin's first goal a great finish; the second a well-executed counter. 2-0 at half.

Calvin wins, 3-0. The stats, which favored Luther, are extremely deceptive, because the game was as lopsided in Calvin's favor as the score indicates. The Knights had the clear run of play throughout, and their pace made the Norse look like they were standing still.

I interviewed Calvin coach Ryan Souders after the game, and I sure hope that he knew I wasn't serious when he mentioned how familiar he was with Hedstrand Field from his CCIW days and I jokingly responded by referring to that as time he spent as "the enemy". He seemed rather taken aback. I'm not sure that Wheaton folks always catch on that when we NPU types call them "the enemy" we're kidding.

(Well, mostly.)

I think I can speak for everyone on these boards....please in holy hell tell us someone has video of Souders reaction and then ur next move...BTW you did a very solid job this weekend. I was impressed you do this without any color guy. Do you do that for all sports? Well done

Thanks, much appreciated. Yeah, I fly solo on all nine sports I call (men's soccer, women's soccer, football, women's volleyball, men's basketball, women's basketball, men's volleyball, baseball, and softball). I used to have a colorman for men's basketball, but for the past couple of seasons I've been doing it by myself so that the NPU sports information department can save a little more money in their limited budget. I enjoy the challenge of trying to handle the different rhythms, terminology, rules, and tactics of the various sports. (Now that I'm fully into basketball season, my task at the moment is to excise "nil", "through pass", "kit", "mark", "touchline", and "pace" from my on-air vocabulary in favor of "zero", "lead pass", "uniform", "guard", "sideline", and "quicks". )

I'll bet that Ryan Souders' reaction was not nearly as funny as mine when I saw his face and immediately cursed myself inwardly for blundering into offending an interviewee on the air. After his momentary shock he recovered and seemed to take it in stride, though.

I wish schools would leave the games on their feeds for longer. As a parent of a team playing at North Park this weekend I would love to have been able to go back and watch the games again but with Mr. Seager's commentary. Do schools do this so other teams don't get advanced film on the teams playing? It seems like some school feeds leave the video up for a while or even post it to Youtube, and others its gone as soon as the game ends.

NPU uses Boxcast as its standard webstreaming platform, and I'll bet that you can still watch it there.

[scoutteam1]

The defender who was ostensibly guarding Newton simply let the Centre junior forward blow by him (and Newton even had his hand up, signaling for a pass) and didn't even kick it into high gear until Newton had the ball at his feet and was penetrating the box, at which point you can see that MSU defender lean forward, pump his arms, and sprint in pursuit of Newton, whom he didn't catch up to until the shot was two-thirds of the way to the net.

Yes, this. He simply didn't track back but rather decided to pass Newton off to the center back who was unfortunately out of position to defend against the run and a perfectly weighted ball.

It really comes down to the CB that tries one of the worst bike-clearances I've ever seen, when as has been noted, the ball is already 5-7 yards over his head and past his body. He very easily could've just trucked it for a 3 or 4 more paces and met the ball and the forward simultaneously (worst case, he also had a legit shot of just catching it of the hop and clearing it.)

Not knowing what led up to that, it looked like a guy playing on absolutely destroyed legs... Was he perhaps having to chase the opposition's forward a bunch? Because, man, that was the play of a desperately fatigued player.

The last 35 min of the game + OT looked like both team's legs were completely gone. Centre's defending on MSU's two goals was shambolic. Players were slipping and looked gassed. I think many can relate to the feeling of being a defender, seeing a ball over the top, and getting frozen. Seemed to be what happened & tired legs. Really poor cover by the other defender as well.

[cciw83]

I understand D3 does it because of the travel expenses and class time, but Saturday/Sunday back to back games make for some ugly soccer. Both Centre and MSU were gassed, MSU was coming back from an OT game with Kenyon with less than 24 hours rest. It's just not enough recovery time for that quality of play. I''m not trashing MSU or Centre teams or defenders as that is the result of fatigue. 

[Hopkins92]

I don't disagree, at all. But with that said, these guys grow up playing in tournaments where they often play twice in one day, let alone on back to back days.

When folks on here throw in X team plays 18 or more guys on a regular basis when giving analysis, it's for this very reason. If you want to make a run in November, you're (usually) going to need a deep bench.