2021 D3 Men's Soccer National Perspective

[PaulNewman]

The D3 poll seems more inconsistent and a little more arbitrary than usual....OWU moving from #6 to #3 while Kenyon barely budges, Montclair actually dropping two spots to #7, Wash U going from #16 to #11 based on I'm not sure what, and C-M-S dropping from #10 to #13 with no blemishes.  Imo Otterbein and St Olaf continue to be disrespected, and MIT can't even crack the top 25 (along with Wesleyan, Redlands). 

[deiscanton]

Some comments from less than 2 miles from the Paul Revere Heritage Site as the noreaster is developing....

1.)  Hopefully, we can get in all of the NESCAC and Commonwealth Coast Conference games in today (both men and women) before the storm really starts whipping up the wind through the overnight hours....

2.)  Gamesites for NESCAC today are:  Middletown, CT; Amherst, MA; Williamstown, MA; Brunswick, ME; and Lewiston, ME.

3.)  Gamesites for Commonwealth Coast Conference today are:  Bristol, RI (RWU hosting Suffolk); Dudley, MA (Nichols hosting Endicott); Milton, MA (Curry hosting Gordon); Biddeford, ME (UNE hosting Salve Regina), and Boston, MA (Wentworth hosting Western New England.)

It is more crucial to get most if not all of the CCC games played today before the CCC tournament starts on Thursday with the #7 and #8 seeds playing against each other in an opening round game to see who would face the #2 seed on Saturday.  The #1 seed in the CCC gets to enter the tournament in the semifinal round, while seeds #2 through #6 play in quarterfinal action on Saturday.

Wentworth Western New England is currently the #8 seed and would play at either Suffolk or Wentworth on Thursday.

Nichols and University of New England's seasons end today-- Neither qualified for the CCC tournament.

[SlideTackle]

The D3 poll seems more inconsistent and a little more arbitrary than usual....OWU moving from #6 to #3 while Kenyon barely budges, Montclair actually dropping two spots to #7, Wash U going from #16 to #11 based on I'm not sure what, and C-M-S dropping from #10 to #13 with no blemishes.  Imo Otterbein and St Olaf continue to be disrespected, and MIT can't even crack the top 25 (along with Wesleyan, Redlands).

Agreed.  Why is Babson at 8-4 ranked 21 while Conn. is 25 in the week that Conn beat national champs Tufts?  Babson lost to Williams and Tufts, though in OT.  Hasn't beaten or tied any ranked team.

Note that MIT is ranked 6 here.

[PaulNewman]

The D3 poll seems more inconsistent and a little more arbitrary than usual....OWU moving from #6 to #3 while Kenyon barely budges, Montclair actually dropping two spots to #7, Wash U going from #16 to #11 based on I'm not sure what, and C-M-S dropping from #10 to #13 with no blemishes.  Imo Otterbein and St Olaf continue to be disrespected, and MIT can't even crack the top 25 (along with Wesleyan, Redlands).

Agreed.  Why is Babson at 8-4 ranked 21 while Conn. is 25 in the week that Conn beat national champs Tufts?  Babson lost to Williams and Tufts, though in OT.  Hasn't beaten or tied any ranked team.

Note that MIT is ranked 6 here.

You're talking about the coach poll which imo almost always is strange.  I meant the D3soccer.com poll which usually seems pretty on target and rational.

[SlideTackle]

The D3 poll seems more inconsistent and a little more arbitrary than usual....OWU moving from #6 to #3 while Kenyon barely budges, Montclair actually dropping two spots to #7, Wash U going from #16 to #11 based on I'm not sure what, and C-M-S dropping from #10 to #13 with no blemishes.  Imo Otterbein and St Olaf continue to be disrespected, and MIT can't even crack the top 25 (along with Wesleyan, Redlands).

Agreed.  Why is Babson at 8-4 ranked 21 while Conn. is 25 in the week that Conn beat national champs Tufts?  Babson lost to Williams and Tufts, though in OT.  Hasn't beaten or tied any ranked team.

Note that MIT is ranked 6 here.

You're talking about the coach poll which imo almost always is strange.  I meant the D3soccer.com poll which usually seems pretty on target and rational.

Sorry about that.  The poll is generally rational.  No Babson in this one. Not even a vote.

[Another Mom]

Washington and Lee 3 - 1 over Virginia Wesleyan.

[PaulNewman]

I was gonna post this in NESCAC thread but seems relevant here.

Tufts and Amherst have won five out of the last six national titles.  FOUR of those (3 from Tufts, the one from Amherst) happened after quarterfinal losses/failure to advance in NESCAC tourney.  Is that a fluke?  Maybe.  One would think a team would lose some momentum, but perhaps that is outweighed by the rest, recovery from injuries, refocusing, and maybe most importantly not going through the stress of two additional high intensity games.

The only time Tufts won the title after winning the NESCAC tourney was the last time, in 2019, when they were one of if not the favorite throughout the season.  The only other time they won the NESCAC tourney was in 2017, and Tufts lost at home in the Elite 8 to Brandeis on an OT goal.

They lost in the NESCAC quarters a 4th time in the last six seasons in 2015 but lost in the Sweet 16.

[Ommadawn]

They lost in the NESCAC quarters a 4th time in the last six seasons in 2015 but lost in the Sweet 16.

To Kenyon, of course 

[PaulNewman]

They lost in the NESCAC quarters a 4th time in the last six seasons in 2015 but lost in the Sweet 16.

To Kenyon, of course 

Wow.  I did a little research and you're right!

Since 2014 the Jumbos have lost a total of two NCAA tourney games...one to the Lords and one to Brandeis.  And it's a testament to the depth of the program's confidence that they are convinced they shouldn't have lost either of those years.

Put another way, since 2014 Tufts' NCAA tournament record is 25-2-2.

[OldNed]

They lost in the NESCAC quarters a 4th time in the last six seasons in 2015 but lost in the Sweet 16.

To Kenyon, of course 

Wow.  I did a little research and you're right!

Since 2014 the Jumbos have lost a total of two NCAA tourney games...one to the Lords and one to Brandeis.  And it's a testament to the depth of the program's confidence that they are convinced they shouldn't have lost either of those years.

Put another way, since 2014 Tufts' NCAA tournament record is 25-2-2.

No doubt about it - Tufts has been incredible for a while now.  I'm really proud that my son's Saint Joe's team put one of those ties on the Tufts tournament record when they tied 0-0 at Tufts in 2017 but Tufts advanced on PKs. 

I know you mentioned St. Joe's in passing earlier this week, PaulNewman, but I'd like to shine a little light on St. Joe's this season.  After their 3-0 loss to Amherst where Amherst bossed them around the field, St. Joe's has quietly put together another terrific year.  They are currently 13-1-2 overall and 12-0 in conference in the GNAC after beating Norwich and Johnson & Wales, both of which are ranked in Region I in the United Soccer Coaches poll.  I'm curious why the coaches have Norwich ranked ahead of St. Joe's despite losing to them, but I agree with the sentiment that coaches poll is flawed so I won't belabor that point.

Over the past 5 years St. Joseph's (Maine) has posted a gaudy 84-6-13 record and I think they are in the conversation yearly now as one of the top New England teams outside the NESCAC.  Please don't think I'm comparing St. Joe's to any of the top NESCAC teams - I realize the competition in conferences is night and day, but I just think St. Joseph's (Maine) deserves to be recognized on the national level along with other good non-NESCAC New England teams like MIT, WPI, and others.

[PaulNewman]

OldNed...Absolutely.  St Joe's has been one of the best stories of the past 5 or so years...nationally, and especially in New England and the Northeast.

I know the loss to Amherst was pretty decisive but they also beat Conn at Conn 2-0.  Any team that gets St Joe's 1st or 2nd round is in for a battle.

[Centennial1]

They lost in the NESCAC quarters a 4th time in the last six seasons in 2015 but lost in the Sweet 16.

To Kenyon, of course 

Wow.  I did a little research and you're right!

Since 2014 the Jumbos have lost a total of two NCAA tourney games...one to the Lords and one to Brandeis.  And it's a testament to the depth of the program's confidence that they are convinced they shouldn't have lost either of those years.

Put another way, since 2014 Tufts' NCAA tournament record is 25-2-2.

No doubt about it - Tufts has been incredible for a while now.  I'm really proud that my son's Saint Joe's team put one of those ties on the Tufts tournament record when they tied 0-0 at Tufts in 2017 but Tufts advanced on PKs. 

I know you mentioned St. Joe's in passing earlier this week, PaulNewman, but I'd like to shine a little light on St. Joe's this season.  After their 3-0 loss to Amherst where Amherst bossed them around the field, St. Joe's has quietly put together another terrific year.  They are currently 13-1-2 overall and 12-0 in conference in the GNAC after beating Norwich and Johnson & Wales, both of which are ranked in Region I in the United Soccer Coaches poll.  I'm curious why the coaches have Norwich ranked ahead of St. Joe's despite losing to them, but I agree with the sentiment that coaches poll is flawed so I won't belabor that point.

Over the past 5 years St. Joseph's (Maine) has posted a gaudy 84-6-13 record and I think they are in the conversation yearly now as one of the top New England teams outside the NESCAC.  Please don't think I'm comparing St. Joe's to any of the top NESCAC teams - I realize the competition in conferences is night and day, but I just think St. Joseph's (Maine) deserves to be recognized on the national level along with other good non-NESCAC New England teams like MIT, WPI, and others.

They do get overlooked, despite several years of gaudy records. The temptation is to dismiss a school like St. Joe's because of a cupcake schedule, but you still have to win games in a sport which can produce random results. IIRC, St. Joe's put a NESCAC school out of the tournament a few years ago: Maybe Midd?

[d4_Pace]

I was on that Tufts team that tied St. Joes 0-0. I came away from the game feeling that they were on par with a Colby in the Nescac. A team that would finish 7th or 8th each year but every once in a while can go on a run to win the NESCAC tourney and on their day can certainly upset the top 2-3 teams.

[deiscanton]

Some comments from less than 2 miles from the Paul Revere Heritage Site as the noreaster is developing....

1.)  Hopefully, we can get in all of the NESCAC and Commonwealth Coast Conference games in today (both men and women) before the storm really starts whipping up the wind through the overnight hours....

2.)  Gamesites for NESCAC today are:  Middletown, CT; Amherst, MA; Williamstown, MA; Brunswick, ME; and Lewiston, ME.

3.)  Gamesites for Commonwealth Coast Conference today are:  Bristol, RI (RWU hosting Suffolk); Dudley, MA (Nichols hosting Endicott); Milton, MA (Curry hosting Gordon); Biddeford, ME (UNE hosting Salve Regina), and Boston, MA (Wentworth hosting Western New England.)

It is more crucial to get most if not all of the CCC games played today before the CCC tournament starts on Thursday with the #7 and #8 seeds playing against each other in an opening round game to see who would face the #2 seed on Saturday.  The #1 seed in the CCC gets to enter the tournament in the semifinal round, while seeds #2 through #6 play in quarterfinal action on Saturday.

Wentworth   Western New England is currently the #8 seed and would play at either Suffolk or Wentworth on Thursday.

Nichols and University of New England's seasons end today-- Neither qualified for the CCC tournament.

Update as of noon Wednesday, October 27-- Really lucky not to have completely lost power in this storm, although my apartment did go in the dark for about 10 to 15 minutes this morning.  My community was right on the border between cities and towns in Massachusetts that mostly did not lose power, and those cities and towns to the east and southeast where the wind gusts cut off most or all of the power.  The nor'easter was as advertised.

Really fortunate that the NESCAC and Commonwealth Coast Conference got all of their men's soccer games in last night.

Western New England won at Wentworth last night and escaped tomorrow's #7/#8 Commonwealth Coast Conference opening round match-- it is Wentworth (#7 seed) hosting Suffolk (#8 seed) tomorrow night to see who will advance to play at Roger Williams (#2 seed) on Saturday.

Endicott got the Commonwealth Coast Conference's top seed and a bye to the semifinals.

The other Saturday quarterfinals in the CCC are Curry (#6 seed) at Salve Regina (#3 seed) and Western New England (#5 seed) at Gordon (#4 seed.)

[College Soccer Observer]

They lost in the NESCAC quarters a 4th time in the last six seasons in 2015 but lost in the Sweet 16.

To Kenyon, of course 

Wow.  I did a little research and you're right!

Since 2014 the Jumbos have lost a total of two NCAA tourney games...one to the Lords and one to Brandeis.  And it's a testament to the depth of the program's confidence that they are convinced they shouldn't have lost either of those years.

Put another way, since 2014 Tufts' NCAA tournament record is 25-2-2.

No doubt about it - Tufts has been incredible for a while now.  I'm really proud that my son's Saint Joe's team put one of those ties on the Tufts tournament record when they tied 0-0 at Tufts in 2017 but Tufts advanced on PKs. 

I know you mentioned St. Joe's in passing earlier this week, PaulNewman, but I'd like to shine a little light on St. Joe's this season.  After their 3-0 loss to Amherst where Amherst bossed them around the field, St. Joe's has quietly put together another terrific year.  They are currently 13-1-2 overall and 12-0 in conference in the GNAC after beating Norwich and Johnson & Wales, both of which are ranked in Region I in the United Soccer Coaches poll.  I'm curious why the coaches have Norwich ranked ahead of St. Joe's despite losing to them, but I agree with the sentiment that coaches poll is flawed so I won't belabor that point.

Over the past 5 years St. Joseph's (Maine) has posted a gaudy 84-6-13 record and I think they are in the conversation yearly now as one of the top New England teams outside the NESCAC.  Please don't think I'm comparing St. Joe's to any of the top NESCAC teams - I realize the competition in conferences is night and day, but I just think St. Joseph's (Maine) deserves to be recognized on the national level along with other good non-NESCAC New England teams like MIT, WPI, and others.

They do get overlooked, despite several years of gaudy records. The temptation is to dismiss a school like St. Joe's because of a cupcake schedule, but you still have to win games in a sport which can produce random results. IIRC, St. Joe's put a NESCAC school out of the tournament a few years ago: Maybe Midd?

They did knock out Midd in 2018 2-1 before falling to Amherst 4-2 in the second round.