2022 D3 Men's Soccer National Perspective

[PaulNewman]

Impressed by Denison being up 3-0 in 1st half at Springfield. 

And Methodist @ New England College is an unexpected pair.  Nice trip to New England for the Fayetteville, NC based school.  They play Maine-Presque Isle next.

[Gregory Sager]

Impressed by Denison being up 3-0 in 1st half at Springfield. 

And Methodist @ New England College is an unexpected pair.  Nice trip to New England for the Fayetteville, NC based school.  They play Maine-Presque Isle next.

... better known as UMPI (pronounced "umpy"), one of the more colorful acronyms in American higher education.

[Another Mom]

W&L does have quite a few home matches available on-demand from last year including the NCAA matches.

https://generalssports.com/sports/2019/10/14/washington-and-lee-all-access.aspx

Yes, last year's games. This season's games won't be available until 2023, I am fairly certain.

[Ejay]

Christopher Newport has one of the nicest D3 complexes in the country.  Field looks great.

My son went on a recruiting trip there.  The entire campus is absolutely gorgeous and the facilities are top notch.

[calvin_grad]

There are a number of teams that would be great to get a preview on for those who know.  Calvin comes to mind...a typical Calvin team this year or down just a little? 

Calvin (ending up at #9 last year) had 4 seniors starters on the team last year, including the team leading scorer and central defender, both All-Americans. Senior starters accounted for 39% of goals scored.

Rumor has it that Calvin has a strong recruiting class, including 3 D1 transfers. Of course, it remains to be seen whether coach can form these players into a coherent team by August 30...

Kadin Shaban, who played at Michigan State last year, is on the roster, as is Colin Iverson, who was a starting defender at Carthage.  I believe those are the only 2 new players on the roster who transferred in.

Also # 8 Josh Williams, a transfer from Western Michigan University.

Crazy, scrappy, inelegant game so far against Redlands—lots of work to do. But four of Calvin's starters are new to the program as of a couple weeks ago, so it's not too surprising.

Yep.  Missed Josh Williams.

Lots of work to do on both ends of the field, but in my opinion, especially on defense.  #11 and #2 for Redlands gave the Calvin backline fits all night with their speed.  Giving up an own goal and a PK doesn't help your cause.  Redlands had 23 shots, 11 of which were on goal, and definitely had more scoring chances in the run of play than Calvin did.  Luckily, Calvin was able to put together some offense and scored 2 of their goals off of set pieces.

[PaulNewman]

I assume Montclair will pull the game out but as I type MSU appears to be trailing Oswego St 1-0 midway thru 2nd half.  Montclair cannot be trusted.  You have to account for them because they are always good and could beat anybody on the day, but you just can't trust them in a big spot...a little like Trinity (TX) but even more so.  By contrast, one almost never has that thought about Calvin (or Messiah).  I didn't watch a lot of Redlands v Calvin but I tracked the score and every time I saw Redlands up a goal I was pretty sure the Bulldogs would not be able to close the deal.  Calvin is very comfortable winning 1-0 or in a shootout.  Even when down, they always seem confident about scoring.

[stlawus]

I assume Montclair will pull the game out but as I type MSU appears to be trailing Oswego St 1-0 midway thru 2nd half.  Montclair cannot be trusted.  You have to account for them because they are always good and could beat anybody on the day, but you just can't trust them in a big spot...a little like Trinity (TX) but even more so.  By contrast, one almost never has that thought about Calvin (or Messiah).  I didn't watch a lot of Redlands v Calvin but I tracked the score and every time I saw Redlands up a goal I was pretty sure the Bulldogs would not be able to close the deal.  Calvin is very comfortable winning 1-0 or in a shootout.  Even when down, they always seem confident about scoring.

Live stats have it wrong, MSU is up 1-0.

[PaulNewman]

I assume Montclair will pull the game out but as I type MSU appears to be trailing Oswego St 1-0 midway thru 2nd half.  Montclair cannot be trusted.  You have to account for them because they are always good and could beat anybody on the day, but you just can't trust them in a big spot...a little like Trinity (TX) but even more so.  By contrast, one almost never has that thought about Calvin (or Messiah).  I didn't watch a lot of Redlands v Calvin but I tracked the score and every time I saw Redlands up a goal I was pretty sure the Bulldogs would not be able to close the deal.  Calvin is very comfortable winning 1-0 or in a shootout.  Even when down, they always seem confident about scoring.

Live stats have it wrong, MSU is up 1-0.

Thanks...just figured it out.  Kind of a big error!  And so I assume they had SOG backwards as well...something like 21 to 13.

[PaulNewman]

Today's action...

In early action, Montclair did prevail as LS was wrong.  Lukovic played as a sub unless that is wrong too.

Luther was up 1-0 on St. Norbert around the 53rd min in a big North region battle.

Ohio Northern is up 2-0 at home over Oberlin into the 2nd half.

MIT is in a 1:00 pm game at Endicott.  After a tight loss to Gordon MIT need this one but the Gulls can be difficult.

Muhlenberg @ Scranton is a hardscrabble duel in Eastern PA also at 1:00.

Otterbein @ Trine at 1:30 (Eastern or Central?) is an interesting one...as Trine knocked off Calvin in their conf tourney final last year.

2:00 -- Messiah @ Lynchburg -- Will the Falcons have a letdown?  Doubtful.  We'll see how long Lynchburg can hang in as the Hornets are the primary ODAC rival to W&L.

2:00 -- KZoo @ North Central -- Sneaky good game.  KZoo played Chicago tight and I'm curious to see how North Central follows up on last year's historic season.

2:30 -- Macalester @ UC Santa Cruz

3:00 -- WPI @ Skidmore -- Two teams always in the mix in the NEWMAC and LL and would be a good win for either side.

3:00 -- Colorado Coll @ Puget Sound

4:00 -- Centre @ Wilmington -- Centre comes in after getting smoked by Otterbein, and Wilmington, after one of their best seasons in years last year, is smarting after a 3-1 loss to DePauw.

4:00 -- St Mary's (MD) @ Gettysburg

4:00 -- Ithaca @ Texas Lutheran -- Very confusing as could not figure out why Ithaca would go to Texas and then play @ Stockton, but they're all playing in Salem, VA with Roanoke as the host.

4:30 -- Illinois Wesleyan @ Emory -- Emory looking for a W after 3-3 draw with Covenant.

4:30 -- St Olaf @ Wartburg

4:30 -- St John's (MN) @ Cal Lutheran -- The Johnnies play Cal Lutheran before switching foes with Macalester.

6:00 -- Kenyon @ John Carroll -- GAME OF THE DAY

6:00 -- Stockton @ Roanoke

6:30 -- UMass-Boston @ RPI

7:00 -- Loras @ OWU -- A decade ago this would have been the game of the week and one of the games of the season.

7:00 -- CWRU @ Capital

7:00 -- Redlands @ Hope -- The Bulldogs would hate to leave Holland, MI with a second loss after showing so well vs Calvin.

7:00 -- Hardin-Simmons @ Calvin

7:00 -- Covenant @ Oglethorpe -- Two lesser known but very recent NCAA tourney participants.  Both give bigger name schools fits.

7:00 -- Rowan @ Southwestern -- Rowan's last tune-up before Trinity after dropping tight one at Hopkins.

7:30 -- Babson @ Rut-Newark -- This should be one of the better games of the day/night.

7:30 -- SLU @ Buffalo St -- Another SLU win and SLU nation will be prancing and dancing.

8:00 -- Wheaton (Ill) @ Chicago -- Will be interesting to see what kind of ballclub Wheaton has and whether they can threaten rival North Park.

8:00 -- Mary Hardin-Baylor @ St Thomas (TX)

9:30 -- Claremont-Mudd-Scripps @ Trinity (TX) -- GAME OF THE DAY #2

[PaulNewman]

First things first.  The news about D3soccer.com was tough enough.  And then yesterday on the first major Saturday of the season we got a single post on the entire board here (@stlawus last night) after 2:00 pm.  Not a good sign.  Holiday weekend effect?  I guess we'll have to get bailed out by the NESCAC crowd.

OK, let me get Kenyon out of the way.  Huge win at a very difficult place to get a win.  The JCU recap called it "an all-out war," and it basically was.  The JCU announcers who did a nice job overall were already talking about the bad blood between the two schools and hating one another, and they wondered aloud inside of 5 minutes whether the referee would be able to manage the game.  I thought the Owls got bullied all over the pitch as the Blue Streaks looked physically dominant imposing their will.  Kenyon really struggled to adjust and one of the results was the Owls giving up (legitimately) a slew of free kicks and way too many corners.  11 cards total I believe.  JCU led in cards something like 5-1 but the Owls ended up with 5 or 6 themselves.  There obviously was a lot of chatting on the field and then afterwards things apparently turned ugly on the sidelines as the cameras turned away.  JCU has strong talent but is replacing some key players so they should get better over the season.  Both should compete for one of the top few spots in Great Lakes.  They could definitely see each other again.  Kenyon badly needs Muther and also Martinez having a bigger role (only 35 minutes after 23 in first game).  But despite not looking great the Owls are 2-0 with wins over a good ONU and a very good JCU.

Elsewhere in Great Lakes, Otterbein cruised to 2-0 with a 2-0 road win at Trine.  OWU probably outplayed Loras but suffered a 1-0 home loss to the Duhawks, after a disappointing draw with CWRU the night before. CWRU blew a 2-0 lead and lost to Capital 4-3.  We'll see how Denison does today, but right now the top teams in Great Lakes are probably Kenyon, JCU, Otterbein, OWU, and Denison (not necessarily in that order). 

OWU now awaits Calvin rolling into Delaware next weekend.  The Knights spotted Hardin-Simmons two goals before pulling one back just before the 1st handed ended, and tacked on four more in the 2nd stanza. 

Chicago was up 3-0 on Wheaton (Ill) before holding on for a 3-2 victory.  Trinity (TX) dispatched C-M-S with apparent ease as Meese got his first tally of the season.  North Central upended KZoo 2-1.  The Babson Beavers picked up a nice road win at Rutgers-Newark 3-2.  SLU and Buffalo St played a fast-paced game that ended in a 2-2 draw.  In the North, Luther and St. Norbert also played to a 2-2 result.

In upset land, Wartburg eked out a 2-1 win over visiting St. Olaf.  And UMass-Boston stunned RPI with a 2-1 away win.  Probably not an upset, but Endicott bested MIT 3-2, leaving the Engineers at 0-2 already.  Also surprised that Merchant Marine held NYU to a 0-0 draw.

Elsewhere, in a deep South battle, Covenant slipped past Oglethorpe 2-1.  Gettysburg sailed past St Mary's (MD) 3-1.  Drew got past New Paltz St.  Virginia Wesleyan whacked Eastern 3-0.  St Thomas (TX) crushed Mary Hardin-Baylor 4-1.  WPI and Skidmore played to a predictable tie 1-1.  Rowan rebounded in between the Profs' Hopkins-Trinity sandwich beating Southwestern in San Antonio 2-1.  Scranton knocked off Muhlenberg 3-2.  Haverford was held to a 1-1 draw with Wilkes.  Colorado Coll and Puget Sound also played to a draw, 2-2.

Addendum:  I forgot Redlands.  The Bulldogs left Michigan 0-1-1.  They led Calvin three times before losing 4-3 and in another heartbreak conceded to Hope in the dying moments to draw 1-1.

[PaulNewman]

The headliner today has got to be Rowan @ Trinity (TX).  8:00 pm start there.

The two matches I'll follow closely are Denison @ Brandeis at 12:00 and North Park @ Ohio Northern at 1:00.

Here are some other really good ones...

Hopkins @ Lycoming at 1:00, Montclair @ Catholic at 2:00, GAC @ St Norbert at 2:30, Rutgers-Camden @ Swat at 3:00, Wash U @ Rose Hulman at 3:30, and F&M @ Stevens and Mt Union @ Rochester both at 4:00.

[Saint of Old]

First things first.  The news about D3soccer.com was tough enough.  And then yesterday on the first major Saturday of the season we got a single post on the entire board here (@stlawus last night) after 2:00 pm.  Not a good sign.  Holiday weekend effect?  I guess we'll have to get bailed out by the NESCAC crowd.

OK, let me get Kenyon out of the way.  Huge win at a very difficult place to get a win.  The JCU recap called it "an all-out war," and it basically was.  The JCU announcers who did a nice job overall were already talking about the bad blood between the two schools and hating one another, and they wondered aloud inside of 5 minutes whether the referee would be able to manage the game.  I thought the Owls got bullied all over the pitch as the Blue Streaks looked physically dominant imposing their will.  Kenyon really struggled to adjust and one of the results was the Owls giving up (legitimately) a slew of free kicks and way too many corners.  11 cards total I believe.  JCU led in cards something like 5-1 but the Owls ended up with 5 or 6 themselves.  There obviously was a lot of chatting on the field and then afterwards things apparently turned ugly on the sidelines as the cameras turned away.  JCU has strong talent but is replacing some key players so they should get better over the season.  Both should compete for one of the top few spots in Great Lakes.  They could definitely see each other again.  Kenyon badly needs Muther and also Martinez having a bigger role (only 35 minutes after 23 in first game).  But despite not looking great the Owls are 2-0 with wins over a good ONU and a very good JCU.

Elsewhere in Great Lakes, Otterbein cruised to 2-0 with a 2-0 road win at Trine.  OWU probably outplayed Loras but suffered a 1-0 home loss to the Duhawks, after a disappointing draw with CWRU the night before. CWRU blew a 2-0 lead and lost to Capital 4-3.  We'll see how Denison does today, but right now the top teams in Great Lakes are probably Kenyon, JCU, Otterbein, OWU, and Denison (not necessarily in that order). 

OWU now awaits Calvin rolling into Delaware next weekend.  The Knights spotted Hardin-Simmons two goals before pulling one back just before the 1st handed ended, and tacked on four more in the 2nd stanza. 

Chicago was up 3-0 on Wheaton (Ill) before holding on for a 3-2 victory.  Trinity (TX) dispatched C-M-S with apparent ease as Meese got his first tally of the season.  North Central upended KZoo 2-1.  The Babson Beavers picked up a nice road win at Rutgers-Newark 3-2.  SLU and Buffalo St played a fast-paced game that ended in a 2-2 draw.  In the North, Luther and St. Norbert also played to a 2-2 result.

In upset land, Wartburg eked out a 2-1 win over visiting St. Olaf.  And UMass-Boston stunned RPI with a 2-1 away win.  Probably not an upset, but Endicott bested MIT 3-2, leaving the Engineers at 0-2 already.  Also surprised that Merchant Marine held NYU to a 0-0 draw.

Elsewhere, in a deep South battle, Covenant slipped past Oglethorpe 2-1.  Gettysburg sailed past St Mary's (MD) 3-1.  Drew got past New Paltz St.  Virginia Wesleyan whacked Eastern 3-0.  St Thomas (TX) crushed Mary Hardin-Baylor 4-1.  WPI and Skidmore played to a predictable tie 1-1.  Rowan rebounded in between the Profs' Hopkins-Trinity sandwich beating Southwestern in San Antonio 2-1.  Scranton knocked off Muhlenberg 3-2.  Haverford was held to a 1-1 draw with Wilkes.  Colorado Coll and Puget Sound also played to a draw, 2-2.

Addendum:  I forgot Redlands.  The Bulldogs left Michigan 0-1-1.  They led Calvin three times before losing 4-3 and in another heartbreak conceded to Hope in the dying moments to draw 1-1.

Stlawus goes hard in his fandom man, as do all of us posters here.
The guys were more than likely watching the game or other games and just ran out of time to post.
All the big names mentioned above Kenyon/Wheaton et al know that the season is super young, but still always good to have a solid foundation to begin the season.

Buff State look to be a good team and will make some noise in SUNYAC.

[Another Mom]

Washington and Lee up 2-0 at halftime at Maryville. There have been several positional changes that have made a difference.  W&L looking more like last year's team, but against weaker competition,  so who knows how they will do with a more evenly matched opponent.

[Chargers96]

CNU 2-1 over Moravian yesterday.  CNU went up 2-0 in the 2nd half and pouring on the pressure.  Moravian with a nice header off a corner to make the last 7-8 minutes interesting.  Moravian then hit a blistering shot from about 20 yards with seconds left that was saved by the CNU keeper to seal the win

[Another Mom]

Final score W&L 2 -1 Maryville. Maryville scored on a PK. Washington and Lee seems headed in the right direction,  but still has a way to go.