2022 D3 Men's Soccer National Perspective

[Gregory Sager]

North Park 4
St. Olaf 2

It was a highly entertaining night of high-speed, end-to-end soccer at Hedstrand Field. The Oles took a quick lead just 61 seconds into the contest on an insanely skillful steal off of an NPU defender's foot by Hakeen Morgan, who thereupon immediately rocketed a 30-yard strike past NPU keeper Alfie Swärd. But the Vikings refused to be put on the back foot by that, as their constant pressure produced three first-half goals, including an Isak Flo re-direct sandwiched by a brace of William DeCarro PK strikes. The Oles almost grabbed one back just before halftime, but Swärd made a pair of outstanding saves to thwart the Minnesotans' threat.

In the second half, the Oles again came out roaring. About a minute and a half into the second stanza, Clemente Archuch Puig worked his way into the box and got off a twisting volley that beat Swärd and made it a one-goal game again. That's where it stood for almost the entire second half, with the Oles getting a multitude of rushes that included a well-struck ball that glanced off of the crossbar and two or three good shots that were barely off-frame. But the NPU defense stood stout, and as the game entered its final minute the Vikings managed to get the ball into the St. Olaf end and pinned it against the sideline. Vikings wing Love Brandt somehow snuck out of the scrum with the ball at his feet and served it to the edge of the box, where Toby Lunde managed to push it to his left with two Oles on him in order to give Noel Holm a chance -- and Holm put it home in the left side of the goal to seal the deal.

St. Olaf is for real. Let's not forget that Travis Wall's side returned ten starters from a Sweet Sixteen team. They're pretty talented: Morgan, Archuch Puig, and Victor Gaulmin are each All-Region caliber, if not All-American. And their recklessly fast style of play is just plain hard to defend; the Oles do everything with alacrity. They never dilly-dally with a free kick or a throw-in; the ball goes back into play immediately, and when the St. Olaf back line gets the ball, the forwards and midfielders sprint upfield each time like their hair is on fire. It's fun to watch, and a headache if you're an opposing coach. Their upset loss to Wartburg last week notwithstanding, I expect the Oles to make some noise and be a part of the proceedings in November again. Who knows? There might be a Vikings vs. Oles rematch.

For a team that lost two All-Americans, plus a pair of All-CCIW freshmen who transferred out to the scholarship levels, the Vikings look pretty formidable. St. Olaf was a big step up in class from the first three NPU opponents, and the Vikings still managed to come off of the pitch with a hard-fought win in their home opener. Kris Grahn has definitely reloaded his team.

[thesoccerguy17]

Week 1 (continued)

Region VI

Spoiler alert.  The story here is gonna be W&L, Christopher Newport, and maybe Emory.  Lynchburg should have a good season and provide important competition to W&L for at least a couple of games, but I don't see the Hornets being more than a round of 32 or maybe Sweet 16 squad.  In hindsight, we should have known the Messiah match for W&L was a bit of a set-up...keeping the Falcons from last year's Final Four and then they see one another on opening day.  The Generals likely still had a hangover at Maryville but feasted today against another inferior opponent.  All eyes will be on the CNU game in October.  Mary Washington could be in the mix and opened up 2-0 (before dropping a close one to Hopkins today).  Virginia Wesleyan has trotted to a 2-0 campaign, Covenant is 1-0-1 after a draw with Emory and win over Oglethorpe.  Roanoke also is 1-0-1.  Centre is a paltry 0-2 while Salisbury slumped to 0-2-1.

Region VII

I covered this one elsewhere. 

Region VIII

Four words....Calvin, Chicago, North Park.  All three major national title contenders.  We'll see about Wash U as we move along.  And we'll keep tabs on North Central and Carthage.
Kalamazoo has had a rough go thus far but often is a sleeper, and then there are Hope and Wheaton (Ill).

Region IX

I'm still expecting a lot from St Olaf despite dropping an away match to Wartburg.  Speaking of Wartburg, the Knights are 1-0-1 after a draw with always solid GAC and the win over St. Olaf.  D3 is better when at least one or two of the Iowa teams are good.  Loras doesn't quite look like the Loras of the late 2000s and early 2010s, but 2-0 is 2-0 and the win over OWU could be prominent at tourney selection time.  GAC is 2-0-1, as are Dubuque and Luther.  The Johnnies of St John's are 1-0-1 after a successful trip out West with a tie versus Cal Lutheran and win over UC Santa Cruz.

Region X

I like this Trinity (TX) team...a lot...although I hope they don't rely on winning shootouts every time they have a strong opponent.  The Rowan game was my first time playing close attention to Meese...he looks like a Special Ops Navy Seal.  Redlands left Michigan with probably a little less than they deserved at 0-1-1.  They led Calvin three times and allowed Hope to level with under 30 secs left.  The experience should still do the Bulldogs good.  I'm expecting another Texas outfit to distinguish itself...like St Thomas (TX), Concordia (TX), and/or Texas-Dallas.  And on the West Coast hopefully C-M-S can get their feet under them, and look out for Pac Lutheran, Cal Lutheran, Willamette, and Puget Sound.  Colorado College has disappointed at 0-2-1.

Great update for the start of the season. A team I look forward to keeping tabs on this season as well is NYU. 12 goals for and 0 against so far this season with their one tie being a 0-0 draw.

[PaulNewman]

Paul Newman...live from Bello Field.  Recap later.

[Chargers96]

Clarkson with the upset over CNU 1-0.  Saw the game in person.  Field heavily tilted in CNU's favor nearly the entire game.  Clarkson pounced on a defensive miscue.  Clarkson keeper and defense withstood tons of pressure.  CNU 21 shots to 6.  Hit the post and a major shout for a penalty not given.  But credit to Clarkson's defense for keeping the ball out of the net.

[PaulNewman]

Just catching up with some of the upsets.  I tuned in to the final 3 minutes of a 0-0 CMU vs JCU game at JCU and CMU stunned the Blue Streaks on a goal on a loos ball in the box with literally 8 seconds left.  Gut punch for JCU who now will be desperate for some regionally ranked wins.

[PaulNewman]

Good number of upsets and also some other results not necessarily upsets but somewhat surprising nonetheless.

Kean was knocked off by Scranton 1-0.

WPI continues to show well with 3-1 win over Endicott.

Hopkins gets huge win smothering Cortland 2-0.

Rowan gets by Skidmore for a much needed win 1-0.

New Paltz St nipped NYU 2-1.

RIT lost again, this time to Geneseo St 2-1.

St Joe's got a big conference win coming from against Norwich 2-1. 

Brandeis bested Babson 2-1.

CWRU surprised Otterbein 2-1.

Wesleyan won a wild one at home versus Colby 4-3.

Bowdoin won a Maine derby with Bates 2-1 in come from behind fashion.

Lycoming gets a good win over Haverford 1-0.

Mary Washington drubbed disappointing Emory 4-1.

Oneonta outlasted SLU 3-2.

Now we turn to Delaware, OH and Redlands, CA.


Addendum:  Not sure how I left out Clarkson's big upset of Christopher Newport 1-0.

[Kuiper]

Does anyone have any intel on why Averett would be playing Davidson today?  Might make a little more sense as a preseason scrimmage or exhibition.  And while certainly very drivable it's not like they are really close to one another.

Maybe Davidson wanted to add an "easier" team to its schedule and Averett had open dates because of the conference transition?  Davidson is using the game as its Senior Night.

I guess.  I'm not sure what beating Averett 10-0 does for Davidson...unless just an opportunity to play everyone who usually doesn't play.  Still, there would be better choices.  W&L for instance would be far more interesting on multiple levels.

For those who weren't following this game Friday night, D1 Davidson did beat D3 Averett, but the score was only 3-0.  It's curious, since although Davidson did give some freshman their first minutes, started some of the seniors (it was Senior Night), and played a junior GK the last 23 minutes for the first action of his career, they didn't exactly use this as a complete reserve game.  The core of the starters were pretty similar to the previous game against Georgia State.  Not sure why Davidson played Averett, but considering this was Davidson's first win of the season, maybe they knew it was going to be a rough year and wanted an early morale booster.

[PaulNewman]

Connecticut College @ Tufts (battle of last two national champs and re-match of last year's Elite 8 classic)


Pretty much agree with all of SimpleCoach's impressions.  I guess the game was mildly disappointing and although a sizeable crowd eventually showed up there was not a ton of intensity in the crowd for either side.  Maybe that had a little to do with the game not meaning a whole lot in early September.  The teams I'm sure don't like each other much and there certainly was some chirping and rough challenges but not at a Tufts vs Amherst level.  Too bad these two huge NESCAC games didn't happen in another couple of weeks. 

Conn started out fairly sharp and dominated the first 10-15 minutes.  Tufts then controlled most of the next 20-25 minutes and thereafter pretty even stuff.  Both teams teams had maybe two really good chances, and each could have won 1-0.  Tufts #9 should have scored after a Conn error and being 1 v 1 in close vs Maidenberg but didn't convert.  Lauta was forced to make a good save on a shot headed for top right corner and he appeared to top another good half-chance over the bar but a corner was not awarded. 

The game was not pretty at all but certainly very competitive.  Every ball was challenged with a lot contested headers back and forth.  Conn was missing their star soph CB who apparently didn't play in first game either so don't know if that is a long-term thing or not, but otherwise Conn had a good portion of last year's team.  Tufts on the other hand one would think has more of an adjustment period with new faces taking on new or bigger roles.  From that perspective, Tufts should grow into the season and they already can play with anyone.  Not sure why Shin #8 for Tufts doesn't play more as he is one of their most creative, offensive, and slippery players. 

I thought Daly #3 for Tufts and Jaran #8 for Conn were the two best players on the field today.  Daly is indefatigable and veyr similar in style to Muther for Kenyon...both right backs who provide a lot of offense.  Daly played the full 90 and a couple of times almost got burned on the defensive end but he's tough and super-competitive. Djerdjaj was quiet for the most part.  A key factor in the match was Jaran going out with cramps with 25+ minutes left.  He had played all or almost all of the 1st half and he is super talented and dangerous on free kicks so his absence for the final 25 minutes was big.  Yeonas #25 for Conn had a good game and he started having a bigger impact after Jaran left the game.  He had  gorgeous flick pass in the final third that led to a chance and he almost got loose a couple of times in the box but couldn't get a clean look without the shots getting blocked.  Conn's CB #5 I thought had a very solid game as well.  Conn also has a frosh forward from Seattle area who I think is going to be good, as is #9 for Tufts once he gets some momentum going.

All in all, a fair result and these teams could see each other at least once and maybe twice down the road.  The heat also may have played a role.  I was surprised they didn't have a water break each half.

I have little doubt that Conn, Tufts, Amherst, and Midd are four of the top 10 teams in the country with Midd maybe having the most to prove in terms of offensive firepower.

[FBALLISLIFE]

For those who weren't following this game Friday night, D1 Davidson did beat D3 Averett, but the score was only 3-0.  It's curious, since although Davidson did give some freshman their first minutes, started some of the seniors (it was Senior Night), and played a junior GK the last 23 minutes for the first action of his career, they didn't exactly use this as a complete reserve game.  The core of the starters were pretty similar to the previous game against Georgia State.  Not sure why Davidson played Averett, but considering this was Davidson's first win of the season, maybe they knew it was going to be a rough year and wanted an early morale booster.

Interestingly, the Davidson women are playing tonight against NCCAA side Carolina University.  The game presents as a normal game on the Davidson schedule, except that it is the only home game of the year that isn't live-streamed, but on the Carolina University site, it's listed as an exhibition.  Must be something in the water at Davidson this weekend.

[camosfan]

Conn was missing their star soph CB who apparently didn't play in first game either so don't know if that is a long-term thing or not, but otherwise Conn had a good portion of last year's team.


Someone from Conn told me he was out with a sprain ankle but should be ready for the next game.

[PaulNewman]

Milwaukee School of Engineering....that's the tweet.

[SimpleCoach]

Milwaukee School of Engineering....that's the tweet.

Undefeated and just beat a decent U of Dubuque team.  Feel like I need a hat or something.

[Hopkins Walk-On]

Saw Hopkins play Cortland State on Saturday (2-0 Hopkins) and Emory on Sunday (0-0 tie). Hopkins dominated possession and controlled both games. The Sunday game took place in the pouring rain; the field conditions definitely affected play.

My impressions:

Hopkins' defense is very strong - they didn't allow a goal all weekend. Tim Treinen, their fifth year senior CB, controls the game and their outside backs generate a lot of the offense by taking the ball up the wings. Cortland gave the Hopkins centerbacks way too much space, which allowed them to drive forward and disrupt the CSU spacing. Emory was more disciplined and compact. The wet field also meant that playing the ball up the wings was tough. The grad student transfer GK, Alex Morgret, has been terrific. He made several excellent saves against Cortland and wasn't really tested against Emory.

Hopkins has real trouble scoring goals though. The team, as a whole, tends to be very conservative. They always take the safe back pass instead of the slightly more risky forward pass. They also look for the perfect shot from six yards instead of decent but not guaranteed shots from 18. They also need some left-footed players on the left side. Despite totally dominating the game vs. Emory, they generated very few dangerous chances. The 6'4" Emory GK made a terrific save on a header off of a corner to save a goal but that was the only shot that really tested him.

Overall, it is a Hopkins team much like those of past years - small, highly skilled and very patient (too much so?). They should make the tournament but don't really have the firepower to go deep in it.

[SimpleCoach]

Saw Hopkins play Cortland State on Saturday (2-0 Hopkins) and Emory on Sunday (0-0 tie). Hopkins dominated possession and controlled both games. The Sunday game took place in the pouring rain; the field conditions definitely affected play.

My impressions:

Hopkins' defense is very strong - they didn't allow a goal all weekend. Tim Treinen, their fifth year senior CB, controls the game and their outside backs generate a lot of the offense by taking the ball up the wings. Cortland gave the Hopkins centerbacks way too much space, which allowed them to drive forward and disrupt the CSU spacing. Emory was more disciplined and compact. The wet field also meant that playing the ball up the wings was tough. The grad student transfer GK, Alex Morgret, has been terrific. He made several excellent saves against Cortland and wasn't really tested against Emory.

Hopkins has real trouble scoring goals though. The team, as a whole, tends to be very conservative. They always take the safe back pass instead of the slightly more risky forward pass. They also look for the perfect shot from six yards instead of decent but not guaranteed shots from 18. They also need some left-footed players on the left side. Despite totally dominating the game vs. Emory, they generated very few dangerous chances. The 6'4" Emory GK made a terrific save on a header off of a corner to save a goal but that was the only shot that really tested him.

Overall, it is a Hopkins team much like those of past years - small, highly skilled and very patient (too much so?). They should make the tournament but don't really have the firepower to go deep in it.

I tried to watch the Emory game, but the weather was just making it a mess.  Have to ask, how is it that Hopkins has drainage issues on that field?  That was the last thing I was expecting to see.

SC.

[Hopkins92]

Saw Hopkins play Cortland State on Saturday (2-0 Hopkins) and Emory on Sunday (0-0 tie). Hopkins dominated possession and controlled both games. The Sunday game took place in the pouring rain; the field conditions definitely affected play.

My impressions:

Hopkins' defense is very strong - they didn't allow a goal all weekend. Tim Treinen, their fifth year senior CB, controls the game and their outside backs generate a lot of the offense by taking the ball up the wings. Cortland gave the Hopkins centerbacks way too much space, which allowed them to drive forward and disrupt the CSU spacing. Emory was more disciplined and compact. The wet field also meant that playing the ball up the wings was tough. The grad student transfer GK, Alex Morgret, has been terrific. He made several excellent saves against Cortland and wasn't really tested against Emory.

Hopkins has real trouble scoring goals though. The team, as a whole, tends to be very conservative. They always take the safe back pass instead of the slightly more risky forward pass. They also look for the perfect shot from six yards instead of decent but not guaranteed shots from 18. They also need some left-footed players on the left side. Despite totally dominating the game vs. Emory, they generated very few dangerous chances. The 6'4" Emory GK made a terrific save on a header off of a corner to save a goal but that was the only shot that really tested him.

Overall, it is a Hopkins team much like those of past years - small, highly skilled and very patient (too much so?). They should make the tournament but don't really have the firepower to go deep in it.

Nice write-up and a very good overall categorization of this program. Over the years, when they've had top notch finisher, they are an incredibly difficult out. When they are consituted as they are now (as you describe) they are capable of pulling of draws against better competition, but that's about it.