2022 D3 Men's Soccer National Perspective

[Gregory Sager]

I assume you are pleased that the two words 'North Park' are now among the first words being said when citing current faves (in contrast to some past years when some needed a nudge to pay more attention to your squad.

True dat. I do understand the D3 men's soccer pecking order, and I know as well that this sport's section of the boards is dominated by northeasterners who: a) are convinced of northeastern (especially NESCAC) dominance in this sport, and with good reason; and b) probably don't get to see the Vikings play all that often, perhaps in part because the games typically start later from the perspective of those on the East Coast. So I learned not to resent the Vikings not being included in national-power conversations on the boards. My concern now is maintaining that high standard so that NPU is now a standard part of those conversations, especially when the midwestern programs that have earned the respect even of the northeasterners (Chicago, Calvin, Kenyon, Wash U, and OWU chief among them) get mentioned.

[PaulNewman]

A Paul Newman Quick-hitter Game of the Night Special Feature

8:00 PM (EST?) -- Bethany Lutheran Vikings @ Wisconsin-Eau Claire Blugolds

Bethany Lutheran based in Mankato, MN rolls into Eau Claire for an upper Midwest clash.  The Vikings sit at 2-0-2 with wins over Buena Vista and Hamline and draws with GAC and Dordt (Iowa)...the latter I presume is NAIA or D2.  The GAC 1-1 draw looks notable as stats were fairly close.  Bethany GK Mason Steffen made 4 saves between the pipes.  The Vikings thus far have been led by supersub Antonio Lima with 4 points and Tomas Abreu and Liam Peterson with 3 each.  The Vikings roster boasts an international cornacopia...5 from Portugal, 4 from Sweden, 3 from Italy, 3 from Norway, 2 each from Jamaica and the Netherlands, and one each from Brazil, Greece, Germany, Mexico, England, Canada, Spain...and Texas.  Bethany plays on the gorgeous refurbished and newly renamed Scheels Field. 

In 2019, then frosh Max Busch made 3rd team AA on the back of nation-leading goals and total points, helping the Vikings lead the nation in scoring average at 3.95 per contest.  Max had another excellent season in 2021 but no longer is with the program, perhaps due to graduation and giving up a covid eligibility year.  The man holding the clipboard for Bethany is Derick Lyngholm, now in his 4th season after 12 campaigns guiding the women's program.  Derick was a stellar GK at Bethany from 1995-1996, leading the Vikings to a 14-3-1 record and a national ranking as high as #15.  He transferred after two seasons to Bethel where he left a mark on the records books for a 32 save extravaganza versus defending national champ and then #1 ranked Wheaton (Ill).  Bethany Lutheran has a enrollment around 650.  The Vikings were 14-7 (14-2 conference) last year, preceded by 12-6-1 and 7-9-3 ledgers.

UW-Eau Claire has an enrollment around 10,500.  Interestingly the Blugolds had their inaugural men's soccer season last year, finishing a very respectable 15-4.  The first win in program history occurred on Sept. 1, 2021 at Hamline in a thrilling 4-3 double OT result.  Eau Claire is off to races so far with a 6-0 start, besting Hamline, UW-Platteville (probably best win), St Scholastica, Northland, Grinnell, and UW-Superior.  They have no seniors and five juniors.    The roster is all from WI and MN, and the Blugolds so far have been led by Soph Nathan Donovan, a forward with 5 goals and 4 assists, Will Heinem, another soph forward with 5 points, Carter Thiesfeld and Jacob Sampson pulling the strings in the midfield, and 6'3 Ethan Andersen leading the back line and also chipping in with 4 points.  GF Spencer Banks returns form last year. 

Coach Casey Holm leads Eau Claire, obviously in just his second season.  However, he was a lead assistant during the last glory years at St Thomas (MN) before the Tommies were forced into D1, as the Tommies made the Final Four in 2016, the Elite 8 in 2017, and Sweet 16 in 2018.  He had a long and successful career in the St Paul area high school ranks, winning Minnesota HS COY in 2010 and 2013.  The Blugolds finished an very impressive 16th the Learfield Directors Cup.  And if you for any reason you find yourself in Eau Claire in February, 2023 don't miss the 11th Annual Jig's Up Blugold Ice Fishing Contest.

Catch the action on the Blugold Sports Entertainment Network.

Prediction....Blugolds 3, Vikings 1

[PaulNewman]

UWEC 2, Bethany Lutheran 1  Final

[PaulNewman]

Weekend Snapshot

Friday

4:00 -- Oglethorpe @ W&L -- The 3-1-1 Stormy Petrels make the trek from Atlanta to Lexington, VA, providing a prime opportunity for the Generals to tune up the engine against a good but not overwhelming opponent.  Two wins over Oglethorpe and Emory this weekend will shove W&L right back into the top tier conversation, and the first of the two games could be the tougher one.

4:00 -- Geneseo St @ Elmira -- Geneseo is 4-1 while the Soaring Eagles of Elmira sits at 4-0-1.  Regardless of the winner, this likely will be the only mention of either.

4:00 -- Brockport St @ Ithaca -- Brockport comes in at 2-0-3 while Ithaca stares down the barrel of a 0-4-1 start, with the Bombers next facing Lycoming, Clarkson, Hobart, SLU, Bard, Cortland, and Skidmore.  How fortunate does Kyle Dezotell feel lounging back in his office in Medford, MA?  Although, to be fair, Dezotell has had several days after the Wesleyan loss pondering the away Amherst/Williams double.

5:00 -- Maryville @ Berry -- Tennessee versus Georgia.  Enough said.

5:00 -- Franciscan @ Mt Union -- The Barons take their gaudy 5-0-1 record to Mt. Union.  Best start to a Barons season since 1947.  Meanwhile, the Purple Raiders want to stay within earshot of the Great Lakes elite, so look for Mt Union to send Franciscan home with a first loss.  Coach Krems at Mt Union prepped his guys with an unsympathetic blitzing of Hiram, his alma mater, 6-1.

6:00 -- Texas-Dallas @ Virginia Wesleyan -- Hopefully will be nice weather in Virginia Beach or is this one of those pod deals where they're really playing in Roanoke?  I imagine that this is the first meeting between these two ever, but the Comets are more than happy to escape the misery in JerryJonesLand for a couple of days.  TX-Dallas is 3-0-1 coming off a huge win over Trinity (TX) while the Marlins are smarting from a 1-0 defeat to Clarkson.

6:00 -- UW-Platteville @ Simpson -- Always hard to know which of these UWs are good but Platteville just waxed Wheaton (Ill) 4-1.  The Simpson Storm are an Iowa ARC outfit with a 4-1 record (but 4-0 for D3).  The result here is not likely to move the needle visibility-wise as vague, cloudy skies will prevail.

6:00 -- Southwestern @ St Thomas (TX) -- Southwestern is only 1-2-1 but has played some highly competitive, tough games so the 4-0 Celts could be caught off guard, especially if overconfidence is seeping into the locker room after a 7-0 demolition of Sul Ross State.  St Thomas is one of those sleeper teams that is very difficult to place when doing amateur-level national polling.

6:30 -- Oneonta St @ RPI -- Oneonta led by Ian Byrne apparently grew tired of hearing about Cortland and has streaked to 4-0.  RPI is trying to sustain some momentum after a very uneven start but with two wins in a row the Engineers will relish the chance to make the Red Dragons have an inhospitable stay in Troy.

7:30 -- Marietta @ Denison -- Doesn't look like much on paper...yet another NCAC vs OAC fixture, but these are exactly the kind of games that the Big Red need to win to keep the Denison and Bianco hype thriving.  A two or three goal win would be nice as Denison next hosts John Carroll and then is away at Wilmington and Otterbein.

[calvin_grad]

Sleep on the Knights at your peril. Pedestrian performances against Aurora and Millikin notwithstanding, that Calvin team is loaded to the gunwales with both talent and experience. I would not be shocked even one tiny bit if we see the Knights in Salem, VA the first weekend of December.

Calvin is 5-0-1 on the season.  I think they still have some work to do on defense and they need to start games quicker.  They are loaded with talent, but you can't get down to quality opponents later in the year and tourney time and just expect to be able to flip a switch like they have done so far.  Calvin has fallen behind in 5 of the 6 games they've played but have outscored their opponents 11-0 in the second half.

[Ejay]

Regardless of the winner, this likely will be the only mention of either.

How fortunate does Kyle Dezotell feel lounging back in his office in Medford, MA?

Tennessee versus Georgia.  Enough said.

Hopefully will be nice weather in Virginia Beach or is this one of those pod deals where they're really playing in Roanoke?

Always hard to know which of these UWs are good

St Thomas is one of those sleeper teams that is very difficult to place when doing amateur-level national polling.

That's quality right there.  Well done PN!

[PaulNewman]

Haha, thanks Ejay.

Wait until you see the one coming. Sometimes being a (mostly) benign narcissist can be useful or at least entertaining to others.

[QUBTechLord]

Greetings all - allow me to introduce myself. Joe O'Reilly. I played soccer/rode the bench for Kenyon College during the halcyon Jack Detchon years in the 1990s when we were runner-up national champions. Since then, I've been watching, following, and scouting soccer players. I have been shadowing this community for years and would love to start sharing some thoughts.

[SimpleCoach]

Greetings all - allow me to introduce myself. Joe O'Reilly. I played soccer/rode the bench for Kenyon College during the halcyon Jack Detchon years in the 1990s when we were runner-up national champions. Since then, I've been watching, following, and scouting soccer players. I have been shadowing this community for years and would love to start sharing some thoughts.

Outstanding!  Welcome!

SC.

[PaulNewman]

Weekend Snapshot (cont-)


Saturday


11:00 – Manhattanville @ Drew – Manhattanville isn't in Manhattan (or NYC), which is confusing and time constraints do not permit doing the research about the name.  However, the 14th caller with the correct answer will snag a Valiants jersey.  Manhattanville visits Drew with a 2-1-1 record, noteworthy for a draw with Stevens (the only Stevens blemish) and win over RPI.  Valiants GK, Luis Granados, is a mountain of a man at 6'6, 225 lbs, and a few days ago kept Amherst off the board for 50 minutes.  Drew merely has marched to 6-0 with best wins over New Paltz St and TCNJ.  The Rangers are 6-0 for the first time since 2011.  I'm expecting the Valiants to hand Drew its first loss of 2022.

12:00 – Wesleyan @ Brandeis – The second largest NESCAC takes on the smallest UAA school in a New England "perfect soccer weather" battle.  Brandeis is anxious to rebound from a down year while Wesleyan is flying high after knocking off Tufts. A W (and a L) for either could be important in November when the cmte is trying to spit hairs over whom to rank ahead of who when records and SoS are nearly identical.  Brandeis isn't quite Tufts, but the Cardinals could have a tough time in Waltham.  A Cards win will likely result in D3 soccer top 25 fan poll recognition, which, of course, is coveted.  The ESPN algorithm yielded a 76% chance of a draw.

12:00 -- Hamilton @ Middlebury – Quick, guess which other NESCAC Hamilton is closest to...I guessed Middlebury and I was wrong...3.5 hours to Middlebury, VT and 2.5 to Williamstown, MA.  The Continentals stride into the Green Mountain state unblemished at 3-0...but they may need a dermatologist after this one (and you can't get an appointment until Spring).  But if not now, when?  Hamilton's next three NESCAC tilts are hosting Tufts and Wesleyan followed by guesting in New London to visit the defending national champs.  Special shout-out to the Otter Creek Bakery and the front porch at the Middlebury Inn.

1:00 – Skidmore @ New Paltz St – I finally looked up where New Paltz is and learned its basically next door to Poughkeepsie (home of Vassar who just beat the Hawks).  The Thoroughbreds will travel 106 miles on I-87/Rte 9.  Talk about two teams difficult to get a handle on...they seduce you into thinking their consistently solid programs will have a banner year and by the time you do get a handle on them they're no longer in the mix.  Last year New Paltz forced itself on to the radar with only losses to Rowan and Vassar before losing three out their last four games.  The Hawks opened this year with a scoreless draw against Union and loss to Drew but then beat NYU before losing narrowly again to Vassar. Skidmore drew with WPI, beat UMass-Boston, lost 1-0 to Rowan, and then smoked Haverford 4-1. 

1:00 – WPI @ Coast Guard – I can't get excited about this one.  I just can't. 

1:00 – Ohio Northern @ Hanover –  Ditto...The main interest here is which team ends up sneaking into the bottom end of the Great Lakes regional rankings in early November so that the higher ranked teams can see if their results against them will help or hurt.  That said, ONU should be flying high after clipping OWU but Hanover is a very tough place to get a win (and is the alma mater of a very recent US Vice-President).

1:00 -- Plattsburgh St @ Cortland St – Yes, I know Plattsburgh is 4-1, but other than the 2-1 loss to RPI they've been gorging on cupcakes.  Cortland has to win this game.  Indeed, the Red Dragons need to go on a seven to eight game rampage to get themselves solidly back on SimpleCoach's Doppler.

1:00 – Bates @ Williams – I'm disappointed about the Bates situation.  Seemed like the program was on the upswing despite the ultra-competitive NESCAC scene, but just a few weeks ago an interim coach installed.  Not sure I could ever feel sorry for Williams which has been the #1 LAC according to US News for 165 consecutive years, but the Ephs have not been able to get back to the top end of the conference.  Nevertheless, Bates is 3-1 with three cupcakes and a tight Bowdoin loss.  Bates gets to go home for two games but unfortunately the two opponents happen to be Amherst and Middlebury.  I'm getting Sonny Liston Lewiston vibes.  Williams, meanwhile, entertains Tufts and Amherst sandwiched around a Maine trip for Colby and Bowdoin. 

1:00 – Cabrini @ Eastern – Mid-Atlantic Fan, where are you?  I know we have some Cabrini watchers....what gives?  Losses to Haverford and Delaware Valley, draws with DeSales and Lehman, and most recently wins over Washington Coll and Rutgers-Camden.  And I wonder if Eastern made their schedule when Jeremy Payne of Messiah fame was still there before heading to Washington state...two losses to Christopher Newport and Virginia Wesleyan, a loss to Wash Coll, finally a win over Lehman, and then a draw with Cairn.

2:00 – Bowdoin @ Conn Coll – I'll let someone like Mr.Right explain Bowdoin.  Always solid, often giant killers with a particular fondness for Tufts, and yet year after year you can pencil the Polar Bears in for somewhere between 5th to 7th in NESCAC.  I do have a feeling Conn Coll will be pumped up to produce a national fave-like performance.

2:00 – Montclair St @ Vassar – I'm just gonna let this story tell itself.

2:00 – Trinity (TX) @ Colorado Coll – Trinity has been struggling but the Tigers visited their PCP who prescribed Colorado College...an elixir that almost always seems to do the trick for Trinity.  And Colorado Springs...what a great place to spend a mid-September afternoon.

2:00 – Rochester @ Hobart – The Hobart Statesmen are another Liberty League group that seems to always be partly cloudy as well.  They certainly can't compete with their better half, William Smith (yes, the women's side of the college is named after a man).  Hobart had a relatively weak schedule until running into Oneonta and Hobart needs a win here to gin up a little excitement in Geneva.  Rochester stunned opening day with the win over Cortland and the win over Mt Union was probably a good one as well.  Since then, the Rochester hype has cooled and the Yellow Jackets are coming off a draw with local rival RIT.

2:00 – Babson @ Wheaton (MA) – With MIT falling off a cliff, Babson and Wheaton look to be top half NEWMAC teams at minimum.  Wheaton is quietly 4-1-1 and a win here might get the folks in Norton, MA more excited than they've been in a half-decade.  Babson has been tabbed as a team to watch this season, and while the hype might have gotten a little exaggerated the Beavers are still 3-1-1 with plenty of potential left for a great season.  A loss to Wheaton right now could be deflating.  By the way, Wheaton scored four in the Lyons' most recent contest against St. Joseph's (ME), and I'm guessing it's been quite a while since anyone put up four markers on the Monks.

2:00 – Trinity (CT) @ Colby –  Nope, I can't do it...other than to say this is a must-win game for the Mules.

2:30 – Tufts @ Amherst – Game of the day, but I'm already sick of talking about both of them.  Make sure the EMT units are on site.  Tufts probably needs this game more than the Mammoths but Amherst no doubt feels like they owe the Jumbos some misery.  The worst part for Tufts is that they will have to "leave it all on the field" and then face a hungry Williams squad the very next day.

3:00 – Dickinson @ Haverford – The Red Devils had their bubble burst quite a bit in Grantham but the good news is that no one will make too much of that since Messiah is a top end D1 team with La Liga highlight-reel flair.  But Dickinson needs to get back on the horse and get a result with the Fords.  Haverford is another hard to figure team...an emerging national contender just a few years ago and still capable but after a win versus Rowan the Fords are 0-2-1, losing to Lycoming, being dismantled by Skidmore, and tying Arcadia.

3:00 – Carthage @ UW-Eau Claire – The Blugolds handled their business last night and now move up a step in competition.  Carthage has not been good but a win by Eau Claire would still be a another significant step forward.  I was impressed with the quality of play for both Eau Claire and Bethany Lutheran...more so than watching Kenyon/Wilmington the prior evening.

3:30 – Hope @ Rose Hulman – Rose Hulman at 3-0-1 is inching up into Doppler category with the only blemish a respectable draw with North Central.  Everyone keeps saying Hope is a good team, and they may be as they have four draws and a loss against mostly very good teams.  The Dutchmen need a win in Terre Haute in the worst way.

4:00 – Chicago @ Luther – Upset alert!  And afterwards the pundits will say that the loss will benefit the Maroons in the long run (and sometimes cliches are true).

4:00 – Mary Washington @ Roanoke – The Mary Washington Eagles seem like a very good, hard-luck team.  They are 3-2 with a 1-0 loss to Hopkins and 3-2 loss to Cortland.  No shame there.  And they blew out Emory 4-1 but after Emory was one of my projected top contenders a year ago and held a high national ranking most of the year it's hard to give that Emory win a ton of credit this season.  Roanoke beat a now 5-1-1 Stockton on opening day but since then has looked pretty average.  Roanoke usually puts on a good video production and of course their complex is the host for the Final Four.

4:00 – Wartburg @ North Central – Sneaky big game for both and a chance at a regionally ranked win for down the road.  North Central is 4-0-2 while Wartburg is 3-0-2.  Two more teams hard to peg in terms of national relevance.  Wartburg has the best win of the two against St. Olaf but that win is not looking quite as significant right now although St Olaf should right the ship and finish strong.


4:30 – Gustavus Adolphus Coll (GAC) @ Carleton – Two perennial MIAC leaders in the North region.  GAC, otherwise known as the Gusties, are 4-0-2, notable results being a draw with Wartburg, draw with new friend Bethany Lutheran, and an impressive 3-1 win over Loras.  In 2019 GAC was 18-3-1, won the MIAC, and failed to advance in the 2nd round of the NCAA tourney versus North Park via PKs.  Last year GAC rebounded from an 0-2 start to go on a major winning streak that carried the Gusties to 14-4 (8-2 and tied for 2nd in MIAC) before an upset loss to St Johns that may kept GAC out of the tournament.  Meanwhile, Carleton is 2-2 with losses to North Central and Simpson.  Last year Carleton was 13-4-2 (also 8-2) and upset St Olaf in the conference final before bowing out in the NCAA 1st round, also to North Park.  Carleton is smarter but GAC has more gusto haha.

5:30 – Puget Sound @ Willamette – A NWC collision.  The Puget Sound Loggers are led by Coach Reese Olney in his 29th season.  Olney has won four NWC titles, but not since 2013 when the Loggers were dispatched in the NCAA 2nd round  by Trinity (TX).  After a 7-12-1 record in 1998 the Loggers were 20-2 in 1999 a record turnaround for a D3 program and lasted to the NCAA quarterfinals.  Puget Sound is 4-0-2 this season, with a tie versus Colorado Coll and three wins against non-D3 foes.  Willamette's skipper is only in his 2nd year after only graduating from Willamette in 2016.  The Bearcats have had only one NCAA tourney appearance, in 2017, exiting in the 1st round after a 1-0 loss to Mary Hardin-Baylor.  They were only 10-7-2 (9-3-2 conference) but due to some complicated tiebreakers the Bearcats were awarded the AQ over NWC co-champ Pac Lutheran.  Willamette currently is 2-0-2, drawing with C-M-S and Cal Lutheran and getting wins over Colorado Coll and UC Santa Cruz.

[PaulNewman]

6:00 – OWU @ John Carroll – Another game of the day.  OK, this is getting serious.  Both of these teams were supposed to be at the top of Great Lakes right along with Kenyon, Otterbein, Denison, etc.  OWU is STILL looking for its first win.  JCU is 2-2-1 and the loss to Carnegie Mellon in the closing seconds was a gut punch as imo JCU is superior to CMU.  JCU needs this OWU game especially for regional ranking considerations at the end of the season, and this game for JCU is followed by a trip to Denison and hosting Calvin.  Edgy times for these two programs but both are still more likely than not to make the tournament.  They will have very strong SoS and if necessary both will be capable of winning their conference AQ.

6:00 – Washington Coll @ F&M – What the heck is going on in Chestertown, MD?  So much joy throughout the community there as Coach Dunshee's Shoremen were last year's Cinderella darlings and nearly knocked off Tufts in the Sweet 16.  Wash Coll is 1-1-2, with draws against weak Salisbury and pretty good York (PA), a win over depleted Eastern, and a disastrous loss to Cabrini.  Were the Shoremen just a one year wonder, ready to rejoin Ursinus and the like at the bottom of the Centennial?  Let's hope not.  As for F&M, the Dips started slow but we're realizing the one loss was to an apparently outstanding Stevens squad, and tight victories the past two outings over E'town and PS-Harrisburg may signal  (and taking peek at the schedule ahead) that F&M is on the cusp of an eight to 10 game rampage before getting the likes of Swat and Hopkins later.  A lot riding on this one and might be one of the games of the weekend.  Have to say I don't love watching F&M video with weird angles but the commentary is excellent.

6:00 – Knox @ North Park – The only prairie fire in this one will be inside the 8x24 structure allegedly supervised by the Knox GK.

6:00 – Covenant at Virginia Wesleyan – One of the years I'll figure out that Oglethorpe and Covenant are not the same school...and not even in the same states.  Oh wait.  They are in the same state, as never knew Lookout Mtn, TN has a sister/brother Lookout Mtn, GA.

6:30 – NYU @ Rutgers-Newark – How many cards in this one?  Known world-wide, as an institution, NYU last year in some ways had a similar regular season to not-known-worldwide Washington Coll (where 90% of those asked would be unable to correctly name what state Wash Coll resides in).  The Violets were red-hot until faltering late, and they were a darkhorse NCAA pick.  NYU in 2022 is 2-2-1, with losses to New Paltz St and Stevens and a tie with Merchant Marine.  NYU needs a good win in the worst way, and it's not clear whether Rutgers-Newark would be considered a good win in November...BUT...pick your poison...as the Violets head to Messiah for their next outing.  Newark is 2-2-2, also losing to Stevens as well as to Babson, draws with Salisbury and St Mary's and a single win versus Marywood (another what state are you in school).  Over/under on number of cards versus goals?

6:30 – Stevens @ TCNJ – Seems like Stevens has beaten every single team I've mentioned, and this should be an other W.

7:00 – Brockport St @ Medaille –  Brockport takes the short ride to Buffalo.  Brockport is 2-1-3 with several pedestrian draws, handed Ithaca their only win, and narrowly beat Nazareth and Houghton.  Now, name four other teams in Medaille's conference.  And if you mentioned PS-Behrend start over.  Medaille is a perennial conference champ of some conference.  The Mavericks' 4-0-1 ledger features a non-D3 win over Briggs & Stratton (actually Bryant & Stratton but I've been waiting two weeks for that joke) and a more impressive 4-2 showing versus Ps-Harrisburg.

7:00 – Bethany @ Carnegie Mellon – I'll just say it as the CMU fans here seem to have run for the hills after last year's catastrophe.  CMU tends to have the weakest schedule of all UAA teams, but the Tartans have really outdone themselves this campaign.  Bethany can play a little, though, so CMU could have their hands full.  The Bison are 4-1-1 with the only loss coming to CWRU.  Most recent results were a tie with Marietta and a road win 2-0 at Oberlin (not astounding, but not nothing). 

7:00 – Johns Hopkins @ Swarthmore – Most intense academic settings in the United States?  These two, along with Chicago, have got to be in the top 10.  In the early days, Hopkins is my national darkhorse team at the moment.  Big game for both.  That Swat field is so dark on video.

8:00 – Illinois Wesleyan @ Loras – Loras drew early praise after sneaking out of Delaware, OH with a win, but the bandwagon has shed some weight after losing to GAC.  Still, the Duhawks should be favored in every game the rest of the regular season with the possible exceptions of Luther and Wartburg.  The ARC battle should come down to Dubuque, Decorah, and Waverly.

10:00 – La Verne @ C-M-S – Can C-M-S win a game?! In the Stags' defense, they have had draws and narrow losses against a killer schedule, but come on.  If the Stags can't get a victory at home against La Verne....well, lets see what happens.  After an 0-4-1 beginning, La Verne has won two straight, over NWC doormat Linfield and the Whittier Poets.

[SimpleCoach]

Weekend Snapshot (cont-)


Saturday


11:00 – Manhattanville @ Drew – Manhattanville isn't in Manhattan (or NYC), which is confusing and time constraints do not permit doing the research about the name.  However, the 14th caller with the correct answer will snag a Valiants jersey.  Manhattanville visits Drew with a 2-1-1 record, noteworthy for a draw with Stevens (the only Stevens blemish) and win over RPI.  Valiants GK, Luis Granados, is a mountain of a man at 6'6, 225 lbs, and a few days ago kept Amherst off the board for 50 minutes.  Drew merely has marched to 6-0 with best wins over New Paltz St and TCNJ.  The Rangers are 6-0 for the first time since 2011.  I'm expecting the Valiants to hand Drew its first loss of 2022.

Think the town they are located in used to be called Manhattanville, but now it is Purchase, NY.  XL works for me.

[PaulNewman]

Weekend Snapshot (cont-)


Saturday


11:00 – Manhattanville @ Drew – Manhattanville isn't in Manhattan (or NYC), which is confusing and time constraints do not permit doing the research about the name.  However, the 14th caller with the correct answer will snag a Valiants jersey.  Manhattanville visits Drew with a 2-1-1 record, noteworthy for a draw with Stevens (the only Stevens blemish) and win over RPI.  Valiants GK, Luis Granados, is a mountain of a man at 6'6, 225 lbs, and a few days ago kept Amherst off the board for 50 minutes.  Drew merely has marched to 6-0 with best wins over New Paltz St and TCNJ.  The Rangers are 6-0 for the first time since 2011.  I'm expecting the Valiants to hand Drew its first loss of 2022.

Think the town they are located in used to be called Manhattanville, but now it is Purchase, NY.  XL works for me.

LOL.  I thought I put in a line about actually 35 miles outside NYC and I had figured out Purchase.  What I didn't know and still don't is why the college is named Manhattanville.

And, be honest.  You already have a Manhattanville jersey!

[PaulNewman]

What the heck is going on with Emory?  Losing 5-2...to Hampden-Sydney? 

Just seeing some of the scores coming in....RPI-Oneonta draw...VWU over TX-Dallas...Southwestern and St Thomas draw...Christopher Newport 1-0 over Covenant.

[Gregory Sager]

1:00 – Ohio Northern @ Hanover –  Ditto...The main interest here is which team ends up sneaking into the bottom end of the Great Lakes regional rankings in early November so that the higher ranked teams can see if their results against them will help or hurt.  That said, ONU should be flying high after clipping OWU but Hanover is a very tough place to get a win (and is the alma mater of a very recent US Vice-President).

Fun fact: There have been five U.S. vice-presidents from Indiana, and each of them graduated from what is now a D3 institution:

Thomas Hendricks (March-November 1885), Hanover
Charles Fairbanks (1905-1909), Ohio Wesleyan
Thomas Marshall (1913-1921), Wabash
Dan Quayle (1989-93), DePauw
Mike Pence (2017-21), Hanover

Before they became veeps, three of them served as U.S. senators from Indiana, and the other two had been governors of Indiana.