Big Dance 2022 - Let's Go!

[paclassic89]

Chicago is a heavy favorite but i've already come to terms with the fact that Williams will probably win the national title in PKs by running 21 players into the ground every game   

[Kuiper]

Chicago is a heavy favorite but i've already come to terms with the fact that Williams will probably win the national title in PKs by running 21 players into the ground every game 

Chicago is the favorite, but Williams has already proven against Messiah, Kenyon, Mary Washington etc that it can frustrate teams that like to possess.  I think Chicago's defense, experience, and size present obstacles that Williams didn't face with Mary Washington, but I definitely wouldn't count out Williams. 

[Footballfan37]

If soccer goes to die at Williams, then what happens at all these schools that have lost to them in the tournament? The way I see it, Soccer is a game, played over 90 (or 110) minutes, where the team that scores more goals wins. Seems like Williams is doing a great job executing their gameplan and the results speak for themselves.

[Falconer]

If soccer goes to die at Williams, then what happens at all these schools that have lost to them in the tournament? The way I see it, Soccer is a game, played over 90 (or 110) minutes, where the team that scores more goals wins. Seems like Williams is doing a great job executing their gameplan and the results speak for themselves.

I'm reminded of something that Bill Mazeroski is supposed to have said to Steve Blass, when he drew Sandy Koufax as the opposing pitcher: "Shut 'em out, and we'll play for a tie."

I agree that Williams is where soccer goes to die.

[CC United]

I'm a neutral but I've watched Williams a few times this year.  Williams is not a team to hate. They have proven that Williams is where other teams go to die. Frankly, they have overachieved and should be ecstatic about their season. Chicago may prove to be a different opponent. Chicago is stout and are pleasing to the eye. But here is to a great game for both teams and for all the other neutrals out there.

[PaulNewman]

Williams can be congratulated for a truly remarkable run that now almost feels destined while also being critiqued for style of play.  It's very easy to describe the offense as cynical, especially for those of us whose teams are out at the hoofs of the Ephs, but there's no getting around the defense which hasn't conceded to multiple high powered teams since allowing a questionable PK call and Arkan T PK goal in the 1st round.  Four straight shutouts...and against four pretty decent squads.

The versatility of Boardman could not be better honored than @Kuiper referring to him as the Williams striker.  He is in six places at once...you think he's marking Kirkland or Berg, but then he's heading a ball in the midfield, and heading balls around the box, before eventually making a deep run into the back post for a clinically perfect finish.  I couldn't tell you much at all about what makes him so good, but the number of winning, game-determining plays he makes is astounding (goal today, assist and clear off the line vs Kenyon, etc).

And despite or in addition to the coach being the architect of a very unattractive strategy, he appears like he has some magical glow around him at least for this run, very similar to an impression Burk gave off in Conn's run last year.  He looks like he is in "a zone" or "flow"....so make that a flowzone.

As a wise man once said, good fortune does play a role.  Williams, consecutively, has won a 50/50 game, a 40/60 game, a 60/40 game, and two more 50/50s...

All that said, the ride ends here...

Chicago 2 (maybe 3), Williams 0

As for hats and bulletin board awards, any hat eaters also deserve a ring (if Williams prevails), and SC and myself should at least get Final Four programs signed by the entire Williams roster and coaching staff.

[PaulNewman]

As a semi-neutral, also would have been interesting to see Williams play down a goal.  They never trailed in any of their five games.  Kirkland buries that shot he scuffed 9 out of 10 times...another item for the good fortune pile.  Getting ahead was huge for MW versus Amherst and Bowdoin.

Also congrats to Chicago and Stevens.  The Ducks took a better team to within 3-4 minutes of PKs...and with Andino and Silva missing for a good chunk of the game.  Stevens definitely lived up to how highly they were rated most of the season.  And very impressed that Chicago at least outwardly kept their cool as the game wore on.  They had to be frustrated and at risk for having flashbacks of a bad ending. 

[FBALLISLIFE]

Dave McHugh wanted to go back to get another look at that possible handball in the box by Williams in the final two minutes, but the production crew never replayed it. Both he and Ira Thor reacted as though they had seen a handball, but from that angle and distance you couldn't really tell conclusively without a replay from an alternate camera.

that's why you get the whistle in the Final Four.

And in my personal opinion, going back to the phantom red card against Kutsanzira in 2021, two Final Fours in a row marred by poor referee decisions in game critical moments.

[blue_jays]

Chicago is a heavy favorite but i've already come to terms with the fact that Williams will probably win the national title in PKs by running 21 players into the ground every game 

No one is a heavy favorite in this championship game. Yes, UChicago plays a more attractive brand of futbol. But Williams is on a heater like I've never seen, winning ugly or not. That defense has proven impregnable. I think it will be a toss up and likely PKs.

[Saint of Old]

So williams played in the final in 93 and lost and climbed the mountain in 1995. They are former Champions and that is a big deal. They will be attempting to capture their 2nd title, something very few programs like Wheaton, Tufts, Messiah, OhionWeslyan. Many programs haven1 but Williams will be going for rarified air. I am.sure the boys from 95 are on pins and needles.

[SimpleCoach]

If soccer goes to die at Williams, then what happens at all these schools that have lost to them in the tournament? The way I see it, Soccer is a game, played over 90 (or 110) minutes, where the team that scores more goals wins. Seems like Williams is doing a great job executing their gameplan and the results speak for themselves.

Nothing happens to the teams that "lost".  They still lost.  And Williams plays a dismal game to watch.  And they are still in the championship.

SC.

[PaulNewman]

These look doable....

https://www.etsy.com/listing/205677557/12-spring-tea-party-hats-cupcake-toppers?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=edible+hat&ref=sc_gallery-1-4&edd=1&sts=1&plkey=244396654a116cdca69bb223ef7eaa07319f601b%3A205677557

[PaulNewman]

Felt really bad for MW #18 Luwis who got beat by Boardman towards the back post especially because up to that point I thought he had been the best player on the pitch on the day.

[blooter442]

2.  After deep analysis of the Williams tactical execution of their game plan ... I can confirm that Williams is where soccer goes to die.

Having equated Siebert's Springfield to Stoke City, I am completely unsurprised that he has morphed Williams into the same style. Somewhat ironic, given their more progressive style for years under Russo.

Still, if Siebert wins tomorrow, he won't care one bit. I am inclined to think Chicago is the favorite, but I have a strong 2007-08 New York Giants vibe about the Ephs.

[irapthor]

Dave McHugh wanted to go back to get another look at that possible handball in the box by Williams in the final two minutes, but the production crew never replayed it. Both he and Ira Thor reacted as though they had seen a handball, but from that angle and distance you couldn't really tell conclusively without a replay from an alternate camera.

I went back on the video several times, and it sure looked like the defender opened up his arms (making himself bigger) and caught that ball with his right hand when the MW player ducked.  No intentional by any means, but a handling offense nonetheless.  Tough to call that in that situation, and the act by the MW player to bend over really put the ball in a difficult spot for the defender, but that's why you get the whistle in the Final Four.

Sure wish we had better angles on the video.

As a neutral party calling the games, I truly felt what we saw was a handball. While I know it's a tough call for an official to make in that spot, if that's a handball in the 8th minute, then it is a handball in the 89th minute. I stand by what I said.

With that said, the Chicago/Stevens game was by far the better of the two and you would think that Chicago is the favored team heading into the finals. But Dr. Siebert's team seemingly always finds a way. It's almost like they have the cheat codes for the video game. They are the aggressor when they need to be but they don't put themselves in peril with poor decisions. They completely took Josh Kirkland out of the game and as good as Carter Berg was for UMW (and I think he's the better of the two players IMO), the Williams back 3 or 4 was better.