2023 D3 Men's Soccer National Perspective

[PaulNewman]

No breaking news here, but Chicago @St Olaf is a massive game with multiple storylines.  Too bad this match isn't a few hours later as kickoff is just an hour away.  St Olaf last year was a PK shootout away from the Elite 8 (and a match with Chicago) and the Oles return their entire starting XI.  Of course they do not return their coach.  Chicago lost the dynamic CB duo that was considered the heart of their national title (and Final Four before that) teams.  Their coach also does not return.  That said, Chicago has almost everyone else and they are loaded with offensive talent all over the pitch.  Whoever loses could easily end up 2-3, 3-2, or even 1-4 in first five games.  My heart says St Olaf but my brain says Chicago wins 3-2.

Vassar @Western CT is another compelling one.  Vassar looks to avenge last season's loss and Western CT wants to keep their undefeated streak alive and gain a valuable likely ranked win for the NCAA resume.

Other pivotal clashes....NYU @Montclair with both squads perhaps a little fragile and each could benefit from an early confidence boost.  Cortland @Rochester.....well, maybe someone from inside Fauver Stadium can post updates throughout the game.

[4samuy]

Imho,

I'd go with your heart.

Chicago nicked up.  Moonsinge out, Baldwin out and Alex lee out. Starting 3 1st years.

[OldNed]

No breaking news here, but Chicago @St Olaf is a massive game with multiple storylines.  Too bad this match isn't a few hours later as kickoff is just an hour away.  St Olaf last year was a PK shootout away from the Elite 8 (and a match with Chicago) and the Oles return their entire starting XI.  Of course they do not return their coach.  Chicago lost the dynamic CB duo that was considered the heart of their national title (and Final Four before that) teams.  Their coach also does not return.  That said, Chicago has almost everyone else and they are loaded with offensive talent all over the pitch.  Whoever loses could easily end up 2-3, 3-2, or even 1-4 in first five games.  My heart says St Olaf but my brain says Chicago wins 3-2.

Vassar @Western CT is another compelling one.  Vassar looks to avenge last season's loss and Western CT wants to keep their undefeated streak alive and gain a valuable likely ranked win for the NCAA resume.

Other pivotal clashes....NYU @Montclair with both squads perhaps a little fragile and each could benefit from an early confidence boost.  Cortland @Rochester.....well, maybe someone from inside Fauver Stadium can post updates throughout the game.

I haven't watched it, but just checked the score on Vassar @ Western CT and WestConn is up 2-0 at half.  Seems like they might be legit again this year.

[Kuiper]

Imho,

I'd go with your heart.

Chicago nicked up.  Moonsinge out, Baldwin out and Alex lee out. Starting 3 1st years.

Chicago wins 4 to 2 in a game that reflected the losses and absences on defense.  St. Olaf could have scored a third on a shot saved on the line by a Chicago defender.

They have a brutal opening schedule with Gustavus Adolphus, Wisconsin Eau Claire, North Park, to come.

[Another Mom]

Washington and Lee loses 0-1 to Oglethorpe.  Oglethorpe the better team in the 1st half, W&L in the 2nd. Apparently Oglethorpe have a bunch (6? 8?) of D1 transfers, and it shows. W &L still figuring things out a bit.

[Kuiper]

UPSET ALERT

This is way too early to say an upset is afoot, but St. Norbert is up 1-0 on Calvin halfway through the first half in Grand Rapids.  The lone goal came on a PK in the 20th minute

UPDATE:  As I said, way too early to call it an upset.  Calvin's coach uses a hydration break to rally the troops and reorganize them and they tie it up 1-1 in the 28th minute on a shot to the top left corner.

UPDATE:  Didn't mean to start a live blog on the game, but St. Norbert is back up 2-1.  This isn't a flukey score.  They have more shots and more shots on goal.

After ending the half with St. Norbert up 2-1, Calvin has now tied it up 2-2 in the 58th minute.

UPDATE:  Calvin wins 4-2.  They put things together in the second half, but if they needed a wakeup call, this was it.

[PaulNewman]

Amer Lukovic scores in the 4th minute against NYU in his 23rd season for Montclair.

Already some interesting results.  What separates teams like Chicago, Messiah, maybe Amherst from everyone else is that they win games consistently against teams in the very next tier...and that next tier with the likes of JHU, W&L, St Olaf, Kenyon, F&M, Montclair, North Park, John Carroll, etc is that those teams can't be counted on to win.  I would put Calvin in the first group but maybe not if they can't get by St Norbert.

Impressive result for Chicago esp missing some guys.  Gaulmin for St Olaf is phenomenal....if he was in the NESCAC people would be talking about him like Giammatti.

[EnmoreCat]

Many aspire to the NESCAC, but (literally) few are chosen.

[Kuiper]

St. Thomas beating Pomona-Pitzer 1-0 at the half on a Taty Aleman PK early in the game.  St. Thomas has had a lot of chances, including two that hit the cross bar and went down for the GK to gather them and a double save toward the end of the half.  It's probably one of few games you will see where both teams pass the ball out of the back and through the middle, often creating a lot of one touch pretty football.  St. Thomas is the better side and has had more chances, but P-P definitely gets into dangerous places with their passing.  They also have a height advantage and that has helped on defense (especially with a really short GK for P-P).  I expect St. Thomas will wear them down in the second half because they are more physical and faster (as well as having better shooters who will eventually find the frame), but from a ball skill and passing perspective, the teams are not that far apart.

UPDATE:  As expected, St. Thomas wore P-P down and found their shooting boots to win 3-0.  Aleman with two goals and Castro with one.  Those guys just picked up right where they left off.

[WUPHF]

Cortland led Rochester 1-0 until the 67 minute and then the Yellowjackets scored 4 in relatively quick succession, including a PK.  I did not watch it.

[NEsoccerfan]

Washington and Lee loses 0-1 to Oglethorpe.  Oglethorpe the better team in the 1st half, W&L in the 2nd. Apparently Oglethorpe have a bunch (6? 8?) of D1 transfers, and it shows. W &L still figuring things out a bit.

Looks like 6 transfers. 3 of which appear to be from D1 schools and the other 3 from D2 schools (https://gopetrels.com/news/2023/9/1/mens-soccer-mens-soccer-2023-season-preview.aspx). Impressive haul...

[Recon]

Following up on earlier post, and, cruising past the paywall...Cortland vs Rochester- game opens fairly even with each side failing to convert. Cortland breaks through at 22nd minute, nice running header off a perfect long cross. 2nd half, UR comes out with high press and more aggressive driving more action into the box. Cortland gives up 3Pks in 9 minutes, bad fouls, 3rd not as clear. First PK terrific save by keeper but UR scores on the rebound. UR nets next two PKs, then 4 minutes later a banger from outside the box into top left corner. Physical game, UR defense and keeper solid in stopping experienced attack. Cortland will regroup- still a strong team. UR will be tested with healthy out of conference schedule, Alvernia, RIT, Hobart, and Stevens..   

[Kuiper]

A few matches involving Region X teams that either had national significance or crossed over regions.

In Colorado Springs, Pacific Lutheran picked up a big win, beating Colorado College 2-1.  It wasn't a dominant performance, with both teams looking rusty and having trouble stringing together passes, but Pac Lu went up 2-0 on a PK in the 69th minute and held on after Colorado College scored in the 83rd minute.

Mary Hardin-Baylor and Rhodes drew 1-1 in a game of two teams coming off strong seasons in their region.

UT Dallas and Wheaton (MA) tied 0-0.   Not sure what to take from this match, other than neither offense is ready for prime time.   UTD has 0 shots on goal and Wheaton had 1.

Endicott beat Concordia (TX) 1-0

Trinity (TX) beat Elmhurst 3-1.  Best thing about this match for Trinity was that Michael Meese played off the bench and got 60 minutes with 1 shot on goal.  They took 17 shots, 7 on goal, while only allowing one shot on goal (that was Elmhurst's lone goal).  The game was tight, though, with a 1-1 tie until Trinity broke the logjam in the 83rd minute and added an insurance goal in the 90th minute.

I wrote about this in the Go West thread, but Southwestern beat Willamette 3-0 in a big win for the Pirates.

[Ejay]

I'm sure there are others, but some score lines from Friday that I found interesting:

Johns Hopkins 1
NC Wesleyan - 1

Rowan - 1
Salisbury - 1

Rosemont - 1
Swarthmore - 0

Wester CT - 3
Vassar - 1

SUNY Geneseo - 0
St Lawrence - 0

Mary Washington - 4
RPI - 0

Cornell - 1
Luther - 1

Rochester - 4
Cortland - 1

Manhatanville - 0
Stevens - 0

Ohio Northern - 4
Kenyon - 2

[Mid-Atlantic Fan]

Messiah at Catholic today. Early test for both but expect the Falcons to come out victorious. I'm going with 3-0 Messiah when it's all said and done.