2023 D3 Men's Soccer National Perspective

[Newenglander]

Jumping over from the NESCAC thread for a moment.  Conn College and Middlebury both managed to navigate the NESCAC slate without a loss.  Conn had 5 wins and 5 ties, while Middlebury had 7 wins and 3 ties.  Middlebury finishes the regular season at 11-0-4, scoring 40 goals and only giving up 8.  They have only trailed for a total of 15 minutes all season (against Amherset in their first conference game before equalizing).  The Panthers have balanced scoring, with Jordan Saint-Louis with 8, Gavin Randolph with 6, and Tyler Payne with 5, and Colin Duggan and Luke Madden with 3 each.  The Panther defense has been rock solid, with 7 shutouts over their last 9 games.  Since giving up two goals to Vassar off corner kicks, Midd has been lights out winning headballs in the box, as evidenced by Tufts having 13 corners last weekend and generating nothing from them.  The Panthers have secured  hosting rights as long as they are alive in the NESCAC tournament, and will surely have a pool C bid awating them if they do not capture the automatic bid.  Midd will be a tough out for anyone in the postseason.

Written as if Middlebury wasn't getting any love/appreciation on these posts..........only nit I can pick is almost 30% of the goal total came from an 11-1 out of conference drubbing

[College Soccer Observer]

Jumping over from the NESCAC thread for a moment.  Conn College and Middlebury both managed to navigate the NESCAC slate without a loss.  Conn had 5 wins and 5 ties, while Middlebury had 7 wins and 3 ties.  Middlebury finishes the regular season at 11-0-4, scoring 40 goals and only giving up 8.  They have only trailed for a total of 15 minutes all season (against Amherset in their first conference game before equalizing).  The Panthers have balanced scoring, with Jordan Saint-Louis with 8, Gavin Randolph with 6, and Tyler Payne with 5, and Colin Duggan and Luke Madden with 3 each.  The Panther defense has been rock solid, with 7 shutouts over their last 9 games.  Since giving up two goals to Vassar off corner kicks, Midd has been lights out winning headballs in the box, as evidenced by Tufts having 13 corners last weekend and generating nothing from them.  The Panthers have secured  hosting rights as long as they are alive in the NESCAC tournament, and will surely have a pool C bid awating them if they do not capture the automatic bid.  Midd will be a tough out for anyone in the postseason.

Written as if Middlebury wasn't getting any love/appreciation on these posts..........only nit I can pick is almost 30% of the goal total came from an 11-1 out of conference drubbing

Fair point.  Just wanting to give them their due outside of the NESCAC thread.  When a team that is a perennial playoff contender has their best season in 25 years and has not lost a game, I think they warrant a mention in the bigger picture.

[1970s NESCAC Player]

Jumping over from the NESCAC thread for a moment.  Conn College and Middlebury both managed to navigate the NESCAC slate without a loss.  Conn had 5 wins and 5 ties, while Middlebury had 7 wins and 3 ties.  Middlebury finishes the regular season at 11-0-4, scoring 40 goals and only giving up 8.  They have only trailed for a total of 15 minutes all season (against Amherset in their first conference game before equalizing).  The Panthers have balanced scoring, with Jordan Saint-Louis with 8, Gavin Randolph with 6, and Tyler Payne with 5, and Colin Duggan and Luke Madden with 3 each.  The Panther defense has been rock solid, with 7 shutouts over their last 9 games.  Since giving up two goals to Vassar off corner kicks, Midd has been lights out winning headballs in the box, as evidenced by Tufts having 13 corners last weekend and generating nothing from them.  The Panthers have secured  hosting rights as long as they are alive in the NESCAC tournament, and will surely have a pool C bid awating them if they do not capture the automatic bid.  Midd will be a tough out for anyone in the postseason.

Written as if Middlebury wasn't getting any love/appreciation on these posts..........only nit I can pick is almost 30% of the goal total came from an 11-1 out of conference drubbing

Fair point.  Just wanting to give them their due outside of the NESCAC thread.  When a team that is a perennial playoff contender has their best season in 25 years and has not lost a game, I think they warrant a mention in the bigger picture.

Midd won the 2007 national championship, so not quite their best season in 25 years (although this take is not based on regular season results).

[maineman]

Jumping over from the NESCAC thread for a moment.  Conn College and Middlebury both managed to navigate the NESCAC slate without a loss.  Conn had 5 wins and 5 ties, while Middlebury had 7 wins and 3 ties.  Middlebury finishes the regular season at 11-0-4, scoring 40 goals and only giving up 8.  They have only trailed for a total of 15 minutes all season (against Amherset in their first conference game before equalizing).  The Panthers have balanced scoring, with Jordan Saint-Louis with 8, Gavin Randolph with 6, and Tyler Payne with 5, and Colin Duggan and Luke Madden with 3 each.  The Panther defense has been rock solid, with 7 shutouts over their last 9 games.  Since giving up two goals to Vassar off corner kicks, Midd has been lights out winning headballs in the box, as evidenced by Tufts having 13 corners last weekend and generating nothing from them.  The Panthers have secured  hosting rights as long as they are alive in the NESCAC tournament, and will surely have a pool C bid awating them if they do not capture the automatic bid.  Midd will be a tough out for anyone in the postseason.

The good news is that they beat Williams and the bad news is that they have to play Williams again on Saturday.  The Ephs are very good despite being the #8 seed and they have an excellent goalie in Diffley.  Midd won the game by virtue of a penalty kick  Statistically, the game was somewhat even.  Midd had the edge 4-3 in corners.  We know corners don't always tell the story if you don't do anything with them.  See the Tufts game.  Shot wise, Midd had the edge 16 to Williams 9.  They big difference was Midd got 6 of those shots on net and Williams got none.  Grady did not have to make a save.  I know both teams are difficult to break down, but if Williams can generate some shots on net and put the pressure on Midd by scoring first, they could indeed upset the Panthers.  Also, I think Randolph and Payne are the chief scoring threats for Midd with 6 and 5 goals respectively.  St Louis has 8 goals but 5 of them are on PKs.  St Louis also has 8 assists and is the chief playmaker along with Nilsson..

[camosfan]

Also, I think Randolph and Payne are the chief scoring threats for Midd with 6 and 5 goals respectively.  St Louis has 8 goals but 5 of them are on PKs.  St Louis also has 8 assists and is the chief playmaker along with Nilsson. Very good observations!

[College Soccer Observer]

Jumping over from the NESCAC thread for a moment.  Conn College and Middlebury both managed to navigate the NESCAC slate without a loss.  Conn had 5 wins and 5 ties, while Middlebury had 7 wins and 3 ties.  Middlebury finishes the regular season at 11-0-4, scoring 40 goals and only giving up 8.  They have only trailed for a total of 15 minutes all season (against Amherset in their first conference game before equalizing).  The Panthers have balanced scoring, with Jordan Saint-Louis with 8, Gavin Randolph with 6, and Tyler Payne with 5, and Colin Duggan and Luke Madden with 3 each.  The Panther defense has been rock solid, with 7 shutouts over their last 9 games.  Since giving up two goals to Vassar off corner kicks, Midd has been lights out winning headballs in the box, as evidenced by Tufts having 13 corners last weekend and generating nothing from them.  The Panthers have secured  hosting rights as long as they are alive in the NESCAC tournament, and will surely have a pool C bid awating them if they do not capture the automatic bid.  Midd will be a tough out for anyone in the postseason.

The good news is that they beat Williams and the bad news is that they have to play Williams again on Saturday.  The Ephs are very good despite being the #8 seed and they have an excellent goalie in Diffley.  Midd won the game by virtue of a penalty kick  Statistically, the game was somewhat even.  Midd had the edge 4-3 in corners.  We know corners don't always tell the story if you don't do anything with them.  See the Tufts game.  Shot wise, Midd had the edge 16 to Williams 9.  They big difference was Midd got 6 of those shots on net and Williams got none.  Grady did not have to make a save.  I know both teams are difficult to break down, but if Williams can generate some shots on net and put the pressure on Midd by scoring first, they could indeed upset the Panthers.  Also, I think Randolph and Payne are the chief scoring threats for Midd with 6 and 5 goals respectively.  St Louis has 8 goals but 5 of them are on PKs.  St Louis also has 8 assists and is the chief playmaker along with Nilsson..

Midd may have won on a pk, but they hit the post and had numerous other quality chances that Diffley saved or went just wide.  1-0 was the score, but it was closer to 3-0 than 0-0 in terms of chances created.

[coach analytics]

Jumping over from the NESCAC thread for a moment.  Conn College and Middlebury both managed to navigate the NESCAC slate without a loss.  Conn had 5 wins and 5 ties, while Middlebury had 7 wins and 3 ties.  Middlebury finishes the regular season at 11-0-4, scoring 40 goals and only giving up 8.  They have only trailed for a total of 15 minutes all season (against Amherset in their first conference game before equalizing).  The Panthers have balanced scoring, with Jordan Saint-Louis with 8, Gavin Randolph with 6, and Tyler Payne with 5, and Colin Duggan and Luke Madden with 3 each.  The Panther defense has been rock solid, with 7 shutouts over their last 9 games.  Since giving up two goals to Vassar off corner kicks, Midd has been lights out winning headballs in the box, as evidenced by Tufts having 13 corners last weekend and generating nothing from them.  The Panthers have secured  hosting rights as long as they are alive in the NESCAC tournament, and will surely have a pool C bid awating them if they do not capture the automatic bid.  Midd will be a tough out for anyone in the postseason.

The good news is that they beat Williams and the bad news is that they have to play Williams again on Saturday.  The Ephs are very good despite being the #8 seed and they have an excellent goalie in Diffley.  Midd won the game by virtue of a penalty kick  Statistically, the game was somewhat even.  Midd had the edge 4-3 in corners.  We know corners don't always tell the story if you don't do anything with them.  See the Tufts game.  Shot wise, Midd had the edge 16 to Williams 9.  They big difference was Midd got 6 of those shots on net and Williams got none.  Grady did not have to make a save.  I know both teams are difficult to break down, but if Williams can generate some shots on net and put the pressure on Midd by scoring first, they could indeed upset the Panthers.  Also, I think Randolph and Payne are the chief scoring threats for Midd with 6 and 5 goals respectively.  St Louis has 8 goals but 5 of them are on PKs.  St Louis also has 8 assists and is the chief playmaker along with Nilsson..

Midd may have won on a pk, but they hit the post and had numerous other quality chances that Diffley saved or went just wide.  1-0 was the score, but it was closer to 3-0 than 0-0 in terms of chances created.

In assessing Mid's scoring potential (and Bowdoin), I would focus on their conference results not overall results.  They played a weak out of conference schedule and put up 11 goals in one game.  Look at Amherst, Conn and Tufts hoe they schedule.  Much more competition.

[College Soccer Observer]

Jumping over from the NESCAC thread for a moment.  Conn College and Middlebury both managed to navigate the NESCAC slate without a loss.  Conn had 5 wins and 5 ties, while Middlebury had 7 wins and 3 ties.  Middlebury finishes the regular season at 11-0-4, scoring 40 goals and only giving up 8.  They have only trailed for a total of 15 minutes all season (against Amherset in their first conference game before equalizing).  The Panthers have balanced scoring, with Jordan Saint-Louis with 8, Gavin Randolph with 6, and Tyler Payne with 5, and Colin Duggan and Luke Madden with 3 each.  The Panther defense has been rock solid, with 7 shutouts over their last 9 games.  Since giving up two goals to Vassar off corner kicks, Midd has been lights out winning headballs in the box, as evidenced by Tufts having 13 corners last weekend and generating nothing from them.  The Panthers have secured  hosting rights as long as they are alive in the NESCAC tournament, and will surely have a pool C bid awating them if they do not capture the automatic bid.  Midd will be a tough out for anyone in the postseason.

The good news is that they beat Williams and the bad news is that they have to play Williams again on Saturday.  The Ephs are very good despite being the #8 seed and they have an excellent goalie in Diffley.  Midd won the game by virtue of a penalty kick  Statistically, the game was somewhat even.  Midd had the edge 4-3 in corners.  We know corners don't always tell the story if you don't do anything with them.  See the Tufts game.  Shot wise, Midd had the edge 16 to Williams 9.  They big difference was Midd got 6 of those shots on net and Williams got none.  Grady did not have to make a save.  I know both teams are difficult to break down, but if Williams can generate some shots on net and put the pressure on Midd by scoring first, they could indeed upset the Panthers.  Also, I think Randolph and Payne are the chief scoring threats for Midd with 6 and 5 goals respectively.  St Louis has 8 goals but 5 of them are on PKs.  St Louis also has 8 assists and is the chief playmaker along with Nilsson..

Midd may have won on a pk, but they hit the post and had numerous other quality chances that Diffley saved or went just wide.  1-0 was the score, but it was closer to 3-0 than 0-0 in terms of chances created.

In assessing Mid's scoring potential (and Bowdoin), I would focus on their conference results not overall results.  They played a weak out of conference schedule and put up 11 goals in one game.  Look at Amherst, Conn and Tufts hoe they schedule.  Much more competition.

Ok, lets compare apples to apples.  NESCAC games only (10 game sample for each team)
Midd 20 GF, 5 GA
Amherst 24 GF, 10 GA
Conn 17 GF, 10 GA
Tufts 17 GF, 11 GA
Bowdoin 16 GF, 7 GA
Hamilton 9 GF, 12 GA
Wesleyan 7GF, 12 GA
Williams 8 GF, 7 GA
Colby 9 GF, 18 GA
Trinity 8 GF, 21 GA
Bates 2 GF, 22 GA


Midd has the best defense and the second best offense statistically.

[Yankeesoccerdad]

Jumping over from the NESCAC thread for a moment.  Conn College and Middlebury both managed to navigate the NESCAC slate without a loss.  Conn had 5 wins and 5 ties, while Middlebury had 7 wins and 3 ties.  Middlebury finishes the regular season at 11-0-4, scoring 40 goals and only giving up 8.  They have only trailed for a total of 15 minutes all season (against Amherset in their first conference game before equalizing).  The Panthers have balanced scoring, with Jordan Saint-Louis with 8, Gavin Randolph with 6, and Tyler Payne with 5, and Colin Duggan and Luke Madden with 3 each.  The Panther defense has been rock solid, with 7 shutouts over their last 9 games.  Since giving up two goals to Vassar off corner kicks, Midd has been lights out winning headballs in the box, as evidenced by Tufts having 13 corners last weekend and generating nothing from them.  The Panthers have secured  hosting rights as long as they are alive in the NESCAC tournament, and will surely have a pool C bid awating them if they do not capture the automatic bid.  Midd will be a tough out for anyone in the postseason.

The good news is that they beat Williams and the bad news is that they have to play Williams again on Saturday.  The Ephs are very good despite being the #8 seed and they have an excellent goalie in Diffley.  Midd won the game by virtue of a penalty kick  Statistically, the game was somewhat even.  Midd had the edge 4-3 in corners.  We know corners don't always tell the story if you don't do anything with them.  See the Tufts game.  Shot wise, Midd had the edge 16 to Williams 9.  They big difference was Midd got 6 of those shots on net and Williams got none.  Grady did not have to make a save.  I know both teams are difficult to break down, but if Williams can generate some shots on net and put the pressure on Midd by scoring first, they could indeed upset the Panthers.  Also, I think Randolph and Payne are the chief scoring threats for Midd with 6 and 5 goals respectively.  St Louis has 8 goals but 5 of them are on PKs.  St Louis also has 8 assists and is the chief playmaker along with Nilsson..

Midd may have won on a pk, but they hit the post and had numerous other quality chances that Diffley saved or went just wide.  1-0 was the score, but it was closer to 3-0 than 0-0 in terms of chances created.

In assessing Mid's scoring potential (and Bowdoin), I would focus on their conference results not overall results.  They played a weak out of conference schedule and put up 11 goals in one game.  Look at Amherst, Conn and Tufts hoe they schedule.  Much more competition.

This is true but not in a meaningful way.  Midd and Bowdoin are 10 and 11 in SOS.  The other three NESCACs mentioned are 2, 5 and 6.

The comments on Williams are interesting.  Like Conn last year, Williams had an off year after being in the tournament final the year before.  Conn made it to the NESCAC final last year as the #8 seed, advancing on PKs in the first round against #1 seed Bowdoin.  Midd is very strong, but anything can happen.

[WUPHF]

Blackburn had just one win going in to the game yesterday against Division I Saint Louis University, but after getting thoroughly destroyed, they rebounded today to upset SLIAC rival Eureka, 4-2.

[Bucket]

Jumping over from the NESCAC thread for a moment.  Conn College and Middlebury both managed to navigate the NESCAC slate without a loss.  Conn had 5 wins and 5 ties, while Middlebury had 7 wins and 3 ties.  Middlebury finishes the regular season at 11-0-4, scoring 40 goals and only giving up 8.  They have only trailed for a total of 15 minutes all season (against Amherset in their first conference game before equalizing).  The Panthers have balanced scoring, with Jordan Saint-Louis with 8, Gavin Randolph with 6, and Tyler Payne with 5, and Colin Duggan and Luke Madden with 3 each.  The Panther defense has been rock solid, with 7 shutouts over their last 9 games.  Since giving up two goals to Vassar off corner kicks, Midd has been lights out winning headballs in the box, as evidenced by Tufts having 13 corners last weekend and generating nothing from them.  The Panthers have secured  hosting rights as long as they are alive in the NESCAC tournament, and will surely have a pool C bid awating them if they do not capture the automatic bid.  Midd will be a tough out for anyone in the postseason.

The good news is that they beat Williams and the bad news is that they have to play Williams again on Saturday.  The Ephs are very good despite being the #8 seed and they have an excellent goalie in Diffley.  Midd won the game by virtue of a penalty kick  Statistically, the game was somewhat even.  Midd had the edge 4-3 in corners.  We know corners don't always tell the story if you don't do anything with them.  See the Tufts game.  Shot wise, Midd had the edge 16 to Williams 9.  They big difference was Midd got 6 of those shots on net and Williams got none.  Grady did not have to make a save.  I know both teams are difficult to break down, but if Williams can generate some shots on net and put the pressure on Midd by scoring first, they could indeed upset the Panthers.  Also, I think Randolph and Payne are the chief scoring threats for Midd with 6 and 5 goals respectively.  St Louis has 8 goals but 5 of them are on PKs.  St Louis also has 8 assists and is the chief playmaker along with Nilsson..

Midd may have won on a pk, but they hit the post and had numerous other quality chances that Diffley saved or went just wide.  1-0 was the score, but it was closer to 3-0 than 0-0 in terms of chances created.

In assessing Mid's scoring potential (and Bowdoin), I would focus on their conference results not overall results.  They played a weak out of conference schedule and put up 11 goals in one game.  Look at Amherst, Conn and Tufts hoe they schedule.  Much more competition.

It's also A LOT easier to schedule quality out-of-conference games when you are in Mass Or Conn. Getting any team to come to Vermont is a chore, especially mid-week. Same goes for mid-week travel from Vermont.

It's not like Middlebury doesn't want to face good competition.

[PaulNewman]

The tension, protective stances towards one's favored team, relatively minor but annoyed and/or confused takes, and the attempted nuances to gain some small edge all signal that things are getting real.  It's tourney time.  Best time of year but also a strain on those like myself who suffer from anxiety. 

Middlebury has had an outstanding season and clearly has a great team.  The Panthers are mature and appear to be locked in.  They seem very aware that they have a good chance, but now they have to finish the job.  They certainly are among the half-dozen or so teams with the best chances to reach the Final Four and win a national title.  Amherst and Conn are in that mix, along with Messiah.  Mary Washington is in that mix.  Calvin might be in that mix.  We'll have to wait and see if others are at or can reach that level...thinking of a few teams like F&M (maybe finally their year?), Emory, Cortland, maybe St Olaf.  Then there are very good teams like Bowdoin, Tufts, maybe JCU if they can rebound...that are very capable of making a run and possibly winning a title.  There may be a few others and I'm probably missing one or two obvious choices.

The neutral side of me is hoping we get some fantastic Sweet 16 and Elite 8 duels.  Would love to an Elite 8 matchup with Messiah and Midd or Amherst.  I think last year's Messiah game with Williams that went to PKs may be the only time a NESCAC has faced the Falcons since the infamous 2014 encounter with the Jumbos.

Other than possibly Messiah, I don't think there is a Chicago like last year.  What were they?  Like 22-0-1?  With a monster schedule and usually total domination of opponents.  And btw, don't rule out Chicago either.

[D-Three Fan]

It is going to be an interesting final day of the season in the Ohio Athletic Conference. Otterbein enters Saturday at 7-0-1, Ohio Northern 6-1-1, and Mount Union 6-1-1. Otterbein plays Mount Union and ONU travels to Marietta. During the regular season the Bears drew with Otterbein and beat Mount Union. It is going to make for a great OAC Conference Tournament--especially if John Carroll recovers their form.

[Kuiper]

Occidental jumps past Redlands to first in the SCIAC with a 2-1 win over them this evening.  Oxy has been struggling a bit down the stretch (this is only their second win in the last six games), and they still doesn't seem to have the offensive firepower they had at the start of the season, but they've now beaten Redlands twice.  Of course, watch them lose to La Verne on Saturday.

[PaulNewman]

One could argue that the radar has been under the radar, but even still there are some prominent teams that mostly have flown under the radar for most of the season to the present.

First, Mary Washington.  Much of the season at #2 and otherwise inside of the top 5.  Fantastic season, validating that last year was no fluke.  Will be a tough out regardless of who they face and extremely difficult to keep Kirkland and Berg off the scoreboard for an entire match.

Second, congrats to Otterbein...not even regionally ranked two weeks ago, and now a virtual lock for a Pool C if needed, picking up another ranked win today against new juggernaut Mt Union (and a nice SoS boost in the process).  Going unbeaten in the OAC is no easy feat.  Tons of credit to University of Kentucky grad Jason Griffiths who had a cup of coffee with the NE Revolution before wrecking a knee....and to the Isaac family who have been staples in the program dating back to the 1970s.

Third, there's Calvin...ho hum, another stellar year for one of the top 5 programs for more than a decade.

Fourth, Emory, a squad that already had the UAA AQ in hand before suffering a 1-0 loss at Chicago today. 

Fifth, North Central...and sixth, Carleton. 

Other than maybe Mary Wash and Calvin, I doubt most fans know much at all about the others in terms of key players, playing style, etc.