Early season must see games?

[SKUD]

We are 17 days from the joy of D3 soccer.  What early game(s) are you excited for?

9/1 NYU v Montclair
9/1 Chicago v St Olaf
9/2 OWU v Calvin
9/2 Lynchburg v CNU
9/2 Messiah v Catholic
Are just some of the great early games. Add yours!

Also found a place that has the schedule. Did not check for accuracy: https://masseyratings.com/csoc/ncaa-d3/games?dt=20230902

[stlawus]

9/1 Vassar @ West Conn

9/1 Cortland @ Rochester

9/3 Cortland @ SLU

[Gotberg]

I'm not sure what constitutes early, but I like the NPU / Chicago game on 9/12.

[EnmoreCat]

There's really only one for me, 09-September, Amherst is at Midd and I will be there.  Can't wait!

[Kuiper]

From the first weekend, not already mentioned

9/1 Pacific Lutheran @ Colorado College (the other big game in Region X along with St. Thomas v. Willamette below)
9/2 Stevens @ F&M (the NCAA 3rd round match that never happened b/c of Cortland's win over F&M in PKs)
9/3 Chicago @ Gustavus Adolphus (NCAA QF rematch)
9/3 John Carroll @ Kenyon (tough opening weekend for Travis Wall with Kenyon @ Ohio Northern on Friday 9/1)
9/3 Johns Hopkins @ Mary Washington (rematch of last year's early season game, won by Hopkins 1-0)
9/3 St. Thomas v. Willamette @Southwestern (chance to establish superiority from the get-go in Region X among two of the best teams last year)

One other early-season, mid-week, game that I think is intriguing:

9/5 Connecticut College @ University of Hartford.

The is Hartford's first game in DIII after playing DI last year.  I don't know how many on the team's roster have remained at the school, but I imagine there will be some who were promised more playing time, who were juniors and just want to finish up their last year at the school, or who were freshman and knew coming in that the team would transition to DIII.  The team was winless last year, no doubt in part because of departures after the DIII announcement, so it may be that the strongest players from the previous year who had the ability to transfer already did so and the bulk of the team returns.  Despite finishing 0-14, Massey ranks Hartford #58 coming into the season.  So, this game is less interesting for the matchup (although it theoretically might provide a peek at a top DIII against a bottom DI) and more for what Hartford will look like this season.   

[PaulNewman]

9/3 John Carroll @ Kenyon (tough opening weekend for Travis Wall with Kenyon @ Ohio Northern on Friday 9/1)

And after the ONU/JCU top-of-the-OAC opening weekend gauntlet, one would be hard-pressed to match the 9/10 drama in Gambier with the Owls and Wall hosting St Olaf, the program that Wall just departed after elevating St Olaf to rarified air.  He will still know the St Olaf players better than the Kenyon lads.  Two days earlier, Kenyon hosts Hanover and OWU hosts the Oles.

[PaulNewman]

SKUD, thanks for doing this and especially for potentially locating a place to see a master schedule.

Some additional PN sleepers from opening weekend only...

9/1

CWRU-Otterbein
Centre-Hanover
Berry-CNU
Covenant-Emory
Roanoke-Denison
Geneseo-SLU
OWU-Hope
RUN-Leb Vall
Lynchburg-Hardin Simmons
M Hardin-Baylor-Rhodes
RPI-Mary Wash
Scranton-Muhlenberg
TX Luth-Oxy
Oglethorpe-W&L
RWU-Emerson
St Thomas-Pomona Pitzer
St Joes-Babson
Brockport-RIT
Coast Grd-Widener
MIT-Haverford
UT Dallas-Wheaton (MA)
Manhattanville-Stevens

9/2

Skidmore-Geneseo
KZoo-WI-Platteville
St Mary's (MD)-Rowan
Gettysburg-Sewanee
W&L-Emory


9/3

TX Luth-Cal Luth
Roanoke-Capital
Wooster-CWRU
Muhlenberg-Hobart
WPI-UMass Boston
NC Wesleyan-RPI
Berry-Virginia Wesleyan
Wash U-Rose Hulman
RUN-Etown
Wheaton (MA)-St Joes
Brandeis-ECSU
Coast Grd-Swat
MIT-Scranton
UT Dallas-Babson
Pomona Pitzer-Trinity (TX)

Sleeper upset alerts in bold

[College Soccer Observer]

There's really only one for me, 09-September, Amherst is at Midd and I will be there.  Can't wait!

Enmore Cat--Looking forward to seeing you again!  We will be there as well.

[EnmoreCat]

There's really only one for me, 09-September, Amherst is at Midd and I will be there.  Can't wait!

Enmore Cat--Looking forward to seeing you again!  We will be there as well.

Fantastic! Should be an epic

[WUPHF]

Wash U-Rose Hulman

Sleeper upset alerts in bold

I like both Washington University road games at Illinois Wesleyan and Rose-Hulman as good games and early sleeper upset alerts.  It will be interesting to see how the Bears do with a new GK and a fair amount of young talent to go along with the veterans.

[Gregory Sager]

Wash U-Rose Hulman

Sleeper upset alerts in bold

I like both Washington University road games at Illinois Wesleyan and Rose-Hulman as good games and early sleeper upset alerts.  It will be interesting to see how the Bears do with a new GK and a fair amount of young talent to go along with the veterans.

Illinois Wesleyan is picked to finish seventh in the nine-team CCIW's preseason coaches poll. Of course, a preseason poll and $1.89 will buy you a medium coffee at Dunkin' Donuts. Just thought I'd mention it, anyway.

[WUPHF]

Illinois Wesleyan is picked to finish seventh in the nine-team CCIW's preseason coaches poll. Of course, a preseason poll and $1.89 will buy you a medium coffee at Dunkin' Donuts. Just thought I'd mention it, anyway.

Thanks, yeah, I would not have the game as a must-see, but I am good with the good, early upset alert tag.

The Bears lost four starters in addition to their all-American goal keeper so who knows?

They did pick up a graduate transfer midfielder from Division I powerhouse Saint Louis University which is intriguing (the guy did play minutes here and there).

[FCGrizzliesGrad]

Here's all the matchups between Massey top 100 teams (which should be taken with a large chunk of salt) for the first week

Friday 9/1
#2 Chicago @ #9 St Olaf
#11 NYU @ #31 Montclair St
#4 Kenyon @ #49 Ohio Northern
#20 Cortland @ #48 Rochester
#74 RPI @ #13 Mary Washington
#41 CWRU @ #54 Otterbein
#28 Pacific Lutheran @ #77 Colorado College
#59 Roanoke @ #61 Denison
#44 Vassar @ #78 West Conn
#72 Texas Lutheran @ #55 Occidental
#66 Carthage @ #67 Macalester
#51 Willamette @ #88 Southwestern
#81 Drew vs #60 New Paltz
#62 Coast Guard @ #87 Widener
#99 Covenant @ #57 Emory
#85 Brockport @ #80 RIT

Saturday 9/2
#1 Messiah @ #24 Catholic
#22 Stevens @ #30 Franklin & Marshall
#38 Lynchburg @ #17 Christopher Newport
#37 Ohio Wesleyan @ #25 Calvin
#10 Washington & Lee @ #57 Emory

Sunday 9/3
#2 Chicago @ #19 Gustavus Adolphus
#15 Johns Hopkins @ #13 Mary Washington
#26 John Carroll @ #4 Kenyon
#20 Cortland @ #45 St Lawrence
#23 St. Thomas vs #51 Willamette
#62 Coast Guard @ #76 Swarthmore
#46 WPI @ #96 Mass-Boston
#72 Texas Lutheran @ #71 Cal Lutheran
#65 Rutgers-Newark @ #84 Elizabethtown
#92 Misericordia @ #69 Lycoming

Monday 9/4
#48 Rochester @ #98 Alvernia

Tuesday 9/5
#43 Wheaton (MA) @ #5 Williams
#6 Connecticut College @ #58 Hartford
#10 Washington & Lee vs #64 Stockton
#47 Luther @ #70 WI Platteville

Wednesday 9/6
#11 NYU @ #14 Wesleyan
#15 Johns Hopkins @ #33 Rowan
#39 WI Eau Claire @ #67 Macalester
#73 Brandeis @ #46 WPI
#34 Washington (MD) @ #94 York (PA)
#81 Drew @ #78 West Conn
#87 Widener @ #76 Swarthmore

Thursday 9/7
#26 John Carroll @ #86 Carnegie Mellon

[Gregory Sager]

Illinois Wesleyan is picked to finish seventh in the nine-team CCIW's preseason coaches poll. Of course, a preseason poll and $1.89 will buy you a medium coffee at Dunkin' Donuts. Just thought I'd mention it, anyway.

Thanks, yeah, I would not have the game as a must-see, but I am good with the good, early upset alert tag.

The Bears lost four starters in addition to their all-American goal keeper so who knows?

They did pick up a graduate transfer midfielder from Division I powerhouse Saint Louis University which is intriguing (the guy did play minutes here and there).

Bears @ Titans might be more of an upset consideration if it was played later in the season, when IWU's natural grass Neis Field typically turns into an ankle-bending cow pasture. It's the last remaining grass pitch in the CCIW, and Illinois Wesleyan is notorious for not keeping it up very well during the season. One of the first things I do every year when the North Park schedule comes out is to see if the Vikings are playing at Neis that year, and, if so, how late in the season is the visit. This year NPU will travel down to Blo-No on October 14, deep enough into the season for me to say a prayer that the Vikings all return home with their lower extremities intact.

[WUPHF]

That is hilarious, but also sad.  I did not realize they did not play soccer in the historic football stadium. 

Also, Illinois Wesleyan has been worse than I thought, having dropped off a bit, post-pandemic.  I stand corrected.