2023 NCAA Tournament

[Freddyfud]

FEAR THE GOOSE!

[Newenglander]

1 NESCAC down, 3 to go

that's the spirit.....

[stlawus]

Would definitely have been a penalty if he made contact but he went right under him, at least that's what I saw.  I used the frame by frame function, so it looked pretty clear to me. 

[Another Mom]

And here I was telling all the W&L parents that the d3 boards gave us a 5% chance of winning . . .

[SierraFD3soccer]

FEAR THE GOOSE!

Hahaha, It is a Maryland team!!  Just quality.

[Buck O.]

Would definitely have been a penalty if he made contact but he went right under him, at least that's what I saw.  I used the frame by frame function, so it looked pretty clear to me.

Interesting. I'm at Bello, although I was about 75 yards away from the play, and without the benefit of replay, it certainly looked like a PK to me. Based on your description, well done by the ref.

[College Soccer Observer]

Enmore Litten with the header goal. 1-0 Amherst with 4 min left in OT

[stlawus]

Apparently you're now allowed to bear hug the guy marking you in the box?  That CB had the Oxy defender wrapped in both arms on that header.

[Bucket]

Apparently you're now allowed to bear hug the guy marking you in the box?  That CB had the Oxy defender wrapped in both arms on that header.

Yep.

[EnmoreCat]

Amherst 1 Occidental 0

One of the Amherst Ultras described today's weather in Western MA as, "balmy", but I didn't see many in attendance who weren't dressed warmly.  The curator had done some wonderful work and TBTTIHF looked an absolute picture and of course, provided a super surface for a sweet sixteen epic.  Occidental didn't just bring a big support, they brought noise (oh those vuvezelas – they ruined a world cup in South Africa) and most importantly a very good team.  The Tigers play with serious confidence and their keeper naturally drops the ball at his defender's feet and they do their stuff.  I was curious how that would hold up in the face of what can be a rugged Mammoths press, but for much of the first half, it wasn't quite as co-ordinated as I have seen it and Oxxy was able to bring the ball out without too much trouble.  That didn't translate into many chances, but there was one very good save by the Amherst keeper and also one from the Tiger's.  Net net, at half time, I would have thought the Oxxy coach would have been the happier as they had largely handled what the Mammoths had thrown at them.  From an Amherst perspective, the positive was that it was a clean sheet (that's a central defender's dad talking) and that the team could play better.  There were a couple of penalty claims from Amherst for which I couldn't make an obvious case for, but it was just a reminder that the Mammoths have a number of players who are difficult to contain in the box.

That felt more relevant as Amherst started the second half with a more active press and more energy in general, but without an end product.  Occidental then proceeded to get back into the game and had a run of at least three consecutive corners, but the Mammoths defence held up pretty well and whilst there were nervous moments, that's all they were.  Towards the end, Amherst had a couple of gilt-edged chances after some good quality set up play, but sadly, they weren't converted.  With the game going into Operating Thetan time, there was always that fear that maybe those might come back to haunt.

Operating Thetan time seemed to pass very quickly and I was already mentally preparing myself for a penalty shoot out.  For those wondering what that involves, it's basically me hiding under a blanket and hoping for the best.  Fortunately, with just four minutes to go in the second half of Operating Thetan time, the Amherst captain, keen to prolong his career for another day, found sufficient energy in his leg to propel a free kick to the other side of the penalty area.  It's well documented that Amherst uses set pieces, EnmoreKitten was given something to work with and arrowed a header back in adjacent to the right hand post.  I woke up most of downtown (and probably uptown) Enmore with my shriek of delight.  Cue absolute mayhem and with a couple of minutes to see out, Amherst eventually moved on to the elite eight.

On balance, albeit one with a purple heart still pumping hard, I think Amherst deserved the win, but it must be said that Occidental  were excellent and their travelling band of supporters should feel justifiably proud of how the team played today.  I don't think I have seen too many teams, NESCAC or otherwise, prepared to play the ball out from so deeply and whilst there are invariably some hairy moments attached to that, once past the first line, there was space to work with.  The Tigers didn't seem to be phased by much at all and are a credit to all associated with them.

It goes without saying that my theme of Amherst "Efficiency" continues on and a sixth 1-0 win and a fifth clean sheet in seven tells you how difficult the white shirts are to beat.  At this stage of the season, aesthetics do go out of the window to a degree and it becomes about finding a way to win.  Whatever comes next, it's one step further than last year, with the door open for more, but irrespective, this correspondent is very proud of what this group of young men has achieved.

All week I have been trying to work out how to put a reference from Kim Wilde's "Kids In America" into this summary, but of course, "East California" is a long way away from Occidental.  I will keep working on it...

Foul Count: Amherst 13 Occidental 14

[dacac]

The announcer for the Conn v. Montclair game is a good 2 seconds ahead of play - makes for a tough watch. I assume this was also the case for the UMW/Washington match?

[jknezek]

Well I said heading in to the tournament W&L got a good draw with their home pod. I also said they hadn't beaten a solid top 25 team all season. Now they've beaten 2 in a row in regular time. This is Tufts 4th home loss since the start of the 2017 season. Any win on their turf is an excellent win. And can I just say it feels really good to eliminate a NESCAC team after being knocked out by NESCAC teams 2 of the last 3 tournaments?

The three tournament matchups are W&L's only 3 games against NESCAC opponents, not overly surprising as W&L was mostly absent from the national scene, except for a Sweet Sixteen appearance in 2000, until Coach Singleton arrived. So I guess it's nice to break that ice as well, as shallow as it might be.

Congratulations Generals. I'll be driving tomorrow, but you better believe I'll be keeping an eye on the game. Probably make my wife drive that part of the trip!

[Freddyfud]

The announcer for the Conn v. Montclair game is a good 2 seconds ahead of play - makes for a tough watch. I assume this was also the case for the UMW/Washington match?

Yes.  But the sun was also higher so no glare like in this match.

Didn't bother Lukovic though just now.

[Hopkins Walk-On]

The announcer for the Conn v. Montclair game is a good 2 seconds ahead of play - makes for a tough watch. I assume this was also the case for the UMW/Washington match?

Yes, same for earlier match. Was/is very discombobulating. Plus the prismatic camera. I hate watching games from UMW.

[flyingdutchman]

Phenomenal no call by the ref at the end of the Tufts-WL game.   Tufts wanted a penalty and he sold it well, but on the replay he wasn't even touched.

Please get your eyes checked. I am not sure what game you were watching but that penalty was clear as day. I saw it live on the stream and rewatched it multiple times. He gets zero ball, if he had gotten any of the ball it would have changed direction. His cleat does not go under 11's leg, it goes right into him.

https://tuftsjumbocast.com/. Minute 3:17 of the game or 1:45:15 of youtube video, if you want to see it yourself.