2023 NCAA Tournament

[saint_forever]

Years prior Amherst had been criticized for being the lowest of low when it comes to class. Justin Serpone is about as classless and fake as they come. After games he pretends to be emotional and praising of the opponent when he spends the entire game being deranged and low class. Amherst College loves to make videos about "what makes Amherst special", and then you see scenes like this where a kid who hasn't even got a jersey and is riding the bench the whole year waiving goodbye to opposing fans. I have zero problem with giving it back when someone gives it to you, but can't imagine the Middlebury parents were too worried about the actions of a benchwarmer. Big CB for Amherst from Australia loves to be low brow, did it last year against SLU. Serpone is running a sheep factory of kids who all act the same with zero individuality, which includes being classless in reality, and "humbled" in interviews.

[SKUD]

Ejay I think we have all had a moment similar to the one you described. I think what most people can't understand/stomach is when will Amherst have that regret that you had?  When will they learn?  When will they be better people?

IMO they won't until there is change in leadership. Because it is either Coached or not discouraged.  And we all know that Dr Evil/ Mini-Me Serpone is first to cry when it gets done to Amherst.

[soccerpapa]

Anyone know how to find a full game replay?  I have never seen amherst play but I am now interested in seeing a game.   

If indeed there were racial slurs from the opposing fans why wasn't this addressed by amherst - they were hosting.

[mngopher]

My coach education classes are taught by a long time MIAC head coach. He said a couple things as part of the most recent class that stuck with me and seem relevant here.

1) He shared a Cheryl Reeve (head coach of MN Lynx of the WNBA) quote that goes "As a coach, you get what you accept." Rings very true in many aspects of coaching.

2) It was a 3 day class, and in order to teach it he had to miss coaching a game for his son's team. (I think approx 10-12 years old.) He shared with the class that he had to take a call at our lunch break from the coach filling in for him to let him know that one of the players on his son's team got two yellow cards in the game. I think one was for aggressive play and one for taunting. He told us about the punishment he was planning for the kid which I think was an extra half game suspension on top of the red card suspension plus writing a letter to his team about why what he did was wrong. The thing he said that stuck with me was "The kid never would have done that if I was there."

Moral of the story: Kids, whether they be 10 or 20, will push the envelope as far as they think the person in charge will let them get away with.

[SKUD]

It stinks from the head of the fish!

[GKForverr1]

Anyone know how to find a full game replay?  I have never seen amherst play but I am now interested in seeing a game.   

If indeed there were racial slurs from the opposing fans why wasn't this addressed by amherst - they were hosting.

If you search NESCAC Watch and select Amherst and pay the monthly fee of 11 dollars and some odd cents you can see this specific game. If you YouTube Amherst there are plenty of full game replays that show their style of play.

[soccerpapa]

Thanks for info - wont be paying but will search YouTube

I thought as part of hosting you were expected to make the games available without charge/fees but I guess I am wrong on that

[College Soccer Observer]

The livestream is free while the game is going on.  The on demand watch back later is what they charge for.

[FBALLISLIFE]

Former Amherst Soccer player weighing in here on my first ever D3 Soccer post (used to have a lot more to post about in the D3Hoops forums, but for obvious reasons, that flame has flickered out like the Encanto house and I am ready for the rebuild). Familiar with Bucket and a couple other names that are loyal to D3 athletics.

I have some answers to a few of the questions being tossed around on the boards:

Q: What happened in the 1H when Coach Serpone was upset with the officials and there was a prolonged stoppage?
A: One of Middlebury's players called Amherst's gay athlete the slur "fagg*t". As has been the case in the past, the most passionate version of Coach Serpone is when an opposing player uses hate speech directed towards one of his players. I don't remember what year or game, but ~5 years ago something similar happened in conference play with the n-word. The haters may say that this is a coaching tactic/antic to fire up his team... and they would be wrong. Coach Serpone has built an incredibly successful program that is built on love. The players love each other and the coach loves the players like his own children. Most of you are parents. If someone attacks your kid, you will probably be upset about it. Pretty sure the initiating slur also goes against that NESCAC sportsmanship statement.

Q: Why was the game chippy?
A: Because the NESCAC has become the overpowering force in D3 soccer for the past ~10 years after taking the torch from Messiah's epic run. Middlebury got one during Messiah's reign back in 2007 which started it, Amherst won one, Tufts was ridiculously good and impressive winning 4, and Conn took home a title. Williams and Bowdoin are perennially in the mix, and you can't sleep on Wesleyan or Trinity some years. 6 of the last 8 national champions are from the NESCAC and the last 3 runner-ups are also NESCAC. So when you get a NESCAC vs. NESCAC NCAA game, it may as well be the National Championship game, and all the players on both teams know this. Midd is always the most physical team in the league and it's not surprising their leaders committed hard fouls in the 1H. That works for them and I don't knock them for a second for their aggressive play. Let the referees handle the on-field action and hopefully no one gets hurt. But it is an absolute war for 90 minutes in an elimination game between conference opponents who both have what it takes to win it all. You go all out. The final whistle blows. You are happy to advance and send the other team home. I am sure all three of the remaining teams are amazing, but as a fan, I am relieved it is not a Midd->Tufts->Conn path. Had Midd won today, they would have to be favorites in Salem.

It sounds like Amherst was the better side today, stifling the Middlebury offense and winning 1-0 despite also not converting a PK. Soccer can be cruel, glad the better team won.

Post game activities
Appreciate the YouTube link! Three sections here:
1) In that video, you've got a handful of kids waving/clapping good bye to the Middlebury fan side of the field. This is trivial and takes place at every intense rivalry of every sport at every high level. Please watch this Saturday's Ohio St / Michigan game, which has similar stakes to today's soccer game. Whoever pulls away or wins it at the end will have 5 guys doing the exact same thing to the opposing fan section in the Big House. Watch Carolina/Duke in hoops and same thing. This is not a culture problem, parenting problem, or coaching problem. This is kids that work their butt off in a war for 90 mins and get to send their haters home. Good call on LSU/Iowa too (everyone loves Caitlin Clarke and no coaches were fired, players suspended, parents attacked, etc for the reciprocal clapping by the LSU squad). Good sports talk show and ESPN.com content. And apparently good message board content. This is sports.
2) Nuhu is heated. He is trying to cross the line and engage, potentially physically, with the Midd sideline, but is restrained. Glad he was restrained. Applause to the leadership and teammates that held back the first year from making a bad decision. Also, who knows what he endured throughout the game. I think it is fair to say from other testimonials on this message board that it was unusual behavior for him, so he's not a guy who psyches himself up by going crazy at opposing fans. Verbal on verbal back and forth that almost gets out of hand also happens sometimes across sports. At the professional level, it usually results in slap-on-the-wrist fines. At the D1 NCAA level, usually nothing. Players are subjected to all sorts of crazy hazing during games such as commentary about your sister/s, girlfriend, ex-girlfriend, mom, race, sexual orientation, and then the brute "you f-ing suck number twenty-one!" over and over again. This could have escalated, glad it didn't. I would be remiss not to remind folks that when Williams fell at the buzzer in the 2004 basketball National Championship game a year after winning it all in 2003, their senior 1st Team AA PG did not hug his brothers or shake opponents' hands, but rather Crotty ran to the Amherst cheering section and made gestures and started cussing back and forth with them. Amherst wasn't even in the title game that year. Still puts a smile on my face. Maybe today's Midd fans will smile knowing they got under the skin of Nuhu so much that they were priority #1 for him after the win rather than celebrating with his teammates. Moving on.
3) The air-jerk reserve for Amherst. Okay, yeah I am on the message boards side on this one...and apparently Amherst College is as well as he has already been suspended for the National Semi-Finals. That was dumb, classless, etc. Especially since he wasn't even marquee in the battle which means he wasn't getting it from the Midd students for 90 mins. Apologies to the Midd sideline (females especially) for that. College kids do stupid things sometimes.

The rest of the NESCAC hates Coach Serpone, as evidenced by his 1 COY award. If that's the cost for building a program that has won ~40% of league titles, made it to the Sweet 16 100% of his time coaching, and now 5 Final Fours in 16 years, I think he is good with that tradeoff. His players absolutely love him.

I was at the 2019 and 2021 National Championship games were we lost to Tufts 2-0 and Conn 1-1 in PKs. Two wars. Great sportsmanship by both teams. Tufts couldn't have been bothered less to win another natty, so that was just a flat ending to the game and they deserved the W. The Conn ending was the same as today's ending. 3-4 Conn kids waving home our sideline and alum section as they ran to celebrate the winning PK taker. No fans on on our side cared. They won. They celebrated. They shook our hands and we shook their hands and then we consoled our brothers. That match was cruel.

Amherst and Middlebury soccer do not like one another. It has been this way for 20+ years and will probably be this way for another 20+ years. Thus, the beauty of sports.

Curious... who was the gentleman with the beard in the YouTube clip also waiving to the Midd fans?  He's not dressed to play, and he's out in front of the players at 1:32, taunting the parents.  Is that Asst Coach Ortega?

[Newenglander]

Former Amherst Soccer player weighing in here on my first ever D3 Soccer post (used to have a lot more to post about in the D3Hoops forums, but for obvious reasons, that flame has flickered out like the Encanto house and I am ready for the rebuild). Familiar with Bucket and a couple other names that are loyal to D3 athletics.

I have some answers to a few of the questions being tossed around on the boards:

Q: What happened in the 1H when Coach Serpone was upset with the officials and there was a prolonged stoppage?
A: One of Middlebury's players called Amherst's gay athlete the slur "fagg*t". As has been the case in the past, the most passionate version of Coach Serpone is when an opposing player uses hate speech directed towards one of his players. I don't remember what year or game, but ~5 years ago something similar happened in conference play with the n-word. The haters may say that this is a coaching tactic/antic to fire up his team... and they would be wrong. Coach Serpone has built an incredibly successful program that is built on love. The players love each other and the coach loves the players like his own children. Most of you are parents. If someone attacks your kid, you will probably be upset about it. Pretty sure the initiating slur also goes against that NESCAC sportsmanship statement.

Q: Why was the game chippy?
A: Because the NESCAC has become the overpowering force in D3 soccer for the past ~10 years after taking the torch from Messiah's epic run. Middlebury got one during Messiah's reign back in 2007 which started it, Amherst won one, Tufts was ridiculously good and impressive winning 4, and Conn took home a title. Williams and Bowdoin are perennially in the mix, and you can't sleep on Wesleyan or Trinity some years. 6 of the last 8 national champions are from the NESCAC and the last 3 runner-ups are also NESCAC. So when you get a NESCAC vs. NESCAC NCAA game, it may as well be the National Championship game, and all the players on both teams know this. Midd is always the most physical team in the league and it's not surprising their leaders committed hard fouls in the 1H. That works for them and I don't knock them for a second for their aggressive play. Let the referees handle the on-field action and hopefully no one gets hurt. But it is an absolute war for 90 minutes in an elimination game between conference opponents who both have what it takes to win it all. You go all out. The final whistle blows. You are happy to advance and send the other team home. I am sure all three of the remaining teams are amazing, but as a fan, I am relieved it is not a Midd->Tufts->Conn path. Had Midd won today, they would have to be favorites in Salem.

It sounds like Amherst was the better side today, stifling the Middlebury offense and winning 1-0 despite also not converting a PK. Soccer can be cruel, glad the better team won.

Post game activities
Appreciate the YouTube link! Three sections here:
1) In that video, you've got a handful of kids waving/clapping good bye to the Middlebury fan side of the field. This is trivial and takes place at every intense rivalry of every sport at every high level. Please watch this Saturday's Ohio St / Michigan game, which has similar stakes to today's soccer game. Whoever pulls away or wins it at the end will have 5 guys doing the exact same thing to the opposing fan section in the Big House. Watch Carolina/Duke in hoops and same thing. This is not a culture problem, parenting problem, or coaching problem. This is kids that work their butt off in a war for 90 mins and get to send their haters home. Good call on LSU/Iowa too (everyone loves Caitlin Clarke and no coaches were fired, players suspended, parents attacked, etc for the reciprocal clapping by the LSU squad). Good sports talk show and ESPN.com content. And apparently good message board content. This is sports.
2) Nuhu is heated. He is trying to cross the line and engage, potentially physically, with the Midd sideline, but is restrained. Glad he was restrained. Applause to the leadership and teammates that held back the first year from making a bad decision. Also, who knows what he endured throughout the game. I think it is fair to say from other testimonials on this message board that it was unusual behavior for him, so he's not a guy who psyches himself up by going crazy at opposing fans. Verbal on verbal back and forth that almost gets out of hand also happens sometimes across sports. At the professional level, it usually results in slap-on-the-wrist fines. At the D1 NCAA level, usually nothing. Players are subjected to all sorts of crazy hazing during games such as commentary about your sister/s, girlfriend, ex-girlfriend, mom, race, sexual orientation, and then the brute "you f-ing suck number twenty-one!" over and over again. This could have escalated, glad it didn't. I would be remiss not to remind folks that when Williams fell at the buzzer in the 2004 basketball National Championship game a year after winning it all in 2003, their senior 1st Team AA PG did not hug his brothers or shake opponents' hands, but rather Crotty ran to the Amherst cheering section and made gestures and started cussing back and forth with them. Amherst wasn't even in the title game that year. Still puts a smile on my face. Maybe today's Midd fans will smile knowing they got under the skin of Nuhu so much that they were priority #1 for him after the win rather than celebrating with his teammates. Moving on.
3) The air-jerk reserve for Amherst. Okay, yeah I am on the message boards side on this one...and apparently Amherst College is as well as he has already been suspended for the National Semi-Finals. That was dumb, classless, etc. Especially since he wasn't even marquee in the battle which means he wasn't getting it from the Midd students for 90 mins. Apologies to the Midd sideline (females especially) for that. College kids do stupid things sometimes.

The rest of the NESCAC hates Coach Serpone, as evidenced by his 1 COY award. If that's the cost for building a program that has won ~40% of league titles, made it to the Sweet 16 100% of his time coaching, and now 5 Final Fours in 16 years, I think he is good with that tradeoff. His players absolutely love him.

I was at the 2019 and 2021 National Championship games were we lost to Tufts 2-0 and Conn 1-1 in PKs. Two wars. Great sportsmanship by both teams. Tufts couldn't have been bothered less to win another natty, so that was just a flat ending to the game and they deserved the W. The Conn ending was the same as today's ending. 3-4 Conn kids waving home our sideline and alum section as they ran to celebrate the winning PK taker. No fans on on our side cared. They won. They celebrated. They shook our hands and we shook their hands and then we consoled our brothers. That match was cruel.

Amherst and Middlebury soccer do not like one another. It has been this way for 20+ years and will probably be this way for another 20+ years. Thus, the beauty of sports.

Curious... who was the gentleman with the beard in the YouTube clip also waiving to the Midd fans?  He's not dressed to play, and he's out in front of the players at 1:32, taunting the parents.  Is that Asst Coach Ortega?

I didn't think it was an active player at first glance.  I appreciate the former player angle put think its may be seen through a pair of purple colored glasses...I struggle with the thought that if Serpone's ire was toward inappropriate behavior aimed at his players why there wasn't a stoppage/warning to the Midd team at a minimum - clearly within the NCAA/NESCAC's code to enforce........that staff wears out the 4th official every game I've watched.

[SierraFD3soccer]

Curious... who was the gentleman with the beard in the YouTube clip also waiving to the Midd fans?  He's not dressed to play, and he's out in front of the players at 1:32, taunting the parents.  Is that Asst Coach Ortega?

Was wondering the same thing. Not exactly the way you would want a leader to act. 

[northman]

I attended a small high school that in my state was classified as Group 1 (smallest enrollment). We were playing in the County Tournament against a larger Group 3 school that was ranked in the state Top 20 and therefore heavy favorites to win our game.  Several of my club teammates were on that larger school roster including the son of my club coach.

Before the game, my club coach was telling me there is no way a sh!tty little school was going to beat a top 20 ranked team. As fate would have it, my sh!tty little school did win that game. 

I was a 15 year old HS sophomore. I LOVED my teammates, but my first reaction at the whistle was to run to my club coach and loudly proclaim in front of their entire parent-base "Not bad for a sh!tty little school, huh?".

It was not my proudest moment and I regretted it pretty quickly. From that day forward I took the high road and found killing them with kindness was a lot more satisfying.

So I'm not all up in arms about the behavior. I just think Amherst players have some maturing to do, as do those from other unnamed schools with boorish sideline antics. And not that they care, but neither school's program has my respect regardless of how successful they may be.

Your story rings true, Ejay...for 15 year old adolescent behavior.  But being in college in the 18-22 age range is a different proposition and typically reflects a different level of maturity.

In high school in NH, we seniors on our high school ski team treated the freshmen (including my little brother) like peons and made them carry our skis for us.  I don't look back on that with any sense of pride.

By the time I got to college and was skiing in an elite college program, I quickly learned that things were more professional, everyone was expected to do the work, and everyone behaved with a level of maturity and accountability that was lacking in high school.  There is a big difference.

[Bucket]

Curious... who was the gentleman with the beard in the YouTube clip also waiving to the Midd fans?  He's not dressed to play, and he's out in front of the players at 1:32, taunting the parents.  Is that Asst Coach Ortega?

Yes.

[nescac1]

Ok sorry for a sidetrack here but had to respond to this from Walzy:

(used to have a lot more to post about in the D3Hoops forums, but for obvious reasons, that flame has flickered out like the Encanto house and I am ready for the rebuild).

First, as the father of a five year old girl, great reference.  Second, while I feel you on Amherst hoops, maybe consider returning at least for an all-crazy team cameo???

[FBALLISLIFE]

Curious... who was the gentleman with the beard in the YouTube clip also waiving to the Midd fans?  He's not dressed to play, and he's out in front of the players at 1:32, taunting the parents.  Is that Asst Coach Ortega?

Yes.

If true, then you have a coach on film not only failing to get his boys in check, but actually leading the effort out front to taunt an opponent's fans.  Classless, indeed.

Kudos to the one kid who was pulling Nuhu and Kalinauskas back.  Wish his coach had the same integrity.