2024 D3 Men's Soccer National Perspective

[EnmoreCat]

I've had a night of quite heavy drinking in NYC, with various reports coming in from all over these United States, but I am very comfortable stating that D3 is super wide open this year and it's entirely feasible that this year's national champion doesn't currently reside inside the current USC top 14.

Hope you are feeling OK today and didn't wake up next to a dumpster in Times Square or on a bench in Washington Square Park.  Grab a NY bagel if you can...

Thanks Freddy, am not too bad, but what I can say is that I will be drinking a lot more coffee & cold water than I did last night.  Will be heading to White Plains NY to watch the 🦣 take on Manhattanville this evening.

[PaulNewman]

UMW with at least third game in a row coming back from a deficit.  I suppose one can look at that like playing with fire will get you burned...but until proven otherwise imho just shows how confident and intentional the Eagles are about winning. 

Who thought Hope (any season) would be (so far) having a significantly better season that either Calvin or Messiah...or a year when Calvin and Messiah were both struggling?  I can't imagine that the Falcons have ever lost five out of six since the beginning of the Messiah championship-level era.  Hope's only loss was to Ohio Northern and they have beaten OWU and Chicago.  Nice recovery by the Hope program after a brief and unspectacular tenure with Dave Brandt at the helm.  Hope and Calvin meet a week from today in Grand Rapids.

I hope my Owls are not looking past DePauw (with the final regular season match ever vs Jay Martin in Delaware which I'm sure will be an emotional evening for Travis Wall).  The Tigers are off to a strong start and have earned draws against North Park and Hope.  DePauw head coach Steven McCarthy is in his second year, guiding the Tigers to the NCAC semis last year.  McCarthy, a 2010 Capital grad, at a young age already has breathed life back into two proud programs...first, replacing the legendary Dan Rothert at Loras, and then taking the helm at DePauw with the retirement of long-time skipper, Brad Hauter. The Kenyon NCAC schedule is heavily front-loaded, opening with DePauw, OWU, and Denison.  Hopefully the Owls will be relatively healthy for this next stretch.

Eyerolls notwithstanding, I'm very impressed with Babson, although to be fair, 4-0-6 is flirting with 2022 Williams (which obviously could portend great things).  The Beavers have earned three draws against NESCAC foes, including Amherst and Tufts.  I'd be more concerned about a couple of the other draws against lesser opponents.  I would not want to play Babson in November, and these high-level NESCAC affairs should serve them well (while acknowledging the Beavers usually have this level of scheduling).  That said, Tufts was "who I thought they were," and I would have thought that even if they didn't equalize in the last minute.  An extremely competitive contest, but for my neutral eyes Tufts carried most of the play and especially in the 2nd half was pressing and pressing with numerous good opportunities inside the 18.  Yes, Babson had some chances occasionally on the counter, and (while I was similarly blinded from exactly what happened after the Tufts CB-GK miscue) the Babson player must have made a great individual play along the touchline. In my view, Tufts, Amherst, Midd, and Conn could all make the F4 and potentially win a title.  I marginally prefer Tufts at the moment...and remember that the team that wins the NESCAC regular season isn't necessarily the most dangerous NESCAC come November.  Also don't sleep too much on Williams...some excellent results and the GK is outstanding.  Also caught some of a Conn game (maybe vs Midd) and Silvester is really, really good.  In addition to being the strongest conference by some margin, there are always some superb GKs for most of the top half teams.

[SierraFD3soccer]

F&M is only one tie from equally Babson, haha 4-0-5 right now. Though losing or tying Ursinus tonight would be a huge disappointment.

[Hopkins92]

(PN coming into form.)

[PaulNewman]

In all seriousness, and with all due respect, in what universe is a 7:00 pm tilt between Chicago and Calvin under the lights at Zuidema Field NOT "televised"?

All this talk about paywalls, why can't D3 get a sliver of ESPN+ or similar?

Also, keep an eye on Virginia Wesleyan University...just a vibe based on absolutely nothing, but I bet I'm not the only one.

[PaulNewman]

Chicago 2, Calvin 2 58th minute...

Chicago scored in 1st half, Calvin levels a minute into 2nd half, six minutes later Maroons go back on top, and 80 seconds later Calvin levels again.  And no video!

Calvin wins it in 86th minute, 3-2.  Five goals... I'm guessing was a very good, exciting D3 game.  Big win for the Knights. Souders, as good as it gets, will be ecstatic and don't be surprised to see Calvin go on a nice run now. 

And turns out this Messi kid is pretty good.

[Mid-Atlantic Fan]

MAF Top 25
1. Mary Wash
2. Tufts
3. Amherst
4. Kenyon
5. Middlebury
6. Dickinson
7. Trinity Tx
8. CT College
9. Gustavus Adolphus
10. St. Olaf
11. North Park
12. Hopkins
13. Colorado College
14. Williams
15. Denison
16. Case Western
17. F&M
18. John Carroll
19. Ohio Northern
20. Montclair St
21. UW Platteville
22. Oneonta St
23. Hope
24. Buff St
25. Calvin

[Hopkins Walk-On]

Most fouls per game
Old Westbury (Skyline)                16.27
Wis.-Stevens Point (WIAC)          15.85
Amherst (NESCAC)                      15.30
Salisbury (C2C)                            15.18
Franklin & Marshall (Centennial)   14.55
Middlebury (NESCAC)                  14.44
Stockton (NJAC)                           14.36
SUNY Maritime (Skyline)              14.20
Coe (American Rivers)                  13.91
UMSV (Skyline)                             13.85

[Hopkins Walk-On]

Other fun fact: The Bluffton Beavers from Bluffton, Ohio, have missed all four of their PKs this season, the only team in Division 3 to take that many PKs without hitting at least one.

[EnmoreCat]

Most fouls per game
Old Westbury (Skyline)                16.27
Wis.-Stevens Point (WIAC)          15.85
Amherst (NESCAC)                      15.30
Salisbury (C2C)                            15.18
Franklin & Marshall (Centennial)   14.55
Middlebury (NESCAC)                  14.44
Stockton (NJAC)                           14.36
SUNY Maritime (Skyline)              14.20
Coe (American Rivers)                  13.91
UMSV (Skyline)                             13.85

Would be some entertaining match ups amongst that group.  Might even find a sponsor for the foul count.

[SierraFD3soccer]

Most fouls per game
Old Westbury (Skyline)                16.27
Wis.-Stevens Point (WIAC)          15.85
Amherst (NESCAC)                      15.30
Salisbury (C2C)                            15.18
Franklin & Marshall (Centennial)   14.55
Middlebury (NESCAC)                  14.44
Stockton (NJAC)                           14.36
SUNY Maritime (Skyline)              14.20
Coe (American Rivers)                  13.91
UMSV (Skyline)                             13.85

Would be some entertaining match ups amongst that group.  Might even find a sponsor for the foul count.

Slackers! Do better!!

[Ejay]

Most fouls per game
Old Westbury (Skyline)                16.27
Wis.-Stevens Point (WIAC)          15.85
Amherst (NESCAC)                      15.30
Salisbury (C2C)                            15.18
Franklin & Marshall (Centennial)  14.55
Middlebury (NESCAC)                  14.44
Stockton (NJAC)                          14.36
SUNY Maritime (Skyline)              14.20
Coe (American Rivers)                  13.91
UMSV (Skyline)                            13.85

Would be some entertaining match ups amongst that group.  Might even find a sponsor for the foul count.

LOL. Amherst vs. F&M could possibly be the least entertaining game ever played!

[EnmoreCat]

I feel the complete opposite Ejay, two excellent teams, prepared to physically commit to the game, what's not to like? Apologies for inevitably offending the asthetes on the board, but I am sure you are all used to it by now.

[Ejay]

It's all good. I can appreciate the competitiveness of two great teams battling, and respect your personal interest in the outcome. But as a neutral, this is not a matchup that I would enjoy watching regardless of the winning percentages of each team.

[SierraFD3soccer]

I feel the complete opposite Ejay, two excellent teams, prepared to physically commit to the game, what's not to like? Apologies for inevitably offending the asthetes on the board, but I am sure you are all used to it by now.

Throw back game and should be played on a Thursday. Just saying.

Interesting stat, and not sure as to Amherst this year, but I don't F&M has fouled in the box or allowed a foul free kick to lead to a goal. Definitely part of their game in some way. So what I am saying is that most of F&M fouls are in the middle section of the field. F&M definitely pressures the opponent with the ball with 2 players often and I am guessing leads to fouls or perceived fouls. Not a team to sit back and ball watch.