September 2, 2011
Off with a bang!
There’s some mouth-watering match-ups on the slate this opening weekend as well as plenty of games that are worth keeping an eye on. Let’s run them down day-by-day.
Friday, September 2
Can it get bigger than #1 Messiah at #3 Ohio
Wesleyan? Only if it was the post-season.
These two D-III powerhouses get a huge early season test, and
a loss really shouldn’t be a problem for either team going
forward. Both coaches will know how to use a win or a loss in
the process of getting their team ready for a run at the title.
Fans who can make it out should be in for a treat at 7:30
p.m. ET.
A great metropolitan match-up tonight at 7 p.m. ET is New
York University at #13 Stevens. UAA champion NYU was
voted by the conference’s coaches to defend that title.
Despite this they didn’t receive enough votes to
make the Top 25, but an argument could be made that they deserved
to. Stevens lost a couple of huge All-Americans and one of
D-III’s winningest coaches, which leaves some question marks
as to whether they can avoid a drop off this season. Makes
for a very interesting East Region encounter.
The Roanoke College Invitational pits #12 Lynchburg
against #10 Emory, game time 5 p.m. ET, in a rematch of
last year's second round NCAA contest. Lynchburg
“upset” Emory, top 10 at the time, by a 2-1 count and
finished as national runner-up after falling in overtime in the
final. Emory returns 9 starters and 90% of their offensive
output from their 14-3-2 squad of a year ago. Lynchburg on
the other hand has lost 6 starters and half their offensive
production from a year ago. They have had to replace three of
their top four forwards and 3/4’s of their back line
including All-American Hunter Smith. That’s a lot of
turnover at both ends of the field and it it might be a strength to
expect Top 25 caliber play from them right out of the gate.
Also keep an eye on the following matches:
Catholic at #6 Christopher Newport, 7:30 p.m. ET – The two-time Landmark champions against a national title contender.
#23 York (Pa.) vs. Virginia Wesleyan, 5 p.m. ET – Both come off disappointing seasons (relative to high expectations) and will hope to get off on the right foot at the Christopher Newport tournament.
Pacific Lutheran at #11 UW-Whitewater, 7:30 p.m.CT – The coaches’ favorite to win the NWC travels to a Sweet 16 team from a year ago that has 9 starters back.
Medaille at Franklin & Marshall, 5:30 p.m. ET – The 2010 regular season runners-up in the tough Centennial Conference host the Sweet 16 team that upset Centennial champions Swarthmore in last year’s NCAAs.
Richard Stockton at Roanoke, 7:30 p.m. – The ODAC’s second best a year ago hosts a solid NJAC squad that made the NCAA’s last year.
Whitworth at Carroll, 8 p.m. CT – The typical NWC top-dog is coming off their worst season in the last twelve and play defending MWC champs and 2011 favorites (and the only team besides Messiah to score on UW-Oshkosh in the NCAAs last year)
Saturday, September 3
On day two of the Joe Pombriant/CNU Classic, #23 York
(Pa.) plays host at #6 Christopher Newport in a great
South Atlantic regional clash, game time 7:30 p.m. ET. A
regular in the CNU Classic from 2001 to 2008, York didn’t
play Christopher Newport last season for the first time in a
decade. York is coming off an uneven 2010 campaign that ended
disappointedly with a first round NCAA exit. And now they
have to bounce back without 3 of their 5 All-Region honorees.
In addition to graduation losses of three starters including
their top goal scorer and their midfield general, two more starters
have not returned for their senior season including their top
assist man and best defender. The hosts on the other hand
should be able to continue from where they left off last year. The
team that went 20-2-1 en route to the NCAA second round returns
eight starters including five 1st team and two 2nd team
all-conference selections, three NSCAA All-Region selections, and
two D3Soccer.com All-Americans. This is an experienced,
senior-laden squad with over 80% of its offensive production could
make a claim to be D-III’s best out of the gate.
The second game of N.C. Wesleyan’s Roger Taylor Classic pits
#2 UW-Oshkosh vs. Ohio Northern at 2:30 p.m.
ET. With two conference champions and NCAA participants from
2010, it’s probably the best inter-regional match-up on slate
for Saturday. WIAC co-champions Oshkosh and their unyielding
defense reached the Final Four; OAC champions Ohio Northern were
bounced 2-0 in the first round. Oshkosh has lost 5 starters
including an All-American and another All-Region player. But
that means the Titans have four of their six All-Region selections
back (a keeper, defender, midfielder, and forward) and their top
five in points. Expectations will be high for a return to the
Final Four. Ohio Northern returns ten starters from their
2010 squad that led the OAC in scoring and was second in
defense. They have made the NCAAs for the three straight
years and will field an experience starting line-up consisting of
five seniors, five juniors, and one sophomore (who started 18 games
his first season). Their leading scorer should be an
All-American candidate at forward. Ohio Northern may be a Top
25 team that the voters overlooked in their pre-season poll.
It should be a quality upstate New York tilt with Oneonta
St. at #22 St. Lawrence this Saturday at noon.
Oneonta St. captured the SUNYAC regular season title a year ago and
incredibly returns all 11 starters. On top of that their
leading goal scorer from 2009 is back after a season lost to
injury. That's like having 12 starters back and they should
be favorites to win the SUNYAC this year. For St. Lawrence
ten starters are back from last year including their top five
scorers of which two were named NSCAA All-Americans. With
returning players representing over 80% of their 2010 offensive
output, the current Liberty League champions are expected to repeat
that feat and more. This team has potential to be a national
title contender.
Not a Top 25 match, but Hope at Kenyon (4 p.m.
ET) pairs two teams that are probably in the next pack. In
fact, Hope, as the MIAA coaches’ pre-season favorite ahead of
Calvin maybe should have gotten a stronger look for the Top 25.
They beat Calvin twice last season to finish even in the
standings and take the conference title on the basis of
head-to-head. They went one-and-done in the NCAAs, but return
7 starters and have about two-thirds of their offensive output
back. Kenyon went to the NCAAs on an at-large berth and
knocked out York in the first round. Their subsequent loss to
Ohio Wesleyan in the next round was the second to their NCAC rivals
accounting and only their third all season. But they lose 6
starters including their top 5 players. Gone are all five
first-team all-conference selections, four of which were All-Region
including an NSCAA All-American forward and a D3Soccer.com
All-American defender. Kenyon has a challenge to replace the
talent lost and Hope should give them an early indication of where
they are at.
Also keep an eye on the following matches:
Geneseo St. at Penn State Behrend, 10 a.m. ET – A dark horse for the SUNYAC title with 8 starters back (including the entire back line and conference’s leading goal scorer) should match-up well with the AMCC’s 2010 regular season champs who missed the NCAAs when PKs didn’t go their way in the conference final.
Hobart at Babson, 1:30 p.m. ET – 10 starters are back for the team best known for its opening weekend upset of Messiah last season (before playing .500 ball the rest of the way) as they travel the NEWMAC defending champs who ousted Williams from the NCAAs.
TCNJ at Keene St., 3 p.m. ET – With both teams picked to finish second in their respective conferences, LEC champions host the NJAC’s 2010 regular season champion.
Rutgers-Newark at Redlands, 1 p.m. PT – The second game of a California road trip for a NJAC school looking to rebound from a forgettable 2010 sees them at the 2010 SCIAC regular season champions.
#13 Lynchburg vs. Richard Stockton, 5 p.m. ET – In the second day of the Roanoke Invitational the 2010 national runner-up will face a NJAC squad playing their third game in as many days.
Catholic vs. Virginia Wesleyan, 5 p.m. ET – The back-to-back Landmark champions and preennial ODAC contenders lock horns on the second day of the CNU Classic.
#10 Emory at Roanoke, 7:30 p.m. ET – Highest ranked UAA school takes on the ODAC hosts in the closing match of the Roanoke College Invitational.
Loras at #24 Wheaton (Ill.), 7 p.m. CT – The closing match of Wheaton's Bob Baptista Invitational will be contested by two teams that struggled mightily in 2010 and are looking to get back among the nation's elite in 2011.
Sunday, September 4
Big Central Region match with #7 Dominican (Ill.) at North
Park Sunday night, 7 p.m. CT. Dominican is a
perennial Top 25 team and last year they went 19-1-2, being booted
from the NCAAs on PK’s in the second round. Since then
they have lost their All-American midfield playmaker, an
All-American centerback, and two more starters. Back are
seven starters including an All-American forward and two more
All-Region selections. North Park won the CCIW and reached
the 2nd round of the NCAAs in 2010. Their goalkeeper and top
attacking players are back led by an All-American playmaker and
All-Region forward, but do have to replace six starters including
most of the defense. Should be a good measuring stick game
for both sides.
New York University at #25 Montclair St., 2 p.m.
ET, is NYU’s second straight game against a Top 25 opponent
to open the season. Picked by the UAA’s coaches to
defend their conference title, if they want to be considered among
the nation’s best, they need to hit the floor running.
NJAC pre-season favorite Montclair St., perhaps fortunate to
have gotten an NCAA at-large berth, is looking to bounce back from
a year in which they finished fourth in the NJAC regular season and
lost in the conference semifinals after a string of three straight
NJAC titles. They will not have the program’s
winningest coach back on the sidelines in 2011, but his defensive
assistant from 2007 to 2009 is at the helm. It is in attack
where he has the most work to do as they lost half their offensive
output. Of the three starters lost, only one was a forward,
but also lost were the top two attacking subs who accounted for 13
goals.
It’s Eastern Connecticut St. at #22 St.
Lawrence in the Lotto Tournament at 12 noon. Eastern
Connecticut is coming off 14-4-3 season and an appearance in the
NCAA tournament, having garnered an at-large berth after exiting on
PK’s in the LEC semifinals. With their entire line-up
back for 2011, they are the coaches’ pick to win the LEC.
They give St. Lawrence their second straight quality opponent
to kick off the season. On paper, the Liberty League
favorites have the ingredients to make a run at the national
championship: 80% of their offensive output and ten starters back
including their top five scorers and two NSCAA All-Americans.
In 2010 the Saints posted a 17-3-2 mark in winning the
Liberty League and advancing to the second round of the NCAAs.
In the Doug May Classic Tournament closes with Brockport
St. at Nazareth, 4:30 p.m. ET. Nazareth is 11-1-2 in
Empire 8 regular season play over the last two seasons with two
1-goal losses in the conference final to powerful Stevens. In
2010, playing a tough schedule, they lost 7 and tied 2, but only
once were beaten by more than one goal. That might seem
unlucky, but they were often outshot 3-to-1 or worse, so credit to
their defense. They return 10 starters to try to get back to
the NCAAs for the first time since 2006. Brockport St. went
to the NCAAs on an at-large berth after losing in the SUNYAC
championship game. They ended up on both sides of 3-2
overtime games in the first two rounds of the tournament.
They lose six starters including their All-American
goalkeeper, an All-Region defender, and their leading goalscorer.
With less than half their offensive output back and the
defensive losses, it could be a bumpy start.
Also keep an eye on the following matches:
Whitworth at #11 UW-Whitewater, 1 p.m. CT
Rutgers-Camdem at #8 Swarthmore, 4 p.m. ET
Hobart at Wheaton (MA), 1:30 p.m. ET
Pacific Lutheran at Carroll, 1 p.m. CT
Ohio Northern at N.C. Wesleyan, 2:30 p.m. ET
Concordia-Moorhead at Wartburg, 3 p.m. CT
Puget Sound at Champman, 7:15 p.m. PT
Comments or feedback for the author? Email Christan Shirk.
