Nor'easter News - Week 3

By Henry Loughlin

Recap of the Week

While the top few teams are rolling along with perfect records, parity seems to be the word in the New England region. Tufts and Amherst appear to be the top two teams in the NESCAC, with both picking up big wins this weekend, and it appears more and more that their clash on October 12th will seemingly play a big role in home field advantage. Elsewhere in the NESCAC, Williams got back on the right track with a pair of big road wins, while Bowdoin and Middlebury battled to a 0-0 stalemate in the Maine rain. Elsewhere in the Pine Tree State, St. Joseph’s (ME) was held to a 1-1 draw with Norwich, and Connecticut College snuck a 1-0 win over a young Bates squad. And in other action, the NEWMAC and CCC appear to be two leagues that will go down to the wire, as no team has distinguished itself as the clear frontrunner. There will be some more clarity in the weeks to come, but, right now, it seems like a number of teams could compete for conference crowns.

Impressions

Amherst remains a perfect 4-0 after wins last week at home against Babson and on the road versus Hamilton. In the former game, Babson struck 14 minutes in through a nice goal on the break through Youcef Ziad, and made the advantage stand up through halftime. Shortly into the second half, however, Amherst equalized, as first-year Ada Okorogheye found his way through the Beavers defense. When Dane Lind scored with less than 13 minutes left, it seemed to be business as usual for Amherst, before Babson’s Mitchell Collins headed home off a scrum in the box, equalizing with 6:44 on the clock. The host Mammoths took home the win in overtime, however, as Okorogheye scored his second of the game in the extra session for the 3-2 victory. Saturday, on the road at Hamilton, German Giammattei notched a hat-trick, scoring two in the first half and a third right after the interval for a 3-0 win. The Mammoths have a number of tough games on the calendar, including a trip to rival Williams — who, last year, defeated the Ephs for the first time in five years — on the 28th, as well as a home contest against Tufts on October 12th. As evidenced by Tuesday’s result, Amherst has had to come through the fire already, suggesting that they still have some things to work out — but based on the signs that the Mammoths’ offense has shown, they appear to have a lot of potential this year.

In a non-conference clash of two regional foes, Tufts saw off Brandeis 2-0 on Saturday night at home. After dominating the first 25 minutes, the hosts opened the scoring, with the ball deflecting in off a Judges defender for an own goal. A mild scuffle ensued in the aftermath of the goal, which resulted in a red card and the Judges playing down a man for the remaining hour or so. As is often the case when a team incurs a red card, the opponent was quick to take advantage, as Tufts put the game to bed with a Brett Rojas insurance goal in the second half. And while Brandeis has given a better account of itself than it did at this point last year, there still appears to be a gap between the Judges and their local rivals. Tufts, meanwhile, seems likely to retain the favorite tag, both regionally and nationally, for the near future — although that October 12 clash with Amherst will likely prove pivotal, particularly as far as determining home field advantage is concerned. One thing is for sure: at 3-0, the Jumbos have picked up right where they left off last year.

It may not have received the same amount of publicity that other in-conference clashes received, but the GNAC clash between St. Joseph's (ME) and Norwich was unique: it signified that there may be another team ready to challenge for the conference crown. For the past three years, the host Monks have had their way with their fellow GNAC foes in both the regular season and the conference tournament — they conceded just one goal during the 2017 season, against Mitchell College in the NCAA Tournament — but the Monks lost Head Coach Adrian DuBois, as well a senior class which had brought them so much success. In fact, Saturday’s contest saw Norwich take a first-half lead — something that hasn’t happened too often in recent times — before the hosts battled back in the second half to secure a 1-1 draw. Even so, many still consider St. Joseph’s to be the GNAC favorite, so this isn’t a confirmed “changing of the guard.” However, what does seem clear is that this year’s conference tournament will be more evenly-matched than those in recent times.

Speaking of wide open conferences, both the NEWMAC and CCC appear to have a number of teams that could make a run at a conference crown. While conference play hasn’t begun in either league, Clark “leads” the NEWMAC with its 4-1 non-conference record. MIT, meanwhile, has the only unbeaten record still intact (2-0-2). Pre-season favorite Babson and second-favorite WPI are both further down the standings, but still look to be two of the leading teams in the conference, and will do battle this weekend (more on that below). Much like the NEWMAC, a 4-1 team (Western New England) leads the CCC. Other than the Golden Bears, though, there's just one other team above .500 (Nichols, 3-2-1) with five of the conference's seven other teams sitting right on that mark. Even so, Endicott and Gordon — who have won three out of the last four conference crowns — figure to be right in the mix. And with both conferences producing “upset” winners last season in Springfield and Endicott, respectively, there could be a couple more fall surprises come conference tournament time.

Upcoming Game of the Week: WPI vs. Babson

They may not get the same amount of press as some of their fellow New England teams, but WPI and Babson are two solid sides — and were the top two picks in the NEWMAC preseason poll.

Host Babson, which put together a solid 12-3-4 campaign last year, fell in the conference final to Springfield. And while the Beavers currently sit at .500 (3-3), it’s important to remember that their three losses came to Brandeis (2-1), Amherst (3-2, OT), and Williams (3-0), with the former two contests being on the road. Moreover, Babson has scored in all but one of its matches, with leading scorer Mitchell Collins (5g, 1a) building upon his strong first-year campaign. He appears ready to help fill the void left by Noah Parker, who was the Beavers’ main scoring threat the past few seasons. At 3-1-1, visiting WPI has had a slightly different run of fixtures, perhaps not quite as daunting as Babson’s to date. The Engineers opened with a 4-0 win over Worcester State to start things off, before falling 1-0 at home against Eastern Connecticut. WPI then secured a 1-0 overtime win against Mass.-Boston, before picking up a 1-1 draw on the road at Brandeis and downing Mass. Maritime, 8-0. The Engineers have scored 14 goals to date — 4 more than the Beavers — and have had nine players chip in with goals to Babson’s five.

To be sure, there’s a lot of soccer to be played between now and the conference tournament. That being said — particularly given the parity that’s been on display — winning this game could be a huge step toward securing home field advantage.

Comments or feedback for the author? E-mail Henry Loughlin