Notables
Wheaton's Joe Selvaggio had two saves during the penalty kicks round as the Thunder advanced against Carthage in the CCIW.
Wheaton College photo
UT Tyler took the ASC conference AQ today by defeating UT Dallas 2-0. Ohio Wesleyan played Wittenberg to a 2-2 draw, but took the NCAC automatic bid by winning the PK round 4-3. And late last night, Pomona-Pitzer fell 2-1 to Redlands in the SCIAC finals. With the win, the Bulldogs clinch the AQ. Check the rest of today's results on the scoreboard
The UAA has a tie at the top: Rochester defeated Case Western Reserve 3-2 to finish on top of the UAA at 6-1, along with Emory. Emory has the title in its grasp, but fell to Carnegie Mellon earlier on Saturday. However, Emory has the conference AQ due to their victory over Rochester earlier in the season. Rochester will be a solid Pool C contender, as will several other programs in the UAA.
In the MAC Commonwealth, Messiah rolled over Widener 7-0 to capture yet another conference AQ. In the Little East finals, No. 2 seed Rhode Island College edged past No. 4 seed Plymouth State 1-0 on junior Ryan Kelley's goal in the 87th minute. It is the first ever league title for the Anchormen. In the MIAC, Carleton played Augsburg to a scoreless draw, before winning the PK round 5-3 to take the conference AQ (photo gallery). And in the Northwest conference, Whitworth won their second straight conference title and the AQ with a 4-0 win over Pacific 4-0.
Dominican took the NathCon tournament today with a 4-0 victory over Aurora. This will be the seventh straight appearance in the postseason for the Stars. In the HCAC, Rose-Hulman earned a hard fought 1-0 victory over Transylvania, taking the conference AQ for the first time in program history. And No. 1 seed Westminster won the Presidents' Athletic Conference tourney by defeating No. 2 seed Washington & Jefferson 2-1 in overtime.
In the ODAC finals, Lynchburg and Virginia Wesleyan played to a scoreless draw, but Virginia Wesleyan prevailed in PKs 4-1, taking the the AQ. In the IIAC, Wartburg defeated Loras 2-0, winning the league's AQ and pushing Loras onto the Pool C list of strong candidates.
In the USA South finals, No. 1 seed Christopher Newport fell to No. 2 seed North Carolina Wesleyan, 2-1. In Friday's semis, CNU rolled to a 6-0 victory over No. 5 seed Shenandoah, while NC Wesleyan crushed No. 3 seed Methodist 7-0. USAC Player of the Year Danny Persson had two goals in the match for the Bishops. And in the SCAC, Trinity secured the conference AQ with its 3-2 win over Centre on Friday evening.
In the Freedom semis on Thursday, No. 1 seed Misericordia played No. 2 seed Wilkes to a 1-1 draw but advanced via PKs (5-4). The Cougars capture the Freedom AQ. Meanwhile in the Capital Athletic Conference, No. 1 seed Salisbury cruised past No. 4 seed Wesley 3-0 to take the conference AQ.
Here is a review of the ground rules for postseason selection: the current NCAA soccer handbook (in a recent revision) states that in 2008, there will be 3 Pool B teams and 17 Pool C teams awarded positions in the postseason. The Pool B teams will come from conferences with no automatic qualifier and from independent institutions. Pool C teams will come primarily from non-conference champs in AQ conferences.
It is important to note that several conferences have no tournament, awarding their AQ to the regular season champion. These are: the MIAA, the Northwest Conference, the SCAC, and the UAA. Within these conferences, there are a number NCAA ranked teams, meaning that at least for the MIAA and the UAA, there is a strong probability for multiple teams receiving postseason bids. On Sunday, Calvin captured the MIAA AQ. Emory did the same for the UAA.
We've reviewed the tourneys from some of the traditionally stronger conferences below, but we will be covering all of the tournaments as we get results throughout the week. Pool C and Pool B discussions are alive and well on our discussion board.
Centennial: Swarthmore defeated Johns Hopkins 1-0 to win the Centennial today.
Teams to watch: Muhlenberg, Dickinson, Johns Hopkins and Swarthmore are currently ranked in the NCAA Mid-Atlantic regional poll. A loss by Swarthmore or Johns Hopkins should pull at least one Pool C bid off the table.
USA South: The USA South final was played today with North Carolina Wesleyan defeating Christopher Newport 2-1, and capturing the conference AQ.
Teams to watch: Christopher Newport and NC Wesleyan. CNU might have a chance at a Pool C slot, given a loss in the finals. NC Wesleyan will be dangerous in this tourney, especially with the home field advantage.
Liberty League: St. Lawrence took the league AQ with a 2-0 win over Union.
Teams to watch: Hobart and RPI. Hobart has been hot all year, and RPI remains at the number three spot in the NCAA regional poll. Hobart is a lock for a Pool C should they lose, but RPI, should they make the final match against a Hobart squad, would also have a strong argument for Pool C.
American Southwest Conference: the tourney continued today with No. 1 seed Texas-Tyler advancing via a 4-3 PK round against Ozarks. In other match, Texas-Dallas were 2-0 winners over Hardin-Simmons. UT Tyler defeated UT Dallas 2-0 to win the ASC AQ.
Teams to watch: Tyler, Dallas, and Hardin-Simmons. All three of these teams are playing well and have the ability to tale the conference AQ. Tyler at 10-3-3 has had a good season, and Dallas is stronger than its record might indicate, two of its losses coming at the hands of Ohio Wesleyan and Trinity (Texas).
The MAC: the Commonwealth Conference starts off with their semis on Tuesday, followed by the Freedom Conference on Thursday. The Finals are on Saturday with Messiah hosting Widener. On Tuesday, No. 2 Messiah was a 2-1 winner over No. 3 Lycoming College, while No. 1 Lebanon Valley fell 1-0 to No. 4 Widener. In the Freedom finals today, No. 1 seed Misericordia played No. 2 seed Wilkes University to a 1-1 draw but advanced via PKs (5-4). The Cougars capture the Freedom AQ.
Teams to watch: Messiah and Misericordia. Messiah has finished the regular season on a roll, winning their last five games by a combined score of 21-0. Should they stumble, they would probably still be in the running for a Pool C bid. It would certainly be odd to think of a post-season without the Falcons. Misericordia has played a good schedule all season and should win the Freedom tourney. But a loss would probably drop them out of contention for an at-large bid.
CCIW: the tournament started this evening with Wheaton (Ill.) defeating North Park 4-2, and Carthage advanced on a 5-4 PK tally against Illinois Wesleyan. Wheaton played Carthage to a scoreless draw, but prevaled in the PK round 5-4 and claims the AQ. Carthage now has an outside shot at a Pool C spot.
Teams to watch: Wheaton and North Park. North Park is currently ranked number three in the NCAA central region and should be a candidate for a Pool C slot. Wheaton is number two in the same poll. But the fact that the two teams are facing each other in the semis could complicate matters. The loser puts its program on the edge of any at-large consideration. In the past, Wheaton has played very well when post-season consideration is on the line.
NCAC: today, No. 1 seed Ohio Wesleyan hosted No. 4 seed Kenyon and came away with 4-0 victory. Forward Matt Bonfini had two goals in the match for the Bishops. In the other semi, No. 3 seed Wittenberg was a 1-0 winner over No. 2 seed Hiram. Ohio Wesleyan will host Wittenberg on Saturday at 7:00. The loser of this match will be a strong Pool C candidate.
Teams to watch: Ohio Wesleyan and Wittenberg. Long-time fans of college soccer have learned that one never overlooks Ohio Wesleyan in big matches. They'll be very tough in this tourney as the Bishops have been playing well, winning their last eight matches. Wittenberg wants to prove that their strong performance this year is no fluke and will be pushing hard. They'll have to build some momentum as they have dropped 3 of their last 5 matches. A loss in the finals to a Bishops team may still allow for a Pool C, but we'll see what the NCAA Great Lakes regional poll looks like when it is released on Wednesday.
Little East: Rhode Island College junior midfielder Ryan Kelley headed in the game's only goal in the 87th minute to give the second-seeded Anchormen a 1-0 win over fourth-seeded Plymouth State in the Championship Game of the 2008 Little East Conference Men's Soccer Game. With the earlier loss, Eastern Conn does has an outside chance at a Pool C bid.
Teams to watch: Rhode Island College and Eastern Connecticut State. It has been a while since we've seen two regionally strong teams in this conference. Both Rhode Island and Eastern Conn would represent the LEC well. But it will be tough for the second place team in this tourney to snag an at-large bid in such a crowded field.
NJAC: Montclair State won their third title on Friday.
Teams to watch: all of them. Any of these four teams could win the tournament and could win through the first round of the post-season. Montclair State is probably one of the top four teams in the country and should be the favorite to win, but the conference will produce at least one Pool C bid.
Capital Athletic Conference: Salisbury defeated Wesley to take the conference AQ.
Teams to watch: York and Salisbury. York may well be the most talented team in the country, and can certainly claim one of the top defenses, having allowed only three goals all season. Those three goals allowed were one each against Christopher Newport, Salisbury, and Messiah. During this defensive run, the offense scored 59 goals. Short of a PK anomaly like the one against Wheaton (Ill.) in the 2006 post-season, we should see York in the final four. Salisbury went through a dry spell mid-season but has picked up their game as of late and should continue a strong run in this tourney, their 15th straight CAC appearance.
NEWMAC: the quarterfinals began tonight with No. 7 WPI falling 1-0 at No. 2 MIT, and No. 6 Wheaton defeating No. 3 Clark 1-0 in a mild upset. No. 5 Springfield came back from a 3-1 deficit to play No. 4 Coast Guard to a 3-3 draw, only to fall 4-1 in PKs. CG keeper had two saves in the PK round. The semis continued today with No. 1 Babson coming back from a 1-0 deficit to beat Coast Guard 2-1. Later in the day, Wheaton fell 2-1 against MIT. Babson defeated MIT 3-1 for the conference AQ today. MIT remains a strong candidate for post-season play via an at-large berth.
Teams to watch: Babson, MIT, Clark, and Wheaton. All four of these teams could win the NEWMAC AQ. Wheaton has fallen a bit behind but has the talent to win the required three straight. Babson and MIT could pick up a Pool C bid with a loss in the semis or final.
NESCAC: this tournament got started today at No. 1 seed Middlebury. In the early match, the Panthers defeated No. 4 seed Williams 1-0. No. 2 seed Amherst was a 1-0 winner over No. 3 seed Trinity, off of freshman James Mooney's game winner in the final 10 minutes. Trinity may still look good for a Pool C spot. Amherst won the tourney and AQ today with a 2-0 shutout of Middlebury. With the loss, Middlebury is a lock for a Pool C berth.
Teams to watch: as in the NJAC, all of them. Trinity and Amherst have been playing well, and Middlebury has been consistent all season. The defending national champs have continued their defensive mastery, allowing only four goals this year. Williams has the skill and experience to pull off an upset and to win the tourney, but their play has been somewhat unpredictable this season. Should the Ephs pull it off though, Middlebury is a lock for a Pool C bid. Trinity is also a strong possibility for the Pool C.
The UAA has a tie at the top: Rochester defeated Case Western Reserve 3-2 to finish on top of the UAA at 6-1, along with Emory. Emory has the title in its grasp, but fell to Carnegie Mellon earlier on Saturday. However, Emory has the conference AQ due to their victory over Rochester earlier in the season. Rochester will be a solid Pool C contender, as will several other programs in the UAA.
Dominican took the NathCon tournament today with a 4-0 victory over Aurora. This will be the seventh straight appearance in the postseason for the Stars. In the HCAC, Rose-Hulman earned a hard fought 1-0 victory over Transylvania, taking the conference AQ for the first time in program history. And No. 1 seed Westminster won the Presidents' Athletic Conference tourney by defeating No. 2 seed Washington & Jefferson 2-1 in overtime.
In the ODAC finals, Lynchburg and Virginia Wesleyan played to a scoreless draw, but Virginia Wesleyan prevailed in PKs 4-1, taking the the AQ. In the IIAC, Wartburg defeated Loras 2-0, winning the league's AQ and pushing Loras onto the Pool C list of strong candidates.
In the USA South finals, No. 1 seed Christopher Newport fell to No. 2 seed North Carolina Wesleyan, 2-1. In Friday's semis, CNU rolled to a 6-0 victory over No. 5 seed Shenandoah, while NC Wesleyan crushed No. 3 seed Methodist 7-0. USAC Player of the Year Danny Persson had two goals in the match for the Bishops. And in the SCAC, Trinity secured the conference AQ with its 3-2 win over Centre on Friday evening.
In the Freedom semis on Thursday, No. 1 seed Misericordia played No. 2 seed Wilkes to a 1-1 draw but advanced via PKs (5-4). The Cougars capture the Freedom AQ. Meanwhile in the Capital Athletic Conference, No. 1 seed Salisbury cruised past No. 4 seed Wesley 3-0 to take the conference AQ.
Here is a review of the ground rules for postseason selection: the current NCAA soccer handbook (in a recent revision) states that in 2008, there will be 3 Pool B teams and 17 Pool C teams awarded positions in the postseason. The Pool B teams will come from conferences with no automatic qualifier and from independent institutions. Pool C teams will come primarily from non-conference champs in AQ conferences.
It is important to note that several conferences have no tournament, awarding their AQ to the regular season champion. These are: the MIAA, the Northwest Conference, the SCAC, and the UAA. Within these conferences, there are a number NCAA ranked teams, meaning that at least for the MIAA and the UAA, there is a strong probability for multiple teams receiving postseason bids. On Sunday, Calvin captured the MIAA AQ. Emory did the same for the UAA.
We've reviewed the tourneys from some of the traditionally stronger conferences below, but we will be covering all of the tournaments as we get results throughout the week. Pool C and Pool B discussions are alive and well on our discussion board.
Centennial: Swarthmore defeated Johns Hopkins 1-0 to win the Centennial today.
Teams to watch: Muhlenberg, Dickinson, Johns Hopkins and Swarthmore are currently ranked in the NCAA Mid-Atlantic regional poll. A loss by Swarthmore or Johns Hopkins should pull at least one Pool C bid off the table.
USA South: The USA South final was played today with North Carolina Wesleyan defeating Christopher Newport 2-1, and capturing the conference AQ.
Teams to watch: Christopher Newport and NC Wesleyan. CNU might have a chance at a Pool C slot, given a loss in the finals. NC Wesleyan will be dangerous in this tourney, especially with the home field advantage.
Liberty League: St. Lawrence took the league AQ with a 2-0 win over Union.
Teams to watch: Hobart and RPI. Hobart has been hot all year, and RPI remains at the number three spot in the NCAA regional poll. Hobart is a lock for a Pool C should they lose, but RPI, should they make the final match against a Hobart squad, would also have a strong argument for Pool C.
American Southwest Conference: the tourney continued today with No. 1 seed Texas-Tyler advancing via a 4-3 PK round against Ozarks. In other match, Texas-Dallas were 2-0 winners over Hardin-Simmons. UT Tyler defeated UT Dallas 2-0 to win the ASC AQ.
Teams to watch: Tyler, Dallas, and Hardin-Simmons. All three of these teams are playing well and have the ability to tale the conference AQ. Tyler at 10-3-3 has had a good season, and Dallas is stronger than its record might indicate, two of its losses coming at the hands of Ohio Wesleyan and Trinity (Texas).
The MAC: the Commonwealth Conference starts off with their semis on Tuesday, followed by the Freedom Conference on Thursday. The Finals are on Saturday with Messiah hosting Widener. On Tuesday, No. 2 Messiah was a 2-1 winner over No. 3 Lycoming College, while No. 1 Lebanon Valley fell 1-0 to No. 4 Widener. In the Freedom finals today, No. 1 seed Misericordia played No. 2 seed Wilkes University to a 1-1 draw but advanced via PKs (5-4). The Cougars capture the Freedom AQ.
Teams to watch: Messiah and Misericordia. Messiah has finished the regular season on a roll, winning their last five games by a combined score of 21-0. Should they stumble, they would probably still be in the running for a Pool C bid. It would certainly be odd to think of a post-season without the Falcons. Misericordia has played a good schedule all season and should win the Freedom tourney. But a loss would probably drop them out of contention for an at-large bid.
CCIW: the tournament started this evening with Wheaton (Ill.) defeating North Park 4-2, and Carthage advanced on a 5-4 PK tally against Illinois Wesleyan. Wheaton played Carthage to a scoreless draw, but prevaled in the PK round 5-4 and claims the AQ. Carthage now has an outside shot at a Pool C spot.
Teams to watch: Wheaton and North Park. North Park is currently ranked number three in the NCAA central region and should be a candidate for a Pool C slot. Wheaton is number two in the same poll. But the fact that the two teams are facing each other in the semis could complicate matters. The loser puts its program on the edge of any at-large consideration. In the past, Wheaton has played very well when post-season consideration is on the line.
NCAC: today, No. 1 seed Ohio Wesleyan hosted No. 4 seed Kenyon and came away with 4-0 victory. Forward Matt Bonfini had two goals in the match for the Bishops. In the other semi, No. 3 seed Wittenberg was a 1-0 winner over No. 2 seed Hiram. Ohio Wesleyan will host Wittenberg on Saturday at 7:00. The loser of this match will be a strong Pool C candidate.
Teams to watch: Ohio Wesleyan and Wittenberg. Long-time fans of college soccer have learned that one never overlooks Ohio Wesleyan in big matches. They'll be very tough in this tourney as the Bishops have been playing well, winning their last eight matches. Wittenberg wants to prove that their strong performance this year is no fluke and will be pushing hard. They'll have to build some momentum as they have dropped 3 of their last 5 matches. A loss in the finals to a Bishops team may still allow for a Pool C, but we'll see what the NCAA Great Lakes regional poll looks like when it is released on Wednesday.
Little East: Rhode Island College junior midfielder Ryan Kelley headed in the game's only goal in the 87th minute to give the second-seeded Anchormen a 1-0 win over fourth-seeded Plymouth State in the Championship Game of the 2008 Little East Conference Men's Soccer Game. With the earlier loss, Eastern Conn does has an outside chance at a Pool C bid.
Teams to watch: Rhode Island College and Eastern Connecticut State. It has been a while since we've seen two regionally strong teams in this conference. Both Rhode Island and Eastern Conn would represent the LEC well. But it will be tough for the second place team in this tourney to snag an at-large bid in such a crowded field.
NJAC: Montclair State won their third title on Friday.
Teams to watch: all of them. Any of these four teams could win the tournament and could win through the first round of the post-season. Montclair State is probably one of the top four teams in the country and should be the favorite to win, but the conference will produce at least one Pool C bid.
Capital Athletic Conference: Salisbury defeated Wesley to take the conference AQ.
Teams to watch: York and Salisbury. York may well be the most talented team in the country, and can certainly claim one of the top defenses, having allowed only three goals all season. Those three goals allowed were one each against Christopher Newport, Salisbury, and Messiah. During this defensive run, the offense scored 59 goals. Short of a PK anomaly like the one against Wheaton (Ill.) in the 2006 post-season, we should see York in the final four. Salisbury went through a dry spell mid-season but has picked up their game as of late and should continue a strong run in this tourney, their 15th straight CAC appearance.
NEWMAC: the quarterfinals began tonight with No. 7 WPI falling 1-0 at No. 2 MIT, and No. 6 Wheaton defeating No. 3 Clark 1-0 in a mild upset. No. 5 Springfield came back from a 3-1 deficit to play No. 4 Coast Guard to a 3-3 draw, only to fall 4-1 in PKs. CG keeper had two saves in the PK round. The semis continued today with No. 1 Babson coming back from a 1-0 deficit to beat Coast Guard 2-1. Later in the day, Wheaton fell 2-1 against MIT. Babson defeated MIT 3-1 for the conference AQ today. MIT remains a strong candidate for post-season play via an at-large berth.
Teams to watch: Babson, MIT, Clark, and Wheaton. All four of these teams could win the NEWMAC AQ. Wheaton has fallen a bit behind but has the talent to win the required three straight. Babson and MIT could pick up a Pool C bid with a loss in the semis or final.
NESCAC: this tournament got started today at No. 1 seed Middlebury. In the early match, the Panthers defeated No. 4 seed Williams 1-0. No. 2 seed Amherst was a 1-0 winner over No. 3 seed Trinity, off of freshman James Mooney's game winner in the final 10 minutes. Trinity may still look good for a Pool C spot. Amherst won the tourney and AQ today with a 2-0 shutout of Middlebury. With the loss, Middlebury is a lock for a Pool C berth.
Teams to watch: as in the NJAC, all of them. Trinity and Amherst have been playing well, and Middlebury has been consistent all season. The defending national champs have continued their defensive mastery, allowing only four goals this year. Williams has the skill and experience to pull off an upset and to win the tourney, but their play has been somewhat unpredictable this season. Should the Ephs pull it off though, Middlebury is a lock for a Pool C bid. Trinity is also a strong possibility for the Pool C.
Permalink | Nov 09, 2008