2009 Recap: 2009 was a trying year for Bates as they managed only four wins. However, they did manage to finish the season with a win over rival Colby. Offensively, the Bobcats were paced by senior attackman Tyler Moore who netted twenty-four goals and one (one?!?!?!?!) assist, stripping Thomas McDonnell of Amherst of his title of highest goals to assist ratio with an unhealthy twenty-four, a number that continues to blow my mind. Passing in general seemed to be a struggle for Bates, as the highest assist total registered by any one player was a staggering eight. These dismal assist numbers plus the Bobcats woeful record makes a pretty strong case for the argument that you can't run an isolation offense with mediocre (and that's probably generous) players. The defensive end may have actually been worse for Bates, where frosh keeper Adam Scharff stopped a meager 47.6% of his shots, though he is undoubtedly not solely to blame for this. How the NESCAC coaches thought it was a good idea to give all-NESCAC to anyone from the Bates defense is beyond me. I'm out of negative words to use, so let's move on to 2010.
2010 Trend: Downward
What's hot: Um...yeah...not too many reasons to be optimistic here. I suppose Scharff can't have a worse statistical season, can he? Maybe he makes a leap in his second year. Bates could really use it.
What's not: Just about everything. They need to replace the only player who could consistently score goals for them last year and shore up a porous defense. This is a multi-year rebuilding job that will take some serious recruiting to rectify all the deficiencies. Fortunately, Bates should be almost a lock to have a number one overall draft pick in 2010...what's that? I already made this joke with Williams? Crap, I got nothing guys.
What we should be talking about: The 2013 season; The other nine teams in the NESCAC
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Conn College 2010
2009 Recap: Watch out Trinity, Conn was my 2009 NESCAC sleeper and to say the least, things did not go as expected. A reasonably talented team lost three games early in the year (Trinity, McDaniel, Amherst) that crushed the Camels and it was all downhill from there. Collapsed under the weight of expectations simply doesn't do the events of 2009 justice. Conn was only soundly beaten in two games (Wesleyan and Bowdoin), hanging tight with Middlebury and Tufts but always coming up short. They suffered more than their fair share of injuries, most notably all-NESCACers Mark Moran and Jesse Stevenson, but even this does not excuse what transpired. Simply put, 2009 can only be chalked up as a lost year for a program that appeared to be on the rise.
2010 Trend: Upward
What's hot: Junior attackman Ryan Hayes quietly compiled seasons of 39 and 49 points in his first two years at Conn and could be poised to step into a leadership role on offense. Defensively, the Camels return most of their significant contributors with the exception of graduated senior captain Ben Stahl. Even with Moran gone, the goalie job appears to be in safe hands with two sophomores competing for the starting role. Both were high school all-Americans and saw some playing time last year and appear capable of providing solid goalie play as long as the defense steps up their play from the debacle that was 2009. In a nutshell, the talent is there for this team to return to respectability, but as 2009 painfully illustrated, it takes far more than talent to be successful in the NESCAC (if you're not convinced, just ask my favorite punching bag, the Middlebury Panthers).
What's not: This team has to avoid the problems that plagued it in 2009 if it is to be successful, and sometimes it is harder to identify and rectify problems that aren't talent related. It isn't as simple as recruiting better players. Attitude, motivation and determination play a huge role in who wins games between two teams with similar talent levels. Not to sound like a corny sports movie, but teams must fight for every ground ball and hustle at all times if they want to successful against teams with equal or greater talent. The onus is on the players to bring that fire. If Conn does, they could be dangerous and should fit right in with Colby and Trinity as a second tier team that is capable of challenging the elite. If not, look for another long season of losing. On a less Remember The Titans-esque note, Conn won 38% of its faceoffs in NESCAC games. This obviously needs to be improved for Conn to be successful, and that improvement can be facilitated with a change in attitude, if not personnel. Getting Dan Gallagher back from injury should help last year's primary FOGO Chuck Czerkawski, who was simply overworked taking nearly every faceoff every game, particularly in the second half of the year.
What we should be talking about: Is the Camel the most random mascot in the NESCAC; The role that team records play in all-NESCAC recognition; How Conn's grass field is the most inhospitable field this side of the Birdcage, at least on Saturday afternoons; Why every team in the NESCAC is white and blue (really guys? isn't the NESCAC all about intelligence and creativity?)
2010 Trend: Upward
What's hot: Junior attackman Ryan Hayes quietly compiled seasons of 39 and 49 points in his first two years at Conn and could be poised to step into a leadership role on offense. Defensively, the Camels return most of their significant contributors with the exception of graduated senior captain Ben Stahl. Even with Moran gone, the goalie job appears to be in safe hands with two sophomores competing for the starting role. Both were high school all-Americans and saw some playing time last year and appear capable of providing solid goalie play as long as the defense steps up their play from the debacle that was 2009. In a nutshell, the talent is there for this team to return to respectability, but as 2009 painfully illustrated, it takes far more than talent to be successful in the NESCAC (if you're not convinced, just ask my favorite punching bag, the Middlebury Panthers).
What's not: This team has to avoid the problems that plagued it in 2009 if it is to be successful, and sometimes it is harder to identify and rectify problems that aren't talent related. It isn't as simple as recruiting better players. Attitude, motivation and determination play a huge role in who wins games between two teams with similar talent levels. Not to sound like a corny sports movie, but teams must fight for every ground ball and hustle at all times if they want to successful against teams with equal or greater talent. The onus is on the players to bring that fire. If Conn does, they could be dangerous and should fit right in with Colby and Trinity as a second tier team that is capable of challenging the elite. If not, look for another long season of losing. On a less Remember The Titans-esque note, Conn won 38% of its faceoffs in NESCAC games. This obviously needs to be improved for Conn to be successful, and that improvement can be facilitated with a change in attitude, if not personnel. Getting Dan Gallagher back from injury should help last year's primary FOGO Chuck Czerkawski, who was simply overworked taking nearly every faceoff every game, particularly in the second half of the year.
What we should be talking about: Is the Camel the most random mascot in the NESCAC; The role that team records play in all-NESCAC recognition; How Conn's grass field is the most inhospitable field this side of the Birdcage, at least on Saturday afternoons; Why every team in the NESCAC is white and blue (really guys? isn't the NESCAC all about intelligence and creativity?)
Preseason Top 20 poll
1. Salisbury
2. Cortland
3. Stevenson
4. Denison
5. Haverford
6. Gettysburg
7.WNEC
8. Tufts
9. W&L
10. Roanoke
11. Bowdoin
12. Wesleyan
13. Middlebury
14. Naz
15. St. Lawrence
16. Ithaca
17. Geneseo
18. Lynchburg
19. Cabrini
20. Trinity
See http://network.laxpower.com/laxforum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=38543 for further comments and analysis.
2. Cortland
3. Stevenson
4. Denison
5. Haverford
6. Gettysburg
7.WNEC
8. Tufts
9. W&L
10. Roanoke
11. Bowdoin
12. Wesleyan
13. Middlebury
14. Naz
15. St. Lawrence
16. Ithaca
17. Geneseo
18. Lynchburg
19. Cabrini
20. Trinity
See http://network.laxpower.com/laxforum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=38543 for further comments and analysis.
Amherst 2010
2009 Recap: 2009 was a solid year for the Jeffs, winning pretty much every game they were supposed to. Of course, the caveat to that is that they lost the games that they were supposed to lose, although they did manage to keep many of their losses close. Offensively, senior attackman Brett Miller did most of the heavy lifting, scoring ten goals and dishing out twenty-nine assists as the primary creator. Amherst's offense generally boiled down to Miller initiating a dodge from behind the cage, looking to bang the ball inside to Thomas McDonnell (33/4/37) or rotating the ball quickly up the wing for a dodge from one of of the Jeff's midfielders, usually Milone, Redwood or Fox. Defensively, Amherst was led by senior keeper Matt Pietroforte, whose impact cannot simply be measured in statistics. He played an instrumental role in aligning and instructing his defense, in addition to being the emotional leader for the team. Whoever wins the starting gig this year has to replace much more than just Pietroforte's ability to stop the ball.
2010 Trend: Downward
What's hot: The Lord Jeffs return a decent amount of points, including an elite finisher inside in McDonnell and some talent through the midfield, namely Milone, Redwood and Fox, the latter two of whom posted strong freshman campaigns. Unless there is another Brett Miller waiting in the wings (which seems unlikely), expect the Amherst offensive strategy to shift to a system based more on dodging through the midfield. As long as McDonnell is inside, teams will have to be very wary of cheating too much on their slides lest the dodger zip a quick pass to McDonnell for an easy dunk. The best defenses get a good jump on their slides through smart off-ball play, putting a premium on players like McDonnell who can finish under duress and keep a defense honest in their slide package.
What's not: It is far easier to say that the Amherst offense will shift its orientation to the midfield than to actually see it function in practice. Milone, Redwood and Fox managed only 22 combined assists last year, and only time will tell whether or not they have the requisite skill and vision to function effectively as both dodgers and feeders. If Amherst can't get the ball inside to McDonnell, they will struggle to score enough goals to win games. On defense, there are huge shoes to fill in goal as well as at close defense, where two starters graduate including talented defender Chris Fitzpatrick. Considering these challenges and the fact that this isn't an overly deep or talented team, it seems unlikely that 2010 will yield a better year than 2010 did.
What we should be talking about: Who came up with the mascot of Lord Jeff; How many points Thomas McDonnell would have if he played with D.J. Hessler; Whether or not McDonnell has the highest goal to assist ratio in the NESCAC among players who scored at least twenty points; Why a small guy like Redwood got significant run as a defensive midfielder in addition to his offensive duties; What color scheme would be better than purple and white (pretty much anything)
2010 Trend: Downward
What's hot: The Lord Jeffs return a decent amount of points, including an elite finisher inside in McDonnell and some talent through the midfield, namely Milone, Redwood and Fox, the latter two of whom posted strong freshman campaigns. Unless there is another Brett Miller waiting in the wings (which seems unlikely), expect the Amherst offensive strategy to shift to a system based more on dodging through the midfield. As long as McDonnell is inside, teams will have to be very wary of cheating too much on their slides lest the dodger zip a quick pass to McDonnell for an easy dunk. The best defenses get a good jump on their slides through smart off-ball play, putting a premium on players like McDonnell who can finish under duress and keep a defense honest in their slide package.
What's not: It is far easier to say that the Amherst offense will shift its orientation to the midfield than to actually see it function in practice. Milone, Redwood and Fox managed only 22 combined assists last year, and only time will tell whether or not they have the requisite skill and vision to function effectively as both dodgers and feeders. If Amherst can't get the ball inside to McDonnell, they will struggle to score enough goals to win games. On defense, there are huge shoes to fill in goal as well as at close defense, where two starters graduate including talented defender Chris Fitzpatrick. Considering these challenges and the fact that this isn't an overly deep or talented team, it seems unlikely that 2010 will yield a better year than 2010 did.
What we should be talking about: Who came up with the mascot of Lord Jeff; How many points Thomas McDonnell would have if he played with D.J. Hessler; Whether or not McDonnell has the highest goal to assist ratio in the NESCAC among players who scored at least twenty points; Why a small guy like Redwood got significant run as a defensive midfielder in addition to his offensive duties; What color scheme would be better than purple and white (pretty much anything)
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