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Title Hopes Gone: Stock Report 10/10

Finally a solid game in week 4 between Amherst and Middlebury. As I predicted, Midd came out on top, but not for the reasons that I had thought. In the rest of the league, things went as expected, and Williams continued their rise into the top tier of the NESCAC, seeing their young players continue to make plays leaps and bounds ahead of the Ephs timetable for rebuilding. The future is now, and they are the real deal. The rest of the league performed pretty ordinarily, but some individual performances, both good and bad, are noteworthy.

Stock Up

Middlebury’s Well-Roundedness

With defensive weapons like Kevin Hopsicker ’18, Middlebury looks to be in same tier as Trinity

Middlebury needed to get a shout out here after beating their second top NESCAC team of the season, improving to 4-0. With wins against Wesleyan and Amherst, they now only have Tufts and Trinity (Williams is still TBD) as daunting opponents. While their receiving depth has been my favorite part of the team this season, offering Jared Lebowitz ’18 all the targets he could ask for, the running game is showing development, and the secondary is turning it on. With Diego Meritus ’19 still out (I keep hearing week in and week out he is coming back the next game—I no longer trust my sources) they still managed to make an impact on the ground with several different backs these last few weeks. Their secondary picked off Reece Foy twice and turned them into pick-sixes, putting the Panthers over the edge. Wesley Becton and Kevin Hopsicker joined the long list of Midd players that are now big time playmakers and with such depth, Trinity should watch out.

Williams Rushing Attack

While Bobby Maimaron ’21 and his fellow young Eph receivers have been the subject of high praise early on this year, for good reason, the run game showed against Bates last weekend that it deserves press recognition too. Rashad Morrison made the most out of his five carries on Saturday as he rushed for 85 yards (17 per carry!), while fellow teammates Connor Harris, Maimaron, and Steve Bohling accumulated a combined 174 additional yards. Each of Williams’ top four rushers averaged over five yards per carry, and while it was against a weak Bobcat defense, these numbers are still significant as they will need a balanced offensive attack to compete against Midd and Tufts in their upcoming games.

Stock Down

1. Amherst’s Title Hopes

And another undefeated team has fallen. This turned out to be a 35-31 one possession result, but in reality it wasn’t as close as the box score indicates. This game, played on the Mammoths’ home turf, was 35-17 with just over 11 minutes to go in the fourth quarter and if it wasn’t for two unanswered Amherst TDs then it would’ve looked like an easy win for Midd. This was Ollie Eberth’s first test against a solid opponent and he did fine–not great, not bad. He has limited running capabilities but really throws well to James O’Reagan. And with solid games from both Jack Hickey and Hasani Figueroa, their ground game was awesome. Here is the problem: They won’t be able to outscore Trinity, and Lebowitz was still able to have a solid day under center despite only 14 offensive points scored. Their defense is good, but not Trinity-esque, and with one loss already on their record, they need to go through the Bantams to have a shot at the title. What they needed was vintage Reece Foy. Up until last weekend, I believed that after working back in to live action slowly, they could again see the former POY candidate as his old self. However, after a brief two INT performance lacking any spark (-2.2 yards per rush), he doesn’t look to be the guy to take them to the top. Amherst is still a solid team in this conference, but won’t win any rings this year and now lack the potential to knock off the top teams that glimmered whenever Foy’s name was mentioned. They showed some hope in their rush defense against Midd, and they will need to bring that again and then some to stop Dario Highsmith this weekend.

Amherst simply doesn’t have a consistent enough passing game to compete with Trinity and Middlebury this year.

2a. Underdogs

This is similar to the stock down report on the unsurprising results from a week ago, but it really is something that disappoints me as a fan of the underdog. There has not been a single real upset in NESCAC football this year. Sure, Williams is now a contender and wasn’t last year (far from it as they were winless) but it didn’t shock anybody when they beat fellow second tier teams from a year ago in Bates, Colby, and Bowdoin. Their good performance against Trinity and Hamilton’s near win against Tufts were almost upsets, but they didn’t happen. So I’m sticking to my guns and saying that not a single upset has happened in 2017. Not one bottom tier team has beaten a top tier team. Even Amherst, a team caught in the middle of the NESCAC last year, couldn’t beat Middlebury. Maybe the NESCAC should adopt a first and second division soccer style where the lower teams of Colby, Bowdoin, Bates, Hamilton, and Williams are in the second division, and at the end of the year the top team gets to move up to the first division. Then the loser of the first division between Trinity, Midd, Amherst, Wesleyan, and Tufts would drop down for the following year. Williams would be on pace to win the lower division. Obviously it is a ridiculous proposal that wouldn’t and shouldn’t happen, but it would be nice to see some unexpected results and not all of these assured wins for the top teams. It allows them to play with a blindfold on and not worry about whether they will win for weeks at a time. Again, this problem could be solved with playoffs. A fan can hope.

2b. Validity of Statistics

Because this weekend went nearly exactly how I expected it to, there’s not a whole lot to say about stocks that went down because for so many teams, it can’t really get much worse. Bates, Bowdoin, Colby, and Hamilton all had hard schedules to start the season, resulting in each of their 0-4 records, so I guess their morale is pretty low. But for the teams who they have played, especially this last weekend, the scores were run up so high, it’s almost as if the entire games were played in garbage time. Wesleyan, Tufts, Trinity, and Williams all scored north of 30 points, each winning by a margin of over three possessions. Four TDs for Mark Piccirillo, four total TDs for Bobby Maimaron, three TDs for Sonny Puzzo, two TDs for Max Chipouras, two total TDs for Ryan McDonald. These stats get so inflated at the consequence of bad defense just as much as offensive prowess. It’s hard to distinguish who the best players are sometimes because aggregate season stats aren’t particular on which team they were collected against. The value of each touchdown should be measured against its importance in a game as some of these are accumulated without significant challenge.

Same Old, Same Old; Power Rankings Week 3

Not a whole lot has changed from last week other than the fact that Williams is no longer undefeated. With that said though, they proved that they are significantly ahead of any sort of rebuilding designation and that they are above the bottom half of the league no question. Their strong defensive effort against the Bantams, including a shut down of Max Chipouras really showed the rest of the NESCAC that they are ready to make the leap to the next step. What we saw in the other four games did not surprise anybody, and at this point Hamilton has all but rejoined the bottom tier of the league after their exciting week one game. Not much has changed, but here’s where they stand:

1: Trinity
I thought about moving the Bantams down, but they have still only allowed nine points all season and that is not enough of a negative to knock them off of their pedestal. Max Chipouras’ 2.9 yards per carry are a slight cause of concern heading into what’s basically an assured win against Hamilton. My concern is that now he is no longer the NESCAC God of Running. He had a bad game, but still scored a TD and his team can likely win on Saturday with a blindfold on. Until they face a better team, it will be hard to tell exactly how unbelievable this team is, but for now they are ready to roll to 4-0.

2: Middlebury
Middlebury is coming off their second straight win against a sub-par opponent and looks ready to take on Amherst. While they lack a significant running game at this point, young Charlie Ferguson ’21 is averaging nearly 7 yards per carry in his 15 touches this season. While it is a limited sample size, he has filled in nicely the past two games in low pressure situations while Diego Meritus rehabs on his way back to the field. If Meritus comes back strongly, then Midd will be firing on all cylinders.

Conrad Banky and the Panthers are on a roll

3: Amherst
Amherst is in a virtual tie with Midd for the second spot on these rankings, but due to their schedule weakness up to this point they are slightly below. They will face their first tough competition this weekend against the Panthers but with Jack Hickey, an array of solid receivers and a middle-tier NESCAC QB in Ollie Eberth, they don’t have much to worry about in terms of overall position. Kicker John Rak had an uncharacteristically unsuccessful performance by missing three field goals, and he needs to flip the switch for this Saturday because it will be the first time there is any pressure on him all season. Their game against Midd will likely come down to the wire and he needs to be ready to boot it through the uprights from deep, maybe even over 50 yards like last year. There are no major concerns with this team right now, but unless they show some more prowess this weekend, they might not be quite as elite as Midd and Trinity.

4: Wesleyan
By virtue of their opening week loss, this is where the Cardinals sit in the rankings, although they have had a tough schedule up to this point. They knocked off Tufts in OT which was a great sign for their ability to beat the top teams in the conference, and they have what should be two easy wins coming up. They shouldn’t have any issue with Colby or Bates and will be heading into a week six matchup against Amherst with a 4-1 record barring an impossible upset. While QB Mark Piccirillo has been finding the end zone just fine, there is a concern with his high turnover numbers as he has already tossed five picks in three games. They showed that Hamilton is indeed a weaker opponent with a blowout win and their defense has been strong thus far. Their one concern would be the rush D which allowed over 200 yards on the ground two weeks ago. They should sit pretty in this spot, and maybe move up to #3 depending on the outcome of the Midd/Amherst game.

5: Tufts
Tufts only cruised to their win against Bates after the first half, showing weaknesses in their defense by allowing the poor Bobcat offense to score 17 points. Their holes were in the rush defense, and it was the starters who showed the weakness. Bates scored all of their points in the first half, and this game was never totally out of hand. The Jumbos have allowed more rush yards than any of the teams above them in these rankings. Also with only four turnovers on defense, they lack the stoppage power that Trinity and Amherst have while also seeing their run game disappear from last year. Ryan McDonald looked great last weekend though and the duel threat QB is carrying the Jumbos up to this point. They should have an easy time against Bowdoin this weekend, heading into their daunting week five matchup against Trinity.

6: Williams
They are close to passing Tufts on these rankings with their strong defensive performance against Trinity. Their only fault so far is that they don’t have a win against a top tier team, and while Tufts doesn’t either, they still took Wesleyan to OT. Allowing the aforementioned 2.9 yards per carry to Chipouras and just 163 yards passing to Sonny Puzzo, they look capable of quieting any offense. Bobby Maimaron ’21 showed weakness for the first time this season, but did so against the league’s best defense in the Bantams. As an added bonus they have possibly the best athlete in the NESCAC in Adam Regensburg ’18 who played WR, DB, and was an unreal punter last weekend. Oh yeah, he starts on the baseball team too. Look for them to handily beat Bates.

7: Hamilton
Ok so now it’s been three weeks, and other than one close game, Hamilton has looked pretty bad. So why are they sitting at 7th on the rankings and not lower? Well, first of all, they are the only team at this point that has shown any possibility of beating or competing with one of the top teams, and they also have only faced the upper echelon of the NESCAC. Kenny Gray has looked servicable thus far, but without a strong running game, they lack the tools for offensive sustainability in competition with the top dawgs. Their defensive line also has some work to do as they sacked Piccirillo just one time last weekend, allowing him ample time in the pocket. On the bright side, Bryce Phillips and Justin Leigh both had INTs giving me just enough hope that they can beat the bottom teams in the conference. They won’t beat Trinity, but after this week, they will have ended their streak of a brutal strength of schedule.

8: Bowdoin
Well at this point you can pretty much chalk Bowdoin’s predicted game outcomes to a score of about 30-40 points allowed and 14 points scored. They have only faced winning teams thus far and could have success against Bates, Colby, and Hamilton, but still need to show some hope for preventing huge scores on defense. Griff Stalcup ’21 looks to be the QB of the future for the Polar Bears as he took over the starting job and played decently in his second start of the year, making great strides from the first one. He was able to find the end zone for the first time in his passing career, racking up TDs thrown to Bryan Porter and Nick Vallas, the strongest Bowdoin offensive pieces. Like Hamilton, they lacked much presence on their D-line and gave Ollie Eberth plenty of time in the pocket. With another tough contest coming up against Tufts, they probably won’t find the win column this weekend.

Bates couldn’t quite keep up with Tufts on Saturday despite improvements

9: Bates
The Bobcat offense looked much improved against Tufts, actually staying in the game until well into the fourth quarter. With new QB Brendan Costa under center, effectively benching Sandy Plashkes, the Bobcats had a bit more life. Costa showed similarly to Plashkes in ’16 that he can run it a little bit, finding the end zone and accumulating 97 yards on just 16 carries. Granted, one of those was a 70 yard run, proving his other 15 carries non-impactful, but that big play speed is just what Bates needs. Bates matched Tufts with four tackles for losses, but their secondary appeared continually weak by allowing four TD passes to McDonald. Bates should hope Costa keeps improving as his long TD run is basically their lone bright spot up to this point in the season. Look for them to compete initially but fall true to their lack of scoring against Williams.

10: Colby
Bates and Colby are kind of rotating in and out of this last spot by virtue of which team played a worse game the week before. The Mules looked bad against Middlebury last weekend. With just 112 yards passing and 179 yards of total offense, they never stood a chance. Here was the positive: They actually won the first quarter. From then on it was bad news. They were outscored 33-0 the rest of the game, and couldn’t even make their extra point. Don Vivian added a pick on Lebowitz too putting Colby at third place on total turnovers so far. They should compete against Bowdoin and Bates, and just maybe Hamilton, but that’s about it.

Familiar Territory: Week 2 Football Power Rankings

I may have hopped on the Hamilton football bandwagon a little too quickly, and now we find ourselves in a familiar NESCAC football picture. While each team looks to have settled in to a more classic position early on in the standings, it’s hard not to lament at what could have been if there were some upsets in week two. What we see now is Trinity’s continuing reign, with Middlebury, Amherst, and Tufts hot on the Bantams’ feathers. While Williams is 2-0 after an 0-8 season in 2016, they still have much to prove to be included in the title hunt. With week three around the corner, here is where each squad stands:

1: Trinity
Two games and two dominant results. The Bantam defense is unstoppable at the moment, not allowing points heading into October. After a 31-0 mark at the end of the first quarter, they cruised to victory as Sonny Puzzo ’18, Max Chipouras ’18, and Dominique Seagers ’18 had huge days. Seagers had a pick-six and a tackle for a loss. Even their special teams were perfect as kicker Eric Sachse ’19 made his only field goal attempt and John Spears returned a punt 51 yards to the Bates 16 yard line, leading to a Chipouras TD. An 11 game win streak, 86-0 aggregate season score, and all three prongs of the game in full force lead to a sure fire top ranking here.

Dakota Foster rises up to make a grab against Bates in week 2.

2: Middlebury
Middlebury stands out on offense right now. QB Jared Lebowitz ’18 is off looking for more TD records as he found the end zone four more times in week two, finding four different receivers in the process. Breakout WR Maxim Bockman ’20, Conrado Banky ’19, Max Rye ’20, and Jimmy Connell ’21 all had reason to celebrate, while Tanner Contois ’18 and Jimmy Martinez ’19 also had solid days. Their receiving depth is noteworthy, and although Diego Meritus ’19 was still out, he should be coming back soon. In his stead, Senior Matt Cardew ’18 shined in his biggest college game, running for 74 yards and a TD, looking like a solid option out of the backfield. They have an easy game against Colby in week three at home, and if Meritus is back it would be a good time to ease him into action and see what he can do alongside Cardew.

3: Amherst
Reece Foy ’18 is back after missing all of 2016. That’s big news for Mammoth fans as he brought a win along with him. While Amherst eased him in to action, he still ran for a TD in the first quarter and backup Ollie Eberth ’21 looked fine for most of the game. Jack Hickey ’19 led the way with two scored and 122 yards rushing, while Elijah Ngbokoli ’20 had a breakout game with a TD run of 39 yards in the third quarter. The defense also forced four turnovers against a Hamilton team that looked to be an up and coming threat. While the Mammoths certainly sent the Continentals back to earth, they looked clean and ready to take on the tougher teams in the process. Look for them to roll over Bowdoin.

Wesleyan celebrates their OT victory over Tufts.

4: Wesleyan
Nearly identically to last year, Wesleyan shrugged off their opening game loss against a tough team to beat another one in week two. They are here to stay, and although they have a tally in the loss column, they could make a run at the title just like they did until the final week of last season. Their OT win against Tufts saved their season and will be a great stepping stone after a defensively oriented game. Mark Piccirillo ’18 looked good passing but lost two fumbles, and the running game was weak, however, Ben Thaw ’20 and Shane Kaminski ’18 saved the day by each intercepting passes from Ryan McDonald. If Dario Highsmith ’20 can rebound against hamilton after rushing for just ten yards, then Wesleyan will be in good shape.

5: Tufts
Wesleyan avenged their 2016 week one loss to the Jumbos with an OT victory last week, dashing Tufts’ hopes of a perfect season. It’s really nice to think that the Jumbos aren’t totally out of the championship picture with the addition of the ninth game providing more hope, but it will be a tough road. After exiting the opening game against Hamilton early, Ryan McDonald ’20 returned but didn’t look good in the air, throwing two picks and zero TDs. He looked great on the ground though, running for over seven yards per carry and 122 yards total, including a TD. Tufts didn’t muster much offense other than his rushing though as if it weren’t for an 85 yard punt return from Jack Dolan ’20, they would’ve been routed in regular time. If Ryan Hagfeldt can return for week three, he might see some pocket action against Bates as the Jumbos should easily rout the Bobcats on their way to a 2-1 start.

6: Williams
2-0! A perfect start for a team that had a perfectly bad season in 2016. Is this the story of 2017 NESCAC football? Don’t get too excited too fast as the Ephs have yet to play a team from the top half of the division. They have some great pieces that they are rolling out as new QB Bobby Maimaron ’21, WRs Frank Stola ’21 and Justin Nelson are running the show. They were down 7-0 and then up just 10-7 at half against Colby, but turned up the heat in the fourth quarter, finishing the game with 24 unanswered points. Their first real test will be this weekend at Trinity, and if they can pull off this upset I will be shocked. If they put up a close game then they should still be considered the real deal. Let the Coop bring its worst, the Ephs are warmed up.

7: Hamilton
Well, I will admit defeat with this one. I wanted so badly to see a Cinderella story with the Continentals in 2017, but am realizing how that train has already left the station. Hamilton came off a hard fought loss against Tufts and just got abused by Amherst. Ball security was an issue as two RBs and a WR fumbled, leaving the Continentals with a poor red zone execution rate. Gray also threw a pick and with those four turnovers, they never had a shot. Granted these aspects of the game are correctable as Gray looked solid, and so did lead receiver Christian Donahue ’20, but they still couldn’t gain any traction on the ground. Their rush defense was also pitiful, and against other top teams like Trinity and Wesleyan with good backs, they will continue to watch their deficits shoot up.

8: Bowdoin
Bowdoin didn’t look great against Middlebury, particularly their defense, and only scored garbage time TDs. They did score twice though, putting them ahead of Colby and Bates in the rankings. This was an important game though as it was the first start for Griff Stalcup ’21 who took over for Noah Nelson ’18 (as predicted). Stalcup struggled some, completing just 12 passes for 105 yards, but ran the ball well, rushing ten times for 54 yards and a TD. If he keeps developing he could be an exciting dual threat player for the Polar Bears, although I will keep in mind it was against the Panthers’ reserves. Lebowitz had all day to throw for Middlebury, as he was sacked just once, and if they can’t pressure the QB, the opposition if going to keep having a field day against Bowdoin.

9: Colby
The Mules move up in the rankings by virtue of getting on the scoreboard in week two, but are only marginally higher than Bates. Sure they only lost by 17 (is that even a bright side?), but getting dominated by Williams, regardless of how good they might be, is not a good result. QB Jack O’Brien had an OK day, not throwing a pick, completing over 50% of his passes, and finding the end zone, but he also fumbled and failed to keep his team in the game. Jake Schwern had a solid day on the ground with 71 yards rushing, and the positives stop with him. The Mule defense sacked Williams’ QB Maimaron just twice and recorded five tackles for losses compared to 12 from the Ephs, pointing to line troubles on both sides of the ball. This was probably a game that was circled on the Colby schedule as a victory before the season and is going to hurt for a while.

10: Bates
There are four 0-2 teams and one of them had to bite the bullet. Bates is last on these rankings due to lack of a point scored in week two. Their offensive struggles of week one worsened and that is a big issue for a team that looked to be on the rise a season ago. As I predicted, QB Sandy Plashkes’ (’18) lack of production led to Matt Golden taking over, although with limited success. Plashkes’ completions to the Bobcats matched his completions to the Bantams (one each) and the Bates QBs threw for just 45 yards combined. They stayed true to their system of a run oriented offense, but besides Kyle Flaherty (seven rushes, 43 yards) no player with over two attempts averaged more than three yards per carry. If Bates’ defense continues to struggle, then running the ball in such a high volume without a dynamic back won’t lead to many comebacks. On the bright side, Justin Foley netted 247 total yards on punts.

The Biggest Little Rivalry: Amherst vs Williams Men’s Soccer Preview

Editor’s Note: Ben Suski is a rising junior at Bowdoin, and will be coming aboard the S.S NbN as another soccer writer. Fun fact about Ben: he is 12 feet tall and weighs 576 pounds.

Amherst (1-1, 1-1) @ Williams (3-1, 2-1)

In a weekend jam-packed with NESCAC soccer, we draw our attention to a classic Little Three matchup in Williamstown this Saturday, as the Williams Ephs (3-1, 2-1) host the Amherst Mammoths (1-1, 1-1). Williams looks to bounce back after dropping their first points of the season last weekend, while Amherst aims to remind everyone why they’re the defending NESCAC Champions, after a gradual start to this year’s campaign.

The game figures to be a chess match, as both teams tout strong defenses, anchored by senior goalkeepers ready to leave it all on the field. Lee Owen ‘18 returns to net as the Mammoths’ starting keeper, and after a strong junior campaign where he allowed well under a goal per game, he’ll look to keep the Ephs off the scoreboard. His counterpart between the pipes is Bobby Schneiderman ‘18, who has been a wall in net for the Williams, allowing just one goal in the four opening games of the season. Schneiderman, playing in his first season as the team’s top choice keeper, has not let his inexperience show, and another strong performance from him against a hungry Amherst attack could cement him as a First Team Candidate.

Tobias Muellers ’18 (Courtesy of Williams Athletics)

With all of that said, defensively, the edge goes to Williams. Aside from the fact that Williams has conceded just one goal this season, they also boast a far more experienced defensive core than Amherst. The Ephs defense is lead by captain (and Burlington High School product) Tobias Muellers ’18 who has been a staple in the lineup his entire career at Williams. Aside from holding down the back line, it’s worth noting that Muellers is also a dangerous aerial threat on set pieces, and notched a pair of goals last season, so he could be a factor on both ends of the pitch Saturday.

It’s a slightly different narrative for Amherst, a squad that trots out three freshmen in the first team to help with the defensive efforts. With just two games under their belts, the lads have played considerably well, but a balanced Williams attack will be a good test this week for them. Luckily, they do have some veteran leadership in Captain Cameron Hardington ’18, who serves as a suitable opposite to Muellers, having also tallied two goals last season, along with a pair of assists.

But enough about defense. Williams has gotten firepower from seemingly all over the field this season. A team with four goals in as many games, the Ephs have had eight different players find their way onto the score sheet in some fashion. Mark Sisco-Tolomeo ’18 paced the Ephs with five goals last year, and will likely be the Mammoths’ biggest problem to cope with up front.

While Williams has spread the love on offense this year, Amherst will likely look for Fikayo Ajayi ’18 to bang in the goals this weekend. Ajayi had the match-winner against Bowdoin, the only common opponent between Amherst and Williams, and seems poised to have a breakout season. This would be massive for a team that graduated the three-headed monster of Bryce Ciambella ’17, Weller Hlinomaz ‘17, and Chris Martin ’17, who accounted for 24 goals and added another 10 assists last year.

If you are a big common opponent guy, Amherst did defeat Bowdoin two weeks ago 1-0, in the Mammoths’ home opener, and Williams fell 1-0 to that same Polar Bear team one week later on the road. It might be tempting to assume this means Amherst has the edge, but a pair of 1-0 results against another top team in the conference tells us is that this game figures to be a good one. It’s a battle of Williams’ experience vs. Amherst’s championship pedigree, and while the season is young, we may find ourselves looking back at the end of October and realizing just how pivotal this Saturday in Williamstown was.

Can Anyone Beat Williams?: Women’s Soccer Weekend Preview 9/23

Editor’s Note: We’d like to welcome another new writer to the fold! Andrew Martin is a first year at Wesleyan, and he’ll be doing a lot of work with the newer sports for our coverage (Soccer and Hockey.) Andrew really like pina coladas and dancing in the rain.

One of the nation’s best women’s soccer conferences is back for its 2017 campaign. Perennial powerhouse Williams College is already off to a perfect season. Squads like Wesleyan and Colby look to bounce back after a tough stretch of league-play last year and uneven starts this season. And all this while Tufts, Bowdoin, and Conn seek to ascend from the middle of the pack to the upper-echelon of the conference. Forget all the speculation, anything can happen in the ‘Cac, and the season is already in full-swing. Let’s check out the games this weekend.

September 23, 2017:

Trinity (Conference: 0-3-0, Overall: 1-4-0) vs. Colby (Conference: 0-2-1, Overall: 2-2-1) (11:00 A.M., Waterville, ME)

Olivia Greif ’21 (Courtesy of Colby Athletics)

Both the Bantams and the Mules seek their first conference win in the 2017 season. Colby comes off a 3-0 defeat at the hands of conference-leader Williams. However, there is a bright spot for Colby in the form of Olivia Greif ‘21. Greif ranks third in the NESCAC in points, goals, and assists. With only one conference goal thus far, the Mules need to start generating some offense to have any shot at competing with the conference’s elite, and Greif is the biggest key to that struggle. Similarly, Trinity comes into play with zero conference goals. Keeper Julia Pitino ‘18 ranks fourth in the NESCAC in saves. Although it’s tough to categorize this game as a must win for both teams so early in the season, going winless into the third weekend is incredibly hard to come back from.

Hamilton (Conf: 1-2-1, Overall: 2-2-1) vs. Connecticut College (Conf: 2-0-1, League: 4-0-1) (11:30 A.M., New London, CT)

Michelle Medina ’18 (Courtesy of Connecticut College Ahtletics)

Hamilton comes into this weekend coasting off of a 1-0 win over the Bantams. The biggest reason for that win was keeper Emily Dumont ‘18, who ranks second in the NESCAC in saves. With three conference goals at this point in the season, it’s clear that the Continentals can generate offense, but to move into the top-three teams in the league, Dumont has to continue to be a rock in between the pipes. The Camels have nothing but confidence without a loss in the conference or overall play yet. Part of that reason is Michelle Medina ‘18, who leads the team with three of its five goals. Connecticut College could be the sleeper team to win the NESCAC this year, but before they think of Williams, they have to defeat Hamilton.

Amherst (Conf: 1-1-0, Overall 3-2-0) vs. Williams (Conf: 4-0-0, Overall: 5-0-0) (12:00, Williamstown, MA)

Olivia Barnhill ’19 (Courtesy of Williams Athletics)

When asking a Williams/Amherst player if they had a successful season, a single question determines 90% of the answer: did you beat Williams/Amherst. The upset loss to Trinity in the playoffs last year surprised us all, but the Ephs were ready to, as Big Sean put it, ‘bounce back’. Even though the loss of 2016 NESCAC POY Kristi Kirshe was a major blow to the Eph’s defense, Williams has already flown off to an incredible start. Led by 2016 2nd team all NESCAC keeper Olivia Barnhill ‘19, the Ephs strong defense acts as a complement to its dominant offense. Amherst, in contrast, hasn’t had such a stellar season so far. Sitting in the middle of the pack in the NESCAC, a win at Williams’ homecoming could provide enough momentum to push them up to the top of the league. If they pick up a win, but don’t win the ‘Cac, I’m sure they’ll still deem the season as a success.

Middlebury (Conf: 1-1-1, Overall: 3-1-1) vs. Bowdoin (Conf: 0-2-1, Overall: 1-2-1) (12:00 P.M., Brunswick, MA)

Eliza Van Voorhis ’21 (Courtesy of Middlebury Athletics)

This game could be a season-changer for both the Panthers and Polar Bears. Ascending from the middle of the NESCAC is always tough, but a conference win (and a conference loss) is pivotal for both teams. Middlebury comes into play with as many goals for as goals against, an equilibrium that coincides with their win-loss record. Eliza Van Voorhis (‘21) leads the Panthers in goals, but there has been scoring contributions from the rest of a stellar first year class as well. Eliza Robinson ’18 and Leah Salzman ’18 have both contributed to Middlebury’s offense as well. Bowdoin is led by Nikki Wilson (‘18), who had two goals in their opener, but the whole team has struggled since then. They have no players in the top five of any offensive/defensive statistical categories in the NESCAC. Traveling from NESCAC’s mediocre to its elite is tough, but it starts with this game for both teams.

Bates (Conf: 1-0-0, Overall: 2-1-0) vs. Wesleyan (Conf: 0-1-1, Overall: 2-1-1) (11:00 P.M., Middletown, CT)

Kinsey Yost ’19 (Courtesy of Wesleyan Athletics)

The Bobcats look to stay perfect in conference play when they travel to Middletown to play the Cardinals. Wesleyan looks to snatch that first conference win of the season after a tough tie to Bowdoin last weekend. Led by star defender Kinsey Yost ‘19, the Cards only have two goals against in conference play, but need to generate some offense to be successful. Emily Ribatt ‘21 has been the energizer bunny for the team with her speed and ball skills, but the Cardinals need to start putting the balls in the back of the net in conference play. Bates, on the other hand, has only played one conference game– squeaking out a 1-0 against Hamilton two weeks ago. It’s tough to determine with Bates’ limited sample size how this game will play out, but expect a defensive game with a couple bounces determining the outcome.

Other Conference Games This Weekend (9/23):

September 24, 2017:

Bates vs. Williams (12:00 P.M., Williamstown, MA)

Connecticut College vs. Amherst (2:00 P.M., Amherst, MA)

2017 Standings (as of 9/19/2017):

(Almost)Taking the Head Off the Jumbo: Week 1 Power Rankings:

1: Trinity (1-0)

Trinity now runs its winning streak to 10 games going back to 2015 following a blow out win over Colby. They were expected crush them and played nearly flawlessly, but still could improve. QB Sonny Puzzo’s INT should’ve come as a shock to the Bantams, but other than that, they played great football. Max Chipouras decimated the Colby defense and this team looks primed to blow out Bates in week two. The secondary looked great following the graduation of many All-NESCAC players, and that was the biggest hole. There’s honestly not a whole lot else to say, the Bantams are rolling.

2: Middlebury (1-0)

Jared Lebowitz and the Panthers couldn’t have started off 2017 in better fashion as they knocked off a top tier team, learned about numerous first year weapons, and didn’t totally screw up on special teams. Without RBs Diego Meritus and Will McKissick, Peter Scibilla ’21 took the reins on the ground and was serviceable, but not great. Once the other running weapons return (Meritus should be back this week), the ground game will drastically improve, making Midd even more dangerous. Their receivers are the best in the league and that isn’t open for debate. Not player by player necessarily, but between Maxim Bochman ’20 who went off on Saturday in his first year shot, 2016 breakout Conrad Banky, athletic freak three sport college athlete Frankie Cosolito, and All-American track runner and special teams player of the week Jimmy Martinez, there are so many options for the already established Lebowitz. Opposing secondaries, watch out.

Middlebury’s Ian Blow downs a punt at Wesleyan’s one yard line last Saturday.

3: Amherst (1-0)

There are still some questions for the Mammoths despite their win over the weak looking Bates team last weak. When will Reece Foy come back and how good will he be when he does? If he isn’t healthy, is Ollie Eberth ’21 the real deal? Why am I so bummed that Mike Odenwaelder didn’t have a bigger role? Granted, not all of these questions are bad, and Amherst has an answer to all of them, resulting in their placement barely below Midd on these rankings. Foy was in uniform last weekend and should be back in week two, but even if he doesn’t start, Eberth looked good and had a real connection with Craig Carmelani in the air. Odenwaelder is still raw as a football player and played on special teams, although I still hope he breaks out as a tight end. Jack Hickey was great in his limited action (5 carries, 9.4 yds/carry) and should see more time against Hamilton. I would like to see a better rush defense from the Mammoths as they allowed two TDs to Bates, but Hamilton’s game isn’t running. They should outlast the Continentals and will only get better from here.

4: Wesleyan (0-1)

Some Jumbo fans might be mad that the Cardinals are in this spot, but they simply played a better team in Middlebury and had a solid game. Mark Piccirillo didn’t get off to a fantastic start with two INTs but still threw for four TDs and 432 yards. Dario Highsmith performed poorly in his limited sample size, but the large deficit in the first quarter leading to a passing offense was not a product of him. The Panther receivers simply dominated the Cardinal secondary and while no team is arguably as deep in their receiving core as Midd, Ben Thaw and Elias Camacho will need to pick up the slack against Tufts. We learned last year not to read too much into Wesleyan’s week on result after they lost to Tufts, so I’m going to stick with them as my favorite against the Jumbos, but they are in a must win scenario.

5: Tufts (1-0)

While they were manage to pull out the win in week one, it seemed pretty flukey. Backup QB Ryan Hagfeldt entered the game on the final drive in a tie game in the fourth quarter after an injury to starter Ryan McDonald and landed on his own fumble to score the game winning touchdown. McDonald had a solid game with 26 completions and two TDs and 92 yards rushing, but his status for week two against Wesleyan is up in the air. Their linebackers and DBs didn’t play well and will need to step it up against what is a better QB in Mark Piccirillo. Their ‘bad’ game was as much a product of their own poor play as it was Hamilton’s breakout game, and the Continentals deserve a lot of credit. Tufts will be fine and still found a way to win which is what good programs do. The Jumbos could still be a top tier team this year, but they still lack a Chance Brady. They simply aren’t the same team as last year simply as a product of not having an all world RB, and Dominic Borelli is not even close. Andrew Sanders will be the X-Factor in week two as he has the biggest play potential. Whether it is Hagfeldt or McDonald, the QB won’t be a big issue as the two were in competition to begin the year anyways.

6: Hamilton (0-1)

At the end of the day Hamilton is still winless, however, they made a big challenge to move towards the top tier of the conference in week one. An OT finish after a furious fourth quarter comeback, led by an incredible performance from QB Kenny Gray (370 yards passing, 4 TDs, 0 INT) would have resulted in glory if not for Tufts QB Ryan Hagfeldt recovering his own fumble in the end zone for a TD on fourth down. The Continentals were on the Jumbo’s seven yard line in OT before turning the ball over to end the game, but should still be epically proud of their performance. As a win/lose game goes, no team is happy with a loss, but Hamilton prove to be the real deal if they can manage a close game or win this weekend against Amherst.

7: Williams (1-0)

I’m sure some Ephs fans are upset that they are so far down the rankings after an undefeated start, they did play a weak opponent. Nobody is awestruck that Williams pulled out a win, especially Pete, who called it. There were a host of positives for this team though as they found their first win in over a year, found a QB in Bobby Maimaron ’21, a top receiver in Frank Stola ’21, and saw a breakout performance from RB Connor Harris who had the best game of his college career. Maimaron even kicked off once and Stola returned the punts, showing that this two headed monster, if they are the real deal, should roll over the Colby Mules on the road this weekend. A 2-0 start for the Williams Ephs? When was the last time we predicted that?

8: Bates (0-1)

I’ve always liked the way Coach Harriman runs and recruits the Bates offense as they are the only team so run oriented and with so many slot players. They have a lot of play action passes to open things up, but showed that too few play making receivers leads to a lack of big play potential. QB Sandy Plashkes is in his second year as the starter and was able to find just nine yards for his biggest completion and just 44 in the air total. While he was able to make a dent in opposing defenses by breaking off some big runs in 2016, he rushed for a total of zero yards on twelve tries last Saturday. Ouch. Sure, not all of them were designed runs, but he’s got to make a big play in one area of the offense. Matt Golden’s one completion of 33 yards nearly matched Plashkes’ total, and that should scare the junior signal caller as he needs to step it up against Trinity or he could lose his job. RB Tyler Baum was one of the lone positives as he was able to break off a 42 yard rush at the end of the first half, and could see more carries this week. The Bobcats did play a tough opponent in Amherst, but without their starting QB, and got roughed up by a first year who found the end zone four times as new DB starters Coy Candelario and Jack Maritz were not able to fill the big holes left by Sam Francis and Mark Upton from 2016’s secondary

.9: Bowdoin (0-1)

Losing to one of the teams that didn’t win in 2016 isn’t the start the Polar Bears were looking for. While the Ephs did look much improved, Bowdoin still allowed 439 yards on defense and flat out were beaten. Noah Nelson tried to salvage his lackluster passing day with his two rushing scores, but was still only able to tally 111 yards in the air, with Nick Vallas’ 46 receiving yards the tops on the team. They weren’t able to score fast enough with their style of play and allowed two Williams’ first year players to smoke them on defense. Ejaaz Jiu, Nick Vallas, and Bo Millet were my favorite offensive playmakers for this team heading into the season and as a result of Nelson’s paltry passing, none were able to make a big impact. Look for Vermont high school legend Griff Stalcup ’21 to see some more snaps this weekend, especially if they get down early, and hopefully he will find the diamonds in the rough in the receiving core. Chris Markisz looks to have successfully lost the starting RB or 1b rushing role as he managed just 1.8 yds/carry, putting the ball in Nate Richam’s hands more this week. The offense might look different this weekend against and they need to find small victories in what is likely to be a blow out against Middlebury.

Williams’ Frank Stola makes a Bowdoin defender miss and heads towards yards after a catch.

10: Colby (0-1)

While the Mules did face the league’s toughest opponent in week one, since they didn’t score a point I didn’t have much choice in this rank. Obviously they have some work to do as their defense was torched on the ground by Max Chipouras. This is as much a credit to Chipouras as it is a lack of credit to Colby’s run D. The top two Bantam backs averaged almost nine yards per carry on Saturday, and the Mules had just four tackles for losses. They had several bright spots though as they managed to recover two fumbles and Patrick Yale ’20 was able to pick off Puzzo. Their offense was no better though as they were just 1/15 on third down conversions, and threw for 119 yards in the losing effort. Their run game was OK as Jake Schwern’s 4.5 yards per carry weren’t a huge issue, but 73 yards passing from the starting QB is. They need to figure out how to find some completions to move the chains on third down and then they will have a better chance against the weaker teams.

Catching Up To the World: 2017 NESCAC Soccer Preview

Editor’s Note: I’m VERY excited to have two welcomes to make in this note. First, we have to welcome Peter Delalio to the NbN. Peter is a rising junior on the Wesleyan baseball team, and enjoys moonlit strolls and peanut butter. Secondly, we get to welcome men’s soccer to the list of sports to which we give that special NbN shine. We’re very excited to be a step closer to our ultimate goal of covering every sport in the CAC, but the main obstacle to that is writers. So if you want to start covering soccer (or any other sport,) email nothingbutnescac@gmail.com. Alright let’s get to the article.

Fall is back, and it’s time for the World’s most popular sport to return to NESCAC play, and make its debut on NbN. NESCAC has become one of the better soccer leagues in the country, consistently sending multiple teams to the NCAA tournament, so we should be geared up for an entertaining 2017 in the soccer world.

Amherst

Weller Hlinomaz ’18 (Courtesy of Amherst Athletics)

A nationally ranked team and defending champion of the league. Amherst has certainly proven its moxie with its impactful play over the past few years. In conference games last year, the Mammoths led the league in goals in what developed into a display of offensive prowess and sheer dominance, averaging 2.3 goals per game in conference. Leading the attack this year will be Weller Hlinomaz ’18 and midfielder Dane Lind ’20; both will be in charge of filling in for some key losses due to graduation. On the defensive side of the ball, Amherst will be returning senior goalkeeper Lee Owen ’18. The Mammoths will have an early test of their defensive ability seeing as they return only two of their defenders from last year. The defending champs will seek to prove that their young guns can get the job done as they open up play against Bowdoin at home.

Bates

The Bobcats squad will need to strengthen their play against NESCAC opponents for a successful campaign this season. First things first, they will look to bolster their less than adequate defense from last season to combat the offensive powerhouses throughout the conference. Bates ranked last in conference play last year in goals against, coming in at an average of 1.72 goals per game. This makes their attack that much less effective knowing that other teams will be pressuring their defense constantly. Luckily for Bates, they return experienced defenders in Antonio Heredia Soto ’20, Max Watson ’18, Julien Williamson ’20, and goalkeeper Robbie Montanaro ’19. Hopefully these four will be able to provide the backbone that this Bobcats team needs. Offensively, Bates will rely on Nate Merchant ‘18 and Eric Opuku ’20. We will see if these two can get the Bobcats off on the right foot when they take on Hamilton in the opening weekend.

Bowdoin

Moctar Niang ’19 (Courtesy of Bowdoin Athletics)

One of Bowdoin’s biggest strengths in the 2016 season was their ability to score. Fortunately for the Polar Bears, and unfortunately for their opponents, they are returning their top goal scorer Moctar Niang ’19. He tallied a total of 13 points, scoring 6 goals to go along with 1 assist. Speaking of assists, the Bowdoin squad also brings back leadership in Ethan Ellsworth ‘18, who tallied a team high 6 assists; when coupled with his 4 goals for the season, he also led the team in points. Leadership will be a crucial ingredient for a successful team this year. Along with Ellsworth, the Polar Bears return midfielders Wilson MacMillan ’19, Sam Ward ’19, and goalie Stevie Van Siclen ’19. Hopefully this senior group has what it takes to get their team to that next level, as they will look to improve on their NESCAC semifinal finish last season.

Colby

The Colby team definitely had their struggles last year, finishing second to last in conference. The Mules are hoping for a bounce back year, and hopefully their resurgence can be fueled by offense. Out of the 11 conference teams, Colby finished tied for last in goals scored versus its NESCAC opponents. Kyle Douglas ’19 led the Mules last year in goals scored with 3, so he and the rest of the team need to find a way to break through their low ceiling and exceed their competitions’ expectations. Colby has the majority of their roster returning this year, losing only two players to graduation. This experience will serve only to benefit the Mules, and they perhaps might even surprise a few teams.

Conn

Ben Manoogian ’19 (courtesy of Connecticut College Athletics)

The Camels had a solid season last year, finishing tied for 4^th in conference play. However, they will be losing their top goal threat and points leader, so the younger forwards will have to carry the burden of filling some gaps. Juniors Chris Lockwood ’19 and Ben Manoogian ‘19 will seek to lead the Camel offense. Scoring a combined 13 goals a season ago, these two need to remain productive on the attack. Leading assist man Ousmane Dieng ’18 will add a much-needed balance to the offense, and might even add a couple more goals himself. Defensively, the Camels will look to replace a graduated goalie, but will return defensive stalwarts Nate Summers ’18 and Tyler Hoadley ’19 to help make that transition all that much more smooth for the new keeper.

Middlebury

The big story for the Panthers this season is the announcement of long-time coach David Saward’s retirement at the conclusion of this season (assistant Alex Elias ’08 will take over). He will have spent 33 years at the helm of the men’s soccer program, but hopefully this will not distract the players from the goal at hand (Editor’s second Note: nice one Pete.) Middlebury seeks to return to their former glory days as national champions just under a decade ago, but seeing how they finished 6^th in the conference last season, they certainly have their work cut out for them. A key for the Panthers this year will be maintaining their high level of play against conference opponents. They averaged 1.8 goals per game outside of NESCAC games, and just .9 in them. Middlebury has shown that they can create chances with returners like Daniel O’Grady ’19 and Drew Goulart ’20, so they are definitely capable of finding the back of the net. Peter Davis ’19 will lead their defense, and will attempt to stymie Conn in the opening weekend.

(Editor’s Final Note: Look at this sweet goal from Middlebury sophomore Shams Mohajerani. #3 on the Sportscenter Top Ten!)

Tufts

Gavin Tasker ’20 netted the game winner in Tuft’s opener against Babson. (Courtesy of Tufts Athletics)

The defending national champs have a huge target on their back coming into this season. They received the #1 overall ranking in the country, so they definitely have a lot to live up to. In conference play last season, the Jumbos managed to score 16 goals while giving up only 6. Tufts returns playmakers Dexter Eichhorst ’18 and Kevin Halliday ’18, who will aim to facilitate scorer Gavin Tasker ’20. It is worth noting that the Jumbos will be losing their top point scorer and their reliable barrier of a keeper, but they certainly have the means to fill in those gaps. The Jumbos are expected to have another strong campaign, and will aim to give their home fans plenty to cheer about in their first conference matchup against Colby.

Wesleyan

The Cardinals’ 2016 season was certainly not up to their usual standards. They finished last in conference, and let too many games get away from them. Wesleyan has shown they are capable of beating the best, however, as they defeated Amherst in 2015 and Tufts last season, both of whom went on to win the national championship. Their defense will surely need to improve, which becomes much easier when you have lockdown players like Teddy Lyons ’19, Nick Jackson ’18, and Camden McCusker ’19 to help out. These guys will be the key to starting the offense. Up front for the Cardinals, seniors Adam Cowie-Haskell ’18 and Garrett Hardesty ’18 will lead the attack, while junior Komar Martinez-Paiz ’19 will return from injury and prove why he was so sorely missed a season ago. The Cardinals get their season started at Bowdoin a week from this Saturday.

Williams

The Ephs had a pleasant 2016 season. They finished 3^rd in the conference, scoring 17 goals and letting up only 11 against NESCAC opponents. Williams now wants to jump to the next level, and to do so, they must strengthen their defense. The Ephs are losing 6 of their starting 11 from last year, meaning that the younger guys must step up. Tobias Muellers ‘18 and Sean Dory ’19 must remain reliable on the back end of the squad. These two will be responsible for setting the tone against opponents, and will give confidence to their offense. One man on the offensive side of the ball, who will be huge for the success of this team, is senior striker Mark Sisco-Tolomeo ’18. He was tied for the lead in goals scored from last season, and will hope to progress even more.

Hamilton

After a deep run into the playoffs a season ago, the Continentals will look to build on their success as they start conference play against Bates in the opening weekend. Hamilton will depend on senior Matt Cerveny ’18 to carry the load, who will be thrust into a leadership position after having lost key players to graduation. As a team that has lost goal threats, the Continentals will need to be strong defensively; this burden will be taken on by senior Eli Lichtman ’18, a seasoned vet who will provide much needed experience to this young squad. Hamilton has a great foundation to build upon, allowing only 10 goals while scoring 13. If they wish to repeat another far run into the playoffs, the Continentals must keep up their gritty play this season.

Trinity

This season, the Bantams are going to need to find a way to generate offense. Having scored the 3^rdleast goals in conference play a year ago, and also losing their top 3 points scorers to graduation, Trinity will have to rely on sophomore Henry Farr ’20 to create the chances. Having started in only 7 of the Bantams’ 17 games, Farr was still able to grab 7 points coming off the bench. On defense, Trinity will look to Alex Steel ’19 and Michael Burns ’20 to turn the tide and be the reliable backs this Bantams team so desperately need. Trinity opens up NESCAC play against Williams in the opening weekend.

The King Stay The King: 2017 Trinity Football Preview

2016 Record: 8-0

Projected 2017 Record: 8-1

Projected Offensive Starters (*Nine Returning)

QB: Sonny Puzzo ‘18*

RB: Max Chipouras ‘19*

WR: Will Connery ‘20

WR: Bryan Vieira ‘18*

WR: John Spears ‘19

TE: Matt Hirshman ‘18*

LT: Chris Simmons ‘18*

LG: Sam Bowtell ‘19*

C: Steve O’Reilly ‘19*

RG: Joe Farrah ‘18*

RT: Austin Baiardi ‘*20

Projected Defensive Starters (*Seven Returning)

DE: Nick Rose ‘19*

DT: Matt D’Andrea ‘18*

DT: Brandon Blaise ’18*

DE: Corey Jean-Jacques ‘19

OLB: Dago Picon-Roura ’19*

MLB: Liam Kenneally ‘18*

OLB: Shane Libby ‘19*

CB: John Medina ’19*

SS: Edosa Onaiwu ‘19

FS: Sameir Madden ‘19

CB: Dominique Seagears ‘18

Projected Specialists (*Two Returning)

PK: Eric Sachse ’19*

P: Ian McDonald ’20*

KR/PR: John Spears ‘19

Summary:

Image result for trinity football — Trinity’s swarming defense keyed their championship run last year, as shown by their attempts to shut down Tufts star RB Chance Brady last year. This picture specifically, of course, is Hamilton trying to tackle Brady, but I’m sure Trinity tried as well.

Coach Devanney and the Bantams will look to defend their title with more authority this season with the longer schedule, offering a more universal ring than 2016. Although they lose several key members of the championship squad, they have the overwhelming majority of important players back for a return run at glory, including potentially the NESCAC’s best running back in Max Chipouras. The entire offensive line returns, giving quarterback (and fake name given by a celebrity at a hotel Sonny Puzzo ’18) exceptional protection to work with the less experienced receivers. And most of the D-Line returns as well, which means plenty of pressure on the opposing QBs.

On offense, the returners are guard Joe Farrah, center Steve O’Reilly, tackle Chris Simmons, tackle Austin Baiardi, and guard Sam Bowtell. The returning defensive linemen are guard Nick Rose, and nose tackle Matt D’Andrea. Corey Jean-Jacques and Brandon Blaise should look to step up into bigger starting roles this season as tackles on the line after splitting time in 2016. The linebackers, led by Liam Kenneally, also return Shane Libby on the outside and Henderson Watkins on the inside. Dago Picon-Roura should see time in both the first and second tier of the defense. The only real holes to fill are the skill positions.

Receivers and DBs were big pieces in the team a year ago. However, Coach Devanney is confident that John Spears and Brian Vieira can shoulder the load at receiver with Puzzo’s reliable arm supplying the ammunition. Spears will be an improved weapon simply because of the consistency of the O-Line, giving him time to develop his routes after less preseason action than usual with the lack of a scrimmage. Vieira will need to lead the way for Puzzo, and Spears has limited experience over the course of his first two years in the league.

First year players will play a big role in the depth of the team. Only eight of 14 corners and safeties who saw action in 2016 will be back and those eight all saw the playing field in a limited capacity. Spencer Donahue left a huge hole for John Medina to fill and Coach Deveanney stressed how he will be the main piece who will need to make an impact. Joining Medina as a starter in the secondary should be junior Sameir Madden who saw action in six games as a sophomore last season. I mentioned in my preview of Trinity last year how they had the NESCAC’s version of the ‘Legion of Boom,’ the nickname for the Seahawks secondary following their 2011 emergence. They will not have quite the same dominance that they wrought on opposing offenses anymore, however, they will likely compete near the top of the conference in this section. They could have the most lethal QB/RB combo in the ‘CAC though, similar to the Drew Brees/LaDainian Tomlinson combo of the Chargers in 2004. The Bantams also return both their punter Ian McDonald and place kicker Eric Sachse who were perfect one year ago, both looking to make an all-conference impact, leading what could also be one of the best special team pairs, second only to Amherst.

Offensive MVP: RB Max Chipouras ‘19

Max Chipouras ’19 (Courtesy of Trinity Athletics)

After being named USA College Football Division III Rookie All American and the NESCAC Rookie of the Year in 2015, Max Chipouras ran for nearly 300 more yards in his second season. Chipouras looks to continue his dominance of the NESCAC gridiron in his third campaign after earning All-NESCAC First Team honors last fall. His 910 yards, 5.8 yards per carry, and eight touchdowns will likely be eclipsed once more.

Defensive MVP: LB Liam Kenneally ‘18

After losing many key members of the defense, nearly all coming from the secondary, Kenneally will be the center of the Bantam defense in the linebacking core. He should lead the second tier for Trinity as he was second on the team with 44 tackles and led the team with six sacks. However, he will also assume a good deal of coverage responsibilities due to the multiple defensive backs who graduated.

Big Shoes to Fill: CB John Medina ‘19

Despite the lack of returners in the secondary for Trinity, John Medina should be a good candidate to replace stud graduate Spencer Donahue who dominated the NESCAC for four years. Medina will be the main piece looking to make an impact in the defensive skill positions as he had a pair of picks and played in all eight games in 2016.

Biggest Game: at. Amherst, November 4th, 1:00 PM

While the eighth game, for the first time in decades, is no longer the last game of the schedule, Amherst should be a championship contender in 2017 and this match up could well crown the winner of the NESCAC. The runner-up game for Trinity would be week nine against Wesleyan, but if Reece Foy ’18 comes back for the Mammoths as experts (me) predict, then this should be a barn burner.

Best Tweet:

There were a host of tweets that could’ve made the cut here. The Indianapolis Colts visited the Coop to check out some of the Bantams and Trinity retained their spot as the best football team in Connecticut. However, the one that drew my attention the most was one that questioned their own QB Sonny Puzzo’s loyalty. The Caldwell High (NJ) alumnus was featured in an article that showed him as he threw some passes in a practice session to the New York Giants’ Dwayne Harris. The tweet shows how despite his supposed Jets loyalties, he still tried to help the cross town NY Giants on their quest to beat the Pats in yet another Super Bowl.

https://twitter.com/TrinFootball/status/892170193472016385

Trinity Football on Twitter

twitter.com

“Jet Fan Sonny Puzzo out dealing to Giants. https://t.co/1oQDdmj0JZ”

Return of the ‘CAC (Sports Blog): General Welcome Back and The NESCAC Ninth Game

The first order of business here is to welcome all of you back to another great year of NESCAC sports! The offseason always feels long for us, and this one was made even longer by the departure of our fearless leader Rory Ziomek. You can read his farewell article here and we want to thank him again for continuing what Adam and Joe started and making NbN into what it is today. We wish Rory all the luck in the world as he moves onto his next position; the elephant poop collector in a traveling circus.

But seriously, we’re really excited to bring you another year of NESCAC coverage. We’ll of course keep up with football, basketball and baseball, but will be trying to continue to grow our women’s soccer and basketball coverage, as well as men’s soccer and hockey. The NESCAC is founded on the idea of inclusivity, so it stands to reason that the sports coverage should as well. To that end, if you’re reading this and think, “damn, I can write better than these jagweeds” or “damn, my buddy can write better than these jagweeds,” feel free to email nothingbutnescac@gmail.com. We’re always looking for new voices and perspectives, particularly in those newer sports.

Now it’s time to kickoff the NbN year with the beginning of our football coverage. We’ll be rolling out previews for each team – mixed in with league previews for men’s and women’s soccer – starting this afternoon, but for now here’s a quick explanation of the biggest NESCAC football story of the off-season; the addition of a ninth game to the schedule. If you’re looking for a more in-depth analysis here’s a good one from our friends at d3football.com, but basically games that were previously viewed as scrimmages will now count towards the NESCAC standings. These games begin next Saturday, September 16th.

The reasons for the change are very straightforward. Firstly, it allows each team to play each other team in a game that counts towards the standings. There have been too many years in the past in which a team has “won” the league record-wise while having avoided playing a team that could potentially have beaten them, and this rule change eliminates that possibility.

Secondly, it supports the NESCAC’s recent focus on player safety. The league has specific guidelines on how often a team can practice with full contact in game preparation. Switching the scrimmage to a game subjects the matchup to those rules, lessening the number of full contact practices. The earlier start does offer less time for teams to train, so I’d expect those new games to be a little sloppy, but at first glance the pros definitely outweigh that con. I’m sure you’re all as excited as we are to find out for ourselves.

Clash of the Titans: Tufts vs Amherst Playoff Preview

Overview:

NESCAC East Division Winner Tufts takes on number two seeded Amherst in the first round of the NESCAC Playoffs. Tufts finished the season at an outstanding 26-7-1 (9-3 in conference) with a total run differential of +163. In conference, the Jumbos put up double the amount of runs as their opponents (92 compared to 46). However, all this success has not come easy. Tufts’ dominant weekend performances have often been accompanied by a poorly played game occasionally. In the highly-contested playoff format, the Jumbos cannot afford to dig themselves in a hole with a sloppy game to start off the postseason. Amherst, on the other hand, has been in playoff mode for two weeks now. The winner of their final weekend series against Wesleyan decided the two seed in the West Division, and Amherst prevailed. They finished the season at 19-14 overall but a solid 8-4 in conference. Interestingly enough though, their home record stood at 7-8 compared to their incredible away record at 9-1. Nonetheless, the playoffs represent the start of a new season and Amherst looks to ride their NESCAC hot streak into them. Having won the last 3 NESCAC series, the team proved to recover from the rough start and look for a win to start the postseason.

Likely Pitching Matchup: Speros Varinos ’17 (8-1, 1.60 ERA, 68 K) vs Jackson Volle ‘17 (5-1, 2.74,

Speros Varinos ’17 (Courtesy of Tufts Athletics)

Jackson Volle ’17 (Courtesy of Amherst Athletics)

Both teams will likely throw their aces in game one of the postseason. Coincidently, these players were the two chosen as First-Team All-NESCAC last season. Speros Varinos ’17 throughout the season has proven again and again that he is the best pitcher in the NESCAC hands down. Finishing the season at 8-1 in 9 starts, Varinos led the league in wins, ERA at 1.60 and strikeouts, 68. He is our pick to win NESCACPitcher of the Year and likely will do just that, defending his title. All season, Varinos has shown his dominance and is ready to take on the Amherst lineup. Jackson Volle ’17 has put together an excellent season himself. In 7 starts, he went 5-1 with a 2.74 ERA. However, this number was weighed down by one poor start against Wesleyan in which Volle allowed 6 earned runs in his only loss. Take that start out and his ERA sits at roughly a full point lower around 1.76. Amherst looks for Volle to put together another strong performance against a talented Tufts offense.

Tufts X-Factor: Nick Falkson ‘18

Nick Falkson ’18 (Courtesy of Tufts Athletics)

Player of the Year candidate Nick Falkson has put together a phenomenal year. With depth in the infield, Coach Casey often rides the hot bat which explains why Falkson leads the team in such a category. Hitting .394/.468/.504, Falkson has consistently been one of Tufts’ best and most clutch hitters. Sitting in the heart of the lineup, he has hit in 34 runs and scored another 29. However, what stands out most about his season is the correlation between his success at the plate and team wins. In the 25 wins this season, Falkson has hit .430/.516/.540 with 31 of his 34 RBIs. In the team’s 7 losses, his averages drop significantly to .250/.240/.250. The Jumbos will look for Falkson to lead the offense in this first round matchup. If the trend continues, a big game from him could mean a Tufts win.

Amherst X-Factor: Harry Roberson ‘18

Harry Roberson ’18 (Courtesy of Amherst Athletics)

While slightly overshadowed by teammate Yanni Thanopoulos ’17, Harry Roberson has been a crucial part of this Amherst lineup. Leading the team with 135 at-bats, the shortstop has hit .363/.418/.548. These hits have led to a conference leading 38 runs scored. When facing a pitcher like Varinos, runs are hard to come by, so Roberson must continue to be aggressive on the base paths. He is 8 for 8 on stolen base attempts, but has additionally hit for power. Of the seasons 49 hits, 17 have been for extra bases including 11 doubles and 4 triples. Amherst will continue to rely on Roberson for these extra base hits as they will not be able to win leaving men on base. Roberson will likely need a big game for Amherst to beat Varinos and the Tufts staff.

Final Thoughts:

Despite the powerful offenses from both teams, this game will likely be a pitchers’ duel. Tufts will look to get Volle’s pitch count up and get to the bullpen while Amherst will have the same approach on their side. Either way, both teams are capable of not only winning this game, but making a run deep in the postseason. However, getting a win with their respective ace would prove to be a huge advantage in this two loss elimination format. After the grind of the regular season, both teams are ready for playoff action to get underway.

Prediction:

Varinos will put up another outstanding performance, but Volle will keep it close with a strong effort of his own. The Tufts lineup will then get to the Amherst bullpen late and come out on top in game one of the postseason.

Tufts 5 Amherst 2