Category: Hamilton

A QB League without the QBs? Week 4 Stock Report

Week 4 Stock Report

After another ho-hum week in the NESCAC, one that saw all 5 favorites record victories, it appears that we are finally set to heat up. With Tufts set to visit Trinity and Middlebury heading to Williamstown, the standings are due for a shakeup. Heading into what appears to be a make or break Week 5, let’s see who’s playing their best (or worst) football at the right time

Stock Up

Tufts’ Title Chances

It’s not like the Jumbos’ 28-0 win over Bowdoin to improve to 4-0 was a surprise, but it sure was impressive. They outgained Bowdoin 522-230, logging 29 first downs while only allowing 11. The offense has quietly developed into perhaps the most well-rounded unit in the league, and it’s come into full picture now that top offensive weapon WR Jack Dolan ’19 has returned from his early season absence and continues to get back into the swing of things. 6 different ‘Bos carried the ball more than 5 times, and 4 of them logged more than 50 yards each, with only Mike Pedrini (14) rushing more than 8 times. QB Ryan McDonald ’19 went a surgical 19-25 for 237 yards in the air, with 8 different receivers making catches. As was acutely predicted at the start of the season, McDonald has as good of a chance to win POY as any in the league right now. Oh, and their defense pitched its first shutout since 2006. Tufts is the real deal.

Winning Back-to-Back Defensive Player of the Year Awards

Anyone who watched the Amherst-Middlebury game on Saturday, a 21-0 Mammoth win (that still feels weird to say), would be able to tell you how much Andrew Yamin ’19 dominated. The box score doesn’t really do it a justice, and it still reads 11 tackles and 3.5 sacks. The senior LB/DE was anointed the league’s top individual honor for a defensive player as a junior, and he looks set to repeat already. There is obviously a lot of football left to be played, but the leader of this elite Amherst defensive unit (8.75 PPG) looks like a man on a mission.

Jonathan Girard 

Not getting too creative here—Girard is simply playing on a different level than any other receiver in the league right now. The sophomore from Trinity had 5 catches for 151 yards and 2 touchdowns catches against Hamilton. At 6’4 and 210 pounds, he is an absolute matchup nightmare, and defenses everywhere should shudder to think about what it might look like if he was catching balls from a QB with a 50%+ completion percentage. He’s already eclipsed the 600-yard mark and we’re not even halfway through the year. Tufts’ secondary will provide the biggest challenge he’s faced so far and I can’t wait to watch him compete in what may be the biggest game of the season so far.

Championship Drama

It’s finally here! Any fan of NESCAC football knows the struggle for parity the league faces, especially early in the year. With the exception of Hamilton’s upset of Wesleyan in Week 3, and maybe Williams’ win against Trinity that same Saturday (it was a home game after all), every game has shaken out pretty close to how it should have. If you really want to make an argument for Wesleyan visiting Ellis Oval for a night game against Tufts, then I won’t fight you on that, I guess. But that is finally in the best—the season will really start in earnest on Saturday in Somerville. Tufts and Trinity is the first game of the year that is a true toss-up with championship implications. With a second loss, Trinity will essentially be eliminated from a chance at a third straight title, and while it would be harsh to rule out Tufts after just one loss, it’s hard to imagine them running the table with visits to Amherst and Middlebury, as well as a contest with Williams still on the schedule. Week 6 will have both Williams @ Tufts and Amherst @ Wesleyan, and then we’re really off to the races. Buckle up folks.

Stock Down

Middlebury’s Chance at a Winning Record

All things considered, it wasn’t as bad as the box score might indicate. With the exception of the Andrew Yamin sized hole in their backfield, the O-Line played spectacularly, and their defense gave them a chance, but the offense couldn’t get on the board in Middlebury’s 21-0 loss to Amherst. Will Jernigan ’21 played the majority of the game at QB after Jack Meservy ’19 went down with a shoulder injury, but could only muster a 15-32 line for 133 yards and 1 INT. I keep hearing about all the dangerous wide receivers Midd has, but they must be referring to somebody else. Jernigan has accuracy issues but when he puts it on the money you would expect his guys to hang on to the ball. The Panthers’ WRs shot themselves in the foot with all the drops on Saturday, as well as failing to really make an impact at all through 4 weeks. All-League TE Frank Cosolito has pulled his weight with 4 TDs, but not one Middlebury pass catcher is averaging more than 40 receiving yards per game. 40! Someone needs to distance themselves from the pack and start carrying this offense, because a 4-5 (or worse) record is seriously on the cards for a team that has Williams, Tufts, and Trinity left on their schedule.

Good Quarterback Play

We definitely took last year’s quarterbacks for granted. I don’t just mean the Sonny Puzzo’s and Jared Lebowitz’s of the world, but also last year’s versions of Mark Picarillo, Ollie Eberth, and even Bobby Maimaron. The guys under center have definitely taken a step back. Through 4 games of the season, the portion of which usually consists of the top dogs inflating their numbers against inferior competition, only 1 signal caller has thrown for more than 200 yards a game. I feel confident in saying that there are a lot of people reading this that could rival that if all they had to do was throw it up to Jonathan Girard and Koby Schofer like Jordan Vazzano does (and his 42.5% completion percentage). Last year 6 different QBs broke that threshold at the end of the season. Obviously a pair of them graduated in Puzzo (Trinity) and Lebowitz (Middlebury), but the other 4 returned and they’ve regressed. Mark Picirillo (Wesleyan) looks human without WR Mike Brueler, Ollie Eberth (Amherst) has been reduced to even more of a game manager than he was last year, and Kenny Gray (Hamilton) just hasn’t taken that next step that many thought he would as a junior. Most surprising perhaps is the reigning Rookie of the Year in Williamstown, Sophomore QB Bobby Maimaron. Maimaron has been fantastic on his feet, leading the league with 6 rushing TDs as well cracking the top 10 with 64 yards per game, but the arm hasn’t been there yet. I don’t know how much of this is a Maimaron thing and how much is a Williams offense thing, but he’s yet to pass for more than 154 yards in a game this year. He’s also only throwing the ball 21 times a game, so maybe they’ll take the leash off and let him ride a little more for the second half of the year.

Shootouts

Through 4 weeks consisting of 20 games total, in only 4 of those games has the losing team scored more than 20 points, and it hasn’t happened more than once in a week. I understand these coaches are tasked with finding the best possible way to win football games, it certainly hasn’t been great for the fans watching at home. The lack of quality matchups as well as the aforementioned quarterback woes are certainly factors, but the way teams have been bulking up and running the ball into the ground once they get a two-score lead is boring. There have barely been any lead changes, and the games are essentially over at halftime because no one has the firepower to play from behind. Is it too much to ask for a 42-35 game or even a 35-28 scoreline? These teams need to watch more Big 12 football.

 

 

Women’s Soccer Power Rankings #2

One Month Down, One to Go: Penultimate Women’s Soccer Power Rankings

  1. Middlebury (10-0-0, 5-0-0)

Despite Williams being the #3 team in the country, I have no problem putting the Panthers at the top of my list. They’re the only undefeated team left in the NESCAC and have won four of their five conference games by two goals or more. It’s the best start in Middlebury program history, and it’s clear this team has the capability to go toe-to-toe with Williams.  Leah Salzman ’21 and Sabrina Glaser ’20 continue to headline the offensive front, while Olivia Miller ’20 has registered three assists. In fact, the Panthers have the most assists in NESCAC games, signifying this team knows how to move the ball around the pitch and create scoring chances for one another. The defense has been superb, and this weekend’s home date with a struggling Jumbos squad looks like a much easier task than previously thought.

  1. Williams (8-0-1, 5-0-1)

Williams is still recognized by the D3 soccer community as the one of the top teams in the country, and technically sit atop the conference standings (albeit they have played an extra NESCAC game than Middlebury). After a defensive stalemate with Amherst ended their perfect start, the Ephs has since rebounded with victories against Bates and Conn College. Goalkeeper Olivia Barnhill ’19 commands a virtually impenetrable defensive unit who have allowed a mere two goals to date (including none in their last four conference games). Sydney Jones ’21 remains a one-person wrecking crew on offense, ranking first in goals scored and points (goals + assists) in conference play.  If Williams can get the offense churning on a consistent basis, they’d be almost impossible to defeat. The Ephs are the only NESCAC team that does not play a fellow conference opponent this weekend.

  1. Amherst (7-1-1, 3-1-1)

The Mammoths parlayed their 0-0 deadlock against Williams with dominating performances against Tufts and Bates, vaulting them into the third spot in this week’s power rankings. The offense is starting to catch fire, tallying fifteen goals in their past three games; in particular,  Alexa Juarez ’22 has been the star of the show, finding the net five times and cementing herself as a clear frontrunner for rookie of the year. Goalie Antonia Tammaro ‘21 has seen an increase in playing time since the Middlebury loss and has played superbly, allowing just a single goal. Amherst has a tricky date with Hamilton on Saturday, as the Continentals are technically in third place at the moment (although Amherst has played two less games). Securing three points would allow the Mammoths to leapfrog Hamilton with a relatively manageable back portion of the schedule (Conn, Colby, @Wesleyan, and Trinity).

  1. Tufts (6-2-1, 3-1-1)

The Jumbos had a tough go of it last weekend: on Saturday, they were blitzed by Amherst to a tune of 3-0, and then barely held on for a 1-1 draw against Hamilton.  The good news is the Jumbos have found a compliment to goal-scoring machine Sophie Lloyd ‘21 – Liz Reed ‘21 leads the NESCAC in assists and has netted three goals of her own to date.  These two must continue to lead the offense if Tufts wants to keep pace with Amherst in the quest for the third seed come playoff time. Up next is a trip to Middlebury, where even a point would be a nice result for a Jumbo team who is 1-2-1 in their last four games.

  1. Hamilton (3-2-3, 3-2-2)
Alex Fontana ’20 notched her 1st goal of the season in Hamilton’s 1-1 draw against Tufts (Hamilton Athletics)

The Continentals were inches away from leaving Medford with a 2-1 victory, but Olivia Rodrigues’s ’21 shot bounced off the crossbar deep in the second period of overtime. Nonetheless, a draw is a nice result for a team trying to sneak their way into the top four of the conference standings. As I previously mentioned, Hamilton currently rounds out the top three; however, they have played seven games, while many teams below them have played either four or five. While they most likely won’t occupy that third spot in the actual standings for much longer, they do have remaining games against lower-tier teams (Bowdoin and Colby), so they can still pick up valuable points. While the offense isn’t producing a ton of goals, the defense continues to stymie opponents, as they’ve allowed less than a goal per game in NESCAC games. The Continentals are hoping their defense travels to Amherst when they take on the Mammoths this Saturday.

  1. Wesleyan (5-2-2, 2-1-2)

Liz Young ’19 found an equalizer late in the second half against Hamilton, allowing the Cardinals to snatch a point and bolster their chances of securing a playoff spot. She’s received help on the offensive end from a surprise source in defender Gianna Argentino ’21, who scored twice against Bates earlier this season. Wesleyan was supposed to play Trinity Tuesday, but it was rescheduled for Wednesday night and ended in a draw. The Cardinals couldn’t come away with three points and missed a big opportunity to join Amherst and Tufts with ten points apiece.

  1. Connecticut College (6-3, 1-3)

The Camels have struggled out of the gate, albeit the losses have come against the top three teams in the NESCAC. Saturday’s 1-0 loss to Williams was a strong showing despite the result, as the Camels had multiple chances to equalize but failed to score on Barnhill. The schedule eases up for a brief moment when the Camels face Bates on Saturday, but this is a must win for Conn if they have any hope of snatching a top-five seed come tournament time. The trio of Kat Norton ‘21 (5 goals and 3 assists), Alex Baltazar ’19 and Tori Kretzmer ’21 should continue to pace the Camel attack, but the offense as a whole needs to perform better in conference games; Conn is converting a league-worst 4.5% of shots into goals, and is tied for last with Bates in goals scored with three.

  1. Bowdoin (5-3-1, 1-3)
Can Morgen Gallagher lead the Polar Bears to the postseason? (Bowdoin Athletics)

Not much has changed with the Polar Bears, as they’ve picked up three non-conference wins to improve their overall record, but were defeated soundly by Middlebury in a game of much higher importance. Bowdoin wasn’t expected to win by any means, but they were thoroughly dominated right from the get-go. Their two leading goal scorers (Morgen Gallagher ’20 and Julia Adelmann ‘22) have failed to score in any of their NESCAC games, and they’ll be needed to produce against Trinity, a game the Polar Bears should look at as a must win. Not to be overlooked, the following day’s rivalry matchup with Colby could be a de-facto 8th place game. Since the back end of Bowdoin’s schedule includes Hamilton, Williams, Conn and Tufts, the Polar Bears desperately need positive results this weekend.

  1. Colby (4-4, 1-4)

Just when it looked like the Mules were out for the count, they mounted a furious comeback in the final five minutes and snatched three points right from Trinity’s claws. Charlotte White ’22 scored in the 85th minute and later assisted on Catherine Fraser’s ’19 absolute peach of a winner, bringing life back into Colby’s season (I’m ignoring their following losses to Conn and Middlebury for the sake of the moment). Similarly to Bowdoin, Colby’s playoff hunt will basically be decided this weekend: with home games against Wesleyan and the Polar Bears, the Mules need points in order to jump into the top eight. Amherst, Hamilton and Bates remain on the back end of the schedule, but the first two appear (on paper) as losses.  A win against the Bobcats, while important, probably won’t matter if the Mules lose both contests against the Cardinals and Polar Bears.

  1. Trinity (3-4-2, 1-3-1)

The Bantams aren’t officially out of the picture, but their collapse against Colby has them on the outside looking in. I was curious to see how the Bantams would respond after such a heartbreaking defeat, and they bounced back nicely with a 2-1 victory against Bates. Colleen Lux ’22 leveled the score at 1-1 halfway through the second half, and Duun O’Hara ‘22 broke the deadlock in the 88th minute. Trinity kept their momentum going with a big tie against Wesleyan on Wednesday night and now head north to take on the Polar Bears.

  1. Bates (2-7, 0-7)

While no team is technically eliminated from playoff contention, the Bobcats are oh-so-close to being the first NESCAC team to claim that honor (or lack thereof). Saturday’s game against Trinity needed to end with some sort of positive result, and Riley Turcotte ’20 got things started with a goal in the 16th minute; however, the Bobcats squandered the lead late in the second half, leaving them 0-7 in conference play. While there’s no magic number for qualification, Bates will probably have to earn at least seven points from their remaining three matches (two wins and a tie), and even then the number might be too low.  To make things more complicated, one of those games is a road trip to undefeated Middlebury. Ouch. But first, the Bobcats must take one game at a time, starting with a home date against the Camels. 

 

Can we keep the upsets coming? Week 4 Weekend Preview

Week 3 brought us some score lines that were not be expected to say the least. Hamilton came out of nowhere to take down Wesleyan and Williams was able to keep Trin at bay, which previously seemed impossible. I, for one, am extremely excited about these upsets which changed the landscape of a previously extremely predictable NESCAC football season. Here’s to week 4, and hopefully a few more unexpected results.

Wesleyan (1-2) @ Colby (0-3)

The last time that Wesleyan had a losing record through week 3 was all the way back in 2009, after a week 3, 16-13 overtime loss to none other than the Colby Mules. Wesleyan’s poor start was not expected to say the least. After coming out guns blazing in week 1 versus Midd, the Cardinals just haven’t had what it takes to finish out a game. A wildly unexpected loss to Hamilton last week has brought Wesleyan to a crossroads They can either devolve as a team here and turn a potential NESCAC championship season to a wate, or they can analyze their issues and salvage what they can. Wesleyan allowed Hamilton QB Kenny Gray to tear them apart last weekend, accounting for 4 TDs. Although Colby is not known for their passing game, there is clearly some sloppy D that needs to be corrected by the Cardinals. Additionally, the run game has looked below average for Wesleyan, averaging barely over 3 yards an attempt last weekend. We know Wesleyan’s offense can be potent based upon week 1 but they just haven’t seemed to have the same fire the last two weeks. A game against the Mules should be a good opportunity for Wesleyan to work on their issues and figure out what needs tweaking. Despite this, don’t sleep on Wesleyan against teams like Amherst and Williams, they still may have what it takes to dethrone the top teams in the league.

Wesleyan has very little shot at a ring after their shocking loss in week 3, but how will they respond?

Colby comes in to this contest 0-3, which is never a good sign. The Mules certainly made progress against Midd last week, which was a close 10-7 score until late in the 4th quarter when the game absolutely exploded to result in a 31-14 finish. Freshman QB Matt Hersh got his first career start and established a semi-effective passing game for the Mules, accounting for 182 yards and 2 TDs while allowing 2 interceptions. RB Jake Schwern was the workhorse per usual, having nearly 30 carries but only resulting in 82 yards. CJ Hassan and Chase Goode were each able to record a pic for the Mules, both of which helped keep the game close until late. It’s very hard to win a football game when you turn the ball over 5 times and the Mules know that better than anybody. Ball security is a major issue and has not seemed to be addressed thus far this season. Colby should take this weekend as an opportunity to steal a game from a struggling Wesleyan team. As we learned last week, anything can happen.

Colby is coming off a surprisingly competitive game against Midd. Now they play a team with weakened spirits.

Score Prediction: Wesleyan 38 Colby 14

Williams (3-0) @ Bates (0-3)

Williams has to be feeling good after taking down defending champs Trinity in Williamstown last weekend. Their defense was terrific, holding Trinity to only field goals until a minute left in the 4th quarter. A previously intimidating Bantam offense looked weak against the Ephs. Ben Anthony and TJ Rothmann were both able to pickoff wonderboy Jordan Vazzano and their offense didn’t turn over the ball once. Williams has established their dominance in the CAC and should have an extremely easy time this weekend against a Bates team that has given up 47 and 52 points in their last two matchups. Bates gave up 59 to Trin and Williams beat Trin, by the transitive property, this game could be ugly. Expected QB Bobby Maimaron to continue being dominant and the Williams D to continue to shut down their opponent, this game should be an easy one for the Ephs.

Bates had another rough week in Medford, allowing 37 points unanswered in the second half. To give the Bobcats some credit, they did give Jumbos fans a scare with their 14-10 halftime lead. QB Brendan Costa was decent, throwing for 160 yards and a TD, but it was not nearly enough to counter Tufts. Their run game was abysmal, only picking up 38 yards as a team, 30 of which were Costa’s. When your QB accounts for 96% of your total offense, you’re going to be pretty easy to stop. Without a real running back, Bates’ offense is stagnant at best and the Jumbos were able to figure that out at halftime and exploit the hell out of it. If I were the Bobcats I would brace for impact because it’s going to be another rough week in Lewiston.

Score Prediction: Williams 52 Bates 13

Trinity (2-1) @ Hamilton (1-2)

Trinity needs to lock down this weekend to keep their championship hopes alive.

A week ago this time, this would’ve been a completely different ballgame. Trinity was 2-0 and absolutely rolling. They had scored 94 points and only given up 16 through two weeks, those are some wild numbers. It seemed as if nobody could stop them, until they took a trip to Williamstown. Jordan Vazzano looked completely different, throwing 2 pics and only completing 14 of his 43 attempts. RB Max Chipouras was held to 3.6 yds/attempt and 0 touchdowns. What happened to that electrifying offense that we know and love (or hate)? Their defense took a hit too, not recording a single turnover and allowing 4.5 yards/play. Has Trinity lost its edge, or is Williams simply far better than we had thought? We’ll have the answer to that question after Saturday’s game.

We witnessed an absolute stunner last weekend as Hamilton was able to pull out a last-second upset against Wesleyan. QB Kenny Gray was amazing to say the least, passing for 193 yards and 4 TDs. RB Joe Park made good use of his attempts, rushing for 103 yards on only 18 attempts. A Continental offense that had been held to only 16 points in their first two games had suddenly come to life. Now the question is, can this kind of offense be sustained against an elite defense such as Trinity? Despite their loss last week, Trinity has still only allowed 12.7 pts/game and it will not be an easy feat to take them down. Hamilton’s defense was solid, picking off QB Mark Piccirillo once and doing just enough to keep their newfound offense in the game. Although Wesleyan’s offense is solid, Trinity will be a whole ‘nother beasts for the Continentals to conquer. I’d keep this game on upset alert, but no promises.

Score Prediction: Trinity 31 Hamilton 17

Tufts (3-0) @ Bowdoin (0-3)

Another week, another win for the Jumbos. Tufts have continued to prove that they have one of, if not the best, defenses in the league. They made easy work of Bates in their 47-14 victory. Although fans may have had a bit of a scare at halftime, as they were down 14-10, a change of strategy allowed Tufts to put up 37 points while allowing none in the second half. The Jumbos spread the ball around efficiently, having 4 different players rush for touchdowns and 2 different receivers hauling in TDs. All in all, it was a pretty easy week for Tufts. Whenever you have nearly 350 more yards of offense than your opponent things are going well, and things are going very well in Medford. I think Tufts has the most well-rounded team in the NESCAC and they have proved that in every week of play. Similar to Bates, Bowdoin shouldn’t be much of a challenge for the Jumbos. Expect another crooked scoreboard and another solid week for Tufts.

Rounding out the 0-3 CBB teams is Bowdoin. One positive aspect that the Polar Bears can take away from last week’s 24-12 loss to Amherst is that QB Austin McCrum looks like he’s starting to settle in and had a much better week than his first two. His 242 yards and 2 TDs are a solid stat line, but unfortunately he didn’t have any help from the running game. After a monster week 2, RB Nate Richam just couldn’t get anything going in week 3. He rushed for a mere 30 yards on 16 attempts, miles away from his 288 yard, 2 TD performance against Midd. It seems as if Bowdoin has one side of their offense going one week and the other the next. If they were able to get both the running and passing game going simultaneously, this may be a completely different team. Defensively, there was not much to write home about. When you allow 493 yards per game, the worst in the league, you don’t give your offense much of a chance. For Bowdoin, and Bates and Colby for that matter, it’s pretty clear that they only thing they have to compete for this year is the CBB crown. For Bowdoin fans that means praying for upsets until the last two weeks of the season, when the games actually count.

Score Prediction: Tufts 54 Bowdoin 14

New Number One: Week 3 Power Rankings

Finally we got a little bit of excitement. NESCAC football can feel very predictable at times, but this weekend flipped the script on us. Williams gritted out a win over former #1 Trinity and Hamilton absolutely shocked Wesleyan to drop them to 1-2, essentially removing them from title contention. Bowdoin battled with Amherst, Bates led Tufts at halftime, and Colby stayed within 3 points of Middlebury until the fourth quarter. This type of weekend is exactly what we were hoping to see more of, and fortunately it took just three weeks to get here.

(3) 1. Williams (3-0)

Frank Stola ’21 is tied for the league lead with 4 receiving touchdowns

They say that in order to be the best you have to beat the best. Well, there’s no doubt that Williams earned it this week. The most potent offense in the league came to town following a 59-point outburst in Week 2 and was stymied by this young Eph defense. There’s no question that QB Bobby Maimaron ’21 put together a fine effort and WR Frank Stola ’21 had an outstanding game catching passes, but the story of this one was the defense. LB TJ Rothmann ’21 is putting together an early case for defensive player of the year, grabbing an interception and a fumble recovery against Trinity to go along with a game-high 15 tackles. Williams is hot right now and they’ll likely improve to 4-0 after their visit to Lewiston this weekend.

(2) 2. Tufts (3-0)

The Jumbos started out slow against Bates, even trailing 14-10 at the half. Whatever Coach Civetti said to his team at halftime clearly resonated, because they proceeded to score 37 unanswered points in the second half. QB Ryan McDonald ’19 had another solid game passing for 207 yards and adding another 161 on the ground. The receiving corps has looked very deep so far, with 5 different players who have caught at least 5 passes on the season. The defense continues to look solid, although a bit shaky at times against the Bobcats. LB Greg Holt ’20 is picking up right where he left off from his All-NESCAC campaign last season, pacing the team with 28 tackles and 2.5 sacks. They, too, should get to 4-0 after a date with Bowdoin in Week 4. 

(4) 3. Amherst (3-0)

Amherst is one of the 3 remaining unbeaten teams, although I haven’t been particularly impressed with their body of work so far. A 24-14 win over Bowdoin is not the greatest win on paper, but they are getting the job done. QB Ollie Eberth ’20 had an incredibly efficient game against the Polar Bears in which he went 19-26 with 256 yards and 3 touchdowns, while adding 78 yards with his legs. WR Bo Berluti ’19 continues to serve as the top target for Eberth, as he racked up 97 receiving yards and a touchdown in Week 3. What makes the Mammoths especially scary is their stout defense. Their pass defense isn’t anything particularly special, but they have only allowed 28 yards per game on the ground so far this season. I’m very intrigued to see what Amherst will look like when they face Middlebury in a much more difficult matchup than their first 3 weeks.

(1) 4. Trinity (2-1)

For the first time in a very long while, the Bantams looked very vulnerable. The problem is not their defense, as they’re top 3 in every major defensive category. The problem is that their offense seems very discombobulated right now. After obliterating Colby’s run defense, RB Max Chipouras ’19 hasn’t looked like the same all-world running back that he’s looked like in the past, averaging just 3.6 yards per carry against Bates and Williams. QB Jordan Vazzano ’21 completed just 14 of 44 passes against Williams, and he has a 41% completion percentage this season. Not only is this the lowest among all starters in the league, but it’s shockingly low for the starting quarterback on what is supposed to be one of the league’s best. 37 of Vazzano’s 43 completions have been to either Jonathan Girard ’21 or Koby Schofer ’20, so opposing teams are starting to realize that Trinity really doesn’t have a ton of offensive weapons at the moment. It’ll be interesting to see how they respond against a Hamilton team that is coming off a huge win in Week 3.

(5) 5. Wesleyan (1-2)

What a brutal 2-week stretch it has been for the Cardinals. After outplaying Tufts and losing on account of a pair of missed field goals, they respond by allowing a blocked punt to be returned 26 yards for a touchdown with a minute and a half left to lose to Hamilton. Yikes. Looks like special teams needs some work. The Wesleyan offense has looked pretty good, with QB Mark Piccirillo ’19 having another terrific season, and a group of receivers that has already somewhat exceeded expectations. It’s the other side of the ball that has really hurt them. Their allegedly intimidating defense looked awfully porous against a Continental team that had really been struggling to score coming into the game. Although their title chances may already have slipped away, I think the Cardinals are still a very talented team who will figure things out and get back on track. They’ve got a great opportunity to start doing just that with a matchup against Colby.

(6) 6. Middlebury (2-1)

The Panthers are very fortunate that they’ve had matchups with Colby and Bowdoin each of the last two weeks, because they clearly don’t know what’s going to be done about the quarterback position. QB Jack Meservy ’19 is clearly the guy they want, but he has struggled mightily, throwing just 5 touchdowns compared to 7 interceptions through parts of 3 games. Backup QB Will Jernigan ’21 has done a fine job so far, but he is more of a running threat and forces Middlebury to move away from the pass-heavy style that they love. The bottom line is whoever they choose needs to find their stud pass catchers. It’s also tricky that they face an Amherst team this weekend whose run defense has been light years better than their pass defense thus far. They’ve done just enough to win these past two weeks, but it’s time for the Panthers to face their first real test since they were smacked by Wesleyan in the season opener.

(9) 7. Hamilton (1-2)

The Continentals finally broke into the win column in a very big way this past weekend. After really struggling in their first two games, QB Kenny Gray ’20 had a much better outing, throwing for 4 touchdowns and evenly spreading the ball around to 5 different receivers. Freshman RB Joe Park ’22 had a breakout game, rushing 18 times for 104 yards and forcing the Wesleyan defense to respect the run so that their receivers were actually able to get open. This was a huge step up from having 7 total rushing yards through the first 2 weeks. The defense wasn’t perfect, but DB Ian Esliker ’21 came up with a timely interception and rookie DB Christian Snell ’22 made the play of the week by blocking a Wesleyan punt and recovering it for a touchdown with just a minute and a half left to play. This is the Hamilton team that I was expecting to see this season, so stay tuned to see if they can put together another huge performance against a Trinity team that’s reeling after their first loss this weekend.

(7) 8. Bowdoin (0-3)

WR/QB Griff Stalcup ’21 is making  very smooth positional change

I have to admit I’ve been somewhat impressed by Bowdoin these last two weeks. QB Austin McCrum ’20 is steadily improving and former starting QB Griff Stalcup ’21 is finding his niche as one of the team’s most effective wide receivers. He caught 11 passes for 75 yards and a touchdown against Amherst, and he certainly opens up a plethora of options for trick plays. They held the Mammoths to 24 points, which is a respectable effort and they’ve found their defensive leader in LB Joe Gowetski ’20 who currently leads the league with 32 tackles. As we mentioned in their team preview, the Polar Bears are making an effort to stay the course. They continue to improve each week and develop different facets of their game. They’ll play host to Tufts this weekend, providing another opportunity to get better as they get to the back half of their schedule. Keep an eye on the score in Brunswick on Saturday.

(8) 9. Bates (0-3)

I was so excited when the Bobcats took a 14-10 lead into the locker room at halftime against the Jumbos on Saturday. I thought this could be the breakout win for a young team with a new coach. Alas, Tufts came out and poured on 37 points while not allowing Bates to get past the 50 yard line once in the entire second half. There were some positives, like seeing the emergence of WR Kody Greenhalgh ’20 (yes, the same Kody Greenhalgh that plays guard on the basketball team) who caught 6 passes for 77 yards and a touchdown. DB Anthony Costa ’21 tallied his second interception of the season and continues to see success in his first season since being converted from QB. Unfortunately, the Bobcats are facing a similar problem that they have in recent years: the offense can’t seem to get anything going, so the defense stays on the field the entire game and gets run to death. Something needs to change and I’m sorry to say that the change will probably not start this weekend, as they’ll take on the new number one team in the league.

(10) 10. Colby (0-3)

Coach Cosgrove should be very pleased with what he’s seeing from his team right now. They certainly don’t have the same talent that some of the top teams do, but his team is competing and starting to find a rhythm. QB Matt Hersch ’22 went 20 of 35 for 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, which was a pretty good effort in just his first career start, especially against a strong team like Middlebury. The Mules rely heavily on RB Jake Schwern ’19 who is having a very fine year as he sits at 5thin the NESCAC in rushing yards while adding 2 touchdowns. Their record may not indicate it, but things are starting to look promising up in Waterville. The Wesleyan Cardinals represent their next challenge, as they’ll make the trek up I-95 to visit Alfond Stadium.

Forget what you think you know: Week 3 Stock Report

Week 3 Stock Report

Stock Up

Purple Cow Magic: Not only did the Ephs knock off the perennial NESCAC champs, but they did so with two different QBs. Bobby Maimaron had a great game, throwing for two TDs and running for nearly 100, but got knocked out of the game for a play after taking a hit. In his brief absence, first year backup QB Jackson Bischoping casually threw a 49 yard TD pass to Frank Stola. So even if their start QB were to go down, they still might be the favorites at the 1/3 point to win the conference. Watch out, NESCAC, there’s a new squad on top.

Colby’s future: Okay, while a 31-14 loss seems pretty brutal, this game against Middlebury was much closer than the box score indicated. It was 10-7 in the fourth quarter against an inconsistent but undeniably talented Panther team (I mean they even have an offensive lineman, Colin Paskewitz, who can force a defensive fumble—check the box score if you don’t believe me). QB Matt Hersch had some ups and downs but threw to six different receivers, giving Coach Cosgrove some real weapons to work with this season.

Hamilton, for better or worse, looks like they’ll gut it out.

Hamilton’s Grit: Well, we have certainly bad mouthed the Continentals and QB Kenny Gray in recent weeks. After all, they didn’t show us a whole lot in the first two games of the season, but they shocked everybody by taking out the Wesleyan Cardinals, one of the frontrunners for NESCAC champs. Gray boasted a 1-4 TD-INT ratio going into week three, but threw for four scores and ran for 56 in their 33-29 upset. DB Christian Snell also made a huge impact by blocking a punt and recovering it for a TD, hustling his team into the win column. We talked about the veteran presence on this team, and it is now clear that despite some early duds, they do want it.

Stock Down

Tufts D: While the Jumbos were able to pull out the victory against Bates, there was a time when they had their perfect record in question. They were down 14-10 at half and Bates looked like they were going to be able to keep up. Of course, Bates was not a match for the Jumbos, allowing a whopping 37 second half points, but a turnover free game doesn’t bode well for the Jumbo defense. They let a team who hasn’t been able to muster any offensive progress all year to score in the air and on the ground and against a stronger opponent, they may have been bested with such an effort. Tread carefully.

It’s been a while since we’ve seen the Bantams play on their heels, but at just 2-1, they have an uphill battle.

Connecticut muscle: Neither the Bantams nor the Cardinals could stave off their week three competition. Wesleyan allowed 357 yards of total offense compared to the 413 they racked up and still lost. A costly pick from Mark Piccirillo, and bad special teams play were the game changers for a team that looked as if they cold go undefeated entering week three. Losing to a bottom tier team is not only shocking to everybody else but devastating to their championship hopes. Punter Sam Han averaged just 27.1 yards per punt, not exactly flipping the field for his defense. The Bantams had similar issues, allowing a slew of rushing and passing yards to a body of different players. They couldn’t figure it out and neither could star transfer QB Jordan Vazzano who threw two picks. Even super human Max Chipouras couldn’t break off many big plays with his longest run of the day coming at just 18 yards, tallying an impressive 135 yards but averaging 3.6 yards per carry after a crazy workload of 38 carries. TJ Rothmann owned the Bantams, forcing a fumble and intercepting Vazzano, effectively ending the Bantams’ early 2018 dominant start.

Figuring Things Out: Week 2 Power Rankings

There wasn’t a ton of change from Week 1 to Week 2, but there were some noteworthy events this week. Wesleyan and Tufts put on a defensive clinic with the Jumbos coming out ahead, Bowdoin gave Middlebury a scare, and Trinity, Williams, and Amherst looked as good as anyone. It’s still a bit early to easily sort out the teams at the very top and very bottom, but there are certainly some trends starting to appear. Next to each team’s ranking you’ll see their ranking from last week in parentheses to get a better sense of what changed over the weekend:

(1) 1. Trinity (2-0)

I gave Jordan Vazzano ’21 a hard time last week for not absolutely shredding a Colby defense that is one of the weakest in the league. Well he made up for that and more, taking home NESCAC offensive player of the week honors in the process. The redshirt sophomore went 20-36 for 353 yards and 5 touchdowns, adding a sixth on the ground. This is exactly what the Bantams were looking for especially since the Bobcats did a solid job limiting Max Chipouras ’19 to just 86 yards on 23 carries. Wide receivers Jonathan Girard ’21 and Koby Schofer ’20 were absolutely lethal, combining for 347 yards and 5 touchdowns and accounting for 18 of the team’s 22 receptions. The defense was also superb, only allowing 3 points until the final 5 minutes of the game when the Bates offense finally found the end zone (the other TD was a pick 6 in the first half). Trinity is putting it together just in time for their visit to Williamstown to take on the surging Ephs.

(3) 2. Tufts (2-0)

The Jumbos were rocking some pretty sweet baby blue uniforms against Wesleyan the other night, and QB Ryan McDonald ’19 took full advantage

Tufts proved me wrong in Week 2, as I didn’t think they had the defensive strength or offensive versatility to take down a team as strong as Wesleyan. I know, it’s a bold move to put them ahead of both Williams and Amherst, but they have now had two very impressive wins. QB Ryan McDonald ’19 showed that he is more versatile than we may have thought, connecting with 7 different receivers and only rushing for 23 yards after a run-heavy game last week. What impressed me the most, however, was their defense. Wesleyan was coming off a 52-point outburst against Middlebury, looking nearly unstoppable. The Jumbos were able to keep QB Mark Piccirillo in check, holding him to 189 yards in the air and no touchdowns. Wesleyan dominated time of possession, as they had the ball for nearly 37 minutes of game time. Tufts’ defense refused to quit, and I’m very impressed by them. They’ll host Bates this weekend in a game that shouldn’t pose too much of a problem as they look to move to 3-0.

(4) 3. Williams (2-0)

The Ephs continue to look good as they trounced Colby 36-14. QB Bobby Maimaron ’21 rushed for 4 TD’s, while RB TJ Dozier added 160 yards on 19 attempts and a TD of his own. There wasn’t much of a passing attack, granted they didn’t really need one, but if I were an opposing team I’d force Maimaron to throw the ball since he hasn’t eclipsed 146 passing yards yet this season. Safety Luke Apuzzi ’20 has emerged as the top player in the secondary, leading the team with 2 pass break ups and an interception. LB TJ Rothmann ’21 continues to be on a tear, recording 6 more tackles against Colby and leading the team with 14 on the season. After getting a few of the weaker teams out of the way, Williams will play host to Trinity on Saturday in a game that very well could have championship ramifications.

(5) 4. Amherst (2-0)

It took the Mammoths a little time to warm up but they eventually took it to Hamilton, winning by a score of 37-14. QB Ollie Eberth ’20 doesn’t fill up the stat sheet, but with the help of stud tailback Jack Hickey ’19, they find ways to win. Hickey is currently 4thin the NESCAC in rushing, and he does most of the heavy lifting for the offense. Linebacker Andrew Yamin ’19 continues his dominance on the defensive side, leading the league with 4 tackles for losses, also adding a sack and 9 total tackles. Amherst isn’t the flashiest team, but they’re able control the game with solid quarterback play and a very imposing defense. They’ve started the season with most of the bottom tier of the league and will continue that trend this weekend against Bowdoin in Brunswick. Look for the Mammoths to get to 3-0.

(2) 5. Wesleyan (1-1)

Oh, Wesleyan. They had it. The Cardinals controlled the ball the entire game and had 107 more yards of total offense than the Jumbos. The Tufts defense bent about as far as they could without breaking, and Wesleyan simply couldn’t capitalize. Losing by 3 isn’t ideal, but it feels much worse when you miss two field goal attempts late in the game, one of them from just 27 yards. On paper, the Cardinals outplayed the Jumbos, but a few key plays didn’t go their way and here they are at 1-1. The Wesleyan defense actually did a terrific job, led by LB Will Kearney ’20 who snagged an interception to go along with a pass break up and a team-high 8 tackles. The offense will go back to the drawing board this week in preparation for their matchup with a struggling Hamilton team.

(6) 6. Middlebury (1-1)

Peter Scibilia ’21 rushed for a career-high 184 yards against the Polar Bears

Middlebury put themselves in a dangerous position this past weekend. Trailing by a point at the end of the third quarter against Bowdoin, they benched starting QB Jack Meservy ’19 after his 3rdinterception of the game. Fortunately, backup Will Jernigan ’21 led two touchdown drives to put the Panthers ahead for good and avoid the upset. Midd has really struggled throwing the ball this year, but they were saved on Saturday by their two-headed rushing attack of Drew Jacobs ’19 and Peter Scibilia ’21 who combined for 289 yards on 44 carries. Despite the terrific play of sophomore Jonathan Hobart ’21 who took home defensive player of the week honors, the Panther defense continued to look very vulnerable. They have a lot to figure out right now, so a matchup with the league’s worst team this weekend is an opportunity for them to start fresh.

(9) 7. Bowdoin (0-2)

Middlebury is struggling, but Bowdoin looked immensely better in Week 2 than in Week 1. You can’t talk about this game without talking about the performance of RB Nate Richam ’20. He absolutely decimated the Panther run defense, rushing 30 times for 288 yards and 2 touchdowns, setting a school record for single-game rushing yards. The passing game definitely improved, with QB Austin McCrum ’20 completing 20 of 39 passes for 206 yards and a touchdown, albeit with 3 interceptions. He spread the ball around to 8 different receivers, and connected with Greg Olson ’21 6 times for 58 yards and a touchdown. LB Joe Gowetski ’20 continued to lead the defensive unit, recording 12 tackles including 3 for losses. Although they lost, this was exactly the type of building week that the Polar Bears were looking for. They’re clearly getting better and they’ll look to continue this trend when they host Amherst this weekend.

(7) 8. Bates (0-2)

The Bobcats dropped to 0-2 following a 59-16 loss to Trinity. It’s tough to start the season against 2 of the league’s best defenses (Trinity and Amherst) but the Bates offense really needs to get going. They’re currently 2nd to last in the conference in rushing yards and dead last in passing yards. In fact, they only have 12 first downs on the season, which is exactly half of the next fewest (Hamilton, 24). The Bobcats aren’t turning the ball over at an alarmingly high rate; they just can’t move the chains. Nothing seems to be working and although I’d like to chalk it up to tough opponents, clearly something has to change. The defense hasn’t been terrible by their standards, so the real focus has to be on the offense. That’ll be tough given that they’ll face one of the hottest defenses in the conference at Tufts this weekend.

(8) 9. Hamilton (0-2)

The Continentals need more from QB Kenny Gray ’20

I have to admit, Hamilton is making me regret almost everything I said in my team preview for them this season. With all the pieces they returned from last season and after they had some mild success, I thought they would have a chance to contend with some of the top teams. Oh, how wrong I was. The Continentals looked awful in their season opener against Tufts, and only looked a tiny bit better against Amherst in Week 2. QB Kenny Gray ’20 was 22-37 for 197 yards with a touchdown and an interception, while WR Joe Schmidt ’20 hauled in 7 passes for 93 yards and a touchdown. These aren’t bad numbers, but two main things stick out: their defense has really struggled and their ground game has been nonexistent. And by nonexistent I mean they have 7 rushing yards as a team on the season. I’m not joking. Two full games into the season they have compiled a total of 7 yards on the ground. That’s abysmal. They’ll head to Middletown this weekend to take on a Wesleyan team also coming off a loss, so hopefully they can start moving in the right direction.

(10) 10. Colby (0-2)

Talking about all the struggles that Colby has isn’t a lot of fun every week, so I’ll try to focus on the positives this time. The Mules finally benched struggling QB Jack O’Brien ’20 in favor of freshman Matt Hersch ’22 with 5:34 remaining in the first half against Williams. Hersch orchestrated 2 touchdown drives in the fourth quarter, and finished the game 14-18 for 119 yards, finding 7 different receivers. The defense definitely could be worse and LB Marcus Bullard ’21 has had a fine start to his sophomore season as he sits at 6th in the conference with 15 tackles through two games. Middlebury comes to town on Saturday after struggling to beat Bowdoin in Week 2, so this is an opportunity for the Mules to compete and continue to get better as they get closer to the weaker portion of their schedule.

It’s starting to get interesting; Week 2 stock report

Stock Report

Stock Up:

Bowdoin’s Ground Game: Despite their 0-2 record, things are looking up for the Polar Bears. After putting up a measly 6 points on 108 total yards of rushing against Williams week 1, the Bowdoin showed great improvement against Midd. They were able to put up 289 yards of rushing in week two, accounting for 2 of their 3 touchdowns. When I say they put up 289 yards I mean that Nate Richam put up 288 yards and the rest of their team averaged negative yardage. This feat earned Richam NESCAC Co-Offensive Player of the Week honors and may have begun to propel a formerly stagnant Polar Bear offense. After an absolute blowout week 1 Richam nearly single-handedly kept his team in the game week 2 and was nearly able to pull off the road upset against Midd. This kid is legit and I would not be surprised if he is able to help Bowdoin pull off an upset against one of the higher-tier teams later this season.

Ryan McDonald’s Patrick Mahomes interpretation: The Jumbos were easily able to keep Hamilton at bay last week, but QB Ryan McDonald seemed to be somewhat of a non-factor. Some may have been concerned coming into week 2 that he didn’t have what it takes to compete against a talented Wesleyan defense and that Tufts wouldn’t be able to figure out how to put points up on the board. All of those doubts were silenced Saturday night as McDonald was able to effectively spread the ball around to 7 different receivers, resulting in the 2 touchdowns that won the game for the Jumbos. Similarly to last years matchup, Tufts vs Wesleyan was a nail biter and McDonald proved that he has the guts to grind out a touch win against a tough NESCAC opponent.

The Jumbos are hot with McDonald under center right now.

Middlebury’s Linebackers: After allowing Wesleyan to move the ball up and down the field against them in week 1, Midd’s D showed up in week 2. Jonathan Hobart, Jourdon Delerme-Brown and Charles Roselle were all able to pick off Bowdoin’s former D1 quarterback Austin McCrum in week 2. These 3 turnovers proved to be crucial in Midd’s one-score victory over the Polar bears. While McCrum was able to throw for over 200 yards, it was due to volume passing as he recorded 39 attempts and was only able to connect on 20 of them, none for longer than 22 yards. This game should give the Panther defense lots of confidence when they come to Waterville to face a Colby team that has been struggling in the air to say the least. While their ground defense could certainly use some improvement, it looks as if Midd has the ability to compete against many of the elite quarterbacks in the CAC.

Stock Down:

Bates’ Defense: The Bobcats looked like a team that could sneak their way into the top half of the NESCAC after holding a solid Amherst team to only 19 points in week 1. Week 2 is a completely different story as they allowed Trinity to march up and down the field with no problem in their 59-16 loss. Bates’ pass defense looked formidable against Amherst, holding QB Ollie Eberth to only 112 passing yards and no touchdowns in the air. Trinity QB Jordan Vazzano on the other hand was able to pick apart the Bates defense with his eyes closed, passing for 353 yards and 5 touchdowns, a ridiculous stat line. If that wasn’t enough, running backs Sloane Lockwood and Max Chipouras combined with Vazzano for 217 more yards on the ground and 3 more touchdowns. Allowing nearly 60 points can be extremely disheartening for any defense and may well cause your defensive coordinator to retire at halftime. Bates will have to improve on almost every facet of their game in order to compete against Tufts next week, who have throw their hat into the running for NESCAC champion after downing a dangerous Wesleyan team in week 2.

Penney and the Cardinals need to step it up after an upset loss to the Jumbos.

Wesleyan’s Goal-line Back, Sean Penney: Penney was Wesleyan’s go-to guy inside the 10 yard line against Middlebury in week 1. He was able to convert 3 touchdowns in just 10 attempts, blowing through the Panther defense when he was called up. In week 2, Tuft’s defense seemed to have his number allowing him only 15 yards on 8 attempts, 0 of which reached the end zone. When the Cardinals needed it most week 2, Penney just wasn’t there to provide the momentum that he did in week one. It looks like it’s time to review the game tape and figure out what exactly he did in week 1 to make him so effective and why he wasn’t against Tufts. As for next week, Wesleyan faces an 0-1 Hamilton team, which may be a perfect opportunity for Penny to work on his craft in an almost surefire win for the Cardinals.

Hamilton QB Kenny Gray: Week 2 was a huge improvement for Hamilton’s Junior QB Kenny Gray. After Hamilton’s offense was unable to record a point against Tufts (their 2 points came on a safety), Gray was able to step it up week 2 and record 2 touchdowns, one in the air and one on the ground. One of Gray’s major issues week 1 was his accuracy. Tufts was able to pick him off 3 times and he was only able to convert of 18 of the 42 chances he took. Week 2 we saw a much improved Gray, completing 59.5% of his passes and limiting a talented Amherst defense to 1 interception. It already seems fairly clear that Hamilton doesn’t have too much of a chance to compete this year, but Gray is trending in the right direction. Perhaps if Gray continues to improve he will be able to lead the Continentals to a respectable record next year in his senior campaign.

Anyone Besides Williams?: NESCAC Women’s Soccer Power Rankings

NESCAC Women’s Soccer Power Rankings

Sydney Jones ‘21 torching Trinity defenders
  1. Williams: 5-0 (3-0)

The Ephs not only sit atop our inaugural NESCAC Women’s Soccer Power Rankings, but also claim the #1 ranking in the entire country. Even with the graduation of three First Team All-NESCAC honorees, Williams returns the bulk of their roster with expectations to repeat as national champions.  Last year’s leading goal scorer Alison Lu ’20 has yet to play this season (due to an injury?), but forward Sydney Jones ’21 has single-handily carried the offense in her absence, accounting for more than half of the team’s goals. Despite the perfect start, however, the Ephs have had close encounters in some of their earlier conference games; for example, a 1-0 home victory over lowly Colby is a pretty disappointing result considering the talent discrepancy between the two schools. While Williams may not be necessarily dominating its opponents, this is the most talented team in the ‘CAC and certainly the favorite to repeat as NESCAC/NCAA Champions.

Up Next: The Ephs begin a four-game road trip this Saturday, starting in Amherst to take on the Mammoths in what should present a nice challenge for Williams.  The following day, they travel north to face weaker opponent in Bates; however, the Bobcats were able to escape Williamstown with a draw last year, so the Ephs cannot afford to take them lightly.

  1. Middlebury: 5-0 (2-0)

The Panthers kicked off their 2018 NESCAC campaign in impressive fashion, shutting out Conn College on the road before heading home and snagging a hard-fought 3-1 win against Amherst.  In my book, that’s two wins against teams that will finish in the top half of the standings when it’s all said and done. Middlebury features a balanced offense attack, headlined by Leah Salzman ’21 and Sabrina Glaser ’20. Glaser was particularly affective against the Mammoths, finding the net twice after the Mammoths took a 1-0 lead early in the first half. Goalkeeper Ursula Alwang ’20 has been phenomenal in their two conference games, saving 19/20 shots on goal.

Up Next: Middlebury has a home date with Bowdoin on Saturday, followed by a short road trip to Hamilton on Sunday. A sweep of their weekend matches would bode extremely well in hopes of keeping pace with Williams, as the hunt for the regular season title intensifies in the coming weeks.

  1. Tufts: 5-0 (3-0)

Coach Martha Whiting couldn’t have scripted a better start for the Jumbos. An undefeated start to the season is impressive enough, but to be the only team in the ‘CAC thus far to not allow a single goal is a remarkable achievement. Last year’s First Team All-NESCAC goalkeeper Emily Bowers ’19 headlines the Jumbo’s impenetrable back wall, which has shut out the likes of Colby, Wesleyan and Bates.  Granted, these three teams aren’t exactly the cream of the crop in the NESCAC, but 3-0 is 3-0. Sophie Lloyd ’21 has tallied six goals in her first three games, but missed the last two against Wesleyan and Bates (once again assuming an injury here).

Up Next: The Jumbos are off this week in terms of conference games, with a match against Brandeis on Sunday. Hopefully Lloyd will be deemed fit for next weekend’s date with Amherst, as this will be Tufts’ first real test in conference play.

  1. Amherst: 4-1 (1-1)

The Mammoths check in at number four on this week’s power rankings due to an offense that has weapons all across the pitch; headlined by forward Rubii Tamen ’20, Amherst has six players who have registered two goals or more this season. Even in their 3-1 loss to Middlebury, the Mammoths outshot the Ephs, signifying a closer game between the two than the final score indicated. Amherst has the toughest schedule in September, with contests against the three top teams in the league (Williams and Tufts remain, as they already played Middlebury).

Up Next: Amherst’s date with Williams could be a defining point for both teams, but is definitely more important for the Mammoths. A win on their own turf would have this squad at 2-1 before a road trip to Tufts the following week; a loss on Saturday and the Mammoths could potentially be facing a 1-3 start in conference play.

  1. Hamilton: 2-1-1 (2-1)
When will Hamilton start converting shots into goals?

The Continentals are a usual middle-of-the-pack team that might finally break through and cause some havoc in league play. They gave the Ephs a scare in their close 2-1 loss, and followed up that performance with two wins against Bates and Trinity. More impressive, they allowed a total of nine combined shots against the Bobcats and Bantams, and fired a whopping 65 shots! I’m all about a good ratio and that’s as solid as they come. The one concern I have is not the offensive capability the Continentals possess, but whether they can cash more of those shots into goals. They’ve taken 100 shots in their five regular season games, but only five goals have come from that – a ratio that is dead last in the NESCAC.

Up Next: Hamilton has a tough conference slate this weekend; first, they host Conn College, whom they have not beaten in five years (three losses, two draws). It doesn’t get any easier the next day, when Middlebury visits Clinton with revenge on their mind after the Continentals upset the Panthers in the quarterfinals of last year’s NESCAC Tournament. A split would be a nice result, but an unbeaten weekend would send a message to the rest of the ‘CAC that Hamilton can hang with the big boys.

  1. Connecticut College: 4-1 (0-1)

Not too long ago (2015), the Camels endured a winless campaign and finished near the bottom of the league. 2016 saw a slight improvement, but not many would have expected Conn to vault into second place in 2017. The Camels are out to prove doubters in the NESCAC that their 2017 season was not a fluke. Sure they’ve lost some talent, but last season’s leading goal scorer for the Camels (Kat Norton ’21) is back along with Alex Baltazar ’19. They held firm with Middlebury until the latter stages of the game, and actually outshot the Panthers 20-19. I think the Camels can surprise some teams this season, but will need to produce actual results early on in the year in order for others to buy into the hype.

Up Next:Following a road trip to Hamilton, the Camels head back home to take on Colby. Conn understands while both games are important, the Continentals present a much (emphasis on much) tougher challenge than the Mules. A sweep of this weekend’s games would give the Camels a much-needed confidence boost before next weekend’s date with Williams.

  1. Wesleyan: 4-2 (1-1)
Liz Young ’19 will look to lead the Cardinals to the postseason

The Cardinals were bad last year; there’s no way to sugarcoat it. However, they’ve already tied their conference win total from last year with a victory over Bowdoin this past Saturday. Liz Young ’19 notched her third goal of the young season against the Polar Bears, and will look to lead her Cardinals to a potential playoff berth (something that’s alluded this program the last four years).

Up Next:The Cardinals have a very winnable game against Bates on Saturday, and if they want to take that next step in securing a playoff berth, they’ll need to leave Lewiston with a positive result. The Bobcats went into Middletown last season and came away with a 1-0 victory, so Wesleyan will want to return the favor.

  1. Bowdoin: 2-2-1 (1-2)

Bowdoin slots in at the eight hole primarily because the three teams below them are winless in conference play.  The Polar Bear’s first two games in the NESCAC went pretty well; although they fell 1-0 to Amherst, it was a tightly contested battle, and then they gave in-state rival Bates a spanking by the tune of 4-0.  The 2-0 loss to Wesleyan really took the wind out of the sail, and could be a vital result as the two teams will most certainly jockey for playoff seeding throughout the season. Morgen Gallagher ’20 has fired a team-high 20 shots so far, but only one goal has resulted from them.  She and the rest of her Polar Bears crew will look to generate more consistency on the offensive side of the ball, as Bowdoin has been shut out in three of their five games to date.

Up Next: The Polar Bears will travel to Middlebury to take on the Panthers this weekend.  Bowdoin has surprisingly owned the Panthers in recent history, winning the last four regular season matches.  They’ll look to push the streak to five with an upset on Saturday.

  1. Trinity: 2-3 (0-2)

After starting the season 0-3, the Bantams picked up two non-conference wins by a combined score of 7-0. Don’t let that goose egg fool you, however, because the Bantam defense was downright atrocious in its first two conference games. I understand giving up 25 shots to Williams in a 3-1 defeat, but they gave up 37 shots against Hamilton IN A SINGLE GAME. That has to be some sort of typo, because if it isn’t, the Bantams will have some problems later in the year.  On the bright side, goalie Taylor O’Conner ’21 has been remarkable, leading the ‘CAC with 30 saves and doing her best to keep her team in the game.

Up Next: Trinity’s favorable early schedule now features four straight games against teams expected to finish in the bottom half of the conference.  The first one up is a home game against Colby; the Bantams need a victory here if they want to move up from the cellar of the conference. More so, they need a solid defensive performance on Saturday to instill confidence in a unit that has been struggling mightily and will be needed as the season goes by.

  1. Colby: 2-2 (0-2)

There are few sports that Colby is better at than Bates. I’m not saying Colby women’s soccer is better than this Bates team, but at this early point in the season, I am slotting the Mules just ahead of the Bobcats because they’ve played better in their conference losses. Relatively close losses to Tufts and Williams are still losses at the end of the day, but can be used as vital experience when it comes time to playing weaker conference foes. The trio of Catherine Fraser ’19, Olivia Greif ’21 and Juliette Nadeau ’22 have carried the Mule offense to date, but these three will need to have a bigger impact in their remaining conference games in order for Colby to snag a playoff spot.

Up Next: Colby has two games this weekend, both in the state of Connecticut. First, they have a date with Trinity; with the way the Trinity defense is playing (this can’t be stressed enough), the Mules have a real opportunity to win this game. The following day, they have a tougher opponent in Conn College, but a split from this weekend series would be a nice result.

  1. Bates: 2-3 (0-3)

The Bobcats have played three conference games: they’ve given up eight goals and haven’t scored any of their own. These kinds of numbers typically don’t result in a recipe for success. Bates is in dire need of offense, as they sit dead last in the NESCAC for goals scored and shots taken, and second-to-last in assists. Olivia Amdur ’19 ended her 2017 campaign tied for fifth in goals, yet hasn’t found the net this season. The Bobcats desperately need her to wake up from her slump and find players to get her the ball; otherwise they have a long season ahead.

Up Next: Bates has two home games this weekend, with the first being Wesleyan. As mentioned above, the ‘Cats can definitely win this game, but Wesleyan will be well prepared after losing to Bates a season ago. The following game features Williams, a team that Bates hasn’t defeated since 2010. I’d expect that trend to continue, but hey, crazier things have happened in sports.

Nothing New: Week 1 Power Rankings

With the first week in the books we finally got a glimpse of what each team is looking like this year. Obviously one game is a small sample size, but we’ve learned a thing or two about the league this year. Trinity is still Trinity, Wesleyan is not to be taken lightly, and the bottom of the league is still looking more or less the same. I’m sure this year will bring plenty of surprises like we see every year, but Week 1 didn’t bring too much excitement. There were exactly zero games decided by less than 12 points and besides Bates vs. Amherst none of the games were within 27. So much for more parity this season. Fortunately, this made it a bit easier to do the power rankings, so let’s see where each team falls:

  1. Trinity

The two time defending champs did nothing to make me believe they aren’t still the league’s premier team in a 35-0 drubbing of Colby. RB Max Chipouras ’19 put up a stat line (15 carries, 173yds, 3TD) that would be ridiculous for anyone else, but given his standards I’ll call it “good.” A potential reason for concern is that QB Jordan Vazzano ’21 completed just 9 of his 26 pass attempts for 210 yards, although 97 of those yards were on one play. It was his first game with a new team, but 8-25 for 113 yards sounds a heck of a lot different than 9-26 for 210 yards. Either way, it’s easy to win when your defense doesn’t give up any points, and the Bantams continued to look outstanding on that side of the ball. A matchup with Bates in Week 2 isn’t particularly imposing, so Trinity will have another week to workout the kinks before they head to Williamstown for their first big test.

  1. Wesleyan
Sean Penney ’21 has clearly found a role as the goal line back for Wesleyan

The Cardinals played host to Middlebury in Week 1 and made an absolute statement. Putting up 52 points is absurd even against the weaker teams in the league, let alone the Panthers. We all know how good QB Mark Piccirillo ’19 is, but I was very skeptical given that Wesleyan graduated 4 of their top 5 pass catchers from last season. Well they came out with a very balanced offensive attack that featured 3 rushing touchdowns from Sean Penney ’21, and just 19 pass attempts by Piccirillo. The Wesleyan defense looked excellent as well, and Ben Thaw ’20 put on the defensive performance of the week with 2 interceptions – returning one for a touchdown. Coach DiCenzo showed that he has already found his team’s identity, and will certainly game plan well for their Week 2 showdown at Tufts.

  1. Tufts

I’m not quite sure whether the Jumbos’ 29-2 victory over Hamilton says more about them or the Continentals, but I’m going with the former. This was exactly the type of statement win that Tufts wanted to make in Week 1, highlighted by QB Ryan McDonald ’19 rushing for 98 yards and 4 touchdowns to go along with his 99 passing yards. Perhaps the most exciting aspect of the season opener for Tufts was the outstanding effort by their defense. They intercepted 3 Hamilton passes, forced 1 fumble, and had 6 sacks. Granted the Continentals don’t have the strongest offense in the league, but it’s mostly the same personnel that dropped 28 points on the Jumbos in Week 1 last season. Tufts is clearly getting better and their defense will be tasked with slowing down a versatile Wesleyan team that just hung 52 on Middlebury. Mark this one on your calendar, folks.

  1. Williams

Bobby Maimaron ’21 is a weapon. Let’s make that very clear. He completed 13 of 23 passes for 146 yards and 2 touchdowns, while tacking on 78 more yards and 2 touchdowns on the ground. He can seemingly do anything, but he doesn’t have to because the Ephs boast one of the best receivers in the league in Frank Stola ’21 and one of the best running backs in the league in TJ Dozier ’21. Oh, and don’t forget about linebacker TJ Rothmann ’21 who looks like one of the most promising defensive players in the league. Notice anything these guys all have in common? They’re only sophomores. Look out NESCAC, Williams is here to stay. Mark Raymond is turning this program back into a dynasty and I, for one, am very afraid. They’re ready to be in the conversation with the conference’s elite because their championship window is just opening.

  1. Amherst
Bo Berluti ’19 was the only Mammoth receiver to get anything going against Bates

A 19-7 victory over Bates isn’t the most impressive feat, but a win is a win. Plus, the Mammoths had no idea what to expect from a team that completely changed their schemes on both sides of the ball. Amherst is still Amherst and they’ll find ways to grind out wins. Jack Hickey ’19 is a workhorse out of the backfield, racking up 22 carries for 137 yards against the Bobcats. Ollie Eberth ’20 completed 9 of his 13 passes to his two favorite targets, Bo Berluti ’19 and James O’Reagan ’20, but there don’t seem to be too many reliable options beyond those two guys. Fortunately, their defensive unit is as good as any, so they don’t need to be putting up 30+ points every game to be successful. They’ll host a Hamilton team in Week 2 who looked like a JV squad against Tufts, so if that performance is any indication then this one should be a cake walk for the Mammoths. Editor’s Note: 5th?! Cmon, Cam. They have the best defense in the league and returned their whole lineup. I guarantee they move up in week two.

  1. Middlebury

Middlebury showed us that they still have quite a bit to figure out. They did not come to play against Wesleyan and got ripped apart. I know that the suffocating defense of the Cardinals is a nightmare for opposing teams and Mark Piccirillo is pretty good, but the Panthers couldn’t even keep it within 30? Not a great start. Their defense was abysmal, and the offense couldn’t pick up the slack either. Seemingly the only bright spot was that 9 different receivers had multiple receptions, indicating that the pass-heavy offense that they’re known for is still very much in effect. Jack Meservy ’19 showed promise by completing 25 of 43 passes and 2 touchdowns, but also threw 3 picks and didn’t have a single completion for more than 18 yards. I’m confident that the Panthers will start to put things together, but this game should serve as a wakeup call. Luckily they host Bowdoin this weekend, so they’ll have an opportunity to continue finding out what works and what doesn’t.

  1. Bates

The Bobcats should feel about as good as you can feel after a 19-7 loss. Amherst is one of the league’s best, and Bates refused to go away. In fact, it was still a one score game with 5 minutes left to play. The defense looked very solid, led by DB Jon Lindgren ’20 and LB Pete Daley ’19 who had 12 and 8 tackles, respectively. The new offense is going to need a bit more work as they were only able to muster 7 first downs the entire game. Someone besides QB Brendan Costa ’21 is going to have to step up on offense, because he’s the only one making plays at this point. It’s not good when your punter has almost triple the amount of punt yards as you have in total offense. Yes, the Mammoths play very tough defense, but so does Trinity, who the Bobcats will face in Week 2. The expectations shouldn’t be too high for this one, but after a solid showing in Week 1 Bates should continue to focus on making progress. It’s the little victories.

  1. Hamilton

Apparently I was way too high on Hamilton going into this season. They returned a ton of key offensive players including QB Kenny Gray ’20, RB Mitch Bierman ’21, and WR Joe Schmidt ’20 who all did damage in 2017. I thought this would put them in position to have a breakout season and while this still could happen, it looks much less likely. Their offense put up a goose egg and was actually bailed out by their defense to avoid the shutout. Not to say that their defense played particularly well, but allowing 29 points isn’t a terrible effort. Alex Ganter ’19 looked solid, recording 7 tackles and 1 sack that resulted in the safety. Needless to say, the Continentals have a lot to figure out right now, as they’ll go back to the drawing board in preparation for their visit to Western Mass this weekend to take on the Mammoths.

  1. Bowdoin
Austin McCrum didn’t look like a quarterback who once had D1 potential this past weekend

As Colby mentioned in the Stock Report, there has to be a bit of disappointment from Polar Bear fans after a poor performance from transfer QB Austin McCrum ’21 in their season opener against the Ephs. Bowdoin needs to establish their offensive threats after losing their top two receivers from last season in Nick Vailas ’18 and Bryan Porter ’18. RB Nate Richam ’20 looked serviceable, but they really could not get anything going on offense at all. Linebackers Liam Dougherty ’21 and Joe Gowetski ’20 had decent games, but they ran into a hot Williams offense that dominated the game from start to finish. It’s a tough road ahead for the Polar Bears who face Middlebury, Amherst, and Tufts over the next three weeks. They’ll try to take baby steps each week to improve steadily until they reach the weaker portion of their schedule later in the season.

  1. Colby

The last two spots in the power rankings could go either way, but I put Colby in the cellar because of their inability to score a single point in Week 1. The game plan against Trinity was clearly ground and pound, as RB Jake Schwern ’19 carried the ball 29 times for 108 yards. QB Jack O’Brien ’20 only threw for 93 yards, and the Mules actually had 5 players with negative rushing yards. The defense could have been worse, but it’s hard to judge given that the Bantams had their reserves in for the entire second half. It’s hard to play the league’s best right from the get-go, and the result was pretty much as expected. Like Bowdoin, their upcoming schedule does not look promising so the focus will be on progress. Colby hired Coach Cosgrove for a reason, and he can’t be asked to produce results this quickly. Rome wasn’t built in a day, right?

Expectations vs. Reality; Week 1 Stock Report

Stock Report

Stock Up

Wesleyan Secondary: Ben Thaw was the defensive star of the weekend, racking up two INTs, a TD, and 46 return yards, all but handing the Cardinals the victory. Alex Kirk added another pick and Mark Piccirillo could easily do the rest, tearing through the Panthers. They also limited the speedy Jimmy Martinez to just 17 yards, and prevented any receiver from tallying over 60 yards receiving which is just as impressive as their onslaught on Middlebury’s QB. They face another challenge this weekend against Tufts but should handle McDonald and the Jumbos just like they did in Week 1.

Ben Thaw locked up a NESCAC defensive player of the week award with his two INTs.

Bates Defense: Although the Bobcats lost in the first game of Malik Hall’s tenure as head coach, they kept the score much closer than I thought they would against Amherst. Amherst has a number of offensive weapons in QB Ollie Eberth, receivers Bo Berluti and James O’Reagan, and RB Jack Hickey, but only scored 19 points. Granted, this showed that the Bobcat ground defense is worse than their pass defense as all three TDs came on rushes. Eberth threw for just 112 yards though, and that is a small start in a new era of Bates football. They had six tackles for loss and one sack, however, they will need a better pass rush in the future.

Trinity’s Title Chances: Jordan Vazzano is the real deal and that means that the Bantams are back. Unlike McCrum at Bowdoin, Vazzano had an excellent debut and led his new Trinity team to a dominating 35-0 victory against Colby. Now, nobody thought that the Mules had a chance in this one, but he certainly took his first step in the right direction with 210 yards passing and two TDs. I took some heat after predicting the Bantams to be just 6-3, and although there is a lot of season left, I don’t like the chances for that one panning out.

Stock Down

Jack Meservy needs to get it together before a week 4 matchup vs. Amherst.

Middlebury QB Empire: Following the graduation of past NESCAC legends, Donnie McKillop, McCallum Foote (possibly the best of the group), Matt Milano and Jared Lebowitz, who all called plays in Vermont, Jack Meservy had big shoes to fill. He performed well enough to retain the starting spot at the end of the 2017 season and the 2018 preseason, but bad decisions cost him in week one. He has been experiencing shoulder pain as well, and it’s unclear as to whether it effected him against Wesleyan, but his all star receivers didn’t get the balls they needed to make big plays happen. All three of the interceptions were costly, as one was a pick-6 and the two others left the dynamic Cardinal offense with a short field. Meservy has two weeks to figure it out against Bowdoin and Colby before taking on the mighty Amherst defense.

Hamilton’s Destiny Year: If there was ever a year for Hamilton to be good, this is it. They return heaps of players on both sides of the ball, but simply couldn’t get anything going against Tufts. In fact, their defense scored more than their offense with two points on a safety. They used three different QBs due to a tough three INT performance from Kenny Gray. Their offensive line allowed six sacks, making their QBs and run game without time to let plays develop. Will Budington was the lone bright spot with over 100 yards receiving, accounting for most of the Continental offense.

McCrum had a disappointing week one debut.

Excitement in Brunswick: After getting in transfer QB Austin McCrum from Lafayette, the Polar Bear fans should’ve had high hopes. After all, what else could take your team to the promised land than a fearless former D1 leader? Well, disappointment is here. A paltry opening week performance saw McCrum go just 10-25 with a pick before getting benched for Griff Stalcup, a promising sophomore who started most of their games a season ago. Stalcup did just fine, throwing a TD and no INTs, but he doesn’t quite match up against the signal callers of other quality teams.