SAA 2020

[droliver]

about 1/3 of the way through conference play now

Centre suffers 1st conference play loss since 4/12/19 (1443 days due to the COVID short year in the middle!), dropping to BSC 16-14 at home. They gave up 6 unanswered goals the last 10 mins of the game as BSC's FOGO, Will Johns (SR) dominated down the stretch allowing BSC enough possessions to claw back. Very similar to the close Sewanee-BSC game 2 nights before which Sewanee won 8-7. Sewanee playing with a lot of confidence right now after unlikely 2022 tournament title run.

Rhodes continues to absolutely own Berry in a competitive 15-12 win in Rome,Ga that Berry led by as many as 5 goals early and well into Q3 before collapsing. I believe that's now 9 in a row for Rhodes in the series back to 2016. Berry drops to 0-2 in SAA play after a 3OT loss to Centre the week prior.

Hendrix wins close one with Oglethorpe 15-13. That does not bode well for Hendrix to win any of their remaining games in conference as they close with the best 4 teams left. They try to extend a modest streak to 2 wins vs Sewanee next week whom they knocked off in a great regular season game last year. Oglethorpe continues to improve relative to the SAA winning a # of games OOC (against admittedly weak teams), but they will almost certainly go 0-6 (again)

1) Rhodes - tested with some good OOC play, but have tough Centre/Sewanee double header next weekend
2) Sewanee -may be favorite as their schedule is pretty evenly paced to rest down the stretch
3) BSC - record only 6-5 (but losses all <4 goals). With Centre win they've beaten everyone in SAA at least once last 3 yrs
4) Centre - still with long road trips to Rhodes & Sewanee
5) Berry - can hang with everyone, but their 5 season record trend (3-12) vs teams 1-4 is telling
6) Hendrix -beat Bridgewater earlier (nice), but transitive property suggests they've taken a step back from 2022
7) Oglethorpe - played Hendrix close, suggesting improvement.

Would absolutely not be surprised for a 3 or 4 way tie of 1-loss teams in SAA play after next weekend between Rhodes, BSC, Centre, & Sewanee. The early clashes had been 1 & 2 goal affairs between Sewanee/Centre/BSC and they (and Rhodes) share lots of common opponents as data point (ILL-Weslyan, Transylvania, Elmhurst, Southwestern, Piedmont, So. Virginia). All suggest the talent difference between 1-5 is pretty minimal this season

[JunkD]

Was at the Centre vs. BSC game. A hotly contested contest throughout. The Colonels were seemingly in control with a four goal lead early in the 4th quarter, but then repeatedly and fatally turned the ball over on the clear. In addition to Centre's turnover problem, BSC also won most of the contested ground balls down the stretch and at least held their own on faceoffs. Give them credit, BSC showed a lot of inner resolve in what was really a stunning loss for the Colonels.

[droliver]

Looking increasingly like the conference tournament goes through Sewanee, TN.

Sewanee avenges a 2022 loss to Hendrix (in a closer then expected final score) and eeks out an OT win over Rhodes despite trailing by 3 goals most of the second half. Rhodes playing on short rest drops two 1-goal losses to Centre and Sewanee back to back, and is effectively eliminated from a chance at hosting SAA tournament as a result. Sewanee still has to play Centre (whom I think they lose to) and Berry (whom can certainly compete with Sewanee)

Centre looks methodical in dispatching Rhodes & destroying Hendrix. They could finish in a 3 way tie with Sewanee & BSC for regular season SAA championship, but may have the worst position in the 3 way tiebreaker of goals allowed (if I understand that correctly). Centre now a big Rhodes fan in the 4/14 matchup with BSC to eliminate them a tiebreaker which would open up a back door for a 3rd straight SAA title and tournament host with a win over Sewanee. Nobody wants to make another trip to beautiful Danville, Kentucky, one of the longer road trips for most of the conference.

BSC walks through Oglethorpe Friday night and wins a close one with Berry 10-8 to extend their h2h streak to 3 games, their longest in the series with Berry. BSC's Will Johns is now firmly established as the alpha-dog of FOGO's in SAA play, getting the better of Berry's outstanding Nick English for two seasons in a row. Berry now an unbelievable 3-13 the last five years against non-Oglethorpe/Hendrix competition, and 0-3 against this BSC senior class which may be the last one to graduate from BSC (whom may know Tuesday if the school closes). BSC's swan song could include an improbable regular season SAA title and first tournament hosting if they handle Rhodes and get some help. Sewanee sitting pretty in a tiebreaker absent losing their last 2 games though

[Ricky Spanish]

Should be a good finish...Conference seems really deep this year and teams and can only control what they can control...but give credit to Sewanee players and their coaching staff for some incredibly gritty wins and a really nice run since late last year knocking off some perceived superior teams...they generate a ton of shots on offense and their defense has answered the bell. Should be a great last couple of weeks to the season.

[droliver]

Centre hosting the SAA tournament for the 3rd straight year (2021-2023) next weekend, duplicating the 3 peat of Rhodes (2017-2019).

Centre will host BSC in the first semi final, looking to avenge their only regular season conference loss the last 3 years earlier this season to BSC 16-14. The last two meetings between these two schools have been dog fights with Centre getting an OT win in 2022. Centre is apparently down two major contributors from the 1st meeting with broken collarbones which could have some impact, but they have a lot of athletes. BSC comes off another win over a game Berry 15-12 (now 4 in a row in the series) in the QF. Many of the best offensive players in conference are on Centre & BSC, so look for another game in the mid teens. Also watch the FOGO matchup with BSC's all-SAA Will Johns vs Centre's Alex Mozingo and Centre 2x POY A-Will Hubbs vs BSC's filthy D-pole Cade Marino to indicate how this one goes.

Rhodes gets a second bite at Sewanee in the second semifinal. Sewanee's "cardiac kids" (4-1 in one goal games this year) won that game in OT over a Rhodes team playing back to back days that actually led most of the game. Rhodes' Drew Downes has been a one man gang down the stretch with 85pts this season (double the next highest Rhodes player). I like Rhodes to win this one as they just have a lot more firepower where Sewanee wins a lot of low scoring games. OTOH I thought the same thing last year and Sewanee won 3 close & ugly tournament games with most of this roster.

There were an awful lot of close games between the top 4 teams this year which makes the tournament hard to handicap. Centre has to be the favorite at home and their consistency is compelling, but it wouldn't be surprising to see any of them win the NCAA bid the way these games have gone.

Frustrating end of the year for Berry & Hendrix whom both finish under .500. Hendrix is still a big gap behind everyone but Oglethorpe (although they surprisingly played Rhodes close). They were clearly not as good as the 2022 version to me. They had impressive offensive stats this season feasting on a LOT of weak teams, but when they collided with with the top half of the SAA, they were largely ineffective. Berry played the top 4 teams close again (with halftime leads against Centre, Rhodes, & BSC), but has now gone 3 seasons without a win over the top half of the conference.

[droliver]

cheers to Centre on their 2nd conference tournament win in the last 3 seasons.

Just a remarkably close season in SAA play with pretty much every game among the top 4 teams 1-2 goal differences all season long. Centre goes 7-1 against the conference including (4) one goal wins and a (2) goal win, including last minute victories against BSC and Sewanee in the tournament. Depending on their draw, it's not hard imagining Centre winning an NCAA game if they receive a matchup outside the top 30-40 in R1. They knocked out blue blood Dennison in the 2021 tournament.

[JunkD]

Just a shout out to the Centre seniors who made up Coach Z's first recruiting class. They are a group of super young men who played a key role in establishing the Colonels as a force in the SAA, and who led them to an outstanding 13-4 season in their final year. After the pier-sixer against BSC in the SAA-semis one wondered whether they would have the legs to beat an excellent Sewanee squad in the finals, but a late fourth quarter rally sealed the win. A tremendous team effort against Pfeiffer at home got them through the first round of the NCAAs. Watching the loss in Lexington against Washington-Lee, one was struck not by a disparity in athleticism so much as in off-ball movement, passing skills (W-L had a tremendous feeder at attack), and offensive depth. The Generals were clearly the better team, but the game was largely competitive throughout. The 2024 Colonels or whoever wins the SAA next year is not that far away from being able to legitimately challenge top 10 talent -- and with continued growth of the sport and strong recruiting from around the country we'll hopefully see that take place in the next few years.

[droliver]

Centre will be very good again next season.

[Cardinal19]

Any news on SAA Scrimmages for 2024?