NCAC 2024

[ncacmaniac]

Call me crazy but gimme the terriers in Granville tonight +2700, value is off the rockers and Koch has been coaching with a stick up his ass these past few weeks.

[NeOhLaxFan]

Can we actually have some serious posts and stop acting like f’ing idiots. No one will ever take you serious with dumbass posts

[boredatwork]

I feel like Saturday is going to be huge for the 4th playoff spot as Wooster and Oberlin face off. Not sure if DePauw or Wittenberg can sneak in to that last spot so all eyes on Wooster this weekend.

[FannOLax]

For the first few minutes, Denison seemed to play down to Hiram's level, but the result was never in doubt.

So, the new facility: looks really nice, yet I wonder if it can accomodate the crowd that shows up when Denison hosts OWU. The stands all use the hillside slope, as those at the football field do. There are only five rows of bleacher seats; and on the side where the team benches are, no bleachers, and little signs saying spectators can't stand along the sideline. The pressbox is big, a double-decker, with a big red-and-white Denison D. There is a snack bar off the back of the press box, open even for the Hiram game. They chopped down a lot of the trees behind the stands, and I'm never in favor of clearing trees for no good reason. No locker rooms there, but there are restrooms, which the old soccer (once upon a time soccer and lacrosse) facility didn't have... and more parking, like there is more parking now all over campus.

[WhiteCarrera]

I made it to Crawfordsville for today’s Wabash v. OWU game, and if you only look at the final score, you may be missing a bit. OWU led 6-3 at halftime, and it was a well played, hard fought first half — no fluke goals or bad penalties, just a good back-and-forth game. OWU had 30 on the bench compared to Wabash’s 15, and that kind of depth makes a big second-half difference, but there’s no doubt Wabash is a program headed in the right direction.

With their first three conference games (Kenyon, Denison, and OWU) out of the way, it will be interesting to watch the remainder of their season.

[oldtimelax]

White...Wabash is getting better and it will be interesting to see how they measure up against DePauw, Oberlin, Wooster and Wittenberg. I thought OWU showed the effects of the long bus ride in the first half, and one of Wabash's goals leaked through the goalkeeper's legs and barely rolled over the goal line. The Little Giants are better defensively and at clearing and faceoffs, but still need a lot more depth offensively...they only took 15 shots, eight of which were on goal.

[NeOhLaxFan]

I made it to Crawfordsville for today’s Wabash v. OWU game, and if you only look at the final score, you may be missing a bit. OWU led 6-3 at halftime, and it was a well played, hard fought first half — no fluke goals or bad penalties, just a good back-and-forth game. OWU had 30 on the bench compared to Wabash’s 15, and that kind of depth makes a big second-half difference, but there’s no doubt Wabash is a program headed in the right direction.

With their first three conference games (Kenyon, Denison, and OWU) out of the way, it will be interesting to watch the remainder of their season.

The battle of the basement at Hiram on Saturday will be a barn burner, lol. But in all seriousness, Wabash is light years ahead of Hiram and expect them to win by 10+

[hatinghayden]

I feel like Saturday is going to be huge for the 4th playoff spot as Wooster and Oberlin face off. Not sure if DePauw or Wittenberg can sneak in to that last spot so all eyes on Wooster this weekend.

I would agree; I think the winner locks themselves in that 4 spot, barring a major upset. Neither team will want the three-way tie that happened last year with Witt, so both teams will most likely want to close the door this Saturday. Will be a really interesting game to watch. Wooster will have had all week to prepare, while Oberlin is coming off of a loss to Kenyon on Tuesday. The Yeoman and the Fighting Scotts will have to put it all on the line

[oldtimelax]

I predict Wooster by +4. Oberlin has some young talent, but is a year away. Wooster better build on this season, because with JCU coming in, they probably move down a spot in the NCAC pecking order.

[BlueWarrior]

Lost in all this discussion is the reality that Wittenberg - emerging as a force ten years ago - is a non-factor. What happened to the Tiger program?

[Nosey Ned]

I feel like Saturday is going to be huge for the 4th playoff spot as Wooster and Oberlin face off. Not sure if DePauw or Wittenberg can sneak in to that last spot so all eyes on Wooster this weekend.

I would agree; I think the winner locks themselves in that 4 spot, barring a major upset. Neither team will want the three-way tie that happened last year with Witt, so both teams will most likely want to close the door this Saturday. Will be a really interesting game to watch. Wooster will have had all week to prepare, while Oberlin is coming off of a loss to Kenyon on Tuesday. The Yeoman and the Fighting Scotts will have to put it all on the line

The game I’ll be watching and the key matchup in the conference this weekend is Kenyon at OWU. This is where we find out if the NCAC has become a three horse race to stay or if the last few years have been a blip. Both teams have something to prove in my estimation. Kenyon needs to prove the 10-20 loss to Denison was just a “bad day” and they are still a true NCAC contender. And OWU wants to prove that they are back and retake their mantle as the true #2 (and occasional #1) team in the NCAC after losing 3 of the last 4 to Kenyon including the last 2 straight in the conference semis. The game is slated for a 7:30pm start - are the Bishops borrowing Stevenson’s fire machines for the tilt?! I have OWU 12-9.

[WhiteCarrera]

My money's on OWU in that one. Since the game is in Delaware, they won't have to deal with "the effects of the long bus ride in the first half."

[oldtimelax]

Kenyon (8-4 overall, 2-1 in NCAC) vs. OWU (7-3, 4-0) under the lights at Selby Stadium is the NCAC Game of the Week. The Bishops hold a huge edge in the lifetime series (66 wins and 17 losses), but the Owls have won three of the past four -- including the last two playoff games. Looking at common opponents this year, both beat Transylvania (Owls 14-4, Bishops 13-6) and Oberlin (Owls 14-8, Bishops 18-9). Both have lost to Grove City (Bishops 8-10, Owls 7-16). Can't make much out of any of that. Both have lost to top teams (Bishops -- Christopher Newport, Hampden-Sydney) amd Owls (Dickinson, F&M, and Denison).

In terms of scoring and team defense, Kenyon averages 12.8 goals and gives up 9.8. OWU averages the same 12.8 gpg. and lets in 7.7. Again, pretty even. The answer to this game is looking at the box scores of the past four games. In last year's playoff game, the Owls went up 4-0 in the 1Q, 8-4 at the half, and weathered a Bishop comeback to prevail 12-10. In the two 2022 wins, Kenyon got up 5-0 in 1Q and cruised to a 12-6 win, and was up 4-3 in the first frame in the other game, a 10-8 win. The Bishops did spot the Owls a 5-zip early lead in last year's 11-10 win in the regular season. My point is, it seems imperative for the Owls to grab a big early lead to beat OWU. Conversely, the Bishops aren't a good team playing from behind -- as seen in the defeats to CNU, Hampden-Sydney and Grove City.

[oldtimelax]

Nice win by OWU....14-9 over Kenyon. After a 3-3 1Q, the Bishop offense got rolling in the 2Q and took a 7-3 lead at halftime. They extended the lead to 10-4 in the 3rd, when the Owls mounted a comeback during a rash of OWU penalties, and closed to 10-7 early in the 4Q. The Bishops answered with the next two goals and cruised to a 14-9 win. The Bishops won despite losing 20 faceoffs (6-20) and being on the wrong side of the ground ball stats (Owls had a 34-25 edge). OWU goalie Nathan George made 11 saves/9 goals (.555), while Owl goalie Adam Hall made 9 saves and gave up 14 goals (.391). Bishop middie Garrett Smith had his best game of the season, sniping five goals, attackman Spencer Amacher chipped in four more, and middie Brady Hunt had 2 goals and 3 assists. Kenyon's leading scorer, David Shintala, was well covered by OWU d-man Wes Silver, and had just one goal and one assist.

The rest of the NCAC is rounding into form...Denison rolled 24-10 over Wittenberg and Wooster topped Oberlin 17-10. Wabash stung poor Hiram, 19-7. Wooster is undefeated (4-0) in the conference, but hosts OWU on Wednesday, visits Denison next Saturday, and then plays Kenyon at home the following Wednesday. They are probably the fourth best team, but can prove they are better in the next ten days.

[FannOLax]

Nice win by OWU....14-9 over Kenyon. After a 3-3 1Q, the Bishop offense got rolling in the 2Q and took a 7-3 lead at halftime. They extended the lead to 10-4 in the 3rd, when the Owls mounted a comeback during a rash of OWU penalties, and closed to 10-7 early in the 4Q. The Bishops answered with the next two goals and cruised to a 14-9 win. The Bishops won despite losing 20 faceoffs (6-20) and being on the wrong side of the ground ball stats (Owls had a 34-25 edge). OWU goalie Nathan George made 11 saves/9 goals (.555), while Owl goalie Adam Hall made 9 saves and gave up 14 goals (.391). Bishop middie Garrett Smith had his best game of the season, sniping five goals, attackman Spencer Amacher chipped in four more, and middie Brady Hunt had 2 goals and 3 assists. Kenyon's leading scorer, David Shintala, was well covered by OWU d-man Wes Silver, and had just one goal and one assist.

The rest of the NCAC is rounding into form...Denison rolled 24-10 over Wittenberg and Wooster topped Oberlin 17-10. Wabash stung poor Hiram, 19-7. Wooster is undefeated (4-0) in the conference, but hosts OWU on Wednesday, visits Denison next Saturday, and then plays Kenyon at home the following Wednesday. They are probably the fourth best team, but can prove they are better in the next ten days.

Good summary, Oldtimelax. While the traditional NCAC one-two at the top seems to be re-asserting itself, OWU will want to be mentally focused for its Wednesday evening match-up at Wooster. It will be interesting to see if Wooster can win at least one of its next three games. Will the OWU-Denison rivalry game pit two teams with undefeated conference records?

Yes, "poor Hiram." Pathetic Hiram. Will that school go the way of 8-track tapes and coal-burning fireplaces?

[hatinghayden]

Two interesting games today. One with OWU beating Wooster handily. The other was a Denison Oberlin game that was much tighter than the final score looked. I believe that it was a 2 goal game with just under 10 mins left. Whether this shows Oberlin's strength or Denisons weakness, I do not know. Wonder what Ned thought about this matchup.

[oldtimelax]

The Bishops seem to be peaking at the right time. They had great defensive effort vs. Wooster -- only 11 SOG and 3 goals scored. They also had 18 CTO, 43 GBs, and no penalties -- despite Plantholt substituting freely with 33 players getting playing time. The ride has also been effective -- Wooster had 12 failed clears in 29 attempts. Offensively, 11 of 12 goals were assisted and the attackmen -- Beckstrom, Amacher and Geier -- collectively scored 8 goals with 8 assists. Two freshmen -- Beckstrom (29g, 17a, 46p) and Ross (19g, 14a, 33p) lead the team in points, while Geier, Amacher and Hunt have 30 points each. Balanced scoring and a tough defense.

I am looking forward to the OWU-Denison game in nine days at Selby Field. Should be a classic!

[FannOLax]

Two interesting games today. One with OWU beating Wooster handily. The other was a Denison Oberlin game that was much tighter than the final score looked. I believe that it was a 2 goal game with just under 10 mins left. Whether this shows Oberlin's strength or Denisons weakness, I do not know. Wonder what Ned thought about this matchup.

Regarding Denison at Oberlin, this has happened before when the Big Red travelled to Oberlin. Kinda seems like Denison knows it's gonna win, but takes a well-fed house cat's view of the game and doesn't put in the effort to kill the mouse too soon.

https://goyeo.com/news/2016/4/9/mens-la ... nison.aspx

[Nosey Ned]

Two interesting games today. One with OWU beating Wooster handily. The other was a Denison Oberlin game that was much tighter than the final score looked. I believe that it was a 2 goal game with just under 10 mins left. Whether this shows Oberlin's strength or Denisons weakness, I do not know. Wonder what Ned thought about this matchup.

Regarding Denison at Oberlin, this has happened before when the Big Red travelled to Oberlin. Kinda seems like Denison knows it's gonna win, but takes a well-fed house cat's view of the game and doesn't put in the effort to kill the mouse too soon.

https://goyeo.com/news/2016/4/9/mens-la ... nison.aspx

Good take Fann. I didn’t see the game so hard for me to provide color beyond what we can all glean from the box score. I will say, every year it seems Denison takes a conference away game, that on paper should be a pretty comfortable win and turns it in to a nail biter. Though this one seems to never really have been in doubt - unlike the away game at Kenyon in 2019. Classic Denison making it tough on themselves. And it’s usually when a goalie stands on his head.

https://denisonbigred.com/news/2019/4/9 ... _2059.aspx

I will say however that, I agree with Old that OWU seems to be rounding it to shape so the Big Red will need to play a better game than last night to get past the Bishops and earn the #1 seed in the conference tournament. Assuming they don’t get tripped up by Wooster of course.

[FannOLax]

In a game spannig two days, Kenyon just topped Witt 17-15 in Gambier. Makes me wonder how the Lords, er Owls, will fare at Wooster next week. Yes, the young Bishops appear to be rounding into shape; junior defenseman Wes Silver and soph middie Garrett Smith were selected to the USILA D3 Team of the Week. https://usila.org/news/2024/4/17/mens-l ... il-15.aspx Denison attackman Luke Fisher was also on the weekly team. The OWU-Denison rivalry game in Delaware, OH is looking like it might well be a good game.