NESCAC

[Laxxal22]

For all the talk.......

Anyone see the Midd-Bowdoin game? What happened? Or after two straight losses we now know Midd is not an elite team?

Midd has done less with more for quite awhile at this point. Far more surprising when they play to their potential than when they don't.

[Chipzhoo]

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Midd has done less with more for quite awhile at this point. Far more surprising when they play to their potential than when they don't.
[/quote]

For sure. Just like last year when their three losses were to Tufts twice (both on Bello) and once to RIT (also on Bello).

[nospringchicken]

Anyone see the Midd-Bowdoin game? What happened? Or after two straight losses we now know Midd is not an elite team?

Bowdoin was dominant in all three phases. Physical defense, strong transition and controlling offense. Midd showed flashes at times, but Bowdoin controlled the pace of play and physicality. Was very impressed with this Polar Bear performance - we'll see if they can keep it going.

Fortunately for Midd, they have another opportunity against a strong Babson team to right the ship tomorrow and erase the memories from their past two games. If they don't pull one out tomorrow, it's going to be a long trip back to northern VT with a serious reset needed.

polar bears very efficient on offense - fast ball movement put middlebury zone on spin cycle and generated many time/room shots from <10 yards. 

midlebury parent told me their best close, lsm and ssdm all out with injury. 

bowdoin putting poles on two middlebury middies killed their dodging offense. 

bowdoin's top fogo was out, so managed only ~40% at the x ... score could have been worse if ratio was flipped.  

[SouthieLax]

Boyden at a PPG for UVA and Kohn is a huge piece of Cuse's success so far..... where's lax dad @???

Boyden averaging 3 pt a game, and is UVA’s #1 middie. Kohn might be 1st Team AA.

[ah23]

Boyden at a PPG for UVA and Kohn is a huge piece of Cuse's success so far..... where's lax dad @???

Took me until the third quarter of the Hopkins-Syracuse game last night to remember that it was a D3 guy dominating the game at the X, pretty cool.

[ChopMan23]

Boyden at a PPG for UVA and Kohn is a huge piece of Cuse's success so far..... where's lax dad @???

Took me until the third quarter of the Hopkins-Syracuse game last night to remember that it was a D3 guy dominating the game at the X, pretty cool.

Very impressive, he is a beast.

[ah23]

Midd has done less with more for quite awhile at this point. Far more surprising when they play to their potential than when they don't.

Question for you (and anyone else who wants to answer): what do you think their potential is and where do you think they should be each year?

[NNELax]

Barnard didn't play and they still won by 6 goals..wow

[NNELax]

Midd has done less with more for quite awhile at this point. Far more surprising when they play to their potential than when they don't.

Question for you (and anyone else who wants to answer): what do you think their potential is and where do you think they should be each year?

Historically Middlebury should be a top 10-15 program every year and challenging for a NESCAC and national championship...Their record in 2023 is around their ceiling and where one could expect them to be most years...they certainly have the talent to do that...COVID really screwed up what I thought would be very solid squads in 2020 and 2021..

2023 18-3 (Probably over performed but should be the expectation given the talent, facilities etc.)
2022 8-8 (Below expectations)
2021 Covid
2020 Covid
2019 8-9 (BE)
2018 9-7 (BE)
2017 9-9 (BE)
2016 12-7 (Good Year NCAA Tournament)
2015 13-6 (Good Year NCAA Tournament)
2014 8-8 (BE)
2013 13-3 (Robbed of NCAA Tournament Bid)
2012 4-9 (Odd year anyone know why they only played 13 games)
2011 13-5 (Good Year NCAA Tournament)
2010 13-6 (Good Year NCAA Tournament and lost to Tufts who won the NC that year)

[ah23]

2013 13-3 (Robbed of NCAA Tournament Bid)

Looked this up to see what you meant and...uh...the SAA got more bids (two) than the NESCAC did (one) that year. Everyone involved in that should be launched into the sun. Middlebury was ranked #10 and missed the tournament, as did #14 Wesleyan and #16 Conn College.

As far as I can tell, there were as many Pool B bids as Pool C bids (5/5), and Pool B was basically Colorado College and a bunch of roadkill. Pretty ridiculous. As much as I hated the tournament structure prior to 2022, I had no idea how bad it was in the 2000s/early 2010s.

[jumpman23]

Anyone see the Midd-Bowdoin game? What happened? Or after two straight losses we now know Midd is not an elite team?

Bowdoin was dominant in all three phases. Physical defense, strong transition and controlling offense. Midd showed flashes at times, but Bowdoin controlled the pace of play and physicality. Was very impressed with this Polar Bear performance - we'll see if they can keep it going.

Fortunately for Midd, they have another opportunity against a strong Babson team to right the ship tomorrow and erase the memories from their past two games. If they don't pull one out tomorrow, it's going to be a long trip back to northern VT with a serious reset needed.

polar bears very efficient on offense - fast ball movement put middlebury zone on spin cycle and generated many time/room shots from <10 yards. 

midlebury parent told me their best close, lsm and ssdm all out with injury. 

bowdoin putting poles on two middlebury middies killed their dodging offense. 

bowdoin's top fogo was out, so managed only ~40% at the x ... score could have been worse if ratio was flipped.  

Thanks for all the color. I also heard that there were 4 impact first years for Bowdoin. Still seems like Tufts is clear front runner once again.

[pcowlax]

Down goes Midd again. Definitely not the season they were hoping for in Pantherland

[gruntled]

Midd has done less with more for quite awhile at this point. Far more surprising when they play to their potential than when they don't.

Question for you (and anyone else who wants to answer): what do you think their potential is and where do you think they should be each year?

Historically Middlebury should be a top 10-15 program every year and challenging for a NESCAC and national championship...Their record in 2023 is around their ceiling and where one could expect them to be most years...they certainly have the talent to do that...COVID really screwed up what I thought would be very solid squads in 2020 and 2021..

2023 18-3 (Probably over performed but should be the expectation given the talent, facilities etc.)
2022 8-8 (Below expectations)
2021 Covid
2020 Covid
2019 8-9 (BE)
2018 9-7 (BE)
2017 9-9 (BE)
2016 12-7 (Good Year NCAA Tournament)
2015 13-6 (Good Year NCAA Tournament)
2014 8-8 (BE)
2013 13-3 (Robbed of NCAA Tournament Bid)
2012 4-9 (Odd year anyone know why they only played 13 games)
2011 13-5 (Good Year NCAA Tournament)
2010 13-6 (Good Year NCAA Tournament and lost to Tufts who won the NC that year)

RE: 2012 year, at the time teams were scheduling 10 in-conf and ~3 OOC per year for regular season. Middlebury was one of the odd teams out in a down year and did not make the NESCAC tournament, so it ended up being fewer games.

[Laxwizard]

Down goes Midd again. Definitely not the season they were hoping for in Pantherland

The Panthers need to win out their regular season schedule (except for Tufts), and get by the first round of the NESCAC tournament to be a lock for an at large bid for the NCAAs. A loss to Union or St. Lawrence will put them in uncertain territory. They still control their own destiny with a reasonable chance to win most of their below average scheduled games. No panic yet, but Wesleyan or maybe Amherst will be nipping at their heels waiting for them to stumble. Fun times!

[pcowlax]

Based on YTD, would be surprised to see them get past both Union and St. Lawrence (and maybe not either, though it certainly would not be shocking to see them win both). If they lose at least one, agree, they would be hard pressed to get an at-large without finishing second in the league

[SouthieLax]

Wesleyan annihilated Roanoke today. Good win for comparing conferences but probably more of a reflection of how weak the ODAC is year after year.

[nelaxman]

What is going on with Middlebury? They looked just awful today!

[SaltCounty]

What is going on with Middlebury? They looked just awful today!

That Babson loss might prove ugly for Midd and the league, down the way.
Because Babson's only quality win will be Midd - unless they knock off Bowdoin or Tufts.
And the NEWMAC is weak - god forbid they stumble at the end.

All of a sudden, they become very big Mammoth fans (#16 Swarthmore, #7 Gettysburg and #13 Lynchburg)

[smoova]

What is going on with Middlebury? They looked just awful today!

Rough weekend for Midd. Nothing to add to the good points above about the Bowdoin game. The defense rebounded against Babson (getting their top LSM back certainly helped), but the offense continues to scuffle. RPI/Bowdoin/Babson clearly identified/exploited some critical weaknesses (discussed over the last few weeks), but Midd coaches have been resolute in their dedication to the same scheme as 2023. I thought RPI would be a wake-up call, but it wasn't ... will be interesting to see if they make any meaningful changes before Bates.

[Laxxal22]

Midd has done less with more for quite awhile at this point. Far more surprising when they play to their potential than when they don't.

Question for you (and anyone else who wants to answer): what do you think their potential is and where do you think they should be each year?

Historically Middlebury should be a top 10-15 program every year and challenging for a NESCAC and national championship...

This is what I'd say too. I understand that the league caught up, but between the tradition and the amount of "wow, thought he'd go D1" guys they still bring in, it doesn't quite add up.