The Hopkins CM Woodward is outstanding and clearly should be an AA. 20 goals as a CM? She started playing D1 college soccer at South Carolina in 2017?? Before becoming a 2nd-team All-Ivy player at Penn. Good game today and glad I watched it. Funny how Dan left CNU and they then won the Title. He has now won it at JHU so had a lot to do with both titles really...
I think once the Covid bubble exemption passes in 2 seasons(?) then the number of grad transfers will fall back to more normal levels. But I think the genie is out of the bottle and it will be more common than in prior years. The Ivy League 4-in-4 rule put a surplus of D1 transfers on the portal - especially for the elite academic D3 schools (JHU, MIT, Chicago, etc). But with portal transfers being more common place, D1 athletes that are faced with unexpectedly riding the pine now see they can get time back on the pitch and win some accolades (as a team and as an individual) by taking their talents to D3 schools. And JHU just put out a huge billboard directed at them with the team photo holding the hardware.
With “narrative,” I was not trying to imply the assertation was falsely based. Perhaps “storyline” would have been a better word. After watching the final, and reading your comment, I suspect that having a large number of 5-year players, whether or not they came through your program is a significant source of team strength. William Smith rode four 5th year seniors to the final game last year. 9215
Regarding the final, I believe Bigger, Stronger, Faster won the game. That is, JHU's very good soccer players are bigger, stronger, faster than CWRU's very good soccer players. It was a fair result on the day. I have watched Case Western Reserve’s last three games with some interest. I was not able to appreciate CWRU’s passing game and overall balance in their 4-2 win vs. William Smith; however, in retrospect, CWRU had to be good to score 4 in one half against the WS defense. [Through my WS-shaded glasses, I saw that WS scored twice while the weather was still nasty and CWRU did not score until the sun came out a little]. To me, visually, the CWRU passing game looks a lot like Messiah’s or Williams’ traditionally look; which is very pleasing to watch. I only saw parts of JHU games this year, and not the semifinal. They have good players. Their athleticism allows them to stay in games and come back when the occasion arises, like against Carnegie Mellon earlier this year and today. Regarding having the semifinal and final on artificial turf, I have split feelings. I prefer real grass almost always, but in November and December, it is hard to find grass fields that are in good shape or can stay in good shape in wet weather. While not relevant to the game results, I note Virginia Wesleyan and Messiah have grass fields at home, while JHU and CWRU play on turf. 9215
5 kids in the portal and apparently not a good fit so quick decision by the AD after one year..not something you see often in D3.
Complete "word on the street" but apparently she chose to leave and in a player meeting the AD was essentially blaming the kids. That they weren't open-minded and responsive to her coaching. Regardless- the expected results where not there and I believe the previous asst, that wanted the job, was so put off that she won't come back. So very open job apparently.
Incredibly tough to follow a legend like Joe Russo so she was in a tough spot and she is from Messiah so learned from the best. Your info is probably accurate!
Seems a bit unfair and the school newspaper was not too kind.. https://www.trentonian.com/2022/12/...as-tcnj-womens-soccer-coach-after-one-season/
Thanks for the link. I'm going to have to say that the reporter sounds a little biased. "Joe Russo led the program for the first 32 years of its existence and developed it into one of the premier programs – if not the best – in all of Division III women’s soccer." I don't know about that. They've done well but they haven't won a National Championship since 2000. They go on to say: "The record did not indicate a poor season on the field, but if there were issues off the field and in the locker room that too is something that never surrounded the program under Russo." What's left out of the article is the fact that Coach McDermott gave birth to the couple's second child on December 5th. (I was mistaken earlier when I said 3rd child.)
Twice you've mentioned this in quick succession; Not sure why this is relevant. The hire was simply the wrong fit. Not blaming Leah, fault probably lies with AD. Should have gone with the previous AC from the start - alum and good player, popular with players, families, and donors, had the experience, great mentor, etc. Oh well, back to drawing board for them. Will take someone really special for TCNJ not to be down for a few years.
How do you NOT see the birth of a child as being relevant? Especially when you consider what Eddie K said about the situation: "Complete "word on the street" but apparently she chose to leave and in a player meeting the AD was essentially blaming the kids. That they weren't open-minded and responsive to her coaching." Long before preseason started she would have known that she was pregnant and it's a good likelihood that the AD would have known as well. With that being the case, maybe she mentally checked out early on in the season, maybe even in pre-season, if she got the sense, like the AD is alleged to have done, that the players were not responsive to her coaching.
It is not too late to say Great Job! ANNOUNCING 71 TALENTED, HARD-WORKING, AND REMARKABLE WOMEN. December 6, 2022 Announcement: 2022 Academic All-America® Team, by the College Sports Information Directors Association (CoSIDA). 36 Players, led by Team Member of the Year: forward Jenn Rennich (Gr., Westfield State University), a Movement Science major from Bedford, MA with a 3.99 GPA. https://s3.amazonaws.com/sidearm.si...m/documents/2022/12/5/22AAA_Womens_Soccer.pdf December 15, 2022 Announcement: 2022 Scholar All-America Team by the United Soccer Coaches (USC). 43 Players, led by Scholar Player of the Year: midfielder Michaela Fasolino (Gr., Misericordia University), a Physical Therapy major from Poughkeepsie, NY with a 3.68 GPA. https://unitedsoccercoaches.org/wp-...AA-Division-III-Women-Scholar-All-America.pdf As both an engineer and educator, it pleases me to note that more than 70% of the players’ majors are in STEM subject areas. The eight players that were on both the CoSIDA team and USC team are listed below. PosNameClassSchoolMajorGPAHometown DKylie CabanaJr.Ohio Northern UniversityBiology & Pre-Dentistry4.00Dexter, MI MMichaela FasolinoGr.Misericordia UniversityPhysical Therapy3.65Poughkeepsie, NY FKarenna GroffGr.Massachusetts Institute of TechnoogyBiological Engineering3.92Weston, MA MPayton McDonnellSr.Loras CollegeBiology & Spanish3.68Arlington Heights, IL DElla MerteJr.Pacific Lutheran UniversitySocial Work3.96Auburn, WA DBailey MeyerSr.Trinity University, TXBusiness Administration3.85Southlake, TX FEmma SweitzerJr.Misericordia UniversityHealth Science3.62Dallas, TX GKClaire WolgastJr.Skidmore CollegeEnvironmental Science3.98Wallingford, PA Happy New Year! -CJ 11,602
Absolutely fantastic decision by TCNJ to hire Danny Blank as their new HC for women's soccer. https://tcnjathletics.com/news/2023/2/23/danny-blank-named-womens-soccer-head-coach.aspx Looks like Coach Blank is having the last laugh when it comes to the overly involved parents at Widener.
Love the books. Wonder why he just disappeared from the Widener effort. Didn't know he went by "Danny". Maybe just a new chapter! Wish him all the best. Hope he does become an example of someone who finds their calling in D3... after getting the shaft in D1. He has talked openly about the anxiety and pressure associated with coaching in the SEC when he was fired with Holeman at GA. If you are a soccer person, you can learn alot just from his YouTube clips. Look for "SoccerPoet"
The d3soccer.com (probably last) list of All-Americans was posted on April 5, 2023: https://d3soccer.com/awards/all-america/2022/2022-Womens-AA For the 2022 season. The D3soccer.com Forward of the Year is Misericordia junior Emma Sweitzer. Her 24 goals and 64 points broke program records that she set the prior season and ranked 7th (tie) and 2nd (tie) in the nation, respectively. Graduate student Breukelen Woodard of National Champion Johns Hopkins is the D3soccer.com Midfielder of the Year. Not only did she get on the score sheet with a goal or an assist in 19 of 25 games, the attacking midfielder netted the game's first goal ten times to set the tone for an offense that averaged 3.96 goals per game (9th nationally) and scored a program-record 99 goals. Carnegie Mellon senior Rachel Legg has earned the D3soccer.com Defender of the Year award. Legg anchored a stingy backline that only allowed opponents an average of 6.2 shots per game and 2.7 shots on goal per game which ranked 13th (tie) and 8th (tie) nationally. The Goalkeeper of the Year award belongs to Skidmore junior Claire Wolgast. Her outstanding .923 save percentage ranked third in the nation and best among teams with a .550 or better strength-of-schedule. The D3soccer.com women’s Coach of the Year is national champion Dan Weiler of Johns Hopkins. He is our third repeat honoree and first to win the award with two different teams, having also been honored as Christopher Newport's head coach in 2018. Enjoy the off-season! - CJ 14,419
I belatedly post a consolidated 2022 All-American list. PlayerD3USCPosYr.Team Emma Sweitzer *11FJr.Misericordia Michaela Fasolino *11MGr.Misericordia Annie Isphording11DFr.Johns Hopkins Kristina Akselsen11MSo.Messiah Rachel Legg12DSr.CMU Aileen Cahill12MJr.Montclair State Payton McDonnell *21MSr.Loras Bailey Meyer *21DSr.Trinity TX Camryn Hartman21FGr.CWR Julia Berg21MSr.William Smith Jenna Skurcenski21DJr.Messiah Jill McDonald *13DSr.C Newport Merry Meyer13DSr.CWR Ryleigh O’Brien13FSr.Loras Claire Wolgast1GKJr.Skidmore Breukelen Woodard1MGr.Johns Hopkins Sarah Smith*1FGR-5C Newport Morgan Fedosiewich1GKSr.Babson Sarah Campbell1DGR-5Wartburg Alexis McMahon1DSo.UW-La Crosse Jordan Restivo1FGR-5Johnson & Wales Molly Sheridan1FSr.Trinity TX Caelyn Steffens *22M/FGR-5Illinois Wesleyan Katie Sullivan *22FSo.Johns Hopkins Patience Kum32FSo.Amherst Ellie Arndt32MSo.UW-La Crosse Rachel Quigley23GKSr.Virginia Wesleyan Gianna Coppola *2MSr.TCNJ Julia Beck2DSo.Misericordia Jessica Young2DSr.Vassar Jules Dotterweich*2DGR-5McDaniel Calista Burke2GKSo.Rowan Marley Clendenin2DGR-5Susquehanna Ellie Lochbaum2DJr.North Central Greta Farkas2MJr.Bowdoin Maddie Pero2MSr.Tufts Jaden Galluzzo2FGR-5SUNY Cortland Avery Hart2FSr.Capital Mills Mullen2FSr.Centre Cassie Nash33FSr.Simpson Kylie Cabana33DJr.Ohio Northern Anika Washburn **3MSr.CWR Kylie Hall3FSr.Emory Ava Ruppersberger3MJr.William Smith Emma DeMaise3DSo.Rowan Haleigh Casey3DSo.Lynchburg Lucy Iverson3DFr.Calvin Jaya Daniel3GKSo.C Newport Karenna Groff*3FGR-5MIT Erin Allor3DSr.RIT Kristen Burdick3DSr.Mary Hardin-Baylor Elise Morris3DSr.Middlebury Cali Bruce3MSr.Emerson Kaleigh Dale3MSr.Springfield Charlotte Tapp3MSr.Pomona-Pitzer Maggie Brett3FSr.WashU Regan Coxon3FSr.Dominican