Happy October 10! There were two games on Wednesday, October 8. Navy did it again! The #94 ranked Midshipmen beat #21 American 2-0! Way to go, Navy! Beating a ranked team ought to help. Wonder of wonders, Army won! The #121 Black Knights beat #110 Colgate 2-1. West Point is now 4-4-2. Ouch! Today, October 10, #53 Air Force was shot down in flames by #182 San Jose State 5-1. I, uhm, do not expect any ranking votes for the Falcons this week.
Welcome to October 11, 2014 Coast Guard Academy is now 11-1-0 in Division 3. The Coast guard Bulldogs bit the Emerson Lions 1-0 in overtime this afternoon. Coast Guard is #26 in the unofficial D3soccer.com rankings, so hopefully they will be ranked next week. Emerson has no ranking votes, official or unofficial. Overall, the Emerson Lions are now 3-6-3, but they won their previous game 2-0.
It’s Saturday evening, October 11, 2014. #121 Army has the headline on their site: they beat Loyola Maryland 2-1 for their second straight win. For the Black knights, that’s a major winning streak. Loyola was ranked #127, so I’m not expecting any ranking votes, but I am expecting West Point to move up in the RPIs. And after beating a ranked team earlier this week, #94 Navy beat #110 Colgate 2-0. I better at least see some ranking votes.
So I know you're new to the sport, but Army and Navy doing well isn't exactly a novelty. Last year Navy was 16-4-2. They won the Patriot League regular season and made the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Army was 12-3-3 a year ago and had an RPI in the 50s. Two years ago Air Force was 12-6-2 and had an RPI in the 60s. They're not UCLA or Maryland, but they are consistently competitive and it's not surprising when they get wins.
Hopefully, #53 Air Force has recovered from their 5-1 loss earlier this week. They are playing the Road Runners of CSU Bakersfield, and it is 1-1 at halftime. Bakersfield entered the match with a record of 8-2-1. I’m frustrated that I cannot find Bakersfield in the RPI rankings. They are #1 in the Western Athletic Conference—Air Force is #5 in the same conference. In the official NCAA Coaches Poll, Bakersfield came in #37, two places behind Air Force. So Air Force has a chance. Bakersfield has won one game since the rankings came out, and Air Force got massacred 5-1. If the Falcons can catch these Road Runners, Air Force just might receive some ranking votes. 1-1 at halftime!
Air Force wins 4-2! I can't figure the Bakersfield strategy. Air Force controlled the ball until it was 4-1. Almost all of the game was on the Road Runner side of the field with Bakersfield on the defense. After it was hopeless, The Road Runners started running to the other side of the field, controlling the ball almost half the time and scoring one more goal. The lone, stationary camera only showed one side of the field, with three people in the stands. To be fair, Air Force Academy is high in the Rocky Mountains of the northern United States, and it was a cold, miserable day, with families of both teams far away.
It’s October, 13, 2014, and the official NCAA RPI rankings are out! You’ve got to be kidding! After beating a ranked team and another team Navy (7-4-2) is ranked #57. I know that they use a set formula, but they still have to be kidding. After a devastating loss to a low-ranking team, and a good win over a good team, Air Force (6-2-3) flamed down to #63. Army (5-4-3) is down to #102, but at least the Black Knights have a winning record. There are 205 teams, so they’re even in the top half.
It's Thursday, October 16. Friday, #63 Air Force plays #32 UNLV (University of Nevada, Las Vegas) The odds are not good for the Falcons. Saturday, #57 Navy plays #122 Bucknell. Incidentally, despite beating a ranked team, Navy received no ranking votes in the Coaches Poll. The Midshipmen are 7-4-2, while Bucknell is 6-7-0. Also in Saturday, #102 Army plays #33 American University (8-3-1). American is located in Washington DC and is designed for foreign students (although many of their students are from the US) who want to get an American education. American came in #29 in the Coaches Poll. And on Saturday, Division 3 Coast Guard plays WPI (Worcester Polytechnic Institute). Coast Guard might have its hands full—the Engineers are 11-2-0 and have won their last four games in a row. The Bears (12-1-0) finally got ranked this week, coming in #23 in the Coaches Poll, with WPI receiving no ranking votes. In the unofficial D3soccer.com poll, Coast Guard ranked #23, while WPI ranked #33.
Vince - Golly gee, how ironic ... it's named American University, but yet this university is actually "designed for foreign students!" However, I do note that you failed to give us any provocative, or random, or inane insights into Bucknell University, which is located on the lovely banks of the Susquehanna River; and of course the name "Susquehanna" comes from the Len'api (or Delaware Indian) term Sisa'we'hak'hanna, which means "Oyster River." So let us not slight Bucknell, my good fellow. Instead, let me chime in -- Bucknell's mascot is Bucky the Bison, yet there are actually no living bison in Lewisburg, PA where the college is located, let alone a single bison named Bucky!!! Anyhoo, now back to the soccer. Here's to Navy successfully sailing up the Susquehanna which is indeed navigable from Annapolis and then cracking old Bucky the Bison's oyster, or, errr, whatever.
It’s Saturday, October 18, and Army is shouting all over their website. The number 102 Black Knights had a scoreless tie with number 33 American University. American has some ranking votes, so we can expect West Point to go up. It was smooth sailing for Navy as they beat Bucknell 1-0. And Coast Guard has something to gloat about. The Bears mauled the Engineers 1-0 today.
It’s October 20, 2014. Air Force continues to fly in a fog, playing Grand Canyon to a scoreless tie yesterday after two overtimes. They’re #82 in today’s RPI rankings. The Falcons were #63 last week, and I'm surprised that they rank this high. Grand Canyon is #154, out of 205 teams. The newest RPIs are out, with Navy at #41. As predicted, Army advanced, and is now#91. They had been #102. Don’t laugh—the Black Knights won two in a row before tying a much-better-ranked team. And Virginia Military Institute (1-12-1) has last place sewn up.
As Maryland gets its act together, Navy's win over them earlier this season will look better and better and help the Middies' RPI.
Vince - you are slacking off ... good win tonight by Navy over just up the pike UMBC to earn the Midshipmen's 5th straight win. Talk about "fair winds and following seas," the Navy soccer destroyers are approaching full speed ahead! "Hear ye, hear ye," as they said in those old timey sea faring days of yore, read all about it! Big night for soon to be Ensign (in a year and a half) and striker Dubyoski with two cannon ball broadsides that hit the target to sink UMBC's hopes, as well as for Coach and captain of the surging Navy soccer ship Dave Brandt: http://www.navysports.com/sports/m-soccer/recaps/102114aab.html
It's October 21, and I'm afraid that #80 beat #91 Army 1-0. Army was advancing pretty well and hopefully will recover. But #41 Navy beat #90 UMBC 2-0. Not only is it Navy's fifth win in a row, but all five wins have been shut-outs. I hope Sandon is right--if Maryland does well, it will raise Navy's RPI. Earlier today (before Navy's win) the NCAA Coaches' Poll came out, and Navy came in 34th. Only the top 25 are ranked, but at least Navy got some ranking votes. And over in Division 3, the ranking are out and Coast Guard ranked #14! 13-1-0---it's about time that somebody realized that the Bears are a great team. That's the good news. The bad news is that later today, Coast Guard tied Eastern Connecticut State, which has no ranking votes.
http://www.navysports.com/sports/m-soccer/spec-rel/102214aab.html 1964 Navy NCAA soccer champions reunite!
10/24 #82 Air Force plays #105 Utah Valley. The Wolverines are 5-5-1, but every loss has been by 1 point. 10/25 #91 Army plays #108 Leheigh University. The Mountain Hawks are now 7-7-0, having won one game since this week’s rankings came out. #41 Navy plays #88 Holy Cross (5-6-2). If making everything (their website, their uniforms, their mascot knight’s armor) purple and white helps, the Saints have a chance. Hopefully, Navy cannon fire will soften them up—the Saints play Army four days after this game. #14 Coast Guard sails into combat with #18 Wheaton (Mass.) This will be an important game for both the Bears and the Lyons, as they are both recently ranked. “Y” the “Lyons”? Mary Lyon was one of the founders of Wheaton, and was determined that this women’s college (it is now co-ed) would be equal in academics to men’s colleges. Rob's link tells us that Navy won its only NCAA soccer championship fifty years ago. Spread over two seasons, Navy won 25 games in a row, and that's still an NCAA record.
http://www.capitalgazette.com/sports/navy_sports/ph-ac-cs-navy-soccer-1023-20141023,0,1650962.story Another nice article.
It’s October 25, 2014. Groan Army lost to Leheigh 2-1. Having lost two games in a row, Army’s recent advance seems to be mired in the trenches. Navy beat Holy Cross 2-1. If we’re lucky, the Saints will be so shaken up that Army can beat them on Tuesday. And after two overtimes, Coast Guard tied Wheaton.
USMMA (Merchant Marine-King's Point) defeated Scranton 2-1 in OT on Saturday, 10-25. Now 10-7-2, 6-2 in conference play.
It’s October 29, and... Navy (10-4-2) IS RANKED #23 in the Coaches’ POLL! The Midshipmen are #42 in the RPI rankings. I’m afraid that right now, they’re our brightest hope. They’ll be playing #95 Lehigh tonight. Air Force (5-6-3) is #89. On Saturday, the Falcons will be playing #135 UMKC. Now that they have a losing record, Air Force badly needs this win. Army (5-6-4) has crawled into their foxholes at #119. They’ll be playing #86 Holy Cross this evening, and beating a higher-ranked team will get West Point out of a losing record. We’re running our of soccer season, Folks. After this week’s games, there are only two games left in the regular season. But down in Division 3, COAST GUARD IS RANKED #18! On Saturday, the Bears will play Springfield (8-5-5). Springfield has no ranking votes, but the Pride have won their last three games in a row.
It’s November 1, and Army has just beaten Lehigh 1-0. That’s good—earlier today, the Army (American) football team lost to Air force. Since Air Force has beaten both Army and NAVY in American football, Air force wins the President’s Cup. Meanwhile, in soccer, Air Force went down in flames 3-1 against UMKC. The Falcons are now 5-7-4, and they cannot have a winning record for the regular season. They have two games left. Navy tied Loyola 1-1 today. Next week, they’ll play Army in the last game of the regular season for both of them. At 10-4-3, Navy has a good chance of finishing the year as a ranked team. And Coast Guard ended its regular season today with a 2-2 tie against Springfield. This makes three ties in a row for the Bears, who are now (13-1-3).
Two ties this week are not going to help their at-large chances. They most likely have to win the Patriot League tournament now as their RPI - 48 - is about 10 places too low.
Okay, I messed up. I posted this, but it didn't take: It’s November 8. The Air Force Falcons beat Incarnate Word yesterday 2-1, and they’ll play their final regular season game tomorrow against Houston Baptist. #117 Army surprised us yesterday against #55 Navy, but they didn’t surprise us enough. The Black Knights held on for two overtimes before losing to the Midshipmen 1-0. Despite their victory, I don’t see any chance of Navy being ranked, as the regular season has ended for both academies. Navy has never managed to get their ship on course. They beat two ranked teams, have gained, lost, and regained their ranking, and finished off by barely beating a lower-ranked team. Now for today. It is Monday, November 10: It's been a rough week-end Folks. I had to take my wife to the hospital, but she's home safe and sound. Our Mexican insurance covered everything, with no deductible. However, we had to hire a translator. Overall cost, including a lot of gasoline was about $90 US. Air Force closed its regular season with a loss, and Coast Guard lost its first game in the finals. Air Force is still in the finals, while Coast Guard is hoping for a bid for another game.