Men's soccer off to 8-0 start

[Ken70]

This guy over from the other coast does a pretty solid job trying to estimate the RPI. By his guess, we're 32 right now. You'd like us to be a bit higher, but a win over Brown would help out a lot next weekend. He updates very regularly -- already has today's result accounted for -- though not sure how accurate he is.

General Forum with four RPI-related links
All Teams' RPIs

Thanks for finding that.  Note our SOS: 187 out of 204.  And our Opponents Winning % is 198 of 204.  Just brutal.  

If we lose 1 game in the last 4, and using some quick and dirty math to estimate our final raw RPI, it looks we'll still be around 30th.  Problem is we won't have any top 25 wins and just 1 top 50 (same process for the committee here as in lacrosse, except there it's counting wins against top 5, top 10 etc), and our SOS will still be worse than 100. Once the adjusted RPI is computed teams behind us in the raw RPI would jump ahead.  Very bubble.

[ugarte]

This guy over from the other coast does a pretty solid job trying to estimate the RPI. By his guess, we're 32 right now. You'd like us to be a bit higher, but a win over Brown would help out a lot next weekend. He updates very regularly -- already has today's result accounted for -- though not sure how accurate he is.

General Forum with four RPI-related links
All Teams' RPIs

Thanks for finding that.  Note our SOS: 187 out of 204.  And our Opponents Winning % is 198 of 204.  Just brutal.  

If we lose 1 game in the last 4, and using some quick and dirty math to estimate our final raw RPI, it looks we'll still be around 30th.  Problem is we won't have any top 25 wins and just 1 top 50 (same process for the committee here as in lacrosse, except there it's counting wins against top 5, top 10 etc), and our SOS will still be worse than 100. Once the adjusted RPI is computed teams behind us in the raw RPI would jump ahead.  Very bubble.

Maybe so, but is it purely based on numbers our is there a selection committee with discretion? If it is the later I don't think a one-loss team will be kept out because of a perfect storm of a full schedule having bad years.

[mountainred]

So, we are all Wofford (RPI 51) fans now?

[Ken70]

They have some discretion, I think.  Last year GA ST was 45th in adjusted RPI and jumped over 4 teams ahead of it to make the selection.  Hard to decode exactly why other than their non-conference RPI (41st) being 11 to 35 places better than those others.  They did play a lot of games against top 25, 50 etc but didn't do that well.

Princeton, with a 5-4-2 record, is right behind us in the RPI.  Their SOS is 10.  So far they've played 4 top 25 and 1 26-50 teams.  Being unbeaten, untied only gets you so far if you're playing the weakest teams.  But the SOS will improve for us as we play Brown, Dartmouth, Princeton, and get worse for the latter after they play Adelphi (1-11), Harvard, Penn and Yale.

And, as in the dying weeks of the hockey season, I'm rooting for every non-conference team we played to win out.

[Ken70]

Official NCAA RPI ranking is out NCAA Adjusted RPI.  Looks like this is the adjusted RPI since it differs from the raw RPI posted here Raw RPI

Princeton, Brown and Wofford are top 50

[Ken70]

The Coach: Jaro Zawislan

[Al DeFlorio]

Video for Brown game available at 3:30 Saturday for $8.  A pop-up box at America One Sports said:

"Once we have tested the audio and video, and there are no issues, the event becomes "Live."  At this time you will be able to purchase a single-event pass."

What a novel approach!

[Al DeFlorio]

Brown scores in the fifth minute.

[billhoward]

Brown scores in the fifth minute.

By their fourth-string halfback?

[Al DeFlorio]

1-0 Brown halftime

[Al DeFlorio]

2-0 Brown on an own goal with 19 minutes to go.

[Ken70]

I went to the Brown game, beautiful day, until the game started.  First Brown goal result of very bad Cornell defending, a right back wiffing on a clearance allowing a Brown attacker to paste a hard shot at Pflasterer, who parried it out to the penalty spot only to have it struck hard past him by one of the several Brown attackers in the box.  The Big Red defenders were on their backfoot whenever Brown found itself with the ball in their attacking third.  And "found itself" is meant literally.  The Brown team seemed to consist of just forwards and backs, Cornell controlled the middle of the field by default.  Even the Brown fans around me were constantly muttering at how poorly their team held the ball in midfield. But their forwards put themselves in dangerous positions when they had the ball within 25 yards of goal.  Brown got 4 or 5 attacking players in front of goal on every one of their few forays into that area, which were usually the result of a long ball or a deflection.  That pressure, infrequent but intense, was what eventually caused the disarray that led to Cornell's own-goal late in the game.

Cornell's attack was consistently stifled by Brown's defenders, the best unit of either team on the field.  Cornell put way too much focus on Haber, blind to other open attackers and playing to him even in the tightest of spaces.  When he got the ball he mostly shot wildly, from distance.  The Big Red didn't have more than one honest goal scoring opportunity all day.

Neither team distinguished itself.  If anyone saw the Maryland-UNC match broadcast on ESPNU the night before you'd have to conclude that the game on Stevenson field Saturday was more akin to a high school match than to the game Maryland and UNC were playing.  If you weren't a fan of Brown or Cornell you would have been thoroughly bored.

As expected, Cornell's raw RPI ranking didn't change by more than a place or two as a result of losing to a 10-1-2 team, it's still about 30th.  But they're on the edge of the cliff.

[Ken70]

Cornell wins in OT, Brown tied by Yale.  Cornell up by 1 point over Brown with 1 game to play, and control their own destiny next week at Columbia.  Brown at Dartmouth next Friday night, game on FoxSoccer.  If Dartmouth wins Cornell has Ivy title no matter what happens at Columbia.  If tie in Hanover then Cornell can tie.  If Brown wins Cornell needs win.

[ugarte]

Columbia is currently 2-2-2 in the Ivies and 4-7-4 overall. Let's Go RED!

Man, I want to find a way to get to the game at Columbia!

[Ken70]

Columbia is currently 2-2-2 in the Ivies and 4-7-4 overall. Let's Go RED!

Man, I want to find a way to get to the game at Columbia!

"By MTA NEW YORK CITY SUBWAY: Broadway-Seventh Avenue IRT Local ("1" train) north or south to 215th Street, then walk two blocks north and cross Broadway at W. 218th Street. OR 8th Avenue IND Express ("A" train) north to 207th Street (exit at north end of platform - 211th Street), then proceed north to 218th Street." - Columbia men's soccer page.

Long range forecast: daytime temp in high 50s decreasing to mid 40s at night, 0% chance of rain, wind below 10 mph.

They'll be playing for, or may have already won, their first outright title in 35 years.