New England and National D1 Womens Soccer (only please)

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BC has still not beaten a Top 20 side, Virginia Tech had slipped to 21 before Sunday. However, when you are in the ACC, finding RPI points is never hard, because the reality of the way the system works is that you need to not only win, but beat top teams - if you want to see things improve. BC is at #9 in the unofficial adjusted RPI. That is very very good right now. Two of the teams currently ahead of BC (BYU and San Diego State) are going to lose RPI points even if they win because they play significantly easier league schedules. BC has four teams left in the current top 20 (FSU, UNC, Virginia and Duke) and another (Maryland) in the Top 30. That is a lot of possible up-side. Of course these are all demanding contests and the reality of picking up 3 wins against that level of competition is not easy. But if you want a top 8 (and preferably Top 4) seed that is what you muct do.

Its still very early, but expect Penn State and the winner of the Pac-12 to get a Top 4 spot. A little harder for PSU, but they can (and should) win out and that will be enough. If Missouri or Texas A&M can maintain their current pace in the SEC, they too will be in line for a high seed. The difficulty in the ACC is that there is so much quality, and so much parity amongst the top teams that its hard not to escape league play without a couple of losses. Two won't hurt much, but the third will get you in some trouble. I would expect the top three teams in the ACC will be top 8 seeds. So for BC its that simple - get in the top 3 of the ACC!!

VT was ranked 16 in the NSCAA poll at the time they played.

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VT was ranked 16 in the NSCAA poll at the time they played.

Actually VT was ranked 8 last week and 16th this week

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The NSCAA poll is a subjective beauty contest. It means nothing! The RPIs of other teams matter because they impact your own RPI and that is the primary (although not only) criteria for At-large selection and overall seeding in the tourney.

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BTW, for 2/3 of the nation's D1 teams (including just about every one of the 20 in New England), RPI is unimportant as well. Why? Because winning their conference championship is all that matters.

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I went to our local top team to look at the stats. I know that there has been some comment about who starts offensively. It struck me that the reason a talented youngster might not start has less to do with the number of goals she can score than the number of goals she can help set up. It takes time to get to know your teammates and assisting other players to score should be nearly as important as finishing yourself, no?

So for those still searching for why she is coming off the bench it could be as simple as she's still discovering a lot about her teammates and how they play. This takes time - more time than most of us realize I'll bet.

The much older and experienced KM has a lot of assists in addition to 9 goals. This reflects well on her as a creator of others' goal scoring opportunities in addition to her own.

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I went to our local top team to look at the stats. I know that there has been some comment about who starts offensively. It struck me that the reason a talented youngster might not start has less to do with the number of goals she can score than the number of goals she can help set up. It takes time to get to know your teammates and assisting other players to score should be nearly as important as finishing yourself, no?

So for those still searching for why she is coming off the bench it could be as simple as she's still discovering a lot about her teammates and how they play. This takes time - more time than most of us realize I'll bet.

The much older and experienced KM has a lot of assists in addition to 9 goals. This reflects well on her as a creator of others' goal scoring opportunities in addition to her own.

A top program needs players that have high numbers of goals and assists--and you can be sure that the player in question will become that player in due time. Probably very soon in fact.

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The NSCAA poll is a subjective beauty contest. It means nothing! The RPIs of other teams matter because they impact your own RPI and that is the primary (although not only) criteria for At-large selection and overall seeding in the tourney.

I disagree with your opinion on the NSCAA poll.

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I disagree with your opinion on the NSCAA poll.

please elaborate

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You're predicting that the Dartmouth RPI will improve over the next few weeks?

http://www.dartmouthsports.com/ViewA...B_OEM_ID=11600

Big Green on the move!

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Calm down please Big Green. Beat Harvard before you schedule your victory parade through the metropolis of Hanover. And pray you don't face the rapacious raptors from Chestnut Hill. The mighty Eagles are mighty hungry. Pasty white Ivy Leaguers taste like chicken. Yum! Fly like an Eagle.

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Okay, OK, what is the story with Dartmouth? Right now they stand at 37 in RPI. Great spot for them. They also have a Top 50 side in Pepperdine (at home) and BU left on the schedule. So they could maintain their excellent RPI going forward! Typically the Ivy League schedule doesn't offer enough RPI points to maintain a Top 40 spot, but Dartmouth has played a decent NL slate and might be OK, but they will need at least 1-0-1 against both BU and Pepp if they want such a chance. Here is the dilemma for all Ivy League sides. The lack of an Ivy League Tourney means that the auto bid goes to the regular season champion. So if they win out (and get a RPI high enough for a possible at-large Berth) then they get the auto-bid. Lose twice in the Ivy (and in today's Ivy it will probably take two losses to miss out on the title) and your RPI slipps to low for consideration for an at-large.

So discsusions about tourney selection and the IVY really need to be entirely centered on the regular Ivy League schedule and the auto-bid for the champion. Right now its just too early to pick a single favorite for the Ivy title. Reallistically, the only thing that is certain is that Cornell won't be on top and its doubtful that Columbia will be either - but beyond that there is a lot of parity! Harvard may be seen by some as the most talented side in that group, but their loss to Penn puts them in a tough spot.

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BC has still not beaten a Top 20 side, Virginia Tech had slipped to 21 before Sunday. However, when you are in the ACC, finding RPI points is never hard, because the reality of the way the system works is that you need to not only win, but beat top teams - if you want to see things improve. BC is at #9 in the unofficial adjusted RPI. That is very very good right now. Two of the teams currently ahead of BC (BYU and San Diego State) are going to lose RPI points even if they win because they play significantly easier league schedules. BC has four teams left in the current top 20 (FSU, UNC, Virginia and Duke) and another (Maryland) in the Top 30. That is a lot of possible up-side. Of course these are all demanding contests and the reality of picking up 3 wins against that level of competition is not easy. But if you want a top 8 (and preferably Top 4) seed that is what you muct do.

Its still very early, but expect Penn State and the winner of the Pac-12 to get a Top 4 spot. A little harder for PSU, but they can (and should) win out and that will be enough. If Missouri or Texas A&M can maintain their current pace in the SEC, they too will be in line for a high seed. The difficulty in the ACC is that there is so much quality, and so much parity amongst the top teams that its hard not to escape league play without a couple of losses. Two won't hurt much, but the third will get you in some trouble. I would expect the top three teams in the ACC will be top 8 seeds. So for BC its that simple - get in the top 3 of the ACC!!

What does the loss to Pepperdine do to the chances for a #1 seed?

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If the Eagle take care of business in the ACC they will still be soaring high in clear skies come tourney time! Fly like an Eagle.

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Okay, OK, what is the story with Dartmouth? Right now they stand at 37 in RPI. Great spot for them. They also have a Top 50 side in Pepperdine (at home) and BU left on the schedule. So they could maintain their excellent RPI going forward! Typically the Ivy League schedule doesn't offer enough RPI points to maintain a Top 40 spot, but Dartmouth has played a decent NL slate and might be OK, but they will need at least 1-0-1 against both BU and Pepp if they want such a chance. Here is the dilemma for all Ivy League sides. The lack of an Ivy League Tourney means that the auto bid goes to the regular season champion. So if they win out (and get a RPI high enough for a possible at-large Berth) then they get the auto-bid. Lose twice in the Ivy (and in today's Ivy it will probably take two losses to miss out on the title) and your RPI slipps to low for consideration for an at-large.

So discsusions about tourney selection and the IVY really need to be entirely centered on the regular Ivy League schedule and the auto-bid for the champion. Right now its just too early to pick a single favorite for the Ivy title. Reallistically, the only thing that is certain is that Cornell won't be on top and its doubtful that Columbia will be either - but beyond that there is a lot of parity! Harvard may be seen by some as the most talented side in that group, but their loss to Penn puts them in a tough spot.

Update ?

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Update ?

I think they lost a Princeton. Next up is Pepperdine.