EJay’s Weekly Pool – Week Two

Don’t worry, I am terrible at this…..

To participate in the weekly EJay Pool, follow this link – https://forms.gle/rvB3mHpwRzr8d86k9

Below are some of the rules and how it is scored –

• Closes Thursday Night
• 5 points for each game outcome
• 10 points for each correct score
• after dropping your lowest weekly score, season winner is participant with most points
• this season’s prize is once again nothing 🙂
• Pod with Simplecoach forthcoming

And as a service to my readers, here is a quick analysis of each game

1. Amherst @ Connecticut
   1. Last time they played it was for all the marbles.  Amherst  winning 0-0
   2. I’ve heard Amherst has landed some players that will have an immediate impact. 
   3. Connecticut is a bit more of a question mark.   Last time they made the final, the next year they struggled.  Does the same thing happen, or are they looking for revenge after the loss in Vegas.
   1. I am going with a classic NESCAC Single Knotted Tie
2. Middlebury @ Hamilton
   1. Another NESCAC battle.  Last years score was 3-1.Hamilton by any measure had a good year last year, but being in the NESCAC makes them a bit of an after thought. They will be playing at Love Field in @Hamilton but not sure they have what it takes to upset Middlebury.  This will be a good test for the NESCAC Rookie of the Year, Keagan Harder.
   1. Middlebury takes this one 2-0
3. Moravian @ Muhlenberg
   1. Muhlenberg hosts on the new turf for the first time.  Or maybe not.
   2. Moravian gave them a bit of a game last year, losing 3-2.
   3. This is the sort of game that Muhlenberg, who wants to be taken seriously, needs to win with some confidence.  This could be a year for Muhlenberg in the Centennial, but again, need to show they could win this type of game.
   1. At a minimum, the Mules have Matt Turner on their side….
4. Guilford @ Greensboro
   1. At one time, I was recruited to go to Guilford.  But Mount Union called……
   2. Guilford won 3 games last year.  Went 0-9-1 in the ODAC.  Under Interim Head Coach Will Thomsen, they managed to beat Methodist on Saturday.
   3. Greensboro won 2 games last season and this year has a new head coach hailing from Bowling Green State University.
   4. The game is in Greensboro and last years game ended in a Guilford 2-0 win.
   1. I think Greensboro shocks the Quakers and wins 1-0
5. Wheaton @ Puget Sound
   1. Wheaton went 1-0-1 to start the season, beating Chapman, then being 13 minutes away from beating Colorado.    Now they get to go on a Pacific Northwest trip to play Pacific Lutheran and this second match against Puget Sound.
   2. Puget Sound opened with a 4-0 against Evergreen.  They are known as the GeoDucks… which are not ducks as it turns out, they are a  species of very large saltwater clam in the family Hiatellidae.  They also only won 3 games last year.
   3. Back to  Puget Sound… went 6-5-8… yes 8 ties.
   1. Going with history and saying a tie breaks out.
6. Johns Hopkins @ Denison
   1. This will be a great game.  Denison is looking good and now sitting at 2-0 after wins in NJ against Stevens and Stockton.
   2. Hopkins with a solid win, and a  pedestrian performance against a pretty impressive Sewanee .. Losing 4-0.  To many errors in possession.
   3. Not sure which Hopkins team will show up on this trip.
   1. Denison will take this one.
7. Swarthmore @ Stevens
   1. Is this Swarthmore for real?  A resounding 4-0 win against Yeshiva followed by a another win, this time against the University of the Redlands.  This is a year it seems where they could compete for the Centennial.
   2. Stevens lost a tough home game against a very good Denison to open the season.  Still a favorite in the MAC.
   1. Think this will be an even battle but putting my money on Swarthmore.
8. Lynchburg @ St. Mary’s MD
   1. This is a real good game on the docket.  Both made the NCAAs last year.  Lynchburg comes off a tie with Berry and are always a very tough opponent.
   2. St, Mary’s is off to a 2-0 start with impressive wins against Ursinus and York (PA).  Both teams are no slouches so says something about St. Mary’s this year.
   1. Tough game to call, but think I will put my money on St. Mary’s.
9. Claremont MS @ Gettysburg
   1. Claremont just got over a tough start to the season going down 2-1 to both Trinity and Southwestern.  Clearly a work in progress.  Now they are heading east to face Messiah then Gettysburg.  Question is do they have the roster to bounce back.  But they could start the season off 0-4 if they are not prepared for this one.
   2. Gettysburg is under interim head coach Dan Malone who has them off to a 2-0 start scoring 7-0 combined goals against Widener and Neumann.  They measure up against Rowan which will be one tough match up before Claremont.  This time might be a bit more aggressive than previously. 
   1. The bullets is on the high ground and will be ready for the Pickets Charge that Claremont will bring.
10. Kings (PA) @ Hartwick
    1. Kings is off to a 2-0 start before heading to Oneonta to participate in the Mayor’s Cup Tournament.  Tough weekend ahead of them.  Went 7-6-4 last year.
    2. Hartwick is 1-0 to start the year.  Went 8-8-2.  Hartwick has a long history of soccer only recently joining Division III. 
    3. This is the sort of game that can put one of these teams on a path to possibly over perform this year.  If either team gets through the weekend undefeated, it will definitely provide a boost to go into the pre-conference schedule.
    1. Thinking these teams are evenly matched and will lock horns in a tie.