Wider NESCAC goals earning poor reviews

The New England Small College Athletic Conference has taken on an intriguing experiment in a sport that has traditionally been the epitome of conservatism.

Every NESCAC men’s soccer team is playing a minimum of three NESCAC games with the goalposts 28 feet apart, four feet wider than the standard 24 feet. The goal height remains at 8 feet.

All NESCAC games are being videotaped – there are cameras behind each goal and there are markings on the goals to give the person doing the analysis a reference point – and the results of the experiment will be compared to other statistical data from previous seasons.

Colby College’s Mules have beaten Tufts 3-1 with the wider goals and Bates has lost to Middlebury (3-0) and Amherst (3-2) with them. Bowdoin hasn’t played yet with the wider goals.

The response to the experiment has been primarily negative.

“Personally, I don’t like it,” said Colby All-American midfielder Brian Wiercinski. “I don’t think it really forces teams to get better opportunities. It makes people takes shots they wouldn’t otherwise take out of optimism.

“Good teams create good opportunities whether the goal is big or small,” added Wiercinski. “The goals will come.”

“I’m a traditionalist. I don’t like the bigger goals,” said Colby All-New England stopper Doug Oppenheimer. “It changes the game a little too much. It’s too radical. Soccer is an intelligent man’s game. We shouldn’t change it.”

Bates Coach George Purgavie said, “I don’t think it has had a major effect on the tactics or strategies of teams. If there’s a significant difference, it might be noticeable from the goalkeepers’ standpoint.”

Colby goalies Jim Condron and Jason Eslick said there has been a noticeable difference.

“I don’t like it,” said Condron. “Goaltending is an instinctive thing. The dangerous part is when the ball is crossed across the six (yard line). The corners are tougher to cover.

“It makes you more self-conscious of everything you’re doing,” added Condron.

Condron also said the wider goals reinforce the need “to catch everything you can. Instead of tipping balls around the post (in the normal size goals), you could be tipping them into the side netting (in the wider goals).”

Eslick said playing with the wider goals “makes you think more and move your feet more. You have to be sharper. I concentrate on being more explosive and coming out instead of going back and angling myself the way I do with the normal goal.

“I’ll admit that there’s a stigma attached to the bigger goals,” added Eslick. “It makes you extremely aware of anything coming in, even from the midfield area. The last thing you want to happen is to get beat on a chip or a long shot.”

Eslick doesn’t think having wider goals on a permanent basis would be a positive step for soccer.

“I’m not sure it’s a good idea. I think it takes away from the integrity of the sport,” said Eslick.

He said the wider goals didn’t make much of a difference in the Tufts game.

“If you beat a team, you beat them regardless of whether the goals are wider or not,” said Eslick. “I can see the wider goals resulting in another goal per game (on average). But it still comes down to who is the better team and who gets the breaks.”

Purgavie said he will “save my judgement until the study is complete. I’ll look at the films and talk with the players.”

Like the other NESCAC coaches, he is in favor of the experiment to see what kind of effect it will have on the game.

“Our purpose is not to be an advocate for increasing the size of the goal,” insisted Purgavie. “Our purpose is experimentation to see if it does have an effect. I don’t know if it’s going to have a positive or negative effect. And NESCAC was a natural group to try it because our schools don’t allow our team sports to participate in NCAA Tournaments.”

He also said it is important “not to propose a change in the game until you’ve looked at the options.”

Colby Coach Mark Serdjenian said, “I’m not sure I’d want to jump into it (on a permanent basis) but it’s a worthwhile experiment.”

“It’s worth it,” agreed Bowdoin Coach Tim Gilbride. “To increase the appeal of soccer to other people, more scoring is needed and this is one way to get more goals. And it doesn’t really change the nature of the game.”