Tough Weekend for #1

D3Playbook DECEMBER 2, 2019 | written by Steve Ulrich your must-read briefing on what's driving the day in NCAA Division III Our goal is to keep you - the influencers in DIII athletics - apprised of what's happening around Division III - the games, polls, news, happenings, awards, calendar of events, and much more. We hope you enjoy d3Playbook and that you'll share this with your friends, colleagues and co-workers.

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1.  NCC Takes Down #1 Purple Raiders  "This was a once-in-a-generation moment. Rarely does a season go by without the Mount Union football team at least playing for a national championship. What happened Saturday likely sent some shock waves through the NCAA Division III playoff ranks. North Central’s 59-52 win marked Mount Union quickest exit from the postseason in a long time. The last time the Purple Raiders failed to reach the national semifinals was in 1994 when a 34-33 loss at Albion prevented them from defending their first title. To put it in perspective, Cardinals quarterback Broc Rutter wasn’t even born yet the last time Mount Union didn’t make it to December. He did his part to send the Purple Raiders home early this time by throwing for a school-record 522 yards and five touchdowns." “We wanted the challenge. We know their history and how great they are, but no one got scared. We were jumping for joy when we had a chance to get them and came in with that attitude.” - Rutter >> Keep Reading, courtesy of Mike Popovich, CantonRep.com >> Go Deeper, courtesy of Mike Peticca, Cleveland Plain Dealer More Playoff Scores #2 Mary Hardin-Baylor d. Huntingdon, 42-6 #7 UW-Whitewater d. #22 Wartburg, 41-28 #3 Wheaton d. #24 Central, 49-13 #8 Saint John's d. #12 Chapman, 55-26 #6 Salisbury d. #13 Union, 62-41 #4 Muhlenberg d. Brockport, 42-0 #5 North Central d. #1 Mount Union, 59-52 #9 Delaware Valley d. #10 Wesley, 45-10 National Quarterfinals #7 UW-Whitewater at #2 Mary Hardin-Baylor #8 Saint John's at #3 Wheaton #4 Muhlenberg at #6 Salisbury #9 Delaware Valley at #5 North Central

2. Panthers Down Pair of #1s  photo by Will Costello Zach Shapiro scored the game-winning goal 1:45 into overtime as Middlebury's men's ice hockey team knocked off #1 Norwich, 2-1, in the PrimeLink Great Northern ShootOut on Friday night. The Panthers' Matt Danner and the Cadets' Felix Brassard traded second-period goals. Middlebury had a 5-on-3 opportunity late in the third period but was unable to capitalize. Shapiro's tally came during a scrum in front of the Norwich net less than two minutes into extra time. Brian Ketchabaw had 36 saves for the Panthers, who fell in the title game to #3 UW-Eau Claire, 4-3. On Sunday, the Middlebury women's team toppled top-ranked Plattsburgh, 2-1, to win the Panther/Cardinal Classic. The loss ended the Cardinals' NCAA record 26-game win streak, dating to Jan. 12. Madie Leidt and Katie Hargrave scored goals for the Panthers in front of a 29-save performance by Anna Goldstein.

3.  Fall Directors Cup Standings  For the second year in a row, Johns Hopkins sits atop the first set of Division III Learfield IMG College Directors' Cup standings. A pair of national championships in women's cross country and volleyball catapulted the Blue Jays to 358 total points overall. In addition to its pair of national championships, Johns Hopkins also tallied a third-place showing in field hockey and a fifth-place finish in the men's cross country championship. Just 12 total points separate second-place from the fifth position – MIT, 211 points; Chicago, 208.5 points; Middlebury, 205 points; and Emory, 199 points – with each scoring in three of the four championships to date. MIT's highest finish came with a fifth-place showing in field hockey, while Chicago's top finish was in women's cross country (4th). Middlebury captured the field hockey title and Emory had a runner-up finish in volleyball. >> Top 20 Conference Call: UAA (4), NESCAC (3), Liberty (2), Minnesota (2), SCIAC (2), American Rivers (1), Centennial (1), Michigan (1), NEWMAC (1), SCAC (1), SUNYAC (1), WIAC (1). >> Complete Standings  |  Conference Standings

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4. Weekend Review Ice Hockey (M) - USCHO Norwich (lost to Middlebury, 2-1; d. Plattsburgh, 5-1) Hobart UW-Eau Claire (d. Plattsburgh, 6-1; d. Middlebury, 4-3) Geneseo (d. Amherst, 3-2; lost to #14 Williams, 6-4) Trinity (d. Potsdam, 3-1; d. Saint Anselm, 4-1) UW-Stevens Point (lost to Marian, 4-3; lost to Concordia WI, 5-4) Salve Regina (d. #9 Oswego, 6-3; lost to #12 Utica, 5-1) Adrian (d. Aurora, 4-2 and 4-2) Oswego (lost to #7 Salve Regina, 6-3; d. Plymouth State, 8-0) Augsburg Ice Hockey (W) - USCHO Plattsburgh (d. #7 UW-River Falls, 3-1; lost to #8 Middlebury, 2-1) Adrian (tied #8 Middlebury, 1-1; lost to #7 UW-River Falls, 4-1) Norwich Gustavus Adolphus Elmira (d. Lake Forest, 3-0; lost to #6 UW-Eau Claire, 2-0) UW-Eau Claire (tied #10 St. Thomas, 1-1; d. #5 Elmira, 2-0) UW-River Falls (lost to #1 Plattsburgh, 3-1; d. #2 Adrian, 4-1) Middlebury (tied #2 Adrian, 1-1; d. #1 Plattsburgh, 2-1) Hamline St. Thomas (tied #6 UW-Eau Claire, 1-1; lost to Lake Forest, 2-1) Basketball (W) - D3hoops.com Amherst Tufts Scranton Bowdoin (d. MIT, 66-40) Hope St. Thomas MN Mary Hardin-Baylor (d. Rhodes, 85-74) Wartburg DeSales Transylvania (lost to Maryville TN, 75-67; d. Redlands, 59-57) Basketball (M) - D3hoops.com Swarthmore (d. Arcadia, 89-72) Emory (d. Pfeiffer, 124-112; d. Maryville TN, 95-82) Amherst Wittenberg Middlebury (d. Endicott, 98-78) Nichols (d. Trinity CT, 66-58) St. Thomas MN Nebraska Wesleyan (d. Ozarks, 95-70; d. Willamette, 101-84) North Central IL (d. Olivet, 93-53; d. Kalamazoo, 75-60) Marietta

5.  Tweet of the Day For those of you who are dealing with feet of snow, especially in the Capital District ... we leave you with this to put a smile on your face.

who needs a snow plow ?
(surfinggypsy IG) pic.twitter.com/OzdMUtVAu0

— Humor And Animals (@humorandanimals) November 30, 2019

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