Category Archives: college sports

September 22, 2010 · 10:31 pm

FIELD MARSHALL: AN INTERVIEW WITH STUDENT ATHLETE EILEEN O’REILLY

 Since many people remain out of the loop on Field Hockey I figured it was time to do an interview with one of the stars of the sport. So far this season few players have made a bigger impression than Eileen O’Reilly, official Balladeer’s Blog nickname “Lady O”. O’Reilly plays Forward for the Franklin and Marshall Diplomats of NCAA Division 3 so, yes, the headline for this piece is a lame play on field hockey and half of her school’s name. (Plus rumor has it O’Reilly is just crazy about Field Marshall Montgomery of World War II fame. I’m kidding!) Eileen O’Reilly and her teammates have led the Diplomats to their highest-ever ranking and have so far compiled a 5-1 record on the season. O’Reilly has been a standout player, often contributing more than one goal or assist per game,  but obviously feels more comfortable staying out of the limelight and adhering to the “team” concept, so in deference to her “It’s not about me” approach I’ll lay off the glowing review I had planned of her stats for this year. (Psst! You can look them up at the F&M athletics site! The link will be at the end of this interview. Don’t tell her I told you!) Anyway, we’ll dive right into the interview with O’Reilly, who proved to be a very articulate representative for the massively underappreciated sport of field hockey.

Balladeer’s Blog:  To put you at your ease about being singled out for attention, right off the bat what complimentary remarks would you like to make about your teammates? 

Eileen O’Reilly: All of the recognition our team has received this season, both national rankings and individual achievements, reflects a collective effort to be a great team. Many teams have one or two standout players that they constantly look to as the playmaker.  At any given moment of a game we have 11 playmakers on the field.  Many of our goals start from a great defensive stop below our fifty-yard line, then shift to flawless passing in the midfield, and end with strong finish on the forward line. I really believe our team has been so successful so far because of this team dynamic.  We have a unique group of girls that want to win and have fun.  We constantly encourage each other to work hard and improve.  I know I can rely on my teammates on and off the field. We’re very supportive of each other whether its field hockey related or not.  

BB: How would you complete this sentence: This year I’m having the kind of season I am because I _______. 

EO: I face tough competition every day at practice. My teammates constantly push me to work hard, which really helps elevate my game.  It’s a huge advantage to face a high level of competition six days a week in practice and in games. This motivates me to play my best in games when it really counts.  Also, Coach Mariano is a major part of why I am able to keep improving this season. She’s a coach that’s very supportive, but at the same time challenges me to try new moves and outsmart the opposing defense.  

BB: What does a typical practice for a field hockey team consist of?

EO: I don’t think there’s ever a typical field hockey practice- it really depends on the team and the coach. For F&M field hockey we start out with a warm up jog and dynamic stretching.  After we run through a few shooting drills to warm up the goalkeepers. The drills throughout practice reflect the things we need to work on for our upcoming opponents. We practice a lot of defensive marking in the circle and scenarios where the offense outnumbers the defense. At the end of practice we always scrimmage and practice penalty strokes.  

BB: What advantages would you say field hockey has over soccer and lacrosse?

EO: Field Hockey is a game that essentially has no constraining limits on the field.  In soccer the players are held back by the off-sides rule. Similarly, in lacrosse the restraining lines prevent players from moving fluidly throughout the field.  In field hockey players have the freedom to go anywhere on the field at any time.  Without off-sides and restraining lines field hockey is a sport that allows for constant creativity.  The best plays come from the out of the ordinary cuts behind the defense or an entire team working together to clear the ball out of the defensive circle. These moments just aren’t possible in soccer and lacrosse.  

BB: To switch to a more individual look at you, what are you majoring in?

EO: Spanish and American Studies.

BB: What is the one thing you would like people who aren’t familiar with you to know about you?

EO: Last spring I studied abroad in Valencia, Spain.  As a Spanish major this was an awesome opportunity to improve my language abilities and truly immerse myself in a different culture.  I lived with a host family, studied with professors from the University of Valencia, and even got to play some field hockey. 

BB: Outside of sports, what is your greatest passion?

EO: My greatest passion outside of sports is candy, I have an intense sweet tooth!

BB: My blog keeps it on the light side. If you could tolerate a few oddball questions I’d like to throw a few at you. First off, what is the most laughably bad movie you’ve ever seen?

EO: Its hard to pick one…most recently I watched Hot Tub Time Machine. Parts of the movie were funny, but the whole idea was just bizarre.

BB: What is your favorite book?

EO:  My all time favorite is Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I’m currently hooked on Stieg Larsson’s trilogy series (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, etc).    

BB: If you were a singer what would you title your debut CD?

EO:  The Alpha Shewolves.  My teammates and I are very fond of Shakira’s song SheWolf.  

BB: You express yourself very well. In closing, if you could suggest 1 thing to the NCAA and the NAIA to raise the profile of field hockey what would it be?

EO: Field Hockey is a tough sport to market because it lacks a partner sport ( such as softball- baseball) and in the United States it has not developed as a co-ed game.  I think the NCAA and the NAIA can raise the profile of field hockey by promoting the international prominence of the sport.  Worldwide, field hockey is an extremely popular sport for women and men.  Similar to soccer, field hockey has a World Cup every four years.  Field hockey is the highlight of the Summer Olympic games for many European nations.  I think that by exposing the international popularity of the game the NCAA and the NAIA can attract more attention to field hockey in the US and gain fans.  

With such eloquent and self-assured young women as Eileen O’Reilly participating in this sport Balladeer’s Blog feels it would be a natural for television audiences.  Here’s hoping the unfortunately low profile on the sport gets raised in the near future. 

To read Eileen O’Reilly telling me how she really feels about her official Balladeer’s Blog nickname click here:   http://www.godiplomats.com/landing/index

Balladeer’s Blog is not affiliated with or operated by the NAIA or the NCAA or any of their member institutions. 

© Edward Wozniak and Balladeer’s Blog, 2010. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Edward Wozniak and Balladeer’s Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

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September 20, 2010 · 8:31 pm

NUGGETS

 “Hurlin'” Hewitt Tomlin, QB for the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays, has been named the Centennial Conference Offensive Player Of The Week following his performance in Saturday’s win over the Gettysburg Bullets, 29-21. He was 22 of 31 for 326 yards with 3 touchdowns. He set 2 more school records for consecutive 200-plus yards and 300-plus yards passing games at 16 and 4, respectively. If you prefer a different nickname for him, how about Hewitt “Threw It” Tomlin? Okay, forget it.  

The Saint Ambrose Queen Bees (their name for their women’s teams) crushed the Iowa Wesleyan Tigers 6-nil. If you follow soccer you know that 6 goals is more than some teams score over the course of 6 games! 3 of the Queen Bees’ goals came from Ashley Dexter, 1 each from Courtney Seffrood and Alex Hemmen and Nikki Boland’s penalty kick in the 83rd minute added the 6th goal in this rout. Goalie Lauren Gunawen picked up the win.  

 The Franklin and Marshall Diplomats volleyball team improved to 7-4 on the season after winning  matches against the Marymount Saints and the Catholic Cardinals. The win against the Saints came on scores of 25-17, 25-14, 21-25 and 25-16. Against Catholic the Diplomats won in straight sets 25-14, 25-17 and 25-18. Up next for the ladies will be the Lancaster Bible College Chargers and the Penn State–Harrisburg Lady Lions. 

 The NAIA’s seemingly perpetually top-ranked Sioux Falls Cougars football team moved to 3-0 in style this past Saturday, devastating the Doane Tigers by a score of 66-13. The USF nation-leading winning streak has now been extended to 32 games. Senior quarterback Jon “Jonnie East” Eastman was 10 of 14 for 292 yards and 5 touchdowns. Running back Chevon “Fire” Walker rushed for 103 yds and 1 touchdown. The Cougars’ quest to threepeat as National Champions will continue this Saturday as they go on the road against the 23rd-ranked Hastings Broncos.  

 Moving to women’s college tennis, the Alverno Inferno avenged last year’s loss to Wisconsin Lutheran by defeating the Warriors 5-4 this past weekend. The 2 teams split 3-3 in singles action but the Inferno had taken a 2-1 advantage in doubles play earlier. Alverno’s Gabby Allen tipped the win to her team by winning her singles match 6-2, 3-6 and 6-4.

 Wingate University Bulldogs running back “Knockout” Nelson Woods has been named the South Atlantic Conference Offensive Player Of The Week. Nelson rushed for 123 yds and 2 touchdowns in Saturday’s upset victory over the 14th-ranked UNC-Pembroke Braves 28-23. Woods is just 15 yards shy of the 3,000 mark for his career. His greatest individual game came against the Mars Hill Lions in 2008 when he had 205 yds and 3 touchdowns.

 The Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish volleyball team remains perfect, improving their record to 10-0 after a win over the Southeastern Fire. Freshman setter “K-O” Katie Lindstrom stepped up in the absence of Jessica Way, who was out with a back injury. “Jumping” Janeen McCormick led the way offensively with 10 kills, followed by Christina “The Crusher” Alessi with 9 and Mariela Quesada, “The Q” herself, with 8. The defense was led by Allie “The Lethal Libero” Warren who had 19 digs, while Lexie “Grizzly” Grizzle came off the bench for a career-high 11 digs. Up next for the Sailfish will be the Florida Tech Panthers and the Lynn Fighting Knights. 

 The Cumberland University Bulldogs (no, not the Winged Bulldogs, just the Bulldogs) mauled the Kentucky Christian Knights on the gridiron Saturday by a score of 35-6. Christian “Burnin’ Love” Burnett was 20 of 28 for 184 yards and 1 touchdown. The Bulldogs couldn’t get out of their own way at times in a game marked by uncharacteristic misfires, but their defense kept the Knights from capitalizing much on CU mistakes until the offense righted itself for the authoritative win.

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September 17, 2010 · 3:07 pm

QUICK TAKES: FRIDAY STYLE

“Getcher Popcorn Ready” Dept – In the NAIA 6 of the 23 remaining undefeated football teams square off against each other this Saturday (Week 4 for NAIA football) – the # 2 Lindenwood Lions host the #8 Missouri Valley Vikings, the 7th-ranked Ottawa (KS) Braves travel to the 9-th ranked  McPherson Bulldogs and the #11 Saint Francis (IN) Cougars host the #17 St Ambrose Fighting Bees. Like the cliche says, “Someone’s 0 will go!”

Volleyball Warriors: Taken By Force – The Lewis-Clark State Warriors volleyball team, ranked 11th in the latest NAIA poll, breezed past the Montana Tech Orediggers in a sweep by scores of 25-20, 25-17 and 25-9. The Warriors are now 12-1 and a perfect 3-0 in Frontier Conference play. The majority of the team’s kills came from 3 players: “Killin'” Kelli Tikker had 11 and hit .458; “The District Attorney” herself, Deddiy Alaimaleata had 10 kills and hit .400 and Nicole “The Gray Seal” Graybeal had 8 kills and a .467 mark. The next game for the Warriors is tomorrow against the Montana Western Bulldogs. To benefit the YWCA, anyone who brings 2 items of canned food gets in free.

Triumph Of The Tritons – UC-San Diego, cool team name, The Tritons, has been ranked the number 1 Division 2 institution in the country in the NCSA’s Collegiate Power Rankings. Not only that, but they were ranked # 23 overall, in a system that evaluates a college or university‘s student-athlete graduation rates, academic strength and athletic prowess. If you’re wondering they placed 6th in my list of NCAA Division 2’s 20 Coolest-Named College Sports Teams.

The Legend Of Brassy Braden Continues – Sioux Falls Cougars football kicker Braden Wieking (official Balladeer’s Blog nickname: Brassy Braden) was named the NAIA’s National Special Teams Player Of The Week. In the Cougars’ win last Saturday over the Midland Lutheran Warriors The Brassy One had 3 field goals, all from 40 yards or more, plus 4 extra points. Wieking holds the national record for consecutive PAT’s at 109 and also handled kickoffs and punts in Saturday’s game. The Fred Mitchell Award people have no doubt taken note. 

Don’t Mess With The Q – Mariela “The Q” Quesada, of the Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish volleyball team, was named the National Christian College Athletic Association Player Of The Week. The Q turned in an outstanding performance at the Cedarville University Invitational Tournament and was even named Tournament MVP with 51 kills, 16 digs, 6 blocks and 6 service aces. Mariela is a native of San Jose, Costa Rica.   

Diplomats Immune To Green Terror – Yes, it’s an incredibly lame play on the expression “diplomatic immunity” to headline this bit on the Franklin and Marshall Diplomats women’s field hockey team. The Diplomats won 4-0 over Centennial Conference rivals the McDaniel Green Terror. F&M goalkeeper Sarah Dileo picked up her 4th win of the season. “Blastin'” Becky Willert scored the 1st 2 goals of the game by the 24th minute. Valerie “Sweet” Sauers made it 3-0 and the final goal of the game came from “Lady O” herself, Eileen O’Reilly, who also assisted on the 2 Willert goals. O’Reilly (who got the final goal off a pass from Diana Aulisa) has been having a stellar season so far and will be the subject of an upcoming interview here at Balladeer’s Blog.

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September 16, 2010 · 6:57 pm

OPENING VOLLEY: SEPTEMBER 16TH

The Indiana University Southeast Grenadiers volleyball team has won their last 3 games in a row, and hope to be in position to turn this season around. They are now 4-7 after recently defeating the Kentucky Wesleyan Cougars 3-1 and the Midway College Eagles in straight sets 3-0. The ladies will now begin conference play at the St Louis College Of Pharmacy Eutectics and the Berea Mountaineers this Saturday. Their next home stand will be Sept 24th against the Rose Hulman Fightin’ Engineers.

                                                     Amanda Allen, a junior middle-blocker for the Concordia (Chicago) Cougars volleyball team was named the Northern Athletics Conference Student Athlete Of The Week for volleyball. She led the Cougars with  team-highs of .368 kill percentage, 5 solo blocks and 12 block assists. Amanda had double-digit kills in 3 matches last week with 11 (and a .588 attack percentage) against the North Park Vikings. 

The UMass-Dartmouth Corsairs had their 2nd 3-game sweep against the Salem State Vikings this past Tuesday by scores of 25-10,25-19 and 25-18. The Ladies’ Head Coach Steve DeRossi had this to say: “We dug well and we served well, although we weren’t as dominant as we were last weekend. Everybody got into the match (Jimmy Durante: Volleyball Coach) and we worked a couple of things with different combinations that could help us down the road.” The ladies are now 8-0 and resume play tonight at home against the Pine Manor Gators.

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September 16, 2010 · 5:56 pm

THEY MAY NOT PLAY OUR BRAND OF FOOTBALL BUT IN SOCCER THEY’RE GETTING SOME ROYAL TREATMENT

The Cal State-Monterey Bay Otters have tongue-in-cheek posters like the one above pointing out that they don’t have an American football team, but when it comes to what the rest of the world calls football (soccer of course), their team has a very special event coming up this weekend. They will be playing a match against the Cal State-Dominguez Hills Toros Friday Sept 17th at The Home Depot Center, home of the MLS franchise the Los Angeles Galaxy. The teams will have full use of the facility including plusher locker rooms than many college teams are used to and will be playing in a very bright spotlight. I’m sure both teams are hoping to represent their programs well to the expanded audience this game will attract.

To find out if the Otters have reserved a seat for you and a friend at this event click here: http://www.otterathletics.com/

To see if you can join me in my private skybox click here: http://www.ottersportsmarketing.com/

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September 15, 2010 · 11:37 pm

SOCCER POTPOURRI 2

The University of Science and Arts Of Oklahoma Drovers men’s soccer team is 4-0 and is now ranked #10 in the NAIA, the team’s highest ranking ever. This past weekend the Drovers defeated the Brescia Bearcats 3-1 and the St Thomas Celts 8-2. Nicolas “The Frenchman Freshman” Alberto (as I like to call him) has had 4 goals already on the season followed closely by the “NC Hammer” duo of Nikola Cakarevic and Niall Crick who have 3 goals each. Last year’s leading scorer David “Dr Drover” Otieno has had 2 goals and 4 assists in this young season. Goalkeeper Ryan “Force Field” Mcentee has played every minute of all 4 games so far and has allowed only 3 goals. The Drovers are the only Sooner Athletic Conference team in the NAIA Top 25 and are #1 in the conference standings.

You can’t cut it much closer than “Close Shave” Shelby Cummins did as she scored the winning goal for the Franklin and Marshall Diplomats women’s soccer team 3-2 over the Elizabethtown Blue Jays. Cummins scored the goal off an assist from “Kickin'” Carley Nicholson with just .9 of a second left in the game. The Diplomats are now 3-1 on the season. F&M had a 2-nil halftime lead which held up until the 71st minute of the game when the Blue Jays got on the board. They scored again less than 5 minutes later to knot the game up at 2 all and setting the stage for Cummins’ heroics. Diplomats goalkeeper Katie “Fort Katie” Golding had 4 saves and improved her personal record to 3-1. The ladies next play the Ursinus Bears on Sept 21st.***On the men’s side for the Diplomats Zach “Dr Z” Zamek became the all-time shutouts leader for F&M with 19 following a 3-nil win over the Lycoming Warriors. Dr Z is now tied on the all-time wins list for the Diplomats, too and can try to set the new wins record on the 19th against the Muhlenberg Mules.

For the 2nd straight week, Saint Xavier Cougars’ goalkeeper “Wild” Kyle Held has been “held” over as the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Defensive Player Of The Week. Wild Kyle had 8 saves in SXU‘s only game of the week, a 2-nil victory over the Goshen Maple Leafs. Held has had 26 saves and 2 shutouts for the season. He has a Goals Against Average of just .82 per game and the Cougars are 3-2 overall. SXU opens conference play this Friday on the road against the Saint Francis (IN) Cougars.

The Johns Hopkins Blue Jays women’s soccer team shut out the Stevenson Mustangs 2- nil this afternoon at Caves Athletic Complex. Sarah “The Sentinel” Gieszl scored her 1st career goal and “Power Puff” Pamela Vranis had the other JHU goal plus an assist. The Blue Jays have now posted back-to-back shutouts and at 5-1 are ranked 8th in the D3 women’s soccer poll. With the loss the Stevenson Mustangs drop to 3-3.

 The St Ambrose Fighting Bees men’s soccer team won in overtime against the St Francis (IL) Fighting Saints 2-1 at the Davenport Soccer Complex. The Fighting Bees went into halftime leading 1-nil on a KEndrick Tyson goal but gave up the tying goal in the 2nd half. St Ambrose goalie “Mighty” Matt Tucker had 5 furious saves in the 2nd half which kept the FIghting Bees’ hopes alive. Wes Erickson fulfilled those hopes 4 minutes and 6 seconds into OT by slamming home the winning goal for the home team.

Both the men’s and women’s soccer teams for the Lincoln Memorial University Railsplitters registered wins today! The Lady Railsplitters improved their record to 4-0 with a road win over the King College Tornado (singular) by a score of 2-nil. Sarah “The Midfield Maniac” Taylor had both LMU goals, one in the 25th minute off an assist from Becky “Tigress” Thompson and the other barely 11 minutes later off an assist from “Lethal” Leslie Wilson. 3 of the ladies’ team’s 4 wins have been shutouts. ***The men’s Railsplitters team beat out their counterparts from King College 1-nil to move to 3-0 on the season. Just like the ladies’ team all but 1 of their wins have been shutouts. “Gentleman” Jimmy Vandenhurk scored the lone goal of the match 5 minutes in off an assist from Mackenzie “Aces” Wilde. Railsplitters goalkeeper Michael “Brick Wall” Watkins then did his part by crushing every Tornado scoring attempt.

Kelly “Sunstorm” Sunstrom propeled the Alverno Inferno soccer team to a 1-nil victory over the Robert Morris (IL) Eagles today. Sunstrom scored in the 80th minute off an assist from “Kosho” Kelsey Koshanowski (Fans of The Prisoner will get it). It was Sunstorm’s 1st goal of the season and Kosho’s 2nd assist. The Inferno are now 3-0 and will try to burn the feathers off another Eagles team this Saturday at Wisconsin-Lacrosse.

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September 14, 2010 · 4:02 pm

TENNIS INFERNO: ALVERNO BURNS ROCKFORD 9-0

The tennis team for NCAA Division 3’s Alverno Inferno defeated the Rockford Regents 9-0, winning all 6 singles matches and all 3 doubles matches. All of the singles victories were in straight sets, including 3 by scores of 6-0, 6-0 by Andrea Derrick, Sherquila Riley and Devon Wiseman. Gabby Allen won her singles match 6-1, 6-1 while Amanda Almquist and Abigail Kohal both won their singles matches by scores of 6-4, 6-3.  Kohal and Derrick then won their doubles match in a hard-fought 9-7 outcome. The Allen/Almquist and Riley/Wiseman doubles matches were won by more comfortable 8-1 scores. The ladies will be in action again this afternoon at 4pm against the Concordia (WI) Falcons.

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September 14, 2010 · 3:26 pm

COLUMBIA (MO) COUGARS UPSET THE D2 CHAMPS

The Columbia (MO) Cougars, the 19th-ranked team in NAIA men’s soccer, upset the defending NCAA Division 2 Champion Ft Lewis Skyhawks in a shutout 2-nil. The Cougars’ Yudai Yamaguchi, off an assist from Dylan “Thomas” Barduzzi  put Columbia up with a goal in the 24th minute. The Cougs took that 1-nil lead into half-time. (By the way, it’s a little known fact that federal law requires 72 % of the teams in the NAIA to be called the Cougars. I’M KIDDING!) Minutes into the 2nd half Barduzzi got fouled in the box, becoming the force that through the green fuse drives the flower to the Skyhawks (Dylan Thomas fans will get it), sealing their defeat by putting Columbia up by 2. Cougars’ goalie Ken “No pasaran!” Searles recorded his 2nd shutout win of this young season, improving his team to 2-2-0. The schedule doesn’t get any easier for the Cougars, who next travel to Kansas City to take on Division 1’s UMKC Kangaroos this coming Saturday. 

To let the Columbia Cougars know you find their schedule insane click here: http://www.columbiacougars.com/

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September 14, 2010 · 12:04 am

THE PRIDE OF GREENSBORO: COACH JEAN LOJKO NOTCHES HER 600TH WIN

 Jean Lojko, Athletics Director and Head Volleyball Coach for the Greensboro Pride in NCAA Division 3, just recorded her 600th win by leading the Pride in a victory over the Guilford Quakers. Perhaps appropriately, this milestone came on a sweep by scores of 26-24, 25-16 and 25-19. Lojko is in her 29th year as women’s volleyball coach at Greensboro. She’s kind of volleyball’s answer to Joe Paterno, if JoePa still sounded coherent. Lojko has coached Greensboro volleyball to 8 conference titles and 4 National Championships. Not only is Coach Lojko also the new Athletics Director at Greensboro but she’s a sports Renaissance Woman, having also coached the Pride’s basketball and tennis teams on the women’s side. I was on hand to congratulate Coach Lojko (DISCLAIMER: I’M ONCE AGAIN JOKING) and got this quote from her: “That was a great win and an amazing comeback to win Set One after trailing 15-5. It’s extra special to get the win against a very good Guilford team. I think my team played with extra enthusiasm in order to get the victory for me.” I held Coach Lojko’s watch for her to spare it from the celebratory sports drink soaking she got from her students. Jean good-naturedly told her players that they would never do that to her again, prompting one of them to reply “Oh, we’ll do it at 1,000!”

And needless to say, Balladeer’s Blog will be there to cover it.

To read 600 reasons why Chuck Norris is scared to death of Jean Lojko click here: http://www.greensborocollegesports.com/index.aspx

 

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September 9, 2010 · 8:43 pm

SOCCER POTPOURI

 The Lindenwood Lions men’s soccer team upset the Top-ranked Lindsey-Wilson Blue Raiders by a score of 2-1. The Lions led 1-nil at half-time off a goal by Hannes Backstrom. Two minutes in to the 2nd half Blue Raiders player Carnell Learmond tied the game up but in the 74th minute Simon Harrsen scored the game-winner for Lindenwood.  

 The 8th-ranked Johns Hopkins Blue Jays women’s soccer team went into Wednesday night’s game against the top-ranked Messiah Falcons undefeated at 2-0, but unfortunately came out with a 2-1 loss. Messiah (Insert your own “Where’s your Messiah now?” joke here) scored their 1st goal agains the Blue Jays in the 38th minute when Lisa Wingard one-timed a goal past JHU‘s goaltender Kristen Redsun. That was the first goal the Blue Jays gave up this season after 3-nil and 5-nil victories in their 1st 2 games of the year.  Just 80 seconds into the 2nd half the Falcons made it a 2-nil game off a goal by Amanda Naeher.Just over 2 minutes later Sara Tankard cut the Falcons’ lead in half but it wasn’t quite enough. 

 In a week in which Saint Xavier Cougars goalie “Wild” Kyle Held was named Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Defensive Player Of The Week it seems appropriate that he should register his 2nd shutout of this young season. The Cougars won 2-nil against the Goshen Maple Leafs (You’re dying for a “Land’O’Goshen” joke but I’m not playing that game). Both goalies had rejected all shots on goal until the 80th minute when SXU’s Al Palar provided the 1st goal of the game. “Mighty” Matt Klancic provided an insurance goal 4 minutes later to improve the Cougars to 3-2 on the season.

 Reece Harris, freshman goalie for the Park University Pirates men’s soccer team, notched his 2nd career win Wednesday night against the Lindenwood Lions by a score of 2-1. Harris blocked 7 shots and both Pirate goals were scored by striker Ramone Palmer, 1 of them off a pass from midfielder Simon Senfuka. For Park Pirates video highlights visit their Youtube channel here: http://www.youtube.com/parkathletics .

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