Author: cdm016

By Scott Padula

Writer

The men’s water polo team traveled west this past weekend to face four ranked opponents in the Santa Clara Rodeo. The Orange and Blue kicked off the tournament on Saturday, Oct. 22 with losses to No. 3 Stanford and No. 12 UC Davis and then wrapped up the tournament with losses to No. 15 Santa Clara and No. 6 Pepperdine. The Orange and Blue now stand at 10-8 heading into the postseason.

In the first game of the tournament, the Bison fell to Stanford 15-1. The previously ranked No. 1 Cardinals played strong on the defensive end, allowing co-captain Spencer Richley ’12 to tally the lone Bison goal. A bright spot for the Orange and Blue was in goal, where Matt Napleton ’13 and Keegan Williams ’15 together recorded 11 saves.

Shortly after the loss to Stanford, the Bison squared off with UC Davis. The Orange and Blue jumped on the Aggies early, taking a three-goal advantage into the final quarter. The Bison could not contain UC Davis in the fourth, and the Aggies won 12-11.

Sunday morning, the Orange and Blue faced host Santa Clara. The Bison trailed 7-3 at the intermission and never recovered. The Orange and Blue eventually fell 13-6. Co-captain Beau Caillouette ’12 led the charge with a pair of goals and ejections drawn in the loss. Daniel Schwartz ’12, Jack Else ’14, Alex Nowlin ’14 and Mike Kimble ’14 all scored one goal apiece.

In the Bison’s final game of the season, the Orange and Blue played Pepperdine, losing 16-7. The Bison held the game even at 2-2 after the first quarter, thanks to a pair of goals from Kimble. The Orange and Blue could not keep up with the Pepperdine offense in the second; they were outscored 7-1.  Kimble was the only Bison to record multiple goals.

The Bison will have a week off before they head to Princeton to compete in the Southern Championships Nov. 4-6.

By Andrew Arnao

Writer

The women’s soccer team won two crucial home games against Patriot League rivals Lehigh and Lafayette last weekend. Midfielder Evelyn Nicinski ’15 scored the winning goal in a 1-0 victory over Lehigh, while forward Megan DeGennaro ’12 scored the golden goal in overtime to beat Lafayette 2-1. 

On Friday, Nicinski scored her goal 14 minutes into the game against defending Patriot League champion Lehigh, shooting on goal from the box after a nice pass from DeGennaro. That turned out to be all the Bison would get, though they kept up the pressure and outshot Lehigh 19-13. Keeper Sandita McDermott ’13 made several brilliant saves, compiling eight total for the game.

“We are really starting to come together as a powerful team,” Cassie Denger ’15 said. “Our combinations in the attacking third are on for us right now and our defense is a brick wall. We are finding the open player and getting them the ball while our whole team gets into the attack.”

Against Lafayette on Sunday, the offense shifted back and forth between the Bison and the Leopards. Lafayette eventually got on the board first with a goal 24 minutes in, but that was all they would get as McDermott recorded nine saves. The Bison equalized the score 20 seconds into the second half on a shot by Kayla Yee ’13, with the assist going to Courtney Nelson ’15.

From that point on, the Bison offense had control, outshooting Lafayette 10-2 during the second half. The Bison were unable to go ahead, and the game went into sudden-death overtime. Lafayette had a chance for a goal several minutes in but missed on a header. The Orange and the Blue immediately retaliated, with Tara Cort ’12 passing the ball to DeGennaro for the breakaway. DeGennaro managed to slip the ball past the Lafayette goalie for the game-winner.

“We had a really slow start in league,” DeGennaro said, “but we are all so proud of each other for pulling through this weekend against Lehigh and Lafayette when it was absolutely necessary.”

With the two victories, the Bison, now 3-3-0 in the Patriot League have revived their chances of making the Patriot League tournament. The Orange and the Blue play Navy tomorrow at noon in a vital home game, which also happens to be Senior Day, and will need a win to assure their chances of qualifying.

“We are playing the best soccer I have seen us play this year and we all believe that we can make it to the tournament,” Yee said. “Navy [this] weekend is another must win but having it in our hands to make the tournament is a great opportunity.”

 

By Eric Brod

Senior Writer

The Orange and Blue head into the final stretch of the regular season at 7-7-2 after playing a tough Penn State squad to a 0-0 draw at home Wednesday night and losing to Patriot League rival Army 2-1 last Saturday in West Point, NY.

On Wednesday night at Emmitt Field, the Bison had numerous scoring opportunities but were unable to find the back of the net as they played the Nittany Lions to a scoreless draw. Marc Hartmann ’12, making his third start of the season in net, made all four of his saves in the second half and overtime to preserve the scoreless tie. Josh Plump ’13 had numerous scoring chances throughout the game, while CK Kumah ’13 had a stellar chance at the end of the second half when he sent a strike in but was stopped on the near post.

With 24 minutes left in regulation, Andrew Powell ’12 just missed on a shot to the left post. A Penn State goal was waved off due to an off-sides penalty just 90 seconds into the overtime session. After that, neither team was able to generate much offense, but Hartmann made some saves to help preserve the tie.

On Saturday, the Bison fell to Army 2-1 in a tightly contested battle as the Orange and Blue fell to 2-3 in league play. After falling behind 1-0 early in the first half, the team rallied to tie the game in the 54th minute when Plump scored his third goal of the season off a beautiful crossing pass from Brendan Burgdorf ’13.

In the 73rd minute, Army’s Arnold Chun netted what eventually proved to be the game-winner. Despite outshooting Army 19-11, the Bison were unable to extend their league winning streak to three games. Tommy Caso ’12 played another solid game in goal, making two saves. After the game, head coach Brendan Nash stressed the importance of retaining a positive attitude.

“The biggest things are to just keep working hard and believe we can still reach our goals,” Nash said. “We have one of the best teams in the PL and the whole league realizes this is the case.”

The Orange and Blue return to action tomorrow when they travel to upstate New York to take on Colgate in a crucial Patriot League match. The Bison must at least tie to have a chance at making the Patriot League tournament. Nash believes this is possible.

“If our student-athletes keep doing what we have been doing, the unlucky bounces will start going our way,” Nash said. “We are very close to where we need to be, but we have to work a little harder and focus a little more to reach that next level. When we do this, everything else will fall into place.”

By Greg Stevenson

Senior Writer

For the third consecutive week, the Bison football team, falling to the Holy Cross Crusaders 16-13, lost on Saturday. The game was also the team’s Senior Day and final home contest of the 2011 season. Despite forcing multiple turnovers and holding the Crusaders to negative yards rushing, the Orange and Blue dropped back to .500 on the season after starting 4-1 and now sit in fourth place in the Patriot League.

Struggling on the offensive side of the ball, the Bison had to rely on a stout, opportunistic defense to keep them in the game.

Now second in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision in forced turnovers, the Orange and Blue intercepted three passes from Holy Cross quarterback Ryan Taggart, the country’s second-best passer. The Crusaders rounded out their sloppy six-turnover game with three lost fumbles.

Leading the way was Bryce Robertson ’12 with two interceptions, bringing his season total to eight. Beau Traber ’13 also made his impact on the stat sheet, recording a career-high 10 tackles along with two crucial sacks. Overall, the Bison would sack Taggert six times in the game.

“Our focus defensively was to work to impact the effectiveness of their QB,” Head Coach Joe Susan said. “We played aggressively throughout. We did drop one interception in the end zone and it would have kept them from scoring a touchdown on that drive, which they ultimately scored. But, overall, when you force a team to turn the ball six times, we feel we have improved defensively.”

The historic defensive performance was not enough to outweigh a difficult day on the opposite side of the ball. After an outstanding start to the year, quarterback Brandon Wesley ’14 continued a tough stretch against Holy Cross, completing just seven passes in 27 attempts for 77 yards. On the ground, Wesley mustered just 21 yards rushing and was sacked six times.

“We know that we cannot pound the ball versus the way other teams defend us by personnel groups and formations,” Susan said. “We felt that we needed to take some shots down the field. We had opportunities in which we got behind their secondary and could not cash in. We also were given field position chances that we had to settle for two field goals instead of scoring touchdowns. We need to score touchdowns. We will continue to work our personnel to find the right mix on the field.”

The Orange and Blue were able to get a good portion of their offense from the rushing game, thanks to running back Tyler Smith ’13. His score early in the third quarter, the lone touchdown in the game for the Bison, tied the game at 13.

Kicker Drew Orth ’12 added two more field goals and one extra point to his already-impressive 2011 campaign. Orth leads the Orange and Blue in points scored with 34 and is a perfect 10 for 10 in extra points. On field goals, Orth has missed just one in nine attempts and has made three from longer than 40 yards out.

The Bison begin a tough three-game road stretch to end their season this weekend at Lafayette. After falling to the Leopards last season 33-22, the Orange and Blue will look to avenge last year’s loss and snap their three-game losing streak in the process.

By Chris McCree

Sports Editor

Player Profile:

John Dugan

First-year

Ramsey, N.J.

Undeclared

Season Stats:

Meets: 4

Top 10 finishes: 2

Best time: 25:43

Best finish: 6th

Men’s cross country runner John Dugan ’15 received Patriot League Rookie of the Week honors for the second time this season after an impressive performance at the Princeton Invitational on Saturday. Dugan posted a time of 25:51 at the Tigers’ eight-kilometer course and helped the team claim eighth place in a highly competitive field of 14 teams. Individually, Dugan finished 56th out of 139 runners and was the Bison’s top first-year runner for the third time this season.

The consistently strong performance of the first-year class has been one of the biggest surprises for the men’s team this year. Dugan and Michael McGowan ’15 have led the first-years and together have earned Patriot League Rookie of the Week honors three separate times. Impressively, Dugan is the only Bison athlete to win this award multiple times this year and the only first-year runner to place in all four of his meets. With the regular season coming to a close and championships rapidly approaching, it will be important for Dugan to build on his string of solid performances. Over the course of the next three weeks, the Bison will compete in the Patriot League and Mid-Atlantic Championships.

By Julian Dorey

Contributing Writer

For a diehard Philadelphia fan like me, yesterday was a nice change of pace. It was the first day without a thought of the Phillies’ “black October” (since the unceremonious end of the now-dreaded postseason), and the first day since that disappointing Phillies loss that the Eagles have played second fiddle to another Philadelphia sports team.

The Phillies and the Eagles were shunted behind a Philly team with the biggest news of the day. No, I’m not talking about the Flyers. I’m talking about the 76ers.  Remember them?

While the prima donna parade—the NBA lockout mediation meeting—was going on in D.C., the Philadelphia 76ers stole the thunder in the local market by unveiling their new ownership group.

While it’s understandable that some people are simply turned off to the NBA and could care less right now, I’d say that even the casual fan should at least perk his or her ears up on this one. The 76ers finally have some new blood. After 15 years being responsible for his “red-headed stepchild,” as Anthony Gargano from 94.1 WIP-FM put it to me on air yesterday, Ed Snider finally decided to relinquish his power so that the Sixers could have an ownership strictly dedicated to their well-being. For those of you who are unaware, Snider has owned the Philadelphia Flyers since its establishment in 1967.

So, who are the new guys?

Well, the new ownership team is a bit crowded.  But, in essence, the team is comprised of 15 investors, with two having the largest stake in the team.  However, there are a couple of the minority owners who actually do matter.

But  just who are these new owners?

To help break down and predict the makeup of the Sixers’ new brass, I’ve decided to invoke some parallels from the greatest film of all time, “The Godfather.”

The Don Corleone of the Philadelphia 76ers is majority owner Joshua Harris.  Harris is a New York investor, who, at age 46, is already worth an estimated $1.45 billion.  Harris has been serious about purchasing the Sixers for a long time and finally went through with it in July.  The deal took 3 months to be ratified by the NBA.  While Harris is the managing owner, Sixers coach Doug Collins wasn’t afraid to say that Harris isn’t exactly a basketball analyst. Harris is a shrewd and cunning business man.  He made it clear in the press conference that he will run “the business end” of things and make sure that the Sixers become a prospering “family” in the long run.  He has entrusted the basketball decisions to Sixers president Rod Thorn and Collins.

Already, WIP’s Howard Eskin seemed to have his doubts as to whether or not Harris understood just how much of a financial failure the 76ers were last year.

I think I’ll give “the Godfather” a chance to work his business magic for the next couple years.  Then we can talk, Howard.

The Michael Corleone of the 76ers is co-owner and newly-appointed CEO Adam Aron.

Aron is the other “investor” with a major stake in the team.  He will be living in south Philadelphia, “outside the Italian Market,” as he said (unlike Harris, who will be commuting via train from New York).  Aron will be the second in command and will oversee all day-to-day operations of the Sixers.  He too made it clear that he is entrusting the basketball decisions to Rod Thorn and his basketball-educated staff.

Aron will probably do more talking than Harris, as he seems to be a more outgoing man interested in dialoguing with the people.  To start off his reign with the Sixers, Aron has set up a webpage for Sixers fans to send in suggestions for the team.

OK, so he may be channeling Sonny’s sin of “letting other people outside the family know what he’s thinking”—but I like it.  The organization has been losing money for years, and in order to buck that trend, Aron has to go straight to the source—the fans.

Did I mention the Sixers slashed the seating prices by 50 percent?

Yeah, I’d say that’s a good start.

There are a couple more “family members” the fans should be aware of. I’d like to call them both the Tom Hagens of the Sixers—but in their own rights.

The first minority owner that fans should know about is Jason Levien.  Levien is a former NBA agent with vast knowledge of the game, and he is one of the first agents to become an owner of an NBA team in league history.  He will provide some good input for salary cap strategy and will certainly add some basketball knowledge to the ownership group.

The second consigliere is a guy that I consider “the ace in the hole” of the entire ownership group: rapper/actor Will Smith. Smith is a native of Philadelphia and a lifelong fan of the 76ers.  Until several years ago, he was a season ticket holder who attended many games throughout the year.

Somehow, during this entire buying process, all sides were able to keep their mouths shut and avoided mentioning Smith as a potential buyer to any news outlets.

I believe that Smith is going to prove to be a huge asset to the organization—and it’s not just because his star status will bring some much-needed publicity to the franchise.

No, Smith gets us.  He gets the fans.  He gets Philadelphia.  He knows what we want and what we expect.  The only other Philadelphia native on the ownership team is Aron, and he hasn’t lived here since he was 20 years old. Smith has a chance to be the quiet voice in the background giving valid input on important franchise decisions—from marketing ideas to internal discussions regarding potential transactions. Obviously, the man knows a bit about the game.

Yesterday was a great day for the 76ers.  It’s their time to move forward and regain the popularity they once had.  Unfortunately, with the lockout, many of the changes and progress the new owners want to make will have to be put on hold. But the moment that lockout ends—whenever that may be—expect this “family” to start “gaining some new territory.”

—With respect to the NBA, that is.

By Thomas Walter

Contributing Writer

The women’s golf team finished sixth this past weekend at the CSU Wendy’s Invitational in Charleston, S.C. Three Orange and Blue players finished in the top 25 or better with Kasha Scott ’14 heading the team with a seventh place finish.

After the two rounds, Scott ended with a final score of 149 which was good enough for her second top-10 finish of the season.

“I was just trying to make pars and avoid any big numbers at all costs,” Scott said. 

Bridget Wilcox ’14 finished in tied for 21st with 154 and Minjoo Lee ’12 finished in t-23rd with a 155.

In the nice weather the women had a strong showing in their second to last tournament of the year. The Bison shot 310 in the first round and 309 in the second. For the first time all season the team was not playing in the rain.

“The weather was finally nice–hot and sunny; the first tournament it hasn’t rained the entire season. It was a great tournament and great course, we have all worked a lot on our game and it is definitely showing,” Wilcox said.

The team has continually posted good results throughout this fall season and the key to the team’s early success has certainly been the consistently solid play of the sophomores.

“Kasha and Bridget played great and they have been playing well all season,” Lee said.

Wilcox and Scott have been providing solid scoring all fall long, especially Scott. This t-7th is her fourth t-20 finish in five tournaments this fall.

This weekend, Scott and the rest of the Bison look to continue this hot streak in their last tournament of the season at the Palmetto Invitational in Kiawah Island, S.C.

By Andrew Lichtenauer

Writer

The men’s tennis team ended the fall season this weekend at the Lehigh Fall Championships. Leading the Bison were Josh Katten ’13 and Kelly Morque ’13, who teamed up for a perfect 3-0 record in doubles and went 2-0 in singles. As a team, the Bison finished the weekend at 17-9.

In the doubles bracket, Katten and Morque worked hard for their success. The two opened with a pair of 8-6 wins, first over Saint Francis and later against Lehigh. They went on to finish the draw with an 8-5 win over Delaware.

“We just really wanted to give it our all since this was the last tournament of the fall season,” Morque said.

According to Morque, two final round losses to teammates Gregg Cohenca ’12 and Evan Zimmer ’13 earlier in the season motivated him to play well at Lehigh.

Katten and Morque made their mark in Bison record books after their play at Lehigh. For the first time in his career,  Katten is now ranked among the top 20 players in singles victories with a career record of 38-32. Katten also moved up to 13th in doubles (44-22) and 16th in combined win record (82-54). Morque is now tied for 19th in doubles (37-28) and 30th in combined wins (64-47) at the University after his showing this weekend.

This marks the end of the fall tournament schedule for the men’s tennis team.

“The positive results from the fall give our team confidence going into the spring. As a team, we are all proud of our results and level of play so far, but there’s still a lot of work to do. The goal is to play at an even higher level in the spring,” Morque said.

After taking the winter off, the Bison will return to the courts on Feb. 3 to take on Saint Francis in Loretto, Pa.

 

By Katherine Harris

Contributing Writer

The women’s cross country team sent its top 10 runners to the muddy Penn State National Invitational, competing against Patriot League Rivals Lehigh and Colgate, as well as No. 19 West Virginia and other top programs from around the country. The Bison took 11th as a team, with Alysha Hooper ’12 taking the 51st spot overall, and Stephanie Fulmer ’12 and Kelly Grosskurth ’12 also placing the top 100.

“This past weekend was true cross country and we walked away covered in mud,” Hooper said. “We wanted to do better than we did, but our team is still developing in the right direction. For the next two weeks we will have one focus: Patriot Leagues.”

While those who competed at Penn State rested, on Saturday other Bison ran against some top Division II and III teams. Placing second out of 31 schools, the second squad for the Orange and Blue had many top finishers, including Katie Jessee ’15. With her second consecutive top 10 finish, Jessee was the first rookie and the sixth overall runner to cross the finish line.

“We ran with a lot of guts and conviction. I was very pleased, especially with Katie Jessee,” Head Coach Kevin Donner said. “She is starting to really develop into a distance runner.”

From here, the Bison are setting their sights on the Patriot League Championships looming just around the corner. With no meets this upcoming weekend, the team will be focusing all efforts on making sure it is completely prepared to compete for that top spot on Oct. 29 at Lehigh.

“As we move forward, the team needs to continue to work on mental toughness,” Fulmer said. “We expect individuals to step up and rise to the occasion of Patriot League’s and place themselves in a position to help us win. We are training under the notion that the Bison always come through, when it matters most.”

Donner also emphasizes the importance of the team’s mental state as they head into the final stages of the season.

“We are not exactly where we need to be, but we are getting closer. The muddy conditions affected a few of our runners more than others, however it was there for the entire field, so we cannot use it as an excuse. We are expecting muddy conditions at Patriot Leagues on Oct. 29 and we are going in with the intentions of winning,” Donner said.

By Alex Wagner

Contributing Writer

The men’s cross country team placed eighth this past weekend at the Princeton Invitational on the Tiger’s eight-kilometer course.

Dave Brown ’12 was the top finisher for the Bison, earning 31st place overall with a time of 25:29. 

“I have been battling some training issues that hit me hard with around a mile and a half to go, which resulted in a sub-par performance,” Brown said. “The rest of the team, especially the freshmen, ran really well though.”

D.J. Krystek ’13 narrowly missed out in the top 50 with a time of 25:46, earning him 51st place. John Dugan ’15 was not far behind, with a time of 25:51, which got him into 56th place. Dustin Horning ’13 was next for the Orange and Blue in 60th and a finish of 25:55. Andrew Kirna ’15 rounded out the Bison’s top five finishers with a time of 26:20, earning him 78th place.

Eric Balaban ’14 ran the course in 26:40 to earn 89th place and Glen Williams ’15 squeezed into 100th place with a time of 26:56.

“I didn’t run a very smart race this week, and my time suffered,” Williams said. “It was good to see many of my teammates do well.”

He was followed by Tyler Erhard ’14, who placed 113th, and Brian Charland ’13, who placed 137th, with times of 27:21 and 29:28, respectively.

Cornell earned first place in the team standings with 50 points, and Ben Sathre of St. Thomas (Minnesota) took in the top individual spot with a speedy time of 24:29.

“Coming into the race, we were feeling pretty optimistic. There wasn’t any pressure to beat specific teams, and we were there just to run our race,” Brown said. “Overall, it was a good tune up for the league championships in two weeks.”

The Bison hope to build off of this weekend’s strong finish when they go to the Patriot League Championships at Lehigh on Oct. 29.

“It’s an exciting time to be a freshman on the team,” Williams said. “A lot of the young guys are looking forward to contributing in the championship season.”