Author: cdm016

By Chris McCree

Sports Editor

Bison Athlete of the Week

Profile:

Jack Else

Sophomore

Center

Hometown: Lansdale, Pa.

Major: Undeclared

Statistics:

Games Played: 6

Goals: 14

Assists: 2

Ejections Drawn: 16

After extreme flooding forced the men’s water polo team to cancel its home invitational on Sept. 10 and 11, Jack Else ’14 led the Bison to an impressive 3-1 record this past weekend at the North vs. South Invitational in Annapolis, Md. Throughout the competition, Else was a dominant offensive force, tallying a total of 10 goals and two assists in the team’s three contests. Else’s greatest contribution came on the final day of play when he netted seven goals during two key victories against Iona and Fordham. Else contributed 13 drawn ejections allowing the Bison plenty of extra scoring chances.

As a second-year player, Else will have a much bigger role this season for the No. 16 Bison. In the 29 games the team played last year, Else amassed a total of 21 goals and is well on his way to surpassing that total this year after scoring 14 in just the team’s first two weekends of play. The Bison will certainly need him to continue his offensive dominance if they hope to compete for a championship this season. Despite boasting a 7-1 record to this point, the team will face its toughest opponents in the coming weeks and will need not only Else, but the entire Bison squad to be at its best.

By Chris McCree

Sports Editor

Following a dominating performance in their season opener, the women’s cross country team continued its winning streak with two wins against Duquesne and Pittsburgh this past Saturday in Pittsburgh. The Orange and Blue placed seven runners in the top 10 spots, with Stephanie Fulmer ’12 claiming third place overall and the top spot for the Bison with a time of 18:24.

“We were very pleased with how the meet went this weekend. Duquesne always is a strong team, and they gave us a really great and competitive meet, but it’s very encouraging to us that we came out with the win,” Leah Goeke ’13 said.

Despite surrendering the top two spots to the Dukes, the Bison claimed a narrow 27-32 victory over Duquesne thanks to strong performances by a trio of senior runners. Fulmer, Alysha Hooper ’12 and Emily Liggett ’12 each finished under 18:30, claiming third, fourth and fifth place respectively.

“The main reason why we were successful was because of our depth and how we ran together,” Goeke said. “We were assigned to groups before the race, and for the most part everyone stayed with their group. It really must have affected Duquesne mentally. When four orange jerseys fly past you, it must feel pretty defeating.”

The Bison had a much easier time against a Pittsburgh squad that didn’t place a runner in the top 30 spots, cruising to a 15-50 win.

Looking ahead, the Bison will have this weekend off before they head to Lehigh for the Paul Short Invitational on Sept. 30.

“The team is confident after this past weekend’s meet,” Fulmer said. “We still have to develop some frontrunners to gain ground, but we showed a strong improvement from the Bison Open and are set up well to go after a win in the Patriot League Championships.”

By Chris McCree

Sports Editor

Despite strong races by Dave Brown ’12 and the Bison first-years, the men’s cross-country team fell to Duquesne 19-38 this past Saturday in Pittsburgh. The Orange and Blue placed six runners in the top-12 spots, but the Duke squad finished four runners in the top five spots.

“We went into this meet with pretty high expectations,” John Dugan ’15 said. “Duquesne has one of the best teams in the region, but we have been working hard and felt that we would be able to give them a good race. We were looking to beat them and were a little disappointed that we came up a bit short.”

After winning the team’s home opener two weeks ago, Brown recorded the fastest time for the Orange and Blue with a time of 25:34. Brown finished behind a trio of Duquesne runners, claiming fourth place in a field of 32 runners.

Four of the team’s top-seven runners were first-years, Dugan leading the group with a sixth place finish just nine seconds off Brown’s time. Behind Dugan, Andrew Garcia-Garrison ’15 finished 11th in 25:55.

“There are a lot of mixed feelings about the meet,” Brown said. “On the one hand, no one likes to lose let alone have the first three places swept by the other team but, on the other hand, we saw significant individual improvements on the scale of 30 to 60 seconds from last year and our freshmen are rightfully pleased after a stellar showing in their first 8k.”

Much like most of last year, the Bison squad was significantly impacted by health issues.

“Sickness was definitely a problem. There were some minor injuries people were coming back from, but sickness was a significant component to our less than satisfactory team performance. Our top seven from this weekend was almost entirely different than from the Bison Open two weeks ago so that was also a bit of a problem,” Brown said.

Looking ahead, the Bison will have some valuable time to recover before the Paul Short Invitational on Sept. 30 where they will race against Patriot League rivals for the first time.

“We need to keep working hard at practice and doing what we are doing. We know that we have a good team and are capable of running well and are hungry to get back to work and race our best at the Paul Short Invitational at Lehigh at the end of the month,” Dugan said.

By Cooper Sutton

Managing Editor

Ellie Riegel ’15 and Vickie Resh ’14 both scored their first collegiate goals for the Bison field hockey team in a 2-1 overtime victory at Lock Haven last Sunday. They were awarded Patriot League Rookie of the Week and Susquehanna Valley Limousine Bison Athlete of the Week, respectively.

Coming off a tough 1-4 start to the season, the team was thrilled to see a comeback win. In the 13th minute of the game, Lehigh midfielder Leslie Ahern put the Bison in a hole by breaking through the defense and faking out goalie Erica Perrine ’14.

In the 60th minute, Resh finally broke through the Lock Haven defense, scoring off a penalty corner with only 10 minutes left in the game.

Riegel took no time to break the tie after regulation periods. In the first minute of overtime, she scored off a loose ball to bring home the second Bison win of the season.

In the end, the Orange and Blue outplayed their counterparts in almost every statistical category. They led in shots 10-8, though only three of the Bison shots were on goal. The difference in penalty corners was an astounding 10-3 difference in favor of the winning squad.

Perrine proved to be one of the main factors in the Bison victory, saving six goals, compared to only one save by her Lock Haven counterpart.

The field hockey team plays two home games this weekend against Rider and Rutgers.

By Thomas Walter

Contributing Writer

During the women’s tennis home opener this past weekend, Dumitria Iepuras ’11 inched closer to the 100-win milestone after posting her 97th, 98th and 99th wins of her career, while Alyssa McAndrews ’15 and Jen Bush ’15 became the Orange and Blue’s first title winners this season after winning the Flight B Doubles tournament.

The Bison opened play on Friday and totaled nine victories with Elizabeth Morgan ’14 and Iepuras both winning matches in straight sets. Iepuras went a perfect two-for-two on the day by winning both her singles and doubles matches. In probably one of the most exciting matches of the tournament, Elena Vidrascu ’14 came back to win her match against Mount St. Mary’s Carly Landini in a third set tiebreak after she lost the first set 3-6.

Following the successful day on Friday, the Orange and Blue saw McAndrews and Bush claim their doubles title on Saturday against another pair of Bison first-years. Despite early success for the Orange and Blue doubles teams, the team struggled in singles going 0-4 for the day with Lydia Colvin ’15 being the only singles player not to lose in straight sets. On Sunday, in the consolation draw, Courtney Casey ’12, Claudia Silvers ’15 and Kristen Bishof ’15 all won their matches with Casey and Silvers winning in straight sets.

At the end of the tournament, it was the first-year duo of McAndrews and Bush that led the Bison with six victories apiece.

After winning her third match, Iepuras is just one win away from becoming the 10th person in Orange and Blue history to reach 100 wins.

Iepuras and the rest of the squad travel to Washington, D.C. today to take part in the Georgetown Invitational.

By Andrew Lichtenauer

Writer

Gregg Cohenca ’12, Evan Zimmer ’13 and Octavio Canibe ’15 combined to win all 11 of their matches during the men’s tennis team home opener this past weekend. The Orange and Blue claimed titles in both singles and doubles.

In the Flight A singles bracket, Cohenca and Zimmer came out on top for the Bison. Zimmer cruised through both his quarterfinal and semifinal matches, winning both in straight sets, while Cohenca faced more of a challenge in his two contests. The two were scheduled to play for the title on Sunday, but the match was postponed to a later date.

In the Flight B singles bracket, Canibe won his first career title, beating out Sergio Cavajai of Saint Francis in straight sets for the championship. Canibe’s victory marks the second consecutive year that a first-year player has won in his first tournament appearance.

While cruising through the singles bracket, Cohenca and Zimmer also teamed up to claim the doubles title. After winning their semifinal match 8-0, the duo faced off against fellow teammates Kelly Morque ’13 and Josh Katten ’13 in the finals and claimed an 8-4 victory.

“We had a tough first-round match where our opponents had match points. I think coming back from that match has really put us on a good path for success,” Cohenca said.

Looking ahead, the men’s team will be traveling to Washington, D.C. this weekend to compete in the Georgetown Invitational.

“We are all really excited for this weekend,” Cohenca said. “Coming off such a successful tournament, our team is feeling confident. I think it will be beneficial if we can carry this confidence into our matches at Georgetown.”

By Scott Padula

Writer

The men’s water polo team won three out of four games this weekend at the North vs. South Invitational in Annapolis, Md. The team defeat Harvard, Iona and Fordham, but fell to Brown.

The Orange and Blue continued their winning streak by defeating Harvard on Sept. 17 in their first game of the tournament. The team dominated the entire game claiming a 9-3 halftime lead on its way to an 18-8 victory.

Alex Nowlin ’14 led the charge with three goals and three assists. Five other Bison posted multi-goal games, including co-captain Spencer Richley ’12 who found the back of the net four times. Goalie Matt Napleton ’13 bolstered the Bison’s defense, playing all 32 minutes and notching six saves. Napleton only allowed one goal in the fourth quarter to close out the game.

“Our key to success this weekend was our team awareness. Our offense still remains really solid with a really fast counter attack and strong two meter play. Our five on six was excellent all weekend long stopping teams from scoring on most of their man up opportunities. For the weeks to come it will be important to start playing better defense as a team and not allowing people to score so many goals against us,” co-captain Beau Caillouette ’12 said.

In the second game of the day, the Bison squared off with the Brown Bears. It was the first time Head Coach John McBride faced his old team, a team he coached for the past seven years. It turned out to be a disappointing reunion, as the Orange and Blue fell 8-7. Napleton continued his dominance in goal, saving eight shots in 32 minutes and allowing only three goals in the first half. Brian Barron ’13 led the way with four goals and an assist, while Alex Nowlin netted two goals and dished out four assists of his own.

The Bison’s ability to score was on display Sept. 18 in their victories over Iona and Fordham. The Orange and Blue took down the Gaels 16-11 before wrapping up the invitational with a 12-7 victory over the Rams.

In the first game, Jack Else ’14 and Barron led the way in scoring with four and three respectively. Nowlin had another strong performance with three goals and six assists. His nine points matched the most for a Bison since Richie Hyden’s nine point performance last season against Johns Hopkins. Napleton remained a force in goal, recording a career-high 11 saves.

In the nightcap, the Orange and Blue defeated Fordham in a balanced team effort. Three different Bison had multi-goal games, while nine total players registered a point. Again, Napleton had a strong performance with five saves. Keegan Williams ’15 made the most of his first minutes of the year, stopping three shots of his own.

“We will focus the coming weeks on developing our defensive drop. The games we played this past weekend were against the Northern Division and do not affect our standing in league because we are in the Southern Division. This weekend we will travel to Johns Hopkins, George Washington and Navy for our league games. We will be training hard this week in preparation,” Richley said.

By Ajan Caneda

Contributing Writer

The men’s golf team ended its four-year winning streak with a fourth-place finish at last weekend’s Bison Invitational. Coming into Saturday in a tie for fifth, the Orange and Blue posted a final round total of 291.

Thirteen teams, including Patriot League rivals Lehigh, Lafayette and Colgate, competed with Longwood, who claimed the top spot nine strokes ahead of second-place finisher Army, who scored 866. Lafayette followed with a third-place 869.

Schyuler Stitzer ’14 had the highest individual score for the Bison, tying for eighth with 215.

“I think as a team everyone was frustrated to not win our home tournament that we have had great success at in the past. Longwood played great and deserved to win,” Stitzer said. “I think everyone felt like they missed out on a few shots out there. During the first two rounds, I had to work hard for the scores that I got. I felt that the third round gave me some nice momentum and opportunities to score.”

Thomas Walter ’14 and J.J. Szmadzinski ’13 tied with 219. Jon Hartman ’13 and William Bachman ’12 also cracked top-30 finishes with 220 (tied for 23rd) and 221 (tied for 28th) respectively.

“I was pretty satisfied with our performance since it was the first competition of the season. It was the strongest field of teams we have hosted in the past eight years. Our younger players played very well considering it was their first collegiate experience,” Head Coach Jim Cotner said. “The area that we need to improve on is consistency. We need to have all our players narrow the gap between their higher rounds and lower scores.”

Stitzer is optimistic for the next invitational at Cornell.

“Cornell is a good golf course; everyone is looking forward to playing next weekend and I’m hoping that the weather will be favorable,” Stitzer said.

The Bison travel to Ithaca tomorrow for the two-day invitational.

By Andrew Arnao

Writer

Entering the week with a two-game winning streak, the women’s soccer team lost two home matchups to Saint Francis and Penn State, 2-1 and 4-0 respectively. Cassie Denger ’15 was the only Bison player to score in the two games.

Coming off a 1-0 victory against Cornell, the Bison fell just short in a fierce matchup against Saint Francis on Saturday. The Orange and Blue had eight shots on goal during the first half, but were unable to convert any of them. Great goalie work by Sandita McDermott ’13 allowed the team to end the half tied with the Red Flash. Saint Francis scored early in the second half, and later added an insurance goal within the last 16 minutes of play. Denger responded late with a goal of her own off an assist by forward Megan DeGennaro ’12 to bring the Bison to within one.

“We really outplayed them in the first half and we had most of the possession,” Denger said. “We got unlucky with two nice finishes on their part, but we never gave up.”

In the team’s second home matchup against Penn State on Tuesday, the Bison battled equally hard but were defeated by the Nittany Lions 4-0. The Orange and Blue managed only four shots, three of which were taken by midfielder Tara Cort ’12, compared to 25 shots by Penn State. Despite allowing four goals, McDermott also had six saves while sharing goal duties with Colleen Garrehy ’12, who had two saves in her 39 minutes in goal.

The Bison will play the third game of their current homestand tonight at 7 p.m. against Marist.

By Colin Fields

Contributing Writer

The Orange and Blue dismantled Coppin State in thier first match of the Bison Volleyball Invitational last weekend and in doing so, picked up the 300th win for Coach Cindy Opalski. Kat Tauscher ’13 was named to the All-Tournament Team, and the Bison almost came back from a two-set deficit against Stony Brook in what was an exciting weekend for the Orange and Blue.

On Friday, the Bison rolled Coppin State 3-1 in sets. The Orange and Blue have not needed a fifth set in any win this season. The Bison took home the victory with scores of 25-20, 23-25, 25-20, 25-23. Kebah Edoho ’13 gave her second consecutive double-digit kill performance, leading the Bison with a career-best 12.  The Bison rallied after giving up a 7-0 run to give their coach her milestone victory.

“I am very happy for Coach’s 300th win; she has been here for a long time and she deserves it. She means a lot to the team because she really cares about us and is very invested in us as a team. She is a coach that is always looking out for our best interests,” Edoho said.

The Bison continued their weekend action against Stony Brook. The Bison went 2-0 in sets and were down 20-16 in the third when Leylin Marroquin  ’14 took service and rallied the Bison to a 9-0 run. The Bison took the fourth set before finally falling 15-10 in the fifth set. Tauscher had a team-high 42 assists and was named to the All-Tournament Team.

“After being down 2-0 we knew that we needed to rally to push it to 5 games. It was a really good test of our mental toughness and showed that we could come together in pressure situations. I feel very confident after this weekend that we will be able to be successful in Patriot League play because of our ability to fight and not give up,” Rose Lewis ’14 said.

The Bison concluded the tournament by facing an undefeated Bowling Green. The Orange and Blue came out firing in the second set after dropping the first 25-12. The Bison had a six-point advantage late in the second set but ultimately lost 28-26, then lost the third set 25-20.

After the invitational, the Orange and Blue are 3-6 on the season.

The Bison open Patriot League play on Sept. 24 at 7 p.m. against American in Washington, D.C.