Category: Sports

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Cross Country Sports Women

Women’s XC prepare for PLC at Leopard Invitational

Jonathan Towers

Contributing Writer

The women’s cross country team traveled to Lafayette University on Oct. 19 to race in the Leopard Invitational, in a preview of what is to come at the Patriot League Cross Country Championships on Nov. 2.

The Bison raced against six of the 10 Patriot League affiliated schools, as they familiarized themselves with the course and competitors that they will compete on and against for the Patriot League Championship. The Bison finished second out of 14 teams.

Catherine Scott ’17 was the top Bison finisher for the women on the hilly 6k course in 22:45, putting her in 13th place overall.

“The teamwork on this team has made this a great first season of cross country because everyone is so encouraging and supportive. I am very excited for leagues because our team has a very good shot at winning it,” Scott said.  

The remaining scorers for the Orange and Blue finished within seconds of each other with Montana DiPietrantonio ’15 leading the way in 15th place in 22:52, followed by classmates Katie Jessee ’15, Kylie Pearse ’15, and Zoe Gaston ’15 all finishing in 17th, 18th, and 19th place in 23:01.04, 23:01.80, and 23:02.66, respectively.

“In the race on Saturday, we stuck together as a pack throughout the majority of the race and achieved the goals Coach Donner hoped we would,” Gaston said. “I think this gives us some confidence and sets us up well for a successful championship meet in two weeks.”

Overall, the Bison ran solidly as a team and put themselves firmly in the conversation of potential Patriot League Champions. The Patriot League Championships will be at 11 a.m. on Nov. 2 at Lafayette.

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Beyond the Bison Sports

Beyond the Bison: Sports News Across the Nation Mission Accomplished

Julian Dorey

Senior Writer

Beyond the Bison: “Mission Accomplished”

Apparently Hollywood endings can happen on crisp, fall New York nights too.

It was Sept. 26 when Mariano Rivera emotionally took his last career bow at Yankee Stadium.

Gone is the all-time saves leader and his stunning 652 lockdown closeouts. Gone is the class act who was loved and praised by every fan base. Gone is the last man to ever wear the number 42 in the Major Leagues (Jackie Robinson’s MLB-retired number).

It might not have happened this way without the fight and persistence of Mo himself. After tearing his ACL in a pre-game incident in 2012, Rivera vowed that he would not “go out like this” and that he would return for one more season in 2013 at age 43. Many speculated that it was bravado and denial that led him to believe he could bounce back from such a major injury at his age. But not Rivera.

Rivera put his head down and went to work to rehabilitate his ACL. By the time spring training began in February, he was ready to go for what he said would be his last season.

He did not disappoint at all, as he pitched the entire year and finished with a Rivera-esque 2.11 ERA (to go along with 44 saves and 54 strikeouts).

Despite the Yankees’ own struggles with an aging core, Alex Rodriguez’s ridiculous steroids side-show, and an inability to contend for much of anything, Rivera quietly enjoyed his swan song that had a different feel to it than just about any other closing act in memory.

Throughout the season, just about every ballpark in baseball honored Rivera in some way when the Yankees were in town, including the cathedral of Boston itself, Fenway Park.

If that’s not admiration and respect for a player at its highest level, I don’t know what is.

All-Star weekend was practically Rivera’s personal retirement bash for two days, and Rivera pitched a 1-2-3 inning for the American League team to cap it off. But nothing beat his ultimate appearance in the Majors.

In Rivera’s final game at Yankee Stadium, manager Joe Girardi sent the closer into the game with just one out in the eighth (Rivera routinely closed out games starting in the eighth inning throughout his career, a rarity among closers). Not one fan or player in the building cared that the Yankees were down 4-0. Rivera stepped out of the bullpen with his usual pre-play song, “Enter Sandman,” blasting on the speakers for one last time.

On his trot through the outfield, surrounded by decks and sections dedicated to the Yankee greats he was soon to be among like Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Yogi Berra, Rivera tuned everything out one last time to get some outs.

With the fans on their feet and both dugouts sensing the history unfolding in front of them, Rivera pitched through four batters (two in the eighth and two in the ninth), retiring them with ease. What happened next was the culmination of a season’s worth of honors.

Girardi decided to pull Rivera before the last out so that he could have his final curtain call and honorary moment as a player. Instead of going out to the mound to make the change himself, Girardi sent out two of Rivera’s oldest teammates and fellow Yankee legends, Derek Jeter and Andy Pettitte.

Completely caught off guard, Jeter and Pettitte weren’t even at the mound yet when Rivera’s eyes began to well up. After about a minute of good, old-fashioned bear hugs and masculine tears, Rivera left the mound to say his final goodbye.

The send-off ranked right up there with the curtain calls of Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio, and the moment felt like pure history. One of the greatest players of all time tearfully said his final goodbye to the most historic franchise in American sports.

Rivera retires as the all-time saves leader (51 saves clear of the rest of the field) and as one of the greatest postseason pitchers of all time with a 0.70 ERA in 141 innings pitched over 96 career postseason games. Numbers like that may never be replicated again in our lifetimes.

The Yankees may be an easy team to hate, but my hat is (and all of our hats should be) off to Rivera for being a high-class, phenomenal player for the past 19 years.

Categories
Field Hockey Sports Women

Hat-trick for Misko ’14 leads field hockey to victory

Emily Evancho

Assistant Sports Editor

Hat-trick for Rachel Misko ’14 leads women’s field hockey to victory

Rachel Misko ’14 made sure to impress the families this past weekend with three goals for the Orange and Blue, while teammate Maggie Murphy ’15 assisted on two goals and added the final goal in a 6-2 win over Colgate on Sept. 28.

“Saturday was such an exciting game. We didn’t get discouraged after being set back one goal in the first half,” Misko said. “We had no doubt in our mind that we could beat Colgate by just playing our game and popping in a few goals.”

The Bison dominated the scoreboard from the first blow of the whistle. Only 1:06 into the game, Kiersten Sydnor ’16 rebounded the ball to Kelsey Mucelli ’15 who was able to backhand the ball into the circle and back to Sydnor, who added the first Orange and Blue goal to the board.

For the next several minutes, the defenses on both sides played like brick walls until Colgate could push through to tie the Bison 1-1. Goalkeeper Erica Perrine ’14 performed one of her five magnificent saves for the game when Colgate broke through the defense with only ten minutes left in the first half. The Raiders slid through with only 2:29 to go in the half, bringing the score at halftime to 2-1.

“Even though we were down at halftime, we went back to our basics and to what we had been practicing all week, knowing that there was still time to recover. We knew that eventually our hard work would translate into some goals for us offensively, as well as no goals against us defensively,” Perrine said.

Returning for the second half, it was a different game. The Bison showed no mercy as Misko scored the first of her three goals with an assist from Murphy. Only about four minutes later, Misko seized the opportunity again to reign the net when she took a goal off a penalty stroke. The score stood still for several minutes until Leigh Hillman ’14 scored with an impressive long shot from the top of the circle. Misko completed her third goal at 62:44, working with Murphy again to deliver the Bison to a 5-2 stand over Colgate which Murphy herself brought to a 6-2 final with only 29 seconds left in play.

“The win against Colgate was great for our team mentality. Scoring five goals in the second half especially after being behind at the end of the first was such a huge confidence boost,” Murphy said. “We were under a lot of pressure, but we absorbed it. By working together we put away more goals than they could recover from.”

The field hockey team will go head to head with Lafayette tomorrow at Easton Pa., followed by a match against No. 18 Temple on Oct. 6 in Philadelphia.

Categories
Cross Country Sports Women

Women’s XC successful in both weekend meets

Katherine Harris

Senior Writer

Women’s XC successful in both weekend meets

The women’s cross country team had a successful weekend, finishing 10th in the Coast to Coast Battle as well as winning the Husky Invitational.

The Bison traveled to Boston to compete in the Coast to Coast Battle hosted by Boston College on Sept. 27. The field of 14 teams included many strong programs from across the country, including four of the top 25 collegiate squads. The Orange and Blue were led by Kylie Pearse ’15, who recorded a time of 18:29 to secure the 59th position out of 146.

Pearse was followed closely by teammate Montana DiPietrantonio ’15, who finished 61st in 18:31. Catherine Scott ’17, Sarah Chandler ’17, and Zoe Gaston ’15 finished out the top five for the Bison, with Scott and Chandler both coming in at 18:55 and Gaston at 18:57. Their finishes contributed to the Orange and Blue’s 10th-place finish that day.

Another part of the Bison squad traveled to Bloomsburg University on Sept. 28 to compete in the Husky Invitational. Kate VanNess ’15 came in third with a time of 19:28.4 to lead the way for the Bison, while Beth Braunegg ’14 and Maddie Dulac ’15 followed right behind her in fourth and fifth with respective times of 19:39.9 and 19:41.3. Their performances contributed to the team’s victory, with seven out of the top 10 spots belonging to the Bison.

The strong performances over the weekend for the Bison led to recognition in the Patriot League weekly awards for one of the team members. Catherine Scott ’17 received the Female Rookie of the Week award for her 18:55 finish in the Coast to Coast Battle against some of the top runners in the country.

The team will compete tomorrow at Lehigh University in the Paul Short Invitational.

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Cross Country Men Sports

Men’s XC face tough top 25 competition

Thomas Walter

Senior Writer 

Men’s XC face tough top 25 competition

The men’s cross country team ran two meets this past weekend, travelling to Boston for the Boston College Coast to Coast on Sept. 27 and facing Bloomsburg on Sept. 28. Racing against some of the top teams in the country, the men’s cross country team finished ninth in the Coast to Coast before defeating Bloomsburg the next day.

Michael McGowan ’15 won the Patriot League Male Runner of the Week, which marks his second award in the last three weeks.

“I have been working real hard in practice. Everyday has a goal whether it is run easy, hard, or recover, and I try to do my best to follow my routine,” McGowan said.

The Bison raced against four of the top 25 teams in the country in the Coast to Coast Battle. No. 12 Oregon won the race and No. 9 Syracuse finished in second. McGowan turned in the best effort for the Bison, finishing 38th out of 140 total competitors. Despite the extreme competition, McGowan insisted the team was not intimidated by the competition.

“The biggest difference is the amount of depth and the fact that these teams can give scholarships. The recruits they bring in are top notch or from overseas. But none of our guys were intimidated,” McGowan said. “The team was very pumped to run against those teams. It isn’t often you get a chance to run in a field that talented.”

Injuries left the team incredibly shorthanded this past weekend.

“We actually didn’t even run some of our top guys because of injury. We actually had a very bad meet at Boston,” McGowan said.  “Everyone was tired from a very hard week of training the week before, and no one was fully recovered.

The rest of the Bison squad ran well to defeat Bloomsburg. The Orange and the Blue turned in the three fastest times during the event. Dylan Cowell ’15 took first place in 27:45, with Luke Giugliano ’17 and Jonathan Tewodros ’17 finishing seconds later in 27:48.5 and 28:02.6, respectively.

The men’s cross country team returns to action tomorrow at the Paul Short Invitational in Bethlehem, Pa.

Categories
Soccer Sports Women

Women’s soccer stuns Lehigh, beats Loyola for first conference wins

Doug Hendry

Staff Writer

Women’s Soccer Stuns Lehigh, Beats Loyola, for first conference wins

A two-goal first half deficit could not deter the women’s soccer team on Sept. 27, as it came back against Lehigh for a 3-2 overtime victory at the Ulrich Sports Complex. Sarah Bresette ’17 led the Bison with two goals, while tri-captain Liz Dwornik ’14 dished out three assists. On Oct. 2, the Bison’s winning streak continued with a 2-1 win at Emmitt Field against Patriot League newcomer Loyola (Md.).

Lehigh’s only two shots on goal in the first half ended up in the back of the net, and the Bison were unable to cut into the lead during the first half. With 45 minutes to go, the Bison entered the second half a new team.

“Going into the second half, we really just came out with the belief that we could turn things around. Every Patriot League game is so important and we knew we needed the three points that come with a victory,” Dwornik said.

Their first score came in the 57th minute, when Evelyn Nicinski ’15 redirected a header past the keeper. Less than seven minutes later, Chelsey Garkowski ’14 and Dwornik kept the pressure on the Lehigh goalie, and Bresette powered the loose ball into the net for her first goal of the game.

The Bison almost ended the game early, as Garkowski’s run up the right side led to a cross into the box in the closing seconds. Despite the pressure, the offense couldn’t finish, leading to the Bison’s third overtime match this season. It didn’t take long, as the Bison were able to end on the winning side this time. Bresette’s second goal was a far-post rocket from outside the 18. Bresette’s first multi-goal game, with the help of Dwornik’s career-high three assists, capped an amazing comeback and first conference win for the Bison.

“It felt so great to finally get an overtime victory,” Dwornik said. “This was one of the best experiences I have had since playing soccer at Bucknell. I honestly could not wipe the smile off my face even hours after the game had ended.”

Five days later, the Bison returned home for a match against Loyola (Md.). This was the first game between the Bison and Loyola as conference rivals. Loyola had not won in its past nine matches, and the Bison took control of the game through the first half. Cassie Denger ’15 had her left-footed shot go over the Loyola keeper after a beautiful long through ball by Nicinski. With less than four minutes in the half, the Bison took a 2-0 lead when Corey Tipton ’14 scored her first goal of the year after some chaotic play inside the box.

Loyola fought back in the second half, cutting the deficit to one goal, but couldn’t muster enough offense to defeat the Orange and Blue. The Loyola goalkeeper was busy all night, and the Bison earned its second conference victory.

Bresette earned Brine Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week, and the Bison (5-6, 2-1 PL) will travel to face American tomorrow at noon.

Categories
Men Soccer Sports

Men’s soccer five-game winning streak comes to an end

Ajan Caneda

Copy Editor 

Bison’s five-game winning streak brought to an end

In its Patriot League opener, the men’s soccer team fell 2-0 at home against Army on Sept. 28, snapping the Bison’s five-game winning streak. The Orange and Blue dropped to 5-3, while Mike Lansing’s ’16 four-game shutout streak came to an end.

“Overall, it was just a really tough loss. A few breakdowns resulted in both of their goals, and it was just not the best performance from our team. It is a loss we are going to learn from, just as we learned from our first two, and we followed that up with a five-game win streak,” Lansing said.

The Black Knights struck in the 36th minute after a corner kick found an Army defender who headed the ball past Lansing. Prior to the goal, Lansing had posted the longest Bison shutout streak in 30 years.

The Orange and Blue searched for the equalizer, as Jonathan Grad’s ’15 shot was blocked by the Army goalkeeper. Mark Leibensperger ’15 launched a follow-up attempt that was rejected again by the Black Knights. Both teams had six shot attempts in the first half.

Army scored an insurance goal 53 seconds into the second half after a Lansing deflection left him out of position on the follow-up from 18 yards out. The game stayed 2-0 after solid defense from the Orange and Blue, but the Bison could not capitalize on their 15-12 shot advantage, including headed shot attempts by Mayowa Alli ’14 that failed to find the back of the net.

Lansing’s career-best scoreless minute streak was stopped at 428:29, while Jesse Klug’s ’16 scoring streak halted at four games.

The Bison look to regain some momentum, as they face Lehigh on Oct. 5 at 7 p.m. in Bethlehem, Pa. They will also battle the new Patriot League member, Loyola (Md.), at home on Oct. 9 at 7 p.m.

“We will look to come back strong on Saturday and we will grow from the loss. We are going to move on and focus on the next game ahead, rather than dwell on the loss against Army,” Lansing said.

Categories
Golf Sports Women

Women’s golf takes 13th in Nittany Lion Invitational

Claudia Silvers

Staff Writer

Women’s golf takes 13th in Nittany Lion Invitational

The women’s golf team headed to State College, Pa. to represent the Bison at the Nittany Lion Invitational last weekend and ended with a 319 third-round team total, putting them in 13th place.

Bridget Wilcox ’14 finished in the top-20 individually, posting rounds of 74-75-77. Her performance concluded four successful years at this tournament. Of her 10 career rounds on this particular course, Wilcox shot a 77.4 average, including her school-record of 69 in 2010. Also performing well was Ellie McGuire ’17, who posted 78-78-83, and Emily Timmons ’15, who posted 80-84-78.

“Ellie McGuire has had a really good start to the season for her first year,” Timmons said. “It was really nice to be able to bring the whole team to the tournament; we were able to bring three extra players to compete individually while we usually only have five players travel. This gave our freshmen really good experience playing in competitive tournaments.”

The other first-years were successful as well. In the last round of the tournament, Callie Nelson ’17 scored a career-best 80, while Emily Larson ’17 and Nicole Mischler ’17 both finished with 85.

Kasha Scott ’14, Lauren Bernard ’14, and Meghan Garanich ’16 scored 81, 83, and 89 respectively in the last round of the tournament.

“Penn State is always a very challenging golf course, so our scores were not quite as low as we had hoped for last weekend,” Timmons said. 

Despite the challenge, the good competition and courses will prepare the Bison for their next tournament, the Rutgers Invitational, on Oct. 14-15.

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Football Men Sports

Bison football falters over Family Weekend

Cooper Mead

Senior Writer

Bison struggle over Parents Weekend

The football team took on Sacred Heart in front of a crowded Christy-Mathewson Memorial Stadium on Sept. 28. The Bison lost 16-0 to the 5-0 Pioneers, which was marked by six Bison turnovers (four interceptions and two fumbles) that significantly hurt the Bison offensive momentum.

The Bison offense had a difficult night and greatly missed quarterback Brandon Wesley ’14, right guard Nevin Hagman ’15, running back Matt DelMauro ’16 and All-Patriot League defensive end Sean Sellers ’14 who all had injuries. Trey Lauletta ’15 started the game at quarterback for the Bison and went 10-26 for 59 yards in the air and added nine runs including a 27-yard scramble. On the ground, CJ Williams ’17 led the Bison as he carried the ball 21 times and tallied 66 yards, which puts him at 256 yards for the year. Adding to the Bison ground game, Charles Thompson ’14 had two carries for 15 yards and Brian Regan ’16 ran eight times for 33 yards. Despite struggling in the first half with 29 yards of total offense, the Bison rebounded in the second half and recorded 135 yards of total offense compared to Sacred Heart’s 114 total yards.

The Bison defense continues to be a force to be reckoned with as it had another significant game. In an impressive feat, the Bison held the potent Pioneers offense to a season-low 16 points compared to its average of 46.5 points per game coming into the contest. The solid defensive performance was highlighted by Matthew Steinbeck’s ’15 11 tackles, Evan Byers’ ’15 10 tackles, and Lee Marvel’s ’15 eight tackles.

The battle was scoreless until the beginning of the second quarter when the Pioneer quarterback connected on a 64-yard pass play. The subsequent extra point was blocked by Brent Forbes ’14 to keep the score at 6-0.

“They were a good team, but we are moving on and starting to prepare for Lafayette. We are working towards the first league win of the season,” Forbes said.

As the half concluded, Sacred Heart hit a 33-yard field goal to bring the score to 9-0. In the second half, the Pioneers were largely stifled by the Bison defense. They were able to tally one more touchdown at the 2:02 mark in the fourth quarter when they scored on a 20-yard run.

“You can’t win football games turning the ball over as many times as we’ve done the last two weeks. It’s something we’re working to get better at and we will get better at … we are looking forward to getting back on the winning side,” captain Travis Friend ’14 said.

The Bison will hope to rebound and minimize turnovers as they head to Lafayette to take on the fellow Patriot League contender at 3:30 p.m. tomorrow.

Categories
Men Sports Tennis

Bybel ’16 puts the Bison on the map

Alexandra Rosen

Contributing Writer

Bybel ’16 put the Bison on the map

Nick Bybel ’16 made Orange and Blue history this past weekend as the first Bison to participate in the ITA All-American Championships in Tulsa, Okla., where he competed in the same tournament as other Division I powerhouses like Virginia, Florida, and Texas. Bybel defeated Cedric de Zutter of Memphis in the first round (7-6, 6-3) but lost to Jordan Szabo of Texas A&M in the second round (4-6, 3-6).

In the captivating and suspenseful match against de Zutter, just as Bybel scored four points in a row and took the lead 5-4, the weather took a turn for the worse and rained out the match. This forced the game to continue indoors, where Bybel and de Zutter resumed play after an hour of delay.

“He stuck to a simple game plan, and as the match went on his execution just got better … The key to Nick’s win was in the return of de Zutter’s serves,” head coach Rebecca Helt said.

The return of serves was crucial to the Bison victory in the second set. Bybel was able to break his opponent in the first game, which was the only service break of the entire match. This allowed him to move up 5-3 and serve out the end of the match.

“He just kept working and once he started to put solid returns in, he made his opponent work hard for every service game. Eventually he got the key break [and had a] very solid performance,” Helt said.

After a great win against de Zutter, Bybel hoped to continue and defeat Szabo in the second round.

Bybel lost 4-6, 3-6 but was able to take away experience that will hopefully aid him for the rest of the season.

“Nick won most of the baseline points by hitting deep and heavy, but his opponent had an aggressive serve and volley style of play, and Nick struggled coming up with the passing shot,” Helt said.

“It was awesome to see where our program matches up with the top programs from across the country,” Bybel said.

The team will split up today to compete at the UVA Invitational in Charlottesville, Va. and the Lehigh Invitational in Bethlehem, Pa.