Page 14
The Behrend Beacon
Men's
champ
by Ray Immekus
staff writer
The men's soccer team's season ended abruptly
last Friday in the first ever NCAA tournament ap-
pearance for the program.
Defending national champion Messiah College
scored three goals in a 13 minute span in the final
20 minutes of the game to end Behrend's record-
breaking season.
"The disappointing way of the game certainly
allows us all to realize what a terrific season we
had," said head coach Dan Perritano.
The Lions' defense, which was tops in the AMCC
during the regular season with a .82 goals against
average, held the Falcons scoreless for the first 70
minutes of the game.
Messiah's first goal, and eventual game-winner,
came off the foot of junior forward Seth Lehman,
and was assisted by freshman midfielder Andre
Burkhart.
Messiah sophomore midfielder Aaron Casper
made the score 2-0 only four minutes later with an
unassisted goal off of a loose ball.
The Falcons added an insurance goal in the 84th
minute to put the game out of reach. Sophomore
forward Brian Mohney netted a corner kick off a
pass from freshmen forward Dan Wagner.
team eager to begin
quest for AMCC title
by Kevin Fiorenzo
sports editor
After coming very close to reaching the top of
the AMCC last season, the men's basketball team
is hungry for another chance to claim the confer
ence title.
The Lions come into this season as the favorite
in the AMCC. They were picked to finish first in
the AMCC pre-season poll. They finished last sea
son with a 20-9 record and were the AMCC regular
season champions. In the AMCC tournament they
were the runner-ups, falling to Pitt-Bradford in the
championship game. The team also advanced to
the ECAC Tournament, falling to DeSales in the
second round.
The team is led by senior center James Curren.
Curren is the defending AMCC player of the year
and he led the Lions in points with 17.7 points per
game as well as gathering 6.6 rebounds per game.
He is also one of four senior captains on the team,
along with forwards David Hairston and Casey
Ponsoll. Forward Mike Schodt is also one of the
captains for the Behrend squad. Curren has already
eclipsed the 1,000 points mark for his career while
Hairston and Ponsoll are looking to reach that mark
this season.
Other starters this season for Behrend will be jun
ior forward Jared Clough while junior guard Tom
Lulich will man the backcourt.
Lulich led the team last year in 3-pointers, mak
ing 43 percent of them and totalling 49 all together.
Clough was also a key member of the team, aver
aging 5.5 ppg and 4.4 rpg.
Head coach Dave Niland said, "Our strength is
that we have experience. I expect that we will play
hard and smart every time we step on the court."
The Lions were also able to do well in recruiting
this off season as there are several new players who
will most likely see playing time. Freshmen for
wards Ryan Lilly and Jon Katsiadas are some of
the new players competing for minutes.
The Behrend squad is coached by Dave Niland,
who is entering his 10th season as head coach for
Housing
and
Food Service
Athlete
of the Week
PENNSTATE
occer team alts to de ending
essiah in NCAA second round
lirn e
SPORTS
Behrend and Messiah played to a 0-0 tie in the
first half, with Messiah out-shooting the Lions 4-0.
The Lions did not record a single shot in the game,
while Messiah managed 14 shots, 10 of which came
in the second half. Behrend's senior goalkeeper
Jake Hordych made five saves in what is his final
game in a Lions uniform.
The Lions close out the season with a 14-5-2
record. Hordych broke Behrend's all-time shutout
record earlier in the season, and finished with nine
shutouts on the year. The Lions will also lose se
nior midfielder Andy Laver and senior defenseman/
midfielder Jeff Monis.
Laver scored 10 goals and six assists this season,
for a total of 26 points. Morris was a linchpin in a
strong Behrend defense that allowed less than one
goal a game this year. He was recently named Hous
ing and Food Service Athlete of the Week.
"We'll miss them, but each year we move on.
We have a lot of very talented players returning,"
said Perritano.
Both players played a key role in what might be
the most memorable season ever for the men's soc
cer program. The Lions' 14 wins is the highest ever
for men's soccer team here at Behrend. On top of
that was a 5-1 record in the AMCC conference regu
lar season, and two playoff wins.
Behrend won their first AMCC championship
men's basketball team is ready to begin its
season Saturday against Medaille in the
Beh rend Tournament.
the Lions. He has recorded nine straight winning
seasons and has accumulated a 158-85 record.
The Lions open their season Saturday against
Medaille in the Behrend Tournament. The players
know that they will have to play a very good game
to come out on top.
Niland said, "They are a very athletic team and
have recruited some very talented players. This will
be a very difficult opener."
jeff Morris
Friday, November 21, 2003
Coach Dan Perritano called the AMCC champion men's soccer team "definitely the best team I've
coached here."
since 1999, with a 1-0 win over Frostburg State
University on Nov. 8. The Lions beat Laßoche Col
lege 4-1 on Nov. 5 to reach the championship game.
"Yes, this is definitely the best team I've coached
here," said Perritano, when asked how this team
compared to other teams he has coached here at
Behrend.
Women's
opener tonight
by Kevin Fiorenzo
sports editor
The women's basketball team is set to begin its
season this weekend and make an attempt at claim
ing the AMCC title.
Last season, the Lady Lions finished with a 15-
13 overall record, 10-2 in the AMCC, good for the
conference regular season title. In the AMCC tour
nament, Behrend reached the title game but was
defeated by a strong Pitt-Greensburg team in over
time. The Behrend squad also advanced to the
ECAC tournament, where they lost their opening
game against McDaniel.
Many of the women from last season's high cali
ber team will be returning this season. Four of the
five starters will be back, with the lone exception
being senior Danielle Bemis, who is graduating.
Leading the way for the Lady Lions will be its
senior captains, guards Erica Mozdy and Carly
Cochran. Mozdy made the AMCC All-Confer
ence second team last year by averaging 8.2 points
per game as well as 4.1 rebounds per game.
Cochran made Honorable Mention while averag
ing 11.3 ppg and 5.2 rpg.
The Behrend frontcourt will be led by junior for
ward Amber Krumpe, who was a member of the
AMCC first team after scoring 13.5 ppg and gath
ering 6.5 rpg. Krumpe's status for this season is
still unknown, though, because she suffered a pos
sible ACL tear and is awaiting word from doctors
as to the extent of her injury. Rounding out the
starting five will be junior guards Bambi Lewis
and Norine Scida.
Head coach Roz Fornari said, "Our skill level at
both the guard position and post positions has im-
Sport: Men's Soccer
Class: Senior
bate: November 17, 2003
Jeff Morris (Renfrew/Butler High
School) was named this week's
Beacon/Housing and Food Athlete
of the Week
Morris, a senior defender, led a
defense that kept the NCAA de
fending champions scoreless
through 65 minutes of play when
Kevin Fiorenzo & Amy Frizzell
Sports Editor
Twenty-three players will return next season,
which has potential to he another memorable one.
Competition in the AMCC is expected to stiffen
next year with the addition of Hilbert College,
Medaille College and Mount Aloysius College to
the conference in all team sports.
hoops
for
proved from last year. Our post play will separate
us from other teams.-
Along with Krumpe, several other players have
suffered injuries in the pre-season. Sophomore
guards Danielle Freeburg and Jen Yaworsky both
suffered broken hands while sophomore forward
Shea Truby has a broken thumb. All three players
played a significant amount of minutes last sea
son and Fornari acknowledges that their injuries
create a weakness for the team.
"We haven't had everyone in practice since the
third day. We have lost some key players for sev
eral weeks and will need our depth as the season
goes on," said Fortiori.
While injuries will hurt the team, they are still
very confident that they will compete for the
AMCC crown.
Krumpe said, "This year we expect to repeat as
AMCC regular season champs, to host the tourna
ment, and to win the championship. We also plan
to make it into post season play, preferably the
NCAA tournament."
The Lady Lions will begin their quest for those
goals tonight against Waynesburg in the Behrend
Tournament. The women know that to win they
will have to play very hard the entire game.
"We need to step on the floor and give 100 per
cent for all 40 minutes of the game," said Krumpe.
"There cannot be any times when we lack desire
and heart, because those are the times we let down,
and we can't afford that."
Fomari said, "Even though we have a lot of ad
versity, I am confident we are going to do well.
We have dealt with it well up until now and I would
expect us to continue to get better."
Behrend played Messiah last
Friday in the second round of the
NCAA tournament. This was the
first-ever trip to the NCAA
tournament for the Behrend
men's soccer team.
Coach Dan Perritano said Morris
had a great career with the Lions
Morris was also part of the de
fense that helped to shut out
Frostburg when Behrend won the
AMCC championshp on Nov. 8.