Friday, October 7, 2005
Men’s water polo goes to the wire
By Kyle Woodside
staff writer/ kdw 1008@psu.edu
How ironic it was that Bchrcnd spirit towels
were given out at Wednesday’s men’s home water
polo contest against rival Gannon. This was appro
priate to the game because there seemed to be
plenty of spirit in the crowd, as well as in the pool.
Alter one quarter, the Knights jousted with the
Lions to a 1-1 tic. Behrcnd’s Andre Pranekcvieius
scored their only tally of the stanza and Gannon
countered shortly thereafter.
Gannon started things off with a quick goal to
tic it at two goals apiece, but Pranekcvieius netted
two more goals for the hat trick by halftime.
Bchrcnd looked good on defense with a 3-2 lead
at the break. Pranekcvieius’ second goal was “con
troversial." Many people pleaded with the refs
because they felt the goal wasn’t considered to be
fully in the net, but the real reason the goal was
debated over was because of the “seven-meter
foul" rule
“When you gel fouled at that distance, you are
supposed to ‘grab and shoot’ the ball in one
motion," said Coach Joe Tristan. “You are not sup
posed to hold the ball for a long period of time on
a seven-meter foul."
After halftime, the Knights countered with two
very quick goals to take a 4-3 lead. “These goals
changed the momentum,” Tristan said. Gannon
found the back of the net with 2:10 remaining in
the third period for a two-goal advantage before
Anthony Spoto scored on a penalty shot for the
Lions to cut the lead to 5-4.
The rest of the game was a back-and-forth scor
ing affair. Gannon scored again with 53 seconds
left in the third period, but Spoto answered with
10 seconds left to make it 6-5 in favor of Gannon
with one period to go.
A few clutch saves by goalie Leandro Azevedo,
one on a breakaway and another on a seemingly
wide open shot, seemed to give Bchrcnd the
momentum back. However, Bchrcnd committed a
costly turnover and Gannon took advantage to
make it 7-5 with 5:20 remaining in the contest.
Pranekcvieius scored yet again out of a timeout
called by Coach Tristan. The goal came only three
seconds after play was resumed.
“The timeout play was worked on in practice,”
Tristan said. “Basically, we had our top two
perimeter players swim across the net really hard
to clear out the defense so that our goalie could
pass it in to our best shooter [Spoto] so he had a
chance to drill it home and he did just that.”
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Gannon scored with 2:44 left on the most con
troversial play of the game. This caused Coach
Tristan to erupt from the bench and receive a yel
low card from the referee, which was a warning to
stop complaining about the calls or he would be
ejected from the game.
“The ref felt that our player w as holding the
Gannon player, but he didn't have the ball."
Tristan explained. "Our guy |Pranekcvieius] did
his best to put his hands up to show that he wasn't
holding their guy, but the ref called it anyways.
This was the only ejection I disagreed w ith the
whole game. It cost us because this was his third
ejection, meaning that he was not allowed to come
back into the game."
Behrend’s Roy Cho caught lire at the end of the
game when the Lions seemed like they were dead
in the water. Cho scored with 1:37 left in regula
tion, but Gannon quickly scored to cancel out that
goal. Cho scored again with 36 seconds left to
prove once again that these Lions are hungry for a
win. Cho had a chance to tie the game with 10
seconds left in the game, but his shot was blocked
by Gannon's goalie. The Knights then ran out the
clock for a 9-8 victory.
“It was a tough loss, but I was so proud of my
guys. Some apologized to me alter the game, but I
told them not to because they played their hearts
out. The only thing that really hurt us tonight was
our ejections. From when there was 1:10 left in
the second quarter until the end of the game, none
of Gannon’s goals came when we were playing six
on six. They all came when we were a man down.
I thought both our goalies played great. Conor
(Powers) had 10 saves and Leandro [A/evedo]
had nine saves. I was proud of our defense too
We played great while we were down a man, and
we had 11 steals overall. I think we’re getting
stronger, better and more confident because of our
hard work in the weight room and in the water.
Our bench is my MVP so far this year because
they have improved themselves by pushing our
first string to improve their skills as well. Without
my bench, we wouldn't be as competitive."
Behrend will play two rematch games to end
their regular season. They will travel to
Mercyhurst next Thursday and then play their last
home game of the season against Slippery Rock
on October 20 before the Division 111 Eastern
Championships on October 22-23.
"When we get to the championships, our hard
work should show up as wins," Tristan exclaimed
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The women's volleyball team gathers for a huddle in the middle of their mateh on Tuesday night.
Volleyball focuses on their sights
By Mathew Ttirner
stall writer/ mptsol4@psu.edu
Last week, after losing to Grove City. Coaeh
Phil Pisano had only one thing to say, “Our
sights are set on Saturday's mateh against
Altoona." The Lions knew how mueh of an
impact this game could have on the rest of
their season and rose to the occasion. In a
match that had AMCC championship potential
written all over it. Behrcnd easily rolled over
Penn State Altoona in three straight games 30-
24. 30-17. 30-18, improving their record to 14-
7 (2-0 AMCC).
Junior middle hitter Elaine Voltz led
Behrcnd. slamming 19 kills to go along with
three crucial blocks. Junior outside hitter Lisa
Wagner, fresh off of being named AMCC vol
leyball player of the w'cck. nailed 10 kills and
also had 10 digs. Fellow Junior outside hitter
Karla Murray recorded eight kills as well as
eight digs Freshman Brittany Hcnnessy lived
up to her reputation as the defensive speeialist
recording 14 digs.
Afterwards Pisano said. "Beating Altoona in
three games is a major accomplishment and
every player on the team contributed to this
win. We were coming off a bad loss two days
ago. but put that behind us and played a fan
tastic match. The players really did a great job
slaying focused and playing with intensity."
Golf team
By Kelly Houghton
staff writer/ kihs(X)o(i? , psu.edu
You don't have to know
what a birdie or bogey is to
realize that Patrick O'Connor
is obviously doing something
right as first year head coach
of the men's and women's
golf teams. In fact, according
to sophomore Alex Kiproff,
Coach O’Connor is doing an
“awesome job.”
Kiproff emphasized how
Coach O’Connor genuinely
looks out for the team.
“When we need something
while on the course, he gets it
for us.” Junior Josh Hull also
added that Coach O’Connor
urges the team to practice as
much as possible.
“With him as coach, we
already tied the school record
for wins,” said Hull. It’s evi
dent that success will follow
if you have a good coach.
However, when a coach is
given exceptional talent to
work with, a powerhouse of
golfers will unquestionably be
bom, and they have.
In relation to the 2005 sea
son, Hull believes, “The sea
son is going very well. So far
in our conference matches we
have had solid performances.”
Kiproff emphasized Hull’s
thoughts by adding, “I feel
that we can win every time.”
Evidence strongly supports
their statements, as the men
have finished first in two tour
naments and second, third and
fourth in their other matches.
You still have many chances to write for the Beacon
sports page. Submit your articles or ideas to sportsed
itor@psu.edu and get published right away.
nowhere near bunker
For those who are unfamil
iar with the game of golf.
even a third place finish is
commendable, seeing that
they finished third out of 11
teams. Kiproff also com-
mended freshmen Rick Davis
and Bill Weeks on their play.
“The rookies are showing
skill and have been a perfect
addition to the lineup,” said
Kiproff.
In action on Monday, your
Lions traveled to La Roche
University, winning the com
petition by beating out the
other 10 present teams.
Sophomores Alex Kiproff
and Dave Kostanich each shot
a 75, leading Behrend. This
victory awarded the men their
second first place finish of the
season.
Your blue and white found
themselves right back on the
road Tuesday afternoon as
they traveled to Meadville,
Pennsylvania in a tournament
at the Allegheny Gator’s
home. Although junior Josh
Loaney shot a notable 78, the
team finished much lower
than anticipated, closing the
day with a 10th place finish
out of 13 teams.
However, dwelling on the
past does nothing to improve
ones swing. This coming
Sunday, October 9, are the
AMCC Championships at
Penn State Altoona.
Emphasis now needs to be
placed on this competition.
Last year, your Behrend Lions
narrowly stole the AMCC
The Behrend Beacon I 9
Behrend continued on their quest for a con
ference championship Tuesday night at the
Junker Center against Hilbert. Playing nearly
llawless, the Lions cruised to victory in three
straight games 30-16, 30-17. 30-13 to stay
unbeaten in AMCC play (3-0).
Freshman defensive specialist Brittany
Hcnnessy had a solid night recording 10 digs,
five aces and three assists. Senior setter
Amanda Evans continued to lead by example
dishing out 30 assists, while tallying five aces.
Junior middle hitter Elaine Volt/ totaled eight
kills to go along with two blocks.
This marks the first time since 20(H) that
Behrend has started 3-0 in conference play and
Pisano knows where that puts his team. He
said, "Being undefeated in the conference puts
us in the driver scat. We don't have to worry
about what other teams do as long as we keep
taking care of our own matches. One of our
goals for the season is to host the AMCC
Championships and we'll continue to try to
make that a reality.”
Behrend begins a road trip on Saturday
when they travel to La Roche for another con
ference match. The Lions then play on
October 11 at Fredonia and on the 12 at Lake
Erie. Behrend returns home Saturday, October
15 when they will host Pitt-Greensburg and
Buffalo State.
crown from Penn State
Altoona. Behrend has already
won a match this year on
Altoona’s course, finishing Ist
out of 11 teams. The men ate
expecting to keep that past
momentum rolling this com
ing weekend in hopes of
grasping another first place
finish. “For this season, we
plan on defending our AMCC
Championship title and plac
ing well in the ECAC’s." said
Kiproff.
Although it is exceedingly
difficult for the women’s team
to compete as intensely as the
men, given that many AMCC
schools do not have a
women’s team, they are still
creating a mark this season.
With only four members on
the team, senior Kellie
Engstrom and sophomore
Hilary Neal have become
great upperclassman leaders,
according to O’Connor.
Two new freshmen. Ashley
Lanton and Courtney
Minewcaser, form the other
half of the 2005 squad.
“Ashley Lanton has been a
great surprise in her golf
game and her work ethic,”
said O’Connor. Coach
O’Connor also noted that
Hillary, Kellie and Courtney
all played very well at The
Behrend Invitational, which
took place at Peek ‘n Peak
Resort this September. Coach
O’Connor commended their
play, believing that “they are
improving everyday.