Spring Soccer Season Kickers out to "have fun", improve. by Matt Plizga Sports Editor Although the Behrend soccer programs compete in the fall, the spring season is crucial to the teams' development. "The spring season is all about having fun and improving as a player" said Coach Dan Perritano. Both the men's and women's teams have competed in several games this spring. The men have played such competition as Mount Union, Allegheny and Laßoche while the women have faced Edinboro, Allegheny, and Gannon. The spring season for both teams will finish up this Saturday at the Slippery Rock "Sevens" Tournament. The weekend's tournament will feature some tough competition for Behrend. Division I teams like Robert Spring in Their Steps: The Penn State Behrend Lady Lion Soccer Team is right in the midst of their spring season of soccer. The Lady Lions will be challenged against Edinboro and Gannon in the upcoming weeks. Dan the man! Soccer coach Dan Peritano shows off his leg booming a soccer ball downfield. Peritano is currently leading his team into spring competition. Behrend will play in the Slippery Rock "Sevens" Tournament this weekend. Morris, Duquesne, Youngstown Sate and Bowling Green will combine with Division II powers Geneva, Slippery Rock, and California to provide a challenge for the Lions. The result's aren't stressed, it's just a chance to play... --Coach Peritano The women's team will begin play on Saturday at 8:00 against Duquesne. They will return to action at 9:30 when they face Edinboro. The third of Behrend's five games will be played against Mercyhurst at 11:00. The Lady Lions will then face Frostburg State at 12:30 before finishing off against Bowling Green at 2:00. "The results aren't really stressed, it's just a chance to play, have fun and define some roles" said Perritano. In men's action the Lions will start play at 10:00 against the University of California. After an hour and a half break Behrend returns to action to face Rock Club. The men will then conclude the tournament with back-to-back games against Pitt-Bradford and a team of Gannon Alumni. The first game will begin at 1:00. As the spring season comes to a close Coach Perritano can hardly hide his excitement. "Both teams have excellent recruiting classes coming in and a strong core of players returning" said Perritano. Let's Play: The spring Penn State Behrend Men's Soccer Season is underway as the Lions prepare for next year's action. Perritano wants the players to have fun and also learn as the season progresses. Golf team by Matt Plizga Sports Editor The Behrend golf team continued its spring action on Monday, taking place in the Lone Pine Invitational hosted by Washington and Jefferson. The Lions, led by first year coach John Gorman, placed fifth in the tournament just three strokes out of third place. The host team W & J won the tournament by shooting a 418. Behrend fell twenty strokes behind with a 438. "We could have shot better. The greens were tough to putt on, that hurt our score a little bit" said Gorman. Tennis team wins two more by Lloyd Dauber Collegian Stiff After scraping through the toughest part of the season at a respectable 2-3, Coach Keenan figured the rest of the season would be smooth sailing. However, the well-oiled Behrend tennis team hit a few pot-holes on it's journey. With the strong play of Freshman stand-outs Jeff Powell and Wes Miller, the Netters climbed to a 4-3 record with wins against Fredonia and Waynesburg. "Wes and Jeff played superior tennis during this stretch," commented Head Coach Chuck Keenan. Ryan Meroski also had a big day against Fredonia. After controlling his singles match with ease, he teamed with fellow captain Art Faix to close out the first doubles match. Ryan was the only double winner of the day. Junior Mike Stadfield also made his first appearance of the year in the line-up and responded with an impressive victory. With all this momentum present, the Lions looked to make some serious waves in their invitational tournament. They also hoped to improve on last year's third place finish. Tennis is so much fun! Coach Chuck Keenan does a little teaching to a couple of unhappy tennis players. Keenan is currently leading the men's tennis team through their spring season. He also coaches the women's tennis team in the fall. Thursday, April 17, 1997 The Behrend College Collegian - Page places fifth Freshman Brad Waldbaum was low-medalist for the Lions with an 83. "Brad has played very consistent for us" said Gorman. Bethany's Dave Koster was the low-medalist for the tournament with a score of 79. Waldbaum's score placed him seventh individually at the tournament. Senior Dave Koster fired an 85 giving him yet another top ten finish in his career. Koster will finish his golfing career at Behrend this weekend. Fortunately for all golfers they have been blessed with fairly good weather. "It was a nice course and beautiful weather. I hope it The Behrend Lions faced a tough Rnhestel._ Institution of Technolody team in.the first round. The format for the entire tournament was four matches and one doubles match. This format should have helped the Lions with their strong singles line-up. However, the only match the Lions could manage to win was the lone doubles match. Freshman Phil Defabio and Faix (re-united from their high school days in Warren) were never challenged in a convincing victory. However, the team still fell 4-1. With the loss, the Lions fell to the losers' bracket to play Alfred. Problems continued in singles as Wes Miller claimed the only victory. Defabio and Faix kept their perfect record alive with the strong win in doubles. With the loss to Alfred, the Lions battled Waynesburg for last place. They won 5-0 to move to 5- 6 on the year. "We hoped to come out of our tournament with a better showing," declared Wes Miller. Coming off a Saturday filled with tennis, the Netters were forced to play future division rival Frostburg State on Sunday. "The team was noticeably sluggish, their level of play had dropped significantly," reasoned atW&J remains that way for this weekend's tournament" said Gorman. The golf team will end its spring season this Saturday when they host the Penn State-Behrend Invitational. The tournament will be played at the nearby Riverside Golf Club. Tee time to start the tournament is set for 12:15. te-B - hrend Penn S Waldbaum 83 Koster 85 Grady 85 Shellito 92 Scevin 93 Keenan Wes Miller showed his resilielice as he toughed out a solid victory. , "I was playing on pure adrenaline, I wouldn't let myself get tired," described Miller. This victory inspired Jeff Powell and Ferroz Rahman, who both posted victories. Wes and Jeff teamed to win at second doubles. However, it wasn't enough as the Netters fell 5-4 to their foes from Maryland. This left the Lions at 5-6 heading into another tough section of their schedule. They suffered 8-1 and 7-2 losses to Edinboro and Baldwin- Wallace, respectively. Mike Stadfield gained the lone victory in the Edinboro defeat. "This is one of the toughest teams we'll see all year, I had to take my game to to a new level to earn this victory,' explained Stadfield. The Lions now stand at 5-8 heading into a dual match with Fredonia and the weekend tournament in Rochester. These five matches will be quite difficult but Chuck Keenan believes his team is ready. "We've had ups and downs, but I'm pleased with the heart this team has shown and I feel confident that we can end this season on a high note," decided Keenan.
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