The Behrend beacon. (Erie, Pa.) 1998-current, September 06, 2002, Image 10

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    The Behrend Beacon
Behrend
Athletic
Events
Friday, Sept. 6
Women's Tennis
vs. Westminster, 3:30 p.m
Men's Soccer
@ Days Inn Tournament
vs. Juniata, Noon
Women's Soccer
@ Days Inn Tournament
vs. Buffalo State, 4 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 7
Women's Volleyball
@ Allegheny Tournament
9 a.m
Men's Soccer
@ Days Inn Tournament
vs. Fredonia, 2 p.m
Women's Soccer
@ Days Inn Tournament
vs. Fredonia, 4 p.m.
Women's Tennis
@ Allegheny, 9 a.m
Tuesday, Sept. 10
Women's Volleyball
CO Grove City, 6:30 p.m
Wednesday, Sept. 11
Women's Tennis
Hiram, 3 p.m.
Men's Soccer
W&J, 5 p.m.
.•
;Sept. 12
Women's Soccer
Thiel, 3:00 p.m.
Golf
@ Pitt-Greensburg, Noon
murals
Schedule
Tennis
Men's, Women's, & COED
Entries Due Friday,
Sept. 6
Schedules Posted By 9-10
Slow Pitch Softball
Men's, Women's, & COED
Entries Due Friday,
Sept. 6
Games Begin 9-10
Sand Volleyball
Men's, Women's, & COED
Entries Due Friday,
Sept. 6
Games Begin 9-10
Golf
Men's, Women's, & COED
Entries Due Friday,
Sept. 6
Event on 9-15
Cross Country
Men's, Women's, & COED
Entries due Friday,
Sept. 27
Includes Individual and
Team Competition
Races begin at 6 p.m. on
Monday, September 30
Flag Football
Men's, Women's, & COED
Entries due Friday,
Oct. .4
Games begin Oct. 8
Women's
prepared
There are two words that can be
used to describe this year's women's
soccer team: young and talented.
On an 18-player roster they have
12 freshmen and six sophomores,
making this year's team the young
est team in school history.
Usually such a young team brings
about a sense of doubtfulness and
gives more questions than answers.
But head coach Dan Perritano feels
it is a strength, not a weakness.
"The strength of out team is our
younger players," said Perritano.
"We keep improving each day."
Despite being a young team, the Li
ons are looking to improve upon last
year's 10-10-1 finish and add to
Behrend's amazing league record of
35-1. A fifth AMCC title appears to
be an attainable goal this year for
the Lions.
The team opened their season at
home last weekend in the Herb
Lauffer Memorial Tournament.
They were put to the test in their
first game of 2002, taking on Ohio
Northern, which they lost 1-7. It
didn't get much easier for the Lions
in their second game against Keuka
Nittany Lions jump all over UCF
Junior
by Scott Soltis
sports editor
The Penn State Nittany Lions kicked
off their season last week against the
Knights of the University of Central
Florida. The Lions are coming from
hack to back losing seasons for the first
time in head coach Joe Paterno's
illustrious career. Both of those
seasons the team lost its opener, that's
one streak that ended Saturday.
But the Lions defeated UCF 27-24
in a game that should not have been as
close as the final score.
The first quarter started with UCF
Matt Prater's 26 yard field goal to put
his team up 3-0. Penn State quickly
answered when junior quarterback
Zack Mills led the team on a 74 yard
drive, capped off by a strike to running
back Larry Johnson for a touchdown
that put the Lions in favor, 7-3.
Penn State added to this lead with a
Robbie Gould's 23 yard field goal
attempt, widening the gap at 10-3. At
the end of the quarter, the Lions' passing
par appeared unstoppable with Mills'
140 passing yards in the opening
period. Mills finished the game with
just under 200 yards due to more
conservative play calling the rest of the
game, and some passes that looked
tentative.
The second quarter was a forgettable
Friday, September 6, 2002
soccer
for 2002
College; they came up short, losing
2-3. Although they lost both games,
valuable lessons were learned which
will help the team out in the long
run.
"We learned we could compete
successfully," Perritano said.
One of the strengths of this year's
team is their never-give-up attitude,
a quality that will be a big boost in
every game that they play.
"We play hard and we play with
enthusiasm," said Perritano.
The team's chemistry is improv
ing and the team's identity is taking
shape. With every game, the team
should continue to improve and come
together,
But there are some areas of con
cern according to Perritano, "we're
pretty banged up and we have some
tactical flaws."
The Lions won their first game
Wednesday night against John
Carroll. University, shutting out the
Blue Streaks 1-0. Heather Crawford
scored the only goal for the Lion, and
brought their record to 1-2.
The Lions are in action again this
weekend at the Fredonia Tourna
ment.
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cker Derek
one for Penn State as they watched their
offense struggle and UCF's Prater hit
two more field goals. Prater hit an easy
32 yarder with nine minutes until
halftime, and also nailed a clutch 53
yard field goal with 1:09 left in the half.
At the end of two quarters, Penn State
had a mere one point lead.
The second half saw some brilliant
running by PSU senior Larry Johnson.
Johnson averaged 5.6 yards per carry on
his way to a 92 yard performance. The
team utilized their talented defense as
well with ball control in the third quarter.
The only freshman to make the Lions
roster this year, safety Calvin Lowry,
came up big in the third quarter as he
intercepted a Ryan Schneider pass that
would lead to Gould's 34 yard field goal.
Later in the quarter, another Johnson
would get his chance to score. Junior
wide receiver Tony Johnson caught a
21-yard pass from Mills to put his team
up 20-9 mid-third tmarter. The Penn
State defense held the rest of the quarter
to shut the Knights out.
Penn State continued their
momentum through the final quarter.
The special teams play by junior
linebacker Derek Wake was
phenomenal as he blocked a UCF field
goal early in the quarter. Penn State
marched the ball downfield with a
a pivit
Women's volleyball
is ready to rumble
Fall is just around the corner, and it's time to
shift gears to women's volleyball.
Excitement is thriving as the Penn State
women's volleyball team has started competi
tion in the 2002 season with a 3-3 (no confer
ence) record. The Lions opened 2002 with a
3-2 record in the Oberlin Tournament with the
semi-final loss. Behrend then evened their
record playing a tight game against Thiel last
Tuesday. Next up for the blue and white is the
Allegheny Tournament, hosted away this
week-end.
With only one senior remaining on the
team, Rose Boni, leadership will be a key ele
ment in boosting the team's confidence
throughout the season. This year's squad has
five upper classmen who will hopefully pro
vide vital skills and experience, and several
top freshman are entering the scene. Earning
spots on this year's team are juniors middle
hitter Lauren Senkevich (with 198 kills and led
the team with 30 block attempts), outside hit
ter Danielle Bemis (with 388 digs and 742
TAs). Newcomers include middle hitter Katie
Butler, outside hitter Patricia Adams, and out
side hitter and setter Jessica Long.
Skilled freshmen include setter Amanda
Evens, defensive specialists (DS) Elizabeth
Bello and Emily Gabrys, middle hitter Amanda
dire 4 '
'
Allel 1
A A.,11, 11 4,„
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~,,', ,
brilliant combination of rushing and
passing to score an 8 yard touchdown
on the option. Pounding it into the end
zone was 258-Ib. fullback Paul Jefferson,
giving the Lions 17 unanswered points
after halftime.
Penn State's secondary failed them on
some big third down plays, but held the
prolific Schneider to a single touchdown.
Until the middle of the fourth quarter the
secondary bend but did not break. After
that point it collapsed allowing UCF to
forge two successful touchdown drives
led by Schneider's passing. Fortunately,
Penn State recovered an onsides kick
with 24 seconds left to play and secured
the victory.
The game resulted in a win, but a
collapse in the secondary would be fatal
against Nebraska (B`h ranked team in the
nation) in two weeks. The less
convincing fourth quarter caused Penn
State's national rank to fall from 23'd to
25'h, even though they came away with
a victory.
The team showed promise and will be
put to the test in two weeks at Happy
Valley. If the Lions can send the
Cornhuskers home with a loss, then the
sky is the limit for Penn State football
this year.
by Zoe Rose
sports editor
-411
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Steinke, and outside hitter Erin Bennett. Add'
ing depth to the roster will be sophomore
outside hitter and setter Ashley Ordy and 13(
S Emily Waters.
"She has good leadership qualities as well
as having excellent court sense, so she will
lead both by her play and her enthusiasm,"
Diehl said, commenting on Boni's respon
sibilities as the only remaining senior. '
The game against Thiel revealed the ar
eas of improvement i n order to eam the Al
legheny Mountain Collegiate Conference
title. The Lions lost a very close match in
five games, 30-28, 27-30,18-30, 30-21, and
13-15.
One item that needs the most attention
is the Lions' freshmen setter, Evans.
"She has the potential to do very well here
and we're lucky to have her, she just needs
some experience to get a little more consis
tent," said Diehl.
" Winning three games at the Oberlin Tour
nament did help our confidence level and it
also showed us our strengths and weak
nesses," junior Katie Butler pointed out.
The Lions will travel to Allegheny this
weekend, followed by the last away match
at Grove City. The Lions will also attend
the Behrend Tournament September 13-14.
The blue and white play their first confer
ence game away against La Roche on Sep
(ember 17.
Housing
and
Food Service
Athlete
of the Week
PEN NSTAT E
...arctl Erie
t t n
Schut-heis
SPORT: Men's Cross
Country
CLASS: Sophomore
DATE: September 2,
2002
Tim Schutheis
(Latrobe/Greater
Latrobe) was named
this week's Beacon/
Food
and Housing Athlete
of the Week.
Tim finished second
overall this past Sat
urday at the Fisher
Cross Country
Invitational at
Westminster College.
He led the Behrend
Lions with a time
of 27:32, and led the
Behrend team to a
first place finish.
Housing and Food
Service Athlete of
the Week is selected
by the Sports
Information Staff.