Friday, May 4, 2007
Bears and
By Danielle Brown
sports editor
1/26/2007
On Feb. 4, 2007 the
Indianapolis Colts and
the Chicago Bears will
battle for the title of
Super Bowl XLI
champs.
The New Orleans
Saints and the Chicago
Bears played for the
NFC title. The Bears
started off the first half
of the game with three
field goals by kicker
Robbie Gould, and a
touchdown by running
back Thomas Jones to
give them a 16-0 lead over the Saints.
Before the end of the first half, Saints
quarterback Drew Brees threw a touch
down pass to wide receiver Marques
Colston, putting New Orleans on the
board.
In the second half, the Saints looked
like they had a chance when rookie
Reggie Bush caught an 88-yard pass
from Brees for a touchdown, giving the
Bears only a 16-14 lead. The rest of the
game was dominated by the Bears, who
added three more touchdowns and a
safety to their score, giving them a 39-
14 victory and the title of NFC
Champs.
This game was won by the Bears'
defense, who forced four turnovers and
more or less shut down the number one
offense in the NFL, the New Orleans
Saints. Other factors included quarter
back Rex Grossman's zero turnovers
and the two touchdowns and 123 yards
running by Jones.
The Indianapolis Colts and the New
Don't let the skirts fool you
The Behrend Lacrosse club huddles during a game
By Kara Struski
sports editor
4/6/2007
They may play in skirts, but the Penn State
Behrend women's lacrosse club is not afraid to run
hard and get dirty. "Armed with sticks, determina
tion and confidence, we are looking to improve last
year's record of 5-3," said co-captain Heidi
Brackbill.
The club, which currently consists of 25 women,
is in its second season as members of the Women's
Collegiate Lacrosse League (WCLL). The league is
the largest women's college club in the country and
it represents 39 schools from New York to lowa.
The teams in the league are divided between two
groups: an A-team or a B-team. The difference is
that A-teams have paid coaches and staff members
while B-teams do not have a non-playing coach.
Behrend is considered a B-team.
The Behrend lacrosse club is coached by two co
captains, senior Brackbill and sophomore Lindsay
Miller.
"We collaborate on teaching inexperienced play
ers, scheduling games, running practices and lead
ing the club during games," Brackbill said.
Since the club is entirely student-run, the captains
also manage the team's money for referee fees, trav
el feels and league dues. The Student Government
Association and Student Activity Fee provide fund
Colts meet in Miami for Super Bowl XLI
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Coaches Smith and Dungy are the first African -American head coaches in the
NFL to take their teams to a Super Bowl.
England Patriots fought hard for the
AFC title. The Patriots scored the first
points of the game when running back
Laurence Maroney fumbled a hand-off
from quarterback Tom Brady, which
was recovered by offensive lineman
Logan Mankins in the end zone for a
touchdown. The Colts answered this
touchdown with a field goal, making
the score 7-3 in the first quarter.
New England dominated the second
quarter, scoring two more touchdowns
and holding Indianapolis to only one
last field goal before the end of the half.
Going into the locker room, the Patriots
had a commanding lead of 21-6.
The Colts came into the second half
ready to fight back, scoring two touch
downs and a two-point-conversion to
tie the game 21-21. The scoring went
back and forth several times, tying the
game at 28 and 31. Then, with 3:49 left
in the game, Patriots kicker Stephen
Gostkowski put New England ahead
34-31 with a 43-yard field goal. The
ing, but for the most part this funding is extremely
limited.
The club has developed some creative fundrais
ing tactics to raise money for the club. For exam
ple, last Valentine's Day, the team set up a kissing
booth where a customer could receive a kiss on the
cheek and a Hershey's Kiss for a dollar. The ladies
also have several t-shirt and sweatshirt sales
throughout the year.
The club kicked off their season on Saturday,
March 24, with games against West Virginia
Wesleyan, Grove City College and Slippery Rock
University. They won two out of their three games
for the day. Miller has high hopes for the club after
the team's first few games.
"We are going to do well. We have some new
players that show a lot of potential, as well as a lot
of promising returning players," said Miller.
The team consists of both experienced and less
experienced players. While many players have
been playing since high school, there are several
who are completely new to the sport. The majority
of the fall semester consists of teaching rookies
stick skills and the rules of the game, so they are
prepared to play with the veterans before the season
begins in the spring.
Sophomore Courtney Mineweaser was new to the
sport of lacross last year. Mineweaser played bas
ketball in high school, she decided to try something
new in college.
"I came into this sport knowing nothing about it
but I had great teachers and now I love the sport,"
said Mineweaser. "It's amazing that only last year
we were a rookie team with several rookie players
and we ended up 5-3 in the league. We beat the
undefeated team [Kent State] in the last game of the
season."
The lacrosse club will play at home this month.
Due to inclement weather and poor field conditions,
the only home game at this time is scheduled for
Wednesday, April 18. Other home games are cur
rently being rescheduled. All home games take
place at the Behrend Fields and are 60 minutes long.
T-shirts will be raffled off and free food will be pro
vided to fans.
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the game,with exactly one minute left
to play.
Brady began driving down the field
with two timeouts left, when he was
intercepted by Sharon native Marlin
Jackson to seal the win for the Colts
who became the AFC Champions.
The wins for both the Bears and Colts
made history in the NFL. Chicago
coach Lovie Smith and Indianapolis
coach Tony Dungy are the first African-
American head coaches to take their
teams to a Super Bowl. After the Colts
victory, Dungy commented on this his
torical event saying, "I'm very proud
of being an African-American. I'm very
proud of Lovie." Smith also shared his
feelings stating, "Tony Dungy has done
an awful lot for our game. He hasn't
had a chance to coach in the Super
Bowl. I would love to see it."
Even though Dungy and Smith both
respect each other, they both have only
one thing on their minds--to win the
Super Bowl.
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Colts got the ball
back and began
to drive down the
field when a
roughing-the
passer call gave
them the ball on
New England's
11-yard line.
Quarterback
Peyton Manning
handed the ball
off to running
back Joesph
Addai three
times, and he
finally got into
the end zone to
put the Colts
ahead 38-34, for
the first time in
The Fornari factor
By Nicole Rafle
contributing writer
2/2/2007
"It's a lot of time, and a lot of effort, but in the
end it's always worth it," says Behrend's women's
basketball head coach, Roz Fornari. Fornari just
finished up her fourteenth season as head coach,
sealing over 243 victories. She gladly holds the
title of Behrend's all time leader in women's vic-
In her 14 seasons, Fornari clenched the 1995-
1996 ECAC Southern Region Championship and
has twice been the AMCC Tournament
Champions in the 1998-1999 and 2003-2004 sea
sons. To add to her list of accomplishments,
Fornari has been named AMCC Coach of the Year
by her peers four times.
"If it was up to me and the team, she would
have won again this year," said junior basketball
player Meagan Bielanin.
Fornari didn't start her career coaching at
Behrend, and she didn't start it by playing basket
ball. During her four years of college at Hofstra
University, Fornari played softball on a scholar
ship.
"Basketball was my passion, but softball was
how I was going to school," said Fornari.
During her junior season, Fornari became a stu
dent assistant to the basketball program. Fornari
completed graduate school at Alfred University,
becoming strongly involved with the basketball
program there.
After the completion of her graduate degree,
Fomari made her way to Behrend, where she
would become an institution for the basketball
program and start her long career within the walls
of Erie Hall.
"It's a small compact space," Fomari said. "I
didn't have to yell as hard."
With five years spent in Erie Hall, the original
gymnasium on the Behrend campus, the construc
tion of the Junker Center was a big deal. Fornari
explained that having a larger gym was good for
Hockey clinches playoff spot
By Danielle Brown
sports editor
2/2/2007
The Penn State Behrend Hockey
team won a hard-fought battle
against Pitt-Johnstown on Saturday,
Jan. 27 at the Mercyhurst Ice Arena.
This 4-2 win clinched a playoff spot
for the Lions in the College Hockey
East North Division. This was also
the first time in the team's history
that they beat Pitt-Johnstown.
The game started off with a goal
by junior forward Dan Thiessen,
putting Behrend up 1-0 in the first
period. Pitt-Johnstown answered
this goal ending the period with a
tied score of 1-1.
In the second period Pitt-
Johnstown scored another goal put
ting them in the lead 2-1.
Then, in the third period, forward
Brian Hammel scored a goal for the
Lions, tying
the game 2-2.
But, it was
senior forward
DJ Craven
who sealed the
win for Penn
State with two
goals in the
third period,
ending the
game at 4-2.
This game
Ryan Gallagher/THE BE HRE D BEACON
brought Behrend hockey players huddle during a recent game.
Craven's total
goals for the 2006-07 season up to throughout the rest of the season.
19, which is the second highest on Their next home game is sched
the team behind Chris Simanic's 23. uled for Friday, Feb 2 at 9:45 p.m.
The game was intense, due to sev- against Case Western
eral fi.hts and man •enalties. It
The Behrend Beacon I
was clear that both teams wanted to
prove to be the dominant team, but it
was Behrend who pulled off the win
and the playoff spot.
Aiding the victory was the latest
addition to the Lions, freshman
goalie Eric Thiessen. Theissen
recently transferred to Behrend from
Penn State New Kensington to play
hockey. He has brought skill and
teamwork to the team, helping to
take them to victory. Theissen has
played two games this season and
has won them both.
Assistant captain and vice presi
dent of the Behrend Hockey team.
Brysten Jones, talked about how the
spring semester has been a success
ful one thus far. "Starting off a new
semester 3-0 is a pretty big deal. We
came back to school knowing what
we had to accomplish to earn a play
off spot. Now we have to work hard
to bring back the league champi
onship,- Jones said. He is confident
that the teams success will continue
the team but harder on her voice. If she wanted to
talk to one of her girls on the other end of the
court, she had to scream to get their attention.
After several seasons of constant yelling and not
talking, it took a toll on Fornari's voice.
Fornari had strained her vocal chords over the
years of intense coaching. To fix the problem,
doctors went in and placed a voice enhancer under
the skin. The enhancer helps her to speak for a
long period of time without much strain.
Yet the problem isn't completely fixed, her
voice will still go after an intense game or a long
season. The off-season gives her time to rest.
However, Fornari does have some remedies to
help her through practices, games and lectures.
"I have a huge supply of gum and suckers
always on hand," said Fornari.
Fornari's voice has changed the way she speaks
to her team during games
"It's a way to keep calm, and by the time I get
to what I need to say, it comes out nicer," said
Fornari laughing.
Since she can not yell across the court when she
wants to critique something or suggest improve
ment, her team has to come to her. It allows for
time to get her point across.
Fornari is not just a staple in the basketball
community, but to the Behrend community as
well. Fornari and her team offer mini camps and
clinics in the off season.
They also make a huge effort to support the
mens' basketball program at Behrend, traveling
together and cheering each other on. Her hard
work and dedication at Behrend just keeps going.
"She helps each player individually and as a
team," said Bielanin. "She does an awesome job
of developing team unity every season."
Fornari has had an outstanding impact on the
basketball program. She continues to keep it
growing and becomes more successful with each
year. At the end of her fourteenth season, all
Fornari had to say was, "I can't wait for next
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