BOOTERS SURPASS by Glenn Lammi The best word co des cribe the general outlook of this year's Hazleton soccer team would be transition. One would have a difficult time portraying this team differently, es pecially since head coach Tom Fitzwater lost seven starters from an exception al 4-6-1 1984 squad. How ever, through the early weeks of practice, the team showed more discipline and talent than initially ex pected. They responded well to Coach Fitzwater's posi tive attitude and his de mand for team spirit and hustle. Due to the low turnout of fifteen players, con ditioning became the key to a successful season. Early in practice, Fitzwater re placed the Usual long-dis tance running with on-the field sprinting and jog ging. When the season arrived, the players went back to running six miles a day, but most commented positively on the early sprinting. Sophomore halfback Mike Orlando dribbles past a Scranton defender As the season drew nearer, the coach and his players shared optimistic expectations. Both were certain that a winning sea son was at hand, and visions of making the play offs appeared in their heads. The team as a whole showed hustle and aggres siveness, both of which were absent in the last year's squad. The offense, piloted by sophomores Chip Winner (team captain) and John Baradziej, and fresh man Brian Baker, progres sively improved with prac tice. The defense had been slower in improving, mainly due to lack of experience. This problem had recently been somewhat offset with good performances from sophomore halfbacks Mike Orlando and Bill Shapiro, sophomore sweeper George Denger, and the surprising play of freshman Jim Kalin ovich. Vic Wymbs, in only his second season of orga nized soccer, became a con fident goaltender and a leader of the young defense unit. Coach Fitzwater and his players felt confident of the team's abilities, (photo by Paul Weaver) The PSU-Hazleton Lions had their first test of progress against an average PSU-Berks squad. The con ditioning paid benefits quickly and effectively as the Lions outhustled Berks in the first half. Hazleton took a 3-1 lead with'two goals from left wing Chip Winner (assists from Brian Baker and Bill Shapiro) and one from center halfback Brian Baker (assisted by Chip Winner), The momentum of the game changed at the fifteen minute mark of the second half when Hazleton missed a penalty shot. Af ter this, Berks roared back and sent the game into o vertime with two quick goals. The game ended in a disappointing 3-3 tie, with the Hazleton players feel ing they had played well enough to win. They seemed to lack any killer ins tinct, thus falling down in the second half. The Lions' frustrations continued in their second game against PSU-Scranton. The humid, 85-degree wea- Ladies Spikers Revived by Katie Wyker These past two Oars, Penn State's Hazleton cam pus could not find enough people to have a women's volleyball team. This year's team came back with a splash of victories making up for those dry years. Coached by Mr. Young with assistant coach Tim Dang, captain Melanie Zimmerman led the team to seven wins out of ten mat ches. With three games to every match, the team found that they played best under pressure. They played local com— munity colleges Alvernia and Luzerne, as well as Penn State campuses Wilkes— ther stowed both teams in the first half, but team captain Orlando admitted, "It was hot down on the field, but the team just wasn't hustling. We were playing -- laZy soccer." A short defensive breakdown led to the first half Scranton goal. The score remained 1-0 until Brian Baker scored on striker John Baradziej's assist with ten minutes remaining in the second half. Once again, neither team scored in overtime, and Hazleton's record went to an unins piring 0-0-2. The defense showed improvement in this game, but the offense sud denly lacked the ability to' deposit the ball in the net, scoring one goal out of a whopping forty-nine shots on goal. . Coach Fitzwater brought his traveling sports show of frustration home to Hazleton, hoping a game on native turf would shake (See SOCCER p. 12) Barre, Schuylkill, Berks, Mont Alto and York. Al though Hazleton campus was not in the, league, they beat. four of the five league teams. The team consisted of ten players. The setters were Melanie Zimmerman, Kim Graham and Lisa Shepps; the spikers were Melanie Zim merman, Leslie Leitzel, Denise Kaschak, Judy Zurin ski, Carol Brown, Dana Er tel, and the only freshmen on the team, Jennifer Lee and Kelly Higgins. We congratulate this year's women's volleyball team and hope that newt year the turn out is as good and the team is as successful.
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