SPORTS
8 I Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2008
THE
▼LINEUP
CALENDAR homejaway
Men’s Soccer vs. Akron
7, tonight, Jeffrey Field
QUICK HITS
ACHA DIVISION I
Former leers captain
returns as assistant
Bill Downey knows what a
national cham
pionship team
looks like: he's
been on three of
them. During
his time as a
playmaker for
the ACHA
Division I leers,
Downey earned
a team captain Downey
title; but now,
he's trying to lead the team in a dif
ferent way.
Serving as an assistant coach for
the leers, Downey is enjoying
spending time with the players
while trying to get the best out of
them at the same time. The players
admire his experience, but it's his
zest for the sport that keeps the
leers excited.
► For more coverage | Page 12.
Men’s XC confident
heading into Big Ten
Despite a disappointing start to
its season, the Penn State men's
cross country team has turned the
season around and is finally looking
forward to the Big Ten champi
onships.
In years previous, other schools
didn’t have to worry about Penn
State come Big Tens, but the ath
letes on this year's team feel they
are a force to be reckon with.
The Nittany Lions are also riding
a wave of momentum after upset
ting then-No. 28 Villanova in their
last outing.
For more coverage
www.psucolleglan.com
Undefeated record
not distracting team
At the halfway point in its Big Ten
schedule, the Penn State women's
volleyball team remains undefeat
ed and is positioned at the top of the
conference rankings
Though their
record remains
perfect, coach
Russ Rose is
remaining vigi
lant, and the
Nittany Lions
are looking for
ways to improve
on weaknesses,
including serv- Rose
ice errors and
slow starts to matches and they
move into the season's end.
For more coverage
www.psucollegian.com
OUR THOUGHTS
-V \,.n A A
Coaching changes
could come for Vols
With iy Willingham and Tommy
Bowden already out of jobs, the
coaching carousel is in full swing,
and the next victim could be one of
the faces of college football.
Philip Rilmer, the man who
coached Peyton Manning and
brought a national title to
Tennessee, is fighting for his job in
Knoxville. Rilmer has the
Volunteers sitting at 3-5 this year,
and in danger of missing a bowl
game. In the rugged SEC, coming
back to post a winning record will
be a tough task.
Even if Rilmer works a miracle
and gets the Vols to a bowl, there is
no doubt Tennessee is no longer a
national power, and the time may
have come for the program to
move on.
TRIVIA
Q: Who is the first Alaska
native to play in the NHL?
Tuesday’s answer Yogi Berra
has played the most career games
in World Series history.
Beaumont gets another honor
Indiana and Michigan over the week- Beaumont is the only defensive
end. This marks the second time the player to receive the weekly honor
senior has won the award this season, multiple times this season, with her
Senior goalkeeper Jen Beaumont and the fourth time in her career. first coming on Oct. 13. Alexandra
received a congratulatory text mes- “I think she deserves every award Quinn, a senior forward for
sage from assistant coach Annie she earns,” senior midfielder AllieScola Northwestern, is the only person to
Zinkavich Monday afternoon saying said. “I mean, she kept us in the game win the offensive honor twice this year,
‘vou are my hero ’ this weekend. She saved saves that Scola is the only other Nittany Lion
On Monday, the Penn State field probably 99 percent of goalies in college tote recognized by the Big Ten, receiv
hockey team’s goalkeeper was named could not save, so I think she’s just having the weekly award the same day
the Big Tten defensive player of the ing an awesome year and she deserves Beaumont won her first of the season
week for her performances against every award that she’s getting.” “She’s definitely deserving of the
By Jocelyn Syrstad
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER | jess2lo@psu.edu
Assistant coach James Walker stands on the new soccer practice field recently constructed behind Jeffrey Field.
Shorthanded Lions to face No. 2 Zips
By Matt Fortuna
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER | mjfs2l7@psu.edu
Assistant coach Ryan Defibaugh
knew his team’s game against Akron
would be challenging.
After all, the Zips enter Jeffrey Field
tonight as the No. 2 team in the nation.
But mak
ing things Man’s Soccer
more diffi- - »
cult for the « noma
Penn State 7 tonight
men s soccer .
team (4-9-1) Jeffrey Field
is the fact it
will be with
out two of its midfielders. .
Frank Costigliola and Matheus
Braga will both be out tonight when
the Nittany Lions face off with the Zips
(13-1-2) at 7 p.m.
Costigliola is forced to sit out after
receiving his fifth yellow card of the
season at Wisconsin Sunday.
Braga was the recipient of a contro
versial red card the same game.
The junior spat and it landed on a
Wisconsin player, although both Braga
and the coaching staff didn’t think it
was intentional.
Luckily for Defibaugh, tonight’s
game is an out of conference affair
that can’t hurt the Lions in the stand
ings.
“We’ll be without some players ...
but it’s important these guys will be
Deon Butler evades an Illinois defender Donsay Hardeman on Sept. 28.
.. For an Audio Slideshow:
www.psucolleglan.com
back for the next conference game,”
Defibaugh said. “As much as we
wanna come out and see Akron and
play very well, it’s not a conference
game.”
That should help the Lions, as they
realize their only way of making the
NCAA tournament will be by winning
the Big Ten tournament.
With a pair of Big Ten games follow
ing tonight, the team hopes it can get a
head start on its conference tourna
ment competition in full-tact.
That’s why Vincent Salvatico feels
Penn State has “nothing to lose”
tonight.
The junior forward sees this game
as an opportunity to improve the
team’s confidence.
He feels if other players can step up,
it will serve as a big momentum boost
for the squad.
“We just gotta go out and play with
pride and just do all that we can do to
try and turn it into a good result,”
Salvatico said.
“It’s just a matter of certain people
stepping up and doing what they’re
asked to do and just filling in as best
they can.
“It’s definitely a benefit that it’s not
a Big Ten game.”
Despite being unable to play,
Vincent Salvatico (20) jumps over a Michigan State defender earlier this
season. The Lions face No. 2 Akron at Jeffrey Field tonight.
Costigliola and Braga have still prac
ticed and done all they can to make
their presence felt throughout the
week.
Costigliola said both he and Braga
have been helping the team get pre
Butler aiming for title
to cap off final season
Editor’s note: This is the second in
a four-part series featuring Penn
State wide receivers coach Mike
McQueary and three of the Nittany
Lions’ senior wide receivers.
By Andrew Wlble
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER | ajwsoso@psu.edu
It was just minutes before arguably
the biggest game of his career.
With his Big Ten and national cham
pionship dreams just moments away
from being put to its stiffest test, Deon
Butler gathered Penn States receivers
and defensive backs signs of his
present and past around him in the
southwest comer of Ohio Stadium.
Then suddenly, just before taking the
The Daily Collegian
recognition this past week and she’s
really been playing well,” Penn State
coach Char Morett said. “She does an
outstanding job of keeping us in
games.”
Since conference play began,
Beaumont has allowed only one goal,
which came against lowa on Oct. 10.
The goalkeeper has nine shutouts this
season, six of which were an individual
effort.
See BEAUMONT, Page 12.
Practice
facility
benefits
program
By Matt Fortuna
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER | mjfs2l7@psu.edu
As exhausting as it may sometimes
be, Ryan Badaracco now looks for
ward to going to practice every day.
The running, conditioning and sim
ulated playing all of which can get
repetitive from time to time have
been met with a refreshing feel to
Badaracco and his men’s soccer team
mates this season.
“You don’t see anything like this
when you go to other schools,” the
senior midfielder said.
“It gets us excited to come out Find
practice.*’
Badaracco is talking about the
team’s new practice fields, which lie
parallel to Jeffrey Field.
Having previously practiced on the
smaller field in front of Jeffrey Field
and on the school’s old baseball field
Beaver Field the Nittany Lions
were cleared to practice on their new
field during the week of Sept. 1.
The field has come as a long over
due gift, as it now helps inject the
team with an extra jolt of energy and
See PRACTICE, Page 12.
pared for Akron in practice by simulat
ing formations their opponent may
potentially run during the game.
“When you’re outta a game, you just
try to help out any which way we can
and help the team together,” he said.
field for final pregame warm-ups, the
often soft-spoken Butler unleashed a
fury of emotion.
“Let’s go,” Butler shouted. “We are
Penn State. We are not normaL We are
legends, a’ight? People will tell their
kids about us, a ight? We are not nor
mal. We are Penn State.”
For Butler it was his way of helping
his teammates prepare for the hostile
environment they were just moments
away from entering.
It was his way of using his experi
ence as a four-year starter to serve as a
leader for his inexperienced team
mates.
It was his way of making sure every'
one was ready to do whatever was
asked to keep the Nittany Lions’ per-
See BULTER, Page 10.