The Daily Collegian
Cost’s sacrifices paying dividends
By Andrew Robinson
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
In a few months, Drew Cost
hopes his name will be called by
an MLS team.
A few months
ago, Bob MEN S
Warming told SOCCER
Cost he would
have to change
his entire game if Cost wanted to
be a professional.
“I give Drew a lot of credit
because Drew has sacrificed part
of himself to make our team bet
ter,” Warming said. “Drew has
sacrificed his desire for being an
attacker for being more of a work
er in the middle.”
Cost, a senior co-captain on the
Penn State men’s soccer team
was in position to act as the
Nittany Lions’ attacking midfield
er and focus mainly on his offense.
However, he has changed his
game to take on more of a defen
sive presence and it’s paid off for
the Lions so far.
The senior is still posting num
bers, with a goal and four assists
through the first seven games of
the year. A crafty player in the
middle, Cost is making the most of
Dantonio back with Spartans, to coach from box
heart attack less than two weeks
ago after the Spartans defeated
Notre Dame.
Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio said == '
Dantonio couldn’t remain down he’ll gradually FOOTBALL
for long. work his way ==
Dantonio will be in a coaching back into his
box for the Spartans’ home game coaching duties, similar to how an
against Wisconsin Saturday. The injured player would work his way
Michigan State coach suffered a back during recovery.
“As an injured player, I guess
you could say I’m day to day,”
Dantonio said. “So that’s how I’m
going to take it, and I’m going to
allow the people that surround
me to evaluate my progress, but
I’m moving forward.”
Watching his team on TV was
an experience Dantonio called
surreal. The experience allowed
him to see his team from a differ
ent perspective, something he
considers healthy because he
could assess play differently.
Dantonio thanked everyone
concerned for him the past week
and a half, especially fans, previ
ous players and coaches.
Offensive coordinator Don
Ai Gold's/Associated Press Treadwell served as interim head
Dantonio walks off the field. coach in Dantonio’s absence.
By Brendan Monahan
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
Physical play a staple in Big Ten soccer games
By Alex Angert
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
Defender Bri Hovington sprint
ed downfield toward her own goal
as the ball was heading out of
bounds. Mich-
igan State’s
Olivia Stander WOMEN S
trailed a step SOCCER
behind.
As soon as
Hovington caught up to the ball to
make sure it went out of play and
give Penn State possession,
Stander caught up to the Lion
defender and knocked her over.
And just like that, Hovington was
on the ground, the referee stuck a
hand in his pocket and the
Spartan forward had herself a yel
low card.
Hovington was far from the first
player to end up on the ground
and Stander wasn’t the first or
last player to receive a booking
from the referees in each teams’
Big Ten opener on Sunday.
However, this was no surprise
to anyone going into the show
down as conference games mean
play starts to get a lot more phys-
No better time for sports than the month of October
By Jared Shanker
By the time you pick up
this newspaper, skip over
the front page without a
glance and furi
ously flip right to
this column, the
countdown to
October will offi
cially be under 48
hours
No, I’m not
counting down to
Halloween
sweets, the
breathtaking
State College amber foliage or
the Republic of Cyprus’
Independence Day. (Yes, there is
such a country, and yes, I had to
use Wikipedia to find it.)
I’m counting down to the MLB
playoffs, pumpkin pie, the meat
of the college football season,
pumpkin pie, Midnight Madness
and, of course, pumpkin pie.
MY OPINION
And while I could write a
lengthy column on my unhealthy
obsession with that fall treat,
this one centers around the fact
no month is better for sports '
fans than October.
his chances and almost had a sec
ond goal Friday but his shot
curved just above the crossbar.
Going back to that early season
conversation with his coach, Cost
remembers being put to task.
“He challenged me at the begin
ning of the year to play a lot
tougher defensively, more like a
two-way midfielder,” Cost said.
“Cover more ground, work harder,
be more vocal, be a better leader. I
took that to heart and I’m really
trying to work on that stuff and I
think I’ve done well so far.”
At first, Cost said it was a little
difficult to sacrifice some of the
things he wanted to do but once he
realized it was what the team
needed, he was fine with it. Junior
midfielder Mackenzie Arment
said seeing Cost make those
changes proves just how versatile
the senior is.
After being named as a captain
last spring, Cost’s leadership has
caught the eye of his teammates.
“He definitely leads us and
gives us pointers and he keeps
everyone accountable,” Arment
said.
“He leads by example but he’s
definitely picked up the vocal lead
ership.”
ical and increase in speed.
“I said to the referee before the
game to expect it to be physical
because all of these Big Ten
teams are,” coach Erica Walsh
said. “I think we responded very
well in our battling mentality.”
Players pushed and shoved
from the opening whistle with
frustration, tempers and intensity
increasing as the game went on.
On the sidelines, coaches jawed
with the referees after a number
of controversial whistles which
came early and often against both
teams.
By the end of the game, four
yellow cards were handed out and
three of them were given to Penn
State players.
And while some of the fouls and
penalties called could have gone
either way, there was no denying
the added physicality during the
entire match.
“We definitely knew it was
going to be like that,” senior
Megan Monroig said. “That’s how
we play. I think that’s one of the
reasons why they actually got rid
of the [conference] tournament
because people go so hard and
As the MLB season comes to
a close, three races are still
unsettled with five games left.
As I’m sure many of the stu
dents here are aware of, only a
half-game separates the
Yankees and Rays in the
American League East stand
ings.
And standing in the way of a
second straight division title for
the Yanks: the Red Sox, who
host the Yanks for three in
Fenway to close out the season.
The AL is also witnessing a
three-team race for home-field
advantage. The Yankees, Rays
and Central champion Twins are
all within a game of each other
entering Tuesday. Home field
could very well be the deciding
factor between who goes to the
World Series and who spends
the second half of the month
shanking tee shots into said
foliage. The Yankees and Twins
along with the Tigers lead
the AL with 52 home victories.
The Rays are built to play on the
turf of TYopicana Fiel
In the National League, the
West will be decided on the final
weekend when the Giants and
SPORTS
Warming said he expects his
captains to first focus on doing
what needs to be done individually
for the team, then helping every
body else. Now that Cost has
accepted his role and settled in to
it, he’s started to help his team
mates do the same.
Warming has sent plenty of
players on to the professional level
and he realized Cost wouldn’t fit in
the MLS as an attacking midfield
er. It’s not because Cost lacks the
skills, but the designated player
rule in the MLS allows teams to
bring in foreign players with a
minimal hit on the salary cap.
Instead, Warming told Cost he
could keep his technical abilities
but become the hard worker set in
behind the attacker. That message
and the way Cost embraced it has
not only helped the Lions off to a 5-
2-0 start but also put the senior in
a good position for his own future
playing soccer with the MLS
Super Draft awaiting in January.
“He’s bought into it and it’s
helped our team now,” Warming
said.
“It’s going to help him in the
future.”
To e-mail reporter: adrso79@psu.edu Cost (8) unleashes a header.
“He’ll continue to serve in that
responsibility when it’s needed,”
Dantonio said.
Spotlight on Claybom
When asked to assess the play
of lowa defensive end Adrian
Claybom this season, Hawkeyes
coach Kirk Fterentz simply said he
has done well.
Clayborn has experienced
many double teams, and that
attention has led to other lowa
linemen stepping up, like Mike
Daniels, who has 18 total tackles,
three more than Claybom.
Perentz said double teams are
a part of the game, and his star
defensive end is simply a player
other coaches will focus their
ggmeplans on.
“He’s going to attract a little
more attention maybe than he did
two years ago,” Ferentz said.
“That’s a part of being a good
football player, and I think he’s
dealing with it very well.”
Robinson ready to go
Last season gave glimpses of
Michigan quarterback Denard
get hurt right before NCAAs.”
Along with the four cards given
out, there wound up being 27 total
fouls called —l4 for the Spartans,
13 for the Lions and it was only
fitting the game would be won on
a penalty kick. However, this is a
significant increase compared to
earlier in the season.
Through the nine non-confer
ence games Penn State played
before Sunday’s match, the Lions
averaged only seven fouls and
their opponents averaged nine.
If the conference opener
against Michigan State is any
indication of things to come, this
upcoming weekend’s showdown
against Ohio State should be even
worse, judging by the two teams’
history together.
Last year, Penn State recorded
16 fouls against the Buckeyes and
had three bookings, one of which
was a red card.
After her own team’s opener
against Michigan, Ohio State
coach Lori Walker also noticed
the added physicality of Big Ten
play and attributed it to all of the
teams’ similar strengths.
“I think sometimes you are just
Padres meet for a three-game
set in San Francisco.
While baseball is great, let’s
be honest, football is king in this
country, and October signals the
real start of the college football
season. There are no patsies on
deck for the Top 25 teams in
October, and there probably
won’t be a better Saturday all
season than this upcoming one.
No. 22 Penn State travels to
lowa City to face the team that
has knocked the Nittany Lions
out of the national title hunt the
last two years, and No. 17 lowa
is 7-2 against the Lions under
coach Kirk Ferentz. No. 1
Alabama and No. 7 Florida, win
ners of three of the last four
national titles, square off in
prime time. No. 8 Oklahoma and
No. 21 Texas meet in the Red
River Shootout a don’t care if
it’s politically incorrect, I refuse
to call it the Red River Rivalry),
and No. 4 Oregon hosts No. 9
Stanford.
College basketball is set to
begin, too, with Midnight
Madness starting in two weeks.
In anticipation of the first day
teams can practice, college stu
Robinson, which allowed
Wolverines coach Rich Rodriguez
to.come to a conclusion.
While criticism of Rodriguez
and the program ran rampant in
2009, Rodriguez said he knew the
potential of Robinson and his
other young players.
“We knew he was going to be an
outstanding player,” Rodriguez
said.
Robinson has exceeded expec
tations. He gained 1,419 yards of
total offense in four games but left
Saturday’s game against Bowling
Green with an injured left knee.
Robinson is expected to play at
Indiana this weekend.
Wolverines backup quarter
backs Tate Forcier and Devin
Gardner substituted for the
injured Robinson. The offense
managed to be productive without
its starting quarterback, a posi
tive sign for a team that may have
seemed dependent upon his abili
ty to take over a game
“I’d rather not have it that way,”
Rodriguez said.
To e-mail reporter: bjmsl46@psu.edu
going to see a more physical
game because from top to bottom
almost all of our rosters in the Big
Ten have a lot of equality,” Walker
said. “I think it’s true of all centre
backs and Penn State's centre
backs, they know how to play. And
so it winds up becoming a physi
cal battle because the matchups
are so similar.”
The Ohio State coach said dur
ing non-conference play, a lot of
the teams aren’t stacked up the
same athletically, which leads to
mismatches.
However, that won’t be the case
on Sunday when the Lions and
Buckeyes meet as both teams
fully expect yet another hard
fought, rough game.
And just like the previous week
end’s game, Penn State wants to
come out with another solid bat
tling effort.
“I think we set the tone for [the
Michigan State] game,” Monroig
said.
“And hopefully we ll do the
same thing and have the same
attitudes Sunday.”
To e-mail reporter: adal47@psu.edu
dents will stay up way past their
bedtimes to celebrate the start
of the season by partying in bas
ketball arenas across the coun
try. (The Bryce Jordan Center
need not stay open past normal
operating hours.) It isn’t exactly
March Madness, but Midnight
Madness and October come
before March, well, in a basket
ball sense at least.
In the NFL, we separate the
contenders from the pretenders.
We’ll see if the Chiefs are legit
AFC West contenders with con
secutive road games against the
Colts and Texans. We’ll see how
the Steelers respond to having
Big Ben back at quarterback
after a potential 4-0 start. We’ll
see if the Cowboys and Vikings
are just suffering from a slow
start (cut Brett Favre some
slack, it takes time for his 84-
year-old body to heat up) or real
ly just aren’t that good. Mess up
in October and it might not mat
ter what happens in November
and December.
Next week, the NHL drops the
puck on its 93rd season, and
Penn State is near the top of the
hockey world after announcing
Wednesday, Sept. 29,2010 I 9
Hurd
hoping
to return
By Andrew Robinson
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
Emily Hurd has been doing a
lot of watching from the sideline
this season, and she isn’t happy
about it.
But for now,
the freshman WOMEN S
midfielder can SOCCER
only watch her
teammates go
through the rig
ors of practice
and compete in
games while
recovering from
a stress fracture
in the fifth
metatarsal in
her right foot
After being
out for so long, Hurd just wants
to get back and help out Penn
State women’s soccer.
“I’m keeping my hopes up that
I can get in some games before
the season ends,” Hurd said.
“It’s very frustrating because
I’ve been here for so long.”
She first suffered her injury in
mid-July during preseason
training and thought she would
be back by the team’s trip to
Portland Sept. 10-12. However,
the stress fracture took longer
than expected to heal and the
freshman has been confined to a
walking boot the last few weeks.
Hurd said Tuesday that she’s
been using crutches, along with
a more protective gray boot to
keep pressure off her foot and as
a result, her foot feels better. At
the moment, Hurd said she was
n’t sure if it’s gotten worse, but
said she has a doctor’s appoint
ment next Wednesday.
“It honestly takes time for the
bone to heal. Once the bone’s
healed then you can ease into it,”
Hurd said. “The way I did it was
I put cleats on too early and
when you have those pressure
points of cleats pounding down
so much and then going to the
cleats right after just being in
the boot, that’s what I think re
injured it.”
The coaches had hoped Hurd,
a left-footed outside midfielder,
would be a contributor early on.
While the injury is in her non
dominant foot, Hurd said her
right foot is her plant foot and
just as important as she tries to
not solely rely on her left foot.
Lions coach Erica Walsh said
Hurd has the ability to provide
good service from the outside,
an area of play that hasn’t been a
strength so far.
“She could really help us, but
it’s a four-year investment,”
Walsh said. “She’s had a good
attitude about it and all I can say
is we’re really anxious to get her
back”
Hurd has remained positive
through the injury and has sup
ported her teammates through
the struggles of the early season.
Walsh said there’s a possibility
Hurd may redshirt, but the
coach is still hoping for a return.
After missing all of the non
conference schedule and the
first Big Ten game, time is run
ning out for Hurd to get back and
get into playing shape. The
thought of losing the year to
injury is looming over the fresh
man, but she is trying to avoid it.
“I think there’s a definite pos
sibility but I’m trying not to think
about that right now,” Hurd said.
“I’m just trying to think about
me being able to play as soon as
I can.”
To e-mail reporter: adrso79@psu.edu
the building of a new hockey
arena and the addition of
Division I men’s and women’s
hockey programs. It also doesn’t
hurt Pennsylvania has been rep
resented in the last three
Stanley Cup finals-. (Have Flyers
fans forgiven Michael Leighton,
yet?).
In arguably the most antici
pated sports debut since my col
umn first ran on Aug. 25, Leßron
James will begin his first season
with Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh
and the Heat after James
announced he will be taking his
talents to South Beach. On Oct.
26, the Heat open the NBA sea
son in Boston against the
Celtics.
October is the only month of
the year all four major U.S.
sports are in season. The only
drawback: no major tennis or
golf tournaments. I think I’ll live.
Now, someone pass me the
remote and a piece of pumpkin
pie.
Jared Shanker is a senior majoring in
journalism and history and is the Daily
Collegian’s sports columnist. His e-mail
address is Jpss226@psu.edu.