September 16, 2008

This Week in Walsh University Athletics

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Tuesday 16

Women's Soccer at Roberts Wesleyan 5 pm

Friday 19

Men's & Women's Cross Country at National Catholic 3:30 pm

Volleyball at Taylor University Tournament

vs. Spring Arbor 2 pm/Campbellsville 6 pm

Saturday 20

Women's Soccer (H) Houghton College 5 pm

Men's Soccer (H) Houghton College 7 pm

Volleyball at Taylor University Tournament

vs. Davenport 9:30 am/Taylor 1:30 pm

FOOTBALL: Cavs (1-2) Lose Heartbreaker on Blocked Field Goal

Seton Hill University (3-0) blocked Walsh's 22-yard field goal on the final play of the game to hand Walsh (1-2) a 23-21 setback at Fawcett Stadium last Saturday.  The Cavs are idle this week, and return to action on Saturday, September 27 against the University of Saint Xavier in their Mid-States Football Association Mideast opener at Fawcett Stadium.
Walsh took the opening kick and marched 36 yards in six plays and scored when Jeff Tallman (Jr., Canton, OH/Perry) scored on a seven-yard run to give the Cavs the early lead.  Eric Buchanan's (So., Green Cove Springs, FL/Clay) PAT gave Walsh a 7-0 lead.  Brian Williams (Jr., Canton, OH/McKinley) returned the opening kick-off 58 yards to set-up the opening score.  Seton Hill would score the next 23 points and lead 23-7 midway through the third quarter.
 
Walsh marched 58 yards in five plays at the 6:22 mark of the third quarter, and scored on Clinton Blossomgame's (So., Columbus, OH/Beechcroft) 28-yard run, then added the two-point conversion, when Marc Pullen (Sr., Akron, OH/Ellet) found Mike McGill (Jr., Barberton, OH/Coventry) on a slant to trim the lead to 23-15.  Walsh cut the lead to 23-21 at the 9:25 mark of the fourth quarter, when Pullen scored on a one-yard run.  The Cavs' two-point conversion pass failed.  It appeared as if the Griffins would then ice the game, when they advanced to the three-yard line, but failed to score when tailback Antwarn Jones was dropped for a loss by Mark Sexton (Jr., New Philadelphia, OH/HS) and Tony Reed (So., Warren, OH/Harding) on fourth down at the Walsh four-yard line.  Walsh would start its final drive on their own four-yard line with six minutes to play.  The Cavs marched methodically down the field, as Blossomgame rushed for 36 yards, Jeff Tallman 11 and Tim Cox (Jr., Minerva, OH/HS) 14 yards, with Pullen completing a four-yard pass to Tallman.  Walsh reached the Seton Hill five-yard on third down with five seconds to play, and then opted for the game-winning field.  Walsh used their final time out to stop the clock and then Seton Hill used their final one to freeze Buchanan.  Then when play began, the middle of the Seton Hill line surged and got a piece of the kick, which landed short to give Seton Hill its first win over the Cavs in three tries.  Blossomgame led Walsh with 128 yards and Pullen completed 6-15 passes for 31 yards.

Blossomgame has rushed for 390 yards (4.1) in three games, with four touchdowns and is averaging 130.0 yards per game, second in the MSFA.
 
MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY: Groholy Wins, Cavs 2nd in Ric Sayre Invitational

Walsh (4-5) finished second (30) in the first-ever Ric Sayre Invitational last Saturday.  John Carroll University (27) won the four-team race, which was run in heavy rain.  The College of Wooster finished third (84) and Ohio Dominican University fourth (111).  This Friday, the Cavs will make their annual trip to the National Catholic Meet in South Bend, Indiana at the University of Notre Dame.

Mike Groholy (Sr., Parma, OH/Valley Forge) paced the Cavs, and won the race in a time of 26:20.  Brendan McKee (Sr., Akron, OH/St. Vincent-St. Mary) finished fourth (26:46), David Leary (Fr., Northwest, OH/Canal Fulton) sixth (27:27), Bob Fay (So., Canton, OH/Central Catholic) eighth (27:54) and Dan Opeka (Fr., Louisville, OH/St. Thomas Aquinas) 11th (28:10).

WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY: DiNinno Wins; Cavs Second at Ric Sayre Invitational

Walsh (8-4) finished second (36) in the first-ever Ric Sayre Invitational, held on campus last Saturday.  Sayre earned NAIA All-American honors for the men's team in the late 1970's and early 1980's.  John Carroll University (31) won the event, with the College of Wooster third (67) and Ohio Dominican University fourth (124).  This Friday, the Cavs will make their annual trip to the National Catholic Meet in South Bend, Indiana at the University of Notre Dame.

Andrea DiNinno (Sr., Harrison City, PA/Greensburg CC) turned in another impressive performance, winning the race in a time of 19:28.  Kristen LeFever (Jr., Alliance, OH/Marlington) placed fourth (19:59), Katie Laughlin (Fr., Malvern, OH/Canton South) fifth (20:05), Jackie Delamater (So., Uniontown, OH/Hoover) 12th (20:37) and Chantelle Richards (So., Akron, OH/East) 14th (20:43).

MEN'S SOCCER: Cavs Open AMC Slate with Two Wins

Walsh (3-3-1, 2-0) opened American Mideast Conference play with home wins over Daemen College (4-0) and Shawnee State University (5-0).  This week, the Cavs host Houghton College in an AMC contest on Saturday (7 pm).

Four different Cavaliers scored in the AMC win over Daemen, with Adam Greenwood (Fr., Blackpool, ENG/Lytham St. Annes), Camden McCreary (Jr., Massillon, OH/Jackson), Alex Birtcher (Sr., Napoleon, OH) and Gustavo Stille (Sr., Rio de Janeiro, BR/Tusky Valley) all finding the net.  Greenwood's goal, at the 34:09 mark of the first half, gave Walsh a 1-0 lead.  McCreary assisted on the goal.  McCreary then tallied two minutes later, on an assist from Chad Flath (Fr., Wadsworth, OH/HS) to give Walsh a 2-0 lead, which they held at halftime.  Birtcher scored his fourth goal, on a corner kick, in the second half to put the Cavs up 3-0.  Stille then scored on an assist from Greenwood for the final tally.  Walsh out shot the Wildcats 21-11 and keeper Ben Pflum (Sr., Napoleon, OH/HS) had seven saves in recording the shutout.

Camden McCreary scored two goals and had an assist in Walsh's 5-0 win over Shawnee State University.  The Cavs also received goals from Ben Truax (Fr., Mansfield, OH/St. Peter's), Alex Birtcher and Nathaniel Milhoan (Fr., Uniontown, OH/Lake).  Truax also had an assist.  The Cavs also received two assists from Adam Greenwood and one from Gustavo Stille.  The Cavs out shot the Bears 22-3.

Alex Birtcher leads the Cavs with five goals and is tied with Camden McCreary with 10 points.  McCreary has four goals and two assists.  Adam Greenwood leads the team with three assists.

WOMEN'S SOCCER: Cavs 2-0 in AMC/Abbie Sullivan Hat Trick in SSU Win/Patrick Ties Assist Mark

Walsh (4-2, 2-0) opened their American Mideast Conference slate with back-to-back wins over Daemen College (3-0) and Shawnee State University (6-2). This week, the Cavs travel to Roberts Wesleyan for an AMC game on Tuesday (5 pm) and return home to face Houghton College on Saturday (5 pm).

Leya Spence (Sr., Mansfield, OH/Madison) scored a goal and had two assists in Walsh's 3-0 win over Daemen College.  Spence assisted on Jess Wilson's (Fr, Hartville, OH/Lake) first period goal (18:37) to give Walsh a 1-0 lead.  Spence then tallied on an assist from Wilson, to give the Cavs a 2-0 lead at the 35:23 mark.  Amanda Patrick (Jr., Medina, OH/Cloverleaf) closed the scoring, on Spence's second assist at the 58:30 mark.  Amanda Butera (Fr., North Olmsted, OH/HS) recorded a shutout with six saves in her first collegiate start. 

Abbie Sullivan (Sr., Canton, OH/GlenOak) scored three goals, two in the first half and one in the second, to help lead the Cavs to a 6-2 victory over Shawnee State University.  Sullivan was assisted by Amanda Patrick on two occasions and Jess Wilson on the other.  Wilson started the offense for the Cavs, tallying the first goal of the night at 6:58 in the first half, on an assist by Patrick.  Rachel Naumann (So., Hinckley, OH/Highland) also scored at the 44:00 mark in the first half, and Megan Jurcak (Fr., Hudson, OH/HS) extended the lead with a goal at the 58:50 mark in the second half, assisted by Patrick.  Patrick's four assists tied a mark previously set by Terri Jo Reimenschneider ('98) and Meghan Patton ('03).  Amanda Butera recorded her second straight win in goal for the Cavs. 
Amanda Patrick leads the Cavs in scoring with 11 points on two goals and a team-leading five assists.  Jess Wilson has 10 points on three goals and four assists and Abbie Sullivan leads the team with eight goals.

VOLLEYBALL: Cavs (6-7) Drop 4 of 5 Matches, at Taylor Invitational This Weekend

Walsh (6-7) lost four out of five matches last week, including a non-conference contest with rival Malone.  This week, the Cavs travel to Taylor University for four weekend matches.  The Cavs meet Spring Arbor (2 pm) and Campbellsville (6 pm) on Friday and Davenport (9:30 am) and Taylor (1:30 pm) on Saturday.

Walsh fell to Malone College in four games (28-26, 22-25, 14-25, and 23-25) on Tuesday night.  The Cavs were led by Marie Jubak's (5-7, Fr., Cincinnati, OH/McNicholas) 36 assists and Ashley Yuhas' (5-9, So., Elyria, OH/HS) 21 digs. Megan McDonald (5-10, Sr., Kirkland, IL/Rockford Lutheran) added 12 kills and Erica Parker (6-0, Sr., Concord, OH/Mentor) had two service aces.

Walsh lost twice at the Wittenberg University Tournament on Friday, in four games to Ohio Northern University (16-25, 25-18, 21-25 and 17-25) and in five games to the host Tigers (21-25, 25-12, 18-25, 25-14 and 15-17).  Megan McDonald and Caitlin Whealy (6-2, Sr., Avon Lake, OH/HS) each had 13 kills in the ONU match, while Marie Jubak handed out 46 assists.  McDonald added 17 digs.
 
McDonald again paced the Cavs with 20 kills against Wittenberg.  Jubak handed out 51 assists and Ashley Yuhas had 28 digs.

Megan McDonald is second in kills in the AMC, averaging 3.8 per game and Marie Jubak is second in assists (10.0).