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(11/30/05 5:00pm)
High expectations. As is always the case with the College's wrestling team, high expectations will be the theme all season.
The bar has been set high for the team, and although it is still early in the season, the team seems to be on the right track.
The Lions started off the season ranked No. 6 in the National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III team rankings, and also have a number of individual wrestlers ranked high on the list.
Leading the pack is junior captain, Joey Galante, who is currently ranked first nationwide in the 157-pound weight class.
One of Galante's co-captains, senior Brian Dempsey, is ranked second in the 125-pound weight class and sophomore Jeff Harrington is ranked fifth at 174 pounds.
Head coach David Icenhower Sr. is excited about his team's prospects this year and says they are in a position to make a run at the national championship.
"We got off to a great start, winning the Ithaca Tournament last week," Icenhower said. "There have been a couple tournaments since then which weren't scored team-scored and we performed very well in them as well. We think we have five or six guys who can be All-Americans and even a couple who can be number one at the end."
Last Saturday, freshman Greg Osgoodby showed the great depth that the College has at a lot of weight classes this year.
With Harrington out with an injury, Osgoodby had to fill the spot at 174 pounds in the Ursinus College Fall Brawl. Although he was just a fill-in, Osgoodby was one of the three College wrestlers who took home the championship.
"With Jeff being out for the tournament, I felt I had to step it up and I did," Osgoodby said. "Being around such great college wrestlers has really improved my wrestling and I learn a lot from them."
Icenhower was pleasantly surprised with the performance of Osgoodby.
"There's high expectations for Greg," he said. "He's going to push Jeff and make Jeff better. Hopefully, by next season we can find a spot for both of them."
The other two winners for the College at the Fall Brawl were Dempsey and sophomore Ray Sarinelli at 133 pounds. Third place finishers included freshman Mike Jacoutot Jr. at 133 pounds, junior Mike Guenther at 165 pounds and junior Pat Cross at 184 pounds.
Galante is excited about the team's start so far and hopes it only gets better from here both for his team and him individually.
"I want the team to be top three in the country," Galante said. "The team is doing well and the freshmen are getting better every tournament. I've wrestled pretty well this year, but there's room for improvement. The rankings are something I try not to think about because it doesn't mean much until nationals."
Tonight, the College will square off against Hunter College at home at 7 p.m.
(11/16/05 5:00pm)
After winning its first round game in the NCAA Division III Tournament last week, the College's field hockey team suffered a tough 2-0 defeat to Bowdoin College in the second round, ending the season with a record of 15-5.
On Saturday, the Lions had to travel all the way to Brunswick, Maine to take on undefeated Bowdoin. Unfortunately, the Lions were never able to get the offense going.
The defense held tough for the first 28 minutes, not allowing a goal, but the offensive effort of Bowdoin eventually paid off when Lindsay McNamara scored on a goal assisted by Christi Gannon. Then, with 7:13 remaining in the game, Bowdoin all but terminated the Lions' season, with an insurance goal coming from Burgess LePage unassisted.
Lions' sophomore midfielder Colleen Dougherty was very upset about the loss because she felt her team did not play up to its potential. "We did it to ourselves," Dougherty said. "We didn't play how we could have. Therefore, we were our own worst enemies. The pressure the other team was putting on us did not make it easy for us to overcome and play as a team."
Freshman forward Jennifer Lubin also expressed disappointment, but said it is time to move on and look ahead. "We were all obviously disappointed," Lubin said. "But head coach (Sharon) Pfluger said we have to move on and learn from our mistakes so we don't have to feel the same disappointment again next year."
Now that this season is over, there is only one thing for the team to do - prepare for next year. Dougherty is excited about the returning players and is confident next year's team will also make the playoffs and make a run at the championship.
"We lost our goalie from the starting lineup but I am very confident that our other goalie (Erin Mitschke) will do great next year. We have a young team so we are going to have to just work extremely hard next year to be consistent because if we play our game, we are going to be extremely hard to beat."
Lubin says although the season ended with a rough defeat, all-in-all, it was a successful season. "Even though our season ended the way it did, we had a lot of success throughout the season," she said. "We accomplished some great things and we're excited for next season."
The New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) released its all-conference team, and plenty of Lions were on the list. Junior defender Meg Hess earned a spot on the first team and was also named NJAC Defensive Player of the Year. Joining Hess on the first team were junior forwards Allison Greene, Jess Berkowitz and sophomore defender Sheri Grondski. Lubin was named NJAC Rookie of the Year.
(11/09/05 5:00pm)
The College's men's soccer team continued its magical season last week, proving the naysayers wrong once again by capturing the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) title with a 1-0 win over Rutgers University-Camden on Saturday.
The Lions were picked to finish in ninth place in the NJAC preseason poll, but this championship win concluded an unexpected, yet wonderful regular season.
With the game scoreless 13:59 into the second half, sophomore forward Matt Luber scored off a pass from junior defender Tim Dudek.
The defense held strong the rest of the game and sophomore goalie Matt Kasperavicius stopped all three shots that came at him, preserving his fifth shutout of the season.
This is the 17th conference championship that the college has won since 1959, but this is the first for any player currently on the team.
Luber was thrilled with his goal and even more excited about his team's NJAC championship. "It felt incredible to score that goal," Luber said, "It was only a matter of time before someone found the net."
Luber went on to comment about the team's first NJAC championship since 1994. "It's amazing," he said, "considering the competitiveness of our conference and the way things were last year."
The College certainly embraced the underdog role after not performing as well as they hoped last year, and sophomore forward Nima Rahimi said it felt wonderful. "Anytime you're the underdog and you can prove people wrong, it feels much better," he said.
The College's victory in the NJAC championship game earned them a spot in the NCAA Division III playoffs.
The Lions, currently ranked No. 8 in the nation, also earned themselves a bye in the first round of the playoffs and will be hosting the second round game at Mercer County Community College on Saturday, Nov. 12. The Lions will be squaring off against the winner of the game between Roger Williams University and Mount Ida College. Game time is yet to be announced.
Earlier in the week, the College defeated New Jersey City University (NJCU) to gain entrance into the NJAC finals.
Sophomore forward Craig Langan scored two goals, including the game-winner.
Langan scored the game's first goal 35:15 into the game off an assist from senior midfielder Matt Connor.
NJCU would take the lead, however, scoring the next two goals, but in the beginning of the second half junior midfielder Michael Ferber tied the game. Seven minutes later, Langan scored again to put the College ahead for good.
Luber says the team is ready to go and is going to do whatever it takes to get as far as possible in the playoffs.
"Well we have put ourselves in a great position for NCAAs," Luber said. "We received a bye in the first round, but if we continue to play our style of possession soccer, we can take it very far."
(11/02/05 5:00pm)
After suffering a scare two weeks ago and with playoff hopes hanging in the balance, the College's field hockey team came up huge with three shutout wins last week.
On Oct. 18, the Lions fell to third-ranked Messiah College. Four days later, on Saturday, the Lions suffered another crushing defeat, this time at the hands of Montclair State University. Montclair tied the game up before the end of the half, and then scored in the beginning of the second overtime, marking the first time all season the College has lost two games in a row.
After the two losses, the Lions had just three games remaining on their regular season schedule, and if they wanted to have a shot at making the postseason, the team would most likely have to win all three. Head coach Sharon Pfluger said that the two losses could have been a bit of an eye-opener for the team.
"We learned some hard lessons," Pfluger said. "We were up by one in both games, but we let both of them slip away from us. We knew we were going to really have to concentrate and focus after those losses to make sure we didn't lose any more."
"Last week was very rough for us," junior defender Meg Hess said. "We knew that this week would be a big factor in determining whether or not we would have a shot at making it to postseason. We really came together as a team because we wanted to finish out the season strong."
The team did just that, and the quest began with a game last Tuesday against Eastern University. The offense came out on fire, scoring seven goals - the most it have scored in a game all season. Scorers included freshmen midfielder Kelly Mitchell and forward Katie Reuther, who scored two goals apiece and freshman midfielder Jenna Durante, freshman forward Stephanie Champion and junior forward Jess Berkowitz each added a goal. The defense did not allow a single shot on goal.
The team carried over its all-out offensive attack into a game against Drew University two days later. Hess was able to find the back of the net twice, and junior forward Allison Greene and Reuther also scored again. Freshman forward Jennifer Lubin also notched a goal, giving the Lions their five. Again the defense was stellar, this time only allowing two shots on goal.
On Sunday, however, came perhaps the Lions biggest matchup of the season. They had to travel to upstate New York to square off against SUNY-Cortland, the seventh- ranked team in the nation. The College's offensive attack was stifled in the first half and scored no goals, but the defense held strong and allowed none.
In the second half, though, sophomore Sheri Grondski scored a goal and also had an assist on a goal by Berkowitz to give the Lions the 2-0 victory. The win all but guaranteed that the team will make the playoffs and have a run at the national title. The official list of playoff teams will be released on Monday, but Pfluger is expecting to find her team's name on it. She is ready to prepare her team and gear up for a run at the championship.
"The time between now and the playoffs is a great opportunity to fine tune a lot of things," Pfluger said. "We can concentrate on organization and strategy to beat these good teams."
Sophomore defender Colleen Dougherty also realizes that this next week of practice is key for her team's championship hopes.
"I think we need to work on simple things like communication on the field, playing for the teammate next to you, being disciplined, no defensive breakdowns and putting the ball in the cage," she said.
The first round of the NCAA playoffs will take place next Wednesday. As of Monday, it was unknown whether the Lions would qualify.
(11/02/05 5:00pm)
It has been 25 years since the NCAA developed its Division III (DIII) women's hockey program, and this year DIII are honoring the women who have excelled in their respective sports during those 25 years.
The College's own Sharon Pfluger was named coach of the 25-year anniversary field hockey team.
"I'm very flattered," Pfluger said. "It is a great honor. But, really, it is a reflection of the great assistant coaches and players I have had over the years and it's on their honor too, not just mine."
Other field hockey players named to the 25th-year anniversary team who played at the College include Gina Carey-Smith, Class of '91; Diane Smith, Class of '84; Melanie Vasofski, Class of '99; and Tiffany Trockenbrod, Class of '99.
(11/02/05 12:00pm)
Makes 'Sense' to me
Last week, The Signal published an article about power consumption by the College.
This letter included an appeal to students to try to conserve electricity. Lori Winyard, director of Energy and Central Utilities, and the office of Residential and Community Development are working to come up with a comprehensive plan to promote energy conservation.
I have a suggestion for Ms. Winyard. This semester, the College has introduced a program called PrintSense. This program allots a quota of pages that may print from the College's computer labs, and bills them for exceeding their allotment. I call my program PowerSense.
Under PowerSense, the College would install a readable electric meter inside every dorm on campus. Each student would be allotted a certain number of kilowatt-hours for consumption per semester. Students can read the meter to determine their consumption to date, and adjust use of computers and lights accordingly. In cases where students have a roommate, the allotted kilowatt-hour limit for the room would be doubled, the excess at the semester's end being divided between the two roommates. Is this fair? Not at all. But the College uses the same system to allot communal damage charges to students, so what the heck.
After the implementation of PowerSense, the College should start looking at other programs to curb student consumption of resources. I next propose WaterSense.
Under WaterSense, students will be granted a certain number of gallons of water for consumption per semester. An ID swipe will be installed next to every sink, outside every shower and over each toilet. Before any student wants to wash hands, shower, or flush, you simply swipe your ID so the College knows whose allotment to subtract the gallons. Upperclassmen - shorten those showers, and freshman, let a few of you puke into the same toilet before hitting the flush.
Perhaps a more drastic program I hope to see Ms. Winyard and the office of Residential and Community Development implement AirSense. With tons of greenhouse gases released into the Earth's biosphere each year, it is simply unconscionable to think how shamelessly students breathe. Under AirSense, students will have their average carbon dioxide output measured, which will be used to extrapolate how much ozone-depleting carbon dioxide they'd be expected to produce over the course of the semester. This will be compared to the average rate of carbon dioxide production per unit body weight over the entire student body (separate average indices for male and female students), and each student's bill will be charged or credited according.
Maybe I'm overreacting. But after paying thousands of dollars to come here, I get kind of peeved that the College only lets me print 600 pages per semester.
Martin Smith
(10/19/05 4:00pm)
The College's field hockey team made the best of a dreary, rain-filled week by picking up a huge victory against a ranked opponent, and also getting a little rest.
The Lions' lone game last week was on Tuesday at home against No. 20 Kean University. The College got the scoring going early, and never looked back.
Freshman forward Katie Reuther scored to put the Lions ahead 14:42 into the game. One minute later, fellow freshman midfielder Jenna Durante scored, assisted by junior midfielders Meg Hess and Jess Berkowitz, to give the Lions a quick 2-0 lead.
The Lions added to their lead when freshman forward Jenny Lubin scored off of a beautiful pass from freshman midfielder Kelly Mitchell 6:02 into the second half.
Kean added another goal to make the score 3-1, but the Lions put the metaphorical nail in the coffin with two goals in the final 20 minutes by Berkowitz and junior forward Allison Greene. The four-goal margin of victory was the second largest for the team this year.
Head coach Sharon Pfluger said she was very pleased with the way her team performed on Tuesday. "I thought we played very well," she said. "We capitalized on most of our scoring opportunities, and that's what we need to do to win."
Senior goalie Kristina Beyel, who collected three saves on the day, said she saw her offense do some impressive things on the other side of the field. "We played really great," she said, "especially the offense. They were connecting very well with each other and the ball."
After the game on Tuesday, the Lions had a week off. Pfluger said that time off was necessary and good for her team.
"On Wednesday we had a well-deserved day off," she said. "On Thursday and Friday, we ran practice a little easier than normal, but they were still very productive. Saturday, I gave the girls off and then we practiced on Sunday again. It was a good mental break for us, but we were able to focus on some of the important things we need to work on."
Freshman midfielder Erin Buchanan agreed that the week off was good for the team. "I think the time off was good because the team has definitely had its share of injuries, and we needed some recovery time," she said. "Also, we got to work on important things such as stepping up to the ball, which has been a major focus for us all year."
Beyel had a different perspective on the rainy week off. "The break was definitely good for us," she said. "It gives us an opportunity to enjoy some of our big wins before jumping into the next game."
After the rest period, the Lions head into the final stretch of their schedule. Saturday they will travel to square off against Montclair State University 1 p.m.
(10/12/05 4:00pm)
After losing two of its last five games, the College's field hockey team certainly righted itself on the path to the playoffs and perhaps a national championship by defeating No. 1 ranked Salisbury University on Sunday.
Salisbury went into the game with an 11-0 record, having won its last 44 games. The Lions put an emphatic end to that streak, triumphing over Salisbury by a comfortable score of 3-1.
Freshman forward Jennifer Lubin was the star of the game for the Lions, scoring two goals, doubling her total for the year thus far. Lubin's first goal came 12:38 into the game with the assist going to junior forward Jess Berkowitz. Near the end of the first half, the College took a 2-0 lead on a goal by freshman midfielder Jenna Durante, her first of the year, assisted by sophomore defender Sheri Grondski.
Salisbury cut the lead in half with 15:49 remaining in the game, but Lubin was able to nail the coffin shut with 1:25 left. She gathered in a stray ball off of a penalty corner and scored, giving the Lions a 3-1 edge in the game, and ultimately the victory.
Lubin said she was happy she was able to contribute to the win, but admits it was a total team effort.
"The whole game today, we felt great," Lubin said. "It didn't matter who put the ball in the cage, just as long as someone scored. The assists for both goals were beautiful."
After going through a few rocky games, head coach Sharon Pfluger said she is pleased with her team.
"We're really happy," Pfluger said. "We capitalized on our offensive opportunities and played strong defense. I would hope that the girls feel very confident out there now and feel like they can compete with anybody, because they can."
Earlier in the week, on Tuesday, the Lions were involved in perhaps their most exciting game of the year.
The team travelled to Richard Stockton College expecting to play the usual 70 minutes, but instead, ended up playing 100. But even that was not enough to decide a victor.
Junior forward Allison Greene initiated the scoring for the Lions with 22 minutes remaining in the first half, scoring her 10th goal of the year. Richard Stockton tied the game 10 minutes later, but Berkowitz broke the tie shortly after with a goal off of an assist from sophomore midfielder Colleen Dougherty.
With 12:22 left in the game, Richard Stockton scored, and no goals were scored by either team for the remainder of regulation, forcing overtime. No goals were scored in the two overtimes, sending the game to a rare shootout.
Senior defender Kaitlin Wooster gave the Lions the victory, scoring the final goal in the shootout, giving them the 2-1 shootout victory and the 3-2 win in the game. Pfluger was happy with the victory, but said her team dominated the game much more than the box score reflects.
"It ended up being a very exciting situation," Pfluger said. "We took 39 shots and they only took four. It was on a natural grass field, though, which is something we're not used to. This is our only game on natural grass for the whole year and it's a lot different than the turf we're used to playing on. It was good to get the experience of being in a penalty stroke situation at the end, though."
The Lions do not play again until next Tuesday at home against Messiah College at 7:30 p.m.
(10/05/05 4:00pm)
It was an up-and-down weekend for the College in the yearly Rowan University rivalry weekend, and the field hockey team unfortunately got the short end of the stick. In a hard-fought battle, the team suffered a harsh 2-1 defeat to the Profs on Saturday.
The Lions did jump out to an early lead in the game though, with junior forward Allison Greene scoring on a pass from junior forward Jess Berkowitz. Later in the first half, Liz Unger, Rowan's senior forward, tied the game up with 4:17 remaining in the opening frame. Rowan then came out shooting in the second half and scored five minutes in on a goal by junior midfielder Colleen McGowan, the assist going to sophomore forward Danielle Miranda.
The College had its scoring opportunities for the remaining 34 minutes, but were unable to convert any of those chances into goals. Head coach Sharon Pfluger admitted the loss was a rough one, but said her team is certainly not down for the count.
"We took it hard," Pfluger said. "After they scored their first goal, it changed the emotion level for the rest of the game for us. The most disappointing thing for me was that they scored right after halftime and we were unable to tie it up for the rest of the game. We made a few mistakes down the stretch and we just couldn't cash in."
As always, there were many positives that Pfluger was able to take out of the defeat.
"The girls worked very, very hard," she said. "We had a lot of beautiful passing combos and we were able to adjust to the things that Rowan was doing."
As for the players' reactions to the loss, freshman midfielder Kelly Mitchell said the team is going to move on as fast as possible.
"Every loss is really upsetting and tough for us to accept because we put so much time and effort into the game," Mitchell said. "We met as a team though, to decide what our problem was and to figure out a way we can fix it, so in our next game we can dominate."
Last Tuesday, the Lions were able to squeak by Wilkes University 1-0. Freshman midfielder Erin Buchanan scored the only goal for the Lions 14:19 into the game, and the Lions' defense made the goal hold up to give the College the victory. Not much got past the Lions' defense, as senior goalie Kristina Beyel only needed to make one save.
After a deflating week, with the loss to Rowan leaving a sour taste in everyone's mouths, Pfluger said there was much to be done and no time to worry about what happened in the past. On Tuesday, the Lions played against Richard Stockton College, the only game on their schedule that was to be played on a natural grass field, as opposed to the usual artificial surface they play on. This was a point of concern for Pfluger and something she said must be prepared for.
"This is a completely different surface than what we're used to," Pfluger said. "And it's not even a nice grass field. We need to be ready to play on that surface."
The Lions also have a game on Saturday against Salisbury University at home, the team that knocked them out of last year's NCAA Division III playoffs and went on to win the national championship.
(09/28/05 4:00pm)
The College's field hockey team suffered its first setback of the year last Tuesday as they lost a 1-0 heartbreaker to Ursinus College.
The game was slated to be a premier matchup, with the Lions and Bears ranked No. 4 and No. 6, respectively. Neither team disappointed. Both defenses fought hard in the first half, and by halftime the game was still scoreless. With 24 minutes remaining in the second half, Ursinus' forward Karen Wendler scored off of a penalty corner for the decisive score.
The Lions had their share of scoring opportunities for the rest of the game, but were unable to convert on any of them. It was the first loss of the year for the College, but it was still a very well-played game on both sides.
"I think they took (the loss) pretty hard," said head coach, Sharon Pfluger. "We had a lot of opportunities to score but we could not take advantage of any of them. The loss definitely taught us a lesson, though."
After suffering its first loss of the year, there were two different directions the team could have taken - letting the loss hang over their heads or using the loss to fuel them for the next few games.
The Lions chose the latter, according to freshman Jennifer Lubin. "We were disappointed with the loss," she said, "and we realized we could lose if we don't play up to our potential, but we didn't dwell on it and it has just motivated us to play harder."
Two days later, on Thursday, the Lions squared off against Johns Hopkins University and took out their frustrations with a 4-1 win.
The scoring got started late in the first half for the Lions, when junior Allison Greene scored, with the assist going to sophomore Sheri Grondski. In the early stages of the second half, the Lions struck again, this time with junior Jess Berkowitz finding the back of the net.
Two minutes later, Johns Hopkins got on the board with a goal of their own, but another two minutes later, the Lions answered with Greene netting her second goal of the game. The deal was sealed when junior Meg Hess scored with only 14 seconds left.
On Saturday, the Lions topped Ramapo College 3-0, but the game was much closer than the score would lead most to believe.
Again, the Lions struggled offensively in the first half, unable to convert on any scoring opportunities.
In the second half, however, the offense came alive. About four minutes into the second half, Berkowitz kicked off the scoring for the Lions with a goal assisted by Greene and freshman Jenna Durante. Greene and Grondski also scored for the Lions in the second half.
Senior Kristina Beyel was perfect in the net for the Lions, and collected her fourth shutout of the season.
In all three games, the Lions seemed to have a tough time scoring goals in the first half. "I think it was just the way it worked out," Pfluger said. "We came up with some really late goals, but we do need to take advantage of the opportunities we are getting early in the game."
On Saturday, the Lions will play a rivalry match against Rowan University at home. According to Lubin, the team is anxious to take on Rowan. "Rowan is always one of the biggest games for us," she said. "We are psyched and can't wait to play on Saturday."
(09/21/05 4:00pm)
The College's field hockey team continued its recent hot streak with a 3-0 win over William Paterson University on Saturday afternoon.
It was the Lions' first New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) win of the year and puts their overall record at 5-0.
The College started the scoring early when freshman midfielder Kelly Mitchell dished out an assist to fellow freshman forward Jennifer Lubin.
In the second half, junior defender Meg Hess scored in the 60th minute off a pass from sophomore midfielder Colleen Dougherty. Junior forward Jess Berkowitz capped off the scoring for the Lions on an assist from Mitchell, her second of the game.
Perhaps the most impressive statistic in the victory, however, was that it marked the Lions' third shutout of the year for senior goalkeeper Kristina Beyel, who made two saves in net behind a stellar defense.
Beyel deflected some of the credit to her teammates.
"It's the whole defensive unit that should get credit for the shutout," Beyel said, "not just me."
Luckily for the Lions, they are already almost through one of the toughest parts of their schedule, while the next four games, including Thursday's game against Johns Hopkins University and Saturday's matchup against rival Ramapo College, will all be at home.
Many of the Lions, including head coach Sharon Pfluger, agree that playing at home gives the team a boost.
"The biggest difference between home and away games is the surface that we play on," Pfluger said. "At home, we get to play on the nice carpet, which we are used to. The game was meant to be played on the type of artificial surface we have because great parts of the game can be seen such as outstanding stick work and a good passing game."
Beyel agreed that playing at home gives the team a big advantage, but not just because of the surface.
"Of course we love to play at home," Beyel said. "We obviously have a greater advantage because it's our own turf, and a very nice one I may add. But also, we get a lot of really great fans to come cheer us on. "
At this point in last year's schedule, the Lions were just 3-2, still trying to work out the kinks.
This year, though, they have been cruising since the very first game.
Dougherty said the difference is due to a lot of hard work.
"Last year, we couldn't put all the pieces together," she said. "Right now we are clicking really well on and off the field which makes us stronger as a whole. Our practices have been very intense from the moment we step on the field until the moment we step off. If the other team is more skilled, we will be better conditioned and ready to out-hustle them."
On Saturday, the Lions will continue their four-game homestand against Ramapo at 2 p.m.
(09/14/05 4:00pm)
The women's field hockey team made winning look easy again this week, defeating their opponents by a combined score of 10-1.
Last Tuesday, the Lions took control of their game versus Manhattanville College from the very beginning and went on to win 6-0.
Junior Allison Greene scored on an assist from sophomore Sheri Grondski 2:44 into the game. With 9:20 left in the first half, freshman Jennifer Lubin assisted junior Jess Berkowitz to make the score 2-0 going into halftime.
In the second half, the Lions' offense caught fire, scoring four goals. Berkowitz tacked on another, and sophomore Colleen Dougherty, freshman Kelly Mitchell and junior Meg Hess each added a goal.
The senior goalkeeper, Kristina Beyel posted her second straight shutout.
Senior defender Kaitlin Wooster stressed the importance of defense. "Our defense is just as important as our offense," she said. "In the first three games, we only gave up one goal, and we think that's pretty good."
In the Lions' second game of the week, their defense was once again up to the task, only allowing one goal. The College defeated SUNY-New Paltz in Kingston, New York 4-1.
The road was a little tougher for the Lions, however, and they had to fight back from a deficit for the first time this year. Just three minutes into the game, SUNY scored with 22 minutes remaining in the first half, but Dougherty tied the game with a goal assisted by Hess.
Dougherty scored again before the end of the half, and the Lions did not look back. In the second half, Greene scored two goals, one assisted by Hess, and freshman Melissa Buttray picked up the other.
"I am really happy about our start," Pfluger said. "Every day our goal is to get better. I believe we can get to an even higher level with this team and make a push for the final four."
Although it seems that the Lions are rolling right now, Pfluger says that there are always things to work on. "You always have to work on the fundamentals," she said, "and we are always trying to figure out which combination of players works best together out on the field."
Berkowitz agreed. "We want to make it our goal to not let anyone else score on us this season," she said.
This week, the Lions begin their tough New Jersey Athletic Conference schedule.
"The conference is a completely separate element," Pfluger said. "The girls are aware, but we prepare for every game the same."
On Saturday the Lions will play at William Paterson University and next Tuesday they will play at Ursinus.
(08/31/05 4:00pm)
The College's field hockey team will look to add another successful chapter to its already illustrious history this fall.
Fortunately, the College will return a number of key players from last year's squad.
The Lions lost only four players to graduation and restocked their roster with outstanding recruits from all around the region.
Kim Feeley and Colleen Stamler led the College last season as seniors but will not return this fall.
Both were named All-American Third Team selections by the National Field Hockey Coaches Assocation and ECAC Division III All-Stars. Stambler was also the Lions' top scorer last season.
Head coach Sharon Pfluger, who is entering her 21st year of service at the College, admits that the seniors will be missed but she believes that her squad is ready for the challenge of revamping the team.
"The seniors last year did a great job for us," Pfluger said. "Those girls had a lot of experience and they were great leaders."
Key returning players from last year's team include juniors Blair Alber, Erin Mitschke, Allison Greene and Meg Hess and seniors Kaitlin Wooster, Rosie Santiago and Kristina Beyel.
Green and Alber finished as the Lions' third and fourth leading scorers last season, respectively. A large freshman class could also play a major role in the success of the team this season.
"Last week during one of our scrimmages, we had eight freshmen out on the field at once," Pfluger said. "I'm sure that we will have a lot of freshmen playing once the regular season starts, but I'm not sure how many. Right now, we're just experimenting with a lot of different personnel changes."
The College will kick off its season at Millsersville University at 4 p.m. on Sept. 1.
The first home game will be on Sept. 3 against Ithaca College at 1 p.m.
The schedule will be quite grueling for the team, playing a total of 19 games in a two-month span.
"I think we want to take it one day at a time," Pfluger said. "I want these girls to be contenders and depending on how quickly we develop, we will determine how much of a contender this team can be."
Ultimately, the Lions have their sights set on Lexington, Va., where the Division III championship will be held on Nov. 19.
Last year, they had an excellent season, finishing out the regular season with a record of 14-6. In the first round of the NCAA Regional playoffs, the Lions defeated Springfield College 5-3 but fell to Salisbury University 3-2 in the second round.
(08/24/05 4:00pm)
The College's field hockey team will look to add another successful chapter to its already illustrious history this fall.
Fortunately, the College will return a number of key players from last year's squad.
The Lions lost only four players to graduation and restocked their roster with outstanding recruits from all around the region.
Kim Feeley and Colleen Stamler led the College last season as seniors but will not return this fall.
Both were named All-American Third Team selections by the National Field Hockey Coaches Assocation and ECAC Division III All-Stars. Stambler was also the Lions' top scorer last season.
Head coach Sharon Pfluger, who is entering her 21st year of service at the College, admits that the seniors will be missed but she believes that her squad is ready for the challenge of revamping the team.
"The seniors last year did a great job for us," Pfluger said. "Those girls had a lot of experience and they were great leaders."
Key returning players from last year's team include juniors Blair Alber, Erin Mitschke, Allison Greene and Meg Hess and seniors Kaitlin Wooster, Rosie Santiago and Kristina Beyel.
Green and Alber finished as the Lions' third and fourth leading scorers last season, respectively. A large freshman class could also play a major role in the success of the team this season.
"Last week during one of our scrimmages, we had eight freshmen out on the field at once," Pfluger said. "I'm sure that we will have a lot of freshmen playing once the regular season starts, but I'm not sure how many. Right now, we're just experimenting with a lot of different personnel changes."
The College will kick off its season at Millsersville University at 4 p.m. on Sept. 1.
The first home game will be on Sept. 3 against Ithaca College at 1 p.m.
The schedule will be quite grueling for the team, playing a total of 19 games in a two-month span.
"I think we want to take it one day at a time," Pfluger said. "I want these girls to be contenders and depending on how quickly we develop, we will determine how much of a contender this team can be."
Ultimately, the Lions have their sights set on Lexington, Va., where the Division III championship will be held on Nov. 19.
Last year, they had an excellent season, finishing out the regular season with a record of 14-6. In the first round of the NCAA Regional playoffs, the Lions defeated Springfield College 5-3 but fell to Salisbury University 3-2 in the second round.
(04/27/05 4:00pm)
Since suffering two very tough losses in the early part of the season, the College's women's lacrosse team has outscored its opponents by a total of 90 goals, 132-42.
Last week, the College had a full schedule, playing three games in the span of four days.
Perhaps the most important win of the week came on Thursday, against intra-state rival Drew University. The Lions started off the game a bit sluggishly and were tied 2-2 in the first half but surged back for a 10-4 win.
Senior midfielder Lauren Gossner led both teams with a total of three goals and junior midfielder Lauren Dougher and freshman midfielder Karen Doane each chipped in with two goals apiece.
Freshman midfielder Toni-Anne Cavallo, junior midfielder Bridget Bigley and freshman attacker Diane Haddeland all notched a single goal. Junior goalkeeper Megan Marquardt had a solid day with seven saves, improving her record to 9-2 on the season.
On Saturday afternoon, the Lions handled Cabrini College easily, 15-2.
Gossner led the team in scoring with three goals and one assist. Dougher and freshman attacker Kate Neese each chimed in with a pair of goals and assists.
Doane had two goals and an assist and sophomore midfielder Amanda Fuchs scored one goal and dished out on assist. Cavallo added a goal.
Once again, the College's goalkeeping was on the ball. Marquardt and junior Paige Lucard split time to rack up three saves.
On Sunday, the College topped St. Mary's College 19-7 despite finding themselves in a dicey situation trailing by two goals.
By halftime, though, the Lions were able to tie the score 7-7 and in the second half they tallied 12 unanswered goals.
Gossner led the team in scoring with a career-high eight goals and also added an assist. Bigley and Neese had three goals each with Bigley also chipping in three assists and Neese adding one. Doane and Cavallo added two goals each and Gossner had a goal and an assist.
Clearly, the Lions' offense has exploded in recent weeks, but defense has played a role in the in the victories.
Head coach Sharon Pfluger said that without the defense's hard work, the offense would not be able to get anything going.
"The level that the defense plays at sets the intensity level for the rest of the game," Pfluger said. "Defensively, we need to be strong and that will start the positive snowball effect. They have been playing very well as a team."
Junior defender Meredith Spangler agreed that the team aspect of defense is very important.
"We have been playing very well as a defense," she said. "We have been playing as a unit, not as individuals. I believe this is the key to our success."
Now, the key is to keep this intensity up for the rest of the year. This is something Pfluger said the team will have no problem doing.
"Although we've had some pretty lopsided victories, I feel like we've been working really hard to win like we are" Pfluger said. "We've been challenged on the field and everyone is staying intense and focused. We are focusing on each and every opponent and we are not looking too far ahead."
Senior captain Heather Rainey knows the team needs to stay focused for the playoff push as well. There is one other factor keeping the team focused this year: Pfluger.
"She is a great coach and never lost confidence in us," Rainey said. "She is always pushing us to our full potential."
The team will be in the NCAA Division III playoffs but the seeds and schedule are yet to be determined.
(04/20/05 4:00pm)
For the College's women's lacrosse team, the start of the season could not have gone much worse. The team's 1-2 start, which included its first back-to-back losses since 1985, was certainly a surprise for a team ranked second in the nation.
However, the team quickly came back to form and has reeled off seven straight wins since its last loss, including three important wins last week.
The fifth-ranked Lions began their impressive week by stomping the rival Profs of Rowan University by a score of 14-3.
The Lions were able to unleash an astounding 34 shots while the Profs were only able to get off 12.
Junior midfielder Bridget Bigley was the leading scorer on the night for the Lions, tallying four goals, and fellow junior midfielder Lauren Dougher had three goals and an assist. Senior midfielder Lauren Gossner, freshman midfielder Toni-Anne Cavallo and freshman attacker Kate Neese chipped in with two goals each. Freshman midfielder Karen Doane added the other goal for the Lions in the winning effort.
In a week which included three big wins for the Lions, junior goalkeeper Megan Marquardt felt the Rowan win was the biggest.
"Not only did we play really well, but it was a regional game, so it will hopefully help us to get a higher ranking for regionals," Marquardt said.
The Lions were able to beat out their toughest opponent on Sunday with a 12-8 home victory over 13th-ranked Washington and Lee University.
The College jumped out to a 7-1 lead and had a 9-2 halftime cushion, but Washington and Lee got back into the game in the second half. The Generals narrowed the deficit to four (10-6), but the Lions struck back with two more goals to take a more comfortable 12-6 lead with seven minutes remaining. The Generals added two goals in the final minutes to complete the scoring.
Dougher and Bigley once again led the Lions' scorers by tallying four goals each. Gossner added three goals and an assist and Neese added one goal.
In another highly productive offensive game for the Lions, they defeated Frostburg State University 19-2 on Saturday afternoon.
Bigley amassed an impressive 10 points with six goals and four assists. Dougher and Doane each had five goals, with Dougher also dishing out three assists. Senior defender Heather Rainey, Gossner and Cavallo each contributed a goal.
To wrap up an excellent week for the team, two Lions gained Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) honors for the week ending April 10. Marquardt was selected as the Goalie of the Week for the third week in a row and Doane was selected as the Player of the Week.
Marquardt said that it was an honor to be selected, but that she attributes much of her success to the team effort.
"It's a great honor and I'm just glad that the team is doing well," Marquardt said. "As long as (we) keep going and keep playing the way we are, we'll all be happy."
That team effort is something that head coach Sharon Pfluger has been trying to stress all year to her team and it is certainly showing at this point in the season.
"I see us getting better and better every game," Pfluger said. "Overall, we're playing very well as a team right now. We're starting five freshman and they're getting better every game. In the beginning of the year everyone was trying really hard and exerting a lot of energy, but now we're finally starting to play as a team."
Cavallo feels the team is at an excellent place right now and is ready to make its final regular season push into the playoffs.
"We are definitely more confident right now than we were in the beginning of the season," Cavallo said. "We are staying focused on continuing to improve every game."
On Thursday, the Lions will travel to Madison to take on Drew University and this weekend they will host Cabrini College and St. Mary's College.
(04/13/05 4:00pm)
The College's women's lacrosse team proved why they are ranked fifth in the nation last week by beating two opponents ranked in the top 20.
The wins gave the team a four-game winning streak and upped its record to 5-2.
In arguably their hardest fought game of the season, the visiting Lions squeaked out a 7-6 win over seventh-ranked Gettysburg College on Sunday in a non-conference matchup. The Bullets fell to 9-3 for the year.
At the end of the first half, the College was trailing 3-2, but in the second half both the offense and defense stepped it up a notch and got the win.
Junior midfielder Bridget Bigley's second goal of the day put the Lions ahead to stay with 19:21 remaining, part of a four-goal burst that turned a 4-2 deficit into a 6-4 lead.? Junior midfielder Lauren Dougher, who took 10 of the College's 17 shots, knocked in the rebound of her own shot for the eventual game-winner, helping the Lions improve to 6-0 all-time against the Bullets.
Freshman midfielder Karen Doane, Dougher and Bigley were the leading goal scorers for the Lions with two each and freshman midfielder Toni-Anne Cavallo also added a goal. Senior midfielder Lauren Gossner led the team in assists with two.
The twin duo of Toni-Anne and Christine Cavallo were the defensive stars at the end of the game for the College, with Christine causing a turnover and Toni-Anne picking up a groundball, giving Gettysburg no chance at tying the game.
According to senior defender Heather Rainey and many others, the win against Gettysburg was a big one for the College and is one that will hopefully propel them through the rest of the season.
Junior attacker Ellie Shihadeh scored twice for Gettysburg while senior midfielder Katie Lowe posted a team-high three points with a goal and two assists.? Junior midfielder Jenn Kelly chipped in with a goal and an assist in the loss, the Bullets' first on their home turf this season.
"The win against Gettysburg was a huge win on our record," Rainey said. "They are in our region and to be ranked higher than them will be a great pull for us when it comes to postseason play."
Last Tuesday the Lions took on No. 14 Stevens Institute of Technology at home and took control of the game from the very start. The Lions scored the first 12 goals of the game and never looked back from there in the 19-4 stomping.
Dougher and Doane led the way for the College, racking up six goals apiece. Other goal scorers included Bigley and Gossner, who each chipped in with two goals. Junior defender Meredith Spangler also scored for the Lions.
Senior midfielder Valerie Barnhart led the Ducks with a hat trick, while sophomore midfielder Theresa Dolan notched Stevens' other goal.
The Lions' pair of junior goalkeepers, Megan Marquardt and Paige Lucard, were excellent in the net for the Lions, allowing only four goals while stopping two shots.
Marquardt is very impressed with the way the team has played thus far this year and also with the individual performances from each and every player.
"We've had a lot of girls step up into some huge shoes that were left by the seniors that we lost to graduation," Marquardt said. "I'm proud of everyone for playing their hearts out each and every game."
Next up for the Lions is a huge match against Rowan on Thursday, adding another chapter to one of the biggest rivalries in New Jersey college athletics. Marquardt is aware of the intensity of the rivalry and is ready for anything Rowan has.
"Every (College) versus Rowan game is a big game," Marquardt said. "We're always pumped up for that kind of rivalry. They always bring their best game so it pushes us to play our best game too."
On Saturday and Sunday, the Lions will play two home games against Frostburg State and Washington and Lee University, respectively.
(03/30/05 12:00pm)
After a rough 1-2 start, the College's women's lacrosse team proved once again last week that they are among the elite teams in the nation.
Last Tuesday, the Lions traveled to Collegeville, Pa. and handily took care of Ursinus College 16-3. The Lions went into the game ranked sixth in the nation, but they had something to prove after suffering two defeats the previous week.
The Lions did not waste any time, with attacking the goal being their number one priority. At the end of the first half, the score was 2-1 in favor of the Lions, but in the second half the College stepped it up and scored 14 goals.
Junior midfielder Bridget Bigley and freshman midfielder Karen Doane tallied six goals apiece to lead all scorers on the day. Sophomore attacker Kate Neese and junior midfielder Lauren Dougher each notched two goals to cap off the Lions' scoring.
"It was nice to see Bigley start scoring again," head coach Sharon Pfluger said. "And Doane has been playing great for us and has enormous potential to continue to excel."
Junior goalie Megan Marquardt had a total of eight saves on the day.
On Saturday the Lions made the long trek to Fredericksburg, Va. to face the University of Mary Washington (UMW). Apparently, the Lions were not satisfied with only 16 goals in their previous game, so they tacked on four more in the 20-3 annihilation of UMW.
The Lions' offense spread the wealth around more in this game, with a total of eight scorers. Dougher led all goal scorers with four and also added on five assists. Bigley and freshman midfielder Toni-Anne Cavallo each had four goals and an assist. Other goal scorers included Neese with three and senior midfielder Lauren Gossner, who had a goal and three assists.
Once again, Marquardt had a solid game in net for the Lions, making seven saves in her 47 minutes played. Marquardt's solid play earned her the Eastern College Athletic Conference's goalie of the week honor for the first time this season.
After two unexpected losses at the beginning the season, the team seems to be in good shape, according to captain Dougher, who cites a strong team effort having a large role in the two wins this week.
"Our last two wins against Ursinus and Mary Washington were really crucial in helping us gain some of that confidence back," Dougher said. "But mostly we proved to ourselves that we have the talent to win big like that. It may sound a little clich?, but it really has been a big team effort. When someone makes a mistake, someone else is there to clean it up and you hardly even notice the error."
As a freshman, Cavallo said that she is already picking up on the team-oriented attitude that is needed to compete at a high level.
"You can't win with one person," Cavallo said. "So whether or not someone had the most amount of goals or the most ground balls doesn't make a difference because unless there were 11 of us working together on the field, we never would have won."
Pfluger said that the biggest obstacle facing the team after its two losses was many players' unfamiliarity with the feeling of losing in the regular season.
"Mostly, it was about regrouping and gaining our confidence back," she said. "The upperclassmen on the lacrosse team had never lost a regular season lacrosse game ever. The possibility of losing never came to their minds."
Now that the Lions once again have a winning record with three wins and two losses, it is time to start looking ahead to the future and some tougher competition. On Saturday, the College will be at home to take on St. Mary's College at 1 p.m. and on Tuesday, the Lions will play host to Stevens Institute of Technology at 7 p.m.
Both the coach and players seem primed for another successful week.
"I feel like we are back on track," Pfluger said. "Although we have experienced some tough growing pains, we should be stronger for the lessons we have learned."
Cavallo agreed. "If we continue to play with the intensity and passion like we have for the past couple of games, then we should come out on top," she said.
(03/16/05 5:00pm)
For a record 32nd straight year, the College finished in the top 25 at the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships.
The team finished in ninth place overall and two of its wrestlers, sophomore Joey Galante and junior Brian Dempsey, gained All-American status. Dempsey finished in fifth place to gain his second straight All-American citation and Galante finished in fourth place to earn his first ever All-American award.
Galante and Dempsey were not the only Lions wrestlers who performed well at the national championships, held on March 4 and 5 at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn.
Sophomore David Icenhower, who started out as an eighth seed in the tournament, defeated the number five seed, Jared Evans of Augsburg College, in the first round of the tournament. He went on to win his next match as well before losing to the top wrestler in the quarterfinals.
Senior co-captain Nick Vinciguerra entered the tournament as the number two seed, but he suffered a tough loss, 10-9, to unseeded Matt Loesch of Muhlenberg College. Vinciguerra won his first match in the consolation round but lost in the second round, putting an end to his tournament.
Freshman Jeff Harrington was unseeded going into the 174 pound tournament, but in the first round he defeated the eighth seed, Jason Shivak of Delaware Valley College. In the second round, he was pitted against the number one seed, Joe Moon of Augsburg College, and suffered a rough 13-2 defeat. Moon went on to win the tournament.
Sean Flynn, the College's other senior co-captain, wrapped up a strong college career with a loss in the consolation round to Ithaca College's Marc Israel by a score of 6-1. Flynn finished his career at the College with a 104-41 record.
Junior heavyweight Keith Bjorhus lost in the opening round of the tournament. He won his first match of the consolation round before suffering a heartbreaking 2-1 loss to Tommy Snyder of Lycoming College.
Galante and Dempsey were the stars of the weekend. For Galante, gaining All-American status was a great way to finish up the season. "I knew coming into the tournament I would do okay if I caught some breaks and just kept wrestling," Galante said. "Being an All-American makes me feel really good and just puts the season in perspective."
As for the performance of the team overall, Galante was certainly not upset with the ninth-place finish, but he would have been happier with a better finish. "We had a decent tournament overall, just a tough All-American round," Galante said. "We were not happy with ninth because we are always aiming for top five."
Harrington used his appearance in nationals as a learning experience because there are hopefully more to come in his future. "Being on such a big stage was pretty intimidating at first," Harrington said. "But after practicing there for the first few days and getting used to the environment, I was OK."
Now that the 2005 season is over, the team can start to look forward to next year. Dempsey says that although the team will be losing some key seniors, the talented youth will be able to carry the team next year.
"I think once we get some confidence in our younger guys, we will be pretty tough," Dempsey said.
(03/02/05 5:00pm)
With the two biggest indoor track meets of the year coming up, the College seems to be in full swing.
On Friday, the indoor track team took part in the New York University's Fast Track Meet at the 168th Street Armory in Manhattan. The meet was an important one for the College because it gave the individuals on the team one last chance to qualify for the East Coast Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championships and the NCAA Division III Championships.
The stars for the men were junior Jeff Zodda and senior Matt Molski. Zodda finished in third place in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:52.44, a new school record. The previous record was 1:53.37, which Zodda himself had set in 2003. This earned him a spot at the NCAA Division III championships.
Molski set a school record in the one-mile run. He turned in a time of 4:09.71, shattering the previous school record of 4:13.59, which he had held. He too will compete in the Division III championships.
On the women's side, the top performers at the Fast Track Meet were the members of the 4x400-meter relay team. Freshman Carolyn Gray, junior Tiffany Clark, freshman Jessica Bonelli and sophomore Angela Tecco finished in second place with their NCAA qualifying time of 3:54.19. This was one of the best times that the girls have turned in all year. Gray was very pleased with the way her team ran and is now looking forward to the two big meets coming up.
"This is pretty awesome," Gray said. "Coming into college it was one of my goals to make it to nationals some day, but I never thought it would happen so quickly. They did awesome last year, but we can only hope to do better."
Gray explained that in order to be successful for the remainder of the season, she needs to keep doing what she's been doing thus far.
"I need to be really aggressive and not hold anything back," she said. "If I listen to what the coaches have been telling me, I should be fine."
In addition to qualifying for nationals in the 4x400, Tecco also turned in a time of 58.59 in the 400-meter dash, which was good enough for 10th place overall and entrance into the NCAA qualifiers.
Coach Eric Mobley is content with the state of his team at this point of the season. "This meet was basically our last chance to get qualifiers for the ECACs and the NCAAs," Mobley said. "We wanted to take advantage of this opportunity, and I think we got the job done. We expect to do very well at the ECACs next week, and we intend to do everything we can to get a championship."
Freshman thrower Brian Donatelli, who will also be competing at nationals, said he has been waiting for this opportunity for a long time. "We look pretty good going in and we have a good chance of winning," Donatelli said. "Personally, I just need to do what I'm able to do, and I'll be fine."
Donatelli said that juniors Jeff Schwerdtman and Karim Cockrell have performed well thus far for the College and they will be instrumental in the College's success for the rest of the season.
The ECAC championships will take place on March 4-5 at St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y. and the NCAA Division III Championships will be on March 11-12 at Illinois Wesleyan University in Decatur, Ill.