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(11/01/11 4:47am)
In the final game of the season, the College’s men’s soccer team lost a tough match against Rowan University by a score of 3-0.
The Profs got off to a hot start by opening the game with a third-minute goal that just got past junior keeper Matt Frederick’s fingers. They struck again with a header in the 11th minute.
“Before the game, our coach told us that Rowan is a very intense team,” said sophomore midfielder Sean Casey. “After the first goal we were a little startled, but I think after that we settled in and played better.”
The Lions were unable to score in the second half, however, as the Profs cemented the victory with a third goal in the 79th minute.
“We had chances, we just weren’t able to score,” said sophomore midfielder Dan Lyons. “We had opportunities right in front of the goal that we couldn’t put away. They pressured us a lot, which was frustrating our team and made it difficult for us to move the ball around.”
The loss gave the College a record of five wins, eight losses and four ties. However, six of their eight losses were by one goal.
Although the team struggled throughout the year, several players had very good seasons. Junior midfielder Kevin Shaw and senior midfielder/forward Ed Kozic led the team with 11 points each. Junior midfielder Taylor Gregory also had nine points. Casey was first in assists on the team with five.
Cut short of the NJAC playoffs, the Lions’ season came to an end. Overall, the season was something of a letdown for the players.
“It was very disappointing,” said Casey. “We lost Ray Nelan in the beginning of the year and that hurt us. But I still thought we had the potential to do better.”
Looking forward to next season, however, there is certainly room for optimism.
“I’m definitely excited for next year,” Lyons said. “We’re all looking forward to improving in the offseason. We have a good group of guys coming back, so I think we have a good shot for next year.”
(10/26/11 3:52pm)
After a tough loss to Buffalo State College last week, the College bounced back for their homecoming game as they pulled off a huge upset over previously undefeated and No. 7-in-the-country Montclair State University, 27-21.
The College was led on offense by senior quarterback Jay Donoghue and senior running back Joe Falco, who accounted for all three of the team’s touchdowns.
After the Lions scored a field goal on their opening drive, the Red Hawks came right back with senior running back Chris D’Andrea, the leading rusher in the NJAC, running for a 58-yard touchdown on their second play from scrimmage.
However, the Lions responded right away with a long drive that included a few third-down conversions and ended with a one-yard touchdown plunge by Donoghue.
“We had to respond,” said Donoghue. “Last week we went down 14-0 and couldn’t rally. It’s more of a confidence thing than anything.”
The Lions’ pass rush was the key to rattling Montclair’s backup quarterback Drew Cathey. The team recorded three sacks and made it very difficult for Cathey to throw the ball, putting him under pressure and forcing two interceptions.
On the very first play of the second quarter, senior defensive back Derek Goreczny had a huge play, blocking a punt that gave the Lions first and goal on the four-yard line. The drive ended in a field goal, giving the College a 13-7 lead.
Then, on the following drive, senior defensive back Phil Gatti picked off Cathey and returned it 60 yards. Falco rushed to the left for an 11-yard touchdown the next play, making the score 20-7.
The Red Hawks then turned the ball over for the third consecutive drive, as the College’s No. 1-in-the-NJAC red zone defense came through with Goreczny intercepting the ball in the end zone.
“Our defensive ends and tackles did great,” said Goreczny. “It was so important to make them throw.”
The tide turned at the beginning of the second half as D’Andrea gave the Red Hawks another huge touchdown run, this one from 55 yards out.
The Red Hawks then blocked a punt of their own and returned it to the Lions’ 19-yard line. After being stuffed three straight times on the goal line, D’Andrea caught a two-yard touchdown pass from Cathey on fourth-and-goal, giving them the lead, 21-20.
As soon as it seemed the Red Hawks were going to take over the game, senior defensive back Shawn Brown made a big stop on a third down and a bad punt gave the Lions great field position as their ugly third quarter came to an end.
“It was really important, one of the game-changing moments,” said Brown.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Donoghue miraculously avoided a sack with a defender draped all over him and was able to throw it out of bounds. He threw a seven-yard touchdown pass to Falco on the next play.
“A kid came free and senior lineman Dan Strasle forced him to fall right on my legs,” said Donoghue. “I give him credit for not giving up.”
That go-ahead touchdown would prove to be the clincher, as the Lions were able to kill the clock and finish out the game.
“Everybody came together today for the win,” said Brown. “We played our own football and beat them.”
The team was ecstatic after the win, getting a great homecoming victory in front of the College faithful and their fourth win in four tries at home.
“It’s unbelievable,” said Donoghue. “We haven’t beaten them since 2007. Hopefully we can rattle off more wins and be competitive in the NJAC.”
This was a crucial win that puts the Lions right in the thick of competition for the conference title. This weekend, the Lions head to SUNY-Cortland to try and continue their winning ways.
(10/12/11 8:50pm)
With the ALCS and NLCS fully underway, many are considering the postseason to be completely wide open. The Brewers and Rangers are trying to score the first World Series win for their respective franchises, while the Tigers and Cardinals are trying to return to the World Series for the first time since they were both there in 2006. But with the Yankees, Red Sox and Phillies all gone, this year’s postseason still has fans scratching their heads.
It’s fitting that the movie “Moneyball” hit theatres right before the postseason. The film shows how an Oakland team used an unorthodox drafting strategy to get wins for a small market team.
New York, Boston and Philadelphia are the opposite of small market. They have the highest salaries in baseball — all over $150 million. On the contrary, the Tigers and Cardinals are just over $100 million, and the Rangers and Brewers fall just under that.
This just goes to show that money alone does not win championships.
The Red Sox have always been good at developing young players. Kevin Youklis and Dustin Pedroia are prime examples of that. However, when the signing of Carl Crawford turned out to be a huge bust, it made the team look bad. A miserable September collapse looked even worse.
“Greatest pitching rotation ever” is a term that was seriously used to describe the four top pitchers on the Phillies. Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cliff Lee were all acquired with expectations of sending them to a World Series, but they couldn’t even get an NLDS win in a five game series against a Cardinals team without one of their best players, Matt Holliday.
Finally, the team that has always been built around money, the New York Yankees, struggled in the playoffs. Their pitching staff was average and they didn’t try to get another arm before the trade deadline. Usually, a lineup like the one New York has would be able to bail them out — not after the way A-Rod, Teixeira and the others were hitting. They were not the clutch hitters they needed to be.
All three of these amazing ball clubs couldn’t get it done when it mattered the most. Maybe after this year’s postseason, they may start changing the way they build their team.