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(11/08/16 5:21am)
By George Tatoris
Sports Editor
The men’s and women’s swimming teams beat New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) rivals, the Ramapo College Roadrunners, on Saturday, Nov. 5. The men’s team won a decisive victory of 159-98, while the women’s team won 142-118. The diving team did not compete at the meet.
Sophomore Alex Skoog showed that he was a Renaissance man in the water by winning both the 1000-yard freestyle with a time of 10:07.24 and the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:57.23.
Skoog was also the first leg in the 200-yard medley relay race. Joining him in the water were seniors Scott Vitabile and Andrew Nesbitt and junior Adam Coppola. Together, they conquered Ramapo with a combined time of 1:38.66.
Nesbitt and Coppola swept the 100-yard freestyle, finishing first with a time of 48.37 and second with a time of 49.97, respectively. Coppola finished first with a time of 54.36 in the 100-yard backstroke, as well. Nesbitt, his medley teammate, won the Lions first in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 1:57.69. Just behind him with a time of 1:57.75, was sophomore Samuel Maquet.
Freshman Harrison Yi hit the wall first in both the 200-freestyle with a time of 1:46.26 and the 500-free with a time of 4:54.55. Nesbitt took second in the 200-free with a time of 1:49.70. Yi also showed his versatility by winning the 400-yard individual medley with a time of 4:54.55.
Vitabile, Skoog, junior Phil Binaco and freshman David Madigan showed no fatigue when they combined to win the last event of the evening — the 400-yard freestyle relay. The quartet finished with a time of 3:17.36.
Just as Skoog won the 1000-free for the men, sophomore Gabi Denicola did so for the women with a time of 11:17.59. Denicola also finished first in the 500-free with a time of 5:31.00.
The Lions took the top two spots in the women’s 20-yard backstroke. Senior Brenna Strollo took first with a time 2:12.20 while junior Jillian Galindo followed with a time of 2:16.29. Strollo was also just a fraction of a second behind a Roadrunner in the 100-back, finishing just shy of the first place time of 1:02.67 with her own time of 1:03.35.
The Lions saw another twofer in the 200-yard butterfly. Junior Debbie Meskin took first with a time of 2:22.22 and fellow junior Cassidy Bergeron followed with a time of 2:30.13.
The last one-two finish came in the 200-yard breaststroke. Junior Marta Lawler finished first with a time of 2:34.44, and freshman Annie Menninger, with a time of 2:36.28, was close behind.
Strollo, Lawler, Meskin and junior Allison Huber were runner-ups in the 200-yard medley relay by only three seconds to Ramapo’s A team.
The swimming and diving teams enter the water again Friday, Nov. 11, and Saturday, Nov. 12, when they will compete against top-class teams at the Princeton Invitational. Princeton’s facilities are familiar to the Lions, who competed in a non-scored scrimmage there on Friday, Oct. 14.
(11/01/16 10:08pm)
By George Tatoris
Sports Editor
In the final regular season game of her collegiate career, senior defender Shannon Cowles scored her first Lions goal against the Eastern University Eagles.
Cowles’s goal contributed to a 7-0 shutout against the Eagles on Saturday, Oct. 29. It was a fitting end to a week dedicated to the senior Lions.
On Tuesday, Oct. 25, the field hockey team honored its graduating class for Senior Night as they prepared to play their last regular home season game against Albright College.
Besides Cowles, defenders Lexi Smith and Alexa Magnotta; forward/midfielders Jaclyn Douglas and Danielle Andreula; forward/defender Ally Pennypacker and goalkeeper Kelly Schlupp were the seven honorees. The College won the matchup, 7-1.
Over the last four years, these seven saw plenty of success on the field — they won 71 games, two consecutive New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) titles in 2014 and 2015 and brought home an NCAA title in 2014.
Any doubts to the team’s continued success were quickly thwarted by freshman defender Cayla Andrews, who collected a rebound just six minutes into the contest and arced the ball over Albright goalkeeper Aileen Taylor’s head for the College’s first goal of the game.
The College continued to dominate throughout the first half, scoring four more goals in the span of just nine minutes.
At 19:38, Smith dribbled up to the net and reverse swept it in for the second goal of the game.
At 24:01, she received the ball on a corner play and sent it junior defender Jackie Schwartz for goal number three.
Less than a minute later, the ball bounced off the post and Douglas flicked it in for the fourth goal of the game.
At 27:58, Schwartz crossed the ball to sophomore forward Taylor Barrett, who found the back of the net with ease for her first goal of the season. At the end of the period, the score was 5-0 in favor of the College.
Albright showed steely determination with a goal just two minutes into the second half, but the vigor quickly wore off as they failed to land another shot for the rest of the game.
Meanwhile, the College continued to break through Albright’s defense. Sophomore midfielder/defender Sidney Padilla turned a pass from Schwartz into goal number six, and Barrett scored her second goal of the season to close the game, 7-1.
Andrews opened the scoring early on Saturday with a little help from Smith just four minutes into the first half.
A flurry of Lions goals lasting four minutes brought the score to 4-0. Junior forward Elizabeth Morrison floated the ball over the goalkeeper’s head for the second Lions goal, and Andrews scored her third goal of the week just three minutes later.
Cowles’s goal closed out the first half.
Smith opened scoring in the second half. Following two back-to-back shots, she found the back of the net and Schwartz earned the assist.
Douglas scored off an assist from Andrews soon after, and Morrison closed out the scoring off an assist from Smith.
After a month of see-sawing due to illness and injury — first winning a game, then losing another — the Lions turned things around to win all of their games in the month of October. They end their regular season riding a 10-game win streak as they turn their attention to the NJAC tournament.
(11/01/16 3:15am)
By George Tatoris
Sports Editor
The men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams won a pair of victories against the Montclair State University Red Hawks on Friday, Oct. 28.
The men’s team soundly defeated the Red Hawks, 189-102, and the women’s team conquered with a 178-108 score.
“Anytime you can beat a conference foe is a plus,” men’s head coach Brian Bishop said.
The victory marked the 33rd consecutive New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) win for the women’s team since the sport was re-introduced in the 2008-09 season.
Senior Brenna Strollo contributed to the win with two first-place performances. She clocked in at 1:30.07 in the 100-yard backstroke, and at 2:13.00 in the 200-back.
Junior Marta Lawler also won two races — the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke, which she finished at 1:11.39 and 2:32.38, respectively. Lawler narrowly beat out Red Hawk Claire Luigard by mere milliseconds in both events.
Junior Debbie Meskin dominated in the butterfly category, hitting the wall in the 100-yard fly at 1:03.11 and the 200-yard at 2:20.68, seven seconds ahead of her nearest Red Hawk opponent.
Junior Allison Huber won the 50-yard freestyle at a swift 25.76 seconds.
The quartet of Strollo, Lawler, Meskin and Huber teamed up for the highlight of the Lions performance that night — the 200-yard medley relay.
The four combined for a time of 1:30.07, a full half a minute ahead of Montclair’s top finish of 1:57.78.
Junior Emily Rothstein skirted past her Red Hawk opponents to earn the College a win in the 200-yard freestyle.
Huber, Rothstein and juniors Robin Lukens and Cassidy Bergeron capped the Lions win with a first-place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay race at 3:49.13.
Junior diver Hannah Raymond and senior diver Sarah Grassi split the diving events. Raymond won the 1-meter dive with a score of 189.00, while Grassi followed with a score of 172.28.
In the 3-meter, Grassi took first with a score of 284.85 while Raymond finished second with 268.73. The women’s team is 1-1 after the Montclair meet, while the men’s team is 2-0.
On the men’s team, junior David Adlai-Gail took first in both men’s diving events, scoring 174.00 in the 1-meter and 225.30 in the 3-meter. Freshman Matthew Bendik finished second in the 1-meter with a score of 126.98.
Senior Scott Vitabile captured the win in three races — he won the 100- and 200-yard freestyles with times of 47.32 and 1:42.78, respectively, and the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 51.97.
Bishop said Vitabile has developed into a “true leader.”
Vitabile played a key role in the 400-yard freestyle relay, which saw him team up with freshman Harrison Yi, senior Andrew Nesbitt and junior Adam Coppola for a 3:18.09 first-place finish.
Yi, the NJAC Rookie of the Week, took top honors in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:45.43. The Lions swept that event — sophomore Alex Skoog finished second with a time of 4:54.49 and freshman David Madigan clocked in just behind with a time of 4:56.94.
Coppola, Nesbitt, Skoog and Madigan combined to win the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:36.58.
Coppola also took first in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 21.61 seconds.
Nesbitt hit the wall in less than a minute to win the 100-yard breaststroke, clocking in at 58.83 seconds. Just behind him was junior Chris O’Sullivan, finishing in 1:01.36.
To top this long list of winners, sophomore Sam Maquet won the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:00.82, and freshman Andrew Ro won his first collegiate-level event by clocking in at 2:15.02 in the 200-yard breaststroke.
The diving team will get a break next week as the Lions travel to Mahwah, N.J., for a swimming-only meet against Ramapo College on Friday, Nov. 5.
“Away conference meets are always a challenge so we will need to stay focused and swim well in order to win,” Bishop said.
(10/26/16 4:46pm)
By George Tatoris
Sports Editor
It was a dead heat. With ten minutes remaining, the No. 7-ranked Lions field hockey team and the No. 16-ranked Kean University Cougars were tied at 2. For the past 70 minutes, whenever the Lions scored, the Cougars followed up. To add to the tension, the winner clinches the top seed in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) tournament.
Kean nearly pulled ahead in the final minutes, but the shot shuddered off the Lions goal post. It was a close call.
The Lions now had less than three minutes to put another tally on the board. Junior forward Elizabeth Morrison got the ball with seconds remaining and sent it sailing toward the Cougars net, only for Kean goalkeeper Erin Smith to turn it into a save.
The game went into overtime.
The Lions and the Cougars dragged it out as both sides failed to capitalize on scoring opportunities. Senior defender Lexi Smith made a defensive save in the first 30 seconds of play and Kean’s next shot went wide right. The Lions had a few penalty corners themselves, but Erin Smith had put up a wall.
With less than a minute remaining in the overtime period, junior defender Jackie Schwartz made a long pass to Morrison, who carried it all the way to the goal. Suddenly, it seemed the stadium was experiencing a case of déjà vu.
Morrison had the ball, Erin Smith was in the goal, and the clock was winding down, but this time, Erin Smith was not able to make the save. The Lions won, 3-2.
Combined with a 6-1 victory against NJAC rival Stockton University on Tuesday, Oct. 18, the win against Kean left the Lions undefeated in NJAC play.
“These two wins have earned us the number one spot in the NJAC Playoff Tournament, which we are very excited about and proud of,” sophomore forward Jordan Paton said.
Paton contributed in two NJAC games with two assists against conference rivals Ramapo College and Stockton University.
Kean would have been undefeated in the NJAC, but had just suffered its first loss of the season on Wednesday, Oct. 19. The Lions, meanwhile, were riding a seven-game win streak in spite of a rocky September.
“The month of October has been an extremely different ride compared to the earlier part of our season,” Paton said. “The entire team is in tune with each other on and off the field, and we continue to grow each day as a unit.”
The Cougars were hungry for redemption, and the Lions were keen to add Kean to their list of beaten teams, which had become extensive in the past three weeks.
Before assisting Morrison’s winning goal, Schwartz opened the scoring less than 10 minutes in on a penalty corner. She turned a pass from Lexi Smith into the College’s first goal.
By the end of the first half, the Cougars answered with a goal of their own, taking advantage of a penalty corner for the first equalizer.
Lions fought back in the second half. On a corner play, Morrison fired a shot at the Cougars goal, only for Erin Smith to make a save. In almost fortuitous fashion, Morrison ultimately got the best of the Cougars goalkeeper — just as she would for the winning goal — and knocked her own rebound into the net, putting the Lions ahead, 2-1.
The Lions defense kept the Cougars scoreless for the next 20 minutes. Throughout the game, junior goalkeeper Christina Fabiano accrued four saves, Smith made three defensive saves and senior defender Shannon Cowles made one.
Kean forward Rachel Mills managed to slip past the defenders and tied it up again at the 62nd minute, firing a rebounded shot into the net for the Cougars second goal of the day. Morrison would be the one to finally end the back and forth.
Morrison also played a key part in the Stockton game. She scored a hat trick that elevated the team to its 6-1 victory, and her first goal happened less than 10 minutes into the first half. She charged up the left side of the field and rocketed a shot into the Ospreys net that shook wood.
The Lions were kept from scoring throughout the first half as Stockton goalkeeper Emily Sorochynskyj cumulated six saves.
The single corner play the Ospreys had during this time was made fruitless by a defensive save from Smith.
Finally, at just under the 30th minute, senior forward/midfielder Danielle Andreula contributed the second Lions goal.
Senior forward/midfielder Jaclyn Douglas opened scoring in the second half by launching a shot from the right side to make it a 3-0 game. Douglas started a corner play three minutes later that added yet another tally. Douglas passed to sophomore forward Taylor Barrett, who passed to Morrison for her second goal of the game.
Morrison returned the favor not long after, sending a long pass to Douglas for her second goal of the game. Morrison pulled off the hat trick on a corner play initiated by Smith. Paton was the messenger this time, sending the ball to Morrison for the goal. Paton was contented to play a part in the goal.
“Our team did a fantastic job on capitalizing on the scoring opportunities during the Stockton game,” Paton said. “Each goal and assist was well deserved and I am extremely happy to have contributed to our win.”
In all this time, Stockton never gave up. With 10 seconds on the clock, Osprey Emily McNeill scored during a scramble in front of the net and spoiled the shutout.
The Lions have a 12-3 record after this week’s wins. As the postseason draws nearer, Paton has faith in herself and in her team.
"I am confident that our intensity will remain constant as we enter the end of the regular season," Paton said.
(10/26/16 1:53pm)
By George Tatoris
Sports Editor
The men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams travelled to Connecticut, the “Land of Steady Habits,” on Saturday, Oct. 22, to partake in a steady habit of their own — an annual meet against the Division II Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) Owls.The men’s team posted a clean 166-118 victory over the Owls while the women’s team lost by a slim margin of 147-137.
“It’s always a good rivalry with Southern Connecticut so it’s hard to lose to them but they had a good meet,” women’s head coach Jennifer Harnett said.
Despite the loss, both teams saw strong individual performances in this regular season opener.
Both the men’s and the women’s teams have been New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) champions since swimming was re-instated as a conference sport eight years ago after a 10-year gap. Before that, the men’s team held the title for an additional five years and the women’s team an additional four.
Four All-Americans on the men’s team will be returning this season — sophomore Alexander Skoog, junior Phil Binaco and seniors Ryan Gajdzisz and Scott Vitabile.
The women’s team placed first in the NJAC preseason coaches’ poll, but fell to fifth after this week’s close loss. The men’s team was voted second despite their long history of success, but head coach Brian Bishop said the poll did not affect the team’s outlook.
“Our focus is solely on the NCAA championships,” Bishop said. “Where we finish in the preseason NJAC poll has no bearing on the NCAA Championships.”
The men’s team did not show any signs of decay in Connecticut on Saturday.
The men’s 50-yard freestyle demonstrated the men’s team’s ability in dramatic fashion as the top three finished within one second of each other.
Senior Andrew Nesbitt took first place with a swift 21.81 seconds. Junior Adam Coppola was not far behind at 22.15 seconds. Both Lions outpaced Owl Tyler Vander Vos, who reached the wall at 22.38 seconds.
Nesbitt also placed first in the 100-yard freestyle at 47.56 seconds, while Vitabile finished just behind him at 47.82 seconds. Nesbitt wasn’t the only Lion to finish first in two events that Saturday.
Junior Chris O’Sullivan also conquered his Connecticut rivals in both the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke, clocking in times of 1:03.10 and 2:19.44, respectively.
Vitabile overcame the Owls in the 100-yard butterfly and the 200-yard freestyle. In both races, Vitabile was the only Lion in a pool full of Owls.
The fourth Lion to win two events was freshman Harrison Yi, who hit the wall in the 500- and 1000-yard freestyle at 4:52.08 and 10:03.84, respectively. The latter race was the longest race of the day.
The freshmen shined, according to Bishop, who said he was “very pleased” with their performance.
Yi, Nesbitt, Vitabile and Skoog teamed up to win the 400-yard relay with a combined time of 3:32.38.
Skoog also won the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:00.23. Sophomore Samuel Maquet was first to the wall in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 1:59.94.
“I was very pleased with the intensity everyone had throughout the meet,” Bishop said. “SCSU is a tough team and any time you can win on the road is a bonus.”
The women’s team’s lost their bout, 147-137. Harnett said that, since it was the first meet of the season, “there (were) still some things we need to work on that (SCSU) were able to capitalize on.”
Although the women’s team lost overall, Saturday saw many personal successes for the team. Junior Marta Lawler won both of her individual events — she finished the 100-yard breaststroke at 1:11.39 and the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:32.80.
Senior Brenna Strollo was first in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:12.98, more than three seconds ahead of the nearest Owl.
Strollo partnered with juniors Emily Rothstein, Robin Lukens and Allison Huber to sink their competition in the 200-yard relay freestyle, combining for a time of 1:44.26. Rothstein was also runner up in the 100- and 200-yard freestyles, coming in at 56.22 and 2:02.95, respectively.
Sophomore Gabi Denicola was also a runner up in two races, finishing the 500-yard freestyle at 5:33.20 and the 1000-yard freestyle at 11:14.24.
The Lions snagged the first two spots in the 1-meter dive for a combined 13 points. Junior Hannah Raymond took first with a score of 252.16 and senior Sarah Grassi followed with 242.62 points, well ahead of the nearest SCSU diver’s 220.23 points. In spite of the loss, Harnett is excited for the season, and believes they can adapt.
“We have a smaller team than in past years, so we are just going to have to be more strategic in our lineups,” Harnett said. “But we have a young team that is very motivated and willing to step up.”
The Lions will return home to face NJAC rival Montclair State University at the Aquatic Center on Friday, Oct. 28, at 5 p.m.
(10/19/16 4:54am)
In this week’s edition of Around the Dorm, “Ref” Sean Reis asks our panel of three experts — Connor Smith, Marc Trotochaud and Matt Ajaj — three questions: Will “Big Papi” have his place in baseball history? With four teams remaining in the League of Legends (LoL) World Championship, who is going to win it all this season? Why do you think the NFL has taken such a ratings dive?
1. As a Yankees fan, one of my favorite moments was watching David “Big Papi” Ortiz’s career come to an end with the Red Sox being swept, but will Big Papi have his place in baseball history?
Connor: David Ortiz skated past the steroid era, and his accomplishments leave me to believe he has a clear path toward Cooperstown. Whether you like him or hate him, Ortiz is a three-time World Champion. He had 541 career home runs, a career .552 slugging percentage and is among the top five in Red Sox club history for wins above replacement. He has the numbers, but also the historic significance toward his hometown club. His heroics in the 2004 American League Championship Series helped break the Curse of the Bambino, while his 2013 post-Boston Marathon Bombing speech united his city in a manner similar to Mike Piazza, a 2016 inductee. For those reasons and more, baseball will remember Big Papi — it always does.
Marc: Sean, way to start off ATD by making me emotional. As an avid Red Sox fan, nothing crushed my dreams more than the start of this postseason, and nothing hurt my heart more than knowing that number 34 would never play on an MLB field again. I respect Big Papi as much as — if not more than — any professional athlete in my lifetime. His passion, attitude, ability and charisma made him an iconic franchise player and a name that we will not soon forget. Aside from his impact on the Red Sox organization, his position in baseball history is set as the greatest designated hitter to play in the league, and one of the most clutch postseason performers of all time.
Matt: David Ortiz will go down in baseball history as a legendary power hitter who dominated the game for well over a decade. He was a major cog in the Red Sox lineup for three championships — highlights of these runs include 2004’s breaking of the “Curse of the Bambino” and Ortiz’s epic 2013 World Series MVP Performance when he batted .688 in the series. The dark cloud that will always hover over Ortiz’s career is his alleged positive test for performance-enhancing drugs back in 2003. The details surrounding the test were questionable, and MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred stated two weeks ago that it was “entirely possible” that Ortiz did not test positive on the test. Seeing it took would-be first ballot Hall of Famer Mike Piazza four years to finally make it into the Hall despite zero positive PED tests, Ortiz’s entrance into the Hall will likely be belated. Regardless, Ortiz dominated the game cleanly for the 13 years that followed that alleged positive test, and those 13 years can stand alone as more than worthy enough for a place in the Hall of Fame.
3 points to all responses because all had strong answers, they were just expressed in slightly different ways. Everybody wins... for now.
2. Who do you like in the LoL Championship and who’s going to win it all?
Connor: Due to group-stage results, three of the four best teams in the tournament ended up in the same side of the bracket. Between, SK Telecom T1 (SKT) and the ROX Tigers, the tournament winner will be a tossup. Both Samsung Galaxy and H2K have shown noticeable weaknesses that make them easy prey for both SKT and the Tigers. The Tigers enter the semifinals as the victors of League Champions Korea (LCK) but the win came without facing its arch-rivals: Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok and SKT. They lucked out when KT Rolster eliminated SKT in the summer playoffs, but this time, Lee “Kuro” Seo-haeng and company most prove themselves against the defending world champs. Given SKT has never lost to the Tigers in an elimination match, they’re my pick to win it all.
Marc: I have watched more professional LoL in my life than I care to admit, and this past weekend left me on the edge of my seat. Would the last American hope of Cloud9 win against heavy favorites? Would wildcard Albus NoX with wonder-kid support Likkrit be able to make noise against H2K? The answer, sadly, was no. The sport had all three of its qualifying teams advance to the semifinals. This set up the matches of SKT, last year’s champion with the Michael Jordan-esque player “Faker” looking to get his third (out of five) championships, versus top seed ROX Tiger, and past winner Samsung going up against Europe’s H2K. I would love to see a matchup of past champions going head to head so I will pick SKT and Samsung to make it to the final. What happens there is more questionable, but I side with SKT because they are rolling with house money. Every time that a team with Faker has made worlds, they’ve won.
Matt: I’m not going to pretend like I know anything about LoL, so I’m just going to judge the merits of these teams based on their team names. The first semifinal matchup is the ROX Tigers versus SK Telecom T1. I don’t even know what that latter team name is supposed to mean, so the ROX Tigers win this one by default. The second semifinal matchup is Samsung Galaxy versus H2K. “Samsung Galaxy” loses this one just for being total sellouts. Naming your team after a phone — really? What’s next, the Golden State iPhone 7s? Such a name goes against the spirit of sports and tells me that these guys are just in it for the sponsorship deals and not actually interested in winning. So that brings it down to ROX Tigers and H2K in the championship match, and the winner will be… I don’t know. The fact that these guys get paid to play a video game makes them all winners in my envious eyes.
Marc gets 3 points for comparing Faker to Jordan. Connor gets 2 points because he also picked SKT to win it all. And Matt, sorry I laughed, but only 1 point.
3. The NFL has seen significantly lower ratings this season. Why do you think the NFL has taken an unprecedented ratings dive?
Connor: The NFL’s recent changes make the game frustrating to watch for so many reasons. The kickoff changes gutted the game’s most exciting plays. Penalties and fines removed touchdown celebrations. Routine tackles net flags far too often. That said, I still get up and watch football every Sunday. The Giants losing still ruins my day, while a win in fantasy makes it so all is good in the world. I consume football all the time, but as a broke college student in the digital age, I likely don’t count toward those viewership numbers. Digital streaming — both legally and otherwise — makes cable unattractive to young people. I’d go as far to say that, in a world where HBO Go and Netflix have all the entertainment one could ever want, the NFL is one of the reasons people stay with their cable providers.
Marc: I have two reasons why the NFL has seen such a significant drop in ratings over the beginning of the season. The NFL had nowhere else to go but down. When you are the most popular sport in America, it is hard to maintain the insane viewership, and a ratings drop was inevitable. To be frank, in the past few decades the general public has watched too much football, suggesting that these drop in ratings may not only be normal, but also a good thing. The secondary reason is that the country is in the midst of a polarizing election. Some of these big games have come in conflict with major political events, and detracted from the viewership substantially. I honestly believe that the NFL will bounce back and be just fine, that is until the new collective barring agreement comes along and the threat of a lockout ensues.
Matt: People are turning away from the NFL because it is becoming less about football. Regardless of how you feel about the politics of Colin Kaepernick and friends, their actions have frustrated many Americans. Along with the NFL’s denial of the Cowboys’ request to wear decals in honor of the fallen Dallas officers, many fans feel marginalized. Some popular Twitter pundits have even called for their followers to protest the NFL by refusing to watch the games. Additionally, the excitement of this year’s presidential election has people turning to the news rather than football, and sports media hasn’t done the NFL any favors by focusing more on the politics of the sport than the actual sport itself. Want the fans to come back? Throw out the politics and get back to the pigskin.
Connor gets 3 points because the game has been so frustrating to watch. Matt and Marc get 2 political points.
(10/19/16 4:32am)
By George Tatoris
Sports Editor
Last October, the field hockey team faced off against Ursinus College in what would turn out to be one of its toughest matchups of the 2015 season.
Things looked bright for the Lions as they opened the scoring, but Ursinus answered with two goals of their own in the first 14 minutes. The rest of the game went scoreless as the Lions fought to close the gap and the Bears fought to stay on top.
The matchup resulted in the College’s only regular season loss.
Almost one year later, on Thursday Oct. 13, the Lions faced the Bears once again. They continued where they left off.
Neither team scored in the first half, nor the second — and that was not out of passivity.
The Bears and Lions participated in a tug-of-war in the middle of the field in the first half, and neither team had much chance to score.
The second half saw both teams miss several opportunities, as the Lions accumulated nine shots and five penalty corners against the Bears four shots and three penalty corners, but both defenses stonewalled their opponent.
In overtime, senior midfielder/forward Jaclyn Douglas collected the ball from junior forward Elizabeth Morrison, and launched a shot at the goal for the Bears seventh save of the night.
However, Douglas quickly swept her own rebound into the net for the golden goal.
The crowd erupted and Douglas was tackled by her own teammates in celebration.
The Lions won, 1-0.
Junior goalkeeper Christina Fabiano saw the action happen from across the field.
“Jackie’s goal was amazing and (Morrison’s) assist to her was also just a great effort put together,” Fabiano said. “The girls really left it all out on the field that night.”
Fabiano was in the net for the entirety of the game and accrued three saves throughout.
“It’s been awesome being out on the field with my team,” Fabiano said. “The Ursinus game was such a hard-fought game, but I knew how badly we wanted it and I never doubted we wouldn’t come out on top.”
For the past two weeks, the Lions have dominated their competition. In addition to Ursinus, they also out-fought Rowan University on Tuesday, Oct. 4, 3-2; shutout Montclair University on Saturday, Oct. 8, 4-0; and trampled Ramapo College on Saturday, Oct. 15, 7-0 — all three of which were New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) victories.
These latest victories give the Lions a six-win streak — their longest before this was only two. After after seesawing for the first half of the season, the Lions appear to have found their footing.
Douglas decided the Rowan game on Tuesday, Oct. 4, in a similarly dramatic fashion to the Ursinus game.
The game was tied at 1 for a majority of the second half, but Rowan crawled ahead with a goal from Rachel Galante. Now behind with less than six minutes to tie it up, senior defender Lexi Smith gave the Lions what they needed when she scored the equalizer on a penalty stroke.
The game might have gone into overtime if not for Douglas, who picked up a feed from Morrison and knocked it in for the 3-2 victory. Combined with a 7-0 shutout against William Paterson University the week before, this left the Lions undefeated in the NJAC.
On Saturday, Oct. 8, the Lions faced their third NJAC opponent, Montclair State University, who put up a strong defense in the first half. The Lions seemed unable to score after seven penalty corners and seven shots.
Riding the momentum from the victory over Rowan, the Lions broke through the stalwart defense late in the half when senior defender Alexa Magnotta crossed the ball to Douglas for the first goal of the game with four minutes remaining in the first half.
The Lions kept up their constant attack on Montclair’s goal in the second half. Smith widened the gap by knocking in a feed from sophomore forward Taylor Barrett on a penalty corner, and minutes later, Douglas rattled in a goal on another penalty corner with some help from Smith.
Freshman defender Cayla Andrews provided the cherry on top by scoring off her own rebound to lead to a 4-0 shutout.
A 7-0 victory against Ramapo University on Saturday, Oct. 15, provided the Lions with their second NJAC shutout.
The Lions opened the scoring late in the first half as Ramapo goalkeeper Emily Wisneski kept the Lions out of the net for the first 27 minutes. After Wisneski racked up seven saves, sophomore midfielder Kayla Mosser fed the ball to Andrews, who sent it into the net.
In the final minutes of the first half, Smith and senior midfielder/defender Danielle Andreula brought the score to 3-0. The Lions only needed 10 minutes in the second half to double their lead.
At two minutes into the second half, Smith found the back of the net off a feed from sophomore defender Jordan Paton.
At seven, Morrison scored off a feed from sophomore midfielder/defender Sidney Padilla.
At 10, Magnotta scored her first goal of the season.
Morrison scored lucky number seven. The Lions outshot Ramapo, 40-0.
The College’s aggressive style of play means opponents have few chances to score, and the few times the offense loses control of the ball, the defense almost always keeps the ball away from the goal. In the last two weeks, only two goals were scored on the Lions in all four of their games.
“Our defense has been incredibly solid and they really haven’t allowed many shots on me,” Fabiano said. “They’ve been working hard every day and it’s really been showing.”
(10/06/16 3:14am)
By George Tatoris
Sports Editor
The Lions field hockey team was in a tough spot on Tuesday, Sep. 27. The Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham Devils had mustered three goals in the second half, eliminating the Lions lead and tying the game at 3 with less than 10 minutes left in the game. As the Lions set themselves up for a penalty corner two minutes later, they were well aware that this might be their last chance to score.
Sophomore forward Taylor Barrett was positioned next to the Devils goal, facing her teammates poised at the top of the box. Meanwhile, the Devils defense girded themselves inside their own goal.
As the Devils and Lions rushed at each other, Barrett transferred the ball to senior defender Lexi Smith, who danced around the Devils defense and launched the ball into the net with less than six minutes left in the contest. The goal completed Smith’s hat trick and won the Lions the game, 4-3.
Although the Lions came out on top, head coach Sharon Pfluger acknowledged the Devils second-half comeback highlighted some of the Lions’ shortcomings.
“We played well but we needed to hold that lead better than we did,” Pfluger said.
The Lions started out strong as Smith singlehandedly gave the team a two-point lead in the opening half. She ended a 20-yard drive with the Lions breakthrough goal and soon after scored on a corner play initiated by sophomore forward/midfielder Caroline Quinn.
Fairleigh Dickinson answered in the second half with a swift assault on the Lions goal, taking advantage of a penalty corner and a penalty kick to tie up the game in less than 10 minutes.
Senior midfielder/defender Jaclyn Douglas rocketed the ball past the Devils goalie off a pass from junior forward Elizabeth Morrison, giving the Lions a slim lead over their opponent.
The Lions offense kept control of the ball best they could, but Devils senior Kim Davis whipped the ball into the net to tie up the game again.
The slim margin of the Lions victory led them to train harder for their first New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) rival the William Paterson Pioneers, whom they faced on Saturday, Oct. 1. The training did the trick — the Lions shutout their first NJAC opponent, 7-0.
“I think we learned a lot in the last few days and we came on strong (Saturday),” Pfluger said.
October greeted the teams with gray skies and cool temperatures, but the Lions offense warmed up quickly. Just two minutes in, Smith circled around the defense on a corner play and tore the ball into the net for the Lions opening goal.
As the Lions swarmed the goal, amassing five shots and a penalty corner over ten grueling minutes, Douglas found the ball after a shot from Smith was saved by the Pioneers goalkeeper, and tapped it in neatly to widen the gap.
One minute later, there was a thunderclap as Smith rocketed the ball into the net on a penalty kick.
To close the half senior forward/midfielder Danielle Andreula redirected a pass from Douglas into the goal for the Lions fourth goal of the game.
The Lions continued their assault after the halftime, accruing three penalty corners in the first two minutes. On the fourth corner play, Douglas made her second goal off an assist from Smith. Freshman defender Cayla Andrews lobbed the ball over the goalie’s head to bring the score to 6-0.
The Pioneers had their first chance to score soon after as they set up for a corner play, but the effort only resulted in junior goalkeeper Christina Fabiano’s first save of the game. She had waited 45 minutes to make the save.
Douglas closed the scoring by completing a hat trick, sweeping in the ball for the seventh goal of the game. The Pioneers goalie dove to stop the ball, but it was to no avail. Pfluger was happy with the victory.
“I saw a lot of nice things happening out there and I thought we played very disciplined so I feel good about it,” Pfluger said.
After splitting the last three weeks, the Lions slipped in the NCAA coaches poll, hitting their lowest point this week at No. 11, but Pfluger said the defeats are more of a learning experience.
“It’s been a real growing season for us,” Pfluger said. “A real adjusting season”
Although the Lions had dominant performances against several opponents, they haven’t been able to keep their momentum. Pfluger attributed the team’s “disjointed” season to injury and illness.
“Through that time we were kind of rolling up and down,” Pfluger said.
Despite the hardships, Pfluger views the shutout against the Pioneers as a return to form.
“(This season) has been a journey for us and a journey we’re learning from,” Pfluger said. “And I really think we’re starting to look like ourselves now”
(09/29/16 4:33pm)
By George Tatoris
Sports Editor
With two losses against nationally-ranked teams this season, Lions field hockey knew that the No. 5-ranked Salisbury University Seagulls would be a trying foe when they faced them on Saturday, Sept. 24.
“The most difficult challenge going against a strong team is staying composed and playing our game from the start,” junior defender Jacqueline Schwartz said.
Unfortunately for the No. 9 Lions, Salisbury was also aware of this fact. The Seagulls came out aggressive, forcing Schwartz and the rest of the Lions defense to be fettered to their own net for the first half. A comeback in the second half was not enough to save the Lions from a 3-1 defeat to the Seagulls.
Salisbury wasted no time with the Lions, scoring their first goal five minutes into the match.
The defense kept the Seagulls off the board best they could. Senior defender Lexi Smith and Schwartz made defensive saves, while senior goalkeeper Kelly Schlupp accumulated two saves of her own. The Lions managed to hold the Seagulls off for a majority of the half, however, 27 minutes in, a Seagull scavenged the ball off the rebound from Schlupp’s second save and swiped it in for the goal.
The Seagulls scored in the same manner five minutes later, scooping up a rebound from a blocked shot and finding the back of the net moments later. The Lions substituted Schlupp with junior Christina Fabiano to close out the half.
The dismal first half did not leave the Lions hopeless in the second.
“We played a hard first half with having to defend our goal for the majority of it,” Schwartz said. “Coming off the field for halftime we all got this spark of how urgent this game is for our team and to pick ourselves up.”
The Lions unleashed a barrage of shots from Douglas, Smith, junior forward Elizabeth Morrison and senior forward/midfielder Danielle Andreula. In less than four minutes, this quartet rattled off a total of seven shots. Unfortunately, Salisbury’s defense was rigid and Seagulls goalkeeper Tressie Windsor accrued four saves in the mayhem.
Within the next 12 minutes, the Lions had five penalty corners while the Seagulls had four, but neither team was able to find the net. Finally, with under 10 minutes left in the play, the Lions got on the board. On their sixth corner, sophomore forward Taylor Barrett passed the ball to Smith on the left side, who launched the ball past the Seagulls goalie.
Smith made three more shots and the Lions had two more penalty corners in the final 10 minutes, but nothing stuck. The Lions lost, 3-1.
“We had more opportunities to score this half. (A) majority of them were created by Lexi (Smith) who started the momentum of the second half with her goal,” Schwartz said. “Walking off the field today with another loss is upsetting but will make us stronger.”
The Lions were outshot 13-0 in the first half, but turned things around in the second, matching the Seagulls six shots with 14 of their own. After faltering in the first half, the Lions defense kept Salisbury off the board in the second.
Defense played an important role in Tuesday’s game against Gwynedd Mercy University as well. They scored four out of five Lions goals while keeping the Griffins off the board leading to a 5-0 victory.
The Lions were already two goals ahead thanks to freshman defender Cayla Andrews when Schwartz received a pass from Smith. Schwartz stumbled upon receiving the ball, but with less than 10 minutes left in the first half, Schwartz knew she had to put it in the net.
“I had bobbled the ball with my reception, but knew it was my job to finish what I started. That is just what I did,” Schwartz said. “I followed my mistake and finished the ball in the back of the cage.”
The goal helped the Lions end the half ahead, 3-0. In the second half, junior forward Elizabeth Morrison scored on a scramble in front of the net and Andrews completed her half trick off an assist from Andreula to bring the final score to 5-0. Schwartz attributed the win to team synergy.
“The entire team worked very hard and worked together fluently on the field to create the win for our team,” Schwartz said. “We had each other’s backs and worked together.”
(09/20/16 2:23am)
By George Tatoris
Sports Editor
Sitting on a train to New York City, John Kuiphoff, chair of the Interactive Multimedia (IMM) department, overheard a woman having a conversation about social media over the phone. What drew Kuiphoff’s ear was not the subject matter of the conversation, but the impassioned tone with which the woman spoke.
Before disembarking the train, Kuiphoff turned around, introduced himself and asked her if she would like to teach an IMM mini course at the College, handing her a slip of torn paper with his email on it. He didn’t have any business cards on him.
IMM mini courses are an invention of Kuiphoff’s that are going on their third semester. The courses cover specialized topics barely sufficient in content for a semester-long course, but still difficult to learn on one’s own. Each course meets only four times each semester, counts for .25 units and are pass/fail. Any student enrolled at the College can take a mini course. Classes have included digital fabrication, welding, advanced CSS and woodworking (which was taught by Kuiphoff himself).
“We don’t assign a mini course, we just find motivated people,” Kuiphoff said. “It’s about the people, not really about the topics.”
Kuiphoff and the IMM department are always on the hunt for that unbridled passion that indicates a potential mini course professor. When someone piques their interest, they ask if they’d like to teach a mini course, and those interested send in a topic and description of the course they want to teach. If at least six students are interested, the course runs.
The city-bound stranger Kuiphoff overheard turned out to be a social media coordinator at a major news network. She is currently in talks to head a mini course next semester, but her story is an anomaly among mini course professors. Usually, the hunt for professors is limited to alumnis, local business leaders and, occasionally, College professors looking to teach their secret passion. IMM adjunct professor Josh Fishburn, for example, taught a course on GitHub, a web-based repository hosting service.
Sometimes, mini course professors surprise the IMM department by choosing an unexpected topic. Kuiphoff, whose specialty is web design, taught a woodworking course, and alumna Liz Wolfe, an artist, opted to teach a class on game theory.
Given the experimental nature of mini courses, there are bound to be some failures, Kuiphoff said. Certain courses might need extra sessions to be fleshed out properly. Since no degree is required to teach a mini course, professors might not be able to effectively teach their chosen topic. Passion does not always lead to good teaching.
Most of the time, however, the mini courses go well. Digital fabrication was so popular among IMM students that it was turned into a full course.
Professor Donna Shaw, chair of the Journalism and Professional Writing (JPW) department, appreciates the ability to test out new courses.
“I like the idea that we can experiment with the mini courses to see what works, to see what grabs the students,” Shaw said.
Shaw invited JPW students to try two mini courses for the Fall 2016 semester that she felt fit the JPW curriculum — Storytelling for Business and Introduction to Advertising Copywriting. These courses, she said, help fill holes in the oft-neglected professional writing half of the JPW major.
“The skills that are required, when you think about it, are quite similar,” Shaw said. “It requires being able to write something that’s short, succinct, punchy.”
JPW isn’t the only department looking into mini courses. Kuiphoff has been talking to the business and art departments about implementing them, and the communications department is fiddling with the idea, as well.
“If I had an ultimate goal, I’d like to see every major and every school here inside the College offer (mini courses) because they add so much life,” Kuiphoff said.
Mini courses were envisioned as a way for students to further their education in topics they otherwise may not have tried — topics such as Storytelling for Business and Introduction to Advertising Copywriting. Often times, students take away more from four sessions than a full semester course.
Kuiphoff recounted how one senior — who had a high-paying job lined up for him in his major’s field — took the welding mini course and fell in love with it to the point where he wanted to turn it into his career. This, to Kuiphoff, was a success story: a student had found his passion through a mini course.
The School of the Arts & Communication was supportive of the idea — even still, it took a long time and careful planning to implement. The concept questions the norm of having to “slog through” a 14-week semester to receive credit, according to Kuiphoff.
“What if I’m, like, halfway through (a full course) and I don’t like (it) anymore?” Kuiphoff said, echoing the worries of many students. “So, at least (mini courses) allow students to kick the tires and try something new.”
To implement the mini courses, the Office of Records and Registrations had to break many established norms of higher education that didn’t agree with Kuiphoff’s education philosophy. A typical college course has a 10-student minimum, but Kuiphoff believes the optimal number of students in a classroom is between six and eight, so mini courses only need six students. He also insisted on four week courses instead of the usual 14, and he was set on a pass/fail system.
“Pass/fail was imperative,” Kuiphoff said. “I don’t like grades. It doesn’t work in my world.”
Kuiphoff is also toying with the idea of having mini courses taught off-campus. Why not have an art history course at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City?
The idea even went as far as allowing alumni to return and take mini courses, should they choose. Kuiphoff introduced the idea as a way for alumni to continue networking and learning even after graduation. He called it “routine maintenance.” It’s like taking your car back to the shop every few years.
Mini courses aren’t open to alumni just yet, but Kuiphoff hopes to welcome back former students soon. After all, alumni are the foundation upon which mini courses are built and are a largely untapped resource for current students.
Both Shaw and Kuiphoff believe alumni can identify more with students than other professors can.
“(Alumni) can look at the students and say, ‘I was sitting right there in that chair just like you are now and here’s what I learned since then,’” Shaw said.
A college can’t teach its students everything. Alumni can learn a lot from just a few years of living in the real world, which was exemplified when Kuiphoff opened up his laptop. On the screen was a long list of skills from the LinkedIn accounts of IMM alumni — some learned in a classroom and others learned elsewhere.
“Any of these can be a mini course,” Kuiphoff said.
(09/19/16 8:53pm)
By George Tatoris
Sports Editor
The players on the College’s field hockey team aren’t strangers to the Messiah College Falcons. The Lions edged Messiah, 1-0, in an overtime game held mid-September last year. The teams crossed paths again in the NCAA National Championship two months later, where the Lions flushed the Falcons out of the Tournament with a 4-2 victory in the quarterfinals.
Almost a year since the overtime game, Messiah gave the Lions retribution on Saturday, Sept. 17, with a 4-2 battering that mirrored their NCAA quarterfinal matchup.
Falcon Carissa Gehman gave her team an early lead over the Lions as she wove between defenders for the first goal of the game. Four minutes later, another shot from Gehman whizzed past senior goalkeeper Kelly Schlupp, and Messiah took a 2-0 lead.
Senior midfielder/defender Jaclyn Douglas answered with the Lions only shot in the first half, but the Falcons goalkeeper made it a save. The remainder of the half went scoreless as Schlupp accrued five saves.
As the second half commenced, the Falcons put another goal on the board. The Lions responded with a fruitless rally from Douglas, senior forward/midfielder Danielle Andreula and junior forward/midfielder Amanda Pallitto.
As the Lions struggled to get on the board, the Falcons scored again, this time with only 10 minutes of play left in the game.
The Lions called a timeout and returned to the field, determined. Less than two minutes later, sophomore forward/midfielder Caroline Quinn passed the ball on a penalty kick to senior defender Lexi Smith, who sent the ball into the cage off the right post, putting the Lions on the board.
However, the Lions did not have the time to make a comeback. Their next goal was scored with less than two minutes left and in similar fashion to their first, with Quinn passing the ball to Smith for the tally.
The loss came after a promising victory against the Drew University Rangers on Tuesday, Sept. 13.
That night was bookended by personal milestones for Quinn and freshman forward/midfielder Kayla Peterson, both of whom scored their first Lions goal that evening. Peterson opened the scoring and Quinn topped it off with the fifth Lions goal of the night.
The Rangers goalkeeper made eight saves in the first 16 minutes before Peterson managed to slip past off a redirect from Andreula.
The Lions launched a volley of 23 shots at the Rangers goal, but by the end of the first period, only three had gotten the better of Callaghan’s reflexes.
Sophomore midfielder/defender Sidney Padilla was the second Lion to score after firing the ball into the net off a rebound from her own shot. Less than two minutes later, Callaghan got another save off a shot from senior defender Lexi Smith, but luckily, junior forward Elizabeth Morrison was there to turn the rebound into the Lions third goal.
The College persisted with their volley into the second half, but Callaghan was just as obstinate. She made four more saves before Peterson, off an assist from Padilla, made her second career goal.
Quinn closed the scoring at 56 minutes after turning a rebound from one of Smith’s shots into the fifth and final Lions goal. The last 15 minutes of play were scoreless.
In the entire matchup, the Lions outshot the Rangers 40-1, with 31 of those shots at goal. However, Callaghan racked up 26 saves throughout the entire matchup, almost half of the 60 total saves made against the Lions this season.
Despite a difficult opponent, the Lions came out on top thanks to their unrelenting offense.
(09/14/16 11:47pm)
By George Tatoris
Sports Editor
The field hockey team experienced mixed emotions last week. After a close 4-3 defeat to the Cabrini College Cavaliers on Wednesday, Sept. 8, the Lions went on to trounce the Juniata College Eagles on Saturday, Sept. 10, which brought their record to 2-1.
The loss to unranked Cabrini was the first for the No. 3 Lions this season. Cabrini got on the board early two goals in the first ten minutes, but the Lions retaliated by bombarding the Cavaliers’ net with three unanswered goals of their own to end the half ahead, 3-2.
Senior forward and midfielder Jaclyn Douglas had an impressive outing, as she scored all three of the Lions goals that evening.
Douglas first scored off a feed from junior forward Elizabeth Morrison. Later, she scored another goal off a rebounded shot from senior defender Lexi Smith, tying the game, 2-2.
With just over two minutes left, the Lions took advantage of a penalty circle to end the half ahead. Smith along with sophomore forward/midfielder Caroline Quinn fed the ball to Douglas, who scored her third goal of the night.
Despite the lead coming into the second half, the energy from Douglas’s rallying performance fizzled. After a few wide shots from Quinn and junior forward/midfielder Amanda Pallitto at the beginning of the second half, the Cavaliers took control and snaked through the Lions’ defense for a goal, tying up the game.
Douglas had a chance to put the Lions ahead, but the ball was stopped by Cabrini’s goalkeeper. Soon after, a Cavalier collected a loose ball and sent it sailing into the Lions net, putting Cabrini ahead, 4-3, and leaving the Lions less than 13 minutes to tie it up.
Despite being awarded four penalty corners in those 13 minutes, the Lions couldn’t score. The struggle lasted until the very last second, when Douglas took a shot at the goal, only to have a Cavalier get in between her and the net.
Douglas continued to dominate in the contest against Juniata, scoring the first two goals for the Lions.
The Lions went at the Eagles with a blitzkrieg, but the Eagles defense put up a wall as Juniata goalkeeper Kylie Edwards accrued six saves in the first 20 minutes of play — three of them within 30 seconds of each other.
Finally, at 22 minutes the Eagles relented as Douglas sent the ball into the net off an assist from Smith. The Eagles defense stopped anymore goals in the half, but their offense failed to close the deficit, ending the half, 1-0.
The Lions regrouped after the break, ready to play. This time, they only had to wait six minutes before Quinn sent the ball into the on during a penalty corner and Smith fed it to Douglas for her second goal of the game.
The College’s defense had little to do as the offense dominated on the other side of the field. If an Eagle managed to get close, they were swatted away by senior defenders Shannon Cowles or Alexa Magnotta. Senior goalkeeper Kelly Schlupp only registered one save in the entire contest.
Less than two minutes after being substituted in, freshman defender Cayla Andrews sent the ball sailing off a pass from Smith, earning her her first collegiate goal. Senior forward/midfielder Danielle Andreula scored the fourth and final Lions goal.
The Lions redeemed themselves from their loss earlier in the week with a 4-0 victory. At the end of the match, the Lions outshot the Eagles, 22-1.
The Lions have a history of turning regular season losses into winning streaks. Last season, they lost to Ursinus College in October, only to come back and win eight straight matchups, ending at the national semi-finals. The year before that they won 15 straight games to win the national title after a 3-1 loss to Salisbury University.
(09/05/16 10:03pm)
By George Tatoris
Sports Editor
As students and faculty ran for cover from a surprise rain shower last Thursday, Sept. 1, the College’s field hockey team was practicing for its opening matchup against Stevens Institute of Technology at Lions Stadium.
The rain subsided by the time the action started, but the field and the Lions occupying it were soaked, making for poor playing conditions. Wetness can cause a player’s hands to slip when performing the simplest skills.
“As you can imagine, our turf shoes were soaked, so we were slipping a little more than usual,” said Lexi Smith, a senior defender. “Also, water makes the ball roll faster on field turf, thus, (we were forced) to adjust accordingly.”
The adjustments paid off. Despite the weather, the Lions had a spectacular opener — the team overpowered the Ducks, 6-0.
Smith made the Lions first goal of the season, striking the Ducks net just two minutes into the game. Smith was relieved to get a head start for the Lions.
“When you play from ahead, it makes everybody’s job easier,” Smith said.
The Ducks defense responded by holding off would-be goals from Smith, senior midfielder/forward Jaclyn Douglas and freshman forward Zoe Sparks, but Stevens soon slipped. Senior midfielder/forward Danielle Andreula fed the ball to junior forward Elizabeth Morrison, who added another tally to the Lions lead.
For the next 10 minutes, the Lions didn’t ease up. Sophomore midfielder/defender Sidney Padilla added to the momentum with a goal off an assist from Smith. Before the first 15 minutes of the game were up, Smith added two more goals, which earned her a hat trick and an assist.
The Ducks hardened their defense for the remainder of the half, but so did the Lions. Throughout the final minutes of the first half, senior goalkeeper Kelly Schlupp made two saves and senior defender Shannon Cowles made a defensive save of her own, closing out the half 5-0.
The teams returned to the field. The clouds seemed ready to break.
The Lions offense surged straight out of the gate. After six minutes of attacking the Ducks goal, freshman forward Iris Schuck broke through with a feed off Morrison, resulting in her first collegiate goal with the College.
Neither team allowed a goal after that, as both turned to defense.
“There was no need to continue going hard to goal and there were also other aspects of our game we needed to concentrate on,” Smith said.
Junior goalkeeper Christina Fabiano, who played during the second half, contributed to the shutout with a save in the final three minutes.
The Ducks put up a fight, but they needed more to take on the Lions. Meanwhile, the Lions stormed through poor conditions to get the win.
(08/31/16 1:38am)
By George Tatoris
Sports Editor
The field hockey team, looking to redeem itself after a disappointing end to an impressive 2015 season, returned with No. 1 rank in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) coaches’ preseason poll, along with a stew of raw and seasoned talent.
After they ended the regular season with a single loss, the Lions trampled through their preseason competition, only to be stopped short of being able to defend their National Championship title by lesser-ranked Middlebury College in the semifinals, losing 4-1.
The Panthers defense kept the Lions at bay while their offense scored four unanswered goals across two halves. The Lions were only able to crack Middlebury’s defense in the final minutes of the game. Sophomore defender Elizabeth Morrison sent the ball into the circle where forward Alicia Wagner sent it into the cage. But the recovery was not enough. Middlebury went on to steal the Championship title away from the Lions in the finals.
The team’s other loss last season, which was to Ursinus College, ended a 27-game winning streak. The College showed mettle throughout the season. They were undefeated at home and against NJAC opponents. They amassed 87 goals throughout the season while opponents only managed to score 14 goals against them.
Some of last season’s victories were personal. Coach Sharon Pfluger, who returned to coach the Lions for her 30th year, reached her 1,000th combined career win last season — a first for a coach of two programs in the entire NCAA. Her overall record is 1,023-135-6. The National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) named Pfluger its 2015 regional coach of the year last season.
On the field, senior midfielder Jaclyn Douglas and senior defender Lexi Smith received national honors by being placed on the 2015 Longstreth/NFHCA Division-III All-American First Team. Both Smith and Douglas, as well as senior goalkeeper Kelly Schlupp, should be returning to the field for another season. Douglas, Smith and Schlupp are veterans and should provide excellent tutelage to incoming freshmen — all three played a part in defeating defending champions Bowdoin College in 2014, which ended in a 2-0 victory for the Lions.
The win was in thanks to a domineering defense outmaneuvering the Panthers’ offense. A stalwart Schlupp made five saves throughout the game while her classmates made for the goal. Douglas scored first while Smith assisted forward Erin Healy in making the Lions’ second goal.
The team’s first game of the 2016 season is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 1, at home at 7:30 p.m. against Stevens Institute of Technology. The Lions will then venture to Radnor, Pa., on Thursday, Sept. 8, where they will take on Cabrini College on their home turf. After, they return home to take on Juniata College on Saturday, Sept. 10.
(05/04/16 11:28pm)
By George Tatoris
Sports Assistant
Air was full of electricity and the ground was wet with freshly-fallen April rain as the lacrosse team prepared to take on the Stockton University Ospreys on Tuesday, April 26.
The teams were about to take the field when a bolt of lightning struck, delaying the game 30 minutes. There was one more flash before the Lions were allowed to continue at 8 p.m. — a full hour after they were supposed to start.
“It gets a little sloppy on everyone’s part (when playing in the rain),” Pfluger said. “But everybody’s playing in it so you have to overcome.”
And overcome they did. Before the first six minutes were up, the Lions plundered the Ospreys’s goal four times — with half of those goals coming from senior attacker Cortney Natalicchio. A goal from junior attacker Mia Blackman in the last three minutes of the first period brought the score to 6-0 at the half.
The Ospreys scored on the Lions in the first five minutes of the second period, but the effort was futile. With two goals from Devlin, one of which came off an assist from graduate student attacker Erin Waller, and another goal from Waller herself contributed to the 10-1 victory.
The Ospreys and Lions will meet again on Wednesday, May 4, at 7 p.m. in Lions Stadium for the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) tournament semi-finals. The Lions will be vying for their sixth consecutive conference title this year.
Rain was not a factor when the Lions took on the Kean University Cougars at home on Senior Day on Saturday, April 30. There, the Lions proved they were the fiercer felines in a 16-7 victory over the Cougars. With these last two wins, the Lions remain undefeated in the NJAC and finish the regular season with just a single loss.
Despite a tough first half against Kean, Head Coach Sharon Pfluger said her team “stayed confident and worked very hard and played together as a team” to secure the win.
The Lions dug their claws into the Cougars less than two minutes into the match with a goal from senior midfielder Megan Devlin. Just two minutes later, sophomore midfielder Amanda Muller followed up with a goal of her own.
The Cougars pushed back with a single goal, but it was swiftly answered by a goal apiece from sophomore attacker Emily Kratz and freshman midfielder Erin Harvey.
Harvey had a massive impact in the first half, netting two more goals in the period. After scoring on a free position shot, Harvey made the draw control herself before scoring again just 10 seconds later, bringing the Lions lead to 7-2.
The Cougars surged onward to close the gap. They scored three unanswered goals to end the first half on a two-goal deficit.
With the Cougars on their tails, the Lions opened the second half with a bang. Just 30 seconds into the period, Kratz scored again. The Lions went on to make five more unanswered goals in the next 15 minutes. Kratz led the scoring with five goals.
The Lions ended the game with a harrowing 39 shots, but the Cougars goalkeeper kept it a close match, blocking 20 would-be goals for the Lions. Pfluger said the talented goalie, in addition to inaccurate shooting from the Lions in the first half, created a roadblock for her team.
“I think that we weren’t shooting quite as well in the first half,” Pfluger said. “We really just had to find the net and I think we did that in the second half.”
The sky over Lions Stadium was gray with clouds that afternoon, but unlike at the Stockton game earlier that week, there was no rainfall to disrupt the match.
With the victory over Kean, the Lions regular season ends. Punctuating that gray afternoon, pinned to the farthest fence from the stands, three yellow signs could be seen honoring the graduating Lions at their last regular season game — #4 Cortney Natalicchio, #17 Erin Waller and #20 Megan Devlin.
(04/26/16 4:05pm)
By George Tatoris
Sports Assistant
Journalism and interactive multimedia (IMM) double major Sorraya Brashear-Evans spent the night of Sunday, April 10, glued to a computer. She slept not a wink — her deadline was on the horizon.
In a few hours, she would need to hand in her film for Campus MovieFest (CMF), a national college film festival that gives teams one week to produce, shoot and edit a film. The four best from each college will be screened at a film and video game event called Terminus in Atlanta this year. Brashear-Evans only just wrapped up filming for her entry, “Raine,” about a super-powered renegade, that same day in Loser Hall. The script was a year in the making, taking inspiration from “Avengers: Age of Ultron” to hip-hop albums to Brashear-Evans’s own life experiences.
“If I had to describe it, I would say that film is like my teenage angst in five minutes,” she said. “Plus, she has powers.”
One scene called for a hospital setting — Loser’s nursing wing made a perfect fit. But, when she asked to film in Loser, she was told she could only film on Sunday, a day before deadline. Her actors, who included IMM adjunct professor Kevin Cassel, rehearsed the scene so they could get it right in as little time as possible.
But the job was not completed quite yet. Brashear-Evans was on a team of her own. Every little job most people spend a career mastering — editing, special effects, sound — fell on her shoulders. By the time her film was finished, she was exhausted.
In the end, the effort paid off. Brashear-Evans’s film was one of four to win a Jury Award during the CMF finale on Monday, April 18, in Mayo Concert Hall. There, an eager audience of movie makers and fans alike were seated to watch the 16 best films chosen from a total of 67.
“I wasn’t surprised (when she won) because I thought she did a good job,” Cassel said.
The other three winners were “Jasper,” a dystopian thriller from the mind of junior communication studies major Ian Cooley, “The Return of Barbra Jackson: News Reporter Extraordinaire,” a comedy sequel to a 2014 entry by senior communication studies and IMM double major Folake Ayiloge and “Lucidity,” a science-fiction drama from junior IMM majors Chris Lundy and Ryan Laux, whose special effects wowed crowds at CMF finales for two years in a row.
Lundy and Laux weren’t the only veterans. In fact, Brashear-Evans worked with Ayiloge’s team last year, but decided to go solo because she wasn’t sure of her script.
“I had the script, but it took a while for me to really believe in it, so I didn’t want to slow (Ayiloge) down,” Brashear-Evans said. She also wanted to prove to herself she could make a film.
Ayiloge’s “Return of Barbra Jackson” received the most laughs of the night, but the film ended on a sad note — the title character’s final broadcast.
The ending was symbolic for Ayiloge, who, like the character she potrays, will soon end her career as Lions Television’s (LTV) Station Manager.
“LTV has had an incredible impact on my college career, and I wanted to include that in my final CMF film,” Ayiloge said. “It’s only fitting that this video ends in the same space that has been my home away from home over the last four years.”
After her debut in 2014, Barbra became a campus cult classic. According to Ayiloge, students would greet her with Barbra Jackson-isms like, “And with a hoot, I’m an owl.” When the clueless reporter first appeared on-screen this year, the audience erupted into raucous applause. With this latest addition to the Barbra Jackson mythos, Ayiloge hoped to display her skillset and make the character more relatable.
“Watching both the original and ‘(The) Return of Barbra Jackson,’ you get the opportunity to see how I’ve matured as a writer, director and editor over the last two years,” she said.
Ayiloge wasn’t the only movie-maker whose talents improved thanks to Campus MovieFest. Lundy and Laux have entered effects-laden films since their freshman year, each film improving on the special effects of the last. This year’s film, “Lucidity,” is about a couple using technology to connect with each other after a tragic accident. Junior communication studies major Gracemarie Loretta, who starred as one half of the central couple, was nominated for the Silver Tripod Award for best actress for her performance.
“We had combined a lot of ideas to form the general idea of using a technology as a way to basically speak to someone for the last time before they pass away,” Lundy said.
Using green screen effects done by Laux and a voice changing effect created by Lundy, the pair turned their actor into an unnerving robotic hologram.
“My favorite thing is when it really starts to break up in some spots,” Lundy said of his work, which earned the duo a nomination for best special effects at Terminus. If they win, it will be their third straight victory in that category.
Not every contestant was a veteran. Despite his remarkably short acting career, senior IMM major Michael Yadvish received a best actor nomination for his role in “Jasper” as an assassin with a heart of gold.
The director, Cooley, discovered him just three months ago while they were working together on a WWII film. Though Yadvish’s part was small, Cooley thought he would be perfect as “Jasper’s” protagonist.
“He’s this assassin — this ruthless assassin — but he’s still human,” Yadvish said about the character.
Yadvish directed his own top-16 film, as well — “Fight-or-Flight” — about one man’s action-packed fantasy fight with a burglar. The film featured choreographed fights scenes — the topic of his senior thesis.
“The choreography is something I’ve been doing for a long time,” Yadvish said. “I did karate for over 10 years.”
A mix of experience and skills went into the MovieFest this year, but there was one common factor: not one was a film major. The College doesn’t have a standalone program, making CMF essential to any student looking to enter a career in film.
It’s already working for some. Even if they win for best special effects this year, Lundy and Laux aren’t going to be in Atlanta, Ga., to receive their award — they’re going to Hollywood for a DreamWorks internship.
Meanwhile, Brashear-Evans will graduate without having taken a single film class. But then again, neither did one of her heroes: Quentin Tarantino.
(04/19/16 5:45pm)
By George Tatoris
Sports Assistant
With mere seconds left in the first half, things seemed bleak for the third-ranked Lions lacrosse team on Saturday, April 16.
Down, 5-1, against the No. 4 Salisbury Seagulls, it seemed the Lions would end the half in a four-point slump.
With nine seconds on the clock, sophomore defender Elizabeth Morrison caused a turnover. The Lions rushed the ball up the field, taking advantage of every second they had left to make a difference.
Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three.
Senior attacker Cortney Natalicchio saw her teammate, junior attacker Mia Blackman, charge up the field with the ball. There was a defender between them.
And the clock was still ticking down.
Two.
Blackman passed. Natalicchio had the ball now. Without hesitation, she sent it sailing towards the net.
One.
Lions score.
“All I knew was the second I got it I was trying for that shot,” Natalicchio said. “I was actually surprised that the time didn’t run out.”
The Lions went on to score six more unanswered goals in the second half, leading to an 8-7 victory over the Seagulls. The win, combined with a 15-0 blowout against Rutgers-Camden on Tuesday, April 12, leaves the Lions with a 13-1 win record.
“I was really happy. I was happy for us to close the gap, but happy and proud because now we’re playing like ourselves,” head coach Sharon Pfluger said of the goal.
Pfluger said the Lions showed hesitation in the first half, but Natalicchio’s last-second goal imbued the team with confidence going into the second.
That confidence showed when sophomore midfielder Amanda Muller made a third goal for the Lions less than four minutes into the second period.
The College continued to push. Fouls on the Seagulls opened up the Lions for three consecutive goals. The first came after a turnover caused by sophomore defender Elizabeth Morrison.
As the Lions waited for the whistle to blow, the cheering crowd softened its noise to a murmur. All that could be heard was the blare of a jet engine flying so low over the field that its fuselage could be read from the stands — “Frontier” in big blue lettering.
The jet’s roar faded as the game continued, but seconds later, the silence was interrupted by an eruption in the stands: another Lions goal.
Senior midfielder Megan Devlin whipped the ball into the net.
After a free-position shot from Blackman, another from graduate student attacker Erin Waller tied the game at 6.
Natalicchio scored two more goals — both assists from Muller — to bring the Lions’s score up to eight.
A goal from the Seagulls brought them within a point from a tie, which would send the game into sudden-death overtime.
The Seagulls swarmed the goal as the clock wound down. Just as the Lions fought down to the wire for a goal in the first period, the Seagulls would do the same in the second.
With 11 seconds on the clock, freshman goalkeeper Miranda Chrone made a crucial save, stopping the Seagulls in their tracks. It was her seventh save that day.
“I’m very proud of the girls,” Pfluger said. “They deserve to be happy after this game.”
Natalicchio attributed the win to the team’s confidence.
“Once we talked through some of the things that were going on, we just knew we that had the ability to come back,” Natalicchio said.
(04/12/16 5:27pm)
By George Tatoris
Sports Assistant
Before taking on the Montclair State University Red Hawks, the College’s women’s lacrosse team beat the Stevens Institute of Technology Ducks, 9-2, Tuesday, April 5, and blew away the Eastern University Eagles, 15-0, on Thursday, April 7. The Lions had bird for supper three times last week.
Spring was nowhere to be found in Montclair, N.J., on Saturday, April 9. Sporadic bursts of rain and snow fell on the town from overhead, and beneath the gray sheet of cloud, the third-ranked Lions were playing the Red Hawks in their third match of the week.
“The weather was extremely odd, that was one of my first times playing lacrosse while it was snowing,” freshman midfielder Kathleen Jaeger said.
The Lions kept the Red Hawks at bay for the first half, ending the period with a three-point lead, but by the time the teams re-entered the stadium, Montclair was ready for a storm.
Temperatures dropped as the second half kicked off, bringing heavier snow. With it, the Red Hawks brought a hailstorm, outshooting the Lions, 7-5.
Montclair clawed at the College’s lead with a three-goal rush, but it wasn’t enough. The Lions held fast and won, 8-6.
“I think that as a team, we kept our composure throughout the game considering the weather,” sophomore attacker Emily Kratz said. “We knew what we had to do today to get the win and we weren’t going to let any weather condition take that away from us.”
Junior attacker Mia Blackman opened the scoring with two goals, each off a feed from senior attacker Cortney Natalicchio.
Just two minutes later, Natalicchio made a third assist by feeding the ball to graduate student attacker Erin Waller, bringing the score to 3-0 just 10 minutes into the game.
The Red Hawks opened the second half with by scoring, but were answered by three more Lions goals.
Natalicchio got a fourth assist in the second half after giving the ball to Jaeger for the goal.
“Montclair is a very skilled team, so coming into the game, we knew we had to make everything we did count,” Jaeger said.
After Montclair’s three-goal run, only two goals separated them from the Lions. At just over two minutes, it nearly became a one-goal game, but freshman goaltender Miranda Chrone made a key save on the Red Hawks’s free-position shot, securing the win.
“Montclair came out today ready for a tough game and I think that every ground ball, draw control, transition and shot we needed to work hard for,” Kratz said.
Kratz made a tide-turning goal against Stevens last Tuesday, April 4. The Ducks scored first just over three minutes into the contest.
Blackman and Natalicchio answered with a goal apiece, but the Ducks scored shortly after, tying it up at two.
One minute later, Kratz scooped up a ground ball and ran it to the net for a goal. Stevens would not score again in the entire game.
“I knew that I needed to take the best shot possible, so when I saw the space in the eight-meter, I capitalized on it,” Kratz said.
Sophomore defender Elizabeth Morrison played a major role in keeping the Ducks off the ball by causing six turnovers, picking up six ground balls and scoring a goal of her own.
It took another four days before another team scored on the Lions — the Eastern University Eagles didn’t get a single shot in on Thursday, April 7.
The Lions had a strong start against Eastern with four goals in less than three minutes. Waller made the fourth goal after a ground ball play from Morrison. The score was 10-0 by the end of the first period.
The strong start set up the Lions to dominate in a 15-0 blowout. Eight Lions contributed goals, including Jaeger and Kratz.
“I was happy to be able to contribute some points to a great team win,” Kratz said.
The Lions were able to control the game with strong connections in the midfield and the attack, allowing them to move the ball up the field quickly for a goal, according to Kratz.
Jaeger attributed the win to teamwork.
“We really worked together and were looking for each other instead of doing things by ourselves,” Jaeger said. “Both of my goals were scored of Erin Waller’s assists.”
After pushing all week, through three teams and unseasonable snow, Jaeger attributed the three wins to the hard work of her team.
“Whether it is every day at practice or in our games, the members of our team put forth every ounce of effort they have at that given moment towards our overall goals,” Jaeger said.
(04/05/16 4:56pm)
By George Tatoris
Sports Assistant
A single point separated the College’s lacrosse team from the Cabrini College Cavaliers six minutes and 30 seconds into the first period. The Cavaliers had just answered the Lions’s goal with two of their own.
They were close to a third tally when freshman midfielder Erin Harvey caused a turnover in the Lions’s end zone during the game on Tuesday, March 29.
“We needed to stop any momentum they were gaining, and regain control of the game,” Harvey said. “Getting the back check was great because the attacker wasn’t expecting it, but I was really just happy that Emily Kratz was able to capitalize on the eight meter once we got down field.”
One minute, 11 seconds. That’s how long it took the Lions to move the ball from a Cavalier stick to the Cavaliers’s goal. After two fouls on Cabrini, sophomore attacker Emily Kratz scored on a free position shot. The game was tied.
The Lions went on to take home a 10-4 win.
“We came together as a team and worked on playing as one. The team played strong and worked well together,” senior midfielder/attacker Cortney Natalicchio said.
The Cavaliers were swift, like horseback riders. Only 11 seconds separated their first two goals.
In order to beat Cabrini, the Lions had to be cohesive. As Cabrini attacked the goal, the Lions’s defense would regain possession, then turn the ball over to the offense for a Lions goal.
“Once (Cabrini) got it out, they were a fast team and we had to work hard to slow them down and get the ball back,” sophomore defender Elizabeth Morrison said.
Ground balls were essential for this strategy to work — each one is a coin toss that could change the momentum of the game or keep the momentum going.
Morrison had six ground balls last Tuesday, the most of any player on the field — Lion or Cavalier — while freshman midfielder Kathleen Jaeger picked up four, the second most.
“The (ground balls) I had to fight for changed the momentum of the game by getting the ball into our attacking while stopping their advancement,” Morrison said.
By the end of the game, the Lions had 18 ground balls, almost twice as many as Cabrini’s 10.
Those ground balls helped the Lions maintain control of the ball and score.
Natalicchio led the offense with four goals and two assists. Kratz scored the first goal of the game and tied it up after the Cavaliers bombarded the goal early in the first period.
Less than 30 seconds into the second half, Kratz scored a third goal off an assist from Natalicchio, another example of teamwork displayed on the field by the Lions. The College had four assisted goals out of 10 overall — almost half — while the Cavaliers had only one.
The Lions are 8-1 on the season after Tuesday’s win. The team’s only loss this season came just last week at the hands of the top-ranked State University of New York at Cortland.
“It was a much needed win, it gave us our confidence back and just proved to ourselves that we are very capable of playing strong and together,” Natalicchio said.
Harvey said the Lions found their footing again after last week’s loss.
“We aren’t going to allow that previous loss to bring us down the rest of the season,” Harvey said. “We are learning from the mistakes made in that game and plan on playing even better than we were playing before.”
(04/05/16 4:25pm)
By George Tatoris
Sports Assistant
Freshman biology major Jared Wilson spent the morning of Saturday, April 2, in his dorm room in Brewster Hall, packing his red suitcase.
He heaved it across campus to the Business Building and unpacked its contents — a desktop gaming computer.
Most players brought laptops to the event, but Wilson’s couldn’t run the game.
“My laptop is really weak,” Wilson said.
He joined a legion of other College students and alumni gathered in rooms 104, 105 and 106 for the Competitive Gaming Club’s (CGC) third annual “League of Legends” Tournament.
Over the next eight hours, Wilson, senior biomedical engineering major Jeffrey Lawrence, junior finance major Chris Roberts, freshman history major Jackson Kim and sophomore accounting major Bobby St. Pierre dominated their competition, coming out on top in the eight-team tournament.
The eclectic champion team met that same week and had very little time to practice together.
“We played, like, three games yesterday,” said Lawrence, who learned about the tournament from a flyer in the engineering building.
The ragtag bunch ploughed through their competition. It wasn’t even close.
St. Pierre says the win came from “individual raw skill.” Everybody knew how to play their roles and dominate their lanes.
In “League,” the map has three lanes — top, middle lane (mid) and bottom lane (bot) — as well as a jungle in between. With five players per team, each player has their lane-specific role that they perform to fight through three towers per lane. After the team destroys the towers and reaches its enemy’s base, the team must destroy two more towers and then the “Nexus” to win the game.
Wilson was the attack damage (AD) carry, whose job was to “farm” in the bot with the support player. They usually deal the highest damage late in the game, but are weak early on.
Lawrence was the support, a role meant to help out the AD carry in the bottom lane with stat buffs. They are usually weak, but very vital to the team.
Roberts was the midlaner, normally played by an assassin or mage, an ability power-based character that uses ranged magic spells, champion. In one of two solo lanes, they attack the enemy minions to farm the mid lane.
St. Pierre was the top laner, a tank character whose role is to absorb damage. Since these characters are so hard to kill, they can go without support.
Finally, Kim was the jungler whose job is to clear out the “jungle,” which is filled with neutral, non-player enemies.
It was a long eight hours. By the start of the final game, the recycling bin in the back of room 105 was filled with plastic bottles once containing water, Gatorade or — most importantly — caffeinated drinks. The group had a stack of pizza boxes filled with a cheesy meal for the hungry gamers.
Once the last game started, the frenzied sounds of mouse clicks and keyboard taps were only interrupted by the voices of the 10 players communicating amongst themselves.
After 20 minutes — a bit short for a “League” game — it was all over.
Since its release in 2009, the popularity of “League of Legends” has exploded.
Senior interactive multimedia major Yuki Takahashi, the intercollegiate organizer at the CGC at the College, has seen the sport grow from “dozens of people in a basement to selling out Madison Square Garden” in August last year, when the Garden hosted the regional “League of Legends” championships.
“(ESports) as a whole are starting to become more accepted,” Takahashi said.
Takahashi attributes the rise in popularity to accessibility. When he used to play tennis, buying specialized equipment was expensive, he said, but with “League,” the only thing truly needed to play is a computer, which most people already have for work or school. Downloading the game is free.
“Anyone can download it and anyone can play it,” Takahashi said about “League.”
As eSports gained popularity in the U.S., it also found an audience at the College, leading to the founding of the CGC in Fall 2014.
Takahashi’s job in the club is to form teams to compete in an intercollegiate gaming league called the Collegiate Star League (CSL). The club has two “League of Legends” teams in the CSL, an A-team and a B-team.
The B-team was one of the eight to compete Saturday. The players won their first game, but had to forfeit so they could play in the CSL semifinals, which happened to fall on the same Saturday.
They won and are heading to the finals. They didn’t even need to leave campus to compete.
“We wanted to finish the CStar stuff because we put so much effort into that,” sophomore computer science major and future CGC President Beau Lamanna said.
Lamanna hopes that events like this tournament will attract even more attention to the world of eSports and give casual players a chance to compete in a friendly atmosphere.
“These events are pretty much the backbone of what this club is about,” Lamanna said.