This Week in Walsh University Athletics
Monday, November 17, 2008
Tues. 18
Men's Basketball at Daemen College 7 pm AM 900 WCER
Fri. 14
Women's Basketball (H) Berea College 9 pm
Sat. 15
Women's Cross Country at NAIA National Championships
Women's Basketball (H) West Virginia Tech 4 pm
Volleyball (H) NAIA National Tournament vs. Lee University 8 pm
FOOTBALL: Cavs Close Season With Win at Taylor
Walsh (3-8, 1-5) quarterback Marc Pullen (Sr., Akron, OH/Ellet) scored on a naked bootleg with 1:27 to play to give the Cavs a 24-17 come-from-behind win at Taylor University (3-8, 1-6) in Upland, Indiana on Saturday. The win snapped the Cavs four-game losing streak and provided them with their first Mid-States Football Association Mideast victory.
After a scoreless first quarter, Taylor scored ten second quarter points and led 10-7 at the half. Walsh's only score came on a Pullen option run with 3:07 to play in the first half to tie the game at 7-7. Taylor took the halftime lead when Nick Davis kicked a 26-yard field goal with just 15 seconds left in the half. Walsh then tied the game with 2:47 to play in the third quarter on a 22-yard field goal by Eric Buchanan (So., Green Cove Springs, FL/Clay). Taylor would answer on the next possession to regain the lead at 17-10 on a 48-yard TD pass from Shaun Addison to Ryan Magnuson. The Cavs tied the game at 17-17, as Pullen hit freshman tight end Jared Suvak (Galena, OH/Big Walnut) for a 44-yard score with 10:14 to play. After Pullen's TD run for the go-ahead score, Taylor would drive to the Walsh 20-yard line in an attempt to tie the game in the final minute, but would turn the ball over on downs.
Pullen had a hand in all three scores, while passing for 189 yards on 11-22. Mike McGill (Jr., Akron, OH/Coventry) caught five passes for 89 yards. Jeff Tallman's (Jr., Canton, OH/Perry) bid for 1,000 yards fell short, as he was held to 69 yards on 35 carries, and finishes the season with 918 yards. Defensive back Brian Williams (Jr., Canton, OH/McKinley/Findlay) had 10 solo tackles, while linebacker Jason Stiel (So., Reynoldsburg, OH/HS) had six solo tackles and three tackle assists.
MEN'S BASKETBALL: Cavs (2-0) Head to Daemen College on Tuesday
After a 90-63 exhibition loss at Ohio State University last Thursday, NAIA No. 11 Walsh (2-0) heads to Daemen College on Tuesday night for an American Mideast Conference crossover game. The game will be broadcast live on AM 900 WCER and on the internet at www.wcer.us. The Cavs and Wildcats meet in an AMC game on February 20 at Walsh.
Ohio State outscored Walsh 45-31 in the second half, on their way to a 90-63 exhibition win over the Cavs in front of 12,426 fans at Value City Arena last Thursday night in Columbus. Walsh hit 6-12 from three-point range in the first half, and trailed 45-32 at the half. The Cavs held early leads at 6-4 and 6-5. The Buckeyes held first half leads of 13 and 14 points. Walsh trailed 23-10, but rallied to cut the lead to 25-18 on a Kyelce Cescato (6-10, Jr., Barra Bonita, Brazil, Colmeia Entec) hook shot, and back-to-back three-pointers from Eric Love (6-2, Sr., Concord, NC/Mt. Pleasant). Ohio State then built the lead to 14 points (32-18) with 6:39 to play, when the Cavs rallied and twice trimmed the lead to nine points, the last time at 41-32 with 1:19 to play in the half. The second half was all Ohio State, as they turned a 13-point advantage into a 20-point lead in less than three minutes. Joe Shardo (6-5, Sr., Yorkshire, OH/Versailles) led the Cavs 14 points and six rebounds. Cescato was the only other double figure scorer with 12 points. Lamar Skeeter (6-0, So., Dayton, OH/Kettering Fairmont) had nine points, four assists and four rebounds. Walsh shot only 41% (21-52) from the field, but did shoot 44% (8-18) from three-point and 81% (13-16) from the foul line.
Daemen (3-1) returns nine letter winners from last year's 16-10 team. They defeated Holy Cross College 109-66 at the Siena Heights Classic in Adrian, Michigan on Saturday.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Cavs Fall Twice in Kentucky
Walsh (1-3) fell twice at the Georgetown College Habitat for Humanity Classic last weekend. The Cavs lost 75-63 to Campbellsville University on Friday and 79-54 to host Georgetown. This Friday and Saturday the Cavs host the Walsh University Invitational. On Friday at 7 pm, Shawnee State University (1-0) meets West Virginia Tech (0-3), followed by Walsh and Berea College (2-3) at 9 pm. On Saturday, Shawnee State tangles with Berea at 2 pm, with the Cavs battling West Virginia Tech at 4 pm.
Walsh led 31-29 at the half against Campbellsville and by eight points early in the second half before faltering. Poor second half shooting (12-33) and turnovers (27) would be Walsh's undoing. The Cavs were outscored 46-32 in the second half. Kristi Yoder (6-1, Fr., Millersburg, OH/Hiland) paced the Cavs with 13 points and five rebounds. Yoder was 6-8 from the floor. Katie Berry (5-11, So., Cleveland, OH/St. Joseph's) was the only other Cavalier to reach double figures with 10 points. Cara Bedard (6-0, So., Randolph, OH/Waterloo) added nine points and Chelsea Chaffin (5-3, Fr., Shaker Heights, OH/HS) handed out six assists.
Georgetown College (2-2) out scored Walsh (1-3) 46-26 in the second half, on their way to a 79-54 win in the final game of the Habitat for Humanity Tournament. Walsh trailed just 33-28 at halftime. Walsh shot only 35% (9-26) in the second half and 36% (16-45) for the game. Katie Berry was the only Cavalier to reach double figures; leading all scorers with 22 points. Berry shot 6-11 from the floor and connected on 10-15 from the foul line.
WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY: DiNinno Heads to NAIA National Meet
Andrea DiNinno (Sr., Harrison City, PA/Greensburg CC) will represent Walsh and the American Mideast Conference at the 29th Annual Women’s NAIA Cross Country National Championships this Saturday in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The 5k race (10:30 am) will be held at Dr. Wayne E. Dannehl Cross Country Course and feature 32 teams, including 25 conferences/independents/unaffiliated champions and seven at-large bids and 112 individual qualifiers.
DiNinno, who is making her first trip to the championship meet, finished 19th (20:14.4) at the AMC Championships, held at Ursuline College on Saturday, November 8th, earning All-AMC Honorable Mention recognition.
VOLLEYBALL: Cavs Host Lee University (TN) in NAIA National Tournament Opening Round
NAIA No. 24 Walsh University (28-10, 13-1 AMC) will play host to Lee University (TN) (29-9) at Alumni Arena, on Saturday, November 22, in an opening round NAIA National Tournament match at 8 pm. There are 12 on-site matches. Tickets are $8.00 for adults and $5.00 for students. The winner will advance to the final site in Sioux City, Iowa for the next round at the Tyson Events Center/Gateway Arena from Dec. 2-6, 2008.
Lee finished the regular season 29-9 and won the Southern States Athletic Conference. This will be their seventh trip to the National Tournament. The Flames are 5-18 all-time at nationals. They come into the tournament on a five-match win streak, which includes their victory over Shorter College in the Southern States Athletic Conference championship match.
Walsh won the American Mideast Conference championship and will be making their fourth national tournament appearance. The Cavs are 6-7 all-time at nationals, with their last appearance in 2003. The Cavs have won two straight matches and six of their last seven matches.
Megan McDonald (5-10, Sr., Kirkland, IL/Rockford Lutheran), who was named AMC Player of the Week for the fourth time this season, leads the conference in kills per game (4.1).
