Monday, November 2, 2009
Wed. 4
Men's Basketball at Ohio State University (EXH) 8 pm (AM 900 WCER)
Thurs. 5
Volleyball at Mount Vernon Nazarene University 7 pm
Fri. 6
Women's Basketball (H) Concordia College 6 pm
Sat. 7
Women's Cross Country at AMC Championships (Cedarville University) 10:15 am
Men's Cross Country at AMC Championships (Cedarville University) 11 am
Football (H) St. Xavier University 6 pm (AM 900 WCER, NewsTalk 640 WHLO)
Women's Basketball (H) Marian College 4 pm
Women's Soccer at Notre Dame College (AMC Playoff) TBA
Men's Soccer at Mt. Vernon Nazarene University (AMC Playoff) 2 pm
FOOTBALL: Cavs Fall to 6th Ranked Saint Xavier
NAIA No. 18 Walsh dropped to 6-3 overall and to 3-2 in the Mid-States Football Association Mideast after losing 34-17 to NAIA No. 6 Saint Xavier University (10-0, 6-0) last Thursday night at Fawcett Stadium. This Saturday, Walsh travels to Trinity International for a MSFA Mideast game. The game will be broadcast live on AM 900 WCER (www.wcer.us) and on NewsTalk 640 WHLO (www.640whlo.com) at 2 pm.
Despite holding the Cougars 17 points below their scoring average of 51.6, Walsh just couldn't muster enough offense against SXU’s stingy defense. Walsh played the entire game without the services of playmaking wide out Joe Morgan (Jr., Canton, OH/McKinley/Illinois) due to a separated shoulder, and most of the first half without the NAIA's top rusher Clinton Blossomgame (Jr., Columbus, OH/Beechcroft). Blossomgame banged-up his right knee in the first half, but did return in the second half. The Cougars held him to a season low 48 yards on just 10 carries.
St. Xavier scored 21 first quarter points to force the Cavs to play catch-up. Walsh trailed 28-3, when Jim Shiplett (So., Canal Fulton, OH/Northwest) scored on a one-yard plunge to cut the lead to 21-10 at halftime. Despite having their backs against the wall, the Cavs defense held the high-scoring Cougars to two field goals in the second half. Walsh scored the games’ final points, when Robert Wigfall (R-Fr., Youngstown, OH/Hubbard) caught a 10-yard TD pass from Shiplett in the fourth quarter.
Walsh travels to Chicago, Illinois to meet Trinity International (0-10, 0-6) in a league battle this Saturday. The Trojans lost 48-12 in Canton against Malone University on Saturday night. The Trojans have allowed 41.4 points per game, while scoring only 7.7 points per contest. They have been outscored 135-13 in the first quarter and 253-23 in the first half. Walsh won 31-7 at Trinity to open the season last year and lead the all-time series 4-3. The Cavs have won the last three meetings.
Clinton Blossomgame leads the MSFA and NAIA in rushing with 1,315 yards . He leads the MSFA with an average ot 146.1 yards per game and is tied for the league lead with 15 touchdowns. Brian Williams (Sr., Canton, OH/McKinley) is second in the MSFA, and sixth in the NAIA in kick return average (30.0). Mike Welce (Jr., Columbiana, OH/HS) is tied for third in the MSFA with eight sacks.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Cavs Open 30th Season and New Building
Walsh opens its 30th season at home on Friday with the Walsh University Classic. The Cavs 6 pm game with Concordia College (MI) is also the first basketball game in the new 2,000 seat Alumni Arena. Marian College plays Shawnee State University at 8 pm. On Saturday, Shawnee State and Concordia meet at 2 pm, with the Cavs and Marian playing at 4 pm.
Walsh, under fourth year head coach Laurel Wartluft, finished 19-12 last season and qualified for the AMC Playoffs with their 11-4 conference finish. The Cavs were picked third in the 2009-10 AMC preseason poll. Shawnee State was selected to repeat as conference champions.
Walsh returns four starters, including NAIA Honorable Mention All-American selection Katie Berry (5-11, Jr., Cleveland, OH/St. Joseph's). Berry, also a first-team All-AMC choice, averaged 13.8 points and 4.1 assists. Also back is second-team All-AMC post player Cara Bedard (6-0, Jr., Randolph, OH/Waterloo). Bedard averaged 12.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and shot .538 from the floor.
CROSS COUNTRY: Teams Compete at AMC Championships on Saturday
Walsh's cross country teams compete in the American Mideast Conference championships at Cedarville University on Saturday. The women's race is slated to begin at 10:15 am and the men's race at 11 am. The Cavs women finished sixth last year and men fifth.
MEN'S SOCCER: Men Return to Post Season, Play at Mt. Vernon on Saturday
Walsh (11-6, 6-3) returns to the post season for the first time since the 2006 season, when they travel to Mount Vernon Nazarene University (12-5-1, 6-2-1) on Saturday for a 2 pm start. The Cavs hold the AMC's fifth seed, with MVNU the number four seed. Walsh downed the Cougars 3-2 on November 24 at home. The winner advances to the AMC Tournament semifinals on November 13 at Roberts Wesleyan (N.Y.) College to take on the host Raiders, who are the No. 1 seed and the regular-season AMC champs. Walsh finished the regular season with 18 points, good for fifth place in the AMC, one point ahead of Cedarville University.
Walsh locked up their playoff spot with a 3-2 win at Cedarville University on Tuesday night. AMC Offensive Player of the Week, Ben Truax (So., 6-0, Mansfield, OH/St. Peters), scored at the 88:02 mark to snap a 2-2 deadlock and give the Cavs the win. The win was the sixth straight conference win for the Cavs.
Despite holding the NAIA's No. 2 team scoreless in the first half, the University of Rio Grande (14-2-2) scored three second half goals down the Cavaliers 3-0 last Saturday night.
Mike Kelley (Fr., 6-0, Chagrin Falls, OH/Notre Dame Cathedral Latin) has 1.39 goals against average on the season with five shutouts. Freshman Matt Bly (Fr., 5-10, Bellbrook, OH/HS) leads the team with 11 goals and 26 points. Bly is tied for second in the AMC in points per game (1.53). He is also tied for third in scoring with 26 points and tied for second with 11 goals. Ben Truax has 10 goals and 24 points. Truax is fifth in scoring with 24 points.
WOMEN'S SOCCER: Cavs Travel to Notre Dame for AMC Playoff Opener
Walsh (6-8-3, 6-5) clinched a American Mideast Conference playoff spot with a 6-0 win over Carlow College on Saturday. Earlier in the week, the Cavs posted a huge 4-0 AMC win at Cedarville University. Walsh holds the sixth seed and travels to third seeded Notre Dame College (11-6, 8-3) on Saturday. The game will be played in Lyndhurst, Ohio at Brush High School. The time is to be determined. The winner advances to the next round and travels to number two seed Mount Vernon Nazarene University (10-5-1, 8-3) on November 13. Walsh beat Notre Dame 2-1 in the regular season, but fell 1-0 to Mount Vernon Nazarene.
Dana Speicher (Sr., 5-5, Hinckley, OH/Highland) scored twice in the Cavs shutout win at Cedarville. Molly Martin (Fr., 5-7, Canfield, OH/HS) scored an unassisted goal to give the Cavs a 1-0 lead at the 10:46 mark of the first half. Speicher then scored the first of her two goals at the 33:09 mark to give the Cavs a 2-0 advantage. Walsh increased their lead to 3-0 when Abbie Sullivan (Sr., 5-7, Canton, OH/GlenOak) scored on a breakaway at the 52:59 mark. Speicher added the final tally on a breakaway at the 70:12 mark.
Molly Martin starting the scoring in the shutout win against Carlow on an assist from Dana Speicher just over eight minutes into the game. Martin would tally another point as she assisted Carley Adams (Fr., 5-7, Louisville, OH/HS) on a corner kick four minutes later at the 12:31 mark to close out the scoring in the first half. Adams scored again at 58:36 to give the Cavs a 3-0 advantage. Just over a minute later, Rachel Naumann (Jr., 5-3, Hinckley, OH/Highland) made it 4-0. Maggie Vinopal's (Fr., 5-7, Boardman, OH/Cardinal Mooney) goal at 82:45 made it 5-0 and Dana Speicher’s goal in the final 10 seconds was the final tally. Jillian Zanney (So., 5-11, Brunswick, OH/HS) stopped all three shots taken by Carlow for her fourth shutout of the year.
VOLLEYBALL: Cavs Close Regular Season at Mt. Vernon on Thursday
Walsh fell to 26-7 and to 8-3 in the AMC after losing two of three conference matches last week. The Cavs lost to Cedarville University and the University of Northwestern Ohio, while defeating Daemen College. The Cavs, who are tied for third place in the AMC with the University of Northwestern Ohio, finish the regular season at Mount Vernon Nazarene University (31-7, 9-2) on Thursday night at 7 pm.
Cedarville University bested the Cavs in four sets by the scores of 18-25, 21-25, 26-24,18-25. Brittany Morris (5-11, Fr., North Royalton, OH/Padua) led the Cavs with 13 kills and three blocks. Hannah Duran (5-9, Fr., Grafton, OH/Midview) dished out 41 assists, Marie Jubak (5-8, So., Cincinnati, OH/McNicholas) had 11 digs and Natalie Borland (6-0, Sr., Kent, OH/HS) recorded one ace.
Walsh then split a pair of AMC matches on the road at Northwestern Ohio on Saturday. After downing Daemen College in four games (27-29, 32-30, 25-21, 25-19), the Cavs fell in three straight to the University of Northwestern Ohio (23-25, 21-25, 23-25). Julianne O'Donnell (5-10, Fr., Willowick, OH/Lake Catholic) and Hannah Duran paced the Cavs in the win over Daemen. O'Donnell led with 23 kills, while Duran handed out 57 assists. Amy Police (5-5, Sr., Perry, OH/HS) led with 25 digs. In the loss to the Racers, Duran handed out 21 assists and Natalie Phillips (5-10, So., Wooster, OH/HS) had eight kills and 16 digs.
Brittany Morris is second in the AMC in attack percentage (.377) and Natalie Borland is third (.373). Julianne O'Donnell is seventh in kills per game (3.6) and Hannah Duran is first in the AMC in assists with 11.4 per game.
