This Week in Walsh University Athletics
Monday, October 20, 2008
Tuesday 21
Men's Soccer at Ohio Dominican 7 pm
Volleyball at Lake Erie 7 pm
Wednesday 22
Women's Soccer (H) Ohio Dominican 7 pm
Friday 24
Volleyball at Madonna Tournament
vs. Madonna 3 pm/Trinity 5 pm
Saturday 25
Football at University of Saint Francis (N) 12 pm *
Cross Country at Malone, USATF Regional Championships/ Women 10 am/Men 10:30 AM
Women's Soccer at Carlow 11 am
Volleyball at Madonna Tournament
vs. Berry University 11:30 am/University of Michigan-Dearborn 1:30 pm
* Broadcast live on AM 900 WCER, SportsRadio 1350 AM
FOOTBALL: Cavs (2-5, 0-2) Suffer Heartbreak Loss to Malone/Tallman MSFA Mideast Offensive Player of the Week
Walsh (2-5, 0-2) suffered its toughest loss to date, falling 24-21 to rival Malone University last Saturday at Fawcett Stadium. The loss leaves the Cavs 2-5 for the first time in football history, while also keeping the Dick Gallagher Memorial Trophy in the hands of the victorious Pioneers. This week, Walsh travels to Fort Wayne, Indiana to meet NAIA No. 4 University of Saint Francis (6-0, 3-0) at 12 pm. The game will be broadcast live on the Walsh University Football Radio Network (AM 900 WCER, SportsRadio 1350 AM) and on the internet at www.wcer.us and www.sportsradio1350.com.
Billy Bob Orsagh’s 31-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Davis with 1:18 to play, gave NAIA No. 22 Malone their third straight win over the Cavs. The TD pass completed a 12-play 96-yard drive, and gave Malone its only lead of the day.
Jeff Tallman (Jr., Canton, OH/Perry), playing in place of injured tailback Clinton Blossomgame (So., Columbus, OH/Beechcroft), rushed for a career-best 276 yards against the Pioneers. Tallman opened the scoring at 11:40 mark of the first quarter on a 40-yard TD run. Tallman was named MSFA Mideast Offensive Player of the Week. Malone answered at the 8:24 mark of the quarter on a three-yard run to tie the game at 7-7. Tim Cox (Jr., Minerva, OH/HS) put Walsh back on top at the 14:14 mark of the second quarter, after scoring on a three-yard run. Walsh would hold the 14-7 advantage entering the locker room at halftime.
Malone took the second half kick-off and marched 68 yards in nine plays, for the only score of the quarter, to knot the game at 14. Walsh regained the lead early in the fourth period, when Tallman scored on a eight-yard run at the 12:13 mark, giving the Cavs a 21-14 lead. Malone would cut the lead to 21-17 on the next possession on a 30-yard field goal with 8:10 to play. Walsh was able to pick-up one first down on their next possession, but was forced to punt with 4:33 to play. The Cavs JC Heighway (Sr., North Canton, OH/Hoover) landed a beauty, pinning Malone back on the four-yard line with 4:33 to play. Malone would then march 96 yards to come away with the come-from-behind win.
Walsh and NAIA fourth ranked (new ranking released 10/20) Saint Francis (6-0, 3-0) meet at Cougar Field, in the 12th all-time meeting. The Cougars have won 10 straight games from the Cavs and lead the series 10-1. Walsh won the initial meeting with the Cougars, 44-41 in 1998 at Saint Francis. USF won 42-14 at Fawcett Stadium last year. The Cougars were idle last week, after trouncing Marian 63-14 on 10/11. The Cougars are averaging 47.3 points per game and have scored over 50 points in a single game three times. They have not lost a home conference game since 2001 (Tri-State).
MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY: Cavs Captures Home Invitational/Groholy Wins
Walsh (44-21) and Mike Groholy (Sr., Parma, OH/Valley Forge) came out winners at the six-team Walsh Invitational on Saturday. The Cavs bested the field with a winning score of 22, while Groholy won the race in a time of 25:25. Walsh captured seven of the top ten places, to win the race going away. Thiel finished 2nd (61), Geneva third (72), West Liberty 4th (117), Lake Erie 5th (126) and Point Park 6th (149). This week the Cavs are at Malone University for the USATF Regional Championships at 10:30 am.
Groholy's top finish was followed by Brendan McKee's (Sr., Akron, OH/St. Vincent-St. Mary) second place finish in a time of 25:39. David Leary (Fr., Northwest, OH/Canal Fulton) finished 4th (26:35) for Walsh, Jordan Johnson (So., Louisville, OH/HS) 7th (27:00), Dan Opeka (Fr., Louisville, OH/St. Thomas Aquinas) 8th (27:04), Phil Kress (Fr., Canton, OH/St. Thomas Aquinas) 9th (27:10) and Matt Long (Jr., Mogadore, OH/Field) 10th (27:15).
WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY: Cavs, DiNinno Win Home Meet
Walsh (53-23) and Andrea DiNinno (Sr., Harrison City, PA/Greensburg CC) were both winners at the Cavs' home invitational on Saturday. Walsh (22) captured first place in the seven-team invitational, while DiNinno (18:47) won her third race of the season. Andrea, who broke the 19-minute mark for the first time, also recorded first place finishes at Rio Grande and the Ric Sayre Invitational (Walsh). Walsh captured five top ten finishes in the win. Ursuline finished 2nd (65); Geneva 3rd (93), Lake Erie 4th (115), Point Park 5th (1270, Thiel 6th (149) and West Liberty 7th (151).
Megan Case (So., Louisville, OH/HS) was next for the Cavs, finishing third in a time of (19:13). Overall, Walsh runners recorded their best times of the season. Katie Laughlin (Fr., Malvern, OH/Canton South) placed 6th (19:29), Jackie Delamater (So., Uniontown, OH/Hoover) 7th (19:32) and Kim Swartz (Fr., Tiffin, OH/Calvert) 8th (20:07).
This week the Cavs are at Malone University for the USATF Regional Championships at 10 am.
MEN'S SOCCER: Cavs (6-8-1, 4-5) Lose 2-1 twice
Walsh's (6-8-1, 4-5) American Mideast Conference playoff bid took a huge hit, after two 2-1 conference losses last week. Walsh fell at Cedarville, and at home to NAIA No. 16 Notre Dame. The Cavs have 12 points and are seventh in the AMC. The top six teams qualify for the post season. The Cavs only game this week is and AMC contest at Ohio Dominican University on Tuesday night at 7 pm. The Panthers (6-5-2, 3-3-1) have 10 points and are in eighth place.
Cedarville University (6-7-1, 3-3-1) scored both of their goals in the first half, in their 2-1 AMC win last Tuesday night. Walsh's only tally came with four minutes to play, when Alex Birtcher (Sr., Napoleon, OH/HS) scored on an unassisted goal to avoid the shutout.
Walsh scored first against the ranked Blue Falcons on Saturday, as Ben Truax (Fr., Mansfield, OH/St. Peters) scored on an assist from Adam Greenwood (Fr., Blackpool, ENG/Lytham St. Annes) 10 minutes into the contest. Notre Dame would score the equalizer three minutes later, and then score what would the game-winner with six minutes to play in the first half. Neither team could find the net in the second half. Notre Dame out shot the Cavs 12-10. Walsh keeper Ben Pflum (Sr., Napoleon, OH/HS) recorded seven saves.
Alex Birtcher leads the Cavs with t11 goals and one assist for 23 points. Ben Truax has five goals and two assists, good for 12 points and Ben Pflum has a 1.35 goals against average.
WOMEN'S SOCCER: Cavs (8-6-1, 6-3-1) Lose 2-1 to Notre Dame
Walsh (8-6-1, 6-3-1) lost its only game of the week, 2-1 to NAIA No. 21 Notre Dame College in an American Mideast Conference game at home on Saturday. The Cavs are currently fifth in the AMC with 19 points. On Wednesday, the Cavs host fourth place Ohio Dominican University (7-4-2, 6-1-2, 20 pts.) in an AMC game at 7 pm. On Saturday (11 am), they travel to Carlow University (1-12-2, 0-9-2, 2 pts) for an AMC contest.
In a defensive struggle, Notre Dame College scored with 66 seconds to play, to edge Walsh 2-1. Walsh pressured Notre Dame to the final gun, and scored what would have been the game-tying goal with one second to play, but an offside call nullified the goal.
After a scoreless first half, Walsh took a 1-0 lead as Rachel Naumann (So., Hinckley, OH/Highland) scored on an assist from Dana Speicher (Jr., Stow, OH/Archbishop Hoban) at the 58-minute mark. Notre Dame then tied the game on an unassisted goal 11 minutes later. The Blue Falcons scored the game-winner at the 1:06 mark, when Jessica Skoien scored on an assist from Jessica Mazzorato.
Amanda Patrick leads the Cavs in scoring with 14 points, on three goals and a team-leading eight assists. Leya Spence (Sr., Mansfield, OH/Madison) has 11 points on four goals and three assists.
VOLLEYBALL: Cavs Lead AMC/Win at Malone
NAIA No. 25 Walsh (19-8, 8-0) remained on top in the American Mideast Conference, winning its only match at Malone University last week. Cedarville is in second place in the AMC with a 6-1 record. The Cavs and Yellow Jackets play at Walsh on October 31. This week, the Cavs play a non-league match at Lake Erie College on Tuesday (7 pm), and then travel to Michigan for the Madonna University Tournament. The Cavs play NAIA No. 7 Madonna on Friday at 3 pm, and Trinity International at 5 pm. On Saturday, Walsh meets Berry University at 11:30 am and the University of Michigan-Dearborn at 1:30 pm.
Walsh bested rival Malone in four games (25-21, 21-25, 25-23, and 25-19) at Osborne Hall on Tuesday night. The win was the fourth straight for the Cavs. Megan McDonald (5-10, Sr., Kirkland, IL/Rockford Lutheran) led the Cavs attack with 15 kills. Jessica Schmidt (5-8, Fr., Michigan City, IN/HS) handed out 37 assists and Amy Police (5-5, Jr., Perry, OH/HS) recorded 12 digs.
Megan McDonald leads the AMC and is 10th in the NAIA, averaging 4.1 kills per game.
