This Week in Walsh University Athletics
Monday, September 21, 2009
Mon. 21 Walsh Sports Radio Live (6-7 pm, FOX Sport 1350 AM)
Tues. 22 Women's Soccer (H) Notre Dame College 5 pm
Men's Soccer (H) Notre Dame College 7 pm
Volleyball (H) Notre Dame College 7 pm
Sat. 26 Football at Urbana University 12 pm (AM 900 WCER/AM 640 WHLO)
Women's Soccer (H) Mt. Vernon Nazarene 1 pm
Women's Golf at DePauw University Invitational, Clayton, IN
Sun. 27 Women's Golf at DePauw University Invitational, Clayton, IN
Men's Golf at Mt. Union College Invitational
FOOTBALL: Cavs (2-1) Even Mark with Road Win/Blossomgame, Williams Earn MSFA Player of Week Honors
Clinton Blossomgame (Jr., Columbus, OH/Beechcroft) rushed for 226 yards and scored two touchdowns, as Walsh (2-1) defeated NAIA No. 20 Ohio Dominican University (1-2) 23-16 at Fawcett Stadium on Saturday. The Cavs defense held ODU's high powered offense to only 253 yards total offense and 16 first downs, while the Cavs totaled 365 yards total offense and registered 25 first downs. This Saturday, the Cavs travel to Urbana University for a non-conference game next Saturday at 12 pm. The game will be broadcast live on AM 900 WCER (www.wcer.us) and on NewsTalk 640 (www.640whlo.com).
Ohio Dominican scored on their first possession on a 31-yard field at the 12:13 mark of the first quarter to take a 3-0 lead. Walsh answered on their next possession, scoring on Blossomgame's two-yard plunge to forge ahead at 7-3 with 9:39 to play in the first quarter. On ODUs' next possession, Walsh's Aaron Donze (So., Stow, OH/Tallmadge) picked off an ODU pass on the Walsh 12-yard line to halt the Panthers drive. Walsh turned the turnover into points, marching 88 yards on 12 plays, and scoring on Jim Shiplett’s (So., Canal Fulton, OH/Northwest) one-yard run to take a 14-3 lead at the five second mark of the first quarter. Blossomgame would score again, on a one-yard run at the 2:39 mark of the half, as Walsh led 20-3 at halftime.
Ohio Dominican scored the only points of the third quarter on a seven-yard TD pass with 6:07 left in the period. Walsh answered early in the fourth quarter, when Eric Buchanan (Jr., Lehigh Acers, FL/East Lee County) booted a 32-yard field goal to give the Cavs a 23-9 advantage with 11:01 to play. ODU scored again, on a 15-yard TD pass with 7:47 to play to cut the Cavs lead to 23-16. After ODU stopped the Cavs on downs twice, Pat Kane (R-Fr., Bolivar, OH/Tusky Valley) picked off an ODU aerial at the 48-yard line to seal the win. Walsh's Jim Shiplett was 10-20 for 116 yards. Joe Morgan (Jr., Canton, OH/McKinley/Illinois) caught six passes for 85 yards, with a long catch of 45 yards. Walsh held the football for 41 minutes and ran 80 plays to ODU's 54.
Walsh and Urbana University (2-2) do battle this Saturday at Urbana. The Blue Knights were outscored 45-35 by Tusculum University at home on Saturday. Each team rolled-up over 400 yards passing. Urbana's Evan Gelhart was 23-53 for 371 yards and four touchdowns. Ian Iller caught 10 passes for 154 yards and Jerrell Leak caught seven passes for 108 yards. Each caught a TD pass, as Gelhart connected with four different receivers for scores. Walsh leads the all-time series 13-1, and downed the Blue Knights 30-21 at Fawcett Stadium last year.
CROSS COUNTRY: (MEN) Cavs 15th at National Catholic Invitational
Walsh (15-15) finished 15th (344) in at field of 25 teams field at the National Catholic Cross Country Invitational at the University of Notre Dame on Friday. Bellarmine University (43) won the Division II race. The Cavs are idle this week.
Leading Walsh was Jordan Johnson (So., Louisville, OH/HS) with a time of 27:36 and a 41st place finish. Jordan Groubert (Fr., Hartville, OH/Lake) was second for the Cavs with a time of 27:56 in the 56th spot. Dan Opeka (So., Louisville, OH/St. Thomas Aquinas) followed at 75th with a time 28:29, Phil Kress (So., Canton, OH/St. Thomas Aquinas) 80th with a time of 28:34, and Matt Long (Sr., Mogadore, OH/HS) at 92nd with a time of 28:48. Also competing for Walsh were Bob Fay (Jr., Canton, OH/Central Catholic), who finished 96th with a time of 28:55, and Dan Bauman (So., Paris, OH/St. Thomas Aquinas) at 104th with a time of 29:10.
CROSS COUNTRY: (WOMEN) Cavs 12th at National Catholic Invitational
Walsh finished 12th in the 24-team field at the National Catholic Cross Country Invitational at the University of Notre Dame on Friday. Bellarmine University (77) won the Division II race. The Cavs are idle this week.
Kristen LeFever (Sr., Alliance, OH/Marlington) paced the Cavaliers with a time of 20:17, good for 41st place overall. Katie Laughlin (So., Malvern, OH/Canton South) wasn’t very far behind with a time of 20:23 and a 46th place finish. Rounding out the scoring squad was Kim Swartz (Fr., Tiffin, OH/Tiffin Calvert) at 66th with a time of 20:47, Lissa Yoder 76th (Fr., Cortland, OH/Maplewood) and a time of 20:52, and Megan Case (Jr., Louisville, OH/HS) 104th with a time of 21:29. Also running for Walsh was Emily Depalmo (Fr., Minerva, OH/HS) with a time of 21:41 for a 112th place finish and Rachelle Miller (So., Uniontown, OH/Lake) with a time of 21:53 and 118th place finish.
WOMEN'S GOLF: Cavs 11th at Princeton Invitational/Win Classic-Kulasa Medalist
Walsh (15-10) opened the week by winning the Walsh Fall Classic and closed the week with a 11th place finish at the prestigious Princeton University Invitational. This week, the Cavs travel to Clayton, Indiana on Saturday and Sunday for the DePauw University Small College Classic.
Walsh captured six of the top ten places in winning their own fall classic held at Sanctuary Golf Club. The Cavs finished with a two-day total of 647, 35 strokes better than second place Trevecca Nazarene University (682). Nikki Kulasa (So., Amherst, OH/Amherst Steele) shot a personal best 76, to captured medalist honors with a two-day total of 159 (83-76). Kulasa earned all-tournament team honors along with Abbey Kimar (So., Canton, OH/Jackson), who finished second at 162 (83-79). Kimar's second day 79 was also a personal best. Kim Smith (So., Whitehouse Station, NJ/Hunterdon Central) was also named to the all-tournament. Smith tied for fourth place with a 164 (81-83). Katie Kohut (Fr., Twinsburg, OH/Walsh Jesuit) tied for 7th at 166 (81-85), with teammates Kelsey Ozanich (Fr., Warren, OH/Howland) (82-84) and Katy Collins (So., Youngstown, OH/Ursuline) (83-83). Nikki Barr (Fr., Canton, OH/South) tied for 25th (85-89=184), Ashley Winston (Fr., Twinsburg, OH/HS) finished 28th (91-96=187) and Courtney Klemens (So., Mentor, OH/HS) tied for 36th (97-99=196).
The Cavs finished with a two-day total of 698 at Princeton. Rollins College (602) overcame Harvard University (607) to win the 12-team invitational. Nikki Kulasa and Kim Smith each shot 172 to tie for 55th. Kulasa scored 83-89, while Smith shot a pair of 86's. Abbey Kimar scored 179 (91-88) and tied for 60th, Katie Kohut (86+84/180) and Kelsey Ozanich (89+91/180) tied for 61st place.
GOLF: Cavs (3-10) Seventh at Malone Fall Classic
Walsh (3-10) finished seventh (636) at the eight-team Malone University Fall Classic, held at Tannenhauf Golf Course on Friday and Saturday. The Cavs shot 320 on Friday and 316 on Saturday. Malone won the event with a 36-hole score of 575. Walsh will play in the Mount Union College Invitational on Sunday and Monday.
Collin Mottice (So., Manchester, OH/Green) paced the Cavs and tied for 24th at 155 (80-75). Cody Cutright (So., Akron, OH/Springfield) tied for 32nd at 158 (83-75), Jacob Repp (Fr., Canton, OH/GlenOak) tied for 40th at 160 (78-82), Sam Deighan (So., Bedford, OH/St. Peter Chanel) shot 165 (81-84) good for 45th, Steve Ely (Fr., Brunswick, OH/Padua Franciscan) tied for 46th at 166 (79-87) and Michael Mann (Fr., Louisville, OH/HS) shot 170 (86-84) and finished 57th.
MEN'S SOCCER: Cavs (3-3, 0-2) Fall Twice in AMC Play
Walsh fell to 3-3 overall and to 0-2 in the American Mideast Conference on the season, after falling 2-0 at Houghton College on Tuesday night and 1-0 at home to Roberts Wesleyan College on Saturday. The Cavs are home on Tuesday for an AMC contest with Notre Dame College (5-1, 0-0) at 7 pm.
Houghton shutout the Cavs 2-0 in the AMC opener for both teams. The loss snapped the Cavs modest two-game win streak. The Highlanders scored in each half and outshot the Cavs 17-14. Cavs keeper Mike Kelley (Fr., 6-0, Chagrin Falls, OH/NDCL) had eight saves.
Solid defense was the story in the 1-0 loss to Roberts Wesleyan. The only score came at the 17-minute mark when an inadvertent own goal by Walsh gave Roberts Wesleyan the only goal of the contest. Mike Kelley was in goal recorded five saves.
WOMEN'S SOCCER: Cavs (0-3-2, 0-2) Open AMC Play With Back-to-Back Losses
Walsh's (0-3-2, 0-2) scoring woes continued, as they were shutout twice more last week. The Cavs fell 3-0 at Houghton College on Tuesday in their American Mideast Conference opener, then were blanked 3-0 at Roberts Wesleyan College on Saturday. The Cavs only goal of the season came in their first game (9/1). They look to get back on track when they host Notre Dame College (3-3, 0-0) in an AMC contest on Tuesday (5 pm), then play host to Mount Vernon Nazarene University (3-3, 2-1) in another AMC match-up on Saturday (1 pm).
Houghton led 1-0 at the half, then added insurance goals at the 48:41 mark and at the 80:24 mark of the second half to ice the contest. They outshot the Cavs 16-6.
Roberts Wesleyan led 1-0 at the half, after posting their first goal at the 27:33 mark of the first half. The Raiders would then add two insurance goals (47:05, 78:39) in the second half. They outshot the Cavs 13-10.
VOLLEYBALL: Cavs Extend Win Streak to Eight/Win AMC Opener/Capture Comfort Inn Invitational
Walsh improved to 12-1 on the season, and extended their current win streak to eight, after downing cross town rival Malone University, and by winning the Walsh/Malone Comfort Inn Invitational. This week, the Cavs open defense of their American Mideast Conference title at home against Notre Dame College (9-7, 1-0) at home on Tuesday.
Walsh pulled out a four-game match win at Malone by the scores of 18-25, 25-23, 25-23, 28-26. Walsh was led by Hannah Duran (5-9, Fr., Grafton, OH/Midview) with 38 assists and Julianne O'Donnell (5-10, Fr., Willowick, OH/Lake Catholic) with 15 kills and 20 digs. Sophomore libero Kristen Rohlfs (5-8, So., Loveland, OH/Mount Notre Dame) had a career-high 36 digs and added three service aces. Natalie Phillips (5-10, So., Wooster, OH/HS) added 18 digs and 5 kills. Natalie Borland (6-0, Sr., Kent, OH/HS/Kent State) contributed 10 kills and 2.5 blocks and Jenna Golic (5-10, Fr., Mentor, OH/HS) had a career-high 19 digs.
Walsh opened the Comfort Inn Invitational with two more wins on Friday. The Cavs swept Saint Xavier by the scores of 25-15, 26-24, 25-18. Walsh was led by freshman setter, Hannah Duran with 33 assists and 10 digs. Julianne O'Donnell had a team-high 11 kills, 6 service aces and 1 block. Kristen Rohlfs had 15 digs and Jenna Golic (5-10, Fr., Mentor, OH/HS) added 14 digs and 3 service aces. Natalie Phillips also added 10 digs. In the second match, Walsh defeated Ohio Dominican 25-15, 25-19, 25-22. Duran had 39 assists and Rohlfs had a team-high 23 digs. Natalie Borland pounded 10 kills and had 1.5 blocks. Golic led with three aces and also added 13 digs. O'Donnell contributed eight kills and 16 digs and freshman middleblocker, Brittany Morris(5 -11, Fr., North Royalton, OH/Padua) added nine kills.
Walsh closed out the weekend with two more wins on Saturday. The Cavs defeated Spring Arbor 25-17, 23-25, 31-29, 25-22. They were led by Hannah Duran's 59 assists and 20 digs. Walsh spread out the offense with Natalie Borland leading the way with 17. Julianne O'Donnell and Megan Kelly (5-10, Jr., Brook Park, OH/Holy Name) both added 13 kills and Brittany Morris contributed 11. Kristen Rohlfs led with 35 digs and Natalie Phillips had a team-high three service aces. In match two, the Cavs swept Houghton College. Game scores were 25-12, 25-14, 25-17. Duran led with 36 assists and Morris led with three blocks and 11 kills on a .529 hitting percentage. Rohlfs contributed 16 digs and Borland had a career-high five service aces.
