Women’s soccer picks up first victory
Musketeers shut out cross state rival Ohio U. to enter the win column
Ken Burton Staff Writer
Dani Meiners
Graduate student Carissa Gilbert picked up her first assist of the season in Xavier’s 2-0 win over Ohio University.
Last weekend the Xavier Musketeers squared off against two tough in-state teams, the Ohio University Bobcats and the Bowling Green State Falcons.
Both games featured early scoring and 2-0 decisions, the Musketeers recording one of those wins.
The Musketeers started the weekend on Friday night at Chessa Field in Athens, Ohio to face off against the Bobcats.
Just 35 seconds into the match freshman phenom Jessica Brooks set the tone by squeaking a fantastic shot passed Bobcat keeper Jess MacLean to find the lower ninety of the net.
Later, in the 22nd minute, Brooks received an assist from Carrisa Gilbert, and once again netted a shot, this time on a one-on-one showdown with MacLean at the net.
Brooks’ stellar scoring display coupled with the solid play in net by
junior Kelly Farrell clinched the Musketeers’ first win of the season,
2-0.
The Bobcats fell to 1-5-0 with the loss.
The Musketeers returned home to face Bowling Green State University just two days later.
The quick turnaround took its toll on the Musketeers, who looked sluggish early. Falcons senior Corbie Yee’s goal only 19 seconds in led the Falcons to victory.
“We had a fantastic start today. It was a great goal, with good composure from Corbie,” BGSU coach Andy Richards said after the match. The quick strike was the quickest goal scored in Bowling Green school history.
Sophomore Katie Stephenson added some insurance in the 72nd minute to bring the match to its final score.
“I always felt like we were in control of the game. It was a good performance overall,” Richards said.
Control of the game is something the Musketeers have lacked all season and helps explain the 1-6-0 record of the Musketeers after the weekend split.
The Musketeers have been outshot by nearly a 2:1 margin on the season, registering just 58 shot attempts to opponents’ 110.
By falling behind early in the match - 10 opponent goals were scored in the first half to the Musketeers three - the Musketeers are forced to play a frenetic, offensive style in hopes of an equalizer late.
Allowing a team like Bowling Green, who is 35-1-1 in their last 37 matches in which they scored first, to get ahead, the Musketeers all but conceded defeat.
This, no doubt, will be a point of emphasis in practice by head coach Alvin Alexander heading into this weekend’s game.
The Musketeers will have another opportunity to secure that elusive first home win on Friday, Sept. 26 when they face off with the Owls of Temple University at 7 p.m. The game will be Xavier’s first of 11 in conference play.
McKenna leads Xavier in NC tourney
Three rounds in the 70s leads Musketeers to ninth place finish
Teddy Seigel
Staff Writer
Dani Meiners
Junior Mary Beth McKenna was spending more time in the fairways than in the bunkers on her way to three consecutive rounds in the 70s and a tie for ninth place at the Sea Trail Intercollegiate.
The women’s golf team earned a ninth place finish in the Sea Trail Intercollegiate in Sunset Beach, N.C., over the weekend.
The team managed to knock eleven shots off of their first round score to finish at 947 (+83) at the 72-par, 6,263 yard Willard Byrd Course at the Sea Trail Resort and Golf Links.
East Tennessee State, including medalist Laura Jansone, won the tournament
finishing 41 over par. Jansone finished with a score of 216, even par.
The Musketeers were led by junior Mary Beth McKenna, who tied for ninth place
overall after shooting rounds of 79, 75 and 73 finishing at 227, 11 over par
for the tournament.
The event marked the seventh time in McKenna’s career that she has earned a top-10 finish in an event after she accomplished the feat three times in each of her first two years at Xavier.
McKenna’s 73 on Sunday tied for the second best round of her collegiate career, one shot off the pace of the 72 that she fired in the final round of the Lady Aztec Fall Classic in October of 2006, where she finished in a tie for 15th place.
Sophomore Rachel Levi finished second-best for Xavier, with rounds of 79, 78 and 80 (+21), finishing 36th.
Sophomore Audrey Fellmeth tied for 55th at 242 (+26) after rounds of 83, 79 and 80.
Freshman Michelle Winkler shot rounds of 78, 81 and 85 (+28) to tie for 58th.
Senior Lindsay Cornell finished tied for 68th after rounds of 83, 82 and 83 (+32).
Senior Lindsay Steiner also turned in a strong showing in the individual event, shooting 84, 83 and 83 for 250 (+34).
Next up for the Muskies is a well deserved two-weekend break, as they played six competitive rounds over the course of nine days, concluding with the Sea Trail Intercollegiate.
After the break, the team heads south to Daytona Beach, Fla.to host the LPGA International Xavier Invitational from Oct. 10-12.
Volleyball assistant pledging a new allegiance
Ex-Dayton standout Christy Untage now roaming sidelines for the Musketeers
Scott Mueller
Asst. Sports Editor
There is a new face patrolling the sidelines of Cintas Center volleyball games this season.
Christy Utnage, although new to the sidelines for the Musketeers, is no stranger to Cintas Center. Utnage played collegiate volleyball for the Dayton Flyers, graduating in 2005.
A standout player making the Atlantic-10 All-Rookie Team her freshman year, Untage helped Dayton win its first ever A-10 regular season championship in 2003.
In 2004, she was named A-10 Player of the Year and lead Dayton to its second straight A-10 Tournament title.
During her college career, Utnage also played in two NCAA tournaments and was the first player in Dayton history to record at least 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs, finishing her collegiate career with 1,115 kills.
Now she has turned her attention to helping a former rival, and has enjoyed her experience thus far.
“[Xavier’s] support for the athletics is great. They have a lot of tools in order for the programs to be successful,” said Utnage. “They really do support, and make sure that we have all the right keys in order to be at the top.”
Utnage has already set high goals for the Musketeer volleyball team this season, including winning the conference, winning the conference tournament and making the NCAA Tournament.
In the long term, Utnage wants to see the program consistently make the NCAA tournament, and see the Xavier attackers become the top attackers in the country.
“It’s still sinking in. It’s a career move, it’s a job, and it’s around a game that I love, so that part makes it easier to coach for Xavier,” Untage said of coaching for her former rival.
“I played at Dayton and I enjoyed every second that I had at Dayton, yet Xavier is a very similar school. I think that’s why they are rivals, because they are similar,” said Utnage of the two small private Catholic schools.
“It’s changed a lot since I played. [The A-10] added two new teams and changed the format of how we play during the season,” Utnage said of the Atlantic 10, which was divided into east and west divisions during Untage’s playing days.
However, not everything has changed since Untage last suited up in 2004.
“A lot of the coaches are still the same, so that does give me a little advantage of their style of play. They haven’t changed too much. I’m looking forward to when we do get to conference play, to have that familiarity there,” Utnage said.
So far this season the volleyball team has lived up to Utnage’s expectations.
“Everything that we’re asking them to improve on, they are, they’re working very hard and they’re improving,“ Untage said.
“Obviously, I hope we start winning a little more here very soon. Then I’ll be a little bit happier,” Utnage said. “As far as [the team’s] work ethic and the effort that they’re putting in, the time that they’re putting in to improving, I couldn’t be more happy about it. I’m very impressed with their work ethic and their commitment to the season and to each other.”
This assistant coaching position at Xavier is the third position Utnage has held in her short coaching career. In 2005, she was an assistant coach at Dayton.
After one year at Dayton, she spent two years as an assistant coach at Youngstown State University, prior to coming to Xavier.
Untage’s coaching career has gotten off to a promising start, and with the continued improvement of the Xavier attackers under her watch, she will be a valuable asset to the Musketeer volleyball program.
Xavier drops two, extends losing streak to four
Musketeers impress but can’t pull off upset of No. 14 Middle Tennessee State
Ken Burton
Sports Writer
The Xavier volleyball team suffered two losses this past weekend, and has now lost four in a row and six of the past seven matches, dropping its record to 5-6 on the season.
On Friday, the Musketeers took on No. 14 Middle Tennessee State at Cintas Center.
Xavier got off to a good start, taking an early 6-4 lead, but the Blue Raiders countered with a 6-0 run, and soon widened the lead to 17-11.
The Musketeers showed they still had fight in them, coming all the way back to tie the score at 24 behind two aces in a row from sophomore Shannon Voors.
That was as close as they would get, however, and Middle Tennessee would take the first set 26-24.
The second set got off to a similar start for the Musketeers, as they again fell behind 10-4. Still not backing down, Xavier once again showed its resilience, going on a 10-4 run to take the lead 20-18.
Leading 24-22, Xavier would have two straight set points, but could not put away the set, allowing the match to be tied at 24 before taking the final two points and the set.
In the third set Xavier looked dominant. After trailing 8-6 early in the set, Xavier went on a 5-0 run anchored by the serving of senior Megan Hellmann before a Middle Tennessee State rally tied the score at 17.
However, Xavier would close out the set on an 8-2 run, including five consecutive points, and capture the third frame 25-19 to take a two sets to one lead in the match.
With the Musketeers smelling an upset in the fourth, the Blue Raiders displayed why they entered the match so highly rated. Up 9-8, the Blue Raiders would go on an 11-3 run to take a commanding lead at 20-11, and eventually the set at 25-18.
In the fifth and final set, the Musketeers never led and could only muster a tie once, at 4-4. Although they were able to play with the No.14 team in the country, Xavier lost the final set 15-10 and the match 3-2.
“We really surprised them and were able to expose their weaknesses,” said assistant coach Christy Utnage. “We should have won it in four.
"Unfortunately, we took it to five games and their seniors did exactly what All-American seniors are supposed to do and they finished the game.” On Saturday, the Musketeers looked to reverse its losing streak against Tulane at the Cintas Center, but were swept 3-0 in the match.
The main struggle for the Musketeers was an inability to finish out sets.
The first set was close the entire way. With 15 ties and eight lead changes, neither team took more than a three point lead.
The score was tied at 22 when the Green Wave closed out the set on a 3-0 run to win 25-22.
The second set was also very close, featuring 12 ties and six lead changes.
Down 20-15, Xavier took a timeout and rattled off a 5-0 run to tie the match at 20, and would carry the momentum to two set points at 24-23 and 25-24, but fell victim to a 3-0 Tulane run and dropped the set.
In the third set, Tulane never trailed and was able to put Xavier away rather easily.
After getting out to a 10-2 start, Tulane would never lead by less than three, winning the set 25-18, and the match 3-0.
This coming weekend, Xavier will play Stony Brook on Friday, Sept. 26 and both St. Francis and Brown on Saturday, Sept. 27 as they look to halt the current losing streak at the Stony Brook Holiday Inn Express Tournament in Stony Brook, N. Y.
Doug Tifft
Sports Editor
Musketeers drop two tight games
Ken Burton
Staff Writer
The Xavier men’s soccer team looked to have their first win of the season in the bag when the Musketeers played nearly flawlessly Friday night against the nationally ranked Bradley Braves at Xavier University Soccer Complex.
The Musketeers missed an early chance when a rocket from the foot of senior Tommy Clines ricocheted off the crossbar missed by inches in the 18th minute.
Later, Ricardo Sutherland started the scoring by gaining position of a loose ball, weaving through the Bradley defense and then tacking on an emphatic left-footed finish in the upper left corner.
The goal—Sutherland’s first and Xavier’s second—was blasted in with just three minutes left in the first half and gave the Musketeers the momentum heading into the break.
However, the lead and the momentum was relinquished quickly.
The Braves, motivated from their unimpressive first half performance, scored in the second minute of play in the second half.
To finish off the Musketeers, Bradley junior forward Chris Cutshaw capitalized on a pinpoint pass with 17 seconds remaining in regulation, securing the win for the Braves.
The men’s team narrowly avoided a Braves record for the latest goal scored in regulation, allowing a goal with 14 seconds remaining.
The Musketeers couldn’t finish the Detroit Titans on Sunday either, falling in double overtime, 3-2.
Detroit scored with 2:04 left in overtime for the win, their first of the year.
Xavier continues its quest for the win column at 7 p.m. on Wednesday Sept. 24 when it travels to Indiana University-Purdue University of Indiana in Indianapolis.
After the match, the Musketeers will enjoy a 10 day respite from action before heading to Lexington, Ky. to face the University of Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday, Oct. 4.
