WOMEN\’S SOCCER
NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – Curwensville Area High School graduate Dani Struble of Lumber City closed out the regular season for Westminster with eight points in two Presidents\’ Athletic Conference games last week.
The sophomore midfielder accounted for the lone goal in a 3-1 loss to Grove City on Oct. 29 that cost the Titans the championship and sparkled with two goals and two assists in a 10-0 rout of Chatham at Pittsburgh Saturday that gave the defending champs home field for the first round of the PAC Tournament.
Her 20-yard chip shot from the left side in the ninth minute was the only goal in the Grove City game until the Wolverines erupted for three scores in the final 14 minutes.
Against Chatham, Struble found the net in the 55th and 62nd minutes on assists by Samantha Killmeyer, who is the NCAA Division III leader in assists with 19 in 18 games.
Westminster (14-3-2, 5-1-1 PAC) will host Washington & Jefferson (13-5-1, 5-1-1) Wednesday because of its great goal differential against Chatham than the Presidents had in their 3-0 victory over Waynesburg Saturday. W & J has not allowed a goal in 480 minutes.
No. 4 seed Grove City (11-7-2, 5-2) travels to Kentucky to test regular season champion Thomas More (13-6, 6-1) in the other semifinal.
The title game will be played Saturday at the home field of the higher seed.
Westminster has won PAC tourney and qualified for NCAA Division III Tournament five of last six years.
Struble, who was the leading scorer for Pitt-Greensburg last season before transferring to Westminster, is tied for third for the Titans with 10 points on four goals and two assists.
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SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Sophomore forward Juliana Howell of Clearfield provided the insurance goal with a penalty kick in the 66th minute at James W. Egli Field Saturday as Slippery Rock locked up a berth in the Pennsylvania State athletic Conference Playoffs for the sixth consecutive season with a 2-0 victory over California.
The goal was Howell\’s third of the season, ending a 12-game drought, and gives her seven points, tied for fifth on the team.
In avenging a 2-0 loss at California a month earlier, The Rock prevented the Vulcans from making the four-team Western Division field in the PSAC tourney that was increased from six to eight teams because of the conference\’s expansion this year.
Slippery Rock (13-5-1, 9-4-1 PSAC-West) and Mercyhurst (10-4-4, 8-2-4) tied for second place, one point behind Gannon (11-5-2, 9-3-2), with 28 points, but the Lakers earned home-field advantage for Tuesday\’s first-round game because of a pair of 2-1 wins over The Rock.
Gannon will host Indiana (12-8, 8-6) in the other Western Division game.
The highest-seeded Western Division team after those two games will host the PSAC semifinals Friday and championship game Saturday.
Howell was off-target on her other shot against Cal and has 15 shots, seven on goal, in 15 games. Her start in a 2-1 win at Lock Haven Nov. 29 was her 10th.
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LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – Jen Williams of Clearfield saw action for the first time in eight games as Lock Haven rolled past Lake Erie 7-0 at Hubert Jack Stadium Saturday give coach Heather Kendra-Davis her 100th win and end the season 9-9-1.
Williams, who lost playing time after Kendra-Davis switched to a 4-3-3 alignment in mid-season, came off the bench in 11 games and wound up with one assist and two shots.
The Lady Eagles finished sixth in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference with a 5-8-1 record.
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FOOTBALL
ANNVILLE, Pa. – Quarterback Tanner Kelly of Olanta (Clearfield Area High School) passed for three touchdowns as Albright tumbled homestanding Lebanon Valley 31-14 in a key Middle Atlantic Conference showdown that attracted 1,600 fans to Arnold Field Saturday.
The teams were part of a three-way logjam atop the MAC, and the Lions emerged with a 4-1 record to remain tied with Lycoming.
Kelly completed 19 of 25 passes for 167 yards en route to matching his season-high for TD aerials. His payoff passes of 37 yards to Luke Wallace and two yards to favorite receiver Nate Romig accounted for the only scoring in the second half. Kelly and Romig had teamed up for a four-yarder in the second quarter.
Kelly, who netted 15 yards on the ground, also assisted the Lions\’ defense with three of his seven punts making the Dutchmen start from inside their own 20. The redshirt junior averaged 38.4 yards, thanks to a 55-yarder that was his second longest of the season.
Kelly leads the MAC in completion percentage (64.2) and passing efficiency (133.56), is second in completions (138) and fewest interceptions (5) and is third in TD passes (13).
He\’s thrown for 1,384 yards. Adding his 222 rushing yards for 71 carries pads his total offense to 1,606 yards, third best in the MAC.
In punting, Kelly\’s 36.9 average ranks third in the conference.
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SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Redshirt junior linebacker Nate Sipes of Curwensville made three stops, two of them solo tackles, and recovered a fumble late in the game, while redshirt sophomore center/guard J.D. Skebo of Curwensville lined up on the extra point and field goal units and also anchored the second-team offense in the fourth quarter as Slippery Rock rolled past mistake-prone Lock Haven 45-7 to delight 4,250 fans in N. Kerr Thompson Stadium Saturday.
The Rock, which scored 21 points in the final period, took advantage of seven Bald Eagle turnovers to finish 3-4 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division and balance its record at 5-5 with one game to play.
Sipes has recorded 14 solo tackles, two of them for losses totaling eight yards, and eight assists as a special teams regular and back-up linebacker.
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CLARION, Pa. – Sophomore free safety Shawn Sopic of Curwensville made one solo tackle and assisted on three others and broke up one pass while sophomore running back Nick Sipes of Curwensville had one carry for 10 yards and made one tackle for Clarion in a 35-10 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference loss to Edinboro at Memorial Stadium Saturday.
Sopic leads the Golden Eagle defense with 33 solo tackles and is second in total stoops with 58. He has made two tackles for losses of two yards, intercepted three passes with 18 yards in returns, broken up five other passes and forced one fumble.
Sipes is the second-leading rusher for Clarion (2-8, 1-6 PSAC-West) with 42 carries for 241 yards. He\’s caught 11 passes for 90 yards and returned a punt for 18 yards. In addition, he has 11 tackles, all but one solo stops, and blocked one punt.
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BALTIMORE, Md. – Junior defensive back Beau Ryan of Clearfield made three tackles and assisted on a fourth stop for Juniata in a 12-0 Centennial Conference loss to host Johns Hopkins Saturday afternoon.
A crowd of 1,100 at Homewood Field saw the Eagles fall to 1-8 with its sixth loss in seven conference games. Johns Hopkins (6-2) is 4-2 in the CC.
In nine games, Ryan has 15 tackles and six assists. He has one tackle for a loss of one yard and has broken up one pass.
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SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Redshirt freshman Andrew Janocko of Clearfield had a key role in Pitt\’s pulsating four-overtime 36-33 win over Notre Dame in front of 80,795 fans who packed Notre Dame Stadium Saturday afternoon.
Janocko was the holder for placekicker Conor Lee\’s record-setting, 18-point day, which was highlighted by the first game-winning kick of his four-year career, a 22-yard field goal that finally ended the four-hour marathon.
Lee booted a 35-yard field goal in the first quarter and then was true from 22, 32 and 26 yards out in the first three extra periods of the longest game every played by either a Panther or Fighting Irish team.
He also kicked three extra points, including No. 100 in a row for his career that tied the game 24-24 in the fourth quarter.
Lee (Upper St. Clair High School/Fork Union Military Academy) set Pitt records for single-game points and field goals as well as career field goals (46). All three records were set by Carson Long in the mid-1970s.
The Panther senior, brother of injured Penn State linebacker Sean Lee, was named BIG EAST Special Teams Player of the Week for the second time this season.
Pitt trailed 17-3 at halftime before rallying for its sixth win in eight games.
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WAYNESBURG, Pa. – Sophomore Tyler Kirkwood of Frenchville (Clearfield Area H.S.) saw action for Grove City in a come-from-behind 23-19 win over Waynesburg with 1,500 fans looking on in Wiley Stadium Saturday.
Kirkwood has appeared in every game for the Wolverines, who are 2-2 in the Presidents\’ Athletic Conference and 5-3 overall.
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WRESTLING
EDINBORO, Pa. – Junior All-American Matt Kyler of Clearfield was the standout for Army with two pins and a major decision in the season-opening Fighting Scot Duals hosted by Edinboro Saturday.
Kyler, who set an Army record for wins in finishing 43-8 and sixth at 141 pounds in the NCAA Division I Tournament last season, has moved up to 149, where he was No. 6 in the country by USA Today/InterMat/National Wrestling Coaches Association pre-season rankings.
He showed no affects of wrestling at the higher weight in pinning Maryland\’s Eric Medina in 4:38 after falling behind 5-0 and Findlay\’s Sean Dong in 1:56 and majoring Edinboro\’s Torsten Gillespie 10-0.
Kyler was one of only two winners against No. 15 Edinboro, which defeated Army 34-7.
The Cadets tied No. 19 Maryland 19-19 and beat Findlay (Ohio) 38-6.
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MEN\’S SWIMMING
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Triplewinner John Lytle of Clearfield was the top point-getter and led Notre Dame to an exciting 152-148 squeaker over Pitt in a BIG EAST Conference dual meet in the Rolfs Aquatic Center Friday night.
Lytle was one of the Fighting Irish\’s two doublewinners in individual events, sweeping the 50-yard freestyle in 21.20 seconds and the 100 free in 45.55.
Then, with the outcome hinging on the 400 free relay, the junior led off with a 45.35 leg to give Notre Dame (1-1) a lead of more than a second, and his teammates went on to win in 3:03.47.
In the meet\’s first event, the 200 medley relay, Lytle\’s 20.18 anchor leg lifted the Fighting Irish quartet into second place with a time of 1:35.59. His time was the fastest of the race.
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CLARION, Pa. – Sophomore Brandon Boyer of Clearfield placed high in two individual events and also swam on a winning relay team as Clarion opened its dual-meet schedule with a 166-128 win over Shippensburg in Tippin Natatorium Saturday.
He finished second in the 100-yard backstroke in 56.22 seconds and took third in the 200 back in 2:06.22.
In the 200 free relay, Boyer posted a 22.03 for the second leg.
The Golden Eagle backstroker for the 200 medley relay, Boyer got his team off to a good start with a 26.34 leg, and Clarion went on to place third.
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WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Senior tri-captain Brandon Good of Clearfield helped Lycoming beat Messiah 128-71 in its opening meet on Oct. 28, but the Warriors lost 111-89 to Albright at Reading Saturday.
Against Messiah, Good placed third in the 100-yard butterfly in 1:00.85 to qualify for the Middle Atlantic Conference Championships, touched fifth in the 50 freestyle in 24.70 seconds and swam the fly leg for the Warrior 200 medley relay foursome that took third place.
The three-year letterman finished fourth in the 100 free in 54.68 and turned in a 25.84 fly leg for the third place 200 medley quartet.
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MEN\’S SOCCER
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Junior forward Lucas Feathers of Clearfield got off one shot in both of last week\’s games for Slippery Rock, a 3-1 win at Lock Haven and a 3-0 loss to visiting California that completely shuffled the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division standings.
The Rock grabbed first place from Lock Haven, but Cal vaulted from fourth to first with Saturday\’s shutout at James W. Egli Field, so those two teams will meet again Wednesday afternoon on the Vulcans\’ home field for the right to play in the PSAC championship game. The Vulcans (4-3-1) topped the division with 13 points, while The Rock (4-4) was one point back.
Slippery Rock is 13-5-1 and Cal is 11-7-2 for the PSAC\’s first divisional playoff since 1992. The survivor will travel to test Eastern Division champ Millersville (15-2, 10-0) or two-time defending champ East Stroudsburg (15-5, 8-2) in the title game Saturday.
Feathers is tied for third on The Rock in goals with four and is fourth in both assists with three and points with 11. He\’s third in both shots (35) and shots on goal (13).
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LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – Mark Auman of Clearfield played in 13 games, eight as a starter, for Lock Haven, which finished 11-6-3 after just missing the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Playoffs.
The 5-10 sophomore midfielder had one assist and had seven shots, with three shots on goal.
Lock Haven led the PSAC Western Division with two games remaining before losing to Mercyhurst and Slippery Rock for a 3-3-2 record and 11 points.
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NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – Sophomore defender Alan Baldwin of Clearfield is a member of the Westminster\’s Presidents\’ Athletic Conference regular-season championship team that will seek to add the PAC Tournament title trophy to its hardware case this week.
The No. 1 seed Titans (14-5, 6-0 PAC) blanked Grove City 1-0 in their regular season finale Saturday and will host the No. 4 seeded Wolverines (6-10-3, 3-2-1) in a rematch Tuesday, with the winner to meet either No. 2 seed Washington & Jefferson (8-6-4, 4-1-1) or No. 3 seed Thomas More (13-4, 4-2) for the tourney crown on Saturday.
Baldwin, who has been hampered by foot injury most of the season, and former Clearfield Area High School teammate John Lhota will be on opposite sides if the top two seeds advance.
Lhota is a sophomore midfielder for W & J, which nipped Bethany (W.Va.) 4-3 in overtime on Oct. 29 and nipped host Waynesburg 2-1 Saturday to earn second place in the PAC.
Lhota registered a shot on goal against Bethany.
He has one goal and 10 shots, including six on goal, in 18 games. He has started three times.