WOMEN\’S SOCCER
ERIE, Pa. – Juliana Howell of Clearfield accounted for the second goal in Slippery Rock\’s 4-0 upset win over No. 24 Bloomsburg Thursday in the opening round of the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional Tournament.
The sophomore forward, who had three shots on goal, scored on a cross from Ashley Pagani in the 60th minute.
In Sunday\’s semifinal, The Rock\’s season came to an end when No. 17-ranked Mercyhurst (14-4-4) posted a 3-0 shutout on its home field.
Howell had one of The Rock\’s four shots on goal in that game. The team was held to eight shots by the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference champion Lakers.
Slippery Rock, seeded sixth in the region, finished 14-7-1, with four of the losses administered by Mercyhurst, which was the No. 2 seed and will meet No. 1 seed West Chester for the region title. The Rock tied for second place in the PSAC-Western Division with a 9-4-1 log.
In 18 games, including 13 starts, Howell tallied four goals and one assist for nine points, tied for third most on the team. She had one game-winning goal and converted Slippery Rock\’s only penalty shot.
Howell led The Rock in shots on goal percentage (66.7) with 12 of her 18 attempts on target, and was second in shot percentage (22.2).
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NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – Dani Struble of Lumber City (Curwensville Area High School) had two shots, one on goal, as Westminster advanced to the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Division III South Championships for the second time with a 1-0 win over Catholic on Nov. 12.
However, the second-seeded Titans were shut out 3-0 by defending champion Swarthmore at Frostburg (W.Va.) State on Saturday. In the title game Sunday, Swarthmore defeated No. 1 seed Frostburg State in a shootout (5-4) after a double-overtime scoreless tie.
Struble, who transferred to Westminster after leading Pitt-Greensburg in scoring last season, was the Titans\’ fifth-leading pointmaker with 10 on four goals and two assists. She was fifth in shots with 30 and fourth in shots on goal with 12.
The sophomore midfielder started 19 of 22 games for 15-5-2 Titans, who tied for second place in the Presidents\’ Athletic Conference with a 5-1-1 record.
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MEN\’S SOCCER
MILLERSVILLE, Pa. – Junior forward Lucas Feathers of Clearfield played a reserve role in Slippery Rock\’s history-making 1-0 overtime win over 14th-ranked Bloomsburg in the first round of the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region Tournament Thursday.
The only other Rock team to receive a bid to the NCAAs lost in its opener.
However, Slippery Rock\’s bid for the region crown and a berth in the national quarterfinals was blocked by No. 7 Millersville (18-3), which advanced with a 1-0 victory although outshot 11-6.
Feathers also came off the bench in that game.
He started 11 of the 22 games he played and tied for third on the team with four goals, including one game-winner, and was fourth in points with 11.
Of his 35 shots, 13 were on goal. Both totals were third highest for The Rock, which finished 14-7-1 with a 4-4 second-place record in the Pennsylvania State Conference Western Division.
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NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – Sophomore defenseman Alan Baldwin of Olanta (Clearfield Area H. S.) got off his third shot of the season as Westminster downed visiting Hunter (N.Y.) 2-0 in the first round of the NCAA Division III Tournament on Nov. 13.
He did not play in Sunday\’s 1-0 road loss to No. 3-ranked Montclair (N.J.) State (21-0), the nation\’s only uneaten, untied team.
Baldwin, bothered by a foot injury for most of the season, played in nine games, starting in one.
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WASHINGTON, Pa. – Sophomore John Lhota of Clearfield saw action for seventh-seeded Washington & Jefferson, which was ousted from the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Division III South Championships by host Frostburg (Md.) State 1-0 in a first-round game on Nov. 12.
For the season, Lhota had one goal in 21 games, including three as a starting midfielder. Six of his 12 shots were on goal.
The Presidents were second in the Presidents\’ Athletic Conference at 4-1-1 and wound up 9-8-4 overall.
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MEN\’S SWIMMING & DIVING
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Junior John Lytle of Clearfield was a double-winner in the freestyle sprints as Notre Dame swept Miami (Ohio) 143-100 and host Cleveland State 132-109 in a tri-meet Saturday for a 3-2 record.
Lytle touched the wall in 20.83 seconds in the 50-yard free and 45.60 in the 100 free.
He anchored the Fighting Irish 400 medley relay team that was first against Miami and second against Cleveland State in 3:29.93.
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NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – Sophomore John Bodle of Clearfield recorded the first win of his college career Saturday as Westminster (2-0) outclassed Bethany (W.Va.) 91-18 in its Presidents\’ Athletic Conference opener.
Bodle swam a personal-best 2:17.66 in the 200-yard butterfly.
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CLARION, Pa. – Sophomore Brandon Boyer of Clearfield lowered his own standard in the 100-yard freestyle to 49.52 seconds for a third-place finish and also swam on third-place 200 free relay team in Clarion\’s 130-100 loss to Duquesne in Tippin Natatorium Thursday.
Boyer had a 21.87 third leg in the relay.
He had a 26.07 leadoff leg for the Golden Eagle 200 medley relay quartet that placed fourth.
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SELINSGROVE, Pa. – Senior tri-captain Brandon Good of Clearfield placed in one individual event and one relay for Lycoming in a 114-84 defeat at Susquehanna on Nov. 11.
He was fifth in the 500-yard freestyle in 5:59.22 and helped the Warrior \’B\’ 200 free relay foursome to a second-place finish with a 23.93 anchor leg.
Good also turned in a 58.71 butterfly leg for the Lycoming \’B\’ 400 medley relay team that was fifth.
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WASHINGTON, Pa. – Senior diver Ryan Sayers of Frenchville (Clearfield Area H.S.) took third on the one-meter board with 179.20 points as Washington & Jefferson bested Baldwin-Wallace (Ohio) 160-131 Saturday for its second win in a row.
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FOOTBALL
DOYLESTOWN, Pa. – Albright quarterback Tanner Kelly of Olanta (Clearfield Area H. S) passed for one touchdown but was sacked eight times by an aggressive Delaware Valley defense that was the key to the Aggies denying the Lions the outright Middle Atlantic Conference championship with a 34-9 win before a friendly crowd of 1,700 fans at James Work Memorial Stadium Saturday.
Those two teams and Lycoming, which beat Lebanon Valley 23-15, will share the 2008 title with 5-2 records.
Freshman wide receiver David Ryan of Clearfield is a member of the Lycoming team that earned the automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Playoffs by virtue of wins over the other two teams. The Warriors (7-3) are seeded fifth in the East Region and will play fourth seed and Liberty League champion Hobart (8-1) Saturday at Geneva, N.Y.
Albright\’s season was extended, too, when the Lions were selected for the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference South Atlantic Bowl.
They will board a bus Saturday for a rematch with New Jersey Athletic Conference runner-up Montclair State (8-2).
The Red Hawks edged the Lions 17-13 a year ago by limiting Kelly to 87 passing yards, less than one third of his regular season average, and no passing touchdowns. He had throw for at least two TDs in nine games and one in the other.
Kelly led Albright (7-3) on a 65-yard scoring drive on its first possession against Delaware Valley, capping it with a 36-yard TD pass to Nate Romig. A field goal on the first play of the second quarter gave the Lions the lead again a 9-7, but the Aggies won going away with four takeaways in the second half.
Kelly completed 22 of 33 passes for 192 yards, with one interception. He wound up with minus-11 yards rushing, with the sacks costing him 42 yards. He lost a fumble on one of the sacks in the second half.
The redshirt junior punted two times for a 34.5 average and still is ranked second in the MAC with a 37.2 average for 48 punts.
In other MAC statistics, Kelly is second in completions (172), fourth in TD passes (14) and total offenses (1865 yards, 186.5 average), fifth in passing yards (1,666) and passing efficiency (126.4) and sixth in passing yards (166.6 average).
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GROVE CITY, Pa. – Sophomore tailback Tyler Kirkwood of Frenchville (Clearfield Area H.S.) saw action on specialty teams for Grove City in a season-ending 20-14 Mercer County Cup victory over Thiel Saturday.
A Senior Day crowd of 2,700 saw the Wolverines lock up a winning season at 6-4 and finish 3-3 in the Presidents\’ Athletic Conference. The teams met in the finale for the first time since 1970 as part of the PAC\’s inaugural \”Rivalry Week.\”
Kirkwood has been a regular on the Grove City kickoff return, extra point and field goal units.
\”He also was counted on in some crucial situations as a lead blocker,\” coach Chris Smith said. \”That took advantage of his ability to deliver a blow as a high school linebacker.\”
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WRESTLING
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Brad Pataky of Clearfield and No. 7 Penn State got off to a disappointing start to the dual meet season Sunday, when upstart Hofstra won the last two bouts to stun the Nittany Lions 18-15 in front of 3,200 fans in Rec Hall.
Penn State led 15-11 when Pataky squared off against Steve Bonanno, a true freshman who was a 2008 New York State Division 1 state champion with a 140-32 career record, at 125 pounds.
Pataky registered two takedowns and surrendered two escapes in the first period, and the Nittany Lion redshirt sophomore sandwiched two escapes around a Bonanno takedown in the second period for a 6-4 lead going to the final two minutes.
In the third period, the Pride\’s lightweight escaped and then drew even at 6-6 when Pataky was hit with a stalling penalty in the final seconds.
In overtime, Pataky (2-3) immediately shot in for a takedown, but Bonanno (5-3) countered for an 8-6 sudden victory.
Hofstra\’s Lou Ruggirello, ranked No. 7 in the nation at 133, followed with a 9-0 win over Tim Haas to cap the Pride\’s comeback.
Failure to earn bonus points cost the Nittany Lions. Each team had five winners, but the Pride had a trio of major decisions.
Former Bald Eagle Area standout Quentin Wright, a true freshman thrust into the lineup just three days after junior David Erwin was declared out for the season because a shoulder injury he suffered in the Michigan State Open on Nov. 9, gave Penn State a tremendous boost early in the match when he took down sixth-ranked Pride All-American Alton Lucas the buzzer for a 4-3 crowd-pleaser.
