The County Times
Thursday, September 6, 2007
SMC Soccer Wins Opener, Drops Second Game
College Volleyball Teams Off to a Good Start By Andrew Knowlton Staff Writer
By Andrew Knowlton Staff Writer The men’s soccer team at St. Mary’s College got off to a strong start this season with a 3-0 win over Shenandoah University Saturday, but dropped to 1-1 after a 5-1 loss to Elmhurst College the following afternoon. The Seahawks looked strong Saturday in the Eighth Annual Elmer Lord Classic at Salisbury University. Coming off a long and productive preseason, which included games in England and Scotland, St. Mary’s took the field against Shenandoah with confidence. It didn’t take long for the Seahawks to get on the scoreboard. In the very first minute of the game, senior forward Cyrus Albertson played a ball off a cross-field pass from junior Chris Madrigal, which he quickly controlled and placed carefully in the net. “That was good because it’s something we’ve worked on in practice, to find that quick hitter,” said Seahawk’s Head Coach Herb Gainey. With a 1-0 lead, the Seahawks kept pushing the pace of the game, and it paid off 15 minutes later, when senior forward Alex Pyzik was taken down inside the box. The foul led to a Mikael Tigrett penalty kick, which gave SMC a 2-0 lead. After the halftime break, the Seahawks continued to use their speed to their advantage. Early on in the second half, Albertson netted his second goal and the team’s third after Shenandoah’s keeper fumbled a save right at Albertson’s feet. The Seahawk’s had a chance to watch the other two team’s in the tournament, Salisbury and Elmhurst, play each other in scoreless tie earlier that day. After watching that game, the Seahawks liked their chances of taking the tournament title. “Honestly, I felt like we’d win the tournament,” said Gainey. “I think the guys thought that they were going to win the tournament, too. They acted like they didn’t need to play.” The next day, the Seahawks were back on the field at Salisbury for day two of the tournament. Whereas SMC came out of the gates firing in their first game, it was their
Photo Courtesy Of Mary Lu Bucci
Debbie Davis of Mechanicsville competed in the 250 and 125 meter races, achieving gold and silver medals during this year’s Maryland Kayaking competition.
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25 Anniversary of Special Olypmics Maryland Sailing Regatta Celebrated The weather was hot, but the competition proved even hotter at the Special Olympics Maryland 2007 MidSummer Sailing and Kayak Regatta held August 27 & 28th at St. Mary’s College. Special Olympics St. Mary’s County helped organize this year’s event. This year marked the 25th Anniversary of the Special Olympics Maryland Sailing Regatta and opening ceremonies featured State and local dignitaries to help commemorate the milestone with speeches and proclamations honoring Special Olympics and St. Mary’s College. opponent, the Blue Jays of Elmhurst-despite any signs of fatigue--that took control of the match, taking a 3-0 lead with 15 minutes to go in the first half. “Elmhurst actually executed our game plan perfectly,” Gainey said. “They methodically built up the game and made them chase us around, and that’s exactly what we wanted to do. They made us tired, opened big gaps and made us bite.” The Seahawk’s lone goal was scored by Pyzik in the 37th minute, but St. Mary’s was unable to build any kind of momentum in the second half, as Elmhurst notched two more goals, making it a 5-1 final. “Our defense was a complete debacle,” said Gainey. “We had no communication and we didn’t defuse See SMC Soccer page B-
St. Mary’s (Md.) Women, Coed Sailing Teams Ranked No. 1 in the Country Palm Coast, Fla. – The St. Mary’s College of Maryland sailing squads are starting the 2007-08 campaign on the right ‘wave’ as both the coed and women’s teams top the newest Sailing World College Racing polls released on August 14. From Sailing World: “St. Mary’s remains atop the coed rankings, but a shuffle in the top half of the board sees Brown, Navy and Stanford making significant jumps. St. Mary’s, Charleston, and Stanford are unchanged as the Top 3 in the women’s rankings.” The women’s squad has been No. 1 since the March 28th poll, while the coed team has been in the pole position since June 12. See SMC Sailing page B-
This year’s event included 88 sailors, 42 sailing partners and 78 kayakers from Maryland and Virginia to compete on the waters of the St. Mary’s River. Special Olympics Maryland offers three levels of sailing: level 1 athletes are the captain of their vessel and control the boat’s sails and course, with a Sailing Partner on board to help in emergency situations. Level 2 sailors work more closely with their Sailing Partners, See Special Olympics page B-
The volleyball team at St. Mary’s College is off to its best start since 1992. At last weekend’s Wingate INNvitational in Virginia Beach, the Seahawk’s went a perfect 4-0 to record their best early season record in 15 years. In the ’92 season, the ‘Hawks went six matches before losing. According to Seahawks Head Coach Morris Davis, this year’s early success was bound to happen eventually. In the past three years, Davis has put a strong emphasis on recruiting, and this year it seems to be paying off, as the Seahawk’s squad, which has zero seniors, four juniors and the rest underclassmen, is undefeated in four matches. “This should be a breakout year for us,” said Davis. “We have the right players in the right places and we finally have depth, which is something we haven’t had in the past.” In previous seasons, Davis had to take the court in practice to fill in spots that were missing on his roster. Now, the Seahawks have a 12-on-12 squad and Davis no longer needs to suit up. “This really helps them prepare better,” Davis said. “They’re stepping onto the court with a more competitive edge.” The large group of freshmen on the team, which are a result of Davis’ See College Volleyball page B-
Eagles Fly Over Knights, 5-1 By Andrew Knowlton Staff Writer Gonzaga just had too many weapons for Ryken to handle Friday afternoon in Leonardtown as the Eagles downed St. Mary’s, 5-1, in Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) boy’s soccer action. Throughout the first half, the Eagles controlled the pace and had one missed scoring opportunity after another, so when Ryken captain JJ Railey blasted a free kick into the top right corner of the net, Gonzaga’s goalkeeper was caught staring at the sailing ball like a deer in headlights. Gonzaga, which seemed to have Ryken right where they wanted them all game long, suddenly found themselves down 1-0 in the 37th minute. That’s when Eagle’s senior Marcus Douglas decided it was time to really step it up. With just seconds remaining in the first half, Gonzaga junior Christopher Perez placed a perfect free kick inside the box, which Douglas went for and headed into the back of the net to tie the score. “When JJ scored that goal in the 37th minute and we went up onenil, that was exactly the plan,” said Ryken Head Coach Will Lozier. “Marcus scored a great goal. I think that if we didn’t go into the half tied, it would have been a totally different outcome. We had a collapse in the last minute of the half and that really cost us.” As the second half opened, the question being asked was whether Douglas’ goal late in the half would shift the momentum to Gonzaga’s side. Eagle junior Kevin Go quickly Photo By Andrew Knowlton answered that question by scoring Ryken junior Steven Beck defends Gonzaga’s Christopher Perez in the Knight’s 5-1 loss. See Eagles Win page B-