Fall 2011
Published by the Minnesota State University, Mankato
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Fall
INSIDE:
2011
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Mankato West Football................ 4 SCC Football................................ 4 Mankato East Volleyball............... 5 Mankato Loyola Football.............. 6 Mankato West Volleyball.............. 7 Mankato Boy's Soccer.................. 7
Mankato East Football................. 9 Schedules.............................10-17 SCC Volleyball............................ 18 Martin Luther College Football... 18 MSU Football............................. 19 Bethany Lutheran Sports.............20
Gustavus Athletics..................... 20 MSU Volleyball........................... 21 MLC Women's Athletics.............. 22 Southern Minnesota Football...... 22 MSU Women's Soccer................ 23 Mankato Girl's Soccer................ 23
photo courtesy of SportPix
Page 4
Fall
SOUTH CENTRAL CONFERENCE FOOTBALL
MANKATO WEST FOOTBALL
Scarlets set sights on Dome once again Senior quarterback Philip Nelson (pictured below) will try to cap off his stellar career with a Class 4A State Title after West fell just short last year.
SCC small in size, not competition Fairmont, Waseca and Blue Earth Area are top contenders this season. REECE HEMMESCH
staff writer
Photo Courtesy of SportPix REECE HEMMESCH
staff writer
Unlike college football, where recruiting is key, or the NFL where offseason moves such as drafting and free agency determine how the team will look; high school football is all about the players that are given to you in your school’s area. When it comes to high school football, you can never really be sure what you are going to get out of the players you have and it’s often hard to predict what kind of season your school’s team will have. Unless your school is Mankato West, that is, which has had one of the most successful football programs in the southern part of Minnesota for the past five years. In the past five years, the Scarlets have secured four state tournament berths and one state championship, which came back in 2008. It seems year in and year out West is the team to beat in southern Minnesota and the Big 9 Conference. 2011 should be the same story, as the Scarlets are off to a 1-0 start; and in
some eyes should be the No. 1 team in all of Class 4A. But how does a program just keep reloading as Mankato West does? Sixth-year head coach Mark Esch chalks it up to one word: commitment. “They plug into the weight room consistently, work hard during the season and are mentally learning when it comes to the game,” he said. That commitment seemed to be paying off early on this season, as the Scarlets mauled New Prague 60-14 and then took care of Austin 49-21 to begin the season 2-0. “We were solid all around,” Esch said about the opening win. “Our kids executed extremely well for week one.” Senior quarterback Philip Nelson stood out the most for West; as the Minnesota Golden Gophers recruit threw for 195 yards and five touchdowns while only playing in the first half. He will be relied on the most this year for the Scarlets. In his junior season, Nelson amassed an untouchable 2,439 yards and 30 touchdowns. Despite losing current Minnesota State University, Mankato Maverick Nick Kaus
to graduation, Nelson will also have some big time receivers to help him out in the passing game. Hunter Friesen and Konor Severns both got good playing time last season and they will be his two main targets. Tyler Resner will take over the running game for West, as Grant Caster and Tony Allen will help him out manning the offensive line. So even after a big year in 2010, where the Scarlets reached the state tournament, they are looking to avoid the first-round exit they saw last season. “We have to execute at key times and get better each week,” Esch said. “It’s all about peaking at the end of the season.” If the Scarlets can do all that and Nelson is on his game; expect a trip back to the Metrodome for the Scarlets, and possibly another state title. West will hope to end the season with some momentum, as it has tough games against Rochester Mayo and Century before the postseason begins.
When it comes to conference play in the state of Minnesota, most teams have a decent selection of games. Some even have such big conferences that they don’t have a chance to play them all in one season. These problems do not exist in the South Central Conference, where there are only six teams in the conference. “It makes a difference,” Waseca head coach Brad Wendland said. “It’s tough to find non-conference games.” This is a true statement, because in most conferences you only need to find one or two non-conference games and some conferences will even line up your non-conference selections for you. But in the South Central, you have five conference games and the remaining three games you are to find on your own. Teams will occasionally
play a team in the conference twice if both teams cannot come up with a game, but most teams do not like doing that. They might not have a lot of teams or a lot of size schoolwise, but the SCC definitely packs a punch. Fairmont is already off to a quick start; the Cardinals started off the season with a 40-7 win over Worthington in non-conference action, boosting them up to the number six spot in Class 3A. Running back Brandon Martin led the way for Fairmont, rushing nine times for 129 yards and two touchdowns. Fairmont is looking to repeat as conference champions, and also looking to get past last season’s 28-21 section semifinal loss to GlencoeSilver Lake. Fairmont isn’t the only team looking to get back in the swing of things at the top of the conference. Waseca is always at the top of the rankings; as they were
SCC FOOTBALL / page 6
2011
Page 5
MANKATO EAST VOLLEYBALL
Cougars expect talented young players to excel despite inexperience After having success in the Big Nine Conference the past couple seasons, East lost many key players to graduation and is looking for senior captain Dannah Miller to lead this year. JOEY DENTON
staff writer
With eight volleyball players graduating last year, it is time for some new faces to come on to the varsity volleyball team at Mankato East this year with the hopes of competing for a state title in the future. Last season, the Cougars finished with a 17-12 record, ending their season with a loss in the Sectional finals against the Le Sueur-Henderson Giants. Head coach Kari Rodman thought her team had a lot of talent, but wasn’t satisfied how their season ended. “Last year, I think, went fairly well. We obviously wanted to go further. We didn’t like how we played our last match. We had some missed opportunities,” said Rodman. Having eight seniors graduating is never easy to bounce back from, but the Cougars intend to embrace that and make it an advantage. Having a bunch of new players on the varsity squad makes it exciting to see the new young
talent that is the future of the program, and it will make it difficult for other teams to plan for the Cougars. The other bit of good news is that Rodman, even though the team is young, still feels that she has a lot of talent on her squad and she feels comfortable playing all her players. “We have 15 girls on the roster, andI feel I can put any of those girls on the court to help us out,” she said. Of course moving up to varsity play and speed is never easy, but they are all going through it together and they will push each other to get used to the speed and talent at the varsity level. That’s what makes a young team exciting to watch, because the sky is the limit for these young players and it’s fun to see how they compete with other varsity teams not only this season, but in seasons to come. Coach Rodman believes that is the case for her team and is excited for this season. “There isn’t a limit for this team. Every day I see improvement, and that’s exciting
to see,” Rodman said. Even with all the new faces coming in, there are a handful of returning players to watch this season, as they improved greatly and are ready to lead this team. Sophomore Claire Ziegler is a returning outside hitter that helped the squad out a lot last season. Also returning is the team’s starting libero and one of the team’s captains, senior Dannah Miller. With the remaining schedule, there are a few key matchups the Cougars are looking forward to. First, on Sept. 29, they play Rochester Mayo at East high school. Oct. 3 is the redemption match against Le Sueur-Henderson at East, and then they play Owatonna on Oct. 6 at Owatonna high school. After this tough slate of games, the Cougars play cross-town rival Mankato West ont Oct. 11. East has had West's number as of late, beating the Scarlets the last couple seasons in a row. Photo Courtesy of SportPix
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Page 6
Fall
MANKATO LOYOLA FOOTBALL
Crusaders trying to keep pace in tough conference
TIGE HUTCHESON
staff writer
2010 was a rough season for the Mankato Loyola football team. The Crusaders were outscored 343-148 and finished just 2-7 in the Gopher Valley A Conference and were completely out of the playoff picture way before the end of the season. Not to mention the fact that Mankato Loyola was a young team in 2010 and brings a lot of its starters back for another season, the Gopher Valley A Conference is still one of the toughest in Minnesota high school football, and they’ve still got a lot of developing to do. But there are some pieces in place, especially on offense. The Crusaders look to have a very solid running game with the returning running back tandem of Evan Ellingworth and Luke Hermer. Loyola also has plenty of depth at the quarterback position, with Blake Matuska likely to get the starting nod with sophomore Shane Sellner itching for playing time behind him.
Tight end Jordan Gretz also returns for his senior season and will line up with a group of largely veteran offensive linemen. Things get a lot more questionable on the defensive side of the ball, however, especially since most of the team will be playing both ways and nobody can be considered a "specialist.” And in the Gopher Valley A Conference, Loyola will need to develop a defense quickly or risk getting buried under some of the conferences more powerful offenses. Until they can step it up on defense, the Crusaders will have a really tough time emerging from the pack, especially considering their competition. For starters, Blooming Prairie, led by returning senior quarterback Luc Zellmer, has won the conference the last six years and until somebody can dethrone them, they should be the heavy favorites to repeat again. Le Center and its quarterback, Drew Dwyer, are also perennial threats and look
SCC FOOTBALL 5-1 in conference play last season; their only loss coming at the hands of Fairmont, falling 41-21. They went on to win their next three games and become the No. 1 seed in Section 2. After pounding Minneapolis Roosevelt 70-0 in the first round, the Blue Jays fell to the eventual section champion LeSueur-Henderson. The ‘Jays won their first game of this season 42-7 against Albert Lea. “Strong run game and strong run defense,” Wendland said about the win. “We still need to work on our tackling and discipline.” If all goes right, Waseca could end up giving Fairmont a run for its money when the
continued from 4 two teams collide on the 23rd of September. “We need to stay healthy and improve all the facets of our team,” Wendland said. One team to also not look past is the Blue Earth Area Buccaneers, who say they have two players who have already verbally committed to Division I schools. They are also off to a 1-0 start after defeating United South Central 32-12 in their first week’s matchup. St. James, St. Peter and New Ulm round out the rest of the conference and all have improved vastly from difficult 2010 seasons. All in all, it should be a great year of football in the SCC.
Web Photo
to be gearing up for another hard-fought season. Lester Prairie, who has already beaten Loyola 21-0 this season, also has the talent to make a strong case that they belong among the conference powerhouses. In order to keep up with the pack, the Crusaders will have to prove that they’re willing to play good defense and cultivate a starting unit capable of slowing down some of the explosive offensive weapons around the conference. The Crusaders are already off to a 0-2 start and have been outscored 71-24, a margin eerily similar to that of last season. The Crusaders have enough firepower to compete on offense, but for a successful 2011 season and a much brighter future, it looks to be the same story, different page for Mankato Loyola: the defense is what’s holding them back. If the defense can get better each and every game as 2011 progresses, Loyola should be able to be in position to win a few games.
Web Photo
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Page 7
MANKATO WEST VOLLEYBALL
Kirby takes over as coach with hopes to raise expectations at West LEE HANDEL
sports editor
While it is not exactly in rebuilding mode, the Mankato West volleyball team is not expected to do too much this season in the Big Nine Conference despite some young talent on its roster. The fact that the talent is there does give the squad a good chance to turn some heads in the conference at the very least this season. The Scarlets’ main focus heading into 2011 is to show improvement in the win-loss column later on in the season, as they have already endured some tough losses to top-notch competition early on in Winona, Hutchinson and Marshall. After going 13-15 last season, the Scarlets endured change at the top of the program heading into this year, as Sarah Kirby stepped in as West’s head coach. Kirby came to West with some previous head coaching experience in the area, as she previously served as New Ulm Cathedral’s head coach for two years before serving in the same position at Mankato Loyola for the last four years. Kirby wants to bring a different attitude to West volleyball and is trying to turn the program into more of an annual
contender in the Big Nine. “It’s hard because there have been so many changes,” Kirby said. “We just want to build a good sense of unity in our program and become a consistent program from grades seven to 12.” She knows it will be tough at first, but believes she has some nice players to build around. “We have a very tall front row and I think we are going to be a very good blocking team,” said Kirby. “The thing we are going to struggle with is getting the ball to our hitters on offense.” Kirby has a unique team in her first year at West, as the squad has only two returning starters despite having eight seniors on the roster and only four underclassmen. The underclassmen are all very talented and are going to demand a lot of playing time this season. This can oftentimes be hard for the seniors on the roster, having to share the spotlight with younger players, but Kirby really admires how well her seniors have fully embraced the “team” concept. “The eight seniors are really being great leaders and are really buying into the team aspect,” she said. “They have
handled their situation like mature young women and athletes and I’m very proud of them.” Some of the key players on the team include sophomore libero Abby Leitch, who is very aggressive on the court. She is joined by fellow sophomore standouts Megan Hulscher and Molly Lohman, who are both tall outside hitters with lots of potential that have made huge improvements heading into this season and really hit the ball well, according to Kirby. The Scarlets are led by senior Hannah Yokiel, who plays in the middle of the front line and brings great blocking, hitting and leadership to the squad. West always looks forward to its matchup against Mankato East, and this year is no different. Even though East has recently dominated the matchup, Kirby believes her team has what it takes to come out on top this season. “East is always a fun game and the girls really get fired up for it,” she said. Along with West and East, Rochester Mayo and Owatonna are expected to be two teams fighting to win the Big Nine this season. No matter what happens, Kirby believes her first year figures to be a good one that her team will be
Photo Courtesy of SportPix
proud of. “If we can just build some consistency as the season goes on we’ll be fine,” Kirby said.
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Fall MANKATO AREA BOY'S SOCCER
TOMAHAWK CONFERENCE VOLLEYBALL
Ultra-competitive East coming Tomahawk Conference off trip to state, up for grabs wants to win it REECE HEMMESCH
TIGE HUTCHESON
staff writer
staff writer
In recent years, the Tomahawk Conference has become one of the most competitive in Minnesota high school athletics, and that’s especially true when it comes to volleyball. While Gibbon-FairfaxWinthrop is expected to contend for another conference championship, there is no clear preseason favorite. Big things are expected from a number of Tomahawk schools, including Springfield, Buffalo LakeHector, Cedar Mountain/ Comfrey and Minnesota Valley Lutheran. But the gap is closing quickly, and 2011 is expected to be as competitive as ever. Angie Novotny, the firstyear head coach of Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s high school, already understands just how ruthless yet wide open the conference really is. “We know winning won’t be easy with teams like [Gibbon-FairfaxWinthrop] and Springfield on our schedule, but with the hard work the girls have been putting in we should be able to compete this year and finish with a winning record,” said Novotny. Sarah Gieseke, head coach at Minnesota Valley Lutheran, who is expected to contend for the conference championship, also acknowledges that it will be no easy road. “The Tomahawk has always been a very tough conference with [Gibbon-FairfaxWinthrop] being the conference champs,” said Gieseke. “Buffalo Lake-Hector, Cedar Mountain/Comfrey and Springfield are also good teams to watch, so it will be a tight race to be first.” Despite no clear-cut favorite, Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop is expected to have another strong year. Despite losing one of the most talented players in conference history in Cheyenne Briese, GFW welcomes back a pair of seniors in dynamic middle hitter Lexi Platz and crafty libero Morgan Sanken and should be among the frontrunners once again. Springfield is also coming
There’s nothing better than the thrill of the state tournament. Better competition, better fields, better treatment; but after coming up just short of a state title last season, Mankato East is looking to get right back in it. The Cougars return after one of the better soccer seasons their school has seen, winning 19 matches before falling to Prairie Seeds Academy in a decisive 3-2 match for the state championship. The Cougars’ defense only allowed 14 goals on the entire season, and the offense was spectacular, starting off the season with 23 goals through the first three games. Though they had so much success last year, 2011 is already off to a slow start for the Cougars. Through their first six games they are a mediocre 3-3; but are still holding on to a top 10 rating with No. 7. So far they have big wins coming from crosstown rival Mankato West in a 2-1 matchup. They also defeated Rochester John Marshall and
Web Photo
off a successful 2010 campaign. The Tigers enter 2011 with one of the most intimidating offenses in the conference, led by junior outside hitters Tiffany Schwanke and Morgan Hansen. Then there’s Gieseke’s MVL Chargers, who look to get past GFW despite losing starting setter Miranda Maasz, middle hitter Heather Dannell and libero Ashley Spooner. The Chargers do bring back plenty of talent though, beginning with a pair of aggressive hitters in Sarah Burk and Carlie Maasz, while Charisse Miller will be asked to step in and replace Miranda Maasz as MVL’s starting setter. After losing talented middle hitter Val Lux to graduation, one of the few teams that seem to be in a bit of a rebuilding mode is New Ulm Cathedral, led by head coach Stef Dietz. But even though they’ll have to rely on younger players
to step up, coach Dietz even seems optimistic about New Ulm Cathedral’s chances of competing. “Finding the right group that works well together is key,” said Dietz. “The girls are working real hard. It may take us a few more matches to get it right, but we are improving with every practice and match.” With every school in the Tomahawk Conference bearing its teeth, the only thing certain is that it’s anybody’s conference to win. Whether it’s one of the early favorites (GibbonFairfax-Winthrop, Cleveland or Minnesota Valley Lutheran) or an up-and-comer (New Ulm Cathedral or Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s), the 2011 Tomahawk Conference championship is up for the taking and this year looks to be one of the most exciting yet for the conference.
Willmar by large amounts. They were 3-1 heading into last weekend’s NSC Challenge Cup, before losing to their familiar foes Prairie Seeds Academy 10-0 and the No. 10 team in Class AA, Apple Valley, 4-3. With only 10 games remaining on their schedule, the Cougars will need a majority of those to be wins. One key matchup will take place in early October, as the Cougars travel to Rochester to take on Rochester Lourdes, currently 3-1 and No. 4 in Class A. Mankato West is currently off to a 5-1 start in its season. Their only loss came at the hands of Mankato East, which knocked them from their top 10 rating. The Scarlets are looking solid on defense so far, as they have only allowed two goals through their first six matches. The Crusaders of Mankato Loyola are off to a similar start that Mankato East is having. Through seven games they are 2-3-2, with a big win coming from defeating New Prague 9-0. Loyola was 7-7-3 last season; so a repeat of 2010 is probably in order.
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2011
Page 9
MANKATO EAST FOOTBALL
Cougars trying to close gap and start competing with Big Nine powers
With a grueling schedule year in and year out in the conference, East has struggled to stay in contention with the top teams despite solid squads and success against its lesser foes. LEE HANDEL
sports editor
The Mankato East football team has had a hard time keeping up with the high-flying offenses found in the Big Nine Conference, and things figure to remain the same this season. The Cougars are coming off a 3-6 season in 2010 in which they went 3-4 in league play. They have been finishing in the middle of the pack in the conference the last couple of years, as they have been able to beat certain teams in the conference but have struggled against the top teams in the Big Nine. One of these teams is crosstown rival Manakato West, who has stolen most of the headlines in Mankato in recent history and is an annual contender to reach the Prep Bowl at the Metrodome. In the latest battle for “The Jug” last season in October, West defeated East 36-6. After ending last season with a hard-fought 21-14 loss to Waconia, the Cougars enter 2011 with lots of senior leadership and would like to finish .500 or above in conference play this year. "We are not very deep and have a lost a few guys via injury and other reasons so that is going to make our job a lot tougher
this fall," said head coach Dave Frisell. "We have some returning starters who are going to be counted on to be key players for us." East is led by senior captains Aron Peterson, Shane Anderson, Kevin Schnorenberg and Taylor Hayenga. Peterson plays tight end on offense and linebacker on defense alongside Anderson and Hayenga, giving the Cougars a strong line-backing corps. Schnorenberg plays center on offense and tackle on defense, while Hayenga is one of the team’s top receivers. Leading the way on offense is sophomore quarterback Quinn Frisell. Senior running back Tevyn Schmidt is the team’s most dynamic player, and senior wide receiver Matt Roberts is also a key contributor and can play quarterback as well. The Cougars opened up this season with a 47-7 nonconference loss to a very good Marshall team. Schmidt led the way on offense with 125 yards rushing and a seven-yard touchdown catch for the team’s lone score. In its conference opener, East fell to Faribault 44-30. Looking forward, the Cougars will have
Photo Courtesy of SportPix
a hard time beating the Scarlets from West, Rochester Mayo and Rochester Century. That being said, Rochester John Marshall, Austin and Winona all appear to be winnable games on the schedule. If the Cougars don’t upset one of the aforementioned powers in the Big Nine this season, expect another middle-of-the-pack finish for East again in the conference
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Another big game for the Cougars is its showdown with Century at Wolverton Field on its homecoming. "This is a fun group of guys to coach and we are hoping to get better each week," Frisell said. "We are looking forward to a fun season where winning becomes a part of the culture again."
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Page 10
Fall
AREA HIGH GIRLS SCHOOL SOCCER FOOTBALL • REMAINING • REMAINING SCHEDULES SCHEDULES Blue Earth Area Date 9/16/11 9/23/11 9/30/11 10/7/11 10/14/11 10/19/11
Time 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Opponent Windom Area New Ulm Waseca Saint Peter Fairmont Saint James
Site AWAY HOME AWAY HOME HOME AWAY
LE CENTER MANKATO LOYOLA Date 9/16/11 9/23/11 9/30/11 10/7/11 10/14/11 10/19/11
Time 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Opponent Bethlehem Academy Blooming Prairie Randolph Saint Clair Mankato Loyola Lester Prairie \ Holy Trinity
Site HOME HOME AWAY AWAY HOME HOME
Time 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Opponent Hills-Beaver Creek Westbrook-Walnut Grove Truman Alden-Conger Madelia
Site AWAY HOME HOME HOME AWAY
FAIRMONT Date 9/16/11 9/23/11 9/30/11 10/7/11 10/14/11 10/19/11
Time 5:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 8:00 PM
Opponent Saint Paul Central Waseca Saint Peter Saint James Blue Earth Area New Ulm
Site AWAY HOME AWAY HOME AWAY AWAY
Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton Date 9/16/11 9/23/11 9/30/11 10/7/11 10/14/11 10/19/11
Time 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Opponent Edgerdon/Ellsworth Nicollet Cleveland Alden-Conger Madelia Gr-Hunt-E Ch/Martin Luth
Site AWAY HOME HOME AWAY HOME AWAY
Lake Crystal-Wellcome MemoriaL Date 9/16/11 9/23/11 9/30/11 10/8/11 10/14/11 10/19/11
Time 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 1:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Opponent Maple River United South Central New Richland-H-E-G Minnesota Valley Lutheran Martin County West G-F-W
Site AWAY HOME AWAY AWAY HOME HOME
Time 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Opponent Randolph Medford Bethlehem Academy Blooming Prairie Le Center Saint Clair
Date 9/16/11 9/23/11 9/30/11 10/7/11 10/14/11 10/19/11
Date 9/16/11 9/23/11 9/30/11 10/7/11 10/14/11 10/19/11
CLEVELAND LeSueur-Henderson Date 9/16/11 9/23/11 10/7/11 10/14/11 10/19/11
Date 9/16/11 9/23/11 9/30/11 10/7/11 10/14/11 10/19/11
Time 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Opponent Site Norwood-Young America AWAY Mayer Lutheran HOME Watertown-Mayer AWAY Montgomery-Lonsdale AWAY Jordan HOME Belle Plaine/Holy Family Acad AWAY
MANKATO WEST Time 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Opponent Winona Faribault Rochester John Marshall Rochester Mayo Rochester Century Mankato East
Date 9/16/11 9/23/11 9/30/11 10/7/11 10/14/11 10/19/11
Date 9/16/11 9/23/11 9/30/11 10/7/11 10/14/11
MADELIA
Time 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Opponent Site Nicollet AWAY Truman AWAY Edgerton/Ellsworth HOME Gr-Hunt-E Ch/Martin Luth HOME Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton AWAY Cleveland HOME
MANKATO EAST Date 9/16/11 9/23/11 9/30/11 10/7/11 10/7/11 10/14/11 10/19/11
Time 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Opponent Rochester Mayo Austin Rochester Century Albert Lea Albert Lea Winona Mankato West
Site HOME AWAY HOME AWAY AWAY HOME AWAY
MAPLE RIVER
Time 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Site AWAY HOME HOME AWAY AWAY HOME Site AWAY HOME AWAY HOME AWAY HOME
Opponent Site Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial HOME Waterville-Elysian-Morristown AWAY Minnesota Valley Lutheran AWAY United South Central HOME G-F-W AWAY
Minnesota Valley Lutheran Date 9/16/11 9/23/11 9/30/11 10/8/11 10/14/11 10/19/11
Time 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 1:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Opponent Site Martin County West HOME G-F-W AWAY Maple River HOME Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial HOME Waterville-Elysian-Morristown AWAY United South Central AWAY
MOUNTAIN LAKE/BUTTERFIELD-ODIN Date 9/17/11 9/23/11 10/1/11 10/7/11 10/14/11 10/19/11
Time 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 1:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Opponent New Ulm Cathedral Sleepy Eye Saint Mary’s Cedar Mountain/Comfrey Sleepy Eye Springfield Wabasso
Site AWAY HOME HOME HOME AWAY AWAY
2011
Page 11
AREA HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL • REMAINING SCHEDULES NEW ULM PUBLIC Date 9/16/11 9/23/11 9/30/11 10/7/11 10/14/11 10/19/11
Time 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 8:00 PM
Opponent Holy Family Catholic Blue Earth Area Saint James Waseca Benilde St. Margarets Fairmont
Site AWAY AWAY AWAY HOME HOME HOME
NICOLLET Date 9/16/11 9/30/11 10/7/11 10/14/11 10/19/11
Time 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Opponent Madelia Hills-Beaver Creek Westbrook-Walnut Grove Truman Alden-Conger
Site HOME AWAY HOME AWAY HOME
SAINT CLAIR Date 9/16/11 9/23/11 9/30/11 10/7/11 10/14/11 10/19/11
Time 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Opponent Medford Randolph Lester Prairie \ Holy Trinity Le Center Blooming Prairie Mankato Loyola
SAINT PETER Date 9/16/11 9/23/11 9/30/11 10/7/11 10/19/11
Time 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Opponent Saint Paul Como Park Saint James Fairmont Blue Earth Area Waseca
Site HOME HOME HOME AWAY AWAY
SIBLEY EAST Date 9/16/11 9/23/11 9/30/11 10/7/11 10/14/11 10/19/11
Time 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Opponent Mayer Lutheran Jordan Belle Plaine/Holy Family Acad Watertown-Mayer Montgomery-Lonsdale Norwood-Young America
Site HOME AWAY HOME HOME AWAY HOME
Site AWAY HOME AWAY HOME HOME AWAY
SLEEPY EYE PUBLIC Date 9/16/11 9/23/11 9/30/11 10/7/11 10/14/11 10/19/11
Time 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 4:00 PM
Opponent Red Rock Central Wabasso Springfield Mountain Lake/B-O Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart New Ulm Cathedral
Site AWAY HOME HOME AWAY HOME AWAY
SAINT JAMES SLEEPY EYE ST. MARY’S Date 9/16/11 9/23/11 9/30/11 10/7/11 10/14/11 10/14/11 10/19/11
Time 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Opponent Southland Saint Peter New Ulm Fairmont Sauk Centre Minneapolis Roosevelt Blue Earth Area
Site AWAY AWAY HOME AWAY HOME HOME HOME
Date 9/16/11 9/23/11 9/30/11 10/8/11 10/14/11 10/19/11
Time 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Opponent Cedar Mountain/Comfrey Mountain Lake/B-O Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart New Ulm Cathedral Southwestern United Red Rock Central
Site HOME AWAY HOME AWAY HOME AWAY
UNITED SOUTH CENTRAL Date 9/16/11 9/23/11 9/30/11 10/7/11 10/14/11 10/19/11
Time 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Opponent Site Waterville-Elysian-Morristown HOME Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial AWAY Martin County West HOME Maple River AWAY New Richland-H-E-G AWAY Minnesota Valley Lutheran HOME
WASECA Date 9/16/11 9/23/11 9/30/11 10/7/11 10/14/11 10/19/11
Time 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Opponent Minneapolis Washburn Fairmont Blue Earth Area New Ulm Holy Family Catholic Saint Peter
Site AWAY AWAY HOME AWAY AWAY HOME
Waterville-Elysian-Morristown Date 9/16/11 9/23/11 9/30/11 10/7/11 10/14/11 10/19/11
Time 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Opponent United South Central Maple River G-F-W New Richland-H-E-G Minnesota Valley Lutheran Martin County West
Site AWAY HOME AWAY HOME HOME AWAY
Page 12
Fall
AREA HIGH SCHOOL BOYS SOCCER • REMAINING SCHEDULES FAIRMONT
Date Time Opponent 9/15/11 07:00 PM Waseca Bluejays 9/17/11 12:45 PM Southwest Minnesota Christian 9/19/11 04:30 PM Mankato Loyola 9/22/11 05:00 PM New Ulm Public / NUACS / MVL 9/26/11 05:45 PM New Prague 9/29/11 05:00 PM Saint Peter 10/3/11 04:30 PM Worthington 10/6/11 05:00 PM Waseca Bluejays
Lake Crystal-Wellcome MemoriaL/ MANKATO LOYOLA
Site AWAY AWAY HOME AWAY AWAY AWAY HOME HOME
Date Time Opponent 9/19/11 04:30 PM Fairmont Area Schools 9/20/11 07:00 PM Waseca Bluejays 9/24/11 01:00 PM Pine Island/Zumbrota-Mazeppa 9/26/11 05:00 PM Saint Peter 9/29/11 05:00 PM Mankato West 10/4/11 05:00 PM Worthington
Site AWAY AWAY AWAY HOME AWAY AWAY
Date Time Opponent 9/15/11 07:00 PM Austin High School 9/17/11 12:00 PM Saint Peter 9/20/11 05:00 PM Albert Lea 9/22/11 07:00 PM Rochester Mayo 9/24/11 03:00 PM Mankato West 9/27/11 05:00 PM Owatonna 9/29/11 05:00 PM Waseca Bluejays 10/1/11 01:00 PM Rochester Lourdes 10/4/11 05:00 PM Faribault 10/6/11 04:30 PM Rochester Century
Site AWAY AWAY HOME AWAY HOME HOME AWAY AWAY AWAY HOME
MANKATO EAST
MANKATO WEST
Date Time Opponent 9/15/11 07:00 PM Rochester John Marshall 9/20/11 05:00 PM Austin High School 9/22/11 07:00 PM Albert Lea 9/24/11 03:00 PM Mankato East 9/27/11 05:00 PM Rochester Mayo 9/29/11 05:00 PM Mankato Loyola 10/1/11 12:00 PM Winona 10/4/11 05:00 PM Owatonna 10/6/11 05:00 PM Faribault
Site AWAY HOME AWAY AWAY HOME HOME HOME HOME HOME
Date Time Opponent 9/15/11 5:00 PM Saint Peter 9/19/11 7:00 PM Glencoe-Silver Lake 9/22/11 5:00 PM Fairmont Area Schools 9/27/11 7:00 PM Waseca Bluejays 10/1/11 11:00 AM Willmar
Site AWAY HOME HOME AWAY AWAY
Date Time Opponent 9/15/11 5:00 PM New Ulm Public / NUACS / MVL 9/15/11 7:00 PM New Ulm 9/17/11 12:00 PM Mankato East 9/17/11 12:00 PM Mankato East 9/22/11 7:00 PM Waseca Bluejays 9/26/11 5:00 PM Mankato Loyola 9/29/11 5:00 PM Fairmont Area Schools 10/1/11 11:00 AM Mayer Lutheran 10/4/11 4:30 PM Central MN Christian 10/6/11 4:30 PM New Ulm
Site HOME HOME HOME HOME AWAY AWAY HOME HOME HOME AWAY
Minnesota Valley Lutheran/ NEW ULM PUBLIC/NUACS
SAINT PETER
WASECA/Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton/ NEW RICHLAND-HEARTLAND-ELLENDALEGENEVA Date 9/15/11 9/20/11 9/22/11 9/27/11 9/29/11 10/6/11
Time 07:00 PM 07:00 PM 07:00 PM 07:00 PM 05:00 PM 05:00 PM
Opponent Fairmont Area Schools Mankato Loyola Saint Peter New Ulm Public / NUACS / MVL Mankato East Fairmont Area Schools
Site HOME HOME HOME HOME HOME AWAY
2011
Page 13
AREA HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS SOCCER • REMAINING SCHEDULES FAIRMONT/MARTINLUTHER/TRUMAN/ MANKATO WEST GRENADA-HUNTLY-EAST CHAIN Date Time Opponent Date Time Opponent 9/15/11 05:00 PM Waseca 9/17/11 10:00 AM Albert Lea 9/20/11 04:30 PM Mankato Loyola 9/22/11 05:00 PM New Ulm Public / NUACS / MVL 9/24/11 01:00 PM Faribault 9/26/11 03:45 PM New Prague 9/29/11 07:00 PM Saint Peter 10/3/11 06:45 PM Worthington 10/6/11 07:00 PM Waseca
Site HOME AWAY AWAY HOME AWAY AWAY AWAY AWAY AWAY
Lake Crystal-Wellcome MemoriaL/ MANKATO LOYOLA
Date Time Opponent Site 9/17/11 10:00 AM Albert Lea 9/20/11 04:30 PM Fairmont Area Schools 9/24/11 11:00 AM Pine Island/Zumbrota-Mazeppa 9/26/11 07:00 PM Saint Peter 9/29/11 05:00 PM Worthington 10/1/11 12:00 PM Austin High School 10/4/11 04:30 PM Saint Peter
MANKATO EAST
Date Time Opponent 9/15/11 05:00 PM Austin High School 9/20/11 07:00 PM Albert Lea 9/22/11 05:00 PM Rochester Mayo 9/24/11 01:00 PM Mankato West 9/27/11 07:00 PM Owatonna 9/29/11 05:00 PM Waseca Bluejays 10/4/11 04:30 PM Faribault 10/6/11 07:00 PM Rochester Century
AWAY HOME AWAY AWAY AWAY HOME HOME
Site HOME AWAY HOME HOME AWAY HOME HOME AWAY
Site
9/15/11 05:00 PM Rochester John Marshall 9/17/11 04:00 PM Winona 9/20/11 07:00 PM Austin High School 9/22/11 05:00 PM Albert Lea 9/24/11 01:00 PM Mankato East 9/27/11 07:00 PM Rochester Mayo 10/1/11 04:00 PM Saint Peter 10/4/11 07:00 PM Owatonna 10/6/11 05:00 PM Faribault
HOME AWAY AWAY HOME AWAY AWAY AWAY AWAY AWAY
Minnesota Valley Lutheran/ NEW ULM PUBLIC/NUACS
Date Time Opponent Site 9/15/11 07:00 PM Saint Peter HOME 9/17/11 02:00 PM Albert Lea Tournament AWAY 9/22/11 05:00 PM Fairmont Area Schools AWAY 9/27/11 05:00 PM Waseca Bluejays HOME 9/29/11 04:30 PM Hutchinson HOME 10/6/11 07:00 PM Saint Peter AWAY
SAINT PETER
Date Time Opponent Site 9/15/11 7:00 PM New Ulm Public / NUACS / MVL 9/17/11 11:00 AM Dover-Eyota 9/17/11 3:00 PM Caledonia 9/22/11 7:00 PM Waseca Bluejays 9/26/11 7:00 PM Mankato Loyola 9/29/11 7:00 PM Fairmont Area Schools 10/1/11 4:00 PM Mankato West 10/4/11 4:30 PM Mankato Loyola 10/6/11 7:00 PM New Ulm Public / NUACS / MVL
AWAY AWAY AWAY HOME HOME HOME HOME AWAY HOME
WASECA/Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton/ NEW RICHLAND-HEARTLAND-ELLENDALEGENEVA Date Time Opponent Site 9/15/11 05:00 PM Fairmont Area Schools 9/22/11 07:00 PM Saint Peter 9/27/11 05:00 PM New Ulm Public / NUACS / MVL 9/29/11 05:00 PM Mankato East 10/4/11 06:30 PM Worthington 10/6/11 07:00 PM Fairmont Area Schools
AWAY AWAY AWAY AWAY HOME HOME
Page 14
Fall
AREA HIGH SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL • REMAINING SCHEDULES BLUE EARTH Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton Date Time Opponent Site 9/15/11 7:30 PM Fairmont HOME 9/22/11 7:30 PM Saint Peter HOME 9/27/11 7:30 PM Saint James HOME 9/29/11 7:30 PM New Ulm HOME 10/1/11 9:00 AM Minnesota Valley Lutheran HOME 10/3/11 7:30 PM Fairmont AWAY 10/18/11 7:30 PM Saint James AWAY 10/24/11 7:15 PM Windom Area AWAY CLEVELAND Date Time Opponent Site 9/15/11 7:30 PM Truman AWAY 9/17/11 TBD W.E.M Tourn.. AWAY 9/19/11 7:30 PM Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton HOME 9/20/11 7:30 PM Saint Clair AWAY 9/22/11 7:30 PM Martin County West HOME 9/27/11 7:30 PM Martin Luther/Granada-Huntley AWAY 9/29/11 6:00 PM Le Center HOME 10/1/11 9:00 AM Nicollet Tourn.. AWAY 10/4/11 7:30 PM Alden-Conger HOME 10/6/11 7:30 PM Medford AWAY 10/10/11 7:15 PM Mankato Loyola AWAY 10/11/11 7:30 PM Madelia AWAY 10/18/11 7:30 PM Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial HOME
Date Time Opponent Site 9/15/11 7:15 PM Waterville-Elysian-Morristown AWAY 9/19/11 7:30 PM Cleveland AWAY 9/20/11 7:15 PM Medford AWAY 9/22/11 7:15 PM Randolph HOME 9/27/11 7:15 PM Waterville-Elysian-Morristown HOME 9/29/11 7:15 PM Bethlehem Academy AWAY 10/4/11 7:15 PM Mankato Loyola HOME 10/6/11 7:15 PM New Richland-H-E-G AWAY 10/13/11 7:15 PM United South Central HOME 10/17/11 6:00 PM Le Center HOME
Date Time Opponent 9/15/11 7:30 PM Blue Earth Area 9/19/11 7:30 PM Saint Peter 9/22/11 7:30 PM Saint James 9/26/11 7:30 PM Jackson County Central 9/27/11 7:30 PM New Ulm 9/29/11 7:30 PM Minnesota Valley Lutheran 10/3/11 7:30 PM Blue Earth Area 10/6/11 7:30 PM Waseca 10/8/11 9:00 AM Pipestone Area Tournament 10/11/11 7:15 PM Marshall 10/13/11 7:30 PM Worthington 10/18/11 7:30 PM New Ulm
Date Time Opponent Site 9/15/11 6:00 PM Saint Clair AWAY 9/17/11 9:00 AM WEM Tournament AWAY 9/20/11 6:00 PM Martin Luther / GHEC HOME 9/22/11 6:00 PM Truman HOME 9/27/11 6:00 PM Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial HOME 9/29/11 6:00 PM Cleveland AWAY 10/3/11 5:00 PM G-F-W AWAY 10/4/11 7:30 PM Madelia AWAY 10/6/11 7:30 PM Martin County West HOME 10/11/11 6:00 PM Maple River AWAY 10/17/11 6:00 PM Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton AWAY 10/18/11 6:00 PM Nicollet HOME
Lake Crystal-Wellcome MemoriaL
Date Time Opponent Site 9/20/11 7:30 PM Martin County West AWAY 9/22/11 7:30 PM Madelia HOME 9/24/11 9:00 AM Sibley East Tournament AWAY 9/27/11 6:00 PM Le Center AWAY 9/29/11 7:30 PM Maple River HOME 10/1/11 9:00 AM Saint James Tourn.y AWAY 10/4/11 7:30 PM Martin Luther/Granada-Huntley HOME 10/6/11 7:30 PM Alden-Conger AWAY 10/8/11 9:00 AM St. Clair Tourn.ey AWAY 10/11/11 7:30 PM Truman HOME 10/18/11 7:30 PM Cleveland AWAY
FAIRMONT LE CENTER Site AWAY HOME AWAY AWAY AWAY HOME HOME AWAY AWAY AWAY HOME HOME
2011
Page 15
AREA HIGH SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL • REMAINING SCHEDULES LeSueur-Henderson/MN NEW COUNTRY MANKATO EAST MANKATO WEST Date Time Opponent Site 9/15/11 7:15 PM Sibley East AWAY 9/17/11 9:00 AM Farmington Tournament AWAY 9/20/11 7:00 PM Hutchinson HOME 9/22/11 7:00 PM Jordan AWAY 9/29/11 7:15 PM Mayer Lutheran AWAY 10/3/11 7:15 PM Mankato East AWAY 10/6/11 7:15 PM Watertown-Mayer HOME 10/11/11 7:15 PM Saint Peter AWAY 10/13/11 7:15 PM Belle Plaine / Holy Family Acad. HOME 10/18/11 7:15 PM Norwood-Young America AWAY 10/22/11 9:00 AM Chaska Tournament AWAY
MADELIA
Date Time Opponent Site 9/15/11 7:30 PM Alden-Conger HOME 9/20/11 7:30 PM Truman AWAY 9/22/11 7:30 PM LCWM AWAY 9/22/11 7:30 PM Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial AWAY 9/27/11 7:30 PM Maple River AWAY 9/29/11 7:00 PM Nicollet HOME 10/1/11 9:00 AM St. James Invitational AWAY 10/4/11 7:30 PM Le Center HOME 10/6/11 7:30 PM Martin Luther/Granada-Huntley AWAY 10/8/11 9:00 AM St. Clair Invitational AWAY 10/11/11 7:30 PM Cleveland AWAY 10/13/11 7:30 PM Truman AWAY
Date Time Opponent 9/15/11 7:15 PM Austin 9/20/11 7:15 PM Faribault 9/22/11 7:15 PM Albert Lea 9/27/11 7:15 PM New Prague 9/29/11 7:15 PM Rochester Mayo 9/29/11 7:15 PM Rochester Mayo 10/1/11 8:00 AM Rochester Century 10/3/11 7:15 PM Le Sueur-Henderson 10/6/11 7:15 PM Owatonna 10/6/11 7:15 PM Owatonna 10/11/11 7:15 PM Mankato West 10/13/11 7:00 PM Hutchinson 10/18/11 7:15 PM Rochester Century
MANKATO LOYOLA
Site HOME HOME AWAY HOME HOME HOME AWAY HOME AWAY AWAY AWAY AWAY AWAY
Date Time Opponent Site 9/1/11 7:30 PM Saint Clair AWAY 9/3/11 9:00 AM Mountain Lake/B-O HOME 9/6/11 7:15 PM New Ulm Cathedral AWAY 9/8/11 7:15 PM Medford AWAY 9/12/11 7:15 PM Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial AWAY 9/15/11 7:15 PM Bethlehem Academy HOME 9/20/11 7:15 PM New Richland-H-E-G HOME 9/22/11 7:15 PM United South Central AWAY 9/24/11 9:00 AM Truman AWAY 9/29/11 7:15 PM Blooming Prairie HOME 10/3/11 7:15 PM Sleepy Eye HOME 10/4/11 7:15 PM Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton AWAY 10/6/11 7:15 PM Randolph HOME 10/8/11 9:00 AM Saint Clair AWAY 10/10/11 7:15 PM Cleveland HOME 10/13/11 7:15 PM Waterville-Elysian-Morristown AWAY 10/17/11 7:15 PM Martin Luther / GHEC AWAY
Date Time Opponent 9/15/11 7:15 PM Rochester John Marshall 9/20/11 7:00 PM New Prague 9/22/11 7:00 PM Austin 9/27/11 7:15 PM Rochester Century 9/29/11 7:15 PM Albert Lea 10/1/11 TBD Park Cottage Grove HS 10/4/11 7:00 PM Chaska 10/6/11 7:15 PM Rochester Mayo 10/11/11 7:15 PM Mankato East 10/13/11 7:15 PM Owatonna 10/15/11 TBD Faribault Invite 10/15/11 9:00 AM Faribault 10/18/11 7:15 PM Faribault
Site HOME AWAY AWAY HOME HOME AWAY AWAY AWAY HOME AWAY AWAY AWAY AWAY
MAPLE RIVER Date Time Opponent Site 9/15/11 7:00 PM Nicollet AWAY 9/27/11 7:30 PM Madelia HOME 9/29/11 7:30 PM Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial AWAY 10/4/11 7:30 PM Martin County West AWAY 10/6/11 7:30 PM Saint Clair HOME 10/11/11 6:00 PM Le Center HOME 10/18/11 7:00 PM Truman AWAY
Minnesota Valley Lutheran Date 9/15/11 9/20/11 9/22/11 9/27/11 9/29/11 10/1/11 10/4/11 10/6/11 10/13/11 10/17/11 10/17/11
Time 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM 9:00 AM 6:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:30 PM 7:30 PM
Opponent New Ulm Cathedral Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart G-F-W Wabasso Fairmont Blue Earth Area Cedar Mountain/Comfrey New Ulm Cathedral Sleepy Eye Saint Mary’s Nicollet Springfield
Site HOME HOME HOME HOME AWAY AWAY AWAY AWAY HOME AWAY AWAY
Page 16
Fall
AREA HIGH SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL • REMAINING SCHEDULES MOUNTAIN LAKE/BUTTERFIELD-ODIN Date Time Opponent 9/20/11 5:00 PM Ellsworth 9/22/11 5:00 PM Hills-Beaver Creek 10/3/11 7:30 PM Saint James 10/6/11 5:00 PM Edgerton 10/11/11 5:00 PM Adrian 10/17/11 5:00 PM Westbrook-Walnut Grove
Site AWAY HOME AWAY HOME AWAY HOME
Date Time Opponent 9/15/11 7:30 PM Saint Peter 9/17/11 9:00 AM Farmington Tournament 9/20/11 7:30 PM Saint James 9/22/11 7:30 PM Waseca 9/24/11 9:00 AM Sibley East Tournament 9/27/11 7:30 PM Fairmont 9/29/11 7:30 PM Blue Earth Area 10/4/11 7:15 PM Marshall 10/6/11 7:30 PM Saint Peter 10/11/11 7:30 PM Saint James 10/13/11 7:30 PM Holy Family Catholic 10/18/11 7:30 PM Fairmont 10/20/11 9:00 AM Sartell Tourn.ey
Site AWAY AWAY AWAY HOME AWAY HOME AWAY AWAY HOME HOME HOME AWAY AWAY
Date 9/15/11 9/19/11 9/20/11 9/24/11 9/27/11 9/29/11 10/4/11 10/6/11 10/10/11 10/11/11 10/17/11 10/18/11
Site AWAY HOME AWAY AWAY HOME HOME AWAY HOME HOME AWAY AWAY AWAY
NEW ULM PUBLIC
NEW ULM CATHEDRAL Time 7:30 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM TBD 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:30 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 4:45 PM 6:00 PM 7:00 PM
Opponent Minnesota Valley Lutheran Nicollet Sleepy Eye Saint Mary’s Truman Tournament Springfield Sleepy Eye Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart Minnesota Valley Lutheran Sleepy Eye Saint Mary’s G-F-W Cedar Mountain/Comfrey Sleepy Eye
NICOLLET
Date Time Opponent Site 9/15/11 7:00 PM Maple River HOME 9/19/11 7:00 PM New Ulm Cathedral AWAY 9/22/11 7:00 PM Alden-Conger AWAY 9/24/11 9:00 AM Sibley East Invitational AWAY 9/27/11 7:00 PM Martin County West HOME 9/29/11 7:00 PM Madelia AWAY 10/1/11 9:00 AM Nicollet Tournament AWAY 10/4/11 7:00 PM St. Clair AWAY 10/4/11 7:30 PM Saint Clair AWAY 10/6/11 7:00 PM Truman HOME 10/11/11 7:00 PM Martin Luther/Granada-Huntley HOME 10/17/11 7:30 PM Minnesota Valley Lutheran HOME 10/18/11 6:00 PM Le Center AWAY
SAINT CLAIR
Date Time Opponent Site 9/15/11 6:00 PM Le Center HOME 9/17/11 9:00 AM Waterville-Elysian-Morristown AWAY 9/20/11 7:30 PM Cleveland HOME 9/24/11 9:00 AM Saint Peter AWAY 9/27/11 7:00 PM Truman AWAY 9/29/11 7:30 PM Martin County West AWAY 10/4/11 7:30 PM Nicollet HOME 10/6/11 7:30 PM Maple River AWAY 10/8/11 9:00 AM Mankato Loyola HOME 10/10/11 7:30 PM Medford HOME 10/11/11 7:30 PM Alden-Conger HOME 10/13/11 7:30 PM Martin Luther/Granada-Huntley AWAY 10/17/11 7:30 PM United South Central AWAY
2011
Page 17
AREA HIGH SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL • REMAINING SCHEDULES SAINT JAMES SIBLEY EAST Date Time Opponent 9/15/11 7:30 PM Waseca 9/17/11 9:00 AM Jackson Co. Central Invitational 9/20/11 7:30 PM New Ulm 9/22/11 7:30 PM Fairmont 9/27/11 7:30 PM Blue Earth Area 9/29/11 7:30 PM Saint Peter 10/1/11 9:00 AM St. James Invite 10/1/11 9:00 AM Redwood Valley 10/3/11 7:30 PM Mountain Lake/B-O 10/4/11 7:30 PM Waseca 10/7/11 TBD Subway Tournament 10/8/11 TBD Subway Tournament 10/11/11 7:30 PM New Ulm 10/18/11 7:30 PM Blue Earth Area
SAINT PETER
Site AWAY AWAY HOME HOME AWAY AWAY HOME HOME HOME HOME AWAY AWAY AWAY HOME
Date Time Opponent Site 9/15/11 7:30 PM New Ulm HOME 9/19/11 7:30 PM Fairmont AWAY 9/22/11 7:30 PM Blue Earth Area AWAY 9/24/11 9:00 AM Saint Peter Invite HOME 9/24/11 9:00 AM Saint Clair HOME 9/27/11 7:30 PM Waseca AWAY 9/29/11 7:30 PM Saint James HOME 10/1/11 9:00 AM Cretin-Derham Hall Invite AWAY 10/3/11 6:30 PM Waterville-Elysian-Morristown AWAY 10/6/11 7:30 PM New Ulm AWAY 10/11/11 7:15 PM Le Sueur-Henderson HOME 10/11/11 7:30 PM Le Sueur Henderson HOME 10/19/11 7:30 PM Waseca HOME
Date Time Opponent Site 9/15/11 7:15 PM Le Sueur-Henderson HOME 9/20/11 7:15 PM Mound-Westonka HOME 9/22/11 7:15 PM Montgomery-Lonsdale AWAY 9/24/11 9:00 AM Sibley East Invite HOME 9/24/11 9:00 AM Glencoe-Silver Lake HOME 9/27/11 7:15 PM Glencoe-Silver Lake AWAY 9/29/11 7:15 PM Belle Plaine / Holy Family Acad. AWAY 10/1/11 9:00 AM Dassel-Cokato Charger Challenge AWAY 10/6/11 7:15 PM Norwood-Young America HOME 10/10/11 7:15 PM Dassel-Cokato HOME 10/13/11 7:15 PM Mayer Lutheran HOME 10/18/11 7:00 PM Jordan AWAY
SLEEPY EYE PUBLIC
Date Time Opponent 9/15/11 6:00 PM Cedar Mountain/Comfrey 9/22/11 4:45 PM Wabasso 9/29/11 7:00 PM New Ulm Cathedral 10/3/11 7:15 PM Mankato Loyola 10/4/11 7:00 PM Springfield 10/11/11 7:00 PM Sleepy Eye Saint Mary’s 10/13/11 7:30 PM Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart 10/18/11 7:00 PM New Ulm Cathedral
Site AWAY HOME AWAY AWAY HOME AWAY HOME HOME
Date 9/15/11 9/20/11 9/22/11 9/27/11 9/29/11 10/4/11 10/10/11 10/11/11 10/13/11 10/17/11 10/18/11
Site HOME HOME AWAY HOME AWAY AWAY AWAY HOME AWAY AWAY AWAY
SLEEPY EYE ST. MARY’S Time 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM 7:00 PM
Opponent Springfield New Ulm Cathedral Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart Cedar Mountain/Comfrey G-F-W Wabasso New Ulm Cathedral Sleepy Eye Minnesota Valley Lutheran Truman Springfield
UNITED SOUTH CENTRAL
Date Time Opponent Site 9/15/11 7:15 PM Medford AWAY 9/19/11 7:15 PM Albert Lea HOME 9/20/11 7:15 PM Bethlehem Academy HOME 9/22/11 7:15 PM Mankato Loyola HOME 9/24/11 TBD Truman Tournament AWAY 9/29/11 7:15 PM New Richland-H-E-G HOME 10/1/11 TBD Blue Earth Area Tournament AWAY 10/6/11 7:15 PM Blooming Prairie HOME 10/10/11 7:15 PM Alden-Conger AWAY 10/13/11 7:15 PM Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton AWAY 10/17/11 7:30 PM Saint Clair HOME 10/18/11 7:15 PM Randolph HOME
WASECA
Date Time Opponent 9/15/11 7:30 PM Saint James 9/22/11 7:30 PM New Ulm 9/27/11 7:30 PM Saint Peter 10/4/11 7:30 PM Saint James 10/6/11 7:30 PM Fairmont 10/19/11 7:30 PM Saint Peter
Waterville-Elysian-Morristown Date 9/15/11 9/17/11 9/17/11 9/17/11 9/22/11 9/27/11 9/29/11 10/3/11 10/4/11 10/6/11 10/8/11 10/13/11 10/18/11
Time 7:15 PM 0:00 AM 9:00 AM 9:00 AM 7:15 PM 7:15 PM 7:15 PM 6:30 PM 7:15 PM 7:15 PM 9:00 AM 7:15 PM 7:15 PM
Site HOME AWAY HOME AWAY HOME AWAY
Opponent Site Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton HOME Grand Meadow HOME WEM Vb Tournament HOME Saint Clair HOME Blooming Prairie AWAY Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton AWAY Medford AWAY Saint Peter HOME Randolph HOME Bethlehem Academy AWAY Cannon Falls Tournament AWAY Mankato Loyola HOME New Richland-H-E-G AWAY
** All athletic schedules listed in this publication were taken from the Minnesota State High School League website, www.mshsl.org. Some schedules may have been incomplete at the time this issue went to press.
Page 18
Fall
SOUTH CENTRAL CONFERENCE VOLLEYBALL
MARTIN LUTHER COLLEGE FOOTBALL
St. Peter hopes Knights must make to make an most of what they have impact The Saints know the SCC is wide open this season despite going winless in conference play last year. TIGE HUTCHESON
staff writer
It’s hard to imagine anybody is more excited for the 2011 season than first-year St. Peter head coach Carmen Hanson. The Saints went 0-10 in conference play in 2010 and 4-23 overall. But it’s a new year, and in a conference notorious for being unpredictable, the Saints could actually be considered contenders in 2011. “Our conference provides great competition. There has not been a ‘consistent’ school who each year wins our conference. That really allows all teams to know they have a competitive chance to take the conference,” said Hanson. This includes St. Peter. “I feel we are a much more competitive team than in the past and hope to change our program into a winning season,” said Hanson. “I’d like to say we have a very competitive conference,” said Donna Nawrocki, the head volleyball coach at Blue Earth High School. “Expect New Ulm to be the toughest, however we can never count any one team out of the mix on a given night. We expect to be able to be very competitive with the rest of the field.” Coach Nawrocki’s Bucs finished 2010 with an 8-2 record, second only to, you guessed it, New Ulm. The Eagles are once again slated as the preseason favorites thanks to a potentially deadly offense led by senior hitters Anna Hildebrandt and Taylor Smith. Throw in surprising freshman hitter Alley Grejtak and New Ulm looks to be the favorites to repeat. But Coach Nawrocki and the Bucs bring back a ton of talent as well, and are way too dangerous to ignore, even with senior hitter Jenny Smith knocked out for the rest of the season. “We will be redefining various roles on the court,” said Nawrocki. “This is a talented group of girls that will continue to grow as a team each time they take to the court.” Senior hitter Annemarie Hoyt and junior hitters Krista
Hassing and Janessa Jahnke will look to step in on offense while Macy Henningsen runs the show as setter. Even St. Peter has its fair share of weapons, including do-it-all senior Katy Kuiper and senior hitters Marie Annexstad and Meagan Cummings. “I feel, as a team, we have grown tremendously from last year,” said Hanson. “The girls really put in the extra effort during the offseason and I believe we will continue to push ourselves more and obtain more victories for our team.” With St. James, Fairmont and Waseca also in the mix, it’s a mistake to take anyone lightly or put too much stock in the past. 2011 is a brand new year for the South Central Conference and all six teams are excited about their prospects of contending. Getting to the top will be no easy task, but one team has to do it and it’s anybody’s guess who it’s going to be.
REECE HEMMESCH
staff writer
After a 5-4 2010 season, the football squad at Martin Luther College is ready to be back on the field and take over the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference. It will take some work though, as the Knights dropped their season opener to Maranantha Baptist Bible Academy 2612. Martin Luther amassed 341 total yards of offense, while also getting 17 first downs. On paper, it looked like the Knights played decent enough to win, but seven fumbles plagued Martin Luther as they lost five of them. “It’s a tough loss for us,” seventh-year head coach Douglas Lange said of the game. “We have an entirely new offensive backfield that resulted in nine turnovers that set up two scoring occasions for Maranantha.” It’s tough to win any game with that amount of turnovers, but there was some good that
came from the Knights offense. Running back Joseph Lindloff gained 95 yards on the ground for Martin Luther, who ran the ball 54 times in their first game of the year. “We are a run-heavy offense by design,” Lange explained of his offensive scheme. “With only two majors on campus, we need players who want to be a pastor or a teacher in schools; we just hope they can play football too.” The MLC offense is devised of a flexbone look, much similar to Navy, Air Force and Army at the Division-I level. With only 47 players on this year’s team, the Knights rely on this scheming offense to make up for their size in both numbers and actual player size. The competition in the UMAC will be above average this season, as MLC is predicted to finish fourth in the preseason polls. The team on top of everybody’s list: Greenville College. The Panthers are the defend-
ing UMAC champions and were recently unanimously chosen as the preseason 2011 UMAC champions. Greenville posted a perfect 6-0 UMAC record last season, but only return nine starters from that last year’s team. They will be forced to start new faces at most positions, but a great recruiting class leads to them being at the top of all the coaches’ polls. On top of that, the College of St. Scholastica and the University of Minnesota-Morris are listed as the second and third best teams in the conference, as they each return 20 and 12 players respectively. “Where we are picked preseason has absolutely nothing to do with where a team will finish 9 weeks from now. We will practice hard, coach hard, play hard and do the best we can to be the best we can each week,” Lange said. “With that said, we are working very hard this week to limit our mistakes of last week and move forward.”
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2011
Page 19
MSU FOOTBALL
Lifting the Mavericks to New Heights
Senior left tackle Cordell Bell has seen his fair share of ups and downs during his time at MSU, but no matter how much changes around him one thing remains the same: Bell's love for being a Maverick. TIGE HUTCHESON
staff writer
Casual football fans have always used statistics as a way to measure a player’s value. As a result, many people who really don’t know that much about football believe that a team is only as good as it’s quarterback, running back, wide receiving core and other positions that are easy to measure on paper. In reality, a football team’s most important players are almost always looked over or ignored because most fans don’t pay close enough attention to truly understand what an impact they have on the game. Following in the footsteps of Super Bowl Champion Adrian Battles, senior left tackle Cordell Bell is the latest Maverick to hypnotize NFL scouts, and you’ve probably never heard of him. “Everybody looks over the offensive linemen, but the only people who really look over the offensive line are people who really don’t understand the game. I feel like we really control the game,” said Bell, who was named to the Second Team All-NSIC South Division in 2010. “If your offensive line is bad you’re going to have a bad season. But if your offensive line is good, you’re going to have a good season.” After graduating from Melvindale High School in Detroit,
Mich., Bell committed to play for the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Ill., where he blocked for eventual MSU starting quarterback Jon Daniels. But his time at DuPage was tough, and at one point, Bell actually considered quitting football altogether. “I got down there and it was a whole different change for me being away from home. I got homesick all of the time and everything was pretty big and spread out so it wasn’t really what I was expecting coming out of high school. And one night I just started thinking about not playing football anymore,” Bell said. “There was just a lot going on in my head. I was just a young guy out there and I was just confused about all of my options.” After meeting with his coaches at DuPage, Bell decided to stick with it and credits his teammates for helping him stay positive. “The team really started looking out for me and helped me get my mind focused and helped keep everything positive,” said Bell. Flash forward to his decision to transfer to Minnesota State, Mankato, prior to the 2009 season. After sitting out a year due to NCAA transfer restrictions, Bell was immediately plugged in as a cornerstone of the Mavericks’ offensive line, with a cast of familiar guys depending on him to protect them. A lot of those names have
changed in 2011, and many of the guys he’s being counted on to protect now were strangers only three weeks ago. Regardless, Bell is excited about his role, admitting that the roster changes don’t matter much to him. “No, [the changes behind me] don’t matter at all as long as the person back there still bleeds purple and yellow,” he said. “That’s all that matters to me.” And that’s the beauty of the offensive line. Head coach Todd Hoffner has been rallying the team with the new goal of going “11 for 11” this year, and for the most part, five of those 11 guys on offense will never appear in the box score or postgame recaps. To guys in Bell’s position, the only way he can evaluate his game is by looking at the performance of the teammates around him. “My personal goal is to have no regrets at the end of the season. I want my running backs to rush for a million yards and my quarterback to throw for a million yards. That’s basically it.” For Bell, his coaches and teammates at MSU deserve a lot of credit for supporting and protecting him, much the same way he does for them, both on and off the football field. “I ended up loving it here. The coaches are amazing, my teammates are my family away from home and since I’m 13 hours
wale agboola • msu reporter
away from home, that means a lot to me.” Despite so many young faces on the line with him and so many newcomers all around him, Bell believes this year’s team has learned from the disappointing 6-5 season in 2010, and says the Mavericks are ready to make some noise.
“Last season we didn’t do the greatest and I’m sure a lot of teams are looking down on us right now, but I love being the underdog and I feel like we have a lot to prove,” he said. “We’re definitely going in with a chip on our shoulder and we’re looking to make a statement this year.”
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Page 20
Fall GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS ATHLETICS
BETHANY LUTHERAN WOMEN'S ATHLETICS
Gusties looking to rebound in '11
Vikings on the rise in UMAC
JOEY DENTON
staff writer
Soccer Even though last season was the best season recordwise for the Bethany Lutheran Vikings, they intend on building on that success this season and doing even better. With most of their defense coming back, and seeking out revenge on Northwestern College, the Vikings will be difficult to beat. Last season, the Vikings had the best regular season in recent school history, posting a 13-6-2 record. Five of their six losses were against Northwestern College and St. Scholastica, and that is how their season ended. The team made it to the postseason for the first time in school history. They then lost a hard-fought game to Northwestern College in the UMAC Semifinals in the second overtime, and that left a bad taste in the team’s mouth. The team hasn’t let that loss get them down about last season, but it made them eager to start again, and hopefully go even deeper in the playoffs this year. One of the many strengths of the team last season was its defense, and luckily most of the defensive backfield is coming back for more. All of the Vikings’ starting midfielders will be returning as well, including senior Anna Potz, sophomore Kindra Fairbum and Mankato native senior Joelle Pipal. Pipal was second in goals scored and assists on the team last season, with nine of each. Last season’s starting goalkeeper sophomore Alexa Mowery, who had 69 saves, is returning to protect the net to go along with most of the defenders coming back. On the offensive side of the field, it’s still a work-inprogress, with the team only scoring two goals in its first three games so far. But head coach Derick Lyngholm sees a lot of talent and potential in this group. “We have some very talented freshmen playing forward, and so far the adjustment to the college games has been tough. But it’s getting better, and I expect us to break out later this season,” said Lyngholm. Last season, it seemed as if the only things stopping the Vikings from having
TIGE HUTCHESON
staff writer
a championship year were Northwestern College and St. Scholastica. The team’s season ended in heartbreak against Northwestern College in the double overtime loss, and the team is looking forward to take on these two teams again this season. “Northwestern College and St. Scholastica are always going to be vying for that top spot, so those games are always important for us,” said Lyngholm. “Also, our school’s biggest rival has always been Martin Luther College, and it’s always a little exciting when we play them.” Those amazing matches start in a few weeks with the St. Scholastica game in Duluth on Sept. 17, the game against Northwestern College in Mankato on Sept. 22 and the game against Martin Luther in New Ulm on Oct. 8. Volleyball The Vikings volleyball squad is predicted to finish fifth in the UMAC this season. They started out the season by going 3-6 in two tournaments, but should have more success once conference play starts. Bethany has a young team this season, but will be looking for leadership from seniors Klea Swenson, Amanda Edmison, Melissa Boddy and Vanessa Harkins.
Of all of the conferences in Division II athletics, the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference is one of the toughest to break through. The struggle is especially apparent in fall sports, and according to the coaches at Gustavus Adolphus College, that hasn’t changed. “Our conference is as strong as ever,” said Gusties’ head football coach Peter Haugen. “Game results are getting closer and closer across the board and anyone really has a shot of [being competitive] if you get on a good roll and win some key games,” said Mike Stehlik, the Gustavus Adolphus women’s soccer coach. But Gustavus Adolphus is facing extra pressure. All three fall athletics programs: football, women’s soccer and volleyball, are coming off of below .500 seasons in 2010 and have some major holes to fill from last season. The Gustavus football team, for instance, lost half of its starting unit including all four linebackers, a safety and a defensive lineman. Second Team All-Conference free safety Brad Kruckeburg is the only returning starter with any kind of notoriety, and the Gusties are faced with rebuilding a defense that was one of the only bright spots of their 4-6 season in 2010. The Gustavus women’s soccer team, who finished 7-10-1 in 2010, also lost a pair of big name players, waving goodbye to forward Ashley Anderson and
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midfielder Nicole Kwapick after they were named AllMIAC Honorable Mentions in 2010. The last-place Gustavus volleyball team has to move forward without team defensive MVP Jenny Ewert, who ranks third in school history in digs. If the Gusties are unable to fill the holes and move forward, fans could be in for another long fall. But contrary to what one might expect, there is a sense of optimism that 2011, while uncertain, could have the makings of a great season for all three teams. “We have some big holes to fill, but we also have players that can do so and we are very confident in what they can do,” said Stehlik. One reason for the Gusties soccer team to be optimistic is the return of senior forward Meghan McMillan, who was sidelined last season after going through ACL surgery in the fall. She is what coach Stehlik calls “the spirit that can pull us forward.” Gustavus also welcomes back Amanda Cartony, who led the Gusties in scoring last season as a freshman. The Gustavus Adolphus volleyball team will have some holes to fill on defense, but should feel confident about its offense going into the season thanks to the return of senior middle hitter Angela Ahrendt, who was voted Offensive MVP by her team in 2010. Freshman sensation Dana Boerboom, who finished second on the Gusties in scoring, will also look to lead the team and improve
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in 2011. While the Gusties rebuild on defense, senior Logan Becker returns for his final season at starting quarterback, where he will be expected to pace the offense and help his young receiving core develop. The Gusties also bring back a formidable offensive line behind Lyle Opdahl, Brian Grundmeyer, Ryan Steele and Robbie Porter. On defense, coach Haugen has put a lot of faith in Alec Saunders to step in at linebacker behind the solid defensive line of Todd Kremmin, Matt Miller and Dane Mellgren. “We need to continue to get stronger and play faster. We need to build on the strong leadership of our seniors and focus each day on what it is that we can control,” said Haugen. If any of the Gustavus Adolphus fall athletic programs want to forget 2010, they’ll have to continue the development process as they do their best to make some noise, surprise some people and shed the low expectations.
2011
Page 21
MSU VOLLEYBALL
Experienced where it
COUNTS
REECE HEMMESCH
staff writer
Bump, set and spike. That is how most points are accumulated in the sport of volleyball, with the spike being the most exciting part. Try telling that to No. 12 Minnesota State, Mankato’s seniors Alli Rice (the bump) and Brittany Stamer (the set). With those two leading the defense and offense, respectively, the Mavericks are off to a quick 4-0 start in their 2011 season. The four wins coming from the Nanook Classic in Fairbanks, Alaska, where MSU only lost two games the entire tournament. “We were really in sync,” Stamer explained about the first tourney of the year. “We started off slow, but battled through every match. We were really playing together no matter what the situation or who was playing.” Stamer put up 169 assists in the Classic, not a bad start for the player who you could possibly see at the top of the school’s assists record book by the end of the season. After this weekend, she needs 764 more assists to become the all-time leader, a feat that can be easily accomplished by Stamer. “I’m just glad we got the
wins. I’m enjoying volleyball more now than I ever have,” Stamer said. Junior Jill Storlie also stepped up in the opening tournament, with a team-leading 56 kills through it all. “Jill [Storlie] especially stepped up in those matches, she works hard and it came out on the court this weekend,” said Stamer. Chelsea Fogarty and Courteney Steinhauser also contributed offensively with 51 and 33 kills respectively. So when the Mavericks have the ball this season, Fogarty and Storlie will be the main two to go get the spike, but Stamer will be the one giving them the ball. She’s done it more than 3,000 times so far in her career, what’s a few more? As for the other side of the ball, that is when Rice is called on the most. Rice has been the leading digger since her sopho more year when she recorded 480 digs, a school record. With 200 digs in her freshman year and 256 more last season, Rice’s career total is now at 987 digs, making her the most premiere defender on the team. Through the Nanook Classic, she has already tallied 51 digs in four matches, which amounts to about four a set. Basically all players on the court can dig the ball, as it is being hit anywhere, but expect Rice to come up with
wale agboola • msu reporter Junior Chelsea Fogarty (above left) and senior Brittany Stamer (above right) are two of the key upperclassmen leading the Mavericks into NSIC play this season.
the most of them. Also helping out on defense and doing the blocking will be Fogarty, Storlie and Steinhauser. Those three should accumulate a lot of the team’s blocks on the year. “We are going to be playing a lot of ranked teams this year and it is going to be a good test of our skills,” Stamer said. “We are excited to start conference play and show what we have to the rest of the NSIC."
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Page 22
Fall
MLC WOMEN'S ATHLETICS
Lady Knights have reasons for optimism in soccer, volleyball
LEE HANDEL
sports editor The women's sports scene at Martin Luther College is heating up this fall, with both the soccer and volleyball teams on the upswing. Even though both teams were around .500 last year, each squad has a handful of returning players that should step up this season. The soccer team was picked to finish fifth in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference and the volleyball team was picked to finish fourth in its preseason poll. The soccer team is led by second-year head coach Jeff Schone. Schone's squad took on a large incoming class last season and took pretty much the whole year to get comfortable playing with each other. Now that they have all spent a full year together, the team should play better this year, especially on defense. "Last year we were a little suspect on defense," said Schone. "A stronger defense was one of our goals this year and they have stepped up so far." Freshman Kelsey Mattek and junior Lindsay Hahn have stabilized the defensive backfield heading into the season. The offense, however, is the true strength of the team. Sophomore midfielder Bethany Schultz sets up forwards Hannah Mattek, Kadie Drake and Linda Kenyon, which makes the Knights hard to defend. Goalkeeper Alison Snyder is also among the best at her position in the UMAC. St. Scholastica and Northwestern are the teams to beat in the UMAC and Bethany Lutheran always plays them tough, but MLC believes it has a fighting chance to win the conference. "This team is very supportive of each other and has great team chemistry," Schone said. "If we can continue to mold and grow together I think we have a good chance at getting into the postseason tourney." The volleyball team is coming off a fourth-place finish in the UMAC last season, getting eliminated by top-ranked St. Scholastica in the conference tournament. The strength of this year's team is the front line, which includes a few tall blockers who can also hit well on offense. However, the Lady Knights also have a freshman setter, so getting the ball to the hitters could be a challenge early on. "I like our blocking and we are fairly strong through the
middle," said third-year head coach Rebecca Cox. "We have eight new players receiving playing time, we just need to get our timing down and become a unit and gel." The standout hitters for MLC are Emily Boldt and Katelyn Hauf, with junior middle hitter Rachel Hein also a key contributor. Like the women's soccer team, the volleyball team's road to the top goes through St. Scholastica and Northwestern, with Bethany also in contention. Cox thinks her squad will be ready come tournament time. "Because of our youth, we need to get better and improve so that we are peaking when we get into the conference tournament," she said.
SOUTHERN MINNESOTA CONFERENCE FOOTBALL
SMC features some of best football in state
JOEY DENTON
staff writer The Southern Minnesota Conference has been all about excellence and success since 2000, and the teams won’t accept anything less this season, as the conference contains the returning 2A State Champs, New Ulm Cathedral. With the team aiming for a repeat, it won’t be easy to say the least, as the conference has been a powerhouse the last decade. Since the 2000 season, the Southern Minnesota Conference has had four state champions and three runner-up champions. Last season, the Springfield Tigers took home the conference title and were the No. 1 ranked team in the state before losing to the eventual state champion Greyhounds. The returning champs started off last season with a loss to Springfield and then never lost again, finishing 13-1 with a state championship. One of those victories on the road to the championship came against Springfield in the section finals.
With some key players leaving the Greyhounds, they still have very high expectations, and they take pride in being able to replace those graduating players and play together as one unit. Head coach Denny Lux emphasizes it will be tough to get back to the championship, but his team needs to take it one game at a time. “The expectations are high. The biggest thing for our guys is to stay focused on the game and not to be looking down to the playoffs,” said Lux. The Wabasso Rabbits had a rebuilding year last season. They went 5-5, and they lost in the section semifinals. Head coach Joe Kemp was happy with how last season went, and he can’t wait to see how they do this season. “Overall, I thought last season went very well,” Kemp said. “We matured as a team and came within a play or two of being 7-3 instead of 5-5.” With this conference having some of the powerhouses in 2A football, some of the top play-
ers in this conference should not only be feared by teams and fans throughout the conference, but should be known throughout the state. First off, the defending state champs return two of its dominating running backs, seniors Ted Skillings and Nick Simon. The quarterback that should be watched this season is senior Alex Fink from Springfield. Wabasso and Red Rock Central are also bringing back a key senior running back to get most of their carries, Cody Welch for Wabasso and Daniel Maras for Red Rock Central. With 18 seniors graduating, the Rabbits expect to see progress and potentially compete for a conference title. “We have 10 teams in our conference, and it always seems we have a strong top five, and the bottom five are usually around the .500 mark record-wise,” said Kemp. “There are probably five or six teams that could win the conference.”
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2011
Page 23 MANKATO AREA GIRL'S SOCCER
MSU WOMEN'S SOCCER
MSU looks to build on its impressive opening weekend JOEY DENTON
.
“We made a couple tactical adjustments. I think they responded well to the challenge of going down 1-0, and to battle back to get a tie,” said McGahey. “I think it’s good, and I feel the way we performed today is a confidence
staff writer Most teams don’t want to have to start its season competing against difficult competition, but the Minnesota State, Mankato women’s soccer team feeds off it. Molly McGough This past week has been a whirlwind of eagerness and success for the program, as it started off the sea- booster.” When the Mavericks were son by defeating the Augustana down 1-0, the team never let Vikings 4-1 last Thursday. Then down, and Molly McGough on Sunday, it tied the No. 1 team in the nation, Grand Valley knew they wouldn’t. “I had faith. Even when State, 1-1 in a hard fought and we got scored on, I know the highly intense matchup. way this team runs and the On Sept. 1 against the way we have been trained. We Vikings, the Mavericks started weren’t going to give up,” said their 2011 season with two McGough. “If that is the No. 1 quick goals in the first half and team in the nation, and that’s never looked back. how we held up with them, that Letting games slip away is awesome.” was one of their weaknesses last season, so it was nice to see them close the first game out by turning a 2-1 lead at halftime into a 4-1 final score. “It was something we focused on and continued to focus on. I thought we did a great job of stretching [the lead] this of Mankato game,” said MSU head coach Peter McGahey. 507-387-7818 Senior forward Brittany 24 Hours • Henry led the Mavericks with two goals, one in each half, and Confidential 12 Civic Center Plaza junior midfielder Brianne West Suite 1651 led the team with two assists. “We were definitely eager to www.birthright.org play, almost a little too eager, Free Pregnancy Testing, but once we got our first goal Guidance & Referrals we settled down and continued
Prep soccer rivalries alive and well in '11
LEE HANDEL
sports editor
Another year of girls soccer in the Mankato area means another chapter is added to the crosstown rivalries between Mankato West, East and Loyola. Early on this fall, Crissy Makela's Scarlets have gotten the first laugh. After defeating Loyola 4-1 in its first match of the season, West just recently defeated East in nail-biting fashion by a 3-2 score to improve to 3-2 overall West has a strong offense led by senior attacker Alyssa Brinkman. She is joined on the front line by fellow senior Jacqui Miller. Both players have a teamleading four goals so far this season. The Scarlets also have a freshman phenom in Aisha Abdo, who already has three goals in her rookie campaign. Junior Breeta Oxnard and sophomore Madison Burandt round out a dangerous offense at West. The Cougars from East also field a solid team this year, as they
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to put pressure on them,” said West. Sunday against the top team in the nation, it was chilly outside but a heated game, as both teams clearly showed they wanted the game. Every player fought for the ball, and it was an even matchup the entire game. The whole first half was back and forth with no scoring, with MSU having eight shots on goal while Grand Valley State had seven. The Mavericks had their chances, and they came very close numerous times with seven first-half corner kicks. In the second half, it was back to the grind until Grand Valley State connected on a corner kick 70:38 into the game. But that didn’t frustrate the Mavericks, as they would come back on a breakaway goal by West 82:18 into the game. The game would go on to two overtimes, and with the help of a few key saves by freshman goalkeeper Molly McGough, the game would result in a tie. Tying the No. 1 team in the nation is quite a way to start the season, and McGahey was proud of his team’s performance.
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currently sit at 4-2-1 after their loss to West. East is a younger squad that has only two seniors this year. They are led by junior forward Marta Anderson, who may be one of the top players in southern Minnesota. Anderson already has 11 goals in just seven games. Other key contributors for the Cougars are senior captains Kayte Regan and Alyssa Finke, who play defender and midfielder respectively. Loyola's soccer program is currently co-opping with Lake
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Crystal-Wellcome Memorial, and is also made up of a lot of young players. Like East, the Crusaders only have two seniors, midfielder Mercedes Vetter and forward Melissa Sorensen, and have struggled on offense so far this season en route to a 1-4 record. All three teams should remain competitive throughout the rest of the season, while West and East will meet again later this month as they continue to battle for positioning in the tough Big Nine Conference.
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Page 24
Fall 2011