Sports
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Thursday, Sept. 1, 2016
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Q & A: Golfer looks forward to season Tom Burton Staff writer
DeKALB | Men’s senior golfer Joo-Young Lee, of Hillard, Ohio, is preparing for his final season as a Huskie, capping off an impressive tenure at NIU. Lee began his collegiate golf at Xavier University before transferring to NIU in his sophomore year. In 12 tournament starts last season, Lee put together Joo-Young Lee eight top-25 Senior Golfer finishes and four top-ten finishes, including co-medalist honors at the desert shootout and finishing runnerup at the Mid-American Conference championship in April. “I think he’s beginning to establish himself as one of the best players in the conference,” said NIU Head Coach Tom Porten. Lee will lead a talented group that includes five seniors and four new players joining the program, as he called this upcoming group the most competitive and hard-working team he’s been on in years. With the season fast approaching, the Northern Star caught up with the Senior Joo-Young Lee to talk about his time with the Huskies.
Q: Do you have any individual
shot at winning the NCAA Championship at Rich Harvest Farms.
NCAA Championships
Q: What do you think about this year’s team? With five seniors, how good do you believe the team can be?
NIU will host men’s and women’s golf NCAA Chamionship at Sugar Grove. Women’s Championships are May 18 to 24 while men’s begin May 25 and conclude May 31.
A: Given that we also have three freshman and one transfer, I think this is the most competitive and hard-working teams I’ve been on in my three years. All of the guys seem to know what they’re doing. They are all really solid and it’s a deep team for sure. I think we have a chance to win the MAC for sure and make a run at it.
A: It’s exciting and it’s going to be fun. I hope the team can make it, that would be fun. It is a challenging course, and it would be cool to see that being on our home course. I think Rich Harvest will be a great challenge.
Q: Being a senior on a team that includes four new players, do you feel a responsibility to take on a leadership role with this team?
Courtesy NIU Media Services
Joo-Young Lee swings at the 2015 Northern Intercollegiate Tournament in Sugar Gove.
goals going into this season that you did not accomplish last year? A: I’d like to make regionals
instead of being a first alternate. This year, I’d like to be an AllAmerican first team along with a
A: I am definitely there if they need help or any sort of guidance. If I can help them in any way, I will. I think, for the most part, all the guys know what they need to do and what to work on. Everyone looks really solid so far so it doesn’t seem like they need help from me for now.
Q: Going into your final season, what has been some of your favorite moments being a part of this team for the last few years? A: As a team, I think finishing third in the fall of 2014 at Sagamore when we beat a bunch of top-50 teams, was a great moment as a team. Individually, I’d say winning my first college tournament was a great moment. The Huskies will begin their season on Sep. 10 at the Wolf Run Intercollegiate at Wolf Run Golf Club in Zionsville, Indiana.
Q: What do you think about the NCAA Tournament being at your home course, Rich Harvest Farms?
Huskies battling with Bears Men’s soccer faces Navy Krystal Ward Staff writer
Tom Burton Staff writer
DeKALB | Women’s soccer (1-1-1) faces off against Baylor University (31-0) at 7 p.m. Friday at the Soccer and Track and Field Complexin DeKalb. It is only the second matchup between the two teams in school history. Baylor defeated the Huskies, 2-0, when they last met on Sept. 11 in Waco, Texas. Baylor’s sophomore midfielder Julie James headed in a free kick from the box to give the Bears a 1-0 advantage. James doubled Baylor’s lead in the second half on a corner kick headed twice to seal the victory. The Huskies earned their first victory of the season last Sunday when they defeated Western Michigan University, 1-0. It was also the team’s first win since Oct. 23 of last season. Baylor shutout University of the Incarnate Word, 3-0, in its last match on Sunday. Sophomore forward Lauren Piercy headed in a goal 98 seconds into the game and scored her fourth goal in four games. She leads Baylor, and the Big 12 Conference, with eight points which inlcudes four goals, three of which were game-winners. The forward also averages one goal per game to lead the Big 12. For the Huskies, sophomore forward Taylor Sarver leads the pack with four points: two goals, seven shots, five shots on goal and one game-winning goal. Sarver is also tied for tenth in the MidAmerican Conference in shots and shots per game. Junior goalkeeper Amy Annala leads the MAC with an average of
DeKALB | Men’s soccer will look to bounce back against the United States Naval Academy 6 p.m. Friday, following a 4-0 loss to the University of Marquette Monday night. The Huskies play twice this weekend when they travel to Maryland. NIU will begin against the US Navy, and conclude at 3 p.m. Sunday with a game against University of Maryland-Baltimore County. NIU, who is 0-1-1 on the young season, had a difficult evening, putting together only five shots in the game, compared to 14 by Marquette. “Ultimately we just didn’t have a very collective performance,” NIU Head Coach Eric Luzzi said. Marquette, 1-1-0, opened up the scoring in the 19 minute when the Golden Eagles converted a cross, beating junior goalkeeper Drew Donnally to give Marquette a 1-0 lead. Marquettes went into halftime with a 2-0 cushion, but Luzzi thought the team was somewhat unlucky to be down two goals. “We had some golden chances in the first part of the game,” Luzzi said. “It could have easily been 2-0 in our favor.” NIU was never able to get on the scoreboard, as the contest ended in a 4-0 defeat when they played in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. “This was just a bad night for us,” Luzzi said. “As long as the guys learn from some of the things I told them after the game, protecting the ball in certain areas
Northern Star Illustration Photo
Junior goalkeeper Amy Annala poses in net at the Soccer Complexion.
10 saves per game and is tied for first in save percentage and goals against average. The Bears rank fourth in the Big 12 and are 1-1 on the road this season.
The Huskies were 1-6 in nonconference matches last season and their last home loss was on Oct. 16. NIU is fourth in the MAC West Division as they begin play Friday.
NCAA Championships
7 p.m. Sept. 9 Binghamton University, home 9 p.m. Sept. 11 Utah Valley State University, home 7 p.m. Sept. 21 University of Milwaukee, away 6 p.m. Sept. 28 Indiana University, away 7 p.m. Oct. 4 University of Illinois-Chicago, home Noon Oct. 11 Eastern Illinois University, home TBA Oct. 15 University of Akron, home of the field, as long as they learn those things, we can chalk this one up as a learning experience and be ready to go on Friday.” The schedule does not get any easier for the Huskies, as they look to improve on their last performance and notch their first win of the season. “Everyone we play is a good team,” Luzzi said. “Going forward now it’s just a matter of doing what we are capable of doing.” NIU will look to capitalize on at least one of the games this weekend, when the team will continue its four-game road trip 1 p.m. Friday in Annapolis, Maryland.