Women’s Soccer splits weekend gamesThe Women’s Soccer team, playing conference opponents Grinnell and Knox, managed to go 1-1. The scoring in the game against Grinnell was over within the first 15 minutes as LU netted first in the ninth minute, thanks to Emily Buzicky, but Grinnell responded with goals in the 12th and 15th minutes.
From then on it was a hard-fought game in front of a supportive Parents Weekend crowd, but the resilient Lady Vikes could not find the second goal needed to send the game into overtime.
A glimmer of hope had emerged as Buzicky was taken down within the 18-yard box, but the ensuing penalty kick was saved by Grinnell goalie Liz Carrier, who dove in the correct direction.
The second game, against perennial bottom feeders Knox, started out slow for the women. The halftime score was only 1-0, courtesy of Greta Raaen’s fourth goal of the season.
Despite the close score, the ball had crossed into Viking territory rarely and the half was characterized by constant pressure on the Knox goal. Knox goalkeeper Beth Mushill seemed to be everywhere and made 20 saves as Lawrence pelted the goal with shots from all over.
A deluge of goals was bound to come, and the Vikings waited until the 80th minute to finally put their chances away. Within eight minutes, Buzicky single-handedly brought the score from 1-0 to 4-0, scoring her second hat trick of her college career.
The final score of 4-0 was a commendable win, but the women knew afterwards that numerous missed 1v1s cost them a more realistic score line.
With a current record of 2-3 in conference, today’s game against leaders St. Norbert is perhaps the final chance the women have of claiming a berth in the tournament at the end of the year.
Volleyball looking for first conference win
LU Volleyball, winless in five conference games as of Oct. 7, looks to put their rather unlucky streak behind them.
Most recently the Vikings have defeated Northern Baptist 3-0 (31-29, 30-28, 30-18) and Maranatha Baptist 3-1 (30-20, 30-20, 24-30, 30-16), so they are not devoid of the ability to overcome opponents.
At the Midwest Conference Volleyball Crossover held Sept. 27 and 28 the Vikings went 0-5, but senior Jenny Burris was included in the Crossover All-Tournament team.
Luckily, the Vikings have many more games left in which to improve on their record, including home games against St. Norbert on Oct. 22 and Carroll College on Nov. 1, the last game of the season save the Conference Tournament, should they make it.
Women take third, men grab 10th at Beloit Invitational
The Beloit Old English Classic Invitational was held last Saturday and the women put on a good showing, finishing in third place out of 12 teams. Paul Schonfeld led the men as they finished 10th in the field of 14 teams.
The Viking women were helped by the return of Courtney Miller, who paced the team by finishing in second place overall in a time of 19:29. The other four Vikings who scored points for the team were Colleen Detjens, Kelly Sheer, and Rachel Lucas, and Jamie Marincic, who finished in 38th in a time of 22:21.
Compared with last week’s first place finish at Ripon, where a number of runners had personal records, the team was a little disappointed with their performance at Beloit. It is encouraging, however, to know that even on an off day this talented team can still claim third place, only 10 points off of first place.
The men also did not do as well as last week when Phil Keith and Paul Schonfeld almost forced a photo finish for seventh and eighth place. The Vikings, in the absence of Keith, were led by Schonfeld, who bettered his time from last week by more than a minute in 27:34 and claimed 14th place overall.
He was followed by David Quinlan, Mitchell Goodman, Will Daniels, and Pat Breese, who placed 88th in a time of 34:29.
The Old English style meet is different from other cross country meets in that it is a race that actually crosses country. Obstacles incorporated at the Beloit race included hay bales and streams that forced the runners to measure the distance of their strides in order not to lose time.
These barriers were part of the reason that many of the runners times were slower, though Schonfeld brushed aside these inconveniences to record a much faster time than last weekend. The Vikings return to the forest paths tomorrow at UW-Platteville.
Ultimate Frisbee
For the first time in recent LU ultimate history, the school will host a tournament tomorrow and Sunday. Everyone is encouraged to attend to support the team that is just as committed as varsity teams but lacks the NCAA sanctioning.
The tournament takes place at the USA Sports Complex, just north of US 41 on Evergreen Drive.