OLDEST IRISH AMERICAN NEWSPAPER IN USA, ESTABLISHED IN 1928
Category: Archive

College Roundup Ballina’s O’Sullivan sings a different tune in Memphis

February 16, 2011

By Staff Reporter

By John Manley

Singing the blues is a popular pastime in Memphis, but Christian Brothers University soccer coach Gareth O’Sullivan had enough of that minor chord stuff. The native of Ballina, Co. Mayo cleaned house after enduring a 4-13 season in his first turn at the helm and has already exceeded last year’s win production with a team that lists 18 freshmen. CBU improved to 6-3 after a weekend trip to Chicago that resulted in victories over Kendall, 4-0, and St. Francis (Ill.), 11-2. Barry Gibney, a freshman from Swords, Co. Dublin, already has 9 goals (3 game winners) and 3 assists. Four of those goals came over the weekend. Teammate Darren Hughes, a sophomore from Navan, Co. Meath, had an assist in the St. Francis blowout. O’Sullivan also handles the women’s team, which is 4-3-1 so far, after going 2-10-1 in 1997.

Bryan Murphy has been minding the net for Boston University, which is 5-1-1 after seven contests. The senior from Killarney has allowed 6 goals and stopped 27 shots on goal. He also has 3 shutouts.

Elsewhere in Beantown, Northeastern’s Irish duo each has one goal thus far as the Huskies are off to a 4-3 start. Sophomore Mark Hutchinson had the Huskies’ first goal of the season in a 4-2 loss to James Madison. Senior Ross Hainsworth found net in a 2-0 victory over Oakland University. Both Hainsworth and Hutchinson are from Swords, Co. Dublin.

Penn State’s Jon McClay didn’t crack the scoring ledger, but he was voted to the All-Tournament Team of the Army/Anaconda Sports Tournament in West Point over the weekend. Barry Gorman’s Nittany Lions (5-2-2) won their first match against Army, 2-1, then tied Hartford, 2-2, on Sunday. Both teams had 1-0-1 records in the tournament, but Hartford won the crown on goal differential. McClay is a senior from Whitehead, Co. Antrim while Coach Gorman hails from Belfast.

Mercy College’s Tim Cummins is 5th in the New York Collegiate Athletic conference in scoring with 4 goals and an assist. The sophomore from Dublin had one of each in Mercy’s 4-2 win over American International last weekend. Earlier, Cummins had game winners in a 2-1 victory over Teikyo Post and a 7-0 romp over University of the District of Columbia. Mercy is 6-2.

Never miss an issue of The Irish Echo

Subscribe to one of our great value packages.

Paul Cleary didn’t figure in the scoring, but neither did the opposition as New Hampshire College rung up two shutouts last week. The Penmen first downed C.W. Post, 2-0, then beat UMass-Lowell, 3-0. Cleary, a junior from Waterford, is a vital cog in NHC’s backfield, which has recorded four shutouts. NHC, ranked 6th in Div. II, is 7-0-1 overall and 2-0 in the New England Collegiate Conference.

Fairleigh Dickinson-Madison misses junior Kevin McCarthy from Cork, who sustained tendon damage to an ankle in Gaelic football action. McCarthy is due back in about a week’s time, but meanwhile FDU-Madison is licking its wounds with a 0-7 mark. Belfast native Tom McLaughlin is at the controls.

Clemson recovered from its lone blemish to post victories over Central Connecticut State, 2-1, and North Carolina State, 3-1. Clemson, coached by Belfast native Trevor Adair, is now 7-0 and ranked 4th in the Soccer America poll.

With a 4-0 victory over Princeton, Fran O’Leary’s Dartmouth squad improved to 4-0 on the season. The Big Green is ranked 15th in the nation.

New York University scored a big win in an away game against Rochester. Joe Behan’s Violets left with a 1-0 overtime victory over their University Athletic Conference rival to go to 3-4 overall and 1-0 in the conference. Coach Behan is from Dublin.

There finally appears to be some light at the end of the tunnel for Brian Ainscough. The Dublin native has his Providence squad on a three-game winning streak, boosting its record to 3-5 overall and 2-2 in Big East play. Last week’s victims were Harvard, 2-1, and Pittsburgh, 2-0.

Boston College coach Ed Kelly is Ainscough’s mentor, but the 1998 Eagles don’t appear to have anything to teach the student if their recent play is any indication. B.C. (3-4-1, 0-3 Big East) went scoreless for the fourth straight game, dropping a 2-0 decision to West Virginia. Kelly is also from Dublin.

Vermont, coached by Belfast native Roy Patton, lost to Oneonta State, 1-0, in overtime. The Catamounts fall to 4-3.

Women’s Soccer

The women’s section looks like a speed bump that shook several chassis last week. St. Joseph’s College of Indiana went into its match against Southern Illinois-Edwardsville with a 7-0 mark, but left the pitch tied 2-2. Mary Reid, a junior from Belfast figured in both Pumas’ goals, scoring one and assisting on the other. St. Joe’s were then throttled by Southern Indiana, 5-1. Reid had her team’s lone goal. The Pumas are now 7-1-1.

Keene State was humming along at 5-0 until meeting Mass. College of Liberal Arts. A 1-0 loss to that rival was followed by a 5-2 defeat to Plymouth State, and now coach Denise Lyons has to ??? the bleeding. Lyons is a native of Newcastlewest, Co. Limerick.

Sue Kelly can empathize with Lyons. Her South Carolina squad was upended twice last week, first by Kentucky, 1-0, in overtime, and then by Vanderbilt, 4-0. Kelly’s crew is now 5-3-1 overall and 2-3 in the Southeastern Conference.

Field Hockey

Gemma Ormonde has been productive for Syracuse (5-2). The senior co-captain from Bray, Co. Wicklow, has 2 goals and 5 assists through the Orangewomen’s first seven contests. Ormonde had her best game of the season over the weekend in a 5-4 overtime win against Rutgers. She knocked in one goal and helped set up two others.

Angela Platt recorded a pair of shutouts as Maryland defeated American, 2-0, and Massachusetts, 3-0. The sophomore goalie from Coleraine, Co. Derry, had two saves in the American game and three against UMass.

Cross-Country

Mick Byrne’s Iona Gaels were anything but the gracious hosts winning the men’s division of the Iona Meet of Champions at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx. Iona scored 38 points to runner-up Dartmouth, which had 50. Iona’s Ricardo Santos was the individual champion, running the 8,000-meter course in 24 minutes, 54 seconds. Iona’s Vinny Mulvey, a sophomore from Ashbourne, Co. Meath, was 6th in 25:29.1.

Ray Treacy was able to enjoy the plane ride back from Minnesota, as both his Providence men’s and women’s teams prevailed in their heats of the Roy Griak Invitational at the University of Minnesota. The Friars’ Ben Noad was the men’s individual champion, running 8,000 meters in 24:25. Sara Dupre just missed winning the women’s race, finishing second to Minnesota’s Rasa Michiniovate. Winning time over the 5,000-meter course was 17:08.

Providence had an Irish quintet respond to the starters’ gun in the men’s race. Keith Kelly (junior, Drogheda) managed a 4th-place finish in 24:50, followed by Dermot Galvin (freshman, Kilrush, Co. Clare), 33rd in 25:39, Paul Reilly (freshman, Loughrea, Co. Galway), 77th in 26:15, Larry Morrissey (junior, Waterford), 79th in 26:16, and Ciaran Lynch (sophomore, Limerick), 120th in 27:10. Stephanie O’Reilly (sophomore, Co. Wicklow) of the women’s team placed 21st in her race with a time of 18:04.

Golf

California’s Dan Coyle, a senior from Dundalk, tied for 5th place in the Falcon-Cross Creek Invitational at the Eisenhower Blue Course in Colorado Springs, Col. Coyle’s 54-hole total of 214 (71-69-74) was 2-under-par. Nebraska’s Steve Friesen was the champion at 209. California won the team trophy by six strokes over Illinois.

Mississippi State’s Sue Phillips tied for 46th in the Lady Seminole Invitational, hosted by Florida State at its University Golf Club. The junior from Dublin shot three consecutive rounds of 77 to finish at 231. MSU finished 9th in the team standings.

Other Articles You Might Like

Sign up to our Daily Newsletter

Click to access the login or register cheese