February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
CBU advanced to the championship match with a 1-0 triumph over Metropolitan State College in overtime. Senior forward Margaret Saurin scored the winning goal. Saurin, who calls Dublin home, also figured in CBU’s first goal against Nebraska-Omaha. In the third minute of the match, Saurin crossed a corner kick into the box, where Missy Gregg went airborne to head the ball into the net.
Nebraska-Omaha came back to tie the match in the 25th minute. CBU scored the title-winning goal when Anna Rask blasted the ball past the keeper in the 66th minute.
CBU finished the season with a 25-1 mark. Their only loss came early in the
season to Northern Kentucky.
MEN’S SOCCER
Three Irish coaches and their teams advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Div. I Men’s tournament. Just as quickly, all three were eliminated.
Penn State had, perhaps, the most disheartening experience. Barry Gorman’s team fell to UCLA, 7-1, in Los Angeles. The Nittany Lions were up, 1-0, in the 26th minute when their keeper, Ryan Sickman, was red carded for tripping the Bruins’ Cliff McKinley on a breakaway in the box. With substitute Ryan Moate in the net, UCLA converted the penalty kick to tie the match. They went ahead in the second half. Penn State fell apart in the final 15 minutes, when UCLA scored four goals. Coach Gorman is a Belfast native.
Clemson’s Trevor Adair, also from Belfast, has been unable to get his Clemson Tigers into the final four in four tries. They lost to Stanford, 2-0.
Boston College was no match for Creighton, 6-2 victors in Boston. B.C., coached by Dublin native Ed Kelly, finished 18-5-0.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Davidson sophomore Conor Grace cleaned the glass for a game-high 8 rebounds
in Davidson’s 75-56 victory over UNC-Charlotte. Grace, a Dubliner, also scored 7 points, shooting 2-for-7 from the field (including 1-for-2 from 3-point land) and 2-for-2 from the foul line. Davidson improved to 4-1.
Irish National Team player Jon Larranaga epitomizes the concept of team play. The 6-7 senior forward for George Mason recorded a game-high 8 assists, while taking only two shots in 37 minutes in GMU’s 79-72 victory over Duquesne, their first win of the season. Larranaga clicked on one of those shots for 2 points. He also had 3 rebounds. He then displayed his shooting touch in GMU’s 68-45 romp over Coppin State. He had 12 points, hitting 4-of-8 from the floor (2-of-5 from Chesapeake Bay) and 2-of-4 from the stripe. He also had 5 assists. Larranaga then found the open man 11 times as Mason upped its record to 3-3 with a 65-45 spanking of Niagara. He also had 6 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks.
Mount Aloysius College’s Barry Kelleher seemed to be everywhere in a 66-58 triumph over Clarkson. The sophomore from Cork scored 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 from the foul line. The 6-4 guard also racked up a game-high 13 rebounds, including 6 off the offensive glass, as well as one blocked shot. Mount Aloysius, in Western Pennsylvania, is 2-4.
Simon Behan came off the bench to spark Middlebury (6-1) to a 90-88 victory over Hamilton. Behan, a Dublin sophomore, poured in 22 points in 18 minutes. He shot 5-for-8 from the floor and converted 12 of 13 foul shots. Behan also scored 7 points in a 102-61 whipping of St. Joseph’s (Vt.). He shot 2-for-5 from the field (1-for-4 from long range) and 2-for-2 from the stripe. He also had 3 assists and 2 steals in 12 minutes. He then had 8 points in a 77-60 win over Norwich. He clicked on 3 of 4 field goal attempts (including 1 of 2 from St. Stephen’s Green) and 1 of 3 from the line.
Colby’s Michael Westbrooks, a freshman from Dublin, posted 13 points and 8 rebounds in a 74-53 loss to Colby-Sawyer. Colby is 1-3.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Siobhan Kilkenny lit up the board for 25 points, but it wasn’t enough as Manhattan (2-3) lost to Canisius, 77-69, in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game. The Castlebar, Co. Mayo senior found net on 11 of 19 shots from the floor (1 of 3 from Killalla Bay) and 2 of 4 from the line. The stat sheet also shows that she had 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals.
Sacred Heart’s Kate Maher didn’t miss in the Pioneers’ 69-61 win over Princeton. The junior from Waterford was 3-for-3 from the field and 6-for-6 from the foul line. She also reeled in 8 caroms. Sacred Heart is 3-1.
Laura Mullally scored 9 of her 13 points from three-point territory in Dowling’s 81-59 victory over C.W. Post. The Athlone, Co. Westmeath sophomore was 3-for-9 from downtown and 1-for 4 from close range. She also converted both free throws. She also managed 2 steals. Dowling is 3-0.
Iona’s Michelle Fahy scored 10 points in the Gaels’ 77-56 loss to Monmouth. The junior from Galway shot 5-of-17 from the floor, had 5 rebounds and 3 steals. She then caught fire in an 83-76 loss to Rider. She knocked down 10 of 15 field goal attempts for 20 points, hauled down 16 boards and earned credit for 6 assists. Fahy was held to 8 points in a 64-38 loss to Loyola (Md.). She was 3-for-11 from the floor and 2-for-2 from the line. She also had 6 rebounds. Fahy leads Iona (0-6) in scoring with 14.3 points per game, rebounding with 7.7 caroms per game, and is second with 17 assists and 12 steals.
Every point counted in Quinnipiac’s 77-73 victory over Yale and sophomore Kim Fitzpatrick made her only shot count, finishing with 2 points. She came out of Waterford.