February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
The goal was Lynch’s eighth of the campaign and fifth match winner. Lynch, a freshman, now lives in Yarmouth, Maine. He is the son of Ciaran and Anne Lynch. His brother, Declan, plays soccer at Dartmouth. The Friars ended their season with a 7-11-0 record.
Mercyhurst, ranked no. 1 in Division II, endured its first loss of the season, 3-2, to Gannon. Senior Rory Hussey from Dublin had one of the Lakers’ two tallies. Mercyhurst is now 15-1-0.
Winthrop freshman David Garry doesn’t figure much in the scoring, but he came up with a big play in the Eagles’ 2-1 double-overtime win over 10th-ranked Coastal Carolina. In the waning seconds of the first overtime period, Garry, from Mullingar, Co. Westmeath, headed off a three-on-one break led by Coastal’s Joseph Ngwenya, when he stuffed Ngwenya about 18 yards out and cleared the ball away. Winthrop is 12-6-1 overall and 6-1-0 in the Big South Conference. The Big South Tournament kicks off Thursday.
Roy Patton’s Vermont Catamounts advanced to Sunday’s America East Conference Tournament championship match with Northeastern by virtue of their victory over Hartford, which was decided by penalty kicks. The two teams deadlocked, 2-2, after two extra periods. Vermont then outscored Hartford, 4-2, on penalty kicks. Dublin freshman Neil Beasley successfully converted one of them for Vermont, which is now 10-6-2. Patton is a Belfast man. An automatic NCAA bid is on the line against Northeastern.
The season has concluded for George Mason, coached by Dubliner Fran O’Leary. The Patriots lost to William & Mary, 2-1, last week. Their only goal came on a header by Damian O’Rourke, a freshman from Shannon. The tally was his third of the season. GMU’s keeper John O’Hara, a sophomore from Foxford, Co. Mayo, stopped three shots.
O’Hara then had five saves in a 1-1 tie with Drexel. The season ended with a 2-1 loss to Hofstra. Sean Malee, a freshman from Kiltimagh, Co. Mayo picked up an assist on the goal when he sent a hard cross to the far post, where Steve Alabi one-timed a shot into the net from six yards out. O’Hara had three saves. Mason finished at 8-7-4 overall and 3-4-2 against Colonial Athletic Association rivals.
John Reilly’s shot from 30 yards out proved to be the first goal of the match as Memphis went on to defeat UNC-Charlotte, 2-1. Reilly is a sophomore from Dublin. Memphis ended the season 10-7-1 overall and 3-7-0 in Conference-USA action.
Ed Kelly has Boston College in fine fettle as the postseason has begun. The Eagles clinched the Big East Conference regular season title with a 3-2 victory over Rutgers. They then romped over Providence, 4-0, in a Big East Tournament quarterfinal match. B.C. is 13-4-0. Kelly is a Dublin native.
Wingate won the South Atlantic Conference Tournament by scores of 2-0 over Presbyterian and 1-0 over Tusculum in the championship contest. Belfast native Gary Hamill coaches Wingate, which is now 15-6-2.
Bowdoin lost to Amherst, 2-1, in a New England Small College Athletic Conference Tournament contest. The Polar Bears, coached by Dubliner Brian Ainscough, are 10-3-2.
Clemson recovered from a rough patch with a 3-2 victory over Western Illinois. The 12th-ranked Tigers, coached by Belfast’s Trevor Adair, are 11-3-3 entering the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament, which begins Thursday.
Old Dominion fell to William & Mary, 2-0, to end the regular season 9-7-1 overall and 6-2-1 in the CAA. The Monarchs, coached by Belfast’s Alan Dawson, begins tournament play this week.
San Diego improved to 13-5-0 overall and 2-3-0 in the West Coast Conference with a 1-0 win over San Francisco. Donegal native Seamus McFadden coaches the Toreros.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
Debbie McGuinness earned an assist as Lindsey Wilson roasted Lambuth, 15-0, in a Mid-South Conference semifinal contest. McGuinness is a sophomore from Dundalk. Wilson, ranked no. 10 in the NAIA, is 13-5-0. They face Georgetown, Ky., in Saturday’s championship match.
Keene State won the Little East Conference Tournament with victories over Rhode Island College, 3-1, in the semifinal round, and Western Connecticut State, 3-2, in the final round. The Owls, now 19-2-1, are coached by Denise Lyons, from Newcastle West, Co. Limerick. They now look forward to the NCAA Div. III Tournament.
Hamilton lost to Union, 2-0, in an Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association semifinal match. Hamilton, coached by Colette Gilligan of Finglas, Dublin, is 6-5-3.
CROSS-COUNTRY
Western Kentucky finished second to Arkansas-Little Rock in both the men’s and women’s divisions at the Sun Belt Conference Championship in Denton, Texas. The Hilltoppers’ Olga Cronin, a senior from Cork, finished third in the women’s 6,000 meters race. Her time was 23:09. Little Rock’s Leah Thorvilson was first to finish, in 22:10. UALR outpointed WKU, 29-47.
Enda Grandfield, a junior from Killorglin, Co. Kerry, ran to a ninth-place finish in the men’s 8,000-meter race. He came in with a time of 27:12. Little Rock’s Brent Corbitt had the winning time of 25:43. UALR’s 21 points left WKU, with 80, far behind in second place.
GOLF
South Alabama’s Gareth Maybin won his school’s Fall Beach Classic, played at the Gulf Shores Golf Course in Gulf Shores, Ala. Maybin, a sophomore from County Antrim, shot 204 (71-64-69) over 54 holes for medallist honors.
Southeastern Louisiana’s Mark O’Sullivan, a Galway senior, tied for fifth place at 210 (69-70-71). O’Sullivan’s teammate, Mervyn Owens, tied for 40th place at 219 (72-68-79). Owens is a sophomore from Mallow, Co. Cork.
Kentucky won the team title by two strokes over Jacksonville State. Southeastern Louisiana was another stroke back in third. South Alabama finished sixth, 15 strokes behind Kentucky.
Toledo had little success in the Hooters Collegiate Match Play Championship at the Barefoot Resort in North Myrtle Beach, S.C. The Rockets lost their first round match to Oklahoma State, 3.5-1.5. Richard Kilpatrick, a freshman from Banbridge, Co. Down, lost to Alex Noren, 2 and 1. State’s Chris Clarke defeated Toledo’s David Jones, a senior from Derry, 2 up. Dayton Rose handled Toledo’s Sean McTernan, a senior from Sligo, 3 and 2. The Rockets then lost a consolation round match to Purdue, 3-2. Kilpatrick defeated Ryan Masuda, 6 and 4, but Jones lost by a similar score to Shiv Kapur, and Peter Karmis defeated McTernan, 3 and 2.