Archive for September, 2011

Bowling Green’s Kaitlyn Tobin scored her first goal of the season with just 32 seconds left in regulation as the Falcons defeated the Youngstown State women’s soccer team, 2-1, on Sunday afternoon at Stambaugh Stadium.

The Guins fall to 3-4-1 overall while the Falcons improve to 2-5.

Freshman Jade Flory‘s last-second shot to tie the match with just two seconds left hit the crossbar and bounced out-of-bounds.

After a scoreless first half, Bowling Green’s Tracy Togba gave the Falcons the lead, 1-0, at the 71:06 mark when she found the back of the net off a header by Alyssa Zuccaro.

Sopohomore Heather Coonfare tied the game at 1-1 at the 77:50 mark with her first career goal after long-crossing pass from senior Geneva Strelka.

Sophomore goalkeeper Ali Viola recorded seven saves for the Guins.

The Guins open Horizon League play against Wright State, Sunday, Sept. 18, at 1 p.m.

On Saturday, Youngstown State University broke a lot of things.  The first thing they broke was Valparaiso, racking up a lopsided 77-13 victory.  They also broke school records for the most points scored in a quarter (35), most points in a half (63), and longest punt return (96 yards).  The game was so lopsided that running a continuous clock should have been an option for the second half.  The other thing broken was YSU’s eight-game losing streak.  Amazingly, YSU broke the record for points in a game, with 70, in the third quarter.  It was Lionel vs Fisher Price, Ali vs Cooney, and Mercedes vs Yugo.

Eric Wolford commented on the win.  “We showed a lot of maturity.  Last season after Penn State, there was a letdown.  This season after losing to Michigan State, we showed great maturity with no letdown and played a pretty good football game.  Next week we start conference play and I don’t want to get caught up because we scored 77 points this week.  We will continue to mature as this young team picks up experience each week.”

The Penguins scored on every possession in the first half and held a 63-6 lead at the break.  Marc Kanetsky took over at quarterback in the second quarter.  It was a game that the whole depth chart was used in intervals at some point.

YSU scored 35 points in the first quarter.  Jamaine Cook scored two touchdowns (1, 31) and Jordan Thompson punched in a pair (9, 10).  The other touchdown was an electrifying 96-yard punt return by Josh Lee breaking a 45 year-old school record of 92 yards.

In the second quarter, the Penguins kept scoring.  Adaris Bellamy, the best-kept secret on the team, had a couple of rushing touchdowns from 34 and 13 yards out. Kurt Hess hit David Rogers for a 16-yard TD.  He also found Andre Barboza from 24 yards out.  The Penguins avearged 11.1 yards per play in the first half and the word dominant would be an understatement.

Bellamy and Cook both cracked the 100-yard mark in the first half.  Cook had 126 yards and Bellamy tacked on 101, both in the first half.  It was the first time two YSU backs had 100 yards each since 2008 when Jabari Scott and Cameron Keys did it.  The Penguins amassed 476 yards in the opening half.  They would finish the game with 657 yards, another new school record.

In the second half, Coach Wolford emptied the cupboard and YSU mounted an opening drive that would result in a Torrian Pace 17-yard run.  Pace was the fourth running back to score a touchdown.  The drive was 14 plays covering 84 yards without a single pass attempt by Kanetsky.  70-6 YSU.  The 70 points set  a school record for most points scored in a game.

Parnell Taylor scored YSU’s last touchdown to make it 77-6.  The score, a two-yard plunge, was the first in the YSU career of Taylor.  Patrick Angle got some time engineering a 14 play-86 yard drive to round out the scoring for the Penguins.  Valpo punched one in late to close out the scoring at 77-13.

Adaris Bellamy led the way on the ground for the Penguins with 180 yards on 23 carries (7.8 yards per carry).  Afterwards Bellamy talked about the successful effort of the team.  “We came out ready to play just like we did last week against Michigan State, it doesn’t matter who we are playing.  Our goal is to go undefeated every week, break records every week, and get this program back to the way people are used to seeing, this kind of Penguin football.”

Christian Bryan had five grabs for 78 yards to lead the receivers.  Kurt Hess was 12 of 13 for 204 yards, 2 TD’s and no turnovers.  The only incompletion Hess had was a drop.  For Valpo, Eric Hoffman threw 30 passes, completed 14 and had 112 yards passing.  He was sacked three times.  Kevin Becker hauled in three for 38 yards for the Crusaders.  Dale Cook had seven carries for 39 yards for Valpo.

Davion Rogers had some impressive plays, both on defense, and one exceptional effort on special teams.  Rogers ran over a potential blocker in the Valpo punt return wall and then proceeded to floor another would-be blocker two steps later before burying the return man.  You can’t ask for much more than that from a special teams player.  “We [defensive unit] take great pride knowing that we push the offense in practice and make them better each week”, commented Rogers.  ”  It had been 352 days since we won here.  We have some great players and we are going to take many huge steps this year.”

Mercifully, YSU turned the ball over on downs deep in Valpo territory ending their string of eleven straight touchdowns.

Give Wolford a gold star for showing a lot of class and calling off the dogs the entire second half.  Make no mistake about it, YSU could have put up a C-note today.  Wolford and Shane Montgomery did not call for a single pass and kept running the ball to keep the clock moving.

“I talked with their coach [Carlson] after the game”, said Wolford.  “He was very complimentary of our program and I told him that I was impressed that his guys kept playing hard.  They are in a very similar situation that we were in, trying to turn a program around with 48 new guys.”

YSU opens conference play next week at 4 p.m. when Illinois State rolls into town.

** Bottom Photo, courtesy of Ron Stevens.

Youngstown State (0-1) welcomes Valparaiso (0-1) to The Ice Castle for its home opener Saturday.  Kickoff for the game is set for 4 p.m. and the Penguins have to know that, going in,  this is a total reversal of last weeks visit to East Lansing, Michigan to face the #17 ranked Spartans of Michigan State.  Valparaiso will visit the Penguins as the team that nobody will pick to win and YSU has to prove they are the confident team that easily rolls through the opponent when expected to.

“Monday, after the loss, we were a little bit down at practice and that was a good thing”, remarked YSU head coach Eric Wolford.  “Last year, we played ok for 14 minutes, but had pep in our step the following Monday because the expectations were lower.  We feel like we let one get away and that was a good sign at practice.”

Valparaiso throws the ball.  In a 49-35 loss to Franklin last week, the Crusaders chucked it up 42 times and had 394 yards through the air en route to their best offensive output since 2008.  The bad news for Valpo was that Franklin amassed 669 total yards.  Valparaiso held a 28-14 lead in that game before giving up 35 of the last 42 points scored.

Wolford went on to say, “We are going to shine the car up the rest of the week and take it for a drive on Saturday.”

Last week’s Defensive Player of The Game for YSU, Jeremey Edwards, expressed how important it is to stay focused this week. “There were some things we did wrong last week and we should have won that game.  I made two mistakes that cost us and take responsibility for them.  We are fixing those things and want to come out strong this week.  I am very confident and always try to be number one, this team is striving to be number one.  It was a very intense week at practice and everyone was very focused.”

Valparaiso, members of the Pioneer League, has never faced Youngstown State on a football field before.  They will be playing with nothing to lose besides a 21-game winless streak.  Last season, Valpo actually lost a game 86-7 to Jacksonville.  Second-year coach, Dale Carlson, is in his 23rd season and holds an overall record of 110-115-3, but is 0-12 with the Crusaders job.

Look for the offense to get on track this week.  Expect big days from Kurt Hess, any combination of receivers and Jamaine Cook and Jordan Thompson, a couple of running backs, to grab a ‘c-note’ each.  If YSU wins by less than 30, I feel it would be a disappointment, nothing against Valpo, it’s just the Penguins are oozing with that much talent this season.

“We’re not there yet.  We still have a lot of room for improvement and some people think we are getting closer.  This group is very talented and has a chance to win, I can’t guarantee instant success, but I think the future looks very bright because of the combination we have here of a youth movement and upperclassmen leadership”, said Wolford.

The Youngstown State Women’s Swimming & Diving team will offer a “Learn to Swim Clinic” for children ages 3-10 during three Sunday and Wednesday evenings this fall. A total of six sessions will be hosted by the Penguins’ student-athletes.

The clinic is open to general public as well as children of YSU students, faculty and staff.

The lessons will be held at YSU’s Natatorium Beeghly Center on the following dates: Sept. 25 from 6-6:45 p.m., Sept. 28 from 6-6:45 p.m., Oct. 2 from 6-6:45 p.m., Oct. 5 from 6-6:45 p.m., Oct. 9 from 6-6:45 p.m. and Oct. 12 from 6-6:45 p.m. The cost is $60 per child, with five separate skill levels to benefit all participants. All profits raised benefit the Youngstown State swimming and diving program.

All participants will receive a free YSU spirit item and focused swim instructions from knowledgeable swimmers in a fun-filled environment.  Registration is open until the first lesson on Sept. 25. Participants need to bring appropriate swimming attire, a towel and goggles (if preferred).

For additional information please contact Assistant Coach Kylie Gamelier, (330) 941-3673 or via email at kegamelier@ysu.edu

The Youngstown State women’s basketball team will play 13 games against opponents who won at least 20 games last season and participate in a Thanksgiving tournament in Los Angeles during the 2011-12 season, YSU head coach Bob Boldon announced on Tuesday.

The Penguins will have a challenging start with five of the first eight contests against teams who won 20-plus games a year ago. They’ll also play five of their first six contests away from Beeghly Center.

Boldon’s second season will start at West Virginia on Friday, Nov. 11, and the Penguins will remain on the road to play at IPFW (Nov. 13) and at Bucknell (Nov. 16). YSU’s home opener will be against American on Nov. 21, and the Guins’ league opener will be versus Cleveland State on Dec. 31. YSU has just 12 home contests on the 29-game docket.

“This is a very exciting and challenging schedule for us as we continue to build our program,” Boldon said. “We have a very demanding non-conference slate that will definitely prepare us for the Horizon League, and we’re adding New York City and Los Angeles to our list of attractive travel destinations.”

November 

 Fri	11	at West Virginia			TBA 

Sun	13	at IPFW			2:00 PM 

 Wed	16	at Bucknell			7:00 PM 

 Mon	21	AMERICAN			7:05 PM 

 Fri	25	at Loyola Marymount			4:00 PM 

 Sat	26	vs. TBA			TBA

Wed	30	WESTERN MICHIGAN			7:05 PM 

December 

 Tue	6	BOWLING GREEN			5:15 PM 

 Fri	9	at Ohio			7:00 PM

Sun	18	at Akron			2:00 PM 

 Tue	27	at Stony Brook			7:00 PM 

 Sat	31	CLEVELAND STATE *			2:05 PM 

January 

 Thu	5	at Butler *			7:00 PM 

 Sat	7	at Valparaiso *			2:35 PM 

 Thu	12	LOYOLA *			7:05 PM 

 Sat	14	UIC *			2:05 PM 

Thu	19	at Green Bay *			8:00 PM 

 Sat	21	at Milwaukee *			3:00 PM 

 Thu	26	DETROIT *			7:05 PM 

 Sat	28	WRIGHT STATE *			4:35 PM 

February 

 Thu	2	VALPARAISO *			7:05 PM 

 Sat	4	BUTLER *			2:05 PM 

 Thu	9	at UIC *			8:00 PM 

 Sat	11	at Loyola *			TBA 

 Thu	16	MILWAUKEE *			7:05 PM 

 Sat	18	GREEN BAY *			2:05 PM 

 Thu	23	at Wright State *			7:00 PM 

 Sat	25	at Detroit *			2:00 PM 

March 

 Sat	3	at Cleveland State *			TBA 

  (home games in red)

The Youngstown State men’s basketball team will have two games nationally televised on the ESPN family of networks and will also featured as the Horizon League Networks Game of the Week in late February, the Horizon League announced as part of its 35-game 2011-12 television package.

The Penguins game against Milwaukee, schedule for Jan. 20 at the Beeghly Center, is slated for a national broadcast ESPNU or ESPN3.com.

The Guins home contest against two-time national runners-up Butler on Feb. 9 has been selected for to be on ESPN3.com

“Having two of our games broadcast on ESPNU or ESPN3.com is outstanding national exposure for our basketball team,” Head Coach Jerry Slocum said. “The Horizon League continues to produce a tremendous brand of men’s basketball and I’m glad we have the opportunity to showcase our program.”

The Penguins regular-season and home finale against Detroit on Feb. 25 has been picked as the Horizon League Network’s Game of the Week.

In a scheduling note, the Guins’ game at Valparaiso has been moved to Jan. 13 and the contest at Butler has been pushed back to Jan. 15 due to Butler’s nationally-televised game on ESPNU against Cleveland State on Jan. 13.

The Youngstown State women’s golf team rode a strong second day performance to finish first at the YSU Invitational which concluded on Tuesday at the Links at Firestone Farms.

Leading the way were freshmen Aislynn Merling (lower photo) and Allison Metzel. Merling finished first with a two-round total of 152. She opened the event with a 79 on Monday and came back to fire an impressive low-round of 73 on Tuesday. Metzel also had a strong second day. After an opening round 82 on Monday she came back to fire a 73 on Tuesday.

In the team competition, the Guins shot a 313 on the day to card a 641 and come back to win the tournament. The Penguins trailed Bethel by three strokes after the first round, but the Pilots carded a 322 and finished second with a 647. Robert Morris was third with a 666 (336-330).

Finishing in eighth for YSU was Sarah Heimlich who had a two-round total of 164 (84-80) and freshman Sana Kahn was 14th with a 168 (83-85). Other finishers for the Penguins were Sarah Scheidemantel was 22nd with 177 (90-87), Jessica Parham who was 23rd with a 178 (93-85),  Jamie Berndt was 28th with a 195 (102-93) and Ali DeLuca was 29th with a 210.

The Penguins return to action on Sept. 17 at the Ball State Invitational.

** Both photos, courtesy of Ron Stevens.

Youngstown State University fell 28-6 at Michigan State on Friday in the season opener for both teams.  The Penguins moved the ball on the Spartans but came up empty on two of the three drives they pieced together in the first half.  Michigan State rode the arm of Kirk Cousins and scored 14 points in each half on their way to the win.

“We do not see this as a moral victory”, said Eric Wolford at the post game press conference.  “I made that real clear to the players in the locker room.  Make no mistake about it, we came here to win.”

Cousins (below) was the story on offense for the Spartans, completing 18 of 22 passes for 222 yards and a touchdown.  He did a great job and completed a couple of passes with very small windows of opportunity.  B. J. Cunningham, the Spartans top receiver finished the game with 130 yards on six catches.  The two fifth year seniors hooked up for the lone aerial score.

Michigan State got on the board first when Larry Caper rambled in for a six yard score to cap off a nine play, 80-yard drive with 12:04 left in the second quarter.  Youngstown State took the opening kickoff and moved the ball but got stuffed on a fourth-and-one to turn the ball over on Michigan State’s 30.

Youngstown State responded when Kurt Hess found Jelani Berassa with 7:38 in the second quarter for a touchdown to cut the lead to 7-6.  It marked Berassa’s first time into the end zone as a Penguin.  However, the extra point attempt failed as the snap was bad, leaving the Penguins behind, 7-6.

Michigan State wasted little time going 74 yards in four plays before Le’Veon Bell scampered in from three yards out to put the Spartans ahead, 14-6.  The big blow on the drive was a play action pitch and catch from cousins to Cunningham that covered nearly 50 yards.

Cunningham talked about the momentum swings.  “When they [YSU] missed the extra point it brought a lot of momentum to the team.  We went out there and started playing a little faster and a little harder.”

The score stayed at 14-6 until the half.  With 4:52 left in the third quarter, Michigan State struck for another score on the 18-yarder from Cousins to Cunningham.  The Spartans closed out the scoring with 7:09 left in the fourth quarter when Bell punched in another three-yard run for points.  Michigan State only had to march 17 yards for their final score as Hess was picked off.

“We were in it until there was about 8:18 left in the game”, remarked Wolford.  “They converted that turnover, which was a bad decision.”

For the Penguins, Jamaine Cook finished the game with 76 yards rushing on 17 carries.  Jeremy Edwards and John Sasson each finished the game with 11 tackles and Josh Garner chipped in with ten stops.

Freshman Christian Bryan had a nice debut with six receptions for 45 yards.  Andre Stubbs, another freshman racked up 82 yards on four kickoff returns.

The Penguins open at home Saturday against Valparaiso with the kickoff scheduled for 4 p.m.

*All photos courtesy of Ron Stevens

Having a heart and being a wrestling fan are seldom linked.  On Sunday August 28, the Mahoning Valley Scrappers had it all.  Luke Holko, pictured above with his parents (Chad and Nicole), was in attendance.  Luke was hit by a foul ball a couple of seasons ago and has been battling back ferociously ever since.

The Scrappers held a mystery ball sale where people could buy a baseball for $20.  Each bag contained a baseball signed by a different person and the proceeds were donated to the Holko’s.  I bought a bag, not caring who signed the ball, because I believe in the cause.  After opening the bag, I pulled out a Jason Donald signed ball.  The bag sold after mine contained an Al Kaline ball and many people got some great memorabilia through the event.

I talked briefly with Chad and Nicole, who were also busy showing off their new daughter, and learned that Luke is still making progress in the right direction.  Luke himself smiled a few times and seemed to be having plenty of fun at the game.  He also threw out a pretty good first pitch before the game started.

Before Luke through out his pitch, a video of Ben Carlson was played on the videoboard addressing the honoree. “Luke, I really wanted to be there with you today but I was unable to come.  I hope you are having fun and I will see you soon.  I love you”, said Carlson.

There was wrestling after the game, to which Chad claimed Luke is taking a liking to.  Luke got to meet Mick Foley, Al Snow, and Jimmy Hart, as well as Scrapper season ticket holder, the Necro Butcher.

Jordan Taylor and staff rolled a strike with the whole wrestling thing, but to me, the exclamation point was seeing a happy Luke Holko being a kid and having fun.

The Youngstown State women’s soccer team (2-1-1) seeks its first three-game winning streak in school history when it hosts Ursuline College, Friday, Sept. 2, at 3 p.m. at Stambaugh Stadium. The Guins also visit Canisius, Sunday, Sept. 4, at 2 p.m.

The Guins are coming off two straight victories, a 3-1 win over the Virginia Military Institute on Aug. 26, and a 1-0 overtime win over Robert Morris on Aug. 28.

In just her first four college games, freshman Jade Flory has made a significant impact on the Penguins. Flory leads the team with three goals and seven points. She has scored a goal in the last three contests, including the game-winner in a 1-0 overtime win over Robert Morris on Aug. 28.

Sophomore goalkeeper Ali Viola recorded her first career shutout in the Guins’ 1-0 overtime win over Robert Morris on Aug. 28. Viola owns a record of 2-0-1 with 16 saves and a goals-against average of 0.61.

Just 16 games into her college career, sophomore Allison Ludwig now ranks fifth on the YSU career goals list with 10. She is also just the fifth player in school history to score at least 10 career goals. Last season, Ludwig tied the YSU freshmen record with eight goals.

* Photo Courtesy of Ron Stevens