‘Yote Notes –
Sept. 10, 2002
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Mike Safford Jr.
– Sports Info. Director
msafford@albertson.edu
'Yote
Notes - September 10, 2002
GENERAL ATHLETICS NEWS:
COYOTE OPEN COMING UP: The 2002 version of the Coyote Open, one of the
biggest golf tournaments in the area, is set for September 27 at River Bend
Golf Course. For more information on
how to play or sponsor this year’s tournament, contact Athletic Marketing
Director Dave Hahn at (208) 459-5835.
WANT TO GO TO LAS VEGAS WITH THE
'YOTES?: The
Albertson College alumni office has put together a package for alumni and
boosters to watch the Coyote men's basketball team open up the 2002 season at
the Las Vegas Invitational. Round trip airfare (leaving Nov. 1 and
returning Nov. 3) along with two nights stay at The Orleans Hotel is $285
through Uniglobe VIP Travel. There will also be a post-game function
following the 'Yotes opener against Dakota Wesleyan in convention center at the
hotel from 9:30-11 p.m. For more information on how to join the 'Yotes in
Vegas, contact the Albertson alumni office at (208) 459-5300.
SIMONTACCHI BACK IN THE BIGS: After making another quality start
at the AAA level, former Coyote Jason Simontacchi was recalled by the
St. Louis Cardinals last week. The 28-year-old responded by outdueling
Kerry Wood and the Chicago Cubs, 3-1, on Sunday. Simontacchi went eight
innings, giving up just one run on four hits. He now has a 10-5 record at
the big league level, 15-6 when counting his minor league decisions this
season.
VOLLEYBALL: First win over LC-State highlights 2-2 weekend, open
conference play at OIT and Southern
LAST
WEEK: Whitworth Invitational, Spokane, Wash. – lost
to Pacific Lutheran, 3-2; defeated Lewis-Clark State 3-0; defeated Redlands,
3-0; lost to Montana-Western, 3-0.
COMING
UP: at Oregon Tech, Friday, 7 p.m. (PDT); at
Southern Oregon, Saturday, 7 p.m. (PDT).
‘YOTES
TOP LC-STATE FOR FIRST TIME: Although
the Albertson volleyball team managed a four-game split at the Whitworth
Invitational last weekend in Spokane, Wash., the talk was of a three-game sweep
of dreaded Lewis-Clark State. The
30-20, 30-26, 30-19 blanking of the Warriors was the first time in school
history that the Lady ‘Yotes have defeated their fellow Idaho counterparts in
volleyball. LCSC was held to an .059
attack percentage, committing 29 attack errors in the three games.
PRICE
DOMINATES TOURNAMENT: The LC-State
match was one of four that senior Kristyn
Price (Bellevue, Idaho / Wood
River HS) flat out dominated. Not only did the outside hitter have 18
kills against the Warriors, but recorded 86 total kills in the four matches
over the weekend (6.14 kills per game) – by far the most in the tournament. Along the way in earning her second
consecutive All-Tournament Team honor, Price leads the Cascade Conference in
kills per game (5.50), while leading the Coyotes in digs per game (3.17).
FRIDAY’S
OTHER GAME: The match of Day One of
the tournament featured a marathon five-game battle between the Coyotes and
Pacific Lutheran. The NCAA Division III
Lutes won the first two games, before Albertson rallied to win the next two. A see-saw fifth game went the way of PLU,
17-15. Price had a tournament high 30
kills and 18 digs, with Jessie
Lassen (Buhl, Idaho / Filer HS)
adding ten kills and eight blocks. Also having a nice match was blocker Kristen Bailey (Fountain Green, Utah / Snow CC) with 11 kills, setter Amanda Basañez (Elko, Nev. /
College of So. Idaho) with 59 assists,
and defensive specialist Cristin
Cook (Kuna, Idaho / Kuna HS) with 15 digs.
SATURDAY’S
RESULTS: Saturday opened with a
workmanlike three-game sweep of Redlands.
Price had 20 more kills, while Lassen recorded eight kills without a
hitting error in the 30-20, 30-15, 31-29 win over the Cougars. Montana-Western proved to be a thorn in the
side of the ‘Yotes again, stopping the purple and gold in three games. For the first time in the tournament, the
Coyote attack struggled – hitting just .161.
Price led the way with 18 kills, with Basañez chipping in with 33
assists.
INJURY
REPORT: Despite spraining knee
ligaments in practice last week, freshman Jaime Russell (Grangeville,
Idaho / Grangeville HS) was able to play
with a knee brace last weekend. Russell
had 12 kills and three blocks in the four matches played. Head coach Liz Mendiola is optimistic that
All-Region blocker Katy
Tipton (Ontario, Ore. / Ontario
HS) will be making the trip to Oregon Tech and
Southern Oregon this week. Whether she
will see action again two of the top teams in the conference – that is another
story.
REGIONAL
POLL: For the first time in recent memory, the
weekly NAIA regional top-ten volleyball poll is being published by the
NAIA. This week the Coyotes find
themselves sitting in the No. 6 spot.
The poll has Southern Oregon leading the way, followed by Carroll,
Concordia, Montana Tech, and Rocky Mountain.
After Albertson, Western Baptist, Oregon Tech, Montana-Western, and
Lewis-Clark State round out the poll.
SOUTHERN
OREGON REACHES, HERE WE COME: The
longest, and possibly the most dreaded road trip of the season occurs this
weekend, as the Lady ‘Yotes hop on a Caldwell Transportation Bus – with stops
in Klamath Falls and Ashland, Ore. Up
first is Oregon Tech, off to their best start in program history. The Owls (2-0 CCC, 7-1) have only a blemish
against CSU-Hayward on their schedule and have been performing well for
first-year head coach Amanda Mitnzer.
With four players averaging over two kills per game, the Techsters have
a well-rounded attack, centering around setter Julie Dancer. The Coyotes won 2-of-3 meetings with OIT
last season, including the third-place game at the CCC postseason tournament. Albertson leads the all-time series,
9-3. It’s then over the hill on
Saturday to Southern
Oregon, where Paul Elliott’s squad has earned a No.
13 national ranking in the latest poll.
The Raiders (2-0, 6-2) split four games at the tough Sunbird
Invitational at Fresno Pacific, and opened up Cascade Conference play last
weekend with a pair of impressive wins.
Reigning CCC Player-of-the-Year Kristina Matchett leads a seniorless
Southern squad which has won 20-of-23 matches against Albertson since the 1994
season. The Lady ‘Yotes have not won a
match in Ashland since 1987.
INSIDE
THE CONFERENCE: Conference play began
last week with sporadic action – as Southern Oregon, Oregon Tech, and Concordia each picking up two wins. Both Cascade
and Warner Pacific were swept by
the southern schools, while both Northwest
and Evergreen took Concordia to four
games each night. Eastern Oregon finally opened up its 2002 season, dropping a
three-game affair with Whitman (after the Mountaineers lost a four-game
exhibition match with their alumni). Western Baptist won 3-of-4 matches at the Otter Classic, hosted by
CSU-Monterey Bay. The Warriors lone
defeat was at the hands of No. 9 ranked Westmont. This weekend, Western heads up to meet Evergreen and Northwest,
Concordia meets Cascade and Warner Pacific, while Eastern and the Coyotes head
south.
MORE INFORMATION ON THE LADY
‘YOTES: For game stories, statistics,
and information regarding the Albertson volleyball program, head to the
official site of Lady ‘Yote volleyball: www.collegeofidaho.edu/athlete/vball.htm.
CASCADE CONFERENCE HOTLINE: For up-to-date scores from the Cascade Conference,
call the Cascade Conference Hotline at (208) 459-5135.
MEN’S SOCCER (0-0, 1-0):
After week off, Coyotes head to Salt Lake for tough
two-game set
LAST
WEEK: Idle
COMING
UP: at Westminster Tournament – Saturday vs. Alliant
International, Noon; Sunday vs. Westminster, Noon.
ALUMNI
HELP COYOTES PREPARE FOR TOUGH ROAD TRIP: With an entire week off since their 2-1 victory over Mount Vernon
Nazarene, the Albertson men’s soccer team devised a tough opponent to keep
themselves in shape – their alumni.
Paced by seven members of the 2002 regional championship team, the 2002
squad fought the “oldtimers” to a 4-4 draw Saturday morning at Symms
Field. Head coach John Calpin noted the play of 2000 players Jared Larsen and Rick
Latham at the forwards, along with the Reed brothers (Ben and Andy) in the
midfield, and Jake Carson at the back as the stars of the alumni.
HOW
ABOUT THE ‘YOTES: The 2002 squad led 2-0
at the break, thanks to goals by Coe
Michaelson (East Wenatchee, Wash. /
Northwest Nazarene) and Jason Southward (Hailey, Idaho / Wood River HS). As the
game got a bit out of control in the second half, Michaelson and sophomore Nick Zollinger (Pocatello, Idaho / Century HS) got into the scoring act. Both Coyote keepers – Jake
Steele (Salt Lake City, Utah /
Viewmont HS) and Ryan Huber (Eagle, Idaho / Eagle HS) played 90 minutes, Steele for the varsity, and Huber
for the alumni.
COYOTES
MAINTAIN EDGE IN POLL: The Coyotes
jumped up from No. 16 to No. 15 in the first NAIA regular-season national poll,
released Tuesday morning. The ranking
is the highest ever achieved by an Albertson soccer squad. Also make it 2-for-2 for the ‘Yotes –
Albertson maintained its stranglehold on the top spot in the latest NAIA Region
I rankings. The Coyotes are followed by
this week’s opponent, Westminster, at No. 2 (up from No. 3), Simon Fraser (up
from No. 4), Western Baptist (unranked in last poll), and Concordia (down from
No. 2).
SCHEDULE
CHANGE: The scheduled
Evergreen-Albertson contest a week from Saturday has had its date and time changed
to accomidate the visitors schedule on their campus in Olympia, Wash. The Geoducks will make the trek to Caldwell
a week from Sunday (Sept. 22) with kickoff slated for 2 p.m.
TWO
TOUGH ONES: Year in and year out,
the Westminster Tournament proves to be one of the most difficult stretches of
the Albertson soccer season. This year
proves no different, considering the Coyotes open with preseason No. 25 ranked Alliant International, out of San Diego, Calif. The Globerunners (3-2) have had a difficult preseason slate –
including a tough 3-2 loss at the NCAA Division II’s top-ranked squad,
Cal-State Dominguez Hills. AIU has
also split with the Division II’s No. 20 ranked team (Sonoma State), and has
stoped Doane of Nebraska, ranked No. 5 in the NAIA Region IV. Last season, AIU advanced to the NAIA
national tournament, despite losing a 1-0 decision to Albertson in Salt Lake
last year. The Coyotes are 1-2 all-time
against the Globerunners. Albertson
will also take aim at host Westminster, in an NAIA Region I grudge match. The Griffins (6-3) went have won 2-of-3
matches at each of their first three scheduled tournaments on the Wasatch
Front. Last season, Albertson avenged a
3-1 loss to Westminster by stopping them 2-0 at the NAIA Region I
Tournament. This season, the Griffins
have beaten CCC foe Concordia (4-3), but dropped a tough game to Western
Baptist (1-0). Westminster holds the
all-time advantage by a slim margin, 10-9-2.
AROUND
THE CONFERENCE: Some interesting
regional battles took place on the pitch last week, as every team, but
Albertson, was in action. Cascade rebounded from a pounding by Simon Fraser to shutout Willamette (picked
fourth in the tough Northwest Conference), 2-0. On the flip side, Concordia
was stopped by Pacific Lutheran (picked sixth
in the NWC), 2-1, in Portland. Western Baptist remained unbeaten, defeating Northwest Nazarene,
tying York College of Nebraska, and defeating Westminster – all on the
road. Northwest picked up their first
win of the season, stopping George Fox, 2-1. With a 6-1 loss to Simon Fraser, Warner Pacific remains the lone
team in the loop without a victory.
MORE INFORMATION ON THE
COYOTES: For game stories, statistics,
and information regarding the Albertson men’s soccer program, head to the
official site of Coyote soccer: www.collegeofidaho.edu/athlete/menssoccer.htm.
WOMEN’S SOCCER (0-1,
1-3): Squad struggles at Warner
Pacific, finally finish six-game road swing this week in Portland
LAST WEEK: Lost
to Warner Pacific, 2-1.
COMING UP: at
Cascade, Friday, 3 p.m.; at Western Baptist, Saturday, 1 p.m.
STRUGGLES IN PORTLAND: Soccer is a game that has to be played for 90
minutes. That was not the case last
Friday, as the Albertson women’s soccer team dropped a 2-1 decision to Warner
Pacific in Portland. Trailing 2-0 for
the majority of the contest, junior Alyssa Latham (Walla Walla, Wash.
/ Walla Walla CC) took a feed from her former high school and junior
college teammate Jessie Harwood (Walla Walla, Wash. / Walla Walla CC)
and found the back of the net with ten minutes to play. According to head coach Aisha Reed,
it was at that time that the Coyotes began to play aggressive – 80 minutes too
late. “I felt that if we could have put
pressure on their two goalkeepers, we would have won the game,” Reed said. Our two best shots of the contest were
drilled right into the keepers body.”
HOORAY FOR WARNER: Albertson will forever
rest in the Warner Pacific record books, as the Knights scored their first-ever
goal and first-ever victory against the Lady ‘Yotes on Friday. It was the third game in school history for
WPC.
INJURY REPORT: The injury bug for the Lady ‘Yotes has been showing
its evil head from time-to-time this season.
Freshman keeper Danielle Dorsch (Boise, Idaho / Capital
HS)
strained the LCL in her right knee against Northwest Nazarene last Monday. She fought through the injury against Warner
Pacific, but was in obvious pain. A
pair of others, junior Brittany Cross (Washougal, Wash. /
Washougal HS) and
sophomore Wendy
Ross (Boise,
Idaho / Centennial HS) have not seen action thus far this season due to nagging injuries. Cross is battling a bad cold, while Ross is
fighting an Achilles injury.
END OF THE ROAD TRIP IN SIGHT: A week from now, the
Lady ‘Yotes will be eyeing their first home matches of the season – but not
before the road trip that saw three games in Nampa, head back to Portland, Ore.
for the second consecutive weekend in a row.
Winless Cascade will be the Friday opponent for Albertson, and
hopefully a remedy for the two-game losing skid. The Thunderbirds (0-2 CCC, 0-3 overall) have tallied just one
goal this season in their three games so far – a 7-0 loss at Simon Fraser, a
4-1 loss at Concordia, and an 8-0 loss at Evergreen. The T-Birds swept the season series from the Lady ‘Yotes last
season, but the all-time series dating back to 1997 is tied 4-4. Day two is a very difficult task – trying to
figure out the high-flying Western Baptist squad. The
Warriors (1-0, 1-2) return KeriAnn Lawson, the reigning Cascade Conference
Player-of-the-Year. Lawson is the
career scoring leader in WBC history, and is part of the reason the Warriors
have won the past 12 matches with Albertson.
Western holds the all-time advantage at 12-5, including 6-0 and 7-0 wins
last year.
AROUND THE CONFERENCE: Some interesting
sidebars within the conference highlight the games last week. Southern Oregon opened the season with just ten players, as four
freshman had to serve a mandatory two-game suspension for playing in a
scrimmage last spring while still in high school. The Raiders still managed
a split, losing to Whitman and defeating Pacific Lutheran. Oregon
Tech also began the season with just
13 players and did well in their trek through Northern California, defeating
Mills and Simpson, before running out of gas against CSU-Monterey Bay. Concordia
rebounded from its tough trip to California
by routing Cascade and stopping Linfield, 3-2, on Sunday. On Thursday, Evergreen head coach Arlene McMahon
become the all-time winningest coach in school history as her squad stopped
Cascade 8-0. It was the most goals
scored by a Geoduck team since 1993.
MORE INFORMATION ON THE LADY ‘YOTES: For game stories,
statistics, and information regarding the Albertson women’s soccer program,
head to the official site of Lady ‘Yote soccer: www.collegeofidaho.edu/athlete/wmenssoccer.htm.
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