Sports
November 4, 2013
www.linfieldreview.com
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Men’s soccer improves each year Drew Mahrt Senior sports editor Linfield added two losses to their record during the weekend of Nov. 2, moving them to sixth in the Northwest Conference and sending their record to 8-8-2. The Wildcats took on the Whitman College Missionaries on Nov. 2, but came away with the loss due to three Whitman goals late in the second. While Linfield did score their first goal since Oct. 20, they still couldn’t manage to keep their opponents from scoring. They lost the game 4-1. Linfield also took the loss against Whitworth University on Nov. 3, with the final score being 3-0. Linfield sits at an 8-8-2 record and, with only one game left, hopes to stay above .500.
Linfield has, however, officially improved from last year to now. The Wildcats’ record last year was 7-11, whereas this year
Freshman Wyatt Lay they have eight wins with a game left to go. The Wildcats have finished in sixth place during five out of their last six seasons, but are showing major improvement as of late and giving hope to a fifth place
or better season next year. The freshman talent has been a huge factor in Linfield’s improvement, as their second leading scorer
Freshman Jorge Rodriguez freshman Nicholas Autencio has contributed five goals, just three behind the team’s leading scorer. Freshmen keeper Jorge Rodriguez and defender Wyatt Lay have also been key parts of the Wildcat
defense. Rodriguez has recorded 50 plus saves this year even with missing four of the games, and has done a fantastic job of keeping Linfield’s opponents from racking up high scoring games. Lay has been a brick wall on defense rarely letting his man get by him. He has played the full 180 minutes in the majority of his starts, and has earned every minute of that. Linfield plays Willamette in their final game of the year. While this may not be a championship deciding game, it is still a key game to the Wildcats season, as a win will take their record to 9-8-2, putting them above .500. This game will be played at 1:30 p.m. on Nov. 9, here at the Linfield soccer field. Drew Mahrt can be reached at linfieldreviewsports@gmail.com.
Women’s basketball opening game
Tyson Takeuchi/Senior sports photographer Junior Forward Taylor Solomon (15) moves the ball up the court away from defender Brandi Jo Blackburn during a scrimmage against the Lane Community Titans. During the first half Solomon was one for one on three pointers. The women’s basketball team will be playing next in two weeks away on Nov, 15 against Wheaton College at Newberg, Ore. and then Nov. 16 against Cal Lutheran University also in Newberg, Ore., both of which are at 6 p.m.
Helen Lee/Photo Editor Sophomore Jade Boyd practices for the Wildcats’ weekend meets. Boyd ranked 98th in the 50-yard freestyle on Nov. 1 with a time of 29.54 seconds.
Swim makes a splash at relay Helen Lee Photo editor
Linfield’s swim team had their first meet of the year at the Northwest Conference Sprint Meet on Nov. 1, as well as the NWC Relay Meet on Nov 2. The NWC Sprint Meet was hosted in Tacoma, Wash., by Pacific Lutheran University. Linfield placed in the top 25 in six of the 10 events, and in the top 10 for one of them. Sophomore Ian White was the star of the show for Linfield, placing eighth in the men’s 50-yard backstroke with a time of 26.25 seconds. He also placed 14th in the men’s 100-yard IM race, finishing with a time of 57.09 seconds. Sophomore Nikki Overton also did well for the Wildcats, placing 26th twice in the meet for her 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard IM. Overton was three seconds behind the 100 IM winner Jackie Beal, a freshman from Whitworth University, with a time of 1:06.20, and two seconds behind the winner Tai Hallstein, a freshman from Whitman in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 26.69 seconds. Despite their Nov. 2 meet loss, the Wildcats have high hopes for the rest of the season. “I got a best time in the 100-yard IM and my times for
the 50s were OK. It’s still early in the season and I had a really long day on Friday and I think it showed in my races,” freshman Anna Korn said. Korn placed 37th in the Nov. 1 Sprint Meet in her 50-yard backstroke with a time of 32.14 seconds. She also placed 84th in the 100yard IM with a time of 1:12.54 seconds. “My times weren’t as fast as what I was going my senior year of high school but I took the summer off and I’m just starting to get back into it,” said Korn. Junior Ian Coker also shook off the loss and said, “We had some good performances and got to see how the rest of the conference looked. It was nice to start the season with a low-pressure meet.” Coker’s 1:00.53 100-yard IM ranked him 45th in the Nov. 1 Relay Meet, and he hopes to improve throughout the season. “I would like to be a top 16 finisher at conference in the 200-yard freestyle and a top eight finisher in the 1650yard freestyle. I also hope to get faster and have personal best times in all my events at conference,” Coker said. The Wildcats have their next meet at 6 p.m. on Nov. 8 at home against Whitman College. Helen Lee can be reached at linfieldreviewphotos@gmail.com.
Pacific may have the chance to break Wildcat’s streak So I love my Wildcat footballers as much as any other student here at Linfield, but did you know there’s a chance that Linfield may not get a bid for the Northwest Conference Championships? And who would be the threat to Linfield’s winning tradition? The answer is 45 minutes away in a little town called Forest Grove. If Pacific University somehow pulls off a win over Linfield during their last game of the season on Nov. 16, it would cause a three-way tie between Pacific University, Pacific Lutheran University and Linfield College. Now, having a three way
Sports Commentary
Camille Weber Sports columnist tie between these teams doesn’t seem so bad, but Pacific’s season does seem to have a potential effect on our football team’s chances of advancing to the Division III playoffs.
According to NCAA Division III rules, each conference has their own set of rules in the event of a three-way tie for first place. In terms of who advances to the Division III playoffs, it turns out Pacific has a good chance of getting the qualifying bid if a three way tie were to happen. So far, the Boxers are 4-1 in the Northwest Conference. Their one loss was against Pacific Lutheran where they lost by one field goal in the last minutes of the game. So should the Wildcats be concerned? My Wildcat pride says “of course not” but we need to look at the facts. Their win over Lewis and
Clark College Nov. 1 gave the Boxers seven wins for the first time since 1972. This also gives the Boxers three conference wins for the first time since 1988. In addition, one of Pacific’s quarterbacks, senior T.C. Campbell, has the potential to give the Wildcats a tough time in their final game of the season. Campbell was featured in an addition of Call My Play, a San Francisco based company that specializes in providing professional play-by-play commentary to highlight athletic achievements, in a section entitled “Pacific Play of the Week.” Campbell was highlight-
ed after he turned a 10-yard loss into an 11-yard gain, and then scrambled again to find wide receiver, Jakob Lawrence in the back of the end zone for a touchdown in the Boxers’ 21-6 win over Chicago on Oct. 26. It seems that the Pacific football team has put themselves in the most ideal position to threaten the Wildcats’ expected NWC play off. However, we haven’t lost a game to the Boxer’s in decades. And we do have the 58 season winning momentum behind us. Let’s face it. It’s the norm for Linfield to get into the play-offs. The Wildcats have earned eight
trips to the NCAA Division III Playoffs in the last twelve seasons – advancing to the quarterfinals three times. Our Wildcats have even made it to the semifinals once and won the NCAA Division III National Championship in 2004. It’s interesting that Pacific University actually has a chance to challenge Linfield’s winning streak norm but let’s face it, our Wildcats aren’t going to let any team in the NWC get in their way from taking their 59th straight winning season. Camille Weber can be reached at linfieldreviewsports@gmail.com.