10 Sports
glimmerglass.olivet.edu November 17, 2011
In the
penalty
box Home advantage This past Homecoming weekend Olivet hosted two rather heavily attended sporting events. First were the basketball games. By the time the men’s game rolled around, there were exactly 2,764 people in attendance, according to the box score from Friday’s game. The next day featured the football game, which 2,746 people attended. But there was another game that day, following the football’s fifth win of the season. Our NAIA No. 9-ranked women’s soccer team won the CCAC Conference Tournament for the second year in a row. But a mere 132 people attended that game, according to the box score.
Rachel Kearney
This Saturday, women’s soccer as well as volleyball will have their final home games of the season as the teams host the opening rounds of their respective NAIA national tournaments. Both will continue on only if they come up victorious. So go make home advantage really count. Join the men’s basketball team at the volleyball game and paint your face or wear bras and short shorts to support breast cancer and the team. Or go chant along with men’s soccer “Purple Patch” at the women’s soccer game and yell over and over again, “I believe that we will win!” Our girls deserve the support.
PHOTO COURTESY OF JIM SMITH
Senior wide receiver Joshua Howells (No. 27) leaps over a McKendree University defender to score a touchdown during the Homecoming game Nov. 12.
Tackling success
Football team ends on a high note David Parker Staff Writer
After suffering a 0-11 season in 2010, the Tigers boosted their record to 5-6 this season, winning their final three games. The team’s five wins began with a memorable overtime win against Coe College on Sept. 11 that snapped the team’s 18-game losing streak. The season culminated with the Homecoming game on Nov. 12, a competitive 17-14 win against McKendree University (Ill.). “I think the program has made tremendous strides in a year, from performance on the field [to the classroom],” said Andy Ankeny,
defensive coordinator. Standout players included senior linebacker Nathan Schott, who was named the Mid-States Football Association Midwest League’s Defensive Player of the Week twice in a row, and freshman running back Michael HoLewis, who scored four touchdowns in the game against Iowa Wesleyan College on Oct. 30 Ho-Lewis said the program’s success this year was a team effort. “We’ve done really well with what we’ve been given,” HoLewis said. “The first couple of weeks were rough, but it’s been pretty fun.” Schott believed the team’s im-
provement was a result of a focus on new priorities. “We are internally driven rather than externally,” he said. “We’re driven to play at our best level and be the player[s] and team we can be. That goal is always obtainable, unlike winning a certain number of games. That’s something Coach [Brian] Fish has instilled into us.” Ultimately, Schott hopes the students of Olivet will have more respect for the team because of their accomplishments. “In general, the perception of the team has not been positive. If people had seen how much we [have] improved, [maybe] they would respect us a little more,” Schott said.
Men’s soccer wraps up season Andrew Kriz & Rachel Kearney Sports Editors
The 2011 campaign has come to an end for men’s soccer. The Tigers defeated Illinois Institute of Technology in the opening round of the CCAC tournament on Nov. 5, before falling to St. Xavier University (Ill.) on Nov. 9, in the semi-final. They finished with a final record of 8-10-1. The first round was not without controversy as the Tigers were originally given a No. 6 seed and set to play at IIT. But it was discovered that IIT had used an ineligible player when they faced Olivet earlier in the season and were forced to forfeit that game, giving Olivet the No. 3 seed and home field advantage. On the road against St. Xavier in the semifinals, Olivet fell 3-0. CCAC freshman of the Year Patrick Hoepp played perhaps the largest role in the men’s playoff
PHOTO BY MORGAN MCCRIRIE
Freshman Yonda Abogunrin fields the ball downfield.
run this season. Hoepp, a midfielder from Frankfurt, Germany, provided plenty of energy and points for the Tigers, scoring two assists in the CCAC Tournament Quarterfinals and recording four shots on goal in the semifinal round. During the regular season, Ho-
epp tallied 10 goals and five assists, leading the team in both categories. He was joined on the CCAC All-Conference Second Team by sophomore defender Yonda Abogunrin. Despite Hoepp and Abogunrin’s performances, the Tigers still found themselves disappointed with how the season turned out. The team started out 0-1-7 before they headed into conference. One of those losses included a 0-1 score against Hastings College (Neb.), who was ranked first in the NAIA at the time. But the team turned their season around as they entered conference play, winning eight of their final 12 games. For Olivet’s lone senior, though his career is over, the season was not a total loss. “We had guys grow up during the season,” forward Joel Kline said. “We showed character as a team in not giving up and playing hard.”