08 | sports

Aug. 31, 2016

SPORTS WOMEN’S SOCCER

FOOTBALL COLUMN

Bulldogs undefeated after two weeks Drake Football in the summer: accolades, the new season, NFL scouts Adam Rogan Copy Editor Adam.rogan@drake.edu @Adam_Rogan

Despite some inconsistency on the offensive front, the Drake Women’s Soccer defense remained unbroken in their opening matches this weekend on the way to a 2-0-1 start to the 2016 season. Last week on Aug. 19, the Bulldogs traveled to Fargo, North Dakota, to start their season against the North Dakota State Bison. The Bison were aggressive out of the gate, taking five shots in the first half, but couldn’t dial in as none of them were on goal. They had plenty of opportunities, recording four corner kicks, but the Bulldogs defense kept the ball out of the net. Despite only recording three shots in the first half, the Bulldogs dominated the second half. Piling up seven shots and three on goal, Drake found their path to victory. The Bulldogs only had one corner kick during the game, but they made it count. Junior defender Kasey Hurt put the ball into the box and

redshirt-senior Alex Freeman tapped it into the back of the net for Drake’s first goal of the season. Goalkeepers Haley Morris and Dennis Brooke each played one half in the shutout and 1-0 victory. If Drake’s offense seemed subdued in North Dakota, they appeared the exact opposite last Friday as it exploded on the road against the University of Illinois at Chicago Flames. An 18th minute pass from junior Hannah Wilder created an opportunity for Kayla Armstrong, who put the ball in the back of the net for the first goal of her senior campaign. Nine minutes later, midfielder sophomore Alyssa Brand picked up where she left off last year with a strike from the top of the box to put Drake up 2-0. The lead became three soon after as Armstrong scored again two minutes later, this time on an assist from Brand. The half was capped off with a 39th minute goal from Freeman, her second of the season. Last year’s scoring leader Rebecca Rodgers, who connected with Freeman on a pass that started near midfield, created the goal.

Brooke played goalie throughout the match and picked up her first shutout of 2016. The biggest test of Drake’s early season was Sunday’s match against the University of Wisconsin-Madison Badgers, a team picked to finish third in the Big 10 in the conference’s preseason poll. The Badgers showed their prowess, dominating on the stat sheet with 24 shots, six on goal and 15 corner kicks. The Bulldogs put up a fight, but were only able to put one shot on goal throughout the 110 minute, double-overtime match. The game ended in a nil-nil draw. Morris spent the whole game in net, recording five saves in the shutout. She was named Missouri Valley Conference Goalkeeper of the Week. Senior Sarah Grace Nicholson was also recognized for her contributions in the shutouts, being named MVC Defender of the Week. The Bulldogs will return at home on Sept. 2 for an evening game at Cownie Soccer Complex against South Dakota. Two days after they will face the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee at 1 p.m.

VOLLEYBALL

Volleyball wins tourney to start season Matthew Gogerty Sports Editor matthew.gogerty@drake.edu @matt_gogo

The semester is just getting started, but the Bulldogs Volleyball has been underway since the Aug. 26. They opened the season in Boca Raton, Florida, for the Florida Atlantic Tournament. The Bulldogs faced Northeastern University, then North Florida University, Florida Atlantic and then Bethune-Cookman University. So far this season the Bulldogs have secured three wins in their first four matches. That performance secured a share of the victory in the tourney, the third consecutive year that Drake Volleyball has won a tournament to start the season. The Bulldogs were able to secure the tournament win marking three straight years of the team winning tournaments to open a season. The Bulldogs came out strong against Northeastern in their first match of 2016. Junior Kyla Inderski garnered

19 kills in the match, which marks a career high for her. The kills came on 46 attempts for a .238 attack percentage. Senior Makena Schoene added 14 kills in this game as well. This game also saw senior middle blocker Capris Quaites back on the court for the first time in almost a year after sustaining an injury that benched her last season. The Bulldogs had a total of nine team blocks and won the match three sets to one: 25-21, 25-19, 18-25, and 25-20. Drake came out in the second match of the day against North Florida with Inderski and Schoene again leading the team in kills. Inderski matched her career high she set in the earlier in the day with another 19, while Schoene added another 13. The second match ended up in a five-set battle. After losing the first two games, the Bulldogs battled back. Clutch back-to-back kills late in the third set from Inderski and Schoene off of feeds from seasoned senior setter Chandelle Davidson kept Drake alive. Back-to-back kills from Inderski followed by an ace from Davidson closed out the fourth set: 26-24.

Despite fighting for another chance at the win in game five, North Florida was able to dominate the final set with a 10-1 lead early on. The match ended two sets to three for a Bulldog loss. The Bulldogs third match came on Aug. 27 against the tournament hosts, Florida Atlantic. In an effort similar to the first two matches, Inderski led the team in kills with 14. Junior Kameo Pope added another 10. Most assists came from Davidson and freshman Paige Aspinwall, recording 15 and 14 respectively, Michelle Thommi added another seven. The Bulldogs shut out Florida Atlantic three sets to zero: 25-18, 25-21, 25-18. It was essentially the same story later in the afternoon in Drake’s final match against Bethune-Cookman. Inderski added another 11 kills and brought her attack percentage on the weekend up to .289. The Bulldogs were able to secure the shut out win. The Bulldogs returned to the Knapp Center last night to host South Dakota State. That match began after the Times-Delphic went to print.

CROSS-COUNTRY COLUMN

Summer wasn’t lost on cross-country The telltale signs of an ending summer are beginning to appear on Drake’s campus. First-year students roam the hallways wondering where room 212 is, one or two people have contracted pink eye from the foam party, the Drake squirrels are tying on their dinner bibs and the ever-present background noise of coaches on blow horns drifts in from the stadium. Many a student dreads this time of the year—but not the cross-country runner. The cross-country runner has spent the past three months rolling out of bed before dawn, lacing up her shoes and plodding out into the dark and empty streets to get in a bout of training before the heat hits. For the past three months, the lonely dirt roads and her own shadow have been the cross country runner’s only companions on these largely solo runs, save the blessed days that some brave soul has stepped forth to join her. For the past three months, the cross-country runner has watched the summer drip slowly on by, she patiently waited for its end.

It is important to note that the cross-country runner does not dislike the summer months, though they may be tedious and often times treacherous as the runner re-teaches her body how to move fast and far. Rather, the summer months are similar to the weeks leading up to Christmas that a child experiences— anticipation of the joy that awaits, if only he or she can be good for the next few weeks. So too does the cross country runner anticipate the beginning of the season in the fall, all while putting in mile after mile in chase of a stellar season, which he will surely have if only he can stay healthy these next few weeks. The weeks have now passed and the time has finally come. It is the cross-country runner’s longawaited awakening. Each week this column will discuss the riveting happenings of the Drake University men and women’s cross country teams as we train, pace and race. Our first meet is next Friday at Iowa State—a low-key opener to gauge the team’s fitness levels and a starting point for creating goals

and plans to reach them. The teams have been fortunate to add on a large group of firstyear students, and also are in the middle of a search for a new head track and field coach, so it shall be a year of many changes and new beginnings. We aspire to get better each meet, and after each meet we will share one athlete’s new best mark, so be on the lookout for those once the racing gets underway. #GetAnotherOne

Bailee Cofer

Columnist bailee.cofer@drake.edu

Drake Football. For a lot of people this causes excitement. Another season of autumn weather, sitting outside shivering in Drake Stadium on Friday nights. It means hot cocoa, curling up under blankets, hats, mittens, all brazened with Bulldog emblems. The colors blue and white; Bulldog pride. Exhilarated at the thought of a win, the players battle it out. The fans, at least the die-hard fans, the parents, the students and coaches all cheering and yelling for the players on the field. For the players though, it means something more, it means hard work and dedication- day in and day out. It means virtually no days off. And the fall season isn’t just the time they are working that hard. They are putting in work all year long. The summer was spent receiving accolades, practicing and preparing for the season that opens Sept. 3rd at home against Quincy University. Drake finished last season with five wins and six losses, and all five of their wins came at home. Even though last season left more to be desired, some players still enjoyed receiving accolades over the summer. Tight end Eric Saubert, a fifth-year senior, received first-team All-Pioneer Football League honors and All-American accolades from three different organization, while Taylor Coleman was a nominee for the 25th Anniversary Allstate AFCA Good Works Team. To receive these honors, players must be exceptional both on and off the field. Obviously. So there are some good seeds in the roster who worked hard all

season last year. And all summer long this year. But where are they falling short? And what will be different this season? Hopefully Saubert can be relied upon to pick up some of that burden. Apparently he is drawing attention from NFL scouts. As a senior last year, Saubert had 580 receiving yards, 55 receptions, and had a total of seven touchdowns. Drake, being such a small school, doesn’t generally produce NFL caliber players. So it is interesting to fans that Saubert could potentially reach such heights. Given this fact, it will be an interesting season to say the least. Even if they can only produce a 50 percent win margin. To see a player and alum flourish and be considered for the highest level of professional football, is a sight. However, we hope that we can watch and cheer the Bulldogs on into some big victories, especially when they open the season this week at Drake Stadium.

Matthew Gogerty

Sports Editor matthew.gogerty@drake.edu @matt_gogo

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL COLUMN

MLB-leading Chicago Cubs ‘Try not to suck’ The Chicago Cubs have had their best season since 2008. They currently have the best record in the National League Central, where they lead by 14 games over the St. Louis Cardinals, and the best record in all of Major League Baseball. In a stunning performance on Monday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Cubs were able to secure an 8-7 win in the 13th inning at Wrigley. It was the first of a three-game series and it seems that the Cubs have their work cut out for them. In 2015, the Cubs battled the Pirates for the wildcard seat and it was not an easy task. Then they easily beat the Cards for the playoff spot before a disappointing four-game sweep suffered at the hands of the New York Mets in the National League Championship Series. As a die-hard Cubs fan, this season has been a sight for sore eyes. Realistically, that expression doesn’t do it justice; my eyes are past the point of sore. I couldn’t bear to watch the Cubs until 2015 when we got manager Joe Maddon and finally put a roster together that was worth the time spent watching. It’s a taboo topic when I speak with other Cubs fans. When I say something like, “Man, I think we’ll make it this year,” their reactions are such that you would think they’d take their shoe off and throw it at me. But I’m an optimist. Maybe I’m just too young to be so cynical. Call it what you want. Even when we lost Kyle Schwarber, a dominant center fielder and power hitter, to injury in the beginning of the season, I retained hope. It was tragic and saddening, but I stayed positive.

Curse? What curse? Losing a player to a torn ACL happens, it happens all the time. Why lose faith in Maddon, the team’s new leader. and his simple motto: “Try not to suck?” Plus they still have big hitters in Dexter Fowler and Anthony Rizzo. Then there is Kris Bryant whose batting average went from .289 in 2015 to .305 in 2016. People dwell too much on the superstition. They think the Steve Bartman Incident in 2003 was a component of the Billy Goat Curse. It was the closest the Cubs had been to playing in the World Series since their last time in it, all the way back in 1945. They were only five outs away, then after Bartman’s famed interference from the stands cost the Cubs a crucial out, the Florida Marlins put together a gamewinning eight-run rally. Then there was the famed Back to the Future’s prediction that Chicago would win it all last year It was a close one, the closest they had been since 2003, but I think the professor and Michael J. Fox were one year off. 2016. Fly the W.

Matthew Gogerty

Sports Editor matthew.gogerty@drake.edu @matt_gogo