Eight years ago today, my friend Steve told me “I guess a plane crashed into a building somewhere…” as we walked into gym class. Little did I know at the time, that plane crash would change the course of history forever. We should all take a moment today to think about the people whose lives were affected by the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. I know I will.
The first week of classes for the 2009-10 school year has come and gone for CSS students. Hopefully by now, the freshman have adapted to their surroundings and have lost that confused look on their faces. Our sports teams are on the road this week, so no work for me this weekend. Instead, I’ll be focusing on homework! But without any further ado, here’s the first edition of Points and Prattle:
- I tried my hand at play-by-play for women’s soccer for the first time last weekend (vs. Wis.-River Falls). It’s a work in progress, but I think it turned out okay. I don’t believe I’ve been relieved of my duties yet, so I should get another shot soon.
- Speaking of women’s soccer, they picked up a pair of victories this week, including in the aforementioned Sunday afternoon meeting with the WIAC’s Falcons. First-year Saint Megan Stingle netted the overtime game-winner and then gave us a fantastic celebration photo. Wednesday’s 7-1 victory over the Northland LumberJills was a bit more understated, but still just as important, earning the Saints a current 1-0 record in the UMAC. As they say, you can’t win them all if you don’t win the first.
- Men’s soccer earned themselves a 6-0 win as well against Northland, and are now 2-0 to start the season, accomplishing a feat which, surprisingly, they have not done since 2004. Freshman Joshua Odukomaya earned himself seven points, including a hat trick and one assist. The Saints’ six-goal shutout was the largest margin of victory for the Saints since Oct. 12, 2007 when they defeated Martin Luther College by the same 6-0 score.
- While on that subject, congrats to Courtney Bonnick and Dustin James for sweeping the UMAC Player of the Week awards for Men’s Soccer! Dustin’s game-tying goal and Courtney’s game-winner made for quite an exciting game against Macalester last week.
- Football started their second season with a 40-19 loss to Concordia-Chicago, but not through lack of effort. The Saints had the lead – twice – and also made a late surge that fell short. Quarterback Jake Olson started the game, going 22-30 with 240 passing yards and 2 TDs including an 80-yard touchdown pass to Mike VanMassenhove before being relieved by Alex Thiry, who went 4-4 for 31 yards and a score. All in all, it was a disappointing loss but a good jumping off point for the young Saints.
- Women’s and men’s cross country finished third and fourth, respectively, in their first meet of the season, the Tom Barry Invitational. The meet was highlighted for CSS with impressive showings by Katelyn Meger, who finished third, and Tara Connolly, who finished eighth. Nick Mangan was the lone top-10 finisher for the men, but they all ran well.
- Last, but certainly not least, volleyball has gotten off to a slow start, but rebounded with their first victories of the season on Wednesday at the Augsburg triangular. Paige Hardy was the star of the day with 23 kills in two games against Augsburg and Wis.-River Falls. Their first win was all the 225th career win of volleyball head coach Dana Moore. Congrats!
- Speaking of Dana Moore, she was the second coach to do a Shout Out! for the CSS YouTube account. Check out hers or the first, starring head football coach Greg Carlson here.
- Not much for news this week at CSS, although men’s basketball and men’s track & field both added some impressive recruits for their upcoming seasons.
- If you haven’t already, become a fan of the Saints on Facebook and follow CSS or myself on Twitter. Warning: my tweets are often irrelevant and always random.
VOTS will return next Tuesday with the debut of my coach’s interview series, starting with head volleyball coach Dana Moore! We’ll talk about positive attitudes, slow starts, and how to truly appreciate volleyball. So, be sure to check that out!
Enjoy your weekend,
-jh
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