Mitchell College Sports Roundup

Mitchell College posted two wins in soccer and competed in women's volleyball and cross-country competitions on Saturday. The following information was provided by David Longolucco, sports information director at Mitchell College:

Men's Soccer: Mitchell 1, Anna Maria 0

The Mitchell College men’s soccer team scored its only goal in the second half of a 1-0 victory over Anna Maria College on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Field.

The Mariners (2-0-1 overall) were active on the offensive end the entire first half but broke through for the lone score in the 62nd minute off the foot of senior James Gleason (Old Lyme, Conn./Hyde School). The AMCATS (0-4-0 overall) spent the rest of the contest trying to net the equalizer but just couldn’t find the back of the net.

Mitchell was the aggressor in the opening stanza and outshot Anna Maria 13-7 in the half. AMCATS goalie Mike Dandurand (Warwick, R.I./Pilgrim) stopped all eight shots on goal, however, to keep the game scoreless at the halftime whistle. Mitchell’s best scoring chance came just eight minutes into the game when freshman Jason Kirby (Cresskill, N.J./Cresskill) worked his way through the defense and sent a shot off the crossbar.

Just over 16 minutes into the second half, Gleason put the Mariners ahead with his third goal of the season. The play began in Mitchell’s defensive end with goalkeeper Kevin Woodford (Niantic, Conn./Morgan School) sending a long goal kick over the midfield stripe that bounced twice and skipped over Anna Maria’s back line. Gleason played the hop perfectly and tracked the ball down before sliding a shot past Dandurand into the left side of the goal. The assist was Woodford’s second of the season.

Anna Maria kept pressuring the Mitchell defense over the final third of the game. Enco Lika (Worcester, Mass./Doherty) came off the bench and took seven shots, several of which were struck well but just off target.

Dandurand finished with a game-high 13 saves to keep the AMCATS in contention. Woodford made four stops on the day to record his first clean sheet of the season.

Mitchell returns to action at Coast Guard on Wednesday, September 14 at 4 p.m. Anna Maria will next host Becker College on Monday, September 12 at 7 p.m.

Women's Soccer: Mitchell 2, Rhode Island 0

The Mitchell College women’s soccer team opened the 2011 season with a 2-0 victory over Rhode Island College on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Field.

Freshman Madeline Crow (Rockville, Md./Quince Orchard) scored both goals to make her collegiate debut a memorable one, and sophomore goalkeeper Kaylee Woodford (Niantic, Conn./Morgan School) made seven saves en route to the shutout.

Mitchell (1-0-0 overall) got on the scoreboard in the 15th minute on an unassisted effort by Crow. The Mariners played a ball into the box but failed to finish, and the clear attempt by a Rhode Island defender came out to Crow just outside the 18-yard box. She lofted a shot that snuck under the crossbar and just over the keeper’s outstretched arms for her first career goal.

Mitchell led 1-0 at the halftime intermission and wasted little time extending the margin in the second stanza. Senior Leslie Briggs (Dighton, Mass./Dighton-Rehoboth) set up the scoring chance from the right side, dribbling the ball toward goal along the end line before sending a cross in front of the goal. Classmate Nikki Hoxie (Winsted, Conn./Gilbert School) slid but couldn’t connect with the ball at the near post, but Crow got a clean look at it on the backside of the play and buried it for her second tally of the contest.

The Anchorwomen (2-2-0 overall) kept up their attack with hopes of cutting the deficit in half. Lauren Maisano (Bristol, R.I./Mt. Hope) made several nice runs up the right sideline before crossing the ball into the box, but Rhode Island was never able to capitalize on the opportunities. Goalkeeper Abygayle Fisher (Exeter, N.H./Exeter) finished the game with three saves.

Mitchell returns to action at Coast Guard on Wednesday, September 14 at 7 p.m. Rhode Island will next host Salve Regina University on Tuesday, September 13 at 6 p.m.

Women's Volleyball

The Mitchell College women’s volleyball team opened the 2011 season on Saturday with a doubleheader split at Pine Manor College.

The Mariners (1-1 overall) opened the day with a 3-0 loss to the host Gators before bouncing back for a 3-0 victory over the College of New Rochelle. Mitchell defeated New Rochelle by scores of 25-21, 25-22 and 25-17 and lost to Pine Manor by scores of 25-15, 25-21 and 25-23.

Freshman Jaclyn Tempkins (Nashville, Tenn./Currey Ingram Academy) led the Mariners with 11 kills and five blocks against New Rochelle. Classmate Emily Stracuzzi (East Lyme, Conn./East Lyme) chipped in with eight kills while newcomer Nicole Terni (Ledyard, Conn./Ledyard) and senior Marie Connelly (Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal Spellman) handed out 22 and 11 assists, respectively. Terni also served for a team-high five aces in the match.

Senior Bianca Young (Bridgeport, Conn./Kolbe Cathedral) paced Mitchell in the opener with nine kills against Pine Manor. Terni and Connelly combined for 25 assists in the match while junior Arianna Thomas (Fresno, Calif./Clovis West) finished with a team-high 11 digs.

Mitchell will host Saint Joseph College in its home opener on Wednesday, September 14 at the Yarnall Athletic Center. The match is slated to begin at 7 p.m.

Cross Country

The Mitchell College men’s and women’s cross country teams opened the 2011 season at the Trinity College Bantam Invitational on Saturday morning at Wickham Park.

The Mariners benefited from several strong individual performances against competition that included teams from the Division I and II ranks. Freshman Sherif Ali turned in the best performance on the men’s side, covering the five-kilometer course in a time of 17:33 to finish 19th overall in the field of 92. On the women’s side, freshman Bridget Burns (Clark, N.J./Bishop Ahr) posted the fastest time of the day by a Mitchell runner at 21:05 on the four-kilometer course.

Ali was one of three rookies to pace the men’s team, as classmates Evan Garrity and Jake Ustjanaskous also made impressive debuts. Garrity finished 49th overall in a time of 18:53 while Ustjanaskous placed 61st in 19:18. As a squad the Mariners finished in eighth place out of eight teams.

Sophomore Katie Buchanan (Fairfield, Conn./Fairfield Warde), running in her first race for the Mariners, placed 69th overall in a time of 23:01. The Mitchell women finished seventh out of seven teams.

The University of Hartford finished atop the team standings in both the men’s and women’s races. Hartford’s Megan Barry (16:57) was the first place finisher for the women’s race while American International’s Glarius Rop (15:34) placed first in the men’s race.

Next up for the Mariners will be the Mitchell Invitational on Friday, September 16 at Stenger Farm Park in Waterford, CT. Races begin at 4:30 p.m.