Megan PellegrinoMen’s Soccer
The men’s soccer team finished third in the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference after losing to rival Eastern University in the semi-finals of the PAC championships. The Cavaliers record dropped to 16-4 overall.
“I do believe the team worked hard this year and fulfilled our goals thus far. The result [of senior’s leadership] was us
jumping out to a 13-1 record in our first 14 games, and our only loss was by a score of 1-0 to Dickinson College, a top 25 team,” Coach Glen Jaskelewicz said.
“This year we struggled against the top competition in the league such as Eastern University and College of Misericordia and next year if we want to remain an upper-tier team in the region we’ll have to win those league games and important non-league games,” sophomore Jason Moran, a midfielder and communications major, said.
“After narrowly missing the PAC playoffs last year, our goals were to make the PAC playoffs and give ourselves a chance at a post-season bid either to the National Collegiate Athetlic Associtation tournament or Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament. The post season still is a very realistic possibility,” Jaskelewicz said.
The team was selected to make it’s first appearance ever in the ECAC Division III South Championships on Wednesday, Nov. 7 versus Swarthmore College.
Field Hockey
The field hockey team finished its 2007 season in a 3-2 overtime loss to Gwynedd-Mercy College in the first round of the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference playoffs. Under the leadership of Coach Jackie Neary the team has qualified for the conference championships for the 11th consecutive year, a conference record, according to the Cabrini College Athletics Web site. The women finished with an overall record of 8-12 with a 6-4 record in conference games.
“It was a tough start in the beginning. We were 0-8, early in September and I told the girls it’s not about wins and losses. It’s about making the playoffs and they did. I am so proud of how this team pushed through a tough start and managed to make the playoffs,” Coach Neary said. The team had 17 freshmen and six upper classmen.
“Next season the team will improve on knowing where each of us is on the field. I think this was a great building year and next year we will come out stronger,” sophomore Sarah Trzuskowski, a forward/midfielder and special education, elementary education major, said.
Men’s Cross Country
The men’s cross country team “had their best year since 2001,” Coach Tom O’Hora said. “Led by freshman Eddie Penetar, the men upset the defending champions College of Misericordia for the PAC Championship.”
Penetar, Miguel Amaya, Justin Walsh, Chris Sweeney and John Solewin each recieved All-PAC honors.
“The team definitely did an awesome job this season. There have been many ups and downs (injuries and such), but we all trained hard and came out on top as PAC champs,” senior Chris Sweeney, an accounting and Spanish major, said.
“The season is not over yet. We are looking forward to the regional meet to be held at Lehigh on Nov. 10. Eddie Penetar is looking to finish off his first season by qualifying for the NCAA National D III Championships,” O’Hora said.
“We’re a very close team and very comfortable with each other, which is a good thing. Next year, if the team has more discipline and obedience, they will surely continue to do as well as they’ve done this season, and most likely win PACs again and make it to Nationals,” Sweeney said.
Women’s Cross Country
The women’s cross country team faced many obstacles during the 2007 season, only to persevere and fight through the pain, literally.
“We started the season with high hopes, but it didn’t take long before the lofty expectations were dashed. First several ladies that we had counted on to help decided not to run. Then once the season got underway Lauren Gambescia and Kelly McEachern were out most of the season and only Kelly was able to run at PACs. The week before PACs another top runner, Diane Gapinski, suffered a stress fracture in her foot. It all added up to only having four healthy runners available to run in the championships. Kelly was able to come back strong enough to join Carolyn Roberts on the All-PAC team,” Coach Tom O’Hora said.
The team will join the men for the Regional meet at Lehigh on Nov. 10. Senior Carolyn Roberts will be looking to back to the NCAA Division III championships.
Women’s Soccer
The women’s soccer team’s season came to an end after a 6-0 loss against Eastern University in the semi-finals of the PAC Championships.
The team was ranked as a sixth seed going into the playoffs and reached the semi-finals with a penalty kick victory (after two sudden death overtime periods) upsetting third-seeded Marywood University in the first round of the playoffs. The Cavs overall record was 7-9-4.
“With only one senior in the program, the women’s soccer team has a very bright future. Last year the team finished in second place, losing to the eventual PAC Champions by one goal. This fall was more frustrating as the season was filled with many ups and downs,” Coach Ken Prothero said. “Nagging injuries, bad luck and some inconsistent plays on both sides of the ball hurt the team in big games this fall.”
“I think that we can definitely improve next year and keep on building what we already have. We are losing only one player next year and we have the strong core to continue on,” freshman Cheyenne White, a goalkeeper and biology and pre-med major, said.
“I think this season was a great learning experience for our team. We played with a tremendous amount of heart and passion last year and it paid off with wins that were earned through shear hard work. It will be interesting to see what the players do in the off season to prepare for the 2008 season. We have a lot of talent on this team and will surely have many quality kids try out next fall. Championships are won in the off-season. The competition for a spot on this squad will probably be the toughest it has ever been. We will be the team to beat next year,” Coach Prothero said.
The team has 22 potential returners, including captains Nikki Duggan, Christina Romano and Bittany Shields. In August, the women’s soccer team will be traveling to Brazil as part of their preseason.
Volleyball
The volleyball team lost to Neumann College 3-0 in the semi-finals of the PAC Championships. The Cavaliers ended their season with an overall mark of 19-9, tying the program record for single season wins.
“Our team really stepped up to the challenge of meshing new coaches and the loss of some players from last year. We stuck it out and we grew stronger as a team and were able to do what a lot of teams didn’t think we were going to do by finishing third in the PAC this season,” sophomore Traci Beltz, an outside hitter and exercise science and health promotion major, said.
“We are a very close team and are not graduating any seniors this year so we can only improve from here. Our small size this year made us comfortable playing with each other and with addition of some freshmen, we will be a stronger team next year and the years to come,” Beltz said.
