Broadside Sports

John Powell, Assistant Sports Editor

Overview: The George Mason University women’s soccer team looks for another win as they take on the James Madison Dukes. Going into the Mason Tournament, the team has won every game played in the state of Virginia. The Patriots hope to continue their home success against the Dukes.

Mason: The Patriots (5-1-0) came out of the Tribe Invitational with a tournament win and a ranking as the seventh-best team in the Mid-Atlantic region.

Mason has won its four games at home, scoring a combined 14 goals while holding opponents to only two, bringing them to fifth in the nation in scoring offense.

The main contributor to this new ranking is senior forward Kelly Keelan, who won the CAA Women’s Soccer Player of the Week award. This is the second time Keelan has garnered this award, in addition to last year when she played as a goaltender, showing her positional diversity.

Freshman forward Tiana Kallenberger won the CAA Women’s Soccer Co-Rookie of the Week award. Second in goals and assists on the team, she is a foundational forward for the team. Kallenberger and Keelan are both ranked in the top 60 in the nation in scoring.

James Madison University: The Dukes (4-3-0) have found themselves as the fourth ranked team in the Mid-Atlantic on the back of their goaltender, making up for a non-potent offense.

The Dukes’ redshirt junior goaltender Diane Wszalek has 28 saves over the season including two games where she recorded at least eight saves. Wszalek looks to rebound from last year’s 2-1 loss to Mason, in which junior defender Kimmy Moss notched the game-winner.

The Dukes look to wrap up a four-game road trip with a win before opening up a three-game set at home.

Note: Records and statistics for both teams retrieved Sept. 16.

Tim Blank, Broadside Correspondent

The men’s soccer team failed to make an appearance in the NCAA Tournament the year after their last appearance prior to last season. This year’s team feels as though they can buck that trend of two years ago and make a second straight appearance in the NCAA tournament.

Currently, the team has a 2-2 overall record after splitting a pair of games and finishing in third place in the Adidas Gamecock Classic in Columbia, S.C. Many of the players that are on the team think the current team has more talent than the one from last year.

“We’re slightly ahead of last year’s team; we’re playing well as a unit. We just have a few things to fix here and there,” said sophomore defender Eric Zuehsow.

The team will play the Longwood Lancers at George Mason Stadium on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The Lancers lost 2-0 against the Old Dominion Monarchs at the beginning of the season and played against the Virginia Commonwealth University Rams on Sunday, so the team knows that the Lancers have played against some good competition so far during the season.

“They have a good program down there, so we have to be ready for them,” said Zuehsow.

What has always been apparent, even though the team has not yet fully developed a lot of team chemistry, is that the team has the confidence that is needed to make a return trip to the NCAA tournament this year and possibly make it even further than they did a year ago.

“We know that we have more talent than last year’s [team]. It’s a matter of us understanding each other,” said sophomore midfielder Ryan Gracia, who scored a goal in the season opener against the Howard Bison.

After the game against the Lancers, the team travels down to Richmond for a Saturday game against the Rams. Following that game is a rematch of their second round NCAA Tournament game from last season on Sept. 29, when they play the Maryland Terrapins.

“We want to perform better in big games, especially against Maryland,” said Zuehsow.

After those games, Mason will be challenged to defend their conference title against other CAA opponents for the rest of the season, and the players on the team are confident that they are going to win it back-to-back.

“We just need to gel. When we do come together, we’re going to be really good. It’s only a matter of time,” said Gracia.

Fox Parker, Broadside Correspondent

George Mason University women’s soccer team will play against the University of Maryland Baltimore County Retrievers on Tuesday, Sept. 22 at George Mason Stadium. As of Friday, the Patriots are 5-1, matching their win total for the entire 2008 season.

Mason will take on a winless UMBC team that has scored only one goal this season, while allowing their opponents to tally 12 goals against. Conversely, the Patriots have racked up 25 goals in their six games and have allowed just six against.

The scoring onslaught is led by redshirt junior midfielder Omolyn Davis who leads the Patriots with six goals. Davis is followed by freshman forward Tiana Kallenberger and senior forward Kelly Keelan, who have four goals apiece. Keelan is also filling up the stat sheet as Mason’s assist leader with five.

Freshman goalkeeper Katie Frey has been solid for the Patriots in the net. Frey has started five of the six matches and made 14 saves in her young Patriot career while only allowing four goals.

After the match against the Retrievers, the Patriots will open up their CAA schedule against the James Madison Dukes on Thursday Sept. 24 at George Mason Stadium. The Patriots are 3-4-2 against the Dukes over the last seven years. Mason won the last match 2-1 last year in Harrisonburg.

Kevin Nydam, Broadside Correspondent

It may prove to be a difficult task to find someone on campus who is not thrilled about the start of this year’s George Mason University women’s volleyball season. With a 9-3 record to begin with and taking three out of four matches in the N.C. State Classic last weekend, the team is heading in a positive direction.

As this college season is the last for seniors Sam Simmonds, Laura Turner and Rebecca Walter, they are determined to give their all for the opportunity to leave with something to hold on to for the rest of their lives.

“There’s a special feeling about this season—everybody’s always positive,” said Simmonds, the 5-foot-11-inch lefty right-side hitter from South Australia.

She is a psychology major and plans to either return to Australia for graduate school, travel or work towards a child development program in Africa. Simmonds began this season with 155 sets played, 220 kills and 198 digs in the books.

She first started playing volleyball after someone recommended she play because she was tall and left-handed. Sam experimented with it and has been playing ever since.

After playing a few years in Australia, she met Paul Koncir, the assistant coach for Mason at the time. Koncir is now the head coach at Towson University.

He told her if she ever wanted to play for Mason, the opportunity was just a phone call away. After some thought, Simmonds accepted the offer and became a student at Mason.

Simmonds enjoys surfing and also plays netball in the offseason when she is not playing volleyball.

If given the option, Simmonds would choose to play beach volleyball because of her love for the beach and the great atmosphere it provides.

“I’m so proud of the chemistry the team has this year, and I’m looking forward to the conference season,” said Laura Turner.  Turner, given the nickname “L.T.” by her teammates, is the 6-foot-3-inch middle hitter/blocker hailing from St. Louis, Mo.

Over the past three years, L.T. has recorded 280 sets played, 537 kills and 112 digs. As a communication major, she may return to her home in St. Louis after graduating and search for a job in the field. Turner may end her competitive volleyball career at Mason, feeling that she has reached the climax of her career at this point.

LT briefly played volleyball prior to high school, but she acquired her love for the game during her high school years. While playing in various leagues and tournaments, Turner met Koncir and was impressed with his coaching ability. He invited her to be a part of the Mason team and she agreed to play.

Turner prefers indoor volleyball for competition, but would rather play beach volleyball for fun.

Rebecca Walter is a senior outside hitter from Monbulk, Victoria in Australia who led the team last year with 311 kills. She also had 262 sets played, 927 kills and 571 digs over the past three years on the team.

She is very excited for the 2009 season and is impressed by the way the team built its chemistry, especially during the spring.

Before she was in college, one of her previous coaches took up a position in the U.S., where he mentioned her name to fellow coaches he came into contact with.

Some of the coaches looked Walter up and asked her if she would be interested in playing for them at the collegiate level. Mason was one of the schools that expressed interest.

After about a six-month period, she decided to attend Mason. After graduation, Walter plans on either continuing on her psychology studies in graduate school at Mason, taking up a coaching position for the team or looking for a contract to play volleyball in Europe.

Walter first started playing in high school and was greatly influenced by her coaches.

She prefers to play indoor volleyball because “beach volleyball is a different game altogether.”

Simmonds and Walter were excited for the opportunity three years ago when they decided to embark on their journey to the U.S. As roommates in their freshman year, they were glad to be able to take on the challenge of going to a school in a different country together.

The seniors found that having to travel all over the country, sometimes for five days in one trip, has its advantages and disadvantages. On one side, it is great to see other schools, play in different facilities and see different parts of the country.

On the other side, the team misses out on certain things that come with campus life and have less free time.

Travelling can also be physically and emotionally exhausting, but as Simmonds said, “Once you step on the court, you forget all that.”

The team has taken advantage of starting out fresh, especially since they are currently on top of the conference standings. The team plays next on Oct. 2 at 7 p.m. against the rival VCU Rams.

Chris DeMarco, Staff Writer

Would a playoff system result in Bowl Championship Series busters Boise State and Utah advancing to the National Championship Game? It might. Over the last four years, undefeated Boise State and Utah teams have shocked heavily favored Oklahoma and Alabama, respectively. In both of those seasons, both Boise State and Utah were the only undefeated teams left standing, but yet did not have the opportunity to play for a national championship.

A playoff system would be an interesting concept for college football. The current BCS system just does not cut it. Lackluster teams not in the top 10 have no business playing in the BCS games. Conferences should not have automatic bids into the BCS games either. There is no reason a lackluster team from the ACC or the Big East should be any way involved in the BCS. In previous years, we have seen multiple teams playing in the BCS games that were ranked outside the top 10 in 2008 with 19th-ranked Virginia Tech and 12th-ranked Cincinnati, and 2007 with 14th-ranked Wake Forest.

Only the top-rated teams should be eligible for the BCS. It would not be that hard to have a playoff in college football containing the top eight teams, or if you want to really make it interesting: top 16.

Just think a playoff that included teams like Florida, Oklahoma, Texas, Alabama, USC, Penn State, Utah, and Texas Tech going up against each other? But all college football wants to do is make it harder for themselves. A playoff system makes the most sense while the current BCS system is always controversial and always criticized.

It is so bad that even President Obama wants to propose legislation enforcing a playoff system. I can see the major concern with a playoff system being that it might take the student-athletes away from class and their winter vacation. Honestly, I guarantee every student-athlete would gladly give up their break to play for a National Championship. It would be just like March Madness, but less games. They do it for college basketball, so why not for football?

It is not like they would lose a whole lot of advertising. They can easily keep the other bowl games for the other qualifying teams. Plus, viewership would likely increase since it is a playoff system to crown a legitimate national champion. A playoff system would also give the so-called “mid-majors” a legit shot at winning a title, since it is almost impossible for a team outside of the big six conferences to ever make it in the BCS formula.

Give them a shot to prove themselves worthy or unworthy. It is worth a shot, but the heads of the major conferences do not want to see that happen. God forbid if another Boise State or Utah defeats a national powerhouse again. We see this type of discrimination against mid majors, like George Mason University, during the selection process for March Madness. The big conference heads do not want to see mid-major conferences like the CAA sending at large bids to the Big Dance. The same mentality is used when it comes to the disappointment known as the BCS.

The only way the little guys will be able to prove that they belong is if the president of the NCAA allows a more efficient system to determine the national champion, but until then, the little guy will be overlooked and disappointed.

Chris DeMarco, Staff Writer

For someone who already despises the Washington Redskins, like myself, they will have another reason to dislike the Redskins and owner Daniel Snyder.

Everyone in the sports world knows that Snyder was a horrible owner, but now we find out he has no heart.

Over the last two years, the economy has gone from bad to worse, and we all have felt the repercussions in big ways.

Apparently, there are some Redskins season tickets holders, who pay a ridiculous sum of money in the first place, and now they find out because of the bad economy, they can no longer pay for the season tickets.

They try to back out of their lengthy contracts with the team and end up getting sued. In most cases, these fans are being court ordered to pay more than two times the amount they were paying in the first place.

In The Washington Post’s two-part story, we see certain circumstances in which the financial burden cripples them.

A grandmother, who backed out of the agreement due to financial reasons, was ordered by the court to pay close to $66,000 and is close to bankruptcy.

It is completely despicable. Why are the Redskins not more understanding? They claim to have a waiting list over 150,000 names long.

If this is the case, why not let those who want out of their contracts out and let those who are waiting get the tickets? Where is the logic in suing your fan base? How soulless and heartless can one person be? The Redskins are not even competitive.

They have not been relevant this decade, except a playoff appearance or two, but that is beside the point. Even the New York Yankees are at least lowering their once-ridiculous ticket prices so their fans can see the first-place Yankees.

What is the difference between the Yankees and the Redskins? The Yankees are constantly competitive and are always in the hunt for the World Series while the Redskins cannot even make the playoffs.

Even if the Redskins were decent, there is no reasonable explanation on why they should be doing this. According to Forbes, the Redskins are the second most profitable organization behind the Cowboys, and we now know why.

They want you to pay for the season tickets and then pay twice that amount once you decide you want out. It is a perfect way to make more money since Snyder has run every other business into bankruptcy.

Snyder has solidified himself as more than a bad owner, he is just plain evil. He makes George Steinbrenner, Jerry Jones and Al Davis look like cream puffs after this incident.

If I were a Redskins player, I would be embarrassed to wear the burgundy and gold. There is no decency in the Redskins’ front office, and it is pathetic.

While listening to 106.7 The Fan radio station, I have heard callers actually defending the Redskins.

Even former Redskin LaVar Arrington was blown away by the Redskins’ actions and some of the callers responses.

Maybe I am just a compassionate person since I feel for these people since they are just like you and me.

The actions taken by Snyder and the Redskins are disgusting and vile. It is stuff like this that makes me even more proud to call myself an Eagles fan.

Fernanda Bartels, Broadside Correspondent

Being a student-athlete is not easy. We have to work our classes and homework around practice, weight lifting, team duties, rehabilitation, icing, stretching and a to-do list that never seems to end. When I finally take a breath, I used to start questioning myself: Why do I spend all my time and energy playing volleyball?

The answer came to me a few years ago during a match. One of my teammates hit an incredible ball crosscourt on an angle that I thought was impossible to be reached. We got the point. I looked at her and she had a delightful smile on her face.

All my teammates were celebrating like there was nothing better in the world than that point. The feeling that I had that day was worth all the hard work, the sweat left on the court and the hours dedicated to volleyball. On that play, I realized that I practice for those moments.

Another situation during this season reminded me of the reason why I play volleyball. In our first match of the season against American University in the D.C. Volleyball Challenge, our head coach Pat Kendrick spoke to us before the game, as is our routine.

Along with years of experience as a player, Kendrick is entering her 25th season as the head coach at George Mason University. After talking about the strengths of our group and tactics for the match, Kendrick looked at us and said, “You guys got to play volleyball tonight!” Her eyes were glowing, and she had a big smile on her face. We all knew that there was nothing else Kendrick would rather be doing than coaching and playing volleyball.

Her eyes had something innocent and young about them, even after all those years dedicated to the sport. You could see her passion for volleyball through them. For me, there is nothing more inspiring than that.

Passion is what makes athletes overcome intense injuries, keep on going when you hit your limit, never give up, reach the unreachable, break records, or play a sport for 50 years and never get tired of it.

Passion is a fire inside you that tells you that you have no limit. Our best moments come from passionate actions. If you have a passion, no matter what it is—you know what I am talking about.

Volleyball is my passion. It has been my passion for the last nine years and it is part of who I am. I come from a family of volleyball players; my grandmother is almost 70 years old and she still plays volleyball.

During this semester, I want to share my passion for volleyball with you; including all the insights, struggles and joy of a student-athlete life.

About the Writer: Fernanda Bartels is a setter for the women’s volleyball team. She is a junior and is a communication major.

Brian T. Chan, Sports Editor

Two years ago, baseball writer for ESPN Insider Jerry Crasnick argued that the best closer debacle was between J.J. Putz, formerly of the Seattle Mariners, and current Boston Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon.

Closers are known for two things: saves and heavy metal music. They have a reputation of instilling fear in opposing batters. The ideology behind winning ball games seems to be that teams must find reliable closers, ones that have the mentality of pitching in the ninth inning and ending games with a handshake with their catchers.

Trevor Hoffman, who pitched with the San Diego Padres, Florida Marlins, and Milwaukee Brewers, and New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera are currently the only two players to have reached the 500-save club.

Yet, most of today’s current closers did not originally start their careers picking up saves. Many pitchers became closers after converting from a starter. Rivera was one of them. Joe Nathan of the Minnesota Twins earned his first save as a member of the San Francisco Giants in 1999.

Nathan did not get his second save until 2004, a year after he was traded to the Twins. By then, he was already a 30-year-old, pitching for a small-market team. Rivera and Nathan are among a short list of long-term closers in the game today.

Other big-name closers include Brad Lidge of the Philadelphia Phillies, Francisco Rodriguez of the New York Mets and Francisco Cordero of the Cincinnati Reds.

While Rodriguez and Cordero have at least 230 saves under their belts, Lidge is approaching the 200-save milestone. Lidge is an interesting case, especially since he converted all of his 41 save opportunities last season and won the World Series. This season, Lidge leads the league with 10 blown saves and a 7.15 ERA. Despite the complete turnaround he did not hope for, the Phillies still choose to keep him in as their closer. This is where the problem of having a primary closer emerges.

The closer, usually regarded as the best of the bullpen, has the task of putting pressure on opponents even though it seems the pressure is also on him.

The interesting part of baseball is that there is more emphasis on the ninth inning than the preceding innings. Assuming the score in the seventh or eighth innings stays unchanged entering the ninth inning, the team leading would have a higher win probability in the latter innings.

Why does the ninth inning has the greatest importance among all the other innings? Like any other inning, there is great uncertainty in the ninth inning, where a walk-off home run can change the complexion of the game.

Even the great Hoffman could not stave off the four consecutive home run-ninth inning from the Los Angeles Dodgers three years ago. Instead of having a primary closer, the alternative is the bullpen-by-committee.

The argument in support for this strategy is that the closer can be a very expensive asset. The Cleveland Indians gambled on former starter Kerry Wood for $20 million over two years and it has not paid off for them so far.

To examine the case where there was no set closer, the Mariners began the season with flamethrower Brandon Morrow as their closer.

David Aardsma, who never recorded a single save prior to this season, seized the closer role. The question that has emerged in the past few months is whether Aardsma, who has 34 saves, is seen as a long-term piece for the Mariners as his value escalates.

For now, the Mariners hit the jackpot with their $419,000 closer. Their division rival Oakland Athletics wisely manages their closers as if they were playing the stock market.

This season, the Athletics have first-time closer and rookie Andrew Bailey pitching in the ninth inning. Before him, there was Huston Street, who was part of last offseason’s deal for slugger Matt Holliday. Before Street, the Athletics acquired their upgrade in Octavio Dotel.

Before Dotel, Keith Foulke pitched one of his best seasons, recording a career-high 43 saves. As a result, the Athletics were compensated first-round and supplemental round draft picks after the Red Sox signed Foulke in the following offseason.

In order to acquire Foulke from the Chicago White Sox the year before, the Athletics sent Billy Koch, who had a one-year stay, but did so by increasing his value. Before Koch, the Athletics gained value from Jason Isringhausen, who was part of the Athletics’ early success in 2000 and 2001. Before Isringhausen, there was Billy Taylor, who was the original closer in the Billy Beane regime.

Why were the Athletics successful in the past decade? While working on a tight budget, the Athletics were able to acquire undervalued assets for highly-valued closers, whose value only appreciated in the short run.

The Mets attempted to bolster the back-end of their bullpen by acquiring two closers in Rodriguez and Putz, who were formerly divisional rivals, but it seems their plan backfired on them. Putz has been disappointing this season, and what is even more disappointing is that his season-ending injury diminishes his value again. Putz looks to return to his dominant 2007 form, but right now, he is one pricey setup man.

Maybe there is an argument about why it is necessary for a primary closer. The Red Sox experimented with their bullpen-by-committee, which had failed miserably. Papelbon took over as the full-time closer in 2006 and has been one of the top closers in the game. The same could be said about Eric Gagne, who currently pitches in the independent Can-Am League. At the end of the day, closers save games, but they may not be able to save their jobs of saving games.

Brian T. Chan, Sports Editor

Overview: The women’s soccer team returns to the pitch on Friday to take on the Long Island Blackbirds. George Mason University opened the 2009 season with three wins, their first 3-0 start since 1993, but dropped their first game against the Pennsylvania Quakers. Mason is 2-0 at home so far this season.

Mason: The team is led by senior forward Kelly Keelan, who has two goals and two assists entering this past weekend’s two games in Williamsburg.

Although she spent part of the season as the goalkeeper, Keelan led Mason with seven goals and 14 points last season. This season, she has fully committed herself as an offensive player.

Redshirt junior midfielder Omolyn Davis is off to a good start with a team-leading three goals. Davis transferred from Lindsey Wilson College, located in Kentucky, and sat out last season due to NCAA regulations.

Freshman forward Tiana Kallenberger will be one of the key pieces to Mason’s future.

Long Island: The Blackbirds started the season 4-0 and have yet to allow a goal from the opponents.

The Blackbirds defeated the San Francisco Dons and San Jose State Spartans to capture the University of San Francisco Odwalla Nike Classic.

The team is off to their best start in school history. Junior forward Kayleigh Morgan leads the team with two goals, which came from the 2-0 win over the Dons.

Morgan ended up being named the tournament’s most valuable player. She returns for the 2009 season after compiling the team’s second-most nine goals last season.

Sophomore forward Ariana Calderon had a successful rookie campaign, leading the team with 10 goals and 22 points.

The defending Northeast Conference Player of the Year will be a player to look out for on the field.

John Powell, Assistant Sports Editor

Coming off a three-match sweep in the Patriot Invitational, the women’s volleyball team showed that their early season success was no fluke. On Wednesday night, George Mason University traveled to Catonsville, Md. and dismantled the UMBC Retrievers 25-18, 25-21, 25-15.

Mason’s success came down to two players: sophomore middle blocker Kelsey Bohman and junior middle blocker and opposite hitter Holly Goode. Bohman was named the CAA Defensive Player of the Week on Tuesday. She has already tied the school single-match block total, accomplishing the feat by making 11 total blocks against Cornell in the Patriot Invitational. In addition to the CAA weekly recognition, she was named the Best Hitter of the Patriot Invitational.

Bohman continued her defensive hot streak Friday night by recording a team high four blocks for the game. In addition, she bolstered the team’s attack column by registering an attack percent of .571. This was accomplished by smashing four kills without making an error.

Goode compiled 12 kills over the game, making the best of the 23 chances she had during the night. Most notably, she was responsible for garnering 15 of Mason’s total 53 points during the match.

Former CAA All-Rookie Team selection junior setter Fernanda Bartels made stellar defensive plays during the night, most notably by making eight of the team’s 37 digs. This shows how she is keeping up with last year’s statistics where she was second in the team with 220 total digs. The Patriots had a good defensive night overall with five players turning in at least six digs.

The first set was clearly dominated by the Mason’s attack, shown by the 8-2 run that was put together after giving up the first point of the match on a Retrievers’ kill. The lead was never too close in the first set with the smallest margin at three points. The final time the Retrievers pulled close, the Patriots capped the set with a four-point run.

The second set was much closer. The lead changed hands four times until the Patriots made another four-point run for the lead, which was never relinquished. The final point run came in the third set as they went 8-1 to gain a lead that would not be lost, guaranteeing the victory.

Mason (6-2) played this past weekend at the N.C. State Classic in Raleigh, N.C. against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, and against Xavier Musketeers, N.C. State Wolfpack and DePaul Blue Demons.