Looking Back at a Brilliant Weekend for Our Pioneers,Men's Soccer Takes On
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Sports recap: looking back at a brilliant weekend for our Pioneers Danielle Oberlander ‘21 takes a swing at the Wartburg College Invitational this past weekend where the team placed ninth. Photo contributed by Ted Schultz By Ezra Pine [email protected] Volleyball This past weekend, the undefeated volleyball team faced their biggest challenge yet, taking on Carleton College, Cornell College, and Luther College in the Associated Colleges of the Midwest (ACM) Tournament. In the first game against Carleton on Friday night, the Pioneers dropped the first set 19–25, but stormed back and won the next three sets 25–15, 25–19, 25–18. Later that night, though, the team had perhaps their biggest game of the season when they took on Cornell. They had lost to Cornell in every match for the past 18 years, and were hungry to put an end to that drought. They won a close first set 25–22, then took the next two sets 25–20, 25–17 to win the game and end the drought. On Saturday, the Pioneers beat Luther in three sets (25–19, 26–24, 25–18) to win the tournament. Kaylin Kuhn ’21 won MWC Offensive Performer of the Week for her breakout performance, averaging 5.33 kills per set over the weekend. The team, now 8–0, returns to action on Thursday night, when they play Simpson College at home. Football The football team put up a good fight against Lawrence University on Saturday, but ended up losing 28–0 in their first game of the season. Grinnell drove deep into Lawrence territory twice in the first half, but failed to capitalize on either of their opportunities. “I think that the score didn’t really reflect how well we did. Compared to last year, we really developed a running game, which is something that we were definitely missing out on last year,” said Daniel Carter ’22, the team’s running back. Carter was one of the few bright spots for the Pioneer offense on Saturday, as he rushed for 119 yards on 29 attempts. On defense, defensive back Marco Kamimura ’21 led the way with 10 tackles, and defensive backs Jelani McCray ’21 and Bryce Tanikawa ’23 contributed eight tackles each. The Pioneers will look to get into the win column when they travel to face Lake Forest College on Saturday. Women’s Golf The women’s golf team placed ninth out of 17 teams at the Wartburg College Invitational this past weekend. Nina Kouchi ’22 led the charge for the team, posting a two-day total score of 146 (two-over-par), that put her in sixth place out of the 107-golfer field. “Last year, as a first year, Nina was a second-team All- American,” Coach Dave Arseneault Jr. said. “This year, she’s off to a tremendous start. What she’s done, and how she’s developed to take her game to the next level, has been really impressive.” Besides Kouchi, Danielle Oberlander ’21 finished in 12th place after posting an impressive two-day score of 151 (seven-over- par), and Julia Echikson ’20 finished in 17th place with a score of 152 (eight-over-par). The women’s golf team will be returning to action this Saturday where they’ll compete in the Illinois Wesleyan invitational. Women’s Tennis The women’s tennis team kicked off conference play this past weekend, making a big statement to the rest of the MWC. They hosted Lawrence and St. Norbert College on Saturday, and Ripon College on Sunday. All three matches ended with the same result — a 9–0 sweep in the Pioneers’ favor. Abby Nielson ’21 and Sabrina Tang ’23 dominated in particular, as they each won five matches (singles and doubles) throughout the weekend. As a whole, the team has won 31 of its last 32 MWC matches dating back to 2015. The team next plays on Saturday at home against Beloit College and Lake Forest. Women’s Soccer The women’s soccer team played two games this weekend — one against Buena Vista University on Saturday, and another against Carleton on Sunday. The Pioneers dominated Buena Vista for the majority of the game, outshooting them by a 38–0 margin. Samantha Reid ’23 scored twice to notch her first two collegiate goals, and five other players each scored one goal in a 7–0 shutout victory. “It was so fun against Buena Vista to see us get a lot of people in and figure out different ways we were going to score goals,” said Coach Kirsten Koester. On Sunday, the Pioneers couldn’t quite match Carleton’s firepower, and were outshot 30–9. They fell behind 2–0 at the half, and Carleton kept their foot on the gas the whole way through. Though they suffered a tough 5–1 loss, one positive from the game was a goal scored by Crys Moosman ’21 in the 87th minute—their first goal as a Pioneer. Looking ahead, the team goes on the road to play Bethany Lutheran University on Saturday. Men’s Soccer Like the women’s soccer team, the men’s team faced Buena Vista on Saturday and Carleton on Sunday. Against Buena Vista, they gave up two goals in the first twenty minutes. From there, they scored seven straight goals, bolstered by a hat trick from Henry Cladouhos ’22. The Pioneers won 7–3. On Sunday the Pioneers faced Carleton, a team close to being nationally ranked. The majority of the game was evenly matched, as the defense limited a Carleton attack. However, in the 89th minute, the Pioneers let one slip through, and suffered a 1–0 loss. Men’s soccer takes on new season with win against Coe College By Ezra Pine [email protected] This past Friday, the men’s soccer team played their first game of the semester against Coe College. Despite having significantly outshot Coe throughout the game, the Pioneers were down 1–0 in the 85th minute, and desperate for a goal. Enter forward Ray Goedeker ’22. Goedeker received a corner kick from forward Davis Provost ’23, and hammered it into the back of the net to tie the game and force overtime. Three minutes into overtime Goedeker delivered the final blow with a goal off a perfect cross from forward Mikoto Kobayashi ’20. “We knew we needed to start the season with a win,” Goedeker said. “We were all extremely relieved when the goal was scored, and everyone was so hyped up. It gives us a ton of momentum going forward.” Goedeker’s goals earned him MWC Men’s Soccer Offensive Performer of the Week. The victory was a much needed boost for the team as they are looking to improve upon last year’s performance. In 2018, they finished 8–7 (5–4 in conference), and missed out on making the MWC Tournament by only three points. This year the team is hoping that experience will help push them to the next level. “We have a really strong senior class this year. A lot of us are getting really significant minutes all around the field, and helping lead the way,” Captain Thomas Pflipson ’20 said. Last year, the Pioneers significantly lacked veteran leadership, as they only had two seniors. This year, the team has seven seniors all benefiting from having an extra year of experience under their belt. Additionally, the teams has 12 first-years on the roster, many of whom are already making a big impact on the team. “All of the first-years on our team are stepping up big time. Nate [Girard] played the entire first game at center back, Davis [Provost] made some great plays, Noah [Guyton] too. We have a great class of first-years who, since the start of preseason, have meshed together really well,” Goedeker said. Perhaps one of the most intriguing storylines to watch for the men’s soccer team comes from forward Jasper Yang ’21. In the 2018 season, Yang put together one of the most impressive stat lines in school history. He ranked third in the Midwest Conference in goals scored (12) and points per game (1.73), and led all of Division III in shot accuracy at 70.7 percent. Yang’s individual accomplishments earned him a spot on the All-MWC first-team. Most importantly, if the team wants any shot at competing for a MWC Championship, they recognize that the defense is going to have to lead the way. “In order for us to win the MWC, it starts with defense. It’s something we have put an emphasis on this year,” assistant coach Rockne Decostre ’15 said. “Last year, we were a good team but not a great team because our defense just let in some goals that really shouldn’t be let in at this level. I think it’s something that our guys are starting to understand and get better at. If we improve on our defense, we have enough good offensive talent that we’re going to be able to score goals.” The Pioneers defense will be put to the test this weekend when they face Buena Vista University on Saturday, and Carleton College on Sunday. Carleton won their conference last year, and made it to the second round of the NCAA tournament—a position the Pioneers hope they can be in by the end of the season. The team is currently focusing on building up towards conference play, where their goal of winning a conference championship will be put to the test. “The top teams in our conference, like Lake Forest, St.