10 E : : i :E a CIARAN KOHLl-LYNCH sports@technewsiit.com TechNews | Tuesday, 0ctober16, 2012 Ex-Scarlet Hawk represents Antigua, Barbuda vs USA By Ciaran Kohli-Lynch SPORTS EDITOR Friday evening saw former Scarlet Hawks soccer captain Luke Blakely play 90 minutes for Antigua and Barbuda against the USA in a World Cup qualifying match. The game, played at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua, was fiercely contested with the USA running out a 2—1 win. There was much to be proud of for the former IIT man however, as he saw his team contain a US side littered with star players for large periods of the match. The match started off slowly with USA dominated possession, creating no real opportunities. This changed in the 20th minute however, when Eddie Johnson rose highest in the box to head home a lofted cross from mid— fielder Graham Zusi. Johnson, who has endured a tumultuous and often frustrating five years since leaving America to join Fulham in the English Premier League, was making his first appearance for the national team since 2010. Antigua and Barbuda replied almost imme— diater with a goal from 26 year old Notting— ham Forest striker Dexter Blackstock. Sloppy defending from the USA, coupled with de— termined running by Peter Byers created this goal and injected life into the match. A valiant midfield display from Blakely and his com— patriots kept the scoreline even until the first minute of added time at the end of the match. Unfortunately for the home crowd, Eddie Johnson was once again at hand to head in off a cross deep in the Antigua and Barbuda box for the winning goal. It should not be forgotten that the population of Antigua and Barbuda is a mere 80,000. Put another way, 2.5E(—4) times the population of the Unit— ed States. Blakely can be extremely proud of his team’s performance, and they will take great confidence from this result going into their remaining qualification matches. Photos by Ciaran KohIi-Lynch & courtesy ofstar-telegram.com Ln "3. . 1.55 Victory slips through Scarlet Hawks' fingers, crossover tournament gives hope to team By Roma Mirutenko STAFF WRITER This past week, the Illinois Tech Women’s Volleyball Team was faced with cer— tain challenges that helped shed some light on what could come of the rest of their season. It all started with the Chicago Col— legiate Athletic League’s Division Crossover Tournament hosted at Cardinal Stritch Uni— versity. Before the tournament the team had found out that one of their big senior middle hitters, Mariska Vandenbergh, could not com— pete for the rest of the season due to a pro— longed knee injury which required surgery. This meant that days before a big tournament, the Scarlet Hawks needed to be— lieve that their new freshman, Elizabeth Wolt— man, could fill the void. Throughout the season she has become a vital part of the team’s offense, along with sophomore setter Shea Manley. During the tournament Tech lost a match to both Indiana University — South Bend and Olivet Nazarene, who are ranked 3rd and 4th in the South Division respectively. Tech left happy though, as they did beat Purdue — North Central. At the end of the weekend the leaders were junior Kate Ken— dall with 39 kills, sophomore Taylor Duman with 25 kills, and senior Rebecca Bograd and Manley with 58 and 32 assists respectively. Junior Brittany Mead also finished with a total of 44 digs and Manley finished with six aces. The positive attitudes from the tour— nament carried over to Tuesday’s match against one of Tech’s biggest rivals: Robert Morris Uni— versity. This match was very important to the team because winning it would have meant another conference win. The match was fought point for point by both teams, however Tech lost by two points in the 5 set match. The final scores were 18—25,25—14,21—25,26—24, 13—15. The match leaders were juniors Kate Kendall and Roma Mirutenko, finishing with 14 and nine kills, respectively, while setters Bograd and Manley ended with 20 and 18 as— sists, respectively. Mead led the match with 19 digs while Mirutenko followed up with 16. Even with this loss, the team has a chance of making it into the end of the year tournament, which could help them qualify for the national tournament. Come Tuesday, October 16th to Keating Gym to support the volleyball team while they play Trinity International University. This is a big game because it is also their Dig for a Cure match, during which they are raising money for The Lynn Sage Founda— tion,whose go al isto findacure forbreastcancer. If you are interested in donating to this cause, please come to Keating Gym and ask for Coach Jacqui Gatt with $1.00, and you will be able to sign a banner that will be hung in Keating during the match while we present the moneyto a representative from the foundation.