Nov 3, 2008

Weekly Roundup: Volleyball Hosts Showdown with New Haven Tuesday Night

MERRIMACK COLLEGE WEEKLY ROUNDUP

November 3, 2008

COMING UP....
Volleyball hosts New Haven on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in a matchup of the only unbeaten teams remaining in the conference.

WARRIOR WEEKLY UPDATE...
FOOTBALL (5-4, 4-3 NE-10)
The Merrimack football team tallied 26 unanswered points in the second half, but the comeback fell just short, as #17 American International College clinched the Northeast-10 title with a 34-29 win at Warrior Field Saturday. Trailing by five with two minutes remaining, the Warriors were in Yellow Jacket territory, but a 25-yard run by Quivari Jackson was negated by an illegal motion penalty. On third-and-five, a James Suozzo fumble was recovered by the Yellow Jackets, ending any hopes of a late comeback. The Warriors trailed 34-3 in the third quarter but stormed back as Tony Johnson returned an interception 45-yards for his first collegiate touchdown. On the next drive, preseason All-American Andrew Jackson proved he can play both sides of the ball as the senior scampered into the end zone on a 39-yard rush cutting the lead to 34-15 with 14:44 remaining in the fourth. Jackson became the first player in school history to return two punts for a touchdown in a season and to score on offense, defense, and special teams in a season. With the running game depleted due to injuries, Jackson was the Warriors’ leading rusher getting 64-yards on four carries. Suozzo was forced to throw on virtually every down, and he racked up 220 yards passing on 23-of-57. Jeremiah Watts pulled in a team-high nine catches for 87 yards, while Ryan DiGregorio added eight receptions for 39 yards.

MEN’S SOCCER (9-4-4, 6-4-2 NE-10)
Robbie Sabadoz collected his first hat trick as the Warriors wrapped up regular season play with a 6-1 win over Stonehill on Tuesday.

Merrimack was eliminated in penalty kicks by fourth-ranked Le Moyne Sunday afternoon. With the score tied at two after overtime, the Dolphins defeated Merrimack 4-3 in penalty kicks. The Warriors were down 2-0 after two rounds of penalty kicks and could not recover even after Rob Pedra stopped the Dolphins’ third shooter. Wayne Sygrove, Greg Motta, and Maxime Obongono each scored in penalty kicks, but Le Moyne’s Jesse Carr scored on the final kick to give the Dolphins the win.

#22 WOMEN’S SOCCER (12-4-2, 10-3-1 NE-10)
Brittany Gustafson scored twice, leading the 22nd-ranked women’s soccer team to a 3-1 win over American International in the regular season finale Wednesday.

Merrimack outshot UMass Lowell 13-10 but was upset by the visiting River Hawks 1-0 in overtime Sunday afternoon at Warrior Field. Grace Larsen scored with less than one minute remaining in the first overtime as she fired a shot from just inside the box past a diving Shannon Rowan for her third of the year. The Warriors, who entered Sunday’s game ranked third in the east region, will await the NCAA Selection Show to see if they will be among the six teams selected from the region.

VOLLEYBALL (16-7, 11-0 NE-10)
Idle this week. Will host New Haven on Tuesday in a matchup of the only remaining unbeaten teams in the conference. The game will be webcast live online.

CROSS COUNTRY
Idle this week. Will race in the Northeast Regionals on Saturday.

HOCKEY (2-4-1, 0-3 HEA)
Hockey dropped a pair of games to #2 BC 4-1 and 4-3 in OT over the weekend. Pat Kimball scored three goals over the weekend including two on Saturday, while Joe Cannata stopped 34 shots at Lawler Arena on Saturday. Merrimack dominated the Eagles five-on-five, but BC tallied three power-play goals to mount the comeback.

TWO WARRIORS EARN WEEKLY CONFERENCE HONORS
Molly Cindric was named the NE-10 Player of the Week for the second straight week. This marks the third time she has received the weekly honor this season. Cindric led the Warriors to a 3-0 week, averaging 3.1 kills, 2.6 digs and 1.1 blocks in 10 games this past week.

Tony Johnson was named the Northeast-10 Freshman of the Week on Monday. Johnson tallied three sacks and forced two fumbles in 21-16 win at Stonehill last weekend. This marks the second time he has earned the Freshman of the Week honors, with the first coming after the 42-7 win over Husson.

CAITLIN HALL NAMED 2ND TEAM ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN
Senior captain Caitlin Hall was named to the ESPN Academic All-American District I Second Team. This is the second time Hall has received this honor, and the third season she has been named an Academic All-American.

WOMEN’S SOCCER, MEN’S SOCCER AND FIELD HOCKEY ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS ANNOUNCED
Thirteen Warriors among the women’s soccer, men’s soccer and field hockey teams were named to the Northeast-10 All-Conference squads. Log on to www.merrimackathetics.com to see the entire teams.


Cross Country (M) Cross Country (W) Field Hockey Football Soccer (M) Soccer (W) Volleyball Basketball (M) Basketball (W) Ice Hockey Baseball Lacrosse (M) Lacrosse (W) Softball Tennis (M) Tennis (W) Lawler Completion Project Athletic Staff Directory Blue Line Club Cheerleading Compliance Composite Calendar Directions Facilities From the AD's Desk Intramurals Marketing & Promotions Merrimack Championships Quick Facts Recruiting Questionnaires SAAC SID Downloads Sponsorship Sports Medicine Strength and Conditioning Visitors Guide	[Printer Friendly] Nov 3, 2008 Weekly Roundup: Volleyball Hosts Showdown with New Haven Tuesday Night MERRIMACK COLLEGE WEEKLY ROUNDUP November 3, 2008 Complete Release (.pdf) COMING UP.... Volleyball hosts New Haven on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in a matchup of the only unbeaten teams remaining in the conference. WARRIOR WEEKLY UPDATE... FOOTBALL (5-4, 4-3 NE-10) The Merrimack football team tallied 26 unanswered points in the second half, but the comeback fell just short, as #17 American International College clinched the Northeast-10 title with a 34-29 win at Warrior Field Saturday. Trailing by five with two minutes remaining, the Warriors were in Yellow Jacket territory, but a 25-yard run by Quivari Jackson was negated by an illegal motion penalty. On third-and-five, a James Suozzo fumble was recovered by the Yellow Jackets, ending any hopes of a late comeback. The Warriors trailed 34-3 in the third quarter but stormed back as Tony Johnson returned an interception 45-yards for his first collegiate touchdown. On the next drive, preseason All-American Andrew Jackson proved he can play both sides of the ball as the senior scampered into the end zone on a 39-yard rush cutting the lead to 34-15 with 14:44 remaining in the fourth. Jackson became the first player in school history to return two punts for a touchdown in a season and to score on offense, defense, and special teams in a season. With the running game depleted due to injuries, Jackson was the Warriors’ leading rusher getting 64-yards on four carries. Suozzo was forced to throw on virtually every down, and he racked up 220 yards passing on 23-of-57. Jeremiah Watts pulled in a team-high nine catches for 87 yards, while Ryan DiGregorio added eight receptions for 39 yards. MEN’S SOCCER (9-4-4, 6-4-2 NE-10) Robbie Sabadoz collected his first hat trick as the Warriors wrapped up regular season play with a 6-1 win over Stonehill on Tuesday. Merrimack was eliminated in penalty kicks by fourth-ranked Le Moyne Sunday afternoon. With the score tied at two after overtime, the Dolphins defeated Merrimack 4-3 in penalty kicks. The Warriors were down 2-0 after two rounds of penalty kicks and could not recover even after Rob Pedra stopped the Dolphins’ third shooter. Wayne Sygrove, Greg Motta, and Maxime Obongono each scored in penalty kicks, but Le Moyne’s Jesse Carr scored on the final kick to give the Dolphins the win. #22 WOMEN’S SOCCER (12-4-2, 10-3-1 NE-10) Brittany Gustafson scored twice, leading the 22nd-ranked women’s soccer team to a 3-1 win over American International in the regular season finale Wednesday. Merrimack outshot UMass Lowell 13-10 but was upset by the visiting River Hawks 1-0 in overtime Sunday afternoon at Warrior Field. Grace Larsen scored with less than one minute remaining in the first overtime as she fired a shot from just inside the box past a diving Shannon Rowan for her third of the year. The Warriors, who entered Sunday’s game ranked third in the east region, will await the NCAA Selection Show to see if they will be among the six teams selected from the region. VOLLEYBALL (16-7, 11-0 NE-10) Idle this week. Will host New Haven on Tuesday in a matchup of the only remaining unbeaten teams in the conference. The game will be webcast live online. CROSS COUNTRY Idle this week. Will race in the Northeast Regionals on Saturday. HOCKEY (2-4-1, 0-3 HEA) Hockey dropped a pair of games to #2 BC 4-1 and 4-3 in OT over the weekend. Pat Kimball scored three goals over the weekend including two on Saturday, while Joe Cannata stopped 34 shots at Lawler Arena on Saturday. Merrimack dominated the Eagles five-on-five, but BC tallied three power-play goals to mount the comeback. TWO WARRIORS EARN WEEKLY CONFERENCE HONORS Molly Cindric was named the NE-10 Player of the Week for the second straight week. This marks the third time she has received the weekly honor this season. Cindric led the Warriors to a 3-0 week, averaging 3.1 kills, 2.6 digs and 1.1 blocks in 10 games this past week. Tony Johnson was named the Northeast-10 Freshman of the Week on Monday. Johnson tallied three sacks and forced two fumbles in 21-16 win at Stonehill last weekend. This marks the second time he has earned the Freshman of the Week honors, with the first coming after the 42-7 win over Husson. CAITLIN HALL NAMED 2ND TEAM ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN Senior captain Caitlin Hall was named to the ESPN Academic All-American District I Second Team. This is the second time Hall has received this honor, and the third season she has been named an Academic All-American. WOMEN’S SOCCER, MEN’S SOCCER AND FIELD HOCKEY ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS ANNOUNCED Thirteen Warriors among the women’s soccer, men’s soccer and field hockey teams were named to the Northeast-10 All-Conference squads. Log on to www.merrimackathetics.com to see the entire teams.