9-13-08: MACU 5 - STERLING 2

Sterling played Mid America Christian in Oklahoma City today. Sterling defeated MACU last week in Sterling, 5-2.

Sterling originally planned to bus down to OKC on Friday evening and spend the night in a hotel, before playing Saturday. However, due to expected bad weather conditions from Hurricane Ike, Sterling waited to leave home until Saturday morning. On the trip down, the Sterling bus had to detour off I-35 in northern Oklahoma due to water on the road, which delayed the start of the game for an hour. It is my understanding that the storm front in Oklahoma was not part of Ike and in fact probably contributed to Ike having virtually no impact on Oklahoma.

Although it rained most of the day, the rain relented for most of the first half. MACU scored about 17 minutes in, Ryan Covey tied it around 8 minutes later, but MACU scored before half, for a 2-1 lead.

It began raining lightly at halftime and continued raining steadily throughout the second half (making it difficult to get good photos). Things fell apart for Sterling quickly in the second half, with MACU scoring twice within the first minute of play. Ryan got another goal, MACU netted one more, and the game ended 5-2, reversing the score in Sterling last weekend. Sterling was missing Aaron Baker due to red card suspension and Mladen Bjelica left due to second half injury.

Here are some action shots from the game:

PREVIEW: STERLING @ MACU

Sterling comes to Oklahoma City on Saturday 9/13 to play Mid America Christian University. Sterling recently defeated MACU in Sterling by a 5-2 score on 9/5. Following that game, MACU beat McPherson 1-0 but has not played since that time. Bryce Jantz scored both goals against Sterling, but Kyle Pezant has also been scoring goals.


Weather may be a factor in the game, as Oklahoma is expected to be receiving rain as a result of Hurricane Ike. A weather forcast I checked indicates thunderstorms with a temperature of 80 degrees.


The Oklahoma State v. Missouri State football game in Stillwater OK, which had been scheduled for a 6 pm kickoff has been moved to a noon start due to "adverse weather conditions on Saturday, especially during the evening hours."


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9-10-08: STERLING 2 - CUNE 1

Sterling's summary of the victory over Concordia:

Warriors Top Bulldogs 2-1

09/11/2008 - The Sterling Men's soccer team moved to 3-0 on the season after beating Concordia University (NE) 2-1 on the road.

The first half of play was uneventful, with both teams having some opportunities to score, yet coming up empty resulting in a 0-0 tie after the first 45 minutes. The second half would prove to be a different story. In the 50th minute, Bulldog midfielder, Richard Rattray received a red card, forcing Concordia to play a man down. The Warriors wasted no time in capitalizing. One minute later (51st) Shawn Sajjadi found the head of midfielder, Justin Martens for the first goal of the game.

In the 54th minute, Mladen Bjelica was able to get deep and served a wicked ball into the middle that senior Jorge Bueso was able to one-touch into the back of the net for a 2-0 lead. It appeared that the Warriors were in solid control of the match and would cruise to an easy win, but all of that changed in the 71st minute. Sterling junior, Aaron Baker, was called for a foul in the Warrior penalty box resulting in a penalty kick for Concordia and an ejection of Baker. After converting the PK, Concordia was within one goal of the Warriors; however, the Sterling men proved to be too much as they were able to hold on for the victory.

Sterling coach Dave Underwood commented, "This was one of those games where you are glad to get away with a win. We played poorly in the first half, but I thought we responded well early in the second half and we felt in firm control of the match with a 2-0 lead. Then, in the blink of an eye everything changed. A couple of bad decisions within a few seconds made it a game again, but we were fortunately able to come away with a win on the road. It's nice to be able to learn from mistakes and still win."

The Warriors will take their 3-0 record on the road to Oklahoma City where they will face Mid-America Christian University on Saturday.

9-10-08: STERLING 2 - CUNE 1

This is Concordia's summary of the game against Sterling (with some minor corrections).

Warriors sneak past Bulldogs

The Concordia University men's soccer team had a flurry of offensive chances turned away in a 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Sterling College Warriors on Wednesday night at Bulldog Stadium in Seward, Neb.

The two teams played stellar defense as neither team was able to put any points on the scoreboard before the halftime break. The Warriors (3-0, 0-0 KCAC), however, came out of the intermission and quickly scored two goals. The first was scored by Sterling's Justin Martens in the 50th minute, just after the Bulldogs' Richard Rattray received his second yellow card of the match and Concordia was forced to play a man short.

The second Warrior goal came just minutes later when Jorge Bueso was able to find the back of the net.

The Bulldogs (1-3, 0-0 GPAC) had an opportunity to pull within one in the 58th minute when Sterling was called for a foul in the box. Concordia's penalty shot by Aaron Skipworth, however, sailed wide of the net. The Bulldogs did cut into the deficit in the 71st minute when, after another foul in the box, Concordia's George Lara Jr. was able to find the back of the net for the Bulldogs.

Concordia then turned up the pressure on offense. The Bulldogs' tenacity gave them a chance to tie in the 88th minute, but Concordia's initial shot was blocked and a rebound shot sailed wide.

The Bulldogs' next game comes Friday, Sept. 12, against the Benedictine College Ravens at 7 p.m. in Lincoln, Neb. at the Abbott Sports Complex.

CUNE PHOTOS

Concordia University has posted some photos, mostly of Concordia players but including a few Sterling players, here.

BOX SCORE: STERLING v CUNE

The box score for Sterling's 2-1 victory over Concordia University can be found here.

SCORING SUMMARY:

GOAL Time Team Goal Scorer Assists
1. 50:24 STER Martens, Justin (unassisted)
2. 53:21 STER Bueso, Jorge (unassisted)
3. 71:12 CNCM Lara Jr., George Penalty kick

STERLING v CONCORDIA BROADCAST

I am currently watching Sterling's game against Concordia on a live streaming broadcast at www.cune.edu/athletics. At halftime, the score is 0 - 0.

The "broadcast" is a little fuzzy and there is no sound, so my comments might be wrong. Early in the second half, a Concordia player received a red card. On the ensuing free kick, Sterling headed in a goal. Score now Sterling 1-0.

Sterling just scored again 2-0. I can't tell who is scoring the goals.

Concordia just missed a penalty kick.

Concordia has just converted a penalty kick, so the score is Sterling 2-1.

After much defending, and the loooooongest second half ever, Sterling notches a 2-1 victory.

PREVIEW: STERLING v CONCORDIA

Sterling travels to Concordia University in Seward NE today to play the Concordia Bulldogs at 6:00 pm. Concordia currently has 1 win and 2 losses, having defeated Grace University of Omaha NE 15-0, sandwiched around losses to Kansas Wesleyan of the KCAC 1-4 and Mount Mercy of Cedar Rapids IA 3-5.

Concordia's coach was a four-year letter winner at Concordia, coached at his high school in Nebraska, then was an assistant at Concordia before becoming head coach this season.

I believe the game will be played on the artificial turf in Bulldog Stadium, Concordia's football stadium. On Tuesday evening, the temperature in Seward was around 60 degrees with a moderate east wind. Last year, Concordia was 4-14, with three of the four wins coming at home. This year, Concordia is 1-1 at home.


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MR TEE CLASSIC ALL TOURNAMENT TEAM

Sterling soccer's website reported the following regarding the Mr. Tee Classic:

Men's Soccer Wins Mr. Tee Classic/4 Named to All-Tourney Team

09/08/2008 - With two wins over the weekend, the Sterling Men's soccer team claimed the title of Mr. Tee Classic Champions. The Warriors were 2-0 for the tourney, while McPherson College and Mid-America Christian University both finished the weekend with 1 win and 1 loss. Southwest Assemblies of God University was 0-2. Four Sterling men were named to the All-Tourney team: Jorge Bueso, Ryan Covey, Shawn Sajjadi, and Wes Tom. Covey was named MVP of the tournament.

Here are photos of Ryan, Shawn and Jorge, taken by Grayson Graves. For Sterling's article, click here.

NATIONAL STATISTICS THRU 9/7

Sterling has two players who are included on the NAIA national individual statistics lists for the week of 9/1-9/7/08. Shawn Sajjadi is tied for 1st nationally on the assists list with an average of 1.50 assists per game. Ryan Covey is tied for 10th nationally with an average of 1.50 goals per game and is tied for 12th nationally with an average of 3.50 points per game (goal = 2 points, assist = 1 point).

NAIA NATIONAL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: 9/1-9/7

The NAIA National Players of the Week for September 1 - 7 are:

Elliott Purdom of Viterbo (WI), National Defensive Player of the Week and

Ben Stropes of Central Christian (KS) (and Santa Fe South HS in Oklahoma City OK, I believe) National Offensive Player of the Week.

A list of nominees for PoW can be found here.

NAIA TOP 25-9/9/08

The NAIA's Top 25 list has been released for games thru 9/7/08. The top 5 are:


1. Lindsey Wilson College (KY)
2. Auburn University Montgomery (AL)
2. Fresno Pacific University (CA)
4. University of Rio Grande (OH)
5. Simon Fraser University (BC)

CONFERENCE STATISTICS THRU 9/7

Sterling College players dominate the KCAC statistics lists after games for the week of 9/1-9/7/08.

On the points per game list, Ryan Covey is 1st, Justin Martens, Jorge Bueso and Mladen Bjelica are tied for 3rd, Zdravko Gerganoff, Shawn Sajjadi and Aaron Baker are tied for 6th, Dario Villatoro is tied for 9th, and Jordan Miller and Ivan Sanabria are tied for 16th.

For goals per game, Ryan is 1st, Jorge and Justin are tied for 2nd, Mladen, Zdravko, Dario and Aaron are tied for 5th.

The assists per game list has Shawn 1st, Mladen 2nd, Aaron, Ivan, Ryan, Jordan and Zdravko tied for 4th.

Goalkeeper Zach Hallen is 1st in goals against average and tied for 4th in saves per game.

For the full list of conference statistics, click here.

BOX SCORE: STERLING v SAGU

Here is a link to the box score for the Sterling v. SAGU game on Saturday, 9/6/08.

BOX SCORE: STERLING v MACU

Here is a link to the statistical "box score" for the Sterling v. MACU game on 9/5/08.

NAIA CONFERENCE RATING

Following Kansas Wesleyan's losses to Baker University (0-1) and Missouri Baptist College (2-3 OT) and McPherson's loss to MACU (0-1), Sterling climbed from fourth to second in the NAIA conference ratings for the KCAC, which were released today.

Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference
1. Friends University (Kan.) (0-0 / 3-0)
2. Sterling College (Kan.) (0-0 / 2-0)
3. Kansas Wesleyan University (0-0 / 1-2)
4. McPherson College (Kan.) (0-0 / 1-1)

9-6-08: STERLING 5 - SAGU 1

After the MACU game Friday evening, KAN, KHC, RKC, Astegman and Cuca went to Lyons KS and ate at a good Mexican restaurant. It rained almost all night and during the day on Saturday, September 6th.

Before the Saturday game, RKC took KAN and KHC on a tour of the town of Sterling. We saw where RKC works, Sterling Lake and where some of his friends live. We ate at Haldon's inside the gas station on the north side of town.

Saturday afternoon, Sterling played Southwestern Assemblies of God University. SAGU had lost to McPherson by a 3-1 score in a game that had to be moved from Hesston's grass field to Bethel College's artificial surface and didn't get started until after 9 pm.

Here is Sterling's summary of the game:

Warriors Win Big and Covey Breaks Record

09/06/2008-The Sterling Warriors men's soccer team scored a barrage of goals in the second half to beat Southwest Assemblies of God University 6-1, but Sterling senior Ryan Covey was the hero of the day. After scoring two goals in the season opener last night, Covey needed only one goal to break the all-time goal-scoring record at Sterling College held by Brandon Winn. Ryan's record breaking goal came in the 79th minute, giving him 40 goals in his career and giving him sole possession of the Sterling record. Upon scoring the goal, Covey was met by congratulatory hugs from his teammates as well as Winn, and was presented with the game ball. When asked about the record, Covey commented, "Obviously, I couldn't break the record without great teammates around me to give me opportunities to score, and I've worked hard to put myself in this position. It's pretty cool to break the record, but I'm relieved it's over. I felt pressure because I think people were expecting it today, and even Brandon flew back earlier from his honeymoon so he could be at the game. So I was glad to get it today. "

The Warriors got on the board early again when senior Shawn Sajjadi found the head of Mladen Bjelica on a corner kick in the 11th minute. Justin Martens got another in the 35th on an assist from Aaron Baker to give Sterling a 2-0 halftime lead. SAGU responded early in the second half when Glorie Ndongala gathered up a loose ball in the box and put it away in the 47th minute. The rest of the game was all Sterling. Martens scored again in the 56th minute on assist by Covey, followed by Covey's record breaking goal in the 79th minute. Jorge Bueso scored in the 82nd minute (assist Sajjadi) and newcomer Dario Villatoro rounded out the scoring in the 87th minute (assist Bjelica).

The Warriors improve to 2-0 and will travel to Nebraska on Wednesday to take on Concordia University.

Here are some photographs I took during the game of action in front of the goal, a foul leading to a yellow card, and the record-breaking goal.

SAGU posted a brief description of the game, which can be found here.