WARRIOR FEST

No soccer game this weekend, but it is time for Warrior Fest! which sterling.edu describes as:

WARRIOR FEST!!

9:30am to 1:30pm: Downtown Sterling

Variety of items & activities available for SC Fans

Photos and Autographs of Football Players

Meet the Soccer & Volleyball teams

SC apparel

Other crafts and games throughout the morning

11:00 to 1:00pm: Main Street

Sterling's Fire & Smoke BBQ Cook off.

5:00 to 6:30 pm: Tailgate Cookout-Warrior Athletic Complex.

Meal sponsored by Sterling College and First Bank.

7:00pm: Warrior Football vs. Bethel College

9-23-08: YORK @ STERLING

Here is an article about the York game, which I found at "The Stir" or the "Sterling Bulletin" and which is written by soccer player Godfrey Miheso:

WARRIORS SOCCER SCRAPES WIN AGAINST YORK

A late goal helped the men’s soccer team advance to a 6-1 record after winning over visiting York College, 2-1. Coach Dave Underwood said he was less than satisfied with the win.

“Obviously, I was very happy with the win and improving our season record to 6-1,” Underwood said. “However, we were a little sloppy in our attack, mishandling a lot of good scoring opportunities.”

The Warriors created plenty of opportunities to win the tightly contested game. The team took 18 shots at the goal.

“We started on a low note, but came back to grab the win we deserved,” senior Shawn Sajjadi said.

Sterling finally got on the board when senior Jorge Bueso received a pass from sophomore Sheriff Sanusi at the back right, and drove the ball into the back of net.

The score was 1-1 midway through the second period.

Senior Ryan Covey was able to finally break the dead-lock with two minutes left when he drove past York’s defense, scoring the winning goal with ease.

The Warriors also won against Central Christian College a week earlier 3-0, with all three goals scored in the second half. Bueso and Covey scored with ten minutes left.

Warriors next face Oklahoma Christian in Oklahoma City.

-Godfrey Miheso, Staff Writer

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9-23-08: YORK @ STERLING

Here is Sterling's summary of today's home game against York College:

Warriors Move to 6-1 With Win Over York

09/24/2008 - The Sterling Men's soccer team moves to 6-1 on the season after defeating York College 2-1 in Sterling Tuesday night. The Warriors had plenty of opportunities to score, tallying 18 shots on frame, but York GK Keith Manley proved to be stingy for much of the night. Sterling finally got on the board when Jorge Bueso received a ball from Sheriff Sanusi at the top of the box, and after a brilliant turn, hammered it into the upper corner of the net. The score stood at 1-0 at the break. York equalized in the 51st minute when Jorge Lama nudged a header just over Sterling Keeper, Zach Hallen off of a Joe Leinen throw-in. After several more brilliant saves by Manley, Sterling senior Ryan Covey was able to finally break the dead-lock in the 88th minute when he gathered up a ball in the box and was able to dribble through several York defenders and score from inside the six yard box.

The Warriors will take a week off and then play highly-touted Oklahoma Christian in Oklahoma City on Tuesday night, September 30.

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BOX SCORE: YORK @ STERLING

The Sterling website has posted the box score for today's game here.

Scoring Summary:

Goal - Time - Team - Goal Scorer - Assists
1. 34:33 - SC - BUESO, Jorge - SANUSI, Sheriff
2. 50:12 - York - LAMA, Jorge - Leinen, Joe
3. 88:48 - SC - COVEY, Ryan
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* * * BREAKING NEWS * * *

KCACsports.com has reported the score of today's game as:

Sterling 2
York 1

No other information is available at this time.
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NAIA TOP 25

The NAIA Top 25 for September 23 can be found here. The top 5 teams this week are:

1 University of Rio Grande (Ohio)
2 Fresno Pacific University (Calif.)
3 Lindsey Wilson College (Ky.)
4 McKendree University (Ill.)
5 Southern Nazarene University (Okla.)

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NAIA NATIONAL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

The national Players of the Week for Week 3 are:

Offense: Joel Trainer (Indiana Wesleyan) – Senior, Forward
Defense: Alex Stout (Mount Vernon Nazarene) – Junior, Goalkeeper

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NATIONAL STATISTICS: 9-22-08

Here are the Sterling team and individual statistical rankings found on the NAIA's national statistical leaders lists as of 9-22-08.

2008 TEAM RANKINGS

Sterling ranks Number 5 in Assists per Game (3.170)
Sterling ranks Number 16 in Goals per Game (3.330)

2008 INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS

Ryan Covey Ranks Number 11 in Shots on Goal per Game (2.830)
Jorge Bueso Ranks Number 14 in Game Winning Goals per Game (0.330)
Shawn Sajjadi Ranks Number 15 in Assists per Game (0.830)
Ryan Covey Ranks Number 17 in Points per Game (2.670)
Ryan Covey Ranks Number 18 in Goals per Game (1.000)
Mladen Bjelica Ranks Number 20 in Assists per Game (0.800)
Ryan Covey Ranks Number 27 in Assists per Game (0.670)
Ryan Covey Ranks Number 42 in Shots per Game (3.830)

Probably a good "non statistic" is that keeper Zach Hallen is NOT found on the list of average saves per game (meaning Sterling doesn't give up very many shots per game?)
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PREVIEW: STERLING v YORK COLLEGE

This afternoon, Sterling hosts the York College Panthers of York NE. York's team record stands at 1 win and 5 losses, with the lone victory on the road at Bethany (3-0) of the KCAC and the losses to Dakota Wesleyan (2-4), Dana College (0-2), Midland Lutheran (0-1), Dordt College (0-2) and Briar Cliff University (1-4).

York has been shut out in three of their losses and has tallied a total of 6 goals for against 13 goals allowed. York has spread out its scoring with four players scoring a goal each and # 8 Jorge Lara netting two goals.

Sterling and York have not played each other during the careers of the current players.

Here is a link to a preview of York's team, found on the Panther Press, York's online newspaper (scroll down several stories).

CONFERENCE STATISTICS THRU 9/22

The KCAC individual statistical leaders lists updated on 9/22 include the following Sterling players:

Points per game: 1st-Ryan Covey, 4th-Justin Martens, 8th-Jorge Bueso, tied 10th-Mladen Bjelica, 12th-Shawn Sajjadi

Goals per game: 1st-Ryan Covey, tied 2nd-Justin Martens, tied 5th-Jorge Bueso

Assists per game: 1st-Shawn Sajjadi, 2nd-Mladen Bjelica, 4th-Ryan Covey, tied 9th-Jordan Miller, tied 14th-Aaron Baker

Game Winning Goals: tied 1st-Jorge Bueso, tied 7th-Shawn Sajjadi

Goals Against Average: 4th-Zach Hallen

As a team, Sterling ranks 1st in the conference in goals and assists, 2nd in shots, 3rd in shots on goal, 10th in goalkeeper saves and 3rd in fewest goals allowed.
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KCAC CONFERENCE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Here is the KCAC's press release for conference players of the week:

WEEK 2 - KCAC Men's Soccer Players of the Week

Mon, Sep 22, 2008 - WICHITA, KS - Marvin Graham of Ottawa University and Michael Mesle of Ottawa University [were] honored as KCAC Men's Soccer Players of the Week.

KCAC OFFENSIVE Men's Player-of-the-Week: Marvin Graham, OTTAWA UNIVERSITY, Midfielder, 6-0, Sophomore, Amarillo, TX. He had 2 goals in two matches of the week: #1 vs. Avila U. (MO), W-4-3, he had 2 goals; #2 at Southwestern Assemblies of God U. (TX), W-4-0, he had no goals. TEAM RECORDS: Week 2-0-0, Season overall 3-3-0.

KCAC DEFENSIVE Men's Player-of-the-Week: Michael Mesle, OTTAWA UNIVERSITY, Defender, 6-2, Freshman, St.Charles, MO. In two matches of the week, he scored one goal while he contributed to the second shutout for OU in the match at SWAGU in Texas. TEAM RECORDS: Week 2-0-0, Season overall 3-3-0. NOTES: OU played Northwood but stats have not been reported yet.
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NAIA CONFERENCE RATING

The NAIA's ratings for the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference for 9/22/08 are:

1. Friends University (5-2)
2. Sterling College (5-1)
3. McPherson College (3-3)

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BOX SCORE: STERLING @ CCC

Sterling's box score differs somewhat from box score posted by Central Christian. For what it's worth, it more closely matches what my "inside sources" told me about the game.

Sterling's Scoring Summary:

Goal - Time - Team - Goal Scorer - Assists
1. 67:53 - SC - Bueso, Jorge - Sajjadi, Shawn; Covey, Ryan
2. 76:08 - SC - Tom, Wes - Covey, Ryan
3. 79:32 - SC - Covey, Ryan - Bjelica, Mladen

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BOX SCORE: STERLING @ CCC

This link is to the box score of the Sterling @ CCC game, taken from CCC's website.

Scoring Summary:
Goal - Time - Team - Goal Scorer - Assists
1. 67:53 - SC - Bueso, Jorge - Baker, Aaron
2. 76:08 - SC - Tom, Wes - Covey, Ryan
3. 79:32 - SC - Covey, Ryan - Bjelica, Mladen

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9-20-08: STERLING 3 - CCC 0

Here is Sterling's summary of the victory over Central Christian College on 9-20-08:

Big Second Half Lifts Warriors

09/20/2008 - The Sterling College men's soccer team got three goals in the second half to upend the Tigers of Central Christian College 3-0. After 45 minutes of soccer, Sterling and CCC were knotted up at 0-0. Both teams had some chances, but were unable to capitalize. "I thought Central Christian had the run of play in the first half and we were lucky to not be down at the break. We were lethargic and not very creative in the final third,"Coach Underwood said of the Warriors first half.

The second half belonged to the Warriors. Playing with greater energy and creativity paid off. "We were immediately more effective because we played the ball to the width and we were able to get pretty deep into our attacking third," commented Underwood. The Warriors finally broke the dead-lock in the 68th minute when Aaron Baker went over the top of the Tiger's back line leaving Jorge Bueso alone with the goalkeeper and giving Sterling a 1-0 lead. Wes Tom scored on a header 9 minutes later, and finally Ryan Covey slotted a perfect shot under CCC goalkeeper Andrew Stauffer off of a Mladen Bjelica cross.

Sterling College is 5-1 on the season and will play York College (NE) on Tuesday afternoon at home.

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"KNOW YOUR ENEMY - STERLING COLLEGE"

Here's an interesting post on the Manhattan Christian College Sports Radio blog (mccsportsradio.wordpress.com) titled "Know Your Enemy - Sterling College" that apparently is a preview of MCC's big game against Sterling on 9-18-08. The game is described as "The Battle of Sterling."

For your information, MCC is defending National Christian College Athletic Association soccer national champions, although they have now lost to Sterling three of the last four years. They lost only three games all of last year, but have lost four to date this year.

Here is a list of predictions by "Cole" of MCC Sports Radio:

BOLD PREDICTION:
Manhattan Christian College 3 - Sterling College 1

REALISTIC PREDICTION:
Manhattan Christian College 1 - Sterling College 2

PESSIMISTIC PREDICTION:
Manhattan Christian College 0 - Sterling College 4

It should be noted that Cole's "realistic prediction" was accurate in that Sterling prevailed 2 - 1 in double overtime.
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