NAIA SCHOLAR-ATHLETES

The Daktronics-NAIA 2008 Soccer Scholar Athletes have been announced. The NAIA website states:

In order to be a recipient of the NAIA-Daktronics Scholar-Athlete award,
one must fulfill these requirements: the recipient must be a junior or above in
academic standing; has been in attendance at the nominating institution a
minimum of one full year of attendance; has a minimum grade point average (GPA)
of 3.50 (on a 4.0 scale) at the time of nomination at the nominating
institution; has been certified as eligible.

Sterling College Men's Soccer Scholar-Athletes for 2008 are:

Jorge Bueso of La Lima, Honduras
Jordan Miller of Hutchinson Kansas
Shawn Sajjadi of Arlington Texas

Congratulations!

McPHERSON TO REPRESENT KCAC

McPHERSON COLLEGE BULLDOGS ADVANCE TO

NAIA MEN'S SOCCER NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

Mon, Nov 17, 2008 - WICHITA, KS - The McPherson College Men's Soccer team will represent the KCAC in the NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship Tournament after claiming the conference's automatic bid on Saturday night.

McPherson College will travel to Oklahoma City next Saturday, Nov. 22, to open play in the 50th Annual NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship tournament against #4 nationally ranked Oklahoma City University.

"This is what we've been playing for," said McPherson coach Doug Quint. ""This has been a long time coming! I'm so proud of our guys and this program. This win (over Kansas Wesleyan) was for everyone that has been involved or apart of the McPherson College soccer over the years. We have worked hard for this moment. This program has improved every year and finally the pieces have fallen into place! What a great and well deserved feeling!"

Game time will be announced Tuesday following a conference call among the NAIA Site Supervisor, head coaches, and athletic directors.

The winner of the OCU-McPherson match will advance to the NAIA National Championship second round on December 1st in Fresno, Calif., against the host school Fresno Pacific.

McPherson earned its spot in the national tournament field with its 3-2 win over Kansas Wesleyan University in the finals of the KCAC post-season tournament played Saturday at Ottawa University.

[This story was provided courtesy of Carol Swenson, Sports Information Director at McPherson College, to KCACSports.com].

CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT FINAL

The score is in from the KCAC conference tournament championship game played Saturday night in Ottawa KS.

McPherson College 3
Kansas Wesleyan 2

This is the scoring summary from DakStats:

# - Time - Team - Scorer - Assist
1 - 22:17 - MCP - J. Reyes - A. Baldi
2 - 26:14 - KWU - A. Luna
3 - 31:31 - MCP - C. Strong - J. Reyes, A. Rodriguez
4 - 42:05 - MCP - S. Torres - J. Reyes
5 - 54:33 - KWU - A. Guizar - A. Luna

The KCAC tournament website reports that:

The tournament champion will be the only team to advance from the Kansas
Conference advancing to nationals. The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics 2008 men's soccer 50th national championship opening round will be held November 22 at sites to be determined, and the subsequent championship rounds will be December 1-6 at Fresno Pacific University in Fresno, California.

The KCAC all conference team, including Sterling's Jorge Bueso, Justin Martens and Ryan Covey, was introduced at half time of the women's final, which preceded the men's game.
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CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT SEMI-FINALS

Scores from the KCAC conference tournament semi-finals in Ottawa KS:

Kansas Wesleyan Univ. 3
Friends University 2
(2OT)


Tabor College 0
McPherson College 2

The conference tournament championship game will be Kansas Wesleyan versus McPherson on November 15th.
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STERLING'S ALL CONFERENCE PLAYERS

STERLING MEN'S SOCCER PLACES THREE ON KCAC FIRST TEAM

11/13/2008 - The Sterling Men's soccer team had three nominees for the All-Conference men's soccer team, and all three earned First Team honors. Sterling perennially places several players on the all conference team, but it is rare to have three guys selected to the First Team. Seniors Ryan Covey and Jorge Bueso, along with junior, Justin Martens were the players honored for their outstanding play on the season.

Forward Ryan Covey of Edmond, Oklahoma scored 16 goals for the season and added 5 assists. In the second game of the season, Covey surpassed Brandon Winn as the all-time leading goal-scorer in Sterling soccer history, and finished with 53 goals for his career. Covey was also named NAIA National Player of the Week for week five.

Jorge Bueso of LaLima, Honduras finished the year with 7 goals and 3 assists. Bueso proved to be a versatile player, seeing time at both forward and midfield throughout the season.

Justin Martens was recognized for his outstanding play as a defender, holding down defensive responsibilities in both the midfield and in the back throughout the course of the season. The Wichita product tallied 7 goals and 1 assist from his defensive position.

Sterling soccer coach, Dave Underwood said, "It is a great honor to have three guys named to the first team. All three deserve the accolades as they had outstanding seasons, and it's nice to see that other coaches in the conference recognize that as well." All three players will be recognized at half-time of the conference championship match in Ottawa on Saturday, November 15th.

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2008 KCAC ALL CONFERENCE TEAM

The 2008 KCAC All-Conference soccer team has been released. To see the original article, with photos of some players, go to the official KCAC soccer webpage at http://www.kcacsports.com/article/653.php:

2008 MEN'S SOCCER FIRST TEAM ALL KCAC ANNOUNCED

Wed, Nov 12, 2008 at 12:15 PM - WICHITA, KS - The 2008 Men's Soccer All Conference first team has been announced. Players were voted upon by all Conference Head Coaches.

Jorge Bueso, a senior midfielder from La Lima, Honduras helped Sterling College win 10 games on the season.

Robert Carrillo, a senior goalkeeper from Los Angeles, California helped Kansas Wesleyan University go undefeated in conference this year. Carrillo was KCAC Player of the Week two times during the season.

Ryan Covey, a senior forward from Edmond, Oklahoma helped Sterling College win 10 games on the season. Covey was KCAC Player of the week one time during the season.

Derek Dodrill, a sophomore Midfielder from Rio Rancho, New Mexico, helped Kansas
Wesleyan University go undefeated in conference this year.

Yenikah Fon, a senior defender from Hyattsville, Maryland helped Bethel College end in the regular season 5-4 in conference.

Jose Garay, a junior forward from Palmdale, California helped Kansas Wesleyan University go undefeated in conference this year. Garya was KCAC Player of the week and also Co-Player of the week during the season.

Justin Martens, a junior defender from Wichita, Kansas helped Sterling College win 10 games on the season.

Liam McLean, a freshman midfielder from Newcastle, England helped Tabor College finish the regular season 4-4-1 in conference.

Juan Mundo, a senior defender from Sun Valley, California helped Kansas Wesleyan University go undefeated in conference this year. Mundo was KCAC Player of the Week two times during the season.

Armando Rodriguez, a junior forward from Dallas, Texas helped McPherson College finish 6-2-1 in conference this year. Rodriguez was KCAC Co-Player of the Week one time during the season.

Tyler Tank, a freshman defender from Austin, Texas helped McPherson College finish 6-2-1 in conference this year.

Kevin Ten Eyck, a senior forward from Wichita, Kansas helped Friends University finish 6-3 in conference this year.

Colin Wylie, a junior midfielder from Edinburgh, Scotland helped Ottawa University end the regular season 6-3 in conference.

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NATIONAL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

The NAIA released the names of the national Players of the Week for Week 10. Included at the bottom is a list of the players of the week for each week of the season.

SIMMONS AND WILLIAMS NAMED MEN'S SOCCER PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Jason Williams - KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The tenth and final installment of the NAIA Men's Soccer national weekly honors have been announced today (Nov. 11). Jason Williams of Mobile (Ala.) was announced as National Defensive Player of the Week while John Simmons of King (Tenn.) was named National Offensive Player of the Week, for the week of Nov. 3- Nov. 9.

Williams, a 6-1 sophomore goalkeeper from Asheboro, N.C., posted back-to-back shutouts in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Tournament over the past week. Williams recorded five saves in a 2-0 win against Belhaven (Miss.). He followed that with a two-save shutout in a 2-0 win over then-No. 14 William Carey (Miss.) in the GCAC Tournament championship game. Mobile will take on Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament winner Mountain State (W.V.) later in the week. The winner receives an automatic berth in the NAIA Men’s Soccer National Championship Tournament.

Simmons, a 5-8 midfielder from Essex, England, scored back-to-back game-winning goals for King in the Appalachian Athletic Conference Tournament. Against Montreat (N.C.), the sophomore scored two goals and added an assist in a 6-3 win. He followed that up with another goal against Covenant (Ga.) in the AAC championship game. For the week, Simmons had 3 goals, an assists and 7 total points. King has earned an automatic berth in the NAIA Men’s Soccer National Championship Tournament.

2008 COMPOSITE AWARD WINNERS:

WEEK 1:
Offense: Ben Stropes (Central Christian) – Sr., F
Defense: Elliott Purdom (Viterbo) – So., GK

WEEK 2:
Offense: Robert Whitnell (Shorter) – Sr., F
Defense: Howard Fisher (Montreat) - Jr., GK

WEEK 3:
Offense: Joel Trainer (Indiana Wesleyan) – Sr., F
Defense: Alex Stout (Mount Vernon Nazarene) – Jr., GK

WEEK 4:
Offense: Tazou Ali Tagba (Park) – Jr., F
Defense: Jeff Jelinek (Hannibal-LaGrange) – So., GK

WEEK 5:
Offense: Adam Worrall (Mount Vernon Nazarene) – Sr., F
Defense: Zack Schultze (Reinhardt) - Fr., GK

WEEK 6:
Offense: Ryan Covey (Sterling) - Sr., F
Defense: Ross Gordon (King) - Sr., Def.

WEEK 7:
Offense: Lyall Menzies (Grand View) - Sr., F
Defense: Brion Ehman (Roberts Wesleyan) - Jr., GK

WEEK 8:
Offense: Antonio Bautista (College of Idaho) – Sr., MF
Defense: Michael Smith (Lindsey Wilson) – Fr., GK

WEEK 9:
Offense: Mustafa Celik (Holy Names) – Jr., F
Defense: Jonathan Shaw (Union) – So., GK

WEEK 10:
Offense: John Simmons (King) – So., MF
Defense: Jason Williams (Mobile) – So., GK
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CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT: QUARTERFINALS

Scores from the KCAC tournament first round/quarterfinals, which were played at the home of the higher seeded teams:

# 6 Tabor College 3
# 3 Ottawa Univ. 2

# 5 Bethel College 2
# 4 Friends Univ. 3 (OT)

On Friday, November 14th, Tabor will take on # 2 McPherson College and Friends will play # 1 Kansas Wesleyan University. Both games will be played at host Ottawa University.

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ALL CONFERENCE TEAM

I haven't been able to find the All-Conference soccer team on the KCAC Sports website, but the Kansan.com posted the following article on November 4th.

ALL KCAC SOCCER SELECTIONS

Posted Nov 04, 2008 @ 11:28 AM - LINDSBORG

Below are the 2008 All-Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference teams as selected by the conference coaches:

MEN - FIRST TEAM

GK Robert Carrillo, Kansas Wesleyan, sr.
B Juan Mundo, Kansas Wesleyan, sr.
B Tyler Tank, McPherson, fr.,
B Justin Martens, Sterling, jr.
B Yenikah Fon, Bethel, sr.
MF Derek Dodrill, Kansas Wesleyan, so.
MF Jorge Bueso, Sterling, sr.
MF Liam McLean, Tabor, fr.
MF Colin Wylie, Ottawa, jr.
F Armando Rodriguez, McPherson, jr.
F Kevin TenEyck, Friends, sr.
F Jose Garay, Kansas Wesleyan, jr.
F Ryan Covey, Sterling, sr.

By finishing 7th in the conference, Sterling was awarded a total of only three honored players, according to conference soccer guidelines. All three players made the first team, whch means no Sterling players were selected to the second team or honorable mention list, including Mladen Bjelica (who finished tied for 1st in most assists and tied for 2nd in assists per game average) and Shawn Sajjadi (who finished tied for 5th in assists per game).
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CONFERENCE PLAYOFFS - 1ST ROUND

After Friends defeated Tabor 5-3 yesterday, the pairings for the first round of the KCAC conference playoffs are set.

Ottawa and Friends tied for 3rd and 4th, but Ottawa received the higher seed as a result of its 2-0 victory at Friends on October 11th.

Therefore, #3 seed Ottawa (6-3) hosts # 6 seed Tabor (4-4-1) and # 4 seed Friends (6-3) hosts # 5 seed Bethel (5-4) on November 8th.

Winners of those games advance to the conference semi-finals to be held at Tabor on November 14th, where # 1 seed Kansas Wesleyan (9-0) will play the winner of the Friends/Bethel game and # 2 seed McPherson (6-2-1) will play the winner of Ottawa/Tabor.

The conference final will be played at Tabor on November 15th, with the winner advancing to the national tournament.
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NAIA TOP 25

The Week 9 edition of the NAIA's Top 25 was announced today. As most schools have completed conference play and are heading into conference tournaments, I have included the NAIA's online article and entire Top 25 list.

LINDSEY WILSON HOLDS ON TO THE TOP SPOT
BLUE RAIDERS RECEIVE 22 FIRST-PLACE VOTES

Nov. 4, 2008 - KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) remains No. 1 in this week’s National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Men's Soccer Top 25 Coaches Poll, announced this afternoon (Nov. 4). The Blue Raiders defeated Georgetown (Ky.) and No. 19 Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) over the past week to improve their record to 14-1-1 on the year. Lindsey Wilson now has an 11 game unbeaten streak. Lindsey Wilson receives 22 first-place votes and 653 total points in this week’s poll.

Coming in at No. 2 are the Stars of Oklahoma City who collect one first-place vote and 625 total points. Notre Dame (Ohio) moves up a spot to No. 3 after receiving 612 total points. Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.) checks in at No. 4 in the poll after collecting 576 total points. Rounding out the Top 5 is Rio Grande (Ohio.). The Red Storm earns 565 total points.

Oklahoma Baptist and Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) enter the Top 25 this week after receiving votes in last week’s poll. This is the first time in program history that Mount Vernon Nazarene is in the Top 25. Head coach Paul Furey has guided the Cougars to a 13-3-2 record this year. Oklahoma Baptist comes in at No. 17 this week.

The next regular season Top 25 poll will be announced on Tuesday, Nov. 11.


2008 NAIA MEN’S SOCCER TOP 25 COACHES POLL – Nov. 4

1 Lindsey Wilson College (Ky.)
2 Oklahoma City University
3 Notre Dame College (Ohio)
4 Hannibal-LaGrange College (Mo.)
5 University of Rio Grande (Ohio)
6 Simon Fraser University (B.C.)
7 Concordia University (Calif.)
8 Bellevue University (Neb.)
9 Azusa Pacific University (Calif.)
10 Park University (Mo.)
11 University of Maine at Fort Kent
12 MidAmerica Nazarene University (Kan.)
13 McKendree University (Ill.)
14 William Carey University (Miss.)
15 University of the Cumberlands (Ky.)
16 Benedictine College (Kan.)
17 Oklahoma Baptist University
18 Hastings College (Neb.)
19 Auburn University Montgomery (Ala.)
20 Vanguard University (Calif.)
21 Warner Southern College (Fla.)
22 University of Mobile (Ala.)
23 Graceland University (Iowa)
24 Southern Nazarene University (Okla.)
25 Mount Vernon Nazarene University (Ohio)

Others receiving votes: Lambuth (Tenn.); Northwood (Fla.); Madonna (Mich.); Martin Methodist (Tenn.); Illinois Tech; College of Idaho; Southern Polytechnic (Ga.); Lindenwood (Mo.); Bryan (Tenn.); Belhaven (Miss.); Texas-Brownsville; Science and Arts (Okla.); Grand View (Iowa); Bethel (Tenn.); The Master’s (Calif.); Holy Names (Calif.); Concordia (Ore.); Kansas Wesleyan; Shorter (Ga.); Baker (Kan.); Embry-Riddle (Fla.)
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NAIA PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

The NAIA National Players of the Week were announced for Week 9:

SHAW AND CELIK NAMED MEN'S SOCCER PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Jonathan Shaw - KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The ninth installment of the NAIA Men's
Soccer national weekly honors have been announced today (Nov. 4). Jonathan Shaw of Union (Ky.) was announced as National Defensive Player of the Week while
Mustafa Celik of Holy Names (Calif.) was named National Offensive Player of the
Week, for the week of Oct. 27- Nov. 2.

Shaw, a 6-7 sophomore goalkeeper from Merseyside, England, posted back-to-back overtime shutouts over the past week. Both shutouts came against Appalachian Athletic Conference foe Montreat (N.C.). Shaw recorded five saves in a 0-0 tie in the final game of the regular season. Union and Montreat met again later in the week, this time in the first round of the AAC Tournament. Shaw posted a 10-save shutout performance in another 0-0 tie overtime tie, a game that Montreat eventually won in a shootout. The shutouts give Shaw five on the season, and this was the second time he posted back-to-back shutouts.

Celik, a 5-10 forward from Germany, had an unbelievable week for the Hawks. Against Menlo (Calif.), the junior had three goals in a 5-1 Holy Names win. He followed that up with a seven-goal, three-assist performance against California State-Maritime. For the week, Celik had 10 goals, three assists and 23 total points.

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CONFERENCE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

The KCAC soccer players of the week for Week 8-November 3rd have been announced.

WICHITA, KS - Jose Rodriguez of McPherson College, Juan Mundo of Kansas
Wesleyan University, and Brady Coffman of Bethel College honored as KCAC Men's
Soccer Players of the Week.

KCAC Men's Offensive Player of the Week:

Jose Rodriguez, McPHERSON COLLEGE, Forward, 5-7, Senior, Dallas, TX. He had 3 goals in two matches of the week: #1 at Sterling College (KS), W-2-1, he had 1 goal. #2 at Bethany College (KS), W-3-1, he had 2 goals. TEAM RECORDS: Week 2-0-0, Season overall 9-7-1. NOTES: McPherson College now has won 5 consecutive
games.

KCAC Men's Defensive Co-Players of the Week (including Goalkeepers):

(1.) Juan Mundo, KANSAS WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY (KS), Defender, 5-8, Senior,
Sun Valley, CA. In two matches of the week, he anchored the KWU defense from the center back position. TEAM MATCHES of week: #1 vs. Tabor College (KS), W-4-0; #2 at Southwestern College (KS), W-6-0. TEAM RECORDS: Week 2-0-0, Season overall 11-6-1. NOTES: KWU has recorded 8 shutouts in KCAC Conference competition, and has allowed only 1 goal all season (coming on a PK against Ottawa). KWU finished KCAC season 9-0 for their second straight KCAC championship.

(2.) Brady Coffman, BETHEL COLLEGE (KS), Goalkeeper, 6-0, Sophomore,
Newton, KS. In two matches of the week, he had 10 saves with no shots on
goal and allowed only 1 goal in 180 minutes. TEAM MATCHES of week: #1 vs.
University of Saint Mary (KS), W-5-1, he had 4 saves with no shots on goal and 1
goal allowed in 90 minutes; #2 vs. Tabor College (KS), W-4-0, he had 6 saves with no shots on goal and no goals allowed in 90 minutes. TEAM RECORDS: Week 2-0-0, Season overall 5-11-0. NOTES: The Bethel Threshers have won 5 of their last 6 matches, in large part to Brady Coffman's play in goal.

KHC's Notes: Brady Coffman is a very deserving choice as defender of the week. I just want to know how a GK makes 4 saves in one game and 6 in another, when there were NO SHOTS ON GOAL!

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11-1-08: STERLING @ FRIENDS

Sterling's review of the November 1st season-ending match at Friends in Wichita KS.

STERLING FALLS TO FRIENDS IN OT

11/03/2008 - The Sterling men's soccer team needed just one more win to guarantee a spot in the post-season, and came up empty with a 3-2 loss in OT at Friends University on Saturday night. The Warriors found themselves down to
Friends 2-0 at half-time after the Falcons were able to score two first half goals. Early in the second half, at the 56th minute, the Warriors were able to notch their first goal of the night when Justin Martens slammed a shot into the back of the net after a Jordan Miller throw-in ricocheted off the crossbar. Late in the game, with about 4 minutes left in the match, Sterling back, Henry Sanabria collided with a Friends player resulting in both players going to the hospital for repairs to their split heads. Unfortunately for Sanabria and the Warriors, the official added insult to injury by showing Sanabria a red card as he walked off the field with a bloodied head. Now with a man down, it appeared the result of 2-1 would stand. With seconds left in the
game, Sterling was awarded a direct free kick on the right side of the Falcon's
penalty box. The Warriors took their time to get all players, including GK Zach
Hallen into the box. Shawn Sajjadi drove a perfect ball into the box that Hallen
brought down off his chest and poked to the back post for Sterling's Jordan Miller to bang in the equalizer with :06 remaining on the game clock. The Falcons were not to be denied, however, as Rusty Shannon buried the game winner off of a corner kick in the 8th minute of the first OT period.

The Warriors entered the final week of the season needing just one win in their final three games to advance to the post-season tournament; however, Sterling was not able to pull through with the necessary victory, ending on a three game losing streak and a premature ending to the season. "Obviously, we are disappointed to have the season end this early," said Sterling coach, David Underwood. "This doesn't change the fact that we had a solid season with a 10-7 record. We did a lot of great things and we have plenty to build on."

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CONFERENCE RATINGS

The NAIA's "ratings" for the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference as of 11/3/08.

1. Kansas Wesleyan University (9-0 / 11-6-1)
2. McPherson College (Kan.) (6-2-1 / 9-7-1)
3. Ottawa University (Kan.) (6-3 / 9-8-1)
4. Friends University (Kan.) (5-3 / 10-6-1)
5. Bethel College (Kan.) (5-4 / 5-11)

The ratings seem to differ somewhat from the actual conference "standings" but really don't. Shown are the conference standings with my calculation of points in parentheses.

1. Kansas Wesleyan University (27 points)
2. McPherson College (19 points)
3. Ottawa University (18 points)
4. Friends University (15 points)
5. Tabor College (13 points)
6. Bethel College (15 points)

As you can see, the KCAC doesn't have its own standings correct. The soccer guidelines state 3 points for a win, 1 for a loss, so actually Bethel is 5th and Tabor 6th.

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THE FOUR SENIORS

(Left to right: Shawn Sajjadi, Ryan Covey, Jordan Miller, Jorge Bueso)
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* * * BREAKING NEWS * * *

Just arrived home from the game at Friends in Wichita. More tomorrow (actually later today, and the time on my computer just jumped back an hour) but here is the scoring line on Saturday night's game.

Sterling 0 2 0 - 2
Friends 2 0 1 - 3

Sterling scored with 8 seconds left in regulation to send the game into overtime, but Friends scored the golden goal game winner in the first OT.

Sterling's season comes to an end just short of the conference playoffs.

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CONFERENCE PLAYOFFS

Here are some excerpts from an article in the October 30th Leavenworth Times which discusses the upcoming conference tournament.

. . . Bethel kept its KCAC Tournament hopes alive by improving to 4-4 in conference play and moving into a tie for sixth place with Sterling College, although Sterling has the head-to-head tie-breaker with a win over the Threshers.

Only the top six teams advance to the KCAC Tournament, so Bethel will have to pass either Sterling, Friends University or Tabor College. They are currently half a game behind Friends and one game behind Tabor.

. . . With only four at-large teams being awarded spots in the NAIA’s national tournament this year, the automatic bid that goes with winning the conference tournament will likely provide the only spot for any KCAC team.

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PREVIEW: STERLING @ FRIENDS

Saturday night, November 1st, Sterling plays the final conference game of the season at Friends in Wichita KS. The game is not truly a "must win" game as (I believe) Sterling qualifies for the conference tournament with a loss if Bethel also loses. But, if Bethel defeats Tabor, then Sterling "must win" to make the playoffs.

Bethel stood 0-10 after losing to Sterling, but since then has won 4 of 5 games, including a victory at McPherson. Tabor is coming off a loss to Kansas Wesleyan. Tabor's quality results include a victory over Sterling and a tie with McPherson.

Friends has an additional game to play after this weekend. So, if Sterling defeats Friends on Saturday, the Falcons could still tie Sterling in the standings with a win over Tabor, but Sterling would hold the tiebreaker over Friends.

Sterling has lost consecutive games to Tabor (0-1) and McPherson (1-2). Injuries are beginning to mount (two or three starters may not play) and there will be a red card suspension from the last game.

History: In 2005, Sterling beat Friends 3-1 as Mark Palmer, Maximus Ameachi and DR Smith netted goals for Sterling. In 2006, Friends defeated Sterling in a regular season game 2-0, then beat Sterling again 3-0 in the conference tournament. However, the teams were paired up again in the NAIA Region IV playoffs (at Friends) and this time, Sterling won 4-3 in one of the squad's biggest victories, with Ryan Covey (2), Carl Gerken and "team" being credited with goals. The victory advanced Sterling to the Region IV playoffs in Omaha NE, where Sterling lost 1-0 in overtime to Park University. Last year, Friends overwhelmed Sterling 5-0.

Game time is 8:00 p.m. tomorrow in Wichita. We plan to attend and meet up with a college buddy from OK State, who teaches in Wichita. The game could be the final match for Sterling's four seniors but I think they will survive and advance to the conference tournament.

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PROFILE: RYAN COVEY

RYAN COVEY # 14

Position: Forward

Hometown: Edmond, Oklahoma

High School: Bishop McGuinness

Club Team: North Oklahoma City Azzurri

Coach's Comments: With 37 goals in his career, Covey is second on the list of all-time goal scorers at Sterling College. We would anticipate that Covey will surpass Brandon Winn (39) as the top goal-scorer in Sterling history sometime early in the season. Ryan is a pure finisher, looking to turn every touch into a goal-scoring opportunity. Covey has worked incredibly hard in the off-season to become probably our most fit player, which should translate into an increase in goals later in matches.

Major: Business

Class: Senior



KHC'S Note's: Covey broke Coach Winn's career scoring record on September 6th, and was named KCAC conference player of the week and NAIA national player of the week on October 14th.

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