October 15, 2007

The Principia College men's soccer team received a No. 8 ranking in last week's NSCAA/adidas Central Region Rankings. The Panthers are currently 10-1-1 overall and stand at 6-0 in the SLIAC. Fontbonne University is also undefeated in conference play at 6-0, but that could soon change for either team as they meet this Tuesday, October 16, in a 7:00 pm conference matchup at Principia.

Another key matchup this week will be Webster University at Maryville University (Mo.) on Thursday, October 18. The Saints come into the week in hold of third place at 5-2 in conference play. The Gorloks are one of three teams (Greenville College & Westminster College (Mo.)) with four victories in the SLIAC.

In the NCAA Division III statistical rankings, several SLIAC men's soccer teams were ranked in the top 25 through games as of October 7. Westminster and Webster were ranked fourth and 14th respectively in Scoring Offense, while Principia was ranked 22nd in Won-Lost-Tied Percentage. Individually, Westminster's Matt Mercer was ranked second in Points per Game (3.7) and third in Goals per Game (1.6). Webster's Kevin Fann was ranked fourth in Points per Game (2.91) and fourth in Goals per Game (1.27), while the Gorloks' Scott Filla ranked fifth in Assists per Game (0.9). Finally, Eureka College's Garin Pisano led the nation in Saves with an average of 14.6 per game.

In the women's soccer NSCAA/adidas Central Region Rankings, Webster University received a No. 10 ranking. The Gorloks are currently in a tie for first place in the SLIAC with Maryville University (Mo.). The two teams are 6-1 in conference play, while Webster stands at 13-2 overall. Webster picked up a key conference victory versus Principia College last week, defeating the Panthers 4-1.

Webster, Maryville and Principia have locked up the top three spots in the conference tournament, with the seeds still yet to be determined. It is the race for the fourth and final spot that everyone will have their eye on this week. Westminster, Greenville and Fontbonne all have three victories, with the Panthers and Blue Jays meeting this upcoming Saturday, October 20.

In the NCAA Division III statistical rankings, several SLIAC women's soccer teams were ranked in the top 25 through games as of October 7. Webster and Principia were ranked third and 13th respectively in Scoring Offense. Individually, Webster's Kelsey McClure was ranked sixth in Points per Game (3.23). Also ranked in the top 10 individually were MacMurray College's Megan Usherwood and Greenville's Jackie Sievert. Usherwood was ranked fifth in Saves per Game (14.33), while Sievert ranked third in Assists per Game (0.91).

Webster and Principia remain in a tight race in the volleyball standings. Principia handed the Gorloks their first conference loss last week behind the outstanding play of Christina Speer, who had 40 kills, a .544 attack percentage, 19 digs and three blocks. Fontbonne also recorded a key victory versus Maryville last week. The two teams, along with Eureka College, are all in the running for the fourth and final spot in the conference tournament.

In the NCAA Division III statistical rankings, Maryville, Principia and Westminster had either team or individual rankings through games as of October 7. Westminster was ranked seventh in Digs per Game (23.39), while the Blue Jays' Shanna Crafts was ranked seventh in Digs per Game (6.98). Speer and Maryville's Maggie Hoette were also ranked 12th and 19th respectively in Kills per Game.

On the race paths many SLIAC cross country squads will take this week off to prepare for the SLIAC Cross Country Championships slated for next Saturday, October 27, in Hillsboro, Ill. Principia's Peter Swank is poised to make run for the men's conference crown. Swank placed first out of 66 runners last weekend at the Illinois College XC Invitational. Greenville also competed at Illinois College and had Rodney Oyler and Josh Bond place eighth and 10th respectively.

The Greenville women's cross country squad dominated last weekend at the Illinois College XC Invitational. The Panthers had five runners place in the top 10. Leading the pack were Jen Sutton (20:07.39), Jamie O'Connor (20:13.14) and Liz Derstine (20:14.52) in third, fourth and fifth place respectively. Coming up this week Blackburn, Fontbonne and Webster women, along with Blackburn and Fontbonne men, will compete at the St. Louis College of Pharmacy Invitational.