Sports

• Major League Soccer Playoffs

  Sports November 5, 2009 at 8:51 pm Comments are Disabled

  Donald O’Mahony, Staff Writer First Round: Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Chivas USA: This matchup includes the two teams that share the Home Depot Center in Los Angeles. The star-studded Galaxy boasts players like Landon Donovan and David Beckham, along with many other players that have experience at the highest level. No team lost fewer games than the Galaxy this season and I expect them to advance. Houston Dynamo vs. Seattle Sounders: The Dynamo have won two of the last three championships and finished the season tied for the second-best record. Players like Brian Ching and Stuart Holden lead a very dangerous attack while goalkeeper Pat Onstad finished tied for second in the league with 10 shutouts. The expansion Sounders field a very similar team with players like Fredy Montero and Freddie Ljungberg along with goalkeeper Kasey Keller, who had the second-lowest goals-against- average statistic in the league. I pick the Dynamo to go through based on their experience. Columbus Crew vs. Real Salt Lake: The Crew goes into the playoffs with the best record in the league this season. Guillermo Barros Schelotto won the MVP award last season and tied for third in the league in goals this year. Real […]

   

• Marquez Helps Patriots Slay Dragons: Mason Makes a Push for the CAA Tournament

  Sports November 5, 2009 at 8:49 pm Comments are Disabled

  Cody Norman, Broadside Correspondent Junior forward Ernesto Marquez led the way for the men’s soccer team as the Patriots defeated the Drexel Dragons 3-1 on Tuesday afternoon at Vidas Field in Philadelphia, Pa. Marquez gave the Patriots an immediate lead, scoring only two minutes into the game. After a foul by Drexel permitted a penalty kick from just outside the right corner of the goalie box, Marquez bent the ball inside the near post past Drexel goalkeeper Tres Heffron to give Mason a 1-0 lead. After the Dragons tied the score in the 17th minute when Taylor Brophy recorded the first goal of his short career, junior forward Victor Freeman took Drexel defender Jon Volpatti one-on-one and scored to begin the second half. Freeman’s goal was his team-leading seventh of the season and gave the Patriots the lead for good. Mason added an insurance goal in the final 40 seconds when Freeman led a two-on-one breakaway into the goalie box before passing off to Marquez for his second goal of the afternoon to make the score 3-1. The win bumped the Patriots into a three-way tie for third place in the Colonial Athletic Association standings with a 10-5-1 overall record […]

   

• It All Starts With the Owner: Snyder’s Ideology Should Be Bottom-up

  Sports November 5, 2009 at 8:47 pm Comments are Disabled

  Chris DeMarco, Staff Writer Another Redskins’ loss brings more and more criticism onto the organization. In the Redskins’ first seven games, they have played six winless teams. As a result, they are only 2-5. They gave the lowly Detroit Lions their first win in 19 games. That is the closest thing to a highlight for the Redskins this year, and it is definitely not a pretty one. The media can only blame Head Coach Jim Zorn so much. He does what he can with what he is provided, which is practically a team made up like a fantasy football team. Zorn and the fans have the Redskins wonderful owner Daniel Snyder and President of Football Operations Vinny Cerrato to thank for that. Do not get me wrong, as an Eagles fan, nothing makes me happier than seeing unhappy Redskins fans, but it has gotten to the point in which I just feel bad for them, and that pains me to say. In the 10 years since Snyder bought the team, he has opened his wallet and overpaid for past-their-prime stars in Deion Sanders, Bruce Smith, and Mark Brunell. He has hired and fired good coaches like Norv Turner and Marty […]

   

• Pink Beats the Panthers: Mason Moves Past Tribe for Third Place

  Sports November 5, 2009 at 8:44 pm Comments are Disabled

  Brian T. Chan, Sports Editor Supporting breast cancer awareness, the George Mason University women’s volleyball team sported their pink uniforms. Even with the different look, Mason (19-7, 8-3) carried out the match in a familiar fashion they had throughout this season, defeating the Georgia State Panthers in four sets on Saturday night. After dominating the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks on Friday, Mason recorded nine attack errors in the first set. Both teams struggled as they combined for 16 errors in the first set alone. Despite the back-and-forth errors, Mason battled hand-in-hand with the Panthers, but the Panthers took the first set with a narrow 25-23 win. Mason had a stronger showing in the second set, hitting .424 in the set. The team closed out the set with a 25-18 win and entered the third set with more confidence. “We started off kind of slow, and Georgia State really came to play tonight, so we had to re-focus ourselves, get back into it, and stick together as a team,” said freshman libero Koala Matsuoka, who had a match-leading 18 digs in Friday’s match. Mason jumped to a 9-1 lead early in the third set. Eleven of Mason’s first 18 points in the set […]

   

• Sports at a Glance

  Sports November 5, 2009 at 8:39 pm Comments are Disabled

  Ryan Dempsey, Staff Writer Men’s College Basketball As the men’s college basketball season is getting ready to start, the Associated Press has announced its rankings for the preseason poll. The AP voted the Kansas Jayhawks number one in the country with Michigan State Spartans, the Texas Longhorns, the Kentucky Wildcats and the Villanova Wildcats rounding out the top five. The AP ranked the defending national champions, North Carolina Tar Heels, sixth and their biggest rival, Duke Blue Devils, ninth. MLB Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig has announced that MLB will be looking into the use of instant replay next season. Selig, who is against expanding the use of replays beyond home-run calls, personally believes that the tempo of the game will change dramatically with the use of instant replays. Despite his anti-replay beliefs, Selig understands that there is a serious issue at hand and that it must be addressed immediately. “I understand we have had some incidents that were most unfortunate,” Selig said. “They were controversial and beyond controversial. There is no sense in hiding that, nor would I.” Whether or not the Philadelphia Phillies win the World Series back-to-back, the team that has played so impressively for two […]

   

• In My Own Words: Midterm Examination

  Sports November 5, 2009 at 8:37 pm Comments are Disabled

  Fernanda Bartels, Staff Writer The last couple of weeks were midterm evaluation period. It is time for midterm evaluations in the classroom and also on the court. Besides finals period, midterms are the second most stressful part of the semester. All the deadlines for major projects, papers, presentations and exams seem to accumulate in one week. If you are lucky, your “hell week” may be spread in two weeks. It is exam after exam on top of endless homework. We also encounter the exhaustion of the college routine around midterm time. The lack of sleep reaches its limit, and there never seems to be enough time. Thank God for Thanksgiving Break, otherwise we would not survive finals. The weather also changes by the middle of the semester to contribute to the chaos and stress around midterm time. With your immune system low because of the nights you spent awake studying, or in my case the poor-quality sleep I get during flights and bus rides, a simple weather change can put you in bed. All of these factors combined help set the context for midterm evaluations. Just like in the classroom, we have just passed the middle of our volleyball “semester.” […]

   

• Too Close to Call

  Sports October 30, 2009 at 11:09 pm Comments are Disabled

  Sophomore middle blocker Kelsey Bohman recorded nine blocks as Mason totaled 12 team blocks in their 3-0 sweep over the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks on Friday night. Sophomore outside hitter Noelle Fanella added a double-double with 14 kills and 14 digs. Mason improved to 18-7 overall, and despite staying in fourth place, the competition among the top four teams tightened as the Delaware Blue Hens dropped a five-set thriller to the VCU Rams. Mason is just a half game behind the two second-place teams, Rams and William & Mary Tribe, but after Friday night, Mason closed the gap to one game on the Blue Hens. Mason hosts the Georgia State Panthers at the RAC tomorrow night. The Panthers are another tough customer despite not having a good showing in conference play thus far. Not only will Mason try to prevent the upset to solidify a top four spot, but the team looks to contend for a spot on top of the standings by the season’s end.

   

• The Sport of Warlocks: Muggle Students Look into Forming a Quidditch Club

  Sports October 27, 2009 at 3:29 pm Comments are Disabled

  Ryan Comer, Broadside Correspondent A new intramural sport is literally sweeping through college campuses. Quidditch, the beloved wizard sport in the Harry Potter series, is now accessible to Muggles: no magic needed! Some of you may be wondering: “How do you play Quidditch without a flying broomstick?” I, myself was curious, so I sat down with the president of the Quidditch Club at George Mason University, Katie Dever, and executive board member Chloe Kingsley-Burt, and asked them. They explained that the Muggle version of the game is actually very similar to the version in J.K Rowling’s books (albeit, without flying broomsticks). There are, as in a normal Quidditch game, seven players per team: three chasers, two beaters, one keeper and one seeker. Bludgers are replaced by a more benign ball (a dodgeball), however, as the girls explained, it is still a contact sport. “You can punch someone in the face and not be ejected,” explained Dever. However, “you will have to sit out for a penalty period.” Indeed, the game sounds exciting, even more so when you factor in the Golden Snitch. Because of a shortage of actual flying Snitches, Muggle Quidditch uses a person (usually a track athlete, explained […]

   

• Earthquake in the East: NFC East Rivals Play Monday Night

  Sports October 27, 2009 at 3:27 pm Comments are Disabled

  Patrick Wall, Style Editor Monday Night Football features division rivals with a lot to prove tonight as the Washington Redskins play host to the neighboring Philadelphia Eagles. Last week was forgettable for both teams. The Eagles’ normally potent offense sputtered against the Raiders’ defense and could not muster a touchdown in an embarrassing 13-9 loss in Oakland. Playcalling was largely to blame, as the Eagles ran the ball only 12 times all game. “[The] Raiders out-coached us and they outplayed us in every phase of the game,” Eagles Head Coach Andy Reid said after last week’s game. “[They] did a heck of a job and we didn’t. And it hurts.” Play calling has also been an issue for the ‘Skins. General Manager Vinny Cerrato stripped Head Coach Jim Zorn of his play calling duties following last week’s 14-6 home loss to the then-winless Chiefs. Washington’s locker room has been a somber place in recent weeks. Several players openly questioned the team’s direction last week. Cornerback Carlos Rogers made news when he called out team owner Daniel Snyder, saying that everyone in the organization was responsible for the team’s struggles, starting with Snyder. Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell will be starting on […]

   

• Patriots Score Another Win: Omolyn Davis Scores a Hat Trick as Patriots Rally in Overtime

  Sports October 27, 2009 at 3:26 pm Comments are Disabled

  John Powell, Asst. Sports Editor The George Mason University Patriots soared past the William & Mary Tribe 3-0 Friday night, led by junior midfielder Omolyn Davis’ hat trick. The Patriots picked up the win in overtime, winning for the first time in Williamsburg since 2000. The Patriots (12-4-2, 4-3-2) are in fifth place in the Colonial Athletic Association, now ahead of the Tribe (10-7, 4-5) in the season’s overall standings and in conference play. A Tribe member, junior defender Kaitlin O’Conner nailed a goal off freshman goalkeeper Katie Frey’s hands at the 50-minure mark for the first Tribe goal of the game. The Patriots, never down during the entire game, allowed a goal with 54 seconds left in the game, sending the contest into overtime. Freshman forward Tiana Kallenberger was credited with assists on the first two goals. “Tiana continues to play much older than a freshman. Our seniors continue to lead this group. I am very proud of their character,” said Head Coach Diane Drake of Kallenberger’s success in feeding the ball throughout the game, as stated by GoMason.com. Kallenberger was also given a yellow card in the 86th minute by referee Andrew Chapin. Senior forward Theresa DeLucca was […]