Saint Michael's College Athletics

This Week in Saint Michael's College Athletics ‒ September 5-11

Men's and Women's Cross Country Opens Season with Third-Place Finishes

The Saint Michael's College men's and women's cross country teams opened their 2011 seasons on Sunday against Division I programs Columbia University and University of Vermont, both taking third.

For the women, sophomore Gabrielle Naranja (Fort Kent, Maine/Fort Kent Community) took 14th with a time of 19:37, beating out 13 Division I runners. Naranja has now been the Purple Knights' top finisher at all seven races of her career. Next was a trio of freshmen, paced by Chloe Boutelle (Saratoga Springs, N.Y./Saratoga Springs) in 20th. Colleen Gilliatt (Grantham, N.H./Lebanon) and Lindy Heffernan (Sutton Mills, N.H./Kearsarge Regional) were the third and fourth Purple Knight runners, respectively. Senior men Tom Perekslis (Duxbury, Mass./Duxbury) and Matt Smith (Winchester, Mass./Winchester/Muhlenberg) finished within 0.2 seconds of one another as their team's top two finishers. Perekslis, the 29th-place runner, clocked in at 29:01.7, while Smith was at 29:01.9 in 30th. Each finished ahead of six Vermont competitors. Classmate Robert Sitzer (Lenox, Mass./Lenox Memorial) was the Purple Knights' third finisher, taking 32nd.


Field Hockey (0-5) Suffers Three Losses in Non-Conference Play

The Saint Michael's College field hockey team suffered three losses last week, all in non-league play against Northeast-10 Conference counterparts. The Purple Knights fell 3-0 in their home opener on Wednesday to No. 1 University of Massachusetts at Lowell before losing at Southern Connecticut State University, 4-3, on Saturday and 3-0 at Adelphi University on Sunday.

Against UMass Lowell, senior goalkeeper Jackie Stacey (West Windsor, Vt./Woodstock Union) tallied eight saves against the defending national champion while sophomore Caroline Casper (Norfolk, Mass./Thayer Academy) and freshman Hannah Beardsley (Essex, Mass./Manchester Essex Regional) both recorded defensive saves. At Southern Connecticut State, senior Megan Hill (Guilford, Conn./Guilford) and juniors Kelly MacDonald (Wayland, Mass./Wayland) and Hali Roy (South Pomfret, Vt./Woodstock Union) all scored for the Purple Knights, while Stacey collected four saves. The marker was MacDonald's first in college. Against Adelphi, Stacey made seven saves in the first half before freshmen Jackie Chisholm (New Braintree, Mass./Quabbin Regional) and Sarah Healey (Canton, Mass./Canton) shared goalkeeping duties in the second half. Chisholm and Healey both made their collegiate debuts, tallying one stop each.

Men's Soccer (2-1-1) Posts Two Wins Against In-State Competition

The Saint Michael's College men's soccer team went 2-0 last week, defeating host Johnson State College, 4-1, on Tuesday and visiting Lyndon State College, 5-0, on Thursday.

Against Johnson State, junior Ian Rowe (Waterville, Maine/Waterville) scored and added an assist. Junior Chris Eckels (Colchester, Conn./Bacon Academy) and sophomore Omar Khartabil (Hampstead, N.H./Bridgton Academy) each collected their first college tally, while sophomore Anthony Stanley (La Ceiba, Honduras/Saint Johnsbury Academy) also scored for the Purple Knights. Junior Logan Kingman (New Bern, N.C./New Bern) made a pair of saves.

The Purple Knights opened up their home schedule against Lyndon State, as Khartabil contributed two goals while freshmen Thomas Barron (Westfield, Mass./Westfield) and Simon Rodriguez (Miami, Fla./Felix Varela Senior) both contributed a goal and assist. Junior Steve Scanlon (East Sandwich, Mass./Sandwich) also scored and freshman Colin Basler (Old Lyme, Conn./Lyme-Old Lyme) tallied two assists. The goals by Barron, Rodriguez and Scanlon were their first as collegiate athletes. Kingman stopped three shots in 76-plus minutes before sophomore Chris Howard (Shelburne, Vt./Champlain Valley Union) made an untested collegiate debut.

Women's Soccer (1-3, 0-2) Drops Two Conference Contests

The Saint Michael's College women's soccer team went 0-2 last week during Northeast-10 Conference play, losing to visiting Stonehill College, 3-1 on Friday before falling at Bentley University, 2-1, on Sunday. Senior Katie Murphy (Woodbridge, Conn./Amity Regional) tallied a goal in each contest, while junior Cassie Crockett (Gilmanton, N.H./Gilford) assisted each goal. Senior keeper Ashleigh Adams (Milton, Vt./Milton) made four saves against Stonehill while classmate Brittany Cocozza (East Greenwich, R.I./East Greenwich/Saint John's [N.Y.]) collected one stop against Bentley.


Women's Volleyball (6-3) Stretches Win Streak to Six Matches

The Saint Michael's College women's volleyball team went 5-0 last week, extending its winning streak to six matches, beginning by picking up a 3-0 win at Norwich University on Tuesday. The Purple Knights then went 4-0 at the Victory Promotions Invitational over the weekend at the State University of New York at Potsdam and Saint Lawrence (N.Y.) University, topping both Cazenovia (N.Y.) College and the State University of New York at Oswego, 3-0, on Friday and beating both Saint Lawrence and Hamilton (N.Y.) College, 3-1, on Saturday. Sophomore Chelsey Covitz (Marshfield, Mass./Marshfield) was named all-tournament for the second straight weekend.

At Norwich, Covitz led the attack with 15 kills, while junior Katie Walsh (North Kingstown, R.I./The Prout School) notched 12 kills, 13 digs and six aces. Sophomore Jess McLeod (Medfield, Mass./Medfield) turned in 30 assists and seven digs, while junior Courtney Dunne (Hopkinton, Mass./Bancroft School) added seven digs.

Against Cazenovia, junior Tracy Peterka (Newport Beach, Calif./Mater Dei) notched seven kills while dropping four service aces, and Walsh added nine aces and four kills. Covitz had five aces, as the Purple Knights finished with 26 for the evening. McLeod provided 26 assists. Covitz led the offense with 11 kills on 17 attacks against SUNY Oswego, while Peterka had seven kills. Sophomore Madeleine Gaughan (Stoneham, Mass./Stoneham) had six kills in her second collegiate match, while Walsh dropped in seven more aces. McLeod collected 19 assists, and sophomore Cynthia Edgerton (Vail, Colo./Vail Mountain School) added five aces.

Against Saint Lawrence, Walsh tallied 17 kills and five blocks. Covitz and Peterka each had 11 kills, while junior Samantha Clairemont (Conway, Mass./Frontier Regional) had 10 kills and six blocks. McLeod provided 33 assists, and classmate Brianna Saunders (Litchfield, N.H./Campbell) dropped in seven service aces. Dunne tacked on 20 digs, and Edgerton added three aces. Versus Hamilton, Covitz provided 14 kills, six blocks and five aces, while Peterka turned in 14 kills and seven digs. Clairemont notched 12 kills and six blocks, and Walsh had eight kills. McLeod dished out 33 assists while picking up five blocks, and Dunne had 15 digs.