The Malone College women’s soccer team secured a postseason spot in the AMC Qualifying Tournament with a thrilling 2-1 victory over Cedarville University last Tuesday.  As the #4 AMC South seed, the Pioneers then traveled to AMC South #1 seed Ohio Dominican University on Saturday where they knocked off the Panthers by a final score of 2-1.  With that playoff victory, Malone advances to the NAIA Region IX/X Tournament quarterfinals and will host an NAIA Region IX/X quarterfinal playoff game on Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. against Notre Dame (OH) College to determine the fourth and final spot in the Region IX/X Tournament.  The four-team NAIA Region IX/X tournament will then be held on Friday, November 3 and Saturday, November 4 (site TBA), whose champion will advance to the NAIA National Tournament in Olathe, Kansas November 15-21.
     Against Cedarville, the match remained scoreless throughout the first half of play before Malone was able to grab an early 1-0 lead in the 49th minute as Fleur Wynne-Morgan (Jr., County Kerry, Ireland) and Shannon O’Connor (So., Brunswick H.S.) combined to assist Julie Herbst (Sr., Dyer, IN) on her 14th goal of the season.  The Yellow Jackets answered back to tie the game up with a goal of their own in the 65th minute.  Then in the 87th minute, as the match appeared to be headed for overtime, Malone was able to break the tie as O’Connor assisted Herbst once again to give Malone a 2-1 advantage en route to the victory.  The Pioneers recorded six shots on goal in the match while keeper Stacy Messner (Fr., Green H.S.) posted five saves.  Cedarville also tallied six shots on goal and four saves.
     Against Ohio Dominican, Malone jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the 10th minute as Herbst assisted Wynne-Morgan.  The score remained unchanged until ten minutes into the second half when the Panthers tallied a goal to tie the game at 1-1.  Malone was able to pull ahead 2-1 minutes later as Herbst beat an Ohio Dominican defender and keeper to give the Pioneers the lead in the 66th minute.  Malone hung onto this slim advantage over the remainder of the match, winning by the 2-1 final.  The Pioneers launched 13 shots on goal in the contest while Messner snagged 18 saves.  Ohio Dominican recorded 19 shots on goal and 11 saves.
     This week, Malone (11-6-2, 4-3-1 AMC S) will host an NAIA Region IX/X quarterfinal tournament game against Notre Dame (OH) College on Tuesday at 1:00 p.m.  If the Pioneers win this contest, they will advance to the region tournament semifinals on Friday, November 3 (site TBA).

 

 

     The Malone College football team picked up its fifth win of the season last Saturday with a 28-14 victory over Taylor (IN) University, the first time the team has notched at least five wins since the 1998 season when they were 7-4 and made the NAIA postseason.  The Pioneers held a 21-0 lead at the start of the fourth quarter before withstanding a late Trojan rally en route to the conference road win.  Malone’s defense controlled the game for most of the afternoon, holding Taylor to 82 yards rushing and 76 yards passing for 158 total yards while the Pioneer offense compiled 106 rushing yards and 120 passing yards for a total of 226 yards.  With the victory, Malone improves its overall record to 5-3 with a 3-2 mark in MSFA Mideast.
     Both teams struggled to move the ball on offense in the early going as the two squads combined for five punts in the first quarter of play.  The Pioneers were able to get things going in the second quarter, though, with a quick two-play, 49-yard scoring drive that ended with a 29-yard touchdown run by junior running back Bernard Payton (Pomona, CA).  Place kicker Mike Skvor (So., Long Beach, CA) added the extra point to give Malone a 7-0 halftime lead.
     The Pioneers then pulled ahead 14-0 following an 11-play, 65-yard drive to start the third quarter that was capped off by Payton’s second touchdown run of the game (Skvor’s extra point was good).  Malone quickly added another score on the Trojan’s ensuing possession as linebacker Steve Powell (So., Girard H.S.) recovered a Taylor fumble in the end zone (ball snapped over Trojan punter’s head) to put the Pioneers up 21-0 with over eight minutes remaining in the third quarter.  The score remained unchanged until early in the fourth stanza when Trojan running back Anthony Lee scored on a four-yard touchdown scamper to cut Malone’s advantage to 21-7. 
     Taylor then surprised the Pioneers on the ensuing kickoff with an onside kick attempt that the Trojans were able to successfully recover.  Taylor struck quickly with a 43-yard Lee touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage following the kick to pull the Trojans within seven with 13:19 remaining in the contest.  With the momentum on its side, Taylor forced a quick three-and-out on Malone’s next possession and proceeded to drive the ball into Pioneer territory before senior defensive back Rayshawn Cole (Firestone H.S.) snagged a crucial interception to halt the Trojan’s rally.   Malone then methodically marched the ball down the field, eating over six minutes off the clock, before quarterback Brad Reifsnyder (Sr., Hoover H.S.) cemented the win with a three-yard touchdown run to put the Pioneers in front by two scores with just 1:23 remaining in the game.
     Payton tallied 106 yards rushing on 25 carries to go with a team-high five pass receptions on the afternoon for 27 yards.  Reifsnyder completed 14 of 27 pass attempts for 120 yards with one interception and one rushing touchdown.  Wide receiver Josh Settlemire (Jr., Howland H.S.) recorded three catches for 36 yards while tight end LaRoi Johnson (Jr., Pittsburgh, PA) snagged three pass receptions for 21 yards and wide receiver Mike Clapham (Jr., Elyria Catholic H.S.) posted two catches for 32 yards.
     Defensively, linebacker Jamal Gambrell (Jr., Maple Heights H.S.) paced the squad with 11 tackles (six solo) followed by Cole with 9 (six solo, 1.5 tackles for loss) and the comeback-ending interception.  Linebacker Justin Murphy (Jr., Minerva H.S.) added seven tackles (three solo, one TFL) while defensive lineman Nick Rousher (Fr., Canfield H.S.) posted six tackles (three solo, two TFL) and one sack.  In addition, lineman Brian Landies (Sr., Chardon H.S.) posted six tackles (two solo, one TFL) while linebacker Kevin Kapostasy (Jr., Fairport H.S.) had five tackles (three solo, one TFL).
     This week, Malone (5-3, 3-2 MSFA Mideast) will host its final home game of the season with a 12:30 p.m. match-up against Seton Hill (PA) University (1-8).  Note: Kickoff for this game was originally scheduled for 2:00 p.m. but the start of the game has been changed to 12:30 p.m. to accomodate a high school football playoff game at Fawcett Stadium later that evening.

 

 

     The Malone College volleyball team suffered the first of three tough conference losses last week to NAIA #17 Walsh University at home last Tuesday 22-30, 23-30, 21-30.  The squad then traveled to Urbana University last Thursday night, falling 17-30, 21-30, 30-25, 21-30 to the Blue Knights.  The Pioneers then wrapped up the week at home on Friday, losing to NAIA #24 Cedarville University 19-30, 23-30, 28-30.  Following the 0-3 week, Malone’s overall record now stands at 20-19 with a 5-10 mark in the AMC South Division.  With just one regular-season match remaining, the Pioneers are currently in sixth place in the AMC South Division standings and therefore would qualify for the AMC Tournament in the final playoff spot if postseason play started today (six teams from each of the North and South Divisions will qualify for the twelve-team event to be held November 10th and 11th at the North Division Champion).
     Against Walsh, sophomore Catie Huggins (St. Vincent/St. Mary H.S.) led the way with 11 kills and five blocks (two solo) followed by senior Racquel O’Hara (Claymont H.S.) with nine kills, 14 digs, and two service aces.  Senior Ashley Yocum (Jonathan Alder H.S.) added four kills and 11 digs while sophomore Bethany Thompson (Tusc. Central Catholic H.S.) dished out 26 assists.
     Against Urbana, Yocum paced the squad with 14 kills and 20 digs followed by O’Hara with 11 kills and 19 digs.  Freshman Kristen Schoolcraft (McKinley H.S.) tallied six kills and seven blocks (three solo) with Huggins contributing five kills and a Pioneer season-high nine blocks (five solo).  Junior Talin Celuch (New Philadelphia H.S.) scooped-up 20 digs while freshman Casie Mruk (Revere H.S.) recorded 33 assists.
     Against Cedarville, O’Hara tallied 10 kills and 14 digs with freshman Lauren Rider (Fr., Boardman H.S.) adding seven kills.  Huggins posted five kills and three blocks (one solo) while Yocum recorded four kills and four blocks (two solo).  In addition, Mruk contributed 24 assists. 
     This week, Malone (20-19, 5-10 AMC S) will conclude its regular season with a 7:00 p.m. match at home against Ohio Dominican University (6-23, 2-12 AMC S) on Tuesday. 

 

 

     The Malone College men’s soccer team suffered a pair of tough conference losses on the road last week, falling to Walsh University 2-1 in overtime last Wednesday night before losing 5-0 at Cedarville University last Saturday night.  With the 0-2 week, Malone’s overall record now stands at 6-8-2 with a 0-7-1 mark in the AMC South Division.   
     Against Walsh, the Cavaliers grabbed an early advantage on a penalty kick in the 11th minute.  Malone pulled even early in the second half as Rick King (Sr., Howland H.S.) assisted Alex Ferrandez (Sr., Elche, Spain) on his sixth goal of the season in the 55th minute to tie the contest at 1-1.  Neither team could score over the remainder of regulation, sending the rivalry game into an extra period.  Walsh was then able to pull out the dramatic sudden death victory with a header in the fourth minute of overtime.  The Pioneers posted six shots on goal in the match while keeper Mike Porter (Jr., Highland H.S.) tallied three saves.  Walsh recorded five shots on goal and five saves.
     Against Cedarville, the Yellow Jackets jumped out to a 1-0 lead with a goal in the 28th minute.  The score remained unchanged until the beginning of the second half when Cedarville exploded for four goals over the first 15 minutes of the period to take a commanding 5-0 advantage.  Malone was unable to get on the board over the remaining 30 minutes, falling by the 5-0 final.  The Pioneers mustered just three shots on goal in the match while Porter and keeper Scott Garber (Sr., Heritage Christian H.S.) combined to make 12 saves.  The Yellow Jackets posted 17 shots on goal and three saves. 
     This week, Malone (6-8-2, 0-7-1 AMC S) will wrap up its season at home on Tuesday with a make-up match against Geneva (PA) College (3-11-3, 0-4-1 AMC N) at 3:30 p.m.