Nick Landon

Just over a year ago, the Miners entered a game with Drury while holding the lead in the Great Lakes Valley Conference -- but fell out of first place after a loss to the Panthers.

UMR turned the tables on Drury Friday night, getting an early goal from Nick Landon and holding on for a 1-0 victory at the UMR Soccer Field. The win, which ended the Miners' three-game losing streak, dropped the seventh-ranked Panthers from the top spot in the GLVC standings to third place.

After a sluggish stretch to open the game, the Miners got a corner kick and were able to convert it into the only goal of the contest. Brandon Moore's serve was headed across the goal crease by Landon and off a Drury defender who was trying to save it from going into the net at the 12:48 mark.

From there, the MIner defense had the charge of holding off the Panthers' repeated forays down the field. Drury outshot UMR 13-9 in the game and had a 9-5 edge in the second half, but Mike McNamee - with help from the defense - made five saves to record the shutout. Drury (8-2-3 overall, 5-2-1 Great Lakes Valley Conference) did have two shots go off the crossbar in the second half.

UMR (5-6 overall, 3-3 GLVC) will head to Kansas City Sunday for a noon contest against Rockhurst (6-5-1, 5-3 GLVC), the team that ended its season last year in the GLVC Tournament. The Hawks dropped a 1-0 decision at home Friday to Missouri-St. Louis.

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Brittany Parker

The Lady Miners were shut out Friday night -- but came away from the contest with some satisfaction for a change.

Thanks to some solid play by senior goalkeeper Brittany Parker and the defensive unit, the Lady Miners played Drury to a 0-0 tie Friday night at the UMR Soccer Field. The result ended a frustrating 10-game losing streak for UMR.

Parker made five saves in goal, including one on a penalty kick by Laura Adams in the final minute of the first half to keep the contest scoreless at the half. Earlier in the period, she made an initial stop on a shot, only to have the ball trickle past her and get cleared off the end line by the UMR defense.

The Lady MIner defense made a similar play in the second half to keep the game tied.

UMR had 15 shots in the game to Drury's 17 and had eight on goal. However, DU goalkeeper Barri Bulla turned away all of the attempts, including the only shot on net in the overtime session.

UMR (0-10-1 overall, 0-5-1 Great Lakes Valley Conference) will return to action Sunday when it travels to Kansas City to face Rockhurst in a 2:30 p.m. game. The Hawks (6-5-1, 5-3 GLVC) lost 1-0 to visiting MIssouri-St. Louis Friday.

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ROLLA, Mo. – Two former basketball standouts, a solid two-sport athlete, a long-time coach with the program and a championship football team that is celebrating an anniversary season this year make up this year’s MSM-UMR Athletic Hall of Fame class that will be inducted this weekend.

The induction ceremony is scheduled to take place at the St. Pat’s Ballroom in Havener Center at 3 p.m. Saturday and this year’s induction class will also be honored at halftime of the Miners’ football game Saturday night against Saint Joseph’s College. The football game starts at 6:30 p.m. at Allgood-Bailey Stadium.

This year’s class of inductees includes:

JENNIFER (CORDES) JANSEN (Class of 1991): A standout for the UMR women’s basketball team, she finished her playing career as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 1,416 points and second in rebounds with 661. She earned first-team All-MIAA honors and first-team Academic All-America honors following her senior year when she led the Lady Miners in scoring with an average of 17.1 points per game. She earned second-team All-MIAA honors in both the 1987-88 and 1988-89 seasons. A two-sport student-athlete who also played softball, she set the UMR career record for field goals made with 562 in her four-year career.

DUANE HUDDLESTON (Class of 1989): Huddleston was one of the prolific long-range shooters in the nation in the first years that the three-point line became a part of college basketball. He earned third-team All-America honors following a senior year where he averaged 24.2 points per game. Huddleston scored 1,475 points in his career at UMR, the second-best mark in school history when he finished his career and made 51 percent of his three-point attempts in the two seasons in which the three-point shot was in effect. He set an NCAA Division II record by making 10 straight three-pointers in a game against Northeast Missouri State in 1988 in a season where he earned his second straight All-MIAA first team award.

CRAIG THOMAS (Class of 1984): An outstanding two-sport student-athlete at UMR who played on the Miner football and baseball teams. In football, he played defensive back and served as UMR’s placekicker; in his four seasons, he connected on 77 of 89 extra point attempts and 17 of 29 field goals. A member of the Miners’ undefeated team in 1980, he also intercepted 11 passes during his career as a two-year starter at the free safety position and earned honorable mention All-MIAA honors following the 1982 season. In baseball, Thomas was a three-time selection to the All-MIAA team, earning first-team laurels in 1983 and also named as the team’s most valuable player in baseball in 1982. He finished his UMR baseball career as a .308 hitter and in the top 10 for career doubles, home runs and runs batted in.

BURR VAN NOSTRAND (Coach): A long-time member of the Miner coaching staff, Van Nostrand headed the swimming program and also served as an assistant on the football staff for 21 seasons. He coached the interior line on the football staff and in addition to serving as the head swimming coach, also assisted the track team and ran the university’s intramural program. Van Nostrand also served for the country during World War II and was the first head coach of the Rolla High School football program in 1948 before joining the Miner coaching staff in 1953.

1956 FOOTBALL TEAM (Team Induction): The Miners’ 1956 football team won a share of the Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association championship with a 4-1 conference record and 6-3 overall record. The team won its final three games that season to gain its share of the title and held six of its nine opponents to under 10 points. Only one team scored more than 20 points against MSM that season and that came in a Miner victory. The ‘56 Miners, which allowed their opponents an average of only 96.1 yards per game, boasted five all-conference performers with a balanced offensive attack.

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Gabriel Cunha

Ashton Gronewold

The University of Missouri-Rolla football team swept the weekly awards from the Great Lakes Football Conference this week as wide receiver Ashton Gronewold (Carthage, Ill.) and linebacker Gabriel Cunha (Turlock, Calif.) earned the honors after the Miners’ 49-37 win at Morehead State Saturday night.

Gronewold established four school records during the course of a game in which he caught nine passes for 229 yards and three touchdowns. The 229 yards were a single-game record at UMR and also allowed him to surpass the career mark for receiving yards as his total went to 2,013 after the game. In addition, his three touchdowns, which covered 15, 56 and 49 yards, gave him the school records for touchdowns scored with 32 and points scored with 192.

Cunha was credited with 11 tackles, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery in the game and helped a defensive effort that sparked the comeback. UMR had trailed by as many as 14 points on two occasions, but the defense had a stretch in the second half where it forced turnovers on three straight Morehead State posseessions. The offense turned those three takeaways into a decisive 21-point run in which the Miners took the lead for good. The defensive unit also got an interception before the night ended to seal the win.

UMR, now 2-2 on the season, will play its home opener Saturday night against Saint Joseph's at 6:30 p.m. on Taco Bell Hall of Fame Night at Allgood-Bailey Stadium.

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Brittany Parker

The hard luck season for the Lady Miners gained another chapter Sunday, as a late goal by Wisconsin-Parkside's Laura Eide sent the Rangers to a 1-0 win over UMR on a cool afternoon at the UMR Soccer Field.

After a scoreless first half, it appeared that the Lady Miners were going to get the potential decisive goal as they controlled play for the first 25 minutes of the second half. UMR missed two great chances when Beth Babb's long attempt hit the crossbar and Maggie Thompson's follow was stopped.

But the momentum of the game started turning in favor of the Rangers, who broke the tie when Eide redirected Brittany Kaim's corner kick past Brittany Parker with 15:16 to play in the contest.

UMR made one last push for the tying goal, but that effort was turned away and the Rangers were able to run out the clock on UMR's end of the field.

Wisconsin-Parkside (6-3-1, 5-2-1 Great Lakes Valley Conference) outshot UMR 14-9 on the afternoon, but had just five shots on goal to UMR's three. Parker made four saves in a solid performance in the nets for the Lady Miners (0-10, 0-5 GLVC).

UMR will host Drury Friday at 7:30 p.m. at the UMR Soccer Field.

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Dan Gravlin

The Miners' second game of the weekend against a nationally-ranked team turned into a virtual carbon copy of the first one.

Wisconsin-Parkside got a goal just 24 seconds into play from the nation's leading scorer, Bojan Jovicic, then added two more tallies before halftime and went on to post a 3-0 win over the Miners at the UMR Soccer Field.

Playing on a wet field from the extensive rain over the weekend, the 25th-ranked Rangers got on top right out of the gate when Jovicic made a great individual effort to get through the Miner defense and put a shot past UMR goalkeeper Mike McNamee.

The Rangers, who outshot the Miners 11-5 in the first half, got goals from Louie Kirleis at the 23:21 mark and Mike Schuster with 2:49 remaining in the half to build the three-goal advantage by halftime.

UMR, who dropped its third straight game, had the better of the play after the intermission as it got seven shots on goal (UMR had a 15-7 advantage in overall shots), but was stoned in its scoring attempts by UWP goalkeeper Jamie Lieberman. Lieberman made several great saves in the second half, including one on a header by Alvaro Lopez in which he left his feet to make the stop.

The Miners (4-6, 2-3 Great Lakes Valley Conference) return to play Friday when they host Drury in a 5 p.m. game at the UMR Soccer Field. The Panthers were ranked sixth this week, but played to a tie with Quincy Friday before losing 2-0 Sunday at Southern Illinois Edwardsville.

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Ashton Gronewold

MOREHEAD, Ky. – Joe Winters and the Miner offense got off to a slow start Saturday night, as did the Miner defense. But once things got rolling in the right direction for UMR...

Winters overcame a 1-of-10 start to throw for 415 yards and six touchdowns, three of them to Ashton Gronewold on a record-setting night for the junior wideout, while the Miner defense forced five turnovers -- three that led to 21 points in a key stretch in the second half -- as UMR rallied for a 49-37 victory at Morehead State.

The Miners scored on five of their seven possessions in the second half – three of the scores coming after the defense forced turnovers – and rallied from a pair of 14-point deficits to avenge last season’s loss to MSU when they held a 32-point lead at one time.

After his rough start, Winters completed 22 of his final 29 passes to go 23-39 for the 415 yards and six scores, tying the school record he had matched just a week ago at Lincoln. Gronewold caught three of the scoring passes as part of a 229-yard night receiving, setting new records for career touchdowns (32) and receiving yards in a game to break a mark that had stood for 29 years (Andy Cox had 199 yards in a 1977 game against Missouri Southern).

In addition, the 229 yards and 18 points that Gronewold accumulated in the game also allowed him to pass two other career marks. Brett Fischer's career mark for receiving yards fell as Gronewold's receiving yardage total now stands at 2,013 after Saturday's performance, while the 18 points pushed the junior from Carthage, Ill., past Jim Zacny on the points scored list. Gronewold now has 192 points in his two-plus seasons at UMR.

However, it was the Eagles who got off to the fast start as they opened the game with good field position at UMR’s 41 and took advantage of that by running through the Miners, ending up in the end zone on a one-yard scoring run by Ricky Cornelius just 2:50 into play.

After the Miners went three-and-out on their initial possession, they nearly gained a turnover when MSU quarterback Brian Yost lost the handle on the ball. UMR’s Gabriel Cunha recovered the fumble and returned it into Eagle territory, but fumbled it back to Morehead State during the return.

Given that second chance, the Eagles capitalized by driving back down the field for a score as Eric Fitzpatrick carried the ball in from 19 yards out on a third-and-one play to make it 14-0.

UMR started slowly on offense, as quarterback Joe Winters did not complete his first pass of the night until the second quarter. Later in the period, he guided the Miners on an 11-play, 80-yard scoring drive that culminated in a 15-yard scoring pass to Ashton Gronewold, to tie the school record for career touchdowns.

The key play in the drive was an 18-yard pass from Winters to freshman Nathan Binder on fourth down, as Binder made a diving catch to keep the drive going. Gronewold caught the scoring pass on the next play to cut the Eagle lead in half.

Morehead State answered the Miner score by getting in the end zone just three plays after getting the ball back, as Yost hit Fitzpatrick down the sideline for a 49-yard touchdown pass to move the Eagle lead back to 14 at 21-7.

But the Miners bounced right back, getting a good run from Matt Padilla to open the drive and a 24-yard reception by Gronewold to set up a 20-yard scoring pass from Winters to Mike Greaving to make it a seven-point game again.

MSU extended its lead to 10 at 24-14 when Max Hammond kicked a 25-yard field goal on the final play of the first half.

But as Morehead State did to open the game, the Miners got great field position to open the second half on a good kickoff return by Brandon Landry. Aided by a personal foul during the drive, the Miners moved to within three as Padilla scored on a two-yard run just 2:38 into the half.

The Miner defense, however, couldn’t hold the Eagles on their initial possession of the second half as Morehead State converted a pass play on third down, then got plays covering 18 and 20 yards before Jabari McGee ran 16 yards for a score to make it a 31-21 game. The Eagles threatened again on their next drive as they moved deep into Miner territory, but Yost fumbled the ball away to the Miners’ Justin Butler at the UMR 8 to halt that chance.

UMR took advantage of the turnover by quickly going down the field to make it 31-28, as Winters connected with Gronewold over the middle and the wideout took it the rest of the way for a 56-yard touchdown reception – the record-breaking 31st career touchdown for Gronewold – with 3:50 to go in the third quarter.

Another turnover by the Eagles, this one on a run by Fitzpatrick that would have gained a first down, set the Miners up at their own 28. Gronewold caught a pair of receptions for first downs to lead to an 11-yard scoring pass from Winters to Landry in the corner of the end zone, giving UMR its first lead of the night 17 seconds into the fourth quarter at 35-31.

The Miners got another turnover shortly after getting the lead when Matt Loula knocked the ball out of Yost’s hand at the MSU 28, then UMR scored two plays later when Greaving caught an 11-yard scoring pass.

Morehead State drew to within five as Fitzpatrick raced 35 yards for a score, but Cornelius was stopped short of the goal line on a two-point conversion attempt with 8:30 to play.

But the Miners came up with a huge third down play with 4:06 to go, as Winters escaped from an Eagle blitz and hit Gronewold along the sideline for a 48-yard touchdown reception – Winters’ sixth scoring pass of the night – to make the score 49-37. The Miners’ Brian Gronewold put the final nail in the coffin for the Eagles by intercepting a pass and returning it inside the Eagle 10 with under three minutes to play.

The Miners return to Rolla next week to play their home opener against Saint Joseph’s (2-2) Sept. 30 at Allgood-Bailey Stadium. Kickoff will be at 6:30 p.m. for Taco Bell Hall of Fame Night at UMR; it will also be Family Weekend at UMR. Saint Joseph’s fell 35-22 Saturday night at Indianapolis.

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Zach Crane

Rainy conditions Friday in south central Missouri turned it into a long night for the Miner soccer team in more ways than one.

After enduring two weather delays that lasted better than two and one-half hours, No. 13 Lewis grabbed a lead on a penalty kick just over two minutes after play resumed and went on to post a 4-1 victory over the Miners in the first men's game at the new UMR Soccer Field.

The game started 25 minutes late due to lightning while the teams were warming up, then just 1:34 after play started, the game was halted again due to severe thunderstorms moving into the Rolla area. After that lengthy delay ended, the contest resumed and Lewis wasted little time in getting on the scoreboard in a game played on a very wet field.

UMR was whistled for a hand ball in the box during a scramble in front and the Flyers' Cory Mastey converted the penalty kick to put Lewis on top. The Flyers added two more goals in the final 12 minutes of the first half, getting tallies from Anthony Marsico and Jorge DeJesus to go up 3-0 at the intermission.

The Miners got on the scoreboard at the 60:50 mark on a penalty kick of their own, as a takedown in the box led to an opportunity that defender Zach Crane converted to make the score 3-1. UMR continued to put pressure on the Flyers in the minutes after the goal to try to cut the margin down some more, but Lewis gained an insurance goal with just under 17 minutes to play when DeJesus got a wide open shot in front of the net.

UMR outshot Lewis 23-19 in the game, but the Flyers (8-1, 6-1 GLVC) had 10 shots on net as opposed to UMR's nine. Mike McNamee made six saves in goal for UMR (4-5, 2-2 GLVC).

The Miners will play host to No. 25-ranked Wisconsin-Parkside Sunday at noon.

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Due to the severe thunderstorms that came through Rolla Friday evening, the Lady Miner soccer game against Lewis University was postponed.

The game has tentatively been rescheduled for a date in October and that date will be announced next week pending approval through the Great Lakes Valley Conference office.

UMR will play host to Wisconsin-Parkside Sunday in a 2:30 p.m. game at the UMR Soccer Field.

Posted by John Kean at 04:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Joe Winters

UMR quarterback Joe Winters, who earlier this season was named as the national player of the week by D2Football.com, has earned a similar award from Football Gazette for his performance in the Miners' victory over Lincoln University last weekend.

Winters, who tied Evan Gray's school record for touchdown passes in a game Saturday, earned the award from the national publication after completing 19 of 37 passes for 359 yards in just three quarters of action in the 49-7 rout of the Blue Tigers. He threw two touchdown passes in each of the first three quarters of play, beginning with a 31-yard scoring pass to Chad Shockley on UMR's first possesson followed by the first of two scoring passes to Brandon Landry later in the quarter.

Winters also had scoring passes to Nathan Binder, Ashton Gronewold and Mike Greaving in the game to increase his touchdown pass total ot 12 on the season. In addition, the 359 yards are the tenth-most in a game in school history; Winters owns three of the top 10 career passing games in his first season at UMR.

The graduate student was D2Football.com's national award winner after the Miners' season opener at Tiffin when he threw for 402 yards and four touchdowns.

The Miners will play at Morehead State Saturday.

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Marci Byrd

Ever since the start of the pre-season, the Lady Miner soccer had been looking forward to their Sept. 20 debut on their new field.

And while UMR put forth a good effort Wednesday night, it was Southern Illinois Edwardsville who came away with the victory as it recorded a 2-0 win over the Lady Miners in the inaugural game at the new UMR Soccer Field.

A goal by Jenny Kates with just 5:02 left in the opening half, which came on a breakaway after making a steal, turned out to be the only goal SIUE (4-3-1, 2-2-1 Great Lakes Valley Conference) would need for the victory. But the Lady Miners had several golden opportunities in the final 45 minutes to draw even or closer once the Cougar lead expanded.

Marci Byrd hit the goal post on a free kick just minutes before SIUE's Elizabeth Valenti hit an 18-yard shot past Brittany Parker at the 67:06 mark to give the Cougars a two-goal lead. Byrd later grazed the crossbar on another free kick attempt, while the Lady Miners missed a couple of more good chances with open players inside the 18-yard line.

SIUE held an 18-14 edge in shots for the night, with Parker making 10 saves for UMR.

UMR fell to 0-9 overall and 0-4 in GLVC play and will return to the home pitch Friday with a 7:30 p.m. game against Lewis (2-7, 1-4 GLVC).

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For the first time in the 2006 season, the University of Missouri-Rolla men's cross country team finds itself in the rankings for the NCAA Great Lakes region.

UMR is ranked seventh in the region this week on the strength of three strong outings to start the year. The Miners finished second in their season-opening meet at the University of Kansas, then won the Miner Invitational the following week. Last weekend, UMR came in sixth place out of 31 teams in the Southern Stampede held at Missouri Southern.

The six teams currently ranked ahead of UMR in the region are all ranked among the top 21 in the nation in this week's NCAA Division II rankings as conducted by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. Grand Valley State from the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tops the current regional rankings while Southern Indiana, sits in the fifth spot in the region and as the highest-ranked team from the Great Lakes Valley Conference. Fellow GLVC member Lewis is ranked sixth in the region this week.

UMR will return to competition Sept. 30 at the Loyola Lakefront Invitational in Chicago.

Posted by John Kean at 04:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

For the second time in three weeks, the University of Missouri-Rolla football game will be available on a webcast when the Miners play Saturday night at Morehead State.

The webcast is being provided by the Ohio Valley Conference, the league that Morehead State is a member of. Although the Eagles play in the Pioneer Football League in football, it is a member of the OVC in all other sports.

Fans can access the game by clicking to the OVC's webcast page and will need Windows Media Player in order to watch the game. The webcast will begin at 5:45 p.m., for the 6 p.m. contest (Central time) in Morehead, Ky.

There will be a $7.95 charge to watch the game over the internet (click here for information) and it can be purchased in advance.

Fans can also listen to the audio broadcast of the game by clicking here.

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Joe Winters

Joe Winters, who tied Evan Gray's school record for touchdown passes in a game Saturday, has been selected as the Great Lakes Football Conference's "Offensive Player of the Week" for his performance in the Miners' 49-7 win over Lincoln University.

Winters completed 19 of 37 passes for 359 yards in just three quarters of action in the rout of the Blue Tigers and threw two touchdown passes in each of the first three quarters of play. He opened the game with a 31-yard scoring pass to Chad Shockley on UMR's first possesson, then threw the first of two scoring passes to Brandon Landry later in the quarter.

Winters also had scoring passes to Nathan Binder, Ashton Gronewold and Mike Greaving in the game to increase his touchdown pass total ot 12 on the season. In addition, the 359 yards are the tenth-most in a game in school history; Winters owns three of the top 10 career passing games in his first season at UMR.

The Miners will play at Morehead State Saturday.

Posted by John Kean at 10:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Janine Einhellig

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The Lady Miners broke a scoring drought late in the second half Sunday, but unfortunately, a goal by Bellarmine's Jaime Halas with 2:35 to play in regulation broke a tie to send the Knights to a 2-1 win over UMR in Great Lakes Valley Conference play.

UMR fell behind early when Halas scored on a shot from the right side of the field and was at a deficit in terms of the shots (11-3 in BU's favor), but picked up its play after the intermission.

Bellarmine had only one more shot than UMR overall and on goal in the final 45 minutes and the Lady Miners were able to get their first since the season opener with just under 10 minutes to play. Janine Einhellig headed home Erin Rouse's long crossing pass at 80:31 to draw the Lady Miners even.

However, Halas got the game-winner for the Knights just under seven minutes later, as she took a pass over the top of the defense and pushed it past UMR goalkeeper Brittany Parker.

Parker made four saves in goal for UMR, who fell to 0-8 overall and 0-3 in GLVC play heading into its first game at its new home facility Wednesday. The Lady Miners wil host Southern Illinois Edwardsville in a 6 p.m. contest.

Posted by John Kean at 11:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Justin Lightner

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The Miner soccer team fell for the first time in Great Lakes Valley Conference play Sunday as Bellarmine got an early goal and a late one to beat UMR by a count of 2-0.

The Knights (5-4, 3-3 GLVC) got a goal in the tenth minute of play from Kieran Potterton when he redirected a free kick from Phil Glaser for what turned out to be the only goal Bellarmine would need.

UMR (4-4, 2-1 GLVC) and Bellarmine played on fairly even terms in the opening half, with the Knights holding a 6-5 edge in shots, but BU controlled play in that regard after halftime as it had eight shots to UMR's two.

The Knights added an insurance goal at the 78:03 mark when Ryan Coffey got loose on a breakaway and fed Andrew Coverstone for the second tally of the contest.

UMR goalkeeper Mike McNamee was credited with three saves in the game.

The Miners will return home to play their first game at their new facility Friday, hosting Lewis (7-1, 5-1 GLVC) in a 5 p.m. game. The Flyers handed Southern Illinois Edwardsville its first loss in GLVC play Sunday with a 1-0 win.

Posted by John Kean at 10:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Chad Shockley

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Dwight Reed Stadium may be the home for the Lincoln Blue Tigers, but on Saturday the Miner football team turned the place into its own personal playground.

Getting touchdowns from six different players and a school record-tying performance from quarterback Joe Winters, the Miners rolled to a 49-7 win over the Blue Tigers to earn their first victory of the 2006 season.

Winters threw six touchdown passes on the afternoon, tying the record set by Evan Gray last season as he completed 19 of 37 passes for 359 yards. Six different Miners caught passes in the game, with freshman Chad Shockley hauling in five passes.

Winters and Shockley hooked up on the first touchdown on a 31-yard pass play just 1:11 into the contest as UMR got out of the gate quickly, driving 56 yards on three plays to open the contest. The touchdown was the first at the collegiate level for the freshman wideout from St. James, Mo.

The Miners piled up 309 yards of total offense in the first half to Lincoln’s 48 and extended their lead to 28-0 by the intermission as Winters fired three more touchdown passes. Brandon Landry hauled in a 45-yard scoring pass midway through the first quarter, then Winters threw scoring passes to Nathan Binder and Ashton Gronewold before halftime.

Binder caught a 16-yard scoring pass one play after a short Lincoln punt out of its own end zone, then Gronewold’s touchdown completed a solid two-minute drive by the Miners, as he scored on a 20-yard reception with 29 seconds to play before halftime.

UMR pushed its lead out to 35-0 when Winters hit Landry on a 41-yard scoring pass before Lincoln got on the scoreboard for the first time in four games, as backup quarterback Rashad Aubrey threw a 67-yard scoring pass to Kevin Brown.

The Miners answered that score when Winters threw his sixth scoring pass of the day, this one covering 24 yards to Mike Greaving midway through the third quarter. UMR’s defense then got in on the scoring as Jon Iglehart returned an interception 58 yards for a score at the start of the fourth quarter to make it 49-7.

The touchdowns for Binder and Greaving were also the first of their collegiate careers.

UMR ended up the afternoon with 506 yards of total offense picking up 120 on the ground (74 by Matt Padilla) and 386 through the air. Lincoln (0-4) finished with 195 yards in the game, with nearly one-third of the yards coming on the scoring catch by Brown.

Gabriel Cunha led the Miners with 11 tackles in the contest, while Iglehart had two interceptions. The Miner defense forced four turnovers in the game -- Brian Gronewold also intercepted a pass -- after picking up none in the first two games of the year.

UMR (1-2) will play at Morehead State next Saturday in a 7 p.m. (Eastern time) game.

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Kurt Schauwecker

JOPLIN, Mo. -- In a 297-runner race, the UMR's men's cross country team got its top five runners among the top 60 scoring spots to finish in sixth place at the Southern Stampede held Saturday at Missouri Southern.

UMR was one of only two teams that finished in the top 10 that did not have a single runner among the top 20 scoring positions, but its group ran well as a pack and finished with 209 points to edge Fort Hays State and Truman State from the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association to get the sixth place finish as a squad.

The Miners' top finisher Saturday was Kurt Schauwecker, who finished in 33rd place with a time of 26:39 in the eight-kilometer race. Joffroi Holcombe, UMR's top runner in its first two races of the season, finished 37th in 26:41 and Chris Murray came in 41st in 26:48.

UMR's last two runners among its top five were Chris Thielker in 57th place with a time of 27:08 and Gary Black, who finished 65th overall and 59th in the scoring spots with a time of 27:15.

NCAA Division I power Arkansas won the meet with 24 points as its top five runners all finished among the top seven. Southwest Baptist, Harding, Missouri Southern and East Central were the other teams ahead of UMR.

The Miners will compete at the Loyola Lakefront Invitational Sept. 30 in Chicago.

MEN'S RESULTS FROM MISSOURI SOUTHERN

TEAM SCORES: Arkansas 24, Southwest Baptist 132, Harding 146, Missouri Southern 151, East Central 193, Missouri-Rolla 209, Fort Hays State 211, Truman State 234, Oklahoma Baptist 295, Rhodes 296, Oklahoma Christian 331, Tulsa 331, Mid-America Nazarene 356, Oral Roberts 390, Drury 391, Johnson County CC 392, Park 430, Pittsburg State 454, UMKC 476, Southwestern (Kan.) 523, Missouri Valley 563, Northwood 639, Southern Nazarene 678, Graceland 711, Allen County CC 720, Texas A&M-Commerce 791, William Penn 847, Neosho County CC 862, Evangel 870, Pratt CC 889, Fontbonne 924.

UMR INDIVIDUALS (8K):
33. Kurt Schauwecker, 26:39
37. Joffroi Holcombe, 26:41
41. Chris Murray, 26:48
57. Chris Thielker, 27:08
65. Gary Black, 27:15
73. Nathan Young, 27:24
77. Jens Rodman, 27:35
78. Andrew Ropp, 27:35
89. Brett Agee, 27:43
116. Michael Knickerbocker, 28:01
144. Thomas Green, 28:38
153. Josh Hurford, 28:51
200. Joe Karas, 30:08
219. Piotr Baidas, 30:38
243. Andrew Conrad, 31:24

Race Winner: Julius Kosgei (Harding), 24:15

Complete men's results

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Silvey Britton

JOPLIN, Mo. -- The UMR women's cross country team finished in 19th place -- roughly the middle of the pack -- at the highly competitive Southern Stampede Saturday at Missouri Southern State University.

The meet had 34 full teams, including a handful of NCAA Division I schools, in the field. On the course, UMR's top five runners had an average time of 20:03 over five kilometers.

Freshman Silvey Britton was UMR's top performer with an 81st place finish among the 286 runners in the race. Britton had a time of 19:39, seven seconds better than teammate Laura Ruf who came in 90th place. Kierra Handley was the third Lady Miner to cross the finish line in 110th place in 20:04, followed by Dana Narconis in 20:10 and Kylee Hyzer in a time of 20:38.

Harding won the team competition with a score of 56 as it had three of the top 11 scorers in the meet.

UMR's next competition is scheduled for Sept. 30 at the Loyola Lakefront Invitational in Chicago.

WOMEN'S RESULTS FROM MISSOURI SOUTHERN

TEAM SCORES: Harding 56, Missouri State 127, Southwest Baptist 156, Oral Roberts 174, Pittsburg State 216, Mid-America Nazarene 230, Misosuri Southern 239, Tulsa 294, Drury 314, Fort Hays State 325, Central Oklahoma 355, Park 369, Oklahoma Baptist 372, UMKC 391, Rhodes 463, Oklahoma Christian 493, Truman State 507, Missouri-Rolla 514, Johnson County CC 531, Graceland 550, Southwestern (Kan.) 558, Northwood 568, Texas A&M-Commerce 605, Southwestern Oklahoma State 621, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 657, East Central 664, Evangel 739, Southern Nazarene 768, Lincoln 788, Longview 879, William Jewell 895, Allen County CC 960, Southeastern Oklahoma State 969.

UMR INDIVIDUALS (5K):
81. Silvey Britton, 19:39
90. Laura Ruf, 19:46
110. Kierra Handley, 20:04
114. Dana Narconis, 20:10
147. Kylee Hyzer, 20:38
154. Wendy Moore, 20:45
178. Beverly Ruedy, 21:14
187. Jamie Calvert, 21:30

Race Winner: Faithy Kamanglia (Oral Roberts), 16:53

Complete women's results

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Andy Held

WILDER, Ky. -- The Great Lakes Valley Conference men's soccer playoff race figures to be a mad scramble throughout the 2006 campaign -- and the UMR squad picked up a huge road victory Friday night that could enhance their playoff hopes as the year progresses.

Getting a pair of goals from Andy Held, the Miners claimed a 2-1 win at Northern Kentucky. The win came over an NKU team that had lost just once heading into play this weekend and keeps the Miners undefeated in GLVC play at 2-0.

The Norse got the early advantage in the game as Braden Bishop caught up to a rebound and put a shot past Mike McNamee at the 18:28 mark. However, the MIners needed only 3:20 to tie the contest up as Derek Pelate's free kick was stopped, but Held got to the rebound and scored on NKU goalkeeper Andy Ortman.

NKU outshot the Miners 8-4 in the first 45 minutes and held a 9-4 advantage after the intermission, but it was UMR that got the tiebreaking goal in the second half. Held, who scored the game-winning goal Sunday at Ashland when he headed in a cross, did it again at the 61:06 mark when he knocked in a crossing pass that caromed off the goal post but into the net to give the 2-1 lead.

McNamee was credited with two saves on the night as the Miners moved above the .500 mark for the first time this season at 4-3. UMR will conclude its road trip with a noon game (Eastern time) against Bellarmine in Louisville, Ky. The Knights (4-4, 2-3 GLVC) knocked off Missouri-St. Louis 2-1 Friday.

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Brittany Parker

WILDER, Ky. -- One of these days, the Lady Miner soccer team is going to catch a break and land that elusive victory.

Continuing its journey through a rugged early schedule, UMR was able to keep highly-touted Northern Kentucky off the scoreboard for better than 61 minutes Friday night, but a second half goal by Jayme Light allowed the Norse to escape with a 1-0 win over the Lady Miners in Great Lakes Valley Conference action.

Light took a pass from Amy Law and put it past UMR goalkeeper Brittany Parker for the only goal of the contest at the 61:04 mark. Parker played well in spite of allowing the goal, making six saves on the night to keep UMR in the contest.

However, the Lady Miners were outshot 18-5 in the game and the Norse (5-2, 3-2 GLVC) had seven corner kicks in the contest to UMR's two. The Lady Miners got two shots on net, one each by Erin Rouse and Rachel Moore, but both were turned away by NKU keeper Kelly Bare.

The Lady Miners, who dropped their seventh straight game -- the seven teams have a combined record of 35-7-3 --and second in two GLVC contests, will conclude their road trip Sunday with a 2:30 p.m. (Eastern time) game at Bellarmine (5-2, 4-1 GLVC). UMR will then return home to christen their new field with a game Wednesday against Southern Illinois Edwardsville.

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Andy Held

ASHLAND, Ohio -- Andy Held has certainly found a knack for being in the right place at the right time.

The sophomore forward has scored three times this season -- all on head balls -- with the latest coming Sunday afternoon with only 1:11 to play in regulation time to give the Miners a 2-1 comeback victory over Ashland.

Held's goal gave the Miners a victory in a game that they dominated, but it wasn't until the second half before it started to show up on the scoreboard. Ashland grabbed the early lead when Aaron Favri deflected in a shot in the third minute of the contest to give the Eagles a lead that would hold up into the second half.

UMR, who outshot Ashland by a 31-12 margin -- 14 of the shots were on goal -- got the game tied when Nick Landon took a feed from Alvaro Lopez and put a low shot past AU goalkeeper Blaine Lishewski at the 59:56 mark.

It remained tied until the Miners got the game-winning tally, as Brad Hippisley put a feed in front that Held got to and headed by Lishewski to win the game and even the team's record at 3-3 as it heads back into Great Lakes Valley Conference play next week.

UMR, who won its GLVC opener last weekend over Quincy, will play its first league contest on the road Friday when it faces Northern Kentucky at 5 p.m. (Eastern time) in Wilder, Ky.

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Catherine Swift

ASHLAND, Ohio -- The Lady Miners' struggle to put the ball into the net continued Sunday, as Ashland held UMR scoreless for the fifth straight game in a 3-0 victory.

The Eagles got the only goal they would need at the 26:19 mark when Caitlin Carducci took a long shot that ricocheted off the crossbar and landed in the net. Ashland added to its lead about ten minutes later when Kelly Usher scored the first of her two goals by heading in a cross.

Ashland controlled play for much of the first half as it outshot UMR 8-2 and held an 8-1 edge in corner kicks. The Lady Miners did outshoot the Eagles 9-8 in the final 45 minutes and got four of the shots on goal, but none of the efforts got past goalkeeper Marie Supanich.

Usher scored her second goal at the 68:15 mark when she beat UMR's Catherine Swift in a one-on-one situation.

Swift finished with two saves before turning the contest over to Brittany Parker for the final 18 minutes.

The Lady Miners, now 0-6 overall (0-1 GLVC), return to Great Lakes Valley Conference action Friday at Northern Kentucky (4-2, 2-2 GLVC)

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Joe Winters

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. -- UMR had an advantage in several statistical categories for a good portion of Saturday night’s game, but Southeast Missouri State was able to break away after UMR closed to within a score and came away with a 44-23 win over the Miners at Houck Stadium.

UMR had 474 yards of total offense to 401 for Southeast and had a six-minute edge in time of possession against the Division I-AA Redhawks, but the Miners were playing from behind all night after another slow start in the scoring column.

The Miners got a 38-yard pass completion from Joe Winters to Mike Greaving on the first play of the game, but the offense bogged down to a degree after that play as the Redhawks continued to pressure the quarterback throughout the opening quarter.

Thus, Southeast was able to build a 17-0 lead, getting a three-yard scoring run from Tim Holloman and a 12-yard touchdown run from John Rainey to precede a 27-yard field goal by Colin Schuerman early in the second quarter.

UMR got on the scoreboard by completing a 93-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run by Matt Padilla. The Miners got to the one when Nathan Binder made a diving catch of a Winters pass that covered 26 yards.

The Miners threatened again late in the half when they crossed midfield, but saw the drive stall outside of field goal range just before halftime.

In the third quarter, UMR was able to take advantage of a roughing the kicker penalty, picking up three first downs before settling for a 34-yard field goal from Tim Valencia to cut the Redhawk lead to 17-9 with 3:46 left in the period.

However, Southeast answered that score by breaking the game open with back-to-back scoring drives, first going driving 77 yards for a score, with quarterback Kevin Ballatore scoring on a seven-yard run on a naked bootleg to push the lead back to 15 with 54 seconds remaining. Holloman scored his second touchdown moments later on a 23-yard run to make it 31-9.

UMR did get another score after the Holloman touchdown, as Ashton Gronewold made a catch in the back of the end zone on a fourth down play with 8:45 to play. The Miners recovered an onside kick after the touchdown, but Winters threw an interception on a long pass to Landry on the first play to halt a chance to get to within a touchdown.

Southeast put the game away when Radney got his second touchdown of the night with 5:31 to play when he plowed in from nine yards away.

Winters moved past the 400-yard mark when he hit Padilla for 79 yards when the Miners got the ball back, then finished the drive with a one-yard scoring pass to Brandon Landry. The Redhawks (2-0) got the last score of the night when Radney raced 41 yards down the sideline with under two minutes remaining.

Winters finished the night by completing 29 of 55 pases for 419 yards -- the fifth straight game a UMR quarterback has exceeded the 400-yard mark -- and the two scores, with Padilla accounting for 194 all-purpose yards with 73 on the ground and a career-high 121 receiving. Gronewold led the Miners with eight catches.

UMR fell to 0-2 and will play Lincoln (0-3) next Saturday in Jefferson City, Mo., at 2 p.m.

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Joffroi Holcombe

For the second year in a row, the Miners claimed both the individual and team titles in their home meet as they got a first place showing from Joffroi Holcombe and won the 2006 Miner Invitational Saturday morning at the UMR Golf Course.

Holcombe took the lead in the early stages of the race from teammate Chris Murray and held it for the balance of the five-kilometer race, winning in a time of 15:34. Murray was passed by Truman State's Jason Simpson late in the race but still took third in 15:44, then the Miners had five straight runners cross the finish line from seventh place to 11th to win the team competition.

Kurt Schauwecker came in seventh in 16:04, followed by Chris Thielker in 16:08 and Andrew Ropp in 16:15 to round out the top five. Freshman Jens Rodman came in 10th place overall in 16:17, while Nathan Young finished 11th in 16:18.

The Miners finished wiith 28 points in their winning effort, beating Truman State by 12 points and Drury by 40 in the team competition.

UMR will compete next Saturday at the Southern Stampede at Missouri Southern in Joplin, Mo.

Complete men's results

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Silvey Britton

Freshman Silvey Britton and senior Laura Ruf both finished among the top ten runners Saturday morning to help lead the Lady Miners to a second place finish in the 2006 Miner Invitational held at the UMR Golf Course.

Britton finished ninth overall with a time of 19:59 over five kiliometers, while Ruf came across the finish line right behind her in a time of 20:12.

UMR's third runner Saturday was freshman Kierra Handley, who came in 14th place in 20:55, just ahead of teammate Wendy Moore who was 15th in 20:59. The fifth runner for UMR Saturday was Beverly Ruedy, who finished 17th in 21:06.

Drury won the team title with 36 points, while UMR had 65 to better Truman State's total of 73. Truman's Jacquie Faust won the individual title by a minute over Lincoln's Nessa Paul, finishing with a time of 18:17.

Complete women's results

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Justin Lightner

ERIE, Pa. -- The four-game road trip for the UMR men's soccer team got off to a disappointing start Friday night as Gannon scored three times in the middle portion of the game to come away with a 3-0 win.

UMR had not allowed a goal in its last two games before the trip to Pennsylvania, but allowed three in a span of less than 24 minutes in the middle of the contest. The first goal was scored by Jonathan Erickson at the 34:58 mark when he put home a free kick from the edge of the penalty area.

The second goal came just 28 seconds before the half ended when Rudi Costs scored off a rebound off an initial shot by Finco Njie. Gannon added to its lead at the 58:43 mark when Brian Yanful tallied an unassisted goal.

The Knights (3-2) were outshot by the Miners 14-9; the Miners had nine shots to Gannon's two in the second half. However, Matthew Ruston turned away all of the attempts to hand UMR its first shutout loss of the season with a five-save performance. Justin Lightner had two of the Miners' five shots on net.

UMR (2-3) will face Ashland to complete the weekend trip at 2:30 p.m. (Eastern time) Sunday in Ashland, Ohio. The Miners will then return to GLVC action next weekend at Northern Kentucky and Bellarmine.

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Sarah Herrig

ERIE, Pa. -- A pair of goals that came off of second opportunities allowed Mercyhurst to come away with a 2-0 victory Friday afternoon over UMR, keeping the Lady Miners without a victory on the young season.

The game was scoreless at halftime as UMR was able to withstand a late flurry by the Lakers (5-1) before the intermission. But just over 20 minutes into the second half, Mercyhurst broke the tie as Adrienne Sluga got to a loose ball after an initial attempt was blocked by the defense and scored what turned out to be the decisive goal.

Mercyhurst's Sarah Powell added an insurance goal at the 75:49 mark as the Lakers handed UMR its fifth loss in as many games.

The Lakers outshot the Lady Miners by only a 6-4 margin in the first half, but ended up with a 17-8 edge. Brittany Parker was credited with four saves in goal. Defender Sarah Herrig had the only two shots that were on goal in the game for the Lady Miners.

UMR will return to action Sunday when it faces Ashland (3-1 prior to Friday's game with Missouri-St. Louis) in a game that starts at noon (Eastern time).

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Joffroi Holcombe

Joffroi Holcombe's performance during the Bob Timmons Invitational Saturday has earned him the Great Lakes Valley Conference's "Runner of the Week" award for the first week of the season.

Holcombe finished in sixth place in the meet with a time of 26:29 in the meet over eight kilometers -- a 41-second improvement over his 2005 performance on the course -- and was the top non-Division I runner in the meet. His showing also helped the Miners finish in second place in the meet to host Kansas as the Miners topped three NCAA Division I teams in the competition.

UMR will host the Miner Invitational Saturday at the UMR Golf Course.

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The Miners' football game Saturday night at Southeast Missouri State will be available on a webcast as provided by the Ohio Valley Conference.

Fans can access the game by clicking to the OVC's webcast page and will need Windows Media Player in order to watch the game. The webcast will begin at 5:45 p.m., for the 6 p.m. contest in Cape Girardeau.

There will be a $7.95 charge to watch the game over the internet (click here for information) and it can be purchased in advance.

Fans can also listen to the audio broadcast of the game by clicking here.

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Andy Held

The Miners started out Sunday's Great Lakes Valley Conference opener a bit on the sluggish side, but once the level of play picked up, the results on the field showed.

UMR got goals from Josh Roach and Andy Held just 3:24 apart in the first half and made them hold up for a 2-0 win over Quincy University in its last contest at the UMR Soccer Complex.

The Miners, who will be moving to a new field when they return home on Sept. 22, started gaining control of play after a few minutes and grabbed the lead when Roach got to a rebound and tapped it into an open net at the 24:15 mark.

Moments later, Held headed in a corner kick from Adam Daniel to increase the lead to two. The defense did the rest, holding the Hawks (0-4, 0-2 GLVC) to 11 shots on the afternoon and only three that made it on goal.

Mike McNamee recorded his second straight shutout and 10th of his career, moving him into sole possession of second place on the Miners' career shutout list. The Hawks' best scoring chance came in the second half when Branko Isailovic attempted to redirect a pass with a head ball, but McNamee stopped that shot to preserve the shutout.

UMR (2-2-0, 1-0-0 GLVC) will step outside of GLVC play for its next two contests, starting Friday in Erie, Pa., when it takes on Gannon University. The Miners' next four games, including two GLVC contests, will be on the road.

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Stephanie Schmucker

Quincy University came into Sunday's Great Lakes Valley Conference contest with the Lady Miners averaging better than four goals per game. UMR held the Hawks to two Sunday, but that turned out to be enough for Quincy to come away with a 2-0 victory over the Lady Miners at the UMR Soccer Complex.

The teams played on even terms for the better part of the first 30 minutes, but the Hawks scored twice in the final 10 minutes of the half to get all it would need to improve its record to 5-0.

Kelly Huelsing broke the scoreless tie by putting a shot from the wing past UMR goalkeeper Brittany Parker at the 35:36 mark, then the Hawks got their second tally with only 27 seconds left in the opening half when the Lady Miners made an initial stop after a corner kick. The ball, however, caromed out to Becky Fleming and she scored to give QU its final margin of victory.

The Hawks outshout UMR 16-9 in the contest, with each starting goalkeeper, Parker and QU's Toni Eye, being credited with three saves apiece.

The Lady Miners (0-4, 0-1 GLVC) head to the road for the first time next weekend as they will face Mercyhurst Friday in Erie, Pa., to start a four-game stretch away from home.

Posted by John Kean at 05:30 PM |