The Woods

By Grace Dubrowski
Staff Writer

If you’re even slightly familiar with Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College athletics, you’re probably aware of the long-standing rivalry between the SMWC Pomeroys and the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Fighting Engineers.
Games between the two teams are always high stakes, high energy, and highly competitive.
The game between SMWC’s and RHIT’s women’s soccer team on Oct. 5 was no exception.
Although the game resulted in a 4-1 loss for SMWC, the outpouring of support for breast cancer awareness through the  Pomeroy team was a definite win.
However, this game was special for another reason as well.  It marked the first annual SMWC Breast Cancer Awareness Game.
To show their support for breast cancer awareness, the Pomeroys sported pink jerseys, bows, and socks, rather than their usual blue or white uniforms.
The driving force behind the creation of the Breast Cancer Awareness Game was Kayla Leuthold, senior at SMWC and four year veteran on the soccer team.
“Being at a women’s college, breast cancer awareness is very important,” Kayla Leuthold said. “We hope for this to become an annual event at The Woods.”
Her sister, Paige Leuthold, also believed that it was important to bring the awareness of breast cancer to The Woods.
“Breast cancer is a major issue that we obviously need to raise funds and to try and find a cure for,” Paige Leuthold said.  “So many people have been affected by it; both people that we know and people that we don’t.”

Photo by Shauna Lampley/The Woods

Paige added a personal touch that hit close to home.
“My mom’s best friend just finished her rounds of chemo for her own breast cancer,” she said. “I’m going to rock her initials on my bow for her!”
The Leutholds, however, aren’t the only Pomeroy soccer players that are passionate about breast cancer awareness.
“I’m a cause-freak in general,” says Samantha Morrison, sophomore. “Our game is going toward a good cause and it’s important.”
Amanda Payton, freshmen goalkeeper for the Woods, has also been previously involved in breast cancer awareness.
“Participating in Breast Cancer Awareness games is something I’ve done since sophomore year of high school,” Payton says. “It’s something that will most likely affect me or women that I’m close to in the future, so it’s a great organization to raise money and awareness for.”
Information packets about breast cancer and the Susan G. Komen Foundation were given to spectators as they arrived.
During halftime, both Rose-Hulman and SMWC spectators were encouraged to pay $1 to take a penalty shot on goal in attempts to win t-shirts that had been attached to the net.
Many spectators took multiple shots in their attempts to earn a shirt, raising additional money for the local Komen chapter.

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By Amira Jaradat
Staff Writer

Photo by Nancy Hernandez/ The Woods

Ice packs, leg braces and cough medicine are not the first things you would usually associate with the Saint Mary-of-the-Wood soccer team.
But a number of injuries and an unfortunate outbreak of runny noses was an additional obstacle to the Pomeroys during the jam-packed first week-and-a-half ofntheir season.
Alex Amos has suffered soccer injuries before, but this is the first one that is severe enough to keep her from playing.
“Normally it is stuff you can bounce back from, but this one not so much,” said Amos.
Amos’s shin bone is tilted and is putting pressure on the tendons and ligaments of her knee.
After recovering from an injury she received over the summer, Amos was reinjured during team practice and is now unsure when she will be allowed back on the field.
Her knee was x-rayed and then again five days later after two practices and two games.
“The mass amount of deterioration between Monday and Friday…was enough for them to be worried that within a month I’d probably be having surgery if I kept playing,” she said.
While Amos is currently on the bench, Denae Sallis, who has torn ligaments in her foot, is still able to play.
“When I’m playing, and I’m going at someone, I don’t ever think about it,” said Sallis.
Sallis added, while laughing, “But afterwards I do… and I regret it.”
Compounding the problem of the increasing number of injuries is the team’s smaller size.
“Last year, we had like two teams,” said Lauren Nelson, who is currently in physical training for her knee after being run over by a horse trailer last year.
The team now only has two substitutes for games and they have to send girls back on the field hurt sometimes.
“Playing smaller numbers, some of them will have little injuries and, yeah, we’ll have to struggle with not having a lot of substitutes,” said Head Coach Mike Aycock.  “It’s kind of natural. I think they’re doing a good job playing with that hurdle.”
According to Ashley Logan, injuries are just a part of the game.
“I play soccer. I signed up to get hurt,” she said.
And get hurt she did last year, when a torn meniscus required her to undergo knee surgery.  She is now fully recovered, but more cautious.
“I don’t try to overdo it because I don’t want to feel anything like that pain again,” said Logan.
Despite an exhausting opening string of on-the-road games and a discouraging list of injuries, the team maintains its sense of humor about the situation.
During a team practice, players joked about how a rash of head colds and runny noses led the team to split up into a “healthy bus” and a “sick bus” on the road to one of their recent matches.
Amos also saw some positivity to the situation.
“Because we don’t have as many players, we have to play a more technically correct game,” she said. “From last year to this year, it’s definitely brought us together as a team…It’s a good thing and a bad thing all at the same time.”
“We wound up playing four hard road games before playing once at home,” said Aycock. “Travelling that far to play a very good team is hard on anybody, even if you have 18 or 20 [players].”
After seeing the way his team has dealt with some of the hardships they have faced, he is optimistic about the next phase of the season.
“We have five matches at home,” he said. “I expect that they’ll tend to do a little better, and feel a little better about themselves too, when we have more opponents that are a little more in our range and we get to play at home.”
Another advantage to playing at home is having friends, classmates and the rest of the Woodsie community present to cheer them on.
“If people come out and watch our games, we want to win more,” said Logan.
The team hopes to attract more of a crowd for their Oct. 5 breast-cancer benefit match against Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. The team will be wearing pink for the game and there will prizes available for those in the crowd.
“You do play better when it’s your friends out there,” said Aycock.

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By Danya Long
Editor-in-Chief

At the end of the regular season, the Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College soccer team didn’t think they would be heading to the USCAA National Tournament in Burlington, Vt. On Nov. 2, however, they received the news that would give them a chance to compete against the best USCAA soccer teams in the country. The Pomeroys returned home with a fourth place finish and pride in themselves for making it to the tournament twice in two years.
Their first game of the tournament was against University of Maine Fort Kent on Nov. 5 in cold weather. They couldn’t quite pull through with an upset in round one, but the Pomeroys fought hard. UMFK managed to score first in the game, sneaking a shot past senior goalkeeper April Baranowski. SMWC picked up their speed and aggressiveness against the opponent. In the 40th minute of the game, senior Briauna Davis found freshman Samantha Morrison and found the net, making the score even at one going into halftime.
Well-executed counterattacks proved to be the weakness for the Pomeroys. While they played hard and had some great passing sequences, Maine’s speed was too much. In the 63rd minute, UMFK found the goal again. They would go on to score two more goals in the second half. The final score of the first game was 4-1 in favor of  UMFK.
Head Coach Mike Aycock was proud of his Pomeroy team. “We too, have built a team that could have won last year’s tournament. As the Maine coach said at the end of the match, ‘We thought we had a good draw, then we were so unlucky to have to play you,’” said Aycock.
After losing in the first round, the Pomeroys got the chance to take on New Hampshire Technical Institute on Nov. 6. This game was a rematch of last year’s semifinal game that ended in a Pomeroy victory; this year’s game ended in a similar way for SMWC. The Pomeroys started off strong, scoring early in the game. About the third minute of the game, senior Britt Simmerman passed to Morrison who found the goal to bring SMWC ahead 1-0. Another Pomeroy goal was scored in the 17th minute as sophomore Logan Jones was assisted by Simmerman. The third goal for SMWC came when freshman Julie Debish passed the ball to senior Erin Pugh.
In the second half, NHTI gained more possessions, but not before Baranowski punted the ball down the field and Pugh brought it past the last line of defense. This made the score 4-0 with 30 minutes left to play. In the 70th minute NHTI got on the board with a goal, but couldn’t come up with more before the end of the game. The final score of 4-1 earned the Pomeroys fourth place in the 2010 USCAA National Tournament.
SMWC also earned other honors in the tournament. Baranowski, senior Maureen Brown, senior Emily Contrarez, Pugh, and Simmerman all earned Academic All-American honors. Pugh was also named USCAA All-American for the second time, setting a new record for the Pomeroys. Baranowski also won Honorable Mention All-American honors. Simmerman was named to the All-Tournament Team for her performance.

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By Danya Long
Editor-in-Chief

The Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College soccer team finished up their last two regular season games on Oct. 19 and 23 against Oakland City University and Robert Morris-Springfield. Although the team didn’t receive a bid to the USCAA National Tournament, they did finish with their first ever winning record in the history of the team.
The game against the Oakland City Oaks at home had a lot on the line for the Pomeroys, one of two games that would decide if they made it to Nationals. The game ended in another tie after two overtime periods. SMWC came out strong, scoring the first goal of the game in the third minute when an assist from junior Jessica Black found senior Erin Pugh. While the Pomeroys controlled possession and made nice runs toward the goal, the Oaks brought their hard tackling and challenging midfield to compete. Toward the end of the first half, the Pomeroys capitalized on a blocked shot and Black found the goal on a long drive. SMWC held on to a 2-0 lead going into halftime.
The Oaks continued their hard playing in the second half, causing some of the Pomeroys to sit out of the game for a while in order to recover. In the 68th minute, the Oaks scored their first goal to bring the score to 2-1. With only about three minutes left on the game clock, Oakland City got around senior goalkeeper April Baranowski to score the tying goal as it hit the post and angled into the net. The score was tied at 2-2 at the end of the game, and after two 10 minute overtime periods it remained the same. This tie brings SMWC’s record to 5-5-2 on the season.
With a bid to the National Tournament on the line, the Pomeroys took on Robert Morris-Springfield on Oct. 23 at home. SMWC ended its regular season with a feat that had never been accomplished in the soccer team’s history. In the 24th minute of the game, senior Briauna Davis passed the ball to freshman Samantha Morrison who scored the first goal for the Pomeroys. Shortly after, sophomore Logan Jones found the goal with an assist by Pugh. SMWC went into halftime with a 2-0 lead over Robert Morris-Springfield.
The second half was another showing of the dominant offense for SMWC. Junior Kayla Leuthold scored her first goal of the season early in the half. In the 76th minute of the game, Baranowski found the goal for the first time in her career on a penalty kick. With only five minutes to play, Davis put up the fifth goal of the game for the Pomeroys on an assist from senior Britt Simmerman. The 5-0 win gave the SMWC soccer team its first winning season, with a record of 6-5-2.
During the Robert Morris-Springfield game, the Pomeroys honored the eight seniors that completed their final season at SMWC. Those seniors include Baranowski, Maureen Brown, Emily Contrarez, Davis, Megan Johnson, Ashley Logan, Pugh, and Simmerman. This is the largest senior class to graduate out as of yet.
The team received news from the USCAA early last week about the national tournament and it was not favorable for the Pomeroys. They will not be returning to the tournament this year.
“We had a great season. We beat some great teams, played some awesome soccer, and created lasting memories,” said Pugh. “It’s a bummer that we didn’t make it to nationals with this team; we would have gone far. As seniors we have the amazing memory of last year’s nationals that can’t be topped, and next year’s team has a lot of potential and a lot to look forward to.”
As the seniors finished up their final season, Brown reflected on her soccer career.
“It’s really weird because I never expected to play in college. I expected to finish in high school,” she said. “I think of the past four years as a gift.”
The Pomeroys ended their season on a high note and hope to go into next season continuing the success that SMWC has accomplished in recent years.

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By Danya Long
Editor-in-Chief

The Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College soccer team continues the fight to keep at least a .500 win percentage for the 2010 season. With only two games left in the season before nationals, the Pomeroys have earned their 5-5-1 record so far. They faced off against Berea College, rival Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, and Kaskaskia College since the beginning of October.
On Oct. 2, the Pomeroys took on Berea College at home. Starting the month off right, SMWC came away with a 7-0 win. The Pomeroys controlled possession during the majority of the game, not allowing Berea the opportunity to score. Senior Erin Pugh, who was named USCAA women’s soccer player of the week for her performance against Berea and Trine University, began the scoring for SMWC early in the game. She received a pass from senior Britt Simmerman in the 8th minute and found the top right part of the goal.
Senior Briauna Davis assisted Pugh in the 23rd minute to score the second Pomeroy goal. To finish the first half, sophomore Logan Jones received a ball from junior Jessica Black and added the third goal, making the score at halftime 3-0 in favor of SMWC.
Pugh struck twice more in the second half, once assisted by Black and the other was unassisted. She left the game with four goals, the most ever scored in a single game by a Pomeroy player.
Freshman Alice Trejo Wilson added the last two goals for SMWC. Her first was about the 85th minute as she found her way around the last two defenders. The second came just three minutes later, finding the bottom left corner of the net. The team’s 7-0 win gave them a record of 5-4.
A cross-town rivalry was held on the RHIT soccer field on Oct. 6 against SMWC. In a very well played and hard-fought game, but the Pomeroys couldn’t quite overtake the Engineers.
Rose-Hulman took control on the kickoff, but SMWC quickly got the ball back and nearly scored on the drive. The Engineers made a lot of attacks on the goal, forcing SMWC senior goalkeeper April Baranowski to make some very crucial saves. Until the very end of the first half, the game remained at 0-0. With just over a minute left in the half, RHIT was able to find the goal and end the half with a 1-0 lead.
The second half showed more Engineer control of possession. They scored their second goal early in the second half off a corner kick that got hit in. Another RHIT goal ended the game with a 3-0 score and a loss for the Pomeroys. This loss evened the record for SMWC at 5-5 with only three games left in the regular season.
On Oct. 14, the Pomeroys traveled to Kaskaskia College. SMWC was “out for revenge” against the team that had earlier defeated them in the season, according to Head Coach Mike Aycock. While the Pomeroys controlled possession most of the first five minutes, they were unable to break the Kaskaskia defense. The offense out-possessed their opponents in the attacking third 24-14, but the half ended with the scoreboard still reading 0-0.
The second half was much the same as the first. Kaskaskia scored a goal with about 32 minutes left in the game, making the score 1-0.
Shortly after the goal, a collision happened between Simmerman and a Kaskaskia defender. The defender went up for a header and made contact with Simmerman’s head instead of the ball. Simmerman was forced out of the game because of the threat of a concussion.
The Pomeroys were able to answer this goal with one of their own with 13 minutes to play. Pugh got around the right side of the defense and found the top left part of the goal, evening up the score at 1-1. Baranowski made a crcial save just before the buzzer, keeping the score tied at the end.
With the score even, the Pomeroys went up against Kaskaskia in double overtime, both periods 10 minutes each. Both teams fought hard, but neither could put another ball in the goal. The game ended in a tie at 1-1.
The tie is better than a loss, but this means that the two remaining home games for SMWC will be very important, said Aycock.
The Pomeroys will take on Oakland City University at home on Oct. 19. Later that week they will host Robert Morris-Springfield on Oct. 23.
Shortly after the last two games, the SMWC soccer team will find out if they earned a bid to the USCAA National Tournament to be held at Virginia Tech on Nov. 4 through Nov. 6.

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By Danya Long
Editor-in-Chief

The Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College soccer team came down from a strong start of the season, dropping three games to their opponents since Sept. 19. Brescia University, Adrian College, and Kaskaskia College handed the Pomeroys three of their four losses on the season. They broke the streak of losses with a win on the road against Trine University on Sept. 29.
On Sept. 19, the Pomeroys took on Brescia University at the SMWC field. SMWC came out strong in the first part of the game, taking possession and attacking the goal hard. The Pomeroys had gotten off six shots compared to none for Brescia at the end of the first half; the first half found both teams scoreless though. In the 60th minute of the game, Brescia took advantage of a strong counterattack. They earned a free kick and managed to get the ball barely past SMWC goalkeeper senior April Baranowski. With only 12 minutes left in the game, freshman Paige Leuthold stepped up and fired a shot at the goal, but the Brescia goalkeeper deflected it with her fingertips. The game ended with a score of 1-0 and a Brescia University win. This game gave the Pomeroys a 3-2 record going into their sixth game of the season.
On Sept. 22, SMWC hosted the Adrian College Bulldogs, a team considered one of the best in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association. Both teams were evenly matched in the beginning, controlling possessions and attacking the goal. Around the 20th minute of the game, an Adrian College player was able to gain control of a blocked shot and got it past Baranowski for the first goal of the game. The Bulldogs were able to score another goal in the first half on a header that found the top right of the net. The second half was controlled more by Adrian College. In the 50th minute of the game, the Bulldogs found the goal once more, making the score 3-0. Baranowski showed great skill, but couldn’t really affect these shots. In a hard fought and competitive game, the Pomeroys couldn’t come back and lost with a score of 3-0. This evened out their record, 3-3, at the midway point of the season.
At SMWC’s homecoming on Sept. 25, the Pomeroys hosted Kaskaskia College. SMWC controlled possession for much of the first ten minutes. In the 13th minute Kaskaskia managed to find the goal. They went on to score two more goals in the first half. Even though the Pomeroys had more than doubled the possession of the Blue Angels, they were behind 3-0 at the half. The second half was much like the first, with SMWC unable to score. They did hold Kaskaskia to only one goal in the last half, but were handed a 4-0 loss in the end.
The Pomeroys traveled to Trine University on Wednesday to compete in the last game of September. Without scoring a goal since Sept. 13, SMWC needed to get back on track. In the 16th minute of the game, junior Jessica Black set up freshman Samantha Morrison with a pass that allowed to her drive the ball into the top right-hand corner of the goal. Trine came back a short seven minutes later with a goal of its own, evening out the score at 1. The Pomeroys came back strong though. Senior Britt Simmerman drove the ball toward the goal and passed across the field to Morrison who got it past the Trine goalkeeper. SMWC put another goal on the board in the 31st minute, as senior Erin Pugh took a pass from freshman Denae Sallis and found the net to end the half with a score of 3-1. In the second half, Trine came out stronger in an attempt to tie the score up. In the 82nd minute of the game, Black delivered a low drive that got under the goalkeeper. Shortly after, Trine put another goal up, but couldn’t close the two-goal gap in the end. The Pomeroys came out with a 4-2 win, making their record 4-4 at the end of September.
SMWC hosted Berea College on Saturday, but the results were not available at press time. Look to The Woods newspaper’s website for results from this game later.
Before the Berea College game, SMWC was ranked 4th in the USCAA Coach’s Poll. They have dropped two spots since the previous poll.
The cross-town rivalry against Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology will take place on Oct. 6 at RHIT’s field at 7 p.m.

Popularity: 25% [?]

By Danya Long

Editor-in-Chief

The Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College soccer team continued their season with two more wins. The first was a 3-2 victory over Franklin College, followed by a 2-0 win against St. Catharine College.

On Sept. 9, the Pomeroys faced off against the Franklin College Grizzlies at Franklin. SMWC started strong, controlling the ball for the first five minutes, but the Grizzlies managed to score first.

The Pomeroys came back in the 29th minute and scored on a series of quick passes that ended with freshman Samantha Morrison setting up senior Erin Pugh to score.

Morrison and Pugh struck again in the 37^th minute when Morrison got past the goalkeeper and Pugh headed it into the goal. The Pomeroys scored again just before the end of the half on a long drive by junior Jessica Black.

The Grizzlies came out strong in the second half, scoring their second goal in the 74^th minute. SMWC held onto its 3-2 lead to finish the game, handing Franklin its first loss of the season.

This win brought the Pomeroys into their second home game of the season with a record of 2-1.

SMWC hosted the Saint Catharine College Patriots on Sept. 13 on the home field. The Patriots took possession of the ball in the beginning of the game, getting off seven shots at the goal. SMWC goalkeeper senior April Baranowski blocked every shot, keeping the game at 0-0.

Morrison came through in the 34^th minute when she received a pass from freshman Paige Leuthold and found the goal, making the score 1-0.

The second half showed a strong Pomeroy team, and just over two minutes into it Pugh found Morrison to score the second goal of the game. The 2-0 score was enough for SMWC, which came out with another win for the season.

The Pomeroys now have a 3-1 record on the season. They took on Brescia University on Sunday. They had not played as of press time, but look to the newspaper’s website for results of the game.

SMWC will host Adrian College on Wednesday at 4 p.m.

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