Bluejay’s Nest: Sports recap
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Cross Country
The men looked pretty strong at the Aurora University Spartan Classic. EC finished with 235 points, taking home eighth place. Cristin Sanchez brought in 38th place with a time of 27:01.1. Sanchez was followed by Randy Almarales and Armando Alvarez in 42nd and 47th place, respectively.
The women have hopped to sixth in the most recent U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association poll. The Bluejays took home the team title for the Aurora Invitational. Emily Gilligan and Elita Spadlowski were the first Bluejays to cross the line, finishing in ninth place and 17th place, respectively.
On September 20, the Bluejays headed up to Lake Forest for Forester Invitational. The men took home first while the women took home second in their respective races. Cristian Sanchez led the way for the Bluejays again coming in at 28:30.3 in fifth place. For the women, Natalia Hernandez came in third with a time of 25:03.5.
The next race for the Bluejays will be October 4 at Augustana College at 3:45 p.m.
Golf
The men participated in the massive Midwest Invite on September 14, tying for 28th place. On September 13, EC shot a 343, then improved to 315 on Saturday. Ethan Green was the front-runner for the Bluejays, shooting a 161. Green was followed by Rocco Carbonara with a 164.
They will hit the course again on September 24 at the CCIW Preview Meet in Normal, Ill.
The women had lots of play these last two weeks, hitting the green in three competitions. EC took second place at the Benedictine University Invitational. Sydney Roberts took home the first place title for the Bluejays, scoring an 82.
Later in the week on September 17, the Bluejays hosted their own invite. This time, Zhanner Davis was the first to finish for the Bluejays, swinging an 83 and nabbing sixth place.
Finally, EC headed to Kansasville, Wis. for the CCIW preview meet where Eva Toon shot a 89, tying for 15th place. Davis followed, shooting a 90 to tie for 18th place with teammate Regan Larson.
The Bluejays will take the course again on September 26 at the CCIW Championship.
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Football
It was a rough season opener for the Bluejays when they lost 48-22 to Aurora on August 14. There was not much offensive scoring for the Bluejays since the Spartans scored the first 21 points of the game.
EC defense brought in the first points in the game after Jeremy Inniss picked off a pass from the Spartans and returned it for a 16 yard touchdown. EC went for the two extra points instead of the field goal and found success when Sean Jay ran in to score extra points.
Before the half, EC let up one more touchdown to head into the locker rooms with the Spartans in the lead 35-8.
Aurora dragged in two more touchdowns in the third quarter, pushing the Spartans up to a 48-8 lead. The Bluejays answered back with two touchdowns in the fourth quarter from Jake Tahaney and Casey Dobczyk.
Overall, the Bluejays struggled to keep up with the Spartans on offense and cost them a non-conference win.
EC headed to Augustana College on September 21 for another strong competition, this time in the CCIW. The Bluejays struggled to find their stride, losing to the Vikings 55-13. Augustana jumped out of the gates early scoring the first 15 points of the game and never let up.
Offensively, the Bluejays had low chances of scoring only providing 13 points to the game contributed by Jake Tahaney in the first quarter and another touchdown from Dimitri Valcourt in the fourth.
The next game for the Bluejays will be on September 28 at Carroll University. The game will begin at 1:00 p.m.
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Volleyball
EC volleyball got a lot a game time these past few weeks. It all started with a nasty three game win against Westminster College. The Bluejays forced Westminster to make 25 errors in total for the match. Kayla Mast and Ellie Burzlaff lead the way for the Bluejays, taking home seven and six kills, respectively. Mast also brought in 10 digs for the Bluejays. Valerie Thomas and Taylor Zurliene lead the digging game with 12 and 15 digs, respectively.
Next up, the Bluejays headed to Depauw University for a two match tournament where the Bluejays lost both matches to the host Depauw University and Alma College. Despite the losses, Kayla Mast was named to the all-tournament team for her performance.
EC had a fierce match against the Lake Forest Foresters, winning in five. Zurliene and Mast led the Bluejays in digs with 16 and 17 digs for each. On the offensive end, Bailey Brouwer racked up 13 digs while Emily Finkbeiner dished out 27 assists.
This weekend, the Bluejays played three matches at UW-Lacrosse facing the host on Friday, September 20, and Wisconsin Lutheran College and St. Norbert College on Saturday, September 21. EC split the pair, beating Wisconsin Luthern and losing to St. Norberts.
Payton Froats smashed in 14 kills and five blocks for the Bluejays against Wisconsin Luthern while Finkbeiner followed close behind her with 11 kills and four blocks. Although St. Norberts took the Bluejays out in three, Bailey Brouwer added 15 kills, two blocks, and one ace to the game.
EC will play again on September 25 at North Park University at 7 p.m.
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Men’s Soccer
Midfield Keegan Thompson was named the CCIW’s Player of the Week. Last week, the senior from Madison, Wis. brought in five goals for the Bluejays two-game win streak.
The Bluejays picked up a good run of wins beating Concordia University-Chicago, winning 4-0 and crushing Illinois College 4-0. Thompson scored the game winning goal for the Bluejays.
On Wednesday, September 19, the Bluejays fell to Kalamazoo College on the road, losing 1-0. Goalie Donnie Kvien tallied up three saves for the Bluejays, but it just was not enough. EC struggled to score offensively but still took nine shots.
The last game of the week kicked off on Saturday at 4 p.m. against Manchester University in North Manchester, Ind. EC hit the field strong taking home a 2-0 win with goals from Justin Cabrera and James Serrano.
EC will play next at Langhorst Field Wednesday, September 25 at 7 p.m.
Women’s Soccer
These kickin’ Bluejays had another player elected as Player of the Week. This time, it was EC women’s soccer player Yasmin Chavez. The senior scored a total of three goals in EC’s two games against Aurora University and Hope College.
Earlier this week on Tuesday, September 17, the Bluejays fought off MacMurray College in a 4-1 victory. Hayley Parr and Brooke Janeczek both added two goals to the win on Tuesday.
On Saturday, EC hosted Westminster College and got to ring that victory bell at Langhorst Field. The Bluejays took a 2-1 game away from Westminster with Gabby Ketola and Yasmin Chavez scoring the two goals of the game. The Bluejays are now on a four-game winning streak.
The Bluejays will face Eureka College next on Tuesday, September 24 at 7:00 p.m.