The Royal Review may also be viewed at http://matrix.scranton.edu/athletics/gnsept272010.shtml.

Cross-Country 
The Royals went up against some of the top programs in the country this past Saturday, September 25, at the Purple Valley Classic hosted by Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts.

The women’s team, behind a 43rd-place finish by sophomore Kathleen Druther (Clarks Summit/Scranton Preparatory), finished 11th in the 19-team field, which included three teams—Middlebury College, Williams College and Johns Hopkins University—ranked in the top 10 by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCA).  Druther posted a personal-best time of 24:04 for 6000 meters, breaking her previous best of 24:11 at the NCAA Mideast regional last November.

Junior Jason Bohenek (Jessup/Holy Cross-Bishop O’Hara) paced the men’s team to a tie for 15th place in the 18-team field.  He finished 83rd overall in a time of 28:15 over an 8000-meter course.  Like the women’s race, the men’s race included nationally-ranked programs such as Williams (8th) and Johns Hopkins (9th).

Field Hockey (3-4 Overall/0-0 Landmark Conference)
Inclement weather postponed the Royals’s game with Albright College on Wednesday, Sept. 22, in Reading.

Scranton did return to action on Saturday, Sept. 25, and dropped a 3-1 decision to Neumann University in Aston, Pennsylvania.  The loss was the second straight and fourth in the last five games for the Royals, who took a 1-0 lead on a goal by sophomore Gretchen Kempf (Warrington/Central Bucks South), her first of the season and eighth of her career. 

Golf
Sophomore Justin Riley (Haymarket, Va./Battlefield) shot a season-low round of 78 to lead the Royals to a fifth-place finish in the 14-team field at the Susquehanna Fall Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 25, at the Susquehanna Valley Country Club in Hummels Whorf.  Scranton, which was only four strokes off from tying Manhattan College for the team title, also received a pair of 79s from sophomores Jamie Bresnahan (Exeter/Wyoming Area) and Chris Schank(Dunmore/Scranton Preparatory).

Men’s Soccer (4-3-1 Overall /0-1 Landmark Conference)
For the second straight season, the men’s soccer team suffered a loss to the Merchant Marine Academy in its Landmark Conference opener, this time by the score of 2-0 on Saturday, Sept. 25, in Kings Point, N.Y.

Earlier in the week, the Royals dropped a 3-1 decision at Misericordia University in nearby Dallas. Scranton did squeeze out a 1-0 lead on junior midfielder Joseph Burbella’s (Stroudsburg/Stroudsburg) third goal of the season in the 52nd minute of the second half. 

Women’s Soccer (6-3 Overall/0-0 Landmark Conference)
The Royals extended their winning streak to three by defeating King’s College, 5-0, and Muhlenberg College, 3-1, during the period.

Senior midfielder Chelsea Paskman (Chalfont/Central Bucks South) had a big week for the Royals, scoring three goals, including the match-winner against King’s, and added an assist on first-year midfielder Rebecca Hextall’s (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Marymount) match-winning goal against Muhlenberg.  Scranton entered the week ranked eighth in the Mid-Atlantic region by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA).

Men’s Tennis (1-1 Overall/0-0 Landmark Conference)
Freshman David Teres (Lebanon, N.J./North Hunterdon) and sophomore Mike Pannone (Maplewood, N.J./Seton Hall Preparatory) won two matches apiece in their respective brackets at the non-team scoring Bloomsburg University Fall Invitational in Bloomsburg, on Sept. 25-26.

Senior captain Carl Caceres (Teaneck, N.J./Bergen Catholic) is now one win away from recording the 50th victory of his career after defeating Dan Levine of Ithaca, 6-0, 6-2, in a consolation match Sunday.  His career record is now 49-18 (.731).

Women’s Tennis (1-1 Overall/0-0 Landmark Conference)
The women’s tennis team did not compete during the period.

Volleyball (8-8 Overall/0-0 Landmark Conference)
The Royals opened the period with a 3-1 loss to Oneonta State University at the Long Center on Tuesday, Sept. 21.  Things didn’t get much better on Saturday, September 25, as Scranton dropped a pair of 3-2 decisions to Messiah College and Philadelphia Biblical University.

Sophomore outside hitter Jenell McFadden (Springfield/Merion Mercy Academy) had a big week for the Royals, posting ‘double-doubles’ in kills and digs in two of her three matches.  She also recorded a career-high 22 kills against Philadelphia Biblical.

Here is a calendar of events for Royal Athletics.

Tuesday, Sept. 28
Women’s Soccer – at Oneonta St. (4 p.m.)

Wednesday, Sept. 29
Field Hockey – STEVENS INST. (FITZPATRICK FIELD, 5 p.m.)
Men’s Soccer – VASSAR (FITZPATRICK FIELD, 7 p.m.)

Thursday, Sept. 30
Golf – at King’s (12:30 p.m.)

Saturday, Oct. 2
Field Hockey – SUSQUEHANNA (FITZPATRICK FIELD, 1 p.m.)
Men’s Soccer – at Susquehanna (3:30 p.m.)
Women’s Soccer – at Susquehanna (1 p.m.)
Volleyball – Landmark Conference Round-Robin, Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove, Pa.
vs. Merchant Marine Academy (3:30 pm)
vs. Susquehanna (6 p.m.)

Sunday, October 3
Volleyball – Landmark Conference Round-Robin, Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove, Pa.
vs. Goucher (12:30 p.m.)