Here is a weekly wrap-up of University of Scranton athletic events during the period of Monday, Nov. 8, through Sunday, Nov. 15. To see the full link to the Royal Review, visit http://matrix.scranton.edu/athletics/gnnov152010.shtml.

Men’s Cross-Country
The men’s cross-country team ended its 2010 season with a 28th-place finish in the 47-team field at the NCAA Mideast regional held at the Cooper’s Lake Campground in Slippery Rock on Saturday, Nov. 13.

Junior Jason Bohenek (Jessup/Holy Cross-Bishop O’Hara) was the first Royal across the finish line in a time of 27:52.2 for 8000 meters, good enough for a 122nd-place in a field of 361 runners. Freshman Stefan Bossbaly (Washington Crossing/Holy Ghost Preparatory) and junior Jeremy Evans (Scranton/Holy Cross-Bishop Hannan) were next in 141st (28:08.0) and 170th (28:37.2), respectively.

Women’s Cross-Country
Sophomore Kathleen Druther (Clarks Summit/Scranton Preparatory) and senior Maria Cifone (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Joseph Hill) paced the Royals to a 20th-place finish in the 45-team field at the NCAA Mideast regional on Saturday, Nov. 13, at Cooper’s Lake Campground in Slippery Rock.  Druther and Cifone covered the 6000-meter course in 24:11.8 and 24:19.0 to finish 60th and 68th, respectively, in the 314-runner field.

Women’s Soccer (16-5-1/6-0 Landmark Conference)
The women’s soccer team made its first NCAA tournament appearance since 2006 and the 12th in the program’s 28-year history against Plattsburgh State University on Saturday, Nov. 13, at Cozzens Field on the campus of Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, N.Y.

Less than four minutes into the match, senior midfielder and co-captain Chelsea Paskman (Chalfont/Central Bucks South) converted a pass from first-year forward Samantha Russo (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown) into a goal to lift the Royals to a 1-0 victory, Scranton’s first in an NCAA match since 2003. Senior goalkeeper Caitlin Byrne (East Rutherford, N.J./IHA) made six saves to record her 12th shutout of the season and the 25th of her career.  The win avenged a 1-0 loss to Plattsburgh State in the championship match of the Skidmore Invitational on Sept. 4 in Skidmore, N.Y.

On Sunday, Nov. 14, #9-ranked William Smith scored twice within the opening three minutes and went on to post a 3-1 victory, snapping the Royals’s seven-match winning streak and ending Scranton’s bid for a national title.  The Royals got on the scoreboard in the 71st minute of the second half when junior midfielder and co-captain Christina Cognetti (Westfield, N.J./Westfield) scored her third goal of the season on a play set up by Russo, her team-leading 10th assist on the year.

In the final match of her career, Byrne made six saves.  She finishes her career second in shutouts (25), third in saves (264) and fewest goals allowed (53), and tied for third in lowest goals against average (0.85) in Royals’s history.  Paskman also etched her name in the Scranton record books, finishing eighth in assists (21) and 17th in total points (55), while Sunday’s match was the final one, too, for senior back Drew Cavanaugh (Middletown, N.J./Red Bank Catholic) and Caroline Corasaniti (Chatham, N.J./Chatham).  Cavanaugh played in 55 matches in her career and Corasaniti finished with 11 goals and five assists for 27 total points in 78 career matches.

Men’s Swimming (2-2)
Junior Marc Dezii (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill West) won two individual events—the 100 (:49.43) and 200 (1:49.52) free—as the Royals defeated Goucher College, 120-61, on Saturday, Nov. 13, at the Byron Center. 

Also posting first-place finishes for Scranton were junior Joseph Clifford (Nesconset, N.Y./Smithtown East) in the 500 free (5:23.51), senior Joseph Costello (Edison, N.J./St. Joseph’s) in the 1650 free (19:01.53), sophomore Andrew Urban (Ambler/Lansdale Catholic) in the 50 free (:22.37) and freshmen John Hughes (Lancaster/Lancaster Catholic) and Adrian Silva (Valley Stream, N.Y./Holy Trinity Diocesan) in the 100 breaststroke (1:02.25) and 100 butterfly (:55.23), respectively.  Scranton’s other first-place finish came in the first event of the day, as the quartet of sophomore Nathan Wynosky (Schnecksville/Parkland), Hughes, junior Andrew Kelly (Maple Glen/St. Joseph’s Preparatory), and Urban won the 200 medley in 1:42.48.

In the final event, the 200 freestyle relay team of Urban, Clifford, Dezii and junior Paul Vignati (West Simsbury, Conn./Northwest Catholic) set a new Royal record in a first-place time of 1:28.34, eclipsing the previous mark of 1:28.51 set by Dezii, Vignati, junior Thomasz Chec (Vineland, N.J./St. Augustine Preparatory) and Urban on February 13, 2010, at the Landmark Conference championships at the Merchant Marine Academy in King’s Point, New York.

Women’s Swimming (3-2)
The Royals won 10 of 11 events on Saturday, Nov. 13, to defeat Goucher College and Juniata College at the Byron Center.

Sophomore Colleen Logan (Garden City, N.Y./Garden City) and first-year swimmer Jessica Merino (New Hyde Park, N.Y./Holy Trinity Diocesan) won two events apiece as Scranton snapped a two-meet losing streak.  Logan captured the 1650 free (18:50.53) and the 500 free (5:35.17) while Merino placed first in the 50 (:26.45) and 100 (:57.67) free.  Merino also swam the anchor leg on the 200 medley relay that finished first in 1:56.33.  She was joined by sophomore Margaret Beyer (Highland Mills, N.Y./Monroe Woodbury), senior Amie Leonard (Sparta, N.J./Pope John Paul XXIII), and junior Carolyn Gillespie (New Market, Md./Linganore).

Leonard and Gillespie also posted first-place finishes in the 100 breaststroke (1:10.64) and 100 butterfly (1:00.16), respectively. Joining them in the winner’s circle were first-year swimmers Sara Franciscovich (Milford, Conn./Our Lady of Mercy) in the 200 free (2:06.86) and Colleen McMahon (West Chester/Villa Maria Academy) in the 200 individual medley (2:23.48) and junior Christine Gorge (Harleysville/Lansdale Catholic) in the 100 backstroke (1:05.29).

The 200 freestyle relay of Franciscovich, sophomore Victoria Meyer (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa), Beyer and Gillespie recorded a first-place time of 1:44.72 in the meet’s final event.

Wrestling (3-2)
The Royals dropped a hard-fought 24-18 decision to Gettysburg College on Wednesday, Nov. 10, at the Long Center.

Scranton won three of 10 bouts.  Sophomore Vinny Signoriello (Manalapan, N.J./Manalapan) improved to 8-1 on the season and 28-12 in his career by pinning Matt Spano in the 133-pound weight class, a fraction of a second before the first period buzzer sounded.   The Royals also garnered six more points when senior Tom Manning (North Kingstown, R.I./Bishop Hendricken) picked up a win by forfeit at 141.

Trailing 15-12, Scranton took its final lead of the match when freshman Chris Silakoski (Trenton, N.J./Notre Dame) pinned Jared Schlett with just three seconds remaining in the overtime period in the 184-pound weight class.   With the win, Silakoski improved to 6-3 on the season.  The Bullets, however, won the final two bouts—at 197 and 285—to pull out the victory.

Here is the upcoming schedule for The University of Scranton's athletic teams:

Tuesday, Nov. 16
Women’s Basketball – MONTCLAIR ST. (7 p.m., LONG CENTER)

Thursday, Nov. 18
Wrestling – WASHINGTON & JEFFERSON (7:30 p.m., LONG CENTER)

Friday, Nov. 19
Men’s Basketball – RADISSON INVITATIONAL (5:30/7:30 p.m., LONG CENTER)
D’YOUVILLE VS. CENTENARY (5:30 p.m., LONG CENTER)
ARCADIA VS. ROYALS (7:30 p.m., LONG CENTER)

Saturday, Nov. 20
Men’s Basketball – RADISSON INVITATIONAL
3RD-PLACE GAME (2 p.m., LONG CENTER)/CHAMPIONSHIP (4 p.m., LONG CENTER)
Women’s Basketball – vs. William Paterson at DeSales Tournament (8 p.m.)
Wrestling – at Red Dragon (Oneonta St.) Invitational (9:30 a.m.)

Sunday, Nov. 21
Women’s Basketball – vs. DeSales or Ursinus (2 or 4 p.m.)
Men’s and Women’s Swimming – at Susquehanna (2 p.m.)