Lebanon Valley

Ursinus would like to be one of the teams in the NCAA Division III field hockey Final Four it will host Nov. 16 and 17 at Eleanor Frost Snell Alumnae Field in Collegeville. The first challenge for the defending national champion will come Saturday in Annville, Pa., when it plays Lebanon Valley (19-1), which will host second- and third-round games. Ursinus (18-2) earned a bye into the 1:30 p.m. game. The four-time Centennial Conference champions will meet either Johns Hopkins (14-5)

There is a new opportunity in college ice hockey. Lebanon Valley is in its first varsity season and playing at the Division III level, and the team's roster features several graduates of area high schools. "This is a great opportunity for Pennsylvania kids who in the past would have to go far from home to play," Lebanon Valley coach Al MacCormack said. "We're running a first-class program. We practice at HersheyPark Arena; we have our locker room. The travel, the equipment, everything has been done right.

Doug Henning and Eric Shrader played vital roles in Lebanon Valley's monumental football victory Saturday. The Flying Dutchmen's 24-13 win at Moravian was not only their first of 1999, but it also was their first road victory in five seasons, as well as the first time in five seasons they had beaten a team other than Delaware Valley College. Henning, a junior wide receiver from Souderton, caught a touchdown pass - his first of the season - in the second quarter to give the Dutchmen an 18-7 lead.

Vinny Nasuta, a junior from Rancocas Valley, has stood out in goal for the Moravian College men's soccer team. Nasuta notched his second shutout of the season in a 2-0 Commonwealth Conference soccer win over highly regarded Lebanon Valley. Nasuta made six saves and raised his record to 2-0-2 while lowering his goals-against average to 1.42. Locals aid Wesley Midfielders Brian Hoey (Delran) and Derrick Roberts-Dukes (Cherokee) have helped the Wesley (Del.) College soccer team get off to a 7-4 start.

The freshman should have been nervous. He was playing in a hostile gym. He was facing a team that had lost only once all season. He was guarded by an athlete who earned Division III national player-of-the-year honors last season and is a good bet to earn them against this season. All the freshman did when Widener upset host Lebanon Valley, 76-74, was score 37 points. And grab eight rebounds. And hit seven three-pointers. Nervous? Widener freshman Mike Siuchta, a Spring-Ford High graduate, is unfamiliar with the feeling, as he demonstrated on Feb. 17 when he had a career night against a player, Andy Panko, who could be playing in the NBA next year.

Five players from Oxford's 1993 PIAA District 1 Class AA championship football team, the school's first-ever championship team in that sport, are expected to play college ball this fall. That is the largest number of players Oxford has sent off to play college ball in any one year in the school's history. Dennis Baumgardner said that in his nine years as coach, only eight Hornets players had previously gone on to play college ball. Among the five from the 1993 team are his son, Matt, and Ray Bond.

Opponents ran past both area college football teams in their season finales Saturday. Dominant ground attacks allowed Lebanon Valley to beat Delaware Valley, 19-7, and Dickinson to defeat Ursinus, 27-12. Del Val and Ursinus each gained just two first downs rushing, while their opponents had at least 12 first downs on the ground. DEL VAL. Lebanon Valley, who had been averaging 100 yards per game rushing, raised that figure against Del Val, compiling 230. Freshman Greg Kohler accounted for 165 of those yards and two touchdowns.

Bill Hamilton, who holds the single-season basketball scoring record for Sun Valley, has accepted an academic scholarship to attend the University of Scranton this fall. The 6-foot, 4-inch forward chose the Division 3 school over Lebanon Valley College, Wilkes College and the University of Rochester. "When me and my dad visited there for a weekend, I liked the campus more than any of the others," said Hamilton, who plans to major in computer science. "But I picked Scranton because it has the most to offer me academically.

Senior Cristina Martins has been a versatile performer for a young Riverside team that has shown improvement, winning three of its previous four games during a 4-7-1 season. Martins has two goals and seven assists, but that only tells part of the story. She plays center midfield and, in addition to jumpstarting the offense, is a key defensive performer. Last week in a 1-0 win over Willingboro, she marked high-scoring Taylor Lewis. "We are deep up the middle, and it starts with Cristina," Riverside first-year coach Greg Ogden said.

Former Downingtown standout Matt Kelly plays down his team-high 10 blocked shots for the Muhlenberg basketball team. He has much bigger goals - such as making the Middle Atlantic Conference playoffs - than leading the team in rejections. "I don't consider it (blocked shots) much of a stat," said the 6-foot, 3- inch sophomore. "It's probably a mistake, since I'm a guard here. " Right or wrong, there is no mistaking the contribution Kelly has made to the Mules in his second year.

Aaron Wilmer (George Washington High) threw four touchdown passes in the first half Saturday and linebacker Jim DiLisio (Father Judge) returned a pair of interceptions for scores as Delaware Valley remained unbeaten with a 54-13 victory over King's College in a Middle Atlantic Conference game in Doylestown. The Aggies, ranked ninth in American Football Coaches Association Division III poll, improved to 8-0 overall and 6-0 in the MAC. King's fell to 1-5 and 1-4. Delaware Valley will get a week before finishing the season against its two closest pursuers, Widener and Lycoming.

Senior Matt Cook rushed for 150 yards and four touchdowns in just three quarters of work to lead Delaware Valley (7-1, 5-0) to a 51-7 blowout of King's College (0-8, 0-5) in a Middle Atlantic Conference game in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Cook's TD total tied two others for the school record in a single game while his 14 rushing touchdowns for the season tied that mark as well. The Aggie defense held the Monarchs to just nine yards rushing. Albright 41, FDU-Florham 14 - Josan Holmes rushed for 105 yards and three TDs to lead the Lions (5-3, 3-2 MAC)

Senior Cristina Martins has been a versatile performer for a young Riverside team that has shown improvement, winning three of its previous four games during a 4-7-1 season. Martins has two goals and seven assists, but that only tells part of the story. She plays center midfield and, in addition to jumpstarting the offense, is a key defensive performer. Last week in a 1-0 win over Willingboro, she marked high-scoring Taylor Lewis. "We are deep up the middle, and it starts with Cristina," Riverside first-year coach Greg Ogden said.

Keith Corcoran rushed for 153 yards - including a 73-yard touchdown bolt - to lead Rowan to a 24-17 nonleague victory over Lycoming in the season opener for both teams Saturday at Glassboro. Freshman quarterback Kenny Brock completed 15 of 34 passes for 135 yards and another touchdown. Ursinus 21, Albright 13 - Justin Decristofaro was 21 for 35 for 248 yards and two TDs and ran for another as the Bears won the nonleague season opener in Reading. Nick Giarratano caught seven passes for 82 yards and a TD. Delaware Valley 27, Muhlenburg 7 - Matt Cook rushed for one TD and caught a pass for another as the No. 10 Lions rolled in the nonleague season-opener in Allentown.

Delaware Valley College is expected to add to its consecutive Middle Atlantic Conference titles. The two-time defending conference champion was picked to win this season's title in the league football coaches' preseason poll. The Aggies received six of the eight first-place votes in the poll that was released Tuesday. Widener was picked to finish sixth in the eight-team conference. Delaware Valley returns eight offensive and eight defensive starters from last season's 10-2 overall team.

Delaware lost for the third straight game, falling to William and Mary, 27-3, yesterday in Newark, Del. The Blue Hens' offensive struggles continued as they gained just 145 total yards. Delaware (2-5) has scored 10 or fewer points in three straight games for the first time since 1983. "It all starts with the offense and we did not run the ball well and that put a lot of pressure on our quarterback," said Delaware coach K.C. Keeler. The Blue Hens gained 100 yards rushing on 45 carries, an average of 2.2 yards per attempt.

Ursinus would like to be one of the teams in the NCAA Division III field hockey Final Four it will host Nov. 16 and 17 at Eleanor Frost Snell Alumnae Field in Collegeville. The first challenge for the defending national champion will come Saturday in Annville, Pa., when it plays Lebanon Valley (19-1), which will host second- and third-round games. Ursinus (18-2) earned a bye into the 1:30 p.m. game. The four-time Centennial Conference champions will meet either Johns Hopkins (14-5)

Charles Johnson caught a tipped pass from Derrick Murry to lead Cheyney to its first shutout in 15 years in a 6-0 victory over visiting West Virginia State yesterday. Cheyney (1-3) got its lone score from the Yellow Jackets' 5-yard line late in the second quarter. Murry's pass was tipped by running back Billy Mitchell and then caught by Johnson. West Virginia State (1-3) was led by Brandon White's 116 yards on 20 carries and Perry Smith's 91 yards on 23 carries. Mitchell led Cheyney with 89 yards on 28 carries.

Corey Santee scored 20 points last night as Texas Christian gave coach Neil Dougherty his first win over a ranked team, a 71-46 demolition of struggling No. 10 Louisville in Fort Worth, Texas. The Horned Frogs (10-12 overall, 6-5 Conference USA) led throughout after Santee made a three-pointer on the game's opening shot. With their lowest-scoring output under third-year coach Rick Pitino, the Cardinals (17-5, 7-4) lost for the fourth time in five games. TCU's last win over a ranked team was by 102-88 over No. 20 Fresno State two years ago when Billy Tubbs was still the coach.

Delaware scored twice in the first three minutes of the game and rolled out to a 42-0 halftime lead on the way to a 49-7 romp over West Chester in non-league action last night in Newark, Del. Andy Hall threw for 176 yards and three touchdowns in the win. The Blue Hens (3-0), ranked No. 8 in the latest Sports Network Division I-AA poll, pounded out 356 first-half yards and never looked back in downing the Division II Rams (2-1) for the 10th straight time and for the 13th time in the last 14 meetings.