Daire O'Riordan in action.
By John Manley
A scant two seconds were left on the clock when Daire O’Riordan floated the ball over the defense and into the goal to give Davenport University’s men’s soccer team a 2-1 victory over Northwood in double overtime in a Sunday road match. The goal was the second of the season for O’Riordan, a Cork freshman. The Panthers are 9-4-1.
Joel McIlroy scored the winning goal on a penalty kick in the 20th minute of overtime to send the University of Mary home as 2-1 winners over Southwest Baptist on Sunday. That was the sixth goal of the season for the freshman from Larne, Co. Antrim, his third on penalty kicks and his third match winner. The Marauders are 6-5-1.
Brian McNamara scored the first three goals of the match as Cumberland University of Tennessee defeated Georgetown College of Kentucky, 7-0, at home on Friday. McNamara, a senior from County Kildare, accounted for all three tallies within the first 25 minutes of the first half. The first goal was a shot from the left side, the second came via his back heel to the far post and the third goal was a header off a long cross. Teammate Patrick Crowley, a Cork freshman, set up the header and assisted on another Cumberland goal later in the match. Alex Kenny, a sophomore from Edenderry, Co. Offaly, also picked up an assist. The Phoenix, coached by Dubliner Adam Grant, are 9-2-1.
Clockwise from top left, Adam Grant, Brian McNamara,
Alex Kenny and Patrick Crowley.
Truett-McConnell, with Dublin sophomore Evan Gaffney in goal, eked by Point and Milligan by identical 3-2 scores. Gaffney stopped four shots in the Point win and had six saves against Milligan. The Bears are 12-1-2.
Notre Dame and Michigan were tied at 1 with just over eight minutes left in regulation when Jon Gallagher took over. The Dundalk senior nailed a shot from seven yards out that proved to be the winning goal and later converted a penalty kick for insurance with 22 seconds left in regulation. He now has 10 goals on the season. He’d also picked up an assist (his second of the season) on Notre Dame’s first goal of the match. The Fighting Irish stand at 9-3-1.
Longwood’s Eoin O Donovan scored a goal and earned an assist within four minutes in a 4-3 overtime loss on the road on Saturday to Campbell. Those were the first points of the season for O Donovan. The Lancers limp on at 0-12-1.
Val Feeney and Mikie Rowe combined for Young Harris’ first goal in Wednesday’s 3-1 home win over Carson-Newman. Rowe, a junior from Campile, Co. Wexford, fed Feeney, a sophomore from Roscrea, Co. Tipperary, who then blasted the ball in from the top of the box for his first goal of the season. The Mountain Lions are roaring at 10-1-2.
Enda O’Neill sent a cross to teammate Mark Segbers for Wisconsin’s first goal in a 5-4 loss to Maryland at home on Friday. The loss dropped the Badgers to 7-3-3. O’Neill, a senior back from Louisville, Colo., is a son of Colm O’Neill, who came out of Midleton, Co. Cork to gain fame on the pitch in both football and hurling for his home county. He is now a successful publican in Boulder, Colo.
Martin Methodist’s Jack McCarren, a senior from Dublin, got the scoring started in a 3-2 overtime loss to Dalton State on the winner’s pitch on Saturday. The Red Hawks dropped to 9-4-0.
Matt Taylor, a junior from Dublin, set up the winning goal on a long pass as Quinnipiac defeated Manhattan, 1-0, in The Bronx on Saturday. The Bobcats move to 4-8-1.
Ryan Rooney, a junior from Ardee, Co. Louth, of St. Rose got an assist on the tying goal in a 2-2 match with LeMoyne in Albany, N.Y. on Tuesday. The Golden Knights are 5-6-1.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
Amy McGivern scored the first goal for Tennessee-Martin in a 3-2 overtime win over Southern Illinois-Edwardsville in a Friday home match. The junior from Ballynahinch, Co. Down knocked the ball in from five yards outside the box. The Skyhawks, coached by Belfast native Phil McNamara, are now 6-9-3.
Carson-Newman, ranked # 7 in NCAA Division 2, edged Wingate, 1-0, in Jefferson City, Tenn. on Saturday. Jacqueline Burns, a sophomore from Cookstown, Co. Tyrone, was in goal for the Eagles (11-0-1) and stopped one shot.
Cliona Crammond scored two goals, her fifth and sixth of the season, and earned an assist on another as Goldey-Beacom downed Dominican (N.Y.), 6-2, in Wilmington, Del. on Saturday. She is a junior from County Wicklow. Goldey is now 10-3-1.
WOMEN’S GOLF
Duke’s Leona Maguire blasted out of a greenside bunker to within inches of the pin to save par on the 18th hole on Sunday to preserve her lead and claim victory in the Tar Heel Invitational at Finley Golf Course in Chapel Hill, N.C. Maguire, a senior from Ballyconnell, Co. Cavan, shot rounds of 69, 66 and 69 to nip South Carolina’s Ainhoa Olarra by a stroke for medal honors. The par also enabled Duke to claim the team title by a stroke over Alabama.
Olivia Mehaffey was low scorer for Arizona State in the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational at the University of Texas Golf Club in Austin. Mehaffey, a Belfast sophomore, shot rounds of 73, 72 and 73 to finish two strokes over par and eight behind medalist Sophia Schubert of Texas. Her aggregate 218 was good for joint-sixth place.
MEN’S GOLF
Texas Wesleyan’s Rowan Lester, the reigning NAIA champion, took second place in the Coastal Collegiate Classic at Salishan in Gleneden Beach, Ore. The Dublin sophomore’s 8-under-par 205 (69-67-69) was bettered only by teammate Leo Mathard, who smoked the course for a final-round 63 to go three strokes lower than Lester. Texas Wesleyan won the team title by 11 strokes.
Charlotte’s Conor Purcell shared 18th place in the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate at Old Overton in Birmingham, Ala. Purcell, a sophomore from Malahide, Dublin, posted rounds of 69, 70 and 73, to finish the event two strokes over par and 12 off the low number. He was also low man for the 49ers.
Toledo’s Stephen Watts and Oakland’s Marc Norton both finished in the top half of the field in the Fighting Irish Invitational at Warren Golf Club in South Bend, Ind. Watts, a senior from Larne, Co. Antrim, shot rounds of 74, 72 and 68, which left him four strokes over par and 10 off the low score. Norton, a Belfast junior, signed to rounds of 76, 72 and 69, three strokes higher than Watts, who tied for 25th place. Norton shared 37th place.
CROSS COUNTRY
The Tobins of Clonmel, Co. Tipperary were in action this past weekend. Mississippi’s Sean Tobin was the 20th of 282 runners to finish in the Men’s Red Race at Saturday’s Pre-Nationals in Louisville, Ky. Tobin, a senior, covered 8,000 meters in 23:30.3 in a race won by Brigham Young’s Rory Linkletter in 23:08.4.
St. Leo’s Laura Tobin, a junior, was the 69th of 155 runners to finish in the Bulls Invitational in Tampa, Fla. She ran 5,000 meters in 20:45.0. Teammate Colett Rampf won the race in 17:51.1.
The Men’s Race at the Bronco Invitational in Santa Clara, Calif. attracted 133 runners, with the Lamar duo of Cormac Kelly and Keith Fallon finishing 34th and 51st, respectively. Kelly, a senior from County Carlow, needed 24:39.6 to get the 8,000 meters, while Fallon, a senior from Dublin, was along in 24:53.6. Utah Valley’s Tyson Lambert ran a winning 23:39.7.
FIELD HOCKEY
Kerrie Burns scored what turned out to be the winning goal to lead Rutgers past Michigan State, 3-2, in East Lansing, Mich. on Friday. Burns, a freshman from Portadown, Co. Armagh, scored off a rebound for her second goal of the season. The Scarlet Knights are 9-6-0.
Ayeisha McFerran made four saves to help Louisville defeat North Carolina, 3-2, in Durham, N.C. on Saturday. McFerran is a junior from Larne, Co. Antrim. The Cardinals ticked up to 11-4-0.
