Across the country this past weekend, the sights and sounds of college football returned to the American sports landscape. From the smell of barbecue in the parking lots, to the sounds of the marching bands leading fans into stadiums, to the sights of students with their bodies painted in school colors, it is an experience like none other.
Unfortunately, readers of The Washington Post won't see "The Washington Nationals win the World Series!" printed in the newspaper this year. Or the next year. They probably won't even see it for the next five seasons. Although "change" hovers closer and closer to the city as the weeks move closer and closer to November's presidential election, that change has not and most likely will not encompass the losing ways of the Washington Nationals in the near future.
The AU women's lacrosse team welcomed 11 freshmen and one transfer student to its team this week, including three high school all-Americans. The freshmen are Jordan Allen, Kaska Komosinski, Emma Larkin, Paige Lin, Bernadette Mahar, Bailey McDonough, Chelsea O'Neill, Emily Reichard, Lauren Schoenberger, Emily Stankiewicz and Alice Thomson.
The AU women's basketball team hired Erin Lindroth as an assistant coach this season. Lindroth joins the Eagles after spending the last four years as an assistant at Daytona Beach State College in Daytona Beach, Fla., where she worked on practice and game preparation as well as academic tutoring and counseling.
Women's soccer junior forward Kelsey Brasher was named AU Student Athlete of the Week and Co-Patriot League Player of the Week after scoring three goals in matches against Mount St. Mary's University and the University of Maryland, College Park. Brasher became the league's Offensive Player of the Week while teammate junior defender Erin Stebbins became Defensive Player of the Week.
The 15th ranked AU Eagles field hockey team lost twice during their trip to Iowa City, Iowa, against the No. 5 ranked University of Iowa Hawkeyes and the No. 12 ranked Duke University Blue Devils. The Eagles first faced off on Friday against the hometown favorite and defending Big Ten tournament champion Iowa.
The AU men's soccer team split its second consecutive tournament over the weekend, as they defeated N.C. State University 3-0 on Friday afternoon and lost to Duke University by the same score Sunday. The Eagles opened their tournament play in the Duke/Nike Men's Soccer Classic in fine fashion against the N.
Junior forward Kelsey Brasher scored her team-leading fourth goal of the season to help the Eagles fight to a 1-1 tie on the road with the University of Maryland Terrapins on Friday. AU scored the first goal of the game as Brasher put the ball into the back of the net in the second minute of play, taking a pass from junior defender Erin Stebbins to put the Eagles up 1-0.
The AU women's volleyball team routed Siena College 3-0 on Saturday, finishing off the Texas A&M Invitational in style. The Eagles dominated the pace and pressure of the game, hitting a season high of .414, while the defense held Siena to a season low of .
The AU men's soccer team lost 1-0 in overtime to George Mason University in the finale of the D.C. College Cup, putting the Eagles into third place in the tournament with one victory and one defeat. The loss came during the team's second game in three days.
The AU women's volleyball team beat George Mason University 3-1 on Saturday, en route to winning the third annual D.C. Volleyball Challenge at George Washington University. In a tightly contested match, AU defeated a pesky George Mason team 25-21, 20-25, 25-23 and 25-15.
Women's soccer defeats Mt. St. Mary's 3-0 Junior forward Kelsey Brasher scored twice to lead the Eagles to a 3-0 victory on the road against Mount St. Mary's. Brasher scored her first goal of the game in the 18th minute of the first half, taking a nice feed from senior forward Tatiana Bertolo and chipping it past Mount St.
The AU Eagles triumphed twice this weekend in the American Field Hockey Invitational. The 15th nationally ranked Eagles surged in the second half to topple the University of New Hampshire Wildcats 4-0 on Saturday and then clawed their way to a 2-0 win on Sunday against the 19th ranked University of Albany Great Danes.
The AU women's soccer team dropped its season opener on Saturday, losing to Georgetown in overtime 2-1 during the team's annual Phil Reeves game. A record crowd of 1,152 people cheered and chanted throughout the match, reflecting the intensity of the play on the field.
In 1997, the Florida Marlins, then an unknown expansion team, won the World Series. The Cleveland Indians dismantled the New York Yankees, the reigning World Series champs, in first round of the playoffs while the Boston Red Sox found themselves crying to sleep for the 79th season in a row.
It was the bottom of the seventh inning, one out, bases loaded, the game on the line in the Bronx. On Tuesday night, the Yankees trailed the Red Sox by four runs, five games in the American League Wild Card standings, and up comes Alex Rodriguez. It was the same Rodriguez who had 31 RBI's in the eighth inning or later last season.
Members of the men's and women's track and field teams competed at the prestigious Penn Relays over the weekend, with the four by one mile relay team taking home fourth place in the collegiate men's Championship of America. The team, composed of junior Carlos Jamieson and seniors Brendan Fennell, Brian McCabe and Steve Hallinan, completed the course in 16:32.