DDN: WSU INSIDER
Sept 29, 2005 6:13:22 GMT -5
Post by Big D on Sept 29, 2005 6:13:22 GMT -5
WSU INSIDER
Raiders' goalie on streak
By Marc Katz
Dayton Daily News
Sure people ask Jason Balach about his basketball game. After all, he's 6-foot-5 and is from Indiana, where basketball is king.
"I did play basketball a couple of years in high school," Balach said. "Then I had to make a decision. Basketball or soccer. It was before my growth spurt. I chose soccer. I'm happy where I'm at."
Balach is at Wright State, where he is a fifth-year senior goalie for the 4-4 Raiders, who entertain Xavier on Friday and UD in an unusual Sunday night 7 o'clock game. Before his growth spurt, he says he was 6 feet tall.
Balach and the Raiders are on a three-game winning streak with two straight shutouts: 1-0 at Detroit and 2-0 at Marshall. For his work in those games, Balach was named Horizon League soccer player of the week.
"There are other people on the field, but everyone looks at the goalie for a shutout," Balach said. "If we get a shutout, the goalie is named. If we lose, the goalie is named."
Being a little bigger than the average goalie helps.
"You see a lot of short soccer players," Balach said. "And I'm big and have a big frame."
He is also looking forward to this weekend, playing nearby rivals, especially UD.
"We haven't beaten UD since I've been here," Balach said. "We lost to them in overtime last year, and in overtime the year before that."
Asked to make a prediction for this year's game, Balach smiled and said, "We'll go with a victory for us, in overtime."
Tony Labudovski and Dana York each scored in a 2-1 WSU victory over Vanderbilt. Paul-Anthony Perez scored against Detroit and Josh Grossman and York scored against Marshall.
Team reports
• Women's soccer: WSU beat Kent State, 4-3, in overtime on a goal by Kelly Kammer. Kim Chianese's goal gave the Raiders an early lead that turned into a 1-1 tie with Detroit in a Horizon League game. It was Chianese's fourth goal of the season as the team heads to Colorado for games Friday vs. Northern Colorado and Sunday vs. Air Force.
• Tennis: Tiffani Foster won the A singles and teamed with Audra Beckett for the doubles title at the Akron Invitational. This weekend, WSU's women will be at the Ball State Invitational while the men's team hosts its own invitational.
• Volleyball: Jenny Schultz and Taylor Gerlach were named to the all-tournament team at the Miami Classic despite losses to the host team and Virgina Tech.
The Raiders opened Horizon League play with a victory over visiting Youngstown State, 30-28, 30-20, 28-30, 30-22. The Raiders finished the match by scoring the final six points, including three straight blocks by Lisa Griffith and Alisha Kimbro.
After that, despite a four-game 118 total, the Raiders lost to Cleveland State. This week, the team is in Wisconsin to play Milwaukee and Green Bay.
• Cross country: WSU's women finished seventh out of 12 teams while the men were eighth of nine teams at the Cedarville Friendship Invitational at John Bryan State Park. Christina Hill was best for the women, finishing 28th in 19:31.69, while Josh Burke finished 21st for the men in 26:24.20.
At the Greater Louisville Classic, the women's team finished 10th (out of 32) and men's team 28th (out of 35). Susan Hill was 45th for the women in 19:20.95, while Joel Hidalgo paced the men in 26:26.43 to finish 85th.
Stat of the week
2 Number of consecutive shutouts by the men's soccer team, the first time since 2001 the team has had two or more straight shutouts. In that season, the Raiders beat Xavier 3-0, Western Illinois, 3-0, and IUPUI, 1-0, to open the season.
Contact Marc Katz at 225-2157 or mkatz@daytondailynews.com
www.daytondailynews.com/sports/content/sports/wsu/daily/0929inside.html
Raiders' goalie on streak
By Marc Katz
Dayton Daily News
Sure people ask Jason Balach about his basketball game. After all, he's 6-foot-5 and is from Indiana, where basketball is king.
"I did play basketball a couple of years in high school," Balach said. "Then I had to make a decision. Basketball or soccer. It was before my growth spurt. I chose soccer. I'm happy where I'm at."
Balach is at Wright State, where he is a fifth-year senior goalie for the 4-4 Raiders, who entertain Xavier on Friday and UD in an unusual Sunday night 7 o'clock game. Before his growth spurt, he says he was 6 feet tall.
Balach and the Raiders are on a three-game winning streak with two straight shutouts: 1-0 at Detroit and 2-0 at Marshall. For his work in those games, Balach was named Horizon League soccer player of the week.
"There are other people on the field, but everyone looks at the goalie for a shutout," Balach said. "If we get a shutout, the goalie is named. If we lose, the goalie is named."
Being a little bigger than the average goalie helps.
"You see a lot of short soccer players," Balach said. "And I'm big and have a big frame."
He is also looking forward to this weekend, playing nearby rivals, especially UD.
"We haven't beaten UD since I've been here," Balach said. "We lost to them in overtime last year, and in overtime the year before that."
Asked to make a prediction for this year's game, Balach smiled and said, "We'll go with a victory for us, in overtime."
Tony Labudovski and Dana York each scored in a 2-1 WSU victory over Vanderbilt. Paul-Anthony Perez scored against Detroit and Josh Grossman and York scored against Marshall.
Team reports
• Women's soccer: WSU beat Kent State, 4-3, in overtime on a goal by Kelly Kammer. Kim Chianese's goal gave the Raiders an early lead that turned into a 1-1 tie with Detroit in a Horizon League game. It was Chianese's fourth goal of the season as the team heads to Colorado for games Friday vs. Northern Colorado and Sunday vs. Air Force.
• Tennis: Tiffani Foster won the A singles and teamed with Audra Beckett for the doubles title at the Akron Invitational. This weekend, WSU's women will be at the Ball State Invitational while the men's team hosts its own invitational.
• Volleyball: Jenny Schultz and Taylor Gerlach were named to the all-tournament team at the Miami Classic despite losses to the host team and Virgina Tech.
The Raiders opened Horizon League play with a victory over visiting Youngstown State, 30-28, 30-20, 28-30, 30-22. The Raiders finished the match by scoring the final six points, including three straight blocks by Lisa Griffith and Alisha Kimbro.
After that, despite a four-game 118 total, the Raiders lost to Cleveland State. This week, the team is in Wisconsin to play Milwaukee and Green Bay.
• Cross country: WSU's women finished seventh out of 12 teams while the men were eighth of nine teams at the Cedarville Friendship Invitational at John Bryan State Park. Christina Hill was best for the women, finishing 28th in 19:31.69, while Josh Burke finished 21st for the men in 26:24.20.
At the Greater Louisville Classic, the women's team finished 10th (out of 32) and men's team 28th (out of 35). Susan Hill was 45th for the women in 19:20.95, while Joel Hidalgo paced the men in 26:26.43 to finish 85th.
Stat of the week
2 Number of consecutive shutouts by the men's soccer team, the first time since 2001 the team has had two or more straight shutouts. In that season, the Raiders beat Xavier 3-0, Western Illinois, 3-0, and IUPUI, 1-0, to open the season.
Contact Marc Katz at 225-2157 or mkatz@daytondailynews.com
www.daytondailynews.com/sports/content/sports/wsu/daily/0929inside.html
