Athletics always bring some of the most anticipated events of the school year here at the Valley.  Part of the MAC Conference, Lebanon Valley faces some extremely intense competition.  Teams like Elizabethtown, Widener and Albright provide for some great match ups.  However, when it comes to rivalry, one team stands out from the rest, the Falcons of Messiah College.

Messiah has historically been one of the biggest rivalries since the athletic program began here at the Valley.  One of the oldest sports here on campus, baseball, has had a long-running rivalry with the Falcons.  The last time the two teams met was a weekend in May 2009 when LVC came out victorious in all three games. 

“The LVC/Messiah rivalry just seems to keep growing as the years pass along,” says LVC’S baseball head coach, Keith Evans. 

“We try to have good, intense practice early in the week and looser practices towards the end; we don’t talk about the rivalry prior to a game,” he adds.

Another sport where the rivalry has really started to take off just in the last few years is women’s basketball.  On January 20, the Flying Dutchmen defeated the Falcons for the first time in nine years. 

“It’s a fun rivalry win or lose, but it’s always nicer to win,” says head coach Todd Goclowski. 

“To be the team and program we want to be, we need to play and beat good teams like Messiah.” 

Some athletic teams historically have much more heated rivalries than others.  For Men and Women’s Soccer as well as Field Hockey, the matchup between Messiah and LVC is anticipated for the duration of the season. 

Jerry Chaplin, Athletic Director at Messiah College, said that the rivalry is one that is quite positive and both teams have a great respect for the other. 

“Fans as well as athletes on either side of the rivalry respect the talents that each team brings to the floor.  Especially in Field Hockey, Soccer [Men and Women’s] and basketball, LVC is definitely a team to be reckoned with.” 

Head Men’s Soccer coach, Charlie Grimes is quite familiar with the rivalry in his respective sport.  Grimes is a former player for Elizabethtown College and remembers what it felt like when facing powerhouse Messiah. 

“We take every game seriously.  But it is clear that Messiah has set the standard in Men’s Soccer having won seven out of the last 10 National Championships.  It [the rivalry] definitely contributes to the landscape of collegiate men’s soccer, especially here in southern Pennsylvania.” 

“Messiah has a unique history of success at the national level across the board in many athletics,” said head LVC Field Hockey coach Laurel Martin.

“The institution creates an opportunity for success in the athletic arena.  I enjoy the nature of competition and think that win or lose one can always gain from strong opponents.”

One large part of the rivalry for almost all of the athletic teams is trying to not let it become “personal” and take away the focus of the game.  A lot of coaches try to focus on the “x’s and o’s” as opposed to the actual opponent.  However when a rivalry is this strong, sometimes that is difficult to do. 

“We try to approach the game as we would any other but we all know that’s tough to do.  I feel it’s one of the toughest places to play so we travel there trying to maintain a tough, steady and focused mindset,” said head Softball coach Stacey Hollinger. 

Head Women’s Soccer coach Lauren Frankford agrees. 

“We try to focus on what we need to do to be successful and not so much our opponent.  We are always the underdog in this rivalry so I stress we go out and play our hardest, we have nothing to lose!”

The rivalry has really defined itself as an important part of LVC athletics.  It has grown since the beginning and only seems to be continuing to grow and instill a great desire for great competition in not only athletes but coaches alike.  Messiah has helped to shape what Lebanon Valley athletics are about, strong, relentless competition. 

Tags:

Tags:

The LVC women’s basketball team will be playing their third annual Pink Zone game against Elizabethtown on Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2010 at 6 p.m. to raise breast cancer awareness. The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association initiated the idea of the game in 2007, at which time 120 schools had participated; two years later, more than 1,600 teams joined the great cause. This year the women’s team will debut their white, pink, and blue jerseys to support the efforts. The unique jerseys will be auctioned off after the game to raise money for the American Cancer Society.

Head coach Todd Goclowski was quoted as saying, “The NCAA’s Pink Zone initiative really opened the door for us to create a game here on campus and involve all aspects of our community in the endeavor.”

Last year’s crowd consisted of 1,280 fans, but the first year drew in 1,310 fans—the best turn out for a LVC women’s basketball game.

As usual, the this year’s game will have prizes for fans who attend to show their support.  Some of these raffle prizes include gift certificates, gift baskets, and a $200 gift card to the College Store.  There will also be a chance to win a 2009 Chevy Cobalt for one lucky fan if he or she can sink a half-court shot.  And each time a member of the Dutchmen scores a three pointer, Subway will be handing out coupons to lucky fans.

Other events occurring at the game will include performances by the band and the LVC dance team.  Colleges Against Cancer (CAC) will be at the game with a Survivorship table where pins will be handed out to cancer survivors, and CAC’s Education committee will be handing out information about cancer awareness and information regarding Relay for Life, which is taking place on March 26 and 27 of this year.

The past two years have had great turn outs, and over $6,000 was raised for cancer research. With this year’s team on an eleven game winning streak and the opportunity to win great prizes while supporting a good cause, who would want to miss this fun-filled, entertaining event? So come out and support the Lady Dutchmen against Elizabethtown on Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2010 at 6 p.m.

…Who knows?  You might win a car!

Tags:

Both the men and womens track teams openedup the semester with victories at their indoor meet on Saturday. Allix Sandersset an indoor record by winning the 300 in 45.28, beating Emily Allison's 47.17record from 2006.

When asked about the meet, Sanders,who is also part of the record-breaking 4X200 team, stated, "Ithought the meet went well. It's always nice to compete at home, especiallysince the team doesn't get to do so often during the season. I thought everyoneperformed solidly, which makes me excited for the rest of the season.”

Sanders added, “I'm convinced that themen's and women's teams will ultimately achieve their strongest finishes in theMAC conference championships, which is important to us, as we are dedicatingour season to Nicole Gallo."

Sophomores Johanna Walker and Nick D'Angeloalso won first place finishes in the 55 meter dash and the mile, respectively.Walker, who also won the 55 hurdles in 9.12, noted the loss of key seniorslast year, but also recognized how well the young team is. She stated, “Forbeing a young team, I think we are doing really well."

D'Angelo noted how talented andenthusiastic his teammates are, stating, "I think the upperclassmen on theteam have put forth a good example as leaders through their positive attitudesand performances in their respective events.

The track season just keeps getting betterand better by the meet, and I'm anxious to see how it will unfold in the meetsto come." Other top finishes for the Dutchmen included Alex Talarico inthe 3000, Bryan Phanthavong in the 55-hurdles, Caleb Wiley's 40-5 jump, AndrewScott in shot put, Megan Long in the 800, Sarah Fenning in the high jump, andAshley Weaver in the pole vault.

Their next meet is Saturday,February 6 against Ursinus.

Tags:

                 LVC attacked the Knights with a well balanced attack,controlled the tempo and the lead the entire contest. As junior Andrea Hooverled the #23 Dutchmen with 13 points, five rebounds and four assist in 24minutes in a 66-43 win over Arcadia for the Lady Dutchmen’s tenth straight win.This win put the lady Dutchmen at a record of 18-1 on the year and the top dogsin their conference at 8-0.

                  ReneeFritz the freshman gave LVC a big boost, contributing 10 points, two assist andthree steals in her first start since her injury. The Frosh class seemed toshine big on this game as Amanda Donia and Tierney Hiltz both recorded ninepoints each to contribute to the LVC 23 point victory, and Lindsey Nies put herteammates in scoring position as she led the Lady Dutchmen with five assist intheir victory.

                  TheDutchmen jumped on the knight’s right from the jump as, they opened up thescoring right away with a layup and then a three pointer. Right out of the gateLVC was clicking on all cylinders as their lead right mounted to fast 24 pointlead over the knights when hitting half.

                  Themomentum never swung in Arcadia’s way, as in the second half around the 7:00mark LVC pushed its lead to 39 points to put them squarely in control of thecontest. Yet the Knights attempt keeping the Dutchmen scoreless for the lastfive minutes, but this deficit seemed to be too much for Arcadia as theattempted comeback failed.

                  Thelady Dutchmen 28 points off the bench seemed to be one of the big differencemaker in the win.  All of the ladiesgot a piece of the action Saturday, and 11 of 13 of them recorded 2 or morepoints in the victory.  Yet alongwith this the lady Dutchmen defense seemed to be hungry, as their hecticdefense caused 28 points off of turnovers.

                  LVCwill be back on the hardwood on Wednesday hosting Lycoming at 6p.m going their11^th straight win and push towards the playoffs.

Tags:

         Saturday, January 30^thconcluded the Dutchmen’s 2009 - 2010 Dual meet season with both the Women’s andMen’s teams defeating Messiah College. However, the highlight of the meet was Senior Recognition Day.  Eleven female swimmers and one maleswimmer were recognized during the first break.  The Senior Class includes Lisa Boyko, Alyse Canciello, Rebecca Edwards, Hillary Forsythe,Allison Hunt,Laurel Klappholz,Shannon Neifert,Lisa Niethamer,Kelsey Shoupe,and Melanie Toberfor the women, and JohnSchoenberger for the men.  Both the Women’s and Men’s teams finished their seasons witha .500 record.  This is the firstyear in LVC history that the women finished with a .500 record.  Senior Captain Lisa Neithamer said,“Every point counts towards achieving a win.  I’m so proud of the team for accomplishing the best winningseason in LVC swimming history.”  Recordswere lowered for both the Men’s and Women’s teams all season long, includingthree at the last meet.  The 400meter medley relay was shattered by Jeffrey Bush, John Heenan, Tony Shipkowski,and John Schoenberger.  JuniorJeffrey Bush states, "It's nice to break that relay record. I knew we wereunder the record with our composite times. It was a matter of just swimming therelay and breaking the record." Freshman Kristen Zartman lowered both her200 and 400 meter freestyle records. “The Senior Class was great! They made it very easy for me to become part of the team.  And I’m especially grateful for theSenior women who counted for me during my distance races,” said Zartman.  The Dutchmen will be competing in MACChampionships in Wilkes-Barre, PA the weekend of February 12-14, 2010.

Tags:

The Lebanon Valley College field hockey team had an outstanding year and finished with a season record of 19-4 overall.  Lebanon Valley entered its postseason play falling to Messiah for the Commonwealth crown, but received an at-large bid for the NCAA national tournament. 

The Dutchmen headed into the NCAA games with a record of 17-3.  LVC played host to Wittenberg University on Nov. 11 for the NCAA first round.  After blasting Wittenberg 9-0, it was off to Grantham, Pa., to take on Rowan College. 

In the NCAA second round (Nov. 14-15), which was held at Messiah College, Lebanon Valley played a hard-fought game against Rowan and came out on top 3-0, advancing to Sunday’s third-round play vs. the undefeated Messiah College. Messiah had defeated Eastern University to advance. 

The Dutchmen’s season came to an end on Sunday after a tough loss to Messiah, 3-2, in overtime.  The girls played at an excellent caliber and with outstanding class even though their efforts fell short. 

Seven Dutchmen were named all-Commonwealth Conference.  Shelly Lobach, Avery Carter, Danielle Blasé, and Nikki Bomberger were all named first team. Jocelyn Novak, Jenni Walker and Caitlin Baro all received second-team honors while freshman Caitlin Vasey was named Commonwealth Conference Rookie of the Year. 

Lobach and Novak’s recognition wasn’t quite complete until the Longstreth/National Field Hockey Coaches’ Association teams were released.  Lobach and Novak were both named All-Americans; Lobach receiving first-team recognition and Novak receiving second-team recognition. They become LVC’s 40^th and 41^st players to be selected to the All-American teams.  Novak was a third-team all-American in 2008. 

The team will say goodbye to four seniors: Caitlin Baro, Danielle Blasé, Nikki Bomberger and Avery Carter.  Lebanon Valley once again flexed its muscles this season in field hockey.  This was the fifth consecutive NCAA appearance for the Dutchmen and 15^th overall.  They were also runner-up in the Commonwealth Conference this year.

“After a year with a lot of setbacks and adjustments that needed making, it’s incredible we found the success that we did," head coach Laurel Martin said. "This year was really all about the passion and playing the game the way it’s supposed to be played and for all the right reasons.” 

Tags: field hockey

The historic season for the 2009 Dutchmen football team has,unfortunately, come to an end. The season saw many first-time events and manyof the program's history book has now been rewritten.

LVC finished its season on Nov. 21 with a 37-21 victory overSalisbury in the 2009 ECAC Southwest Bowl at Arnold Field.

The Dutchmen (9-2) set a program record for winsin a season and won their first postseason game since the Tampa Bowl in 1935.  In addition, LVC made its first postseasonappearance since the 1951 Burley Bowl.

The Dutchmen have accomplished much this season with theirperformance on the field, but must now say goodbye to some of their keyseniors. These seniors have not only impacted their team with their spectacularplays, but have had an undeniable impact on the Dutchman football program.

Running back Charlie Parker set a new mark to shoot for inLVC’s football history book, finishing his career with 3,855 rushing yards and 35rushing touchdowns. Parker was also named all-conference three out of the four yearshe has been in a Dutchman uniform. He had 83 yards on 28 carries in the Bowlvictory a few weeks ago.

Playing alongside Parker has been all-conference fullbackBrian Lynch, who has contributed key blocking and hard-nose running in additionto his leadership. Lynch leaves LVC earning two all-conference recognitions anda title after he helped the Dutchmen capture their Bowl victory. In that game,LVC scored 17 fourth-quarter points to overcome a 21-20 deficit. MostOutstanding Player, Alex Gilchrist, had 10 tackles and a sack and forced twofumbles, returning one fumble 25 yards for a touchdown. The Dutchmen were ableto rally by holding Salisbury to one first-down in the second half. LVC held Salisbury's potent run game to just 134 yards and184 yards overall.

Along with these two valuable offensive weapons among thesenior class, captain wide-outs Joe Brennan and Sean Donovan will be departingas well. After coming back for his second season due to injury in his first, thespeedy wide receiver, Donovan, proved he was still at the top of his game by finishinghis senior year with 614 yards and five touchdowns. He also receivedrecognition as an all-conference returner.

Brennan will leave the Dutchmen with questions of who willbecome their new deep threat. He finished off his final year by bringing in 775yards receiving along with hauling in 11 touchdown catches. The speedy widereceiver captured all-conference honors for his game-changing plays as well asfor his stunning touchdown grabs in the end zone. He caught five balls for 105yards and a touchdown in the win over Salisbury.

The Dutchmen will be moving on next season without theirslot receiver Matt Donley as well. Donley was known for his key catches in clutch situations during theDutchmen’s big games over his career. Two of those TD catches came in the winover Salisbury.

The last offensive key departure comes from up front as theface of this Dutchmen offensive line loses its four-year starting all-conferencetackle, Sean Tetreault. Teteault proved that he was a special player just asParker did during their freshman year, when both became varsity starters. Aftermaking an impact for the Dutchmen with his outstanding blocking on the line,Tetreault was rewarded with all-conference honors in three of his four seasons atLVC.  

On the defensive side of the ball, the Dutchmen are losingtheir core of middle linebackers who have stood there since their arrival.Bruno Iozzo has been a solid player for this Dutchman defense, creating havocbehind the line of scrimmage for opposing offenses. This year he recorded 51tackles, 34 of them solo, as well as recording three sacks, catching oneinterception, and causing a safety. Iozzo’s partner has been Will Keylor.  It will be strange not seeing number 35 onthe field next year. Keylor is a defender that the quarterback must locateafter he breaks his huddle. In his time playing for LVC, he has sacrificed hisbody numerous times, popping either his shoulder or one of his fingers backinto place, without letting the pain affect his play.

As the Dutchmen wrapped up their 2009 season, they haveaccomplished much. While they didn't accomplish their preseason goal of winninga MAC championship, this team can still call themselves champions in the end. Becauseof these accomplishments, this group of men can call themselves the best teamto ever come through LVC’s football program.  

Tags: salisbury, football, ecac southwest bowl

The 2009-10 Lebanon Valley College men’s basketball team beganthe season on Sunday. Head coach Brad McAlester’s team was picked third in theCommonwealth Conference preseason poll. The team received 39 votes. Elizabethtown(55 votes) ranked first, with Widener (52) coming in second.

The Dutchmen will look to improve this season after a 12-13record overall and a 4-8 Commonwealth Conference record. If they do so, theywill have to successfully replace guard Kyle Enoch and forward Eric Humphrey,two key starters from last season.

But there is some experience returning. Dan Dunkelberger, asenior and captain, is expected to play a key role. Dunkelberger started all 25games last season, leading the team in free throws and rebounds. Anotherreturning starter and captain is Joe Meehan, who started 22 out of the 25 gameslast season as a point guard, led the team in assists, and was named Rookie ofthe Year for the Commonwealth Conference. Grant Becker is expected back thisyear after suffering an injury in 2008-09. Becker had started 18 out of the 19games he played in. Sean MacIntosh played in all 25 games last season andstarted 12 times as a guard, averaging 6 points.

Other names to look for on the court include Matt Staub, whois the third captain for the Dutchmen this year and played in 15 games as aguard this past season; Anthony Trautman, who played in 22 games and averaged3.6 points; and Cameron Prince, who played in 24 contests during the season.

McAlester has also brought in six freshmen, including Sam Diaz,Ryan Kinard, Matt O’Brien, Sean Ruane, Danny Brooks, and David Corbin.

Dunkelberger said this season's team is starting out aheadof the 2008-09 version in a knowledge of what's expected on one end of the court.“We putin a new offensive system last season, so this year we didn't have to spend asmuch time learning new concepts, but rather getting better at them," hesaid. "We also hope to pick up things on the defensive end.”

Big games to watch for this season will be Franklin and Marshal on Nov.24, Albright on Feb. 13 and Elizabethtown on Feb. 16.

Meehan explained the determination of the team this year and said, “Weare a different overall team this year. We have a different attitude andall are working hard together to reach our goal of a championship and will notsettle for any less.”

Come watch the Dutchmen play Cabrini College tonight in the LVCgymnasium at 7:30. The Dutchmen also will play host to the Rinso MarquetteTournament this weekend on Nov. 21 and 22.

Women’sBasketball Preview

The Lebanon Valley College women’s basketball team kicked off theirseason this week. While returning quite a few starters, the Dutchmen also havea lot of youth on the bench. With no seniors but plenty of experience, LVC islooking to return to the Commonwealth Conference Championship game for thethird time in a row.

Head Coach Todd Goclowski’s team has a lot of potential because of allthe talent returning from last season. Andrea Hoover, who plays point guard, started23 games last season. She led the team and the conference with 4.5 assists pergames, and was named first-team all-conference. Hoover also averaged 10.2points. Another key starter for the Dutchmen is Suzie Noyes, who in 30 gameslast season averaged 11.2 points and 7.4 rebounds. Eryn Schultz will play a bigpart in the team offense this season. Shultz played in 28 games last season andstarted 10 of those games. She was the team’s three-point leader with a .417percentage. Sophomore Caitlin Murphy started 24 of the 26 games her freshman season.Murphy shot 80 percent on the free-throw line and had 29 steals. Chelsea Kehris a key player off the bench. Kehr had 41 rebounds and 22 steals as backuppoint guard. The final returner is Kayla Fulfer, who last season saw action in12 games. Fulfer could be slotted as a forward or guard in this season’slineup.

Goclowski also brought in a big freshmen class, adding Liz Borgia,Tierney Hiltz, Rachel Armor, Lindsey Nies, Amanda Donia, Gia Russo, ReneeFritz, and Sarah Colton.

The Dutchmen, who opened the season last Sunday at Hood College andplayed at Misericordia on Tuesday, will serve as host of the Rinso MarquetteTournament here at LVC this weekend. Their first game will be 6 p.m. Friday againstClarkson.

Tags:

The Lebanon Valley football team has had one of the best seasons in the history of the school, despite a 44-43 double-overtime loss to Albright on Sunday.

Both the defense and the offensive lines, as well the special teams, have been excelling when called upon to make the big plays.

The offense has managed to score with both good blocking, opening up the field, and a solid passing game. The defense has managed to frustrate opposing quarterbacks not only with consistent interceptions, but also applying enough pressure to lead the MAC in sacks.

Senior Matthew Donley has been playing for the Dutchmen since his freshman year. He says he feels that when his class entered the school, the program had its foundation for a turnaround. Donley said, “Each year I feel that we progressively got better.”

With the current win total (8-2, 5-2 in the MAC) the most it has been since the turn of the century, the Dutchmen are finding a system that works. Senior players such as Donley have been working on their game for awhile and Donley feels that their experience is one of the elements that has aided in the team's success. “I think the thing that is different about this year, as opposed to previous years, is the experience of the team. Most of the defense and offense saw significant amounts of playing time in previous years. Now that we are seniors we know the game plan and we know how to execute it.”

For players such as Donley who are seniors, the success has been a positive experience on and off the field. Having been together through four seasons, you develop a bond with your teammates, which makes sharing the victories even more enjoyable.

Donley added, "I feel that the football team is a very close bunch of guys. When you spend this much time together you become best friends.”

Tags: football, seniors, matt donley