Heading home

We’re back on the bus after stopping at a pizza shop for dinner. Just like last year, the mood has lightened after some pizza and a few hours to process the loss.

Even though only one team gets to end its season with a celebration, it’s never easy when the season ends with a loss. There will always be tears and disappointment, but the reality of a penalty kick shootout makes it even more difficult in some aspects. I’ve been an assistant coach on the University’s baseball team for eight years now and I’ve shed a few tears myself after losing in conference championships.

But one thing’s clear despite the tears after today’s game — this team is proud of its accomplishments and enjoyed the NCAA experience again. While seven seniors will be gone next year, there’s a strong nucleus of underclassmen returning, so I have my fingers crossed that this blog will continue next season.

Until then, go Royals!

Game time!

We’re nine minutes from kickoff here. Some good news from Massachusetts where our men’s team has defeated Elms College, 6-0, in an NCAA first-round match. The men will play tomorrow in a second-round match against the winner of Babson and Colorado College.

Quickly, here are links for coverage of the women’s game:

Live stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/ithaca/wsoc/scoreboard.aspx

Radio: http://www.vicradio.org/

I’ll be providing updates in this post, as well. Hope you can follow along if you’re not here!

PKs: Bowdoin wins it in penalty kicks, converting all five chances. Scranton hit its first three, but the Bowdoin keeper made a tremendous diving save on Sam Russo in the fourth round that was the difference.

Another heart-breaking loss in the first-round of the NCAA tournament for the Royals.

End of second OT: We’re headed to penalty kicks. Five rounds, if we’re still tied after five rounds, it’s sudden victory round-by-round.

1:20, 2OT: Russo’s left-footed shot from 18 yards was ticketed for the upper right corner, the Bowdoin keeper reads it well and makes an easy save.

End 1st OT: Bowdoin with some pressure in the final three minutes, but no great chance develops. Still a second 10-minute overtime awaits, but this feels like it’s going to penalty kicks.

3:00, OT: Bowdoin called offsides on a good chance. Royals on their heels a bit here in the OT period.

End regulation: We’re headed to overtime. Russo had one more chance with 90 seconds left, but her shot from 20 yards was saved. Lots of action in the last 10 minutes, but neither team found the back of the goal.

3:20, 2H: McAnelly makes a save at the near post as action has really picked up.

6:00, 2H: Scranton on the counterattack after a Bowdoin corner kick. Russo and Vitolo worked a perfect 2-on-1 that led to Vitolo alone against the keeper, but her shot hits the right post square and kicks away.

8:00, 2H: Bowdoin with more pressure. McAnelly makes a save on a blast from 18 yards out, but gives up a rebound and the rebound shot flies over the crossbar. Royals dodge another bullet.

10:00, 2H: Gianna Vitolo with a good chance for Scranton as she gets free and gets to the top of the box, but her shot goes directly to the Bowdoin keeper.

11:30, 2H: Bowdoin with two good chances, the first shot sails a yard over the crossbar, the second was a good blast from 18 yards right to McAnelly for a save.

15:00, 2H: Scranton with some pressure, but the defense cuts Sam Russo off at the top of the box and later thwarts another chance. Royals looking to gain a little momentum here.

24:00, 2H: Bowdoin knocking on the door, but a shot from 15 yards out goes about five yards wide.

26:00, 2H: Bowdoin continues to control play without developing any serious chances. The Polar Bears make four substitutions, so we’ll see if the fresh legs have an impact.

33:00, 2H: Bowdoin continues to control possession here in the second half. Scranton’s defense is being tested here.

37:30, 2H: Bowdoin with another good chance, this time on a corner kick, but a solid header sails five feet over the crossbar. The Polar Bears have three shots already in the half after just one in the opening 45 minutes. Moments later, Scranton gets its first shot of the half on a shot by Noelle Malone from the long left side that’s easily saved.

40:00, 2H: Bowdoin with a very good chance on a loose ball 10 yards in front of the goal, but Jessica Sciscione makes a sliding block of a shot to thwart the chance.

Halftime: We’re scoreless with Scranton leading in shots, 3-1. It was a very even and mostly uneventful first half other than Parker’s good chance in the 23rd minute. Really not much else to talk about. We’ll see if either team tries to turn up the aggressiveness in the second half.

6:00, 1H: Bowdoin gets its first shot on a scramble in front, but the shot was blocked and Scranton avoids further trouble.

18:00, 1H: Another good look, this time for Sarah Gibbons from 20 yards out, but the Bowdoin keeper makes the catch at the right post.

22:00, 1H: Scranton’s first great chance as Russo sets up Sydney Parker from 25 yards out, but her blast sails just high.

28:00, 1H: Sam Russo gets the first shot of the game, but it’s from the far left point and easily saved by the Bowdoin keeper.

33:30, 1H: Both teams with some pressure, but neither team with a good chance or a shot.

42:00, 1H: Early corner kick for the Royals, but the Bowdoin keeper scooped up the low kick by Ellen Walker.

A walking, talking lighthouse

The UMass-Boston cheering section is hear, with a lighthouse mascot. Unfortunately, they showed up just in time to see Ithaca go up, 1-0.

Game day

We’re at the school and Coach Murphy and I are watching the first game, which is scoreless 12 minutes in. Coach Shenigo and the team are at the athletics center getting ready.

Some good news out of the men’s game — Bill McGuiness scored 35 seconds in to give Scranton a 1-0 lead over Elms.

Look out!!!

We got through dinner, but not without incident, sort of.

We had dinner in Ithaca at a restaurant called Joe’s, and it was much nicer than you’d think for a place with such a simple name. But before we were even in the doors, we had the type of light-hearted moment that seems to be commonplace around this team, at least based on my experiences the past two seasons.

The bus driver dropped us off across the street, so we had to walk about 30 yards to the intersection to cross the street. While we were waiting for the light to change, a man on a bicycle came along riding on the sidewalk toward us. As he got close, he honked a horn of some sort a few times, then yelled something that I couldn’t decipher as he was going past us, I guess because he was afraid someone would bump into him. He scared a few of the girls, including Caila Zappala. The rest of us got a pretty good laugh out of it.

The food at Joe’s was very good — salad, breadsticks and a few dinner choices, including chicken parm and penne pasta in vodka sauce. Coach Shenigo got a personal pizza and when he admitted he could only eat half, Coach Murphy looked at him and said, “That’s pretty weak.” He sucked it up and ate one more piece, so we know who’s the boss on this coaching staff.

We’re back at the hotel for the night with a few hours to relax. Coach Murphy and I have to be at the school for an administrative meeting at 9 a.m. tomorrow. The team is going to stay behind and have breakfast here at the hotel before we return. We’ll head back to the school as a group around 10:45 so the girls can get ready for the 1:30 p.m. game.

Hopefully it’ll be a quiet night as the girls start to focus on facing Bowdoin tomorrow. If tomorrow morning is anything like last year, they’ll have their game faces on when we get on the bus.

I’ll check in tomorrow. I’ll be keeping tabs on the men’s game — they play Elms College at 11 a.m. in a first-round match, so hopefully I’ll have some good news to report on their game before we get started here.

See you in the morning! Go Royals!

Ooohhhh, they have putt-putt!

Practice is over and we’re all checked in at the Ramada Inn with some time to kill before dinner at 6. We’re staying about 10 minutes from campus.

On the way to the hotel, we passed by a family educational and fun place called Sciencenter. As soon as we saw it, someone on the bus immediately said, “Hey guys, let’s go there,” which was immediately trumped by Coach Shenigo exclaiming, “Ooohhhh, they have putt-putt.”

There was also talk of celebratory ice cream if the team wins this weekend.

Anyway, here are a few pictures of the Athletics and Events Center and Carp Wood Field at Ithaca College.

Practice has begun

Practice has started on the side field here. That’s Carp Wood Field where we’ll play tomorrow in the background past the fence with the black windscreen. It’s a bit chilly but not that windy considering we’re on the side of the mountain.

Welcome to Ithaca

We’ve arrived in Ithaca and just finished lunch at Hal’s Deli downtown. Now we’re heading to Ithaca College for practice at 1:30.

The town is small and, well, cute is about the best word I can think of. Lots of small shops and restaurants, kinda like you might see in an old Tom Hanks-Meg Ryan movie.

The girls gave Hal’s a thumbs up for lunch. Hopefully out dinner spot is as good.

And we’re off

Everyone’s accounted for and we’re pulling out of campus now. There have already been comments of “Thank god it’s not an eight-hour ride again.” Seems like we’re all happy not to be headed back to Ohio Northern again.

I’ll check in in a couple hours when we get to Ithaca.

We’re back in 2012!

Well, the University of Scranton women’s soccer team is back in the NCAA Division III Tournament and I’m back along for the ride!

This is Randy Shemanski, assistant director of sports information, and I’ll be traveling with the Royals to Ithaca, N.Y. on Friday for the first and second rounds of the tournament. If you followed along during last year’s blog, welcome back. If you’re new to this experience, feel free to scroll down and read through last year’s trip to Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio.

Scranton will play Bowdoin College on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. Ironically, Bowdoin’s nickname is the Polar Bears, just like last year’s first-round opponent, Ohio Northern. (Scroll down to see the polar bear statues on the ONU campus.)

Hopefully the closer proximity to Scranton — just two hours to Ithaca — will help us get more fans at this year’s tournament. But whether you’re traveling to Ithaca College or not, please check the blog regularly as I’ll try to give everyone a sense of what the girls are going through and how they’re preparing for their third straight NCAA tournament appearance.

And please, feel free to let me know what you think of the blog! Go Royals!