The Houghton men’s soccer team started the week with a 2-0 loss to SUNY Geneseo. It was apparent that the absence of senior captain, Jordan Mullen ‘18 was something the team had quite a bit of difficulty dealing with. With Mullen back in the lineup however, the Highlanders were able to pick up a 1-0 road win at Elmira. It was the team’s first contest in the Empire 8 and the victory helped improve the team’s conference record to (1-0). “It was nice to see Darcy Mitchell get his first career start on Wednesday and play well. The week long break allowed me to focus in on what I needed to do to help the team get ready for Elmira. I was proud of the way we played Saturday. It’s always a childhood dream come true when I get to put on the Houghton jersey and compete. It’s awesome to be able to carry on the Houghton tradition,” said Mullen.
After a rocky start to their season, the Houghton women’s soccer team bounced back with two wins on the road. At Pitt-Bradford, the Highlanders dominated play, recording 14 shots to Pitt-Bradford’s 3, in route to a 1-0 victory. It was more of the same on Saturday when the team traveled to Lancaster Bible College to take on the Chargers. The team netted a season high 4 goals coming in pairs from junior defender, Meagan Barry ‘19, and senior striker, Nikki Garns ‘18. The effort would prove to be enough to earn the team their second straight win by a score of 4-2.
A game winning goal against Pitt-Bradford, and a pair of assists at Lancaster Bible earned senior captain, Jessica Beattie ‘18 the honor of being named NCCAA Offensive Student-Athlete of the Week. “To be recognized as the NCCAA’s offensive Student Athlete of the week is quite an honour. It wouldn’t have been possible without my teammates playing hard alongside me during the games and practices. Our team chemistry has progressed this week and although we can always improve, our desire to win and play well was evident in our games,” said Beattie.
The Houghton Men’s and Women’s Cross Country teams have gotten off to an impressive start. At the Highlander Short Course Twilight Invitational, the men’s team was led by sophomore, Tyler Deuschle ‘20 in their 5000m race. Deuschle placed 22nd overall, and shattered his personal best by posting a time of 16:31.4. Seconds later, it was junior, Matthew Gostomski ‘19 coming in at 25th overall with a time of 16:44.5.
In the Women’s 4000m races, it was sophomore, Gwen Stokes ‘20 leading the way for the Highlanders. Stokes placed 28th overall and posted a time of 16:16.4. Soon after it was sophomore, Shelby Langlois ‘20 coming in at 33rd with a time of 16:31.2.
The Highlanders also ran at the PSU-Behrend Invitational. Three Highlanders finished in the top 25 of the men’s 8000m or the Women’s 5000m races. For the women it was Langlois who placed 15th with a time of 20:53.7. For the men it was Deuschle placing 11th, with a time of 27:41.6 and Gostomski coming in at 25 with a time of 28:36.7.
The Highlanders will compete in the Harry F. Anderson Invitational in Rochester, NY on September 23.
The Houghton volleyball team dropped games to Buffalo State, York College of Pennsylvania, and Messiah this week. Each game was tightly contested, but the Highlanders struggled to finish in the end. Saturday, September 23 may prove to be a pivotal point in the Highlanders’ season as they open up conference play against both Stevens, and Utica at the Nielsen Center starting at 11AM.
Unfortunately, Houghton field hockey dropped both of their games against SUNY Cortland and Utica this week. With the losses, the team will fall to an overall record of (3-3) and a conference record of (0-2). The team will look to rebound against conference opponents St. John Fisher, and Hartwick in upcoming contests.