Posted 12:48 PM by Emmett
Did You Miss the Best Week in Evergreen Sports History?

by James J. Portune
The Evergreen State College
Sports Information

For more than twenty years varsity sports have been a part of The Evergreen State College campus life. During that time league championships have been won, athletes have received accolades, and hundreds of student-athletes lives have been enriched by the progressive philosophy that is an Evergreen classroom.

In those years there has never been a more successful week in Evergreen sports history, team wise and for individual athletes, than last week. In a five-day period, two nationally ranked and three regionally ranked teams came to play at Evergreen, all left without a victory. On top of that, three players, from three separate sports, were named Cascade Conference and NAIA Region I Player-of-the-Week, with two also being recognized as NAIA National Player of the Week.

Wednesday (Oct. 1), the Women's Soccer team hosted four-time defending Cascade Conference champions Concordia University (4-0-1 Cascade Conference, 8-1-2 Overall), ranked #3 in the nation. Not since 1997 have the Geoducks beaten the Cavaliers in women's soccer.

With a 1-8-1 record heading into the game, the outcome did not look bright for the Geoducks. What Concordia had forgotten was that Evergreen had gained valuable experience in the preseason, playing nationally ranked Simon Fraser and regionally ranked NCAA II Seattle University.

Behind a well orchestrated team effort, led by freshman goalkeeper Carly Stewart (Federal Way, Wash./Kennedy H.S.), Evergreen repelled every Concordia attack, not just for two halves (90 minutes) but also for two additional overtime periods (110 minutes). When both teams left the field exhausted, the scoreboard still read 0-0. Stewart had earned her second shutout of the season and had recorded a season high 16 saves.

"Carly has worked hard all season learning how to be a college goalkeeper," said head coach Arlene McMahon, a former goalkeeper at the University of Washington. "She was very good against Concordia, getting herself in the right position to make the big saves." To put Stewart's performance in proper perspective, the current school record of 19 saves in a single game was set in 2000, in a 7-0 loss to Simon Fraser. Stewart's 16 saves held the #3 women's soccer team in the nation scoreless, a feat that only one other team this season has duplicated and that game also ended in a 0-0 tie for Concordia.

Thursday (Oct. 2), Concordia University Men's Soccer team (4-1-0 CCC, 7-5-0 Overall), defending Cascade Conference champions, laced up their cleats to play at Evergreen. Three times last season, twice in regular season and once in post-season, the Cavaliers and Geoducks played each other, with Concordia winning all three contest.

A goal by Cavalier forward Joseph Bytebiere in the 9th minute of the game made it look as though the Evergreen-Concordia rivalry would end were it left off last year. But this season the Evergreen Men's Soccer team has one of the most potent offensives in school history. Two unanswered goals by conference leading scorer Joe Gjertsen (Tacoma, Wash./Wilson H.S.) and one goal by senior Chris Langford (Antioch, Calif./Deer Valley H.S.) propelled Evergreen to a convincing 3-1 victory over Concordia.

With only one day of rest, Evergreen returned to the soccer field on Saturday to play Cascade College. The 8-0 shutout by the Geoducks put them back into contention for the league champions, with six games remaining in the season. Gjertsen four goals in that game, gave him his fourth 'Hat Trick' (3 or more goals) of the season and goalkeeper Tom Kneeshaw (Eatonville, Wash./Eatonville H.S.) got his second shutout of the year.

Sunday (Oct. 5), the Men's Soccer team hosted Walla Walla College (5-4 Overall) and had no trouble defeating them 9-2. Langford lead the Geoducks with 3 goals and 1 assist, Gjertsen put 2 more balls into the back of the net and was also credited with 2 assists, and junior Nathan Ford's (Steilacoom, Wash./Steilacoom H.S.) 2 goals and 3 assists helped him maintain his spot on top of the Cascade Conference 'Assist' category.

"Victory wise, the Concordia game was huge," said head coach Tom Boatright, who was a senior defender for Evergreen the last time the Geoducks defeated Concordia - 1986. "What the team also accomplished was that they found their spirit, their will to win, which will be crucial as we begin the second half of the season."

If that wasn't enough excitement in one week for you, then you should have been in the gymnasium to watch the Women's Volleyball team play. Just three years old, the program entered the weekend with a winning record (4-3 CCC, 9-6 Overall), having equaled last years record setting seven wins at Walla Walla College, in Eastern Oregon, the previous weekend.

Friday's (Oct. 3) opponent was Oregon Institute of Technology (6-3 CCC, 12-5 Overall), ranked #6 in the NAIA Region I poll and second in the Cascade Conference standings.

Behind the setting of junior Hanna Plunk (Broomfield, Colo/Broomfield H.S.) and the hitting of senior outside hitter Stephanie Short (Spokane, Wash./Shadle Park H.S.) and middle blockers Kristen Bartley (Lubbock, Texas/Monterey H.S.) and Meredith Lane (Olympia, Wash./Olympia H.S.) the Geoducks won game #1 easily, 30-23, and followed with a 31-29 victory in game #2. OIT regrouped and won game #3 30-21. Head Coach Bill Lash returned to the line-up he utilized for the first two games and Evergreen had no problem closing out the night with a 30-23 win in game #4. The 3-1 victory was the first time Evergreen had defeated Oregon Tech.

When the game statistics came out of the printer it showed that all three women had recorded double digit kills for Evergreen, Lane with 17, Bartley 16 and Short 11. Bartley also had a game high 4 solo blocks. Having seen the results from Friday night, NAIA #15 and Cascade Conference leader Southern Oregon knew that they would have to bring their best to Evergreen Saturday night.

Senior Kristina Matchett and junior Kristin Ferris did play well for the Raiders, scoring 39 kills between them. But Evergreen played better than Southern Oregon. Once again the trio of Short, Bartley and Lane recorded 10 or more kills, with Lane setting a new school record with 29 Kills on 58 Attempts. The Geoducks also dominated at the net, blocking 19 SOU attacks.

The upset of Southern Oregon took five games. SOU won game #1, 30-23. Evergreen regrouped and won game #2, 30-27, and game #3, 30-28. The Raiders took game #4, 30-21. And, Evergreen pulled out a 16-14 win in game #5. At the end of the night, all the Geoducks fans stood and gave their team a loud ovation.

"It feels good to final beat OIT and Southern Oregon," said Coach Lash. "The down side, is that the weekend of November 7th will now be our toughest road trip of the season. But isn't that why we play this game?"

What makes the week all that more special is that the Evergreen players were recognizes for their accomplishment outside the conference. All three athletes - Stewart, Gjertsen and Lane - were honored as Cascade Conference and NAIA Region I Player of the Week, in their respective sports. Gjertsen and Lane were further honored as NAIA National Player of the Week. Evergreen has had Cascade Conference, NAIA Region and National Player of the Week before, but never three in one week.

Posted 12:46 PM by Emmett
X-Country: Harries Face Tough Competition at UW's Sundodger Invitational

Sundodger has the reputation of being the most competitive cross country meet in the state. For the Evergreen team, they faced strong colleges from their region as well as other top Northwest NCAA DII, DIII and Junior colleges. Although still finishing low in the meet results as teams, both men’s and women’s squads ran their best race so far this season setting many seasonal bests and some all-time bests.

Posted 12:45 PM by Emmett
Geoducks Improve to 9-6 with a Five Game Victory Over Nationally Ranked Southern Oregon

If you though that the win by The Evergreen Women's Volleyball team last night over Oregon Tech was a fluke, you might have been correct. The Geoducks had never beaten the Hustlin' Owls before. If you think that Evergreen's 3-2 (23-30, 30-27, 30-27, 21-30, 16-14) win over Southern Oregon tonight was because the Raiders played bad, then you have not watched the Evergreen women's volleyball team play this season.

Posted 12:45 PM by Emmett
Volleyball: Evergreen Volleyball Sets Records By Beating Oregon Tech

When The Evergreen State College Women's Volleyball team stepped on the floor tonight, they were in unfamiliar territory. With conference play barely underway the Geoducks already had four conference wins and had equaled last years record breaking seven season wins.

Posted 12:43 PM by Emmett
Men's Soccer: Walla Walla Still Unable to Beat Evergreen

Being an three time All-Conference player can be tough road to live up too, especially when you relocate to another team your senior year. Ask Chris Langford (Antioch, Calif./Deer Valley H.S.), who was the star forward for Cascade College his first three years before joining the Geoducks in 2003.

Posted 12:43 PM by Emmett
Men's Soccer: Evergreen Once Again in Playoff Contention

Today, The Evergreen State College Men's Soccer team extended one of their longest winning streaks with another victory, by shutting out Cascade College 8-0. The loss was the Thunderbirds' (0-5-1 CCC, 0-8-1 Overall) eighth and worst defeat of the 2003 season.

Posted 2:40 PM by Emmett
Volleyball: Revamped Saints among national leaders in defense!

The Saints have been battling on the court. In the first tournament of the year in Colorado, Freshman Lauren Kreiger from Olympia, WA was selected for the All-Tournament Team. Way to go Lauren! This past Tuesday the Saints took on PLU and would Win the match with power houses Emily Wofford, Lauren Kreiger, Christy Hurley, and Andrea Athey all coming in double digits for kills.

Posted 2:39 PM by Emmett
Men's Golf: Sophomore leads Saints to strong start

Shane Prante, a Sophomore from Olympia, WA was a Medalist at the Dual Match Sudden Valley Golf Course on September 19th, 2003. Saints lose a close one to Western Washington University (288-291 defeat). We lost it on the last two holes of competition. We were 4 strokes up going into the last two holes and we finished poorly.

Posted 2:38 PM by Emmett
Saints Carlson and Prentice earn GNAC athlete of the week

The Saints teams have competed in three Invites this year and are off to a good start. Nate Carlson was the First Saint Martin's Cross Country Runner to get GNAC Cross Country Athlete of the week, for the week of September 15th. Andy Prentice was named GNAC Cross Country Athlete of the week, for the week of September 23rd. The Saints started their season off at the Emerald City Invite on September 6th this year out of of eight teams the Men came up with a 5th place win Andy Prentice would get 19th and Freshman Tris Obluck would come in 21st with a time of 28:28.

Posted 2:37 PM by Emmett
Evergreen Women's Soccer Sends #3 NAIA Ranked Home Scoreless

The Concordia University Women's Soccer team, undefeated in Cascade Conference action and ranked #3 in the NAIA National poll, stepped onto The Evergreen State College Women's soccer field and learned that season records can be deceiving. The Evergreen (0-3-2 CCC, 1-7-2 Overall) defensive unit of 1st Team All-Conference Amanda Grayum (Olympia, Wash./River Ridge H.S.), junior Leah Humphries (Anchorage, Alaska/Chugiak H.S.), freshman Jamie Doran (Snohomish, Wash./Snohomish H.S.) and goalkeeper Carly Stewart (Federal Way, H.S./Kennedy H.S.) did the unimaginable and shutdown Concordia's (4-0-1 CCC, 8-1-2 Overall) offense, who has scored twenty-six goals this season while giving up only two.

Posted 2:36 PM by Emmett
Evergreen Men's Soccer Wins First Conference Game

After a season on the sideline as a redshirt freshman, followed another half season hobbled by a knee injury, freshman James McDonnel (Tacoma, Wash./Wilson H.S.) finally got a chance to play. Not at his preferred position of midfielder but in goal, as a replacement for senior Joe Erickson (Moses Lake, Wash./Moses Lake H.S.). "I don't care where coach asks me to play," McDonnel said after his first college game. "I just want to have the opportunity to contribute."

Posted 4:06 PM by Emmett

Senior Candice Owens

Cross Country: Season Opener a good learning experience for Evergreen
Saturday's Emerald City Invititational, hosted by Seattle University, was the season opener for the The Evergreen State College 2003 Cross Country squads, one of the more difficult courses in the region. Warm temperatures made it tough for all athletes competing at Lower Woodland Park, in Seattle, Wash. With school not scheduled to start until the end of the month, not all of the Evergreen runners have arrived yeton so we ran just 5 women and 4 men in today's race.

Posted 4:05 PM by Emmett

Junior midfielder Kaylen Kelly

Women's Soccer: Geoducks glad that the pre-season is over
Saturday's 5-0 loss to visiting Simon Fraser (3-2) officially ended the 2003 pre-season for The Evergreen State College Women's Soccer team. A pre-season that included the introduction of eight freshmen and four games against quality opponents, two regionally ranked, two nationally ranked, two NCAA Div. II schools.

Posted 10:45 AM by Emmett
Men's Soccer: Goalkeeper Tom Kneeshaw and forward Joe Gjertsen, Evergreen co-Player of the Week
Rarely do the exploits of a single player solely determine the outcome of a soccer game. It takes the combined effort of all eleven players on the field to create the situations that enable a team to put the ball into the net more times than their opponents. Such was the case for the Evergreen Men's Soccer team during week two of the 2003 season. Against Cascade Conference rival Northwest, Monday, Sep. 1, junior goalkeeper Tom Kneeshaw (Eatonville, Wash./Eatonville H.S.) directed Evergreen's defense in a virtually flawless performance. The visiting Eagles managed to put only one ball into the net, on the last second of the game, after Kneeshaw had been replace.

Posted 10:42 AM by Emmett

Katie Holgate (#13) stuffing a Rocky Mountain attack.

Evergreen gives Central Washington its first win of the season
A quick glance at The Evergreen State College Women's Soccer 1-3 record and it would be easy to jump to the conclusion that the Geoducks are off to a slow start. Then take a look at who they played and you are glad that you did not have to play those teams. The opening game of the season for Evergreen was against NAIA Region I ranked Rocky Mountain. Seattle University and Central Washington are both NCAA Div. II school, with Seattle U currently holding a #21 national ranking.

Posted 10:42 AM by Emmett
KGY Radio High School Football Broadcast Schedule
KGY Radio has completed its schedule for the upcoming season highlighting the PAC-9 and Narrows Leagues. Be sure to tune-in each week as Dick Nichols brings you all the action live. Be sure to catch the pre-game show before each game beginning at 6:35pm.

Posted 10:39 AM by Emmett
Mens Soccer: Record Breaking Day for Geoducks
Fresh off a pre-season 7-1 victory over Cascade Conference rival Northwest College on Monday, Evergreen Men's Soccer team showed on Saturday that they have a potent offense this season, shutting out NCAA Division III George Fox Bruins (0-0, 1-2) 6-0 on Saturday. In only the fourth game of the 2003 season, Gjertsen has already recorded three consecutive Hat Trick's, three or more goals in a single game. Last season, the most productive for Evergreen Men's Soccer in the last seven years, only one player recorded the magical Hat Trick, that coming from freshman forward Jake Taylor (Cali, Colombia/Peninsula H.S.).

Posted 4:34 PM by Emmett
Capital, Tumwater 4, 5 in Preseason Picks
We got the “brain trust” together prior to the first weekend of football and formulated our pre-season “Live Five.” Our Live Five is intended to spur interest, provide entertainment and give an opinion based on some things we know, some things we don’t but guessed at and some in the middle that are suspected. Bottom line, it’s all gray until week-10 when the rubber meets the road and the playoffs begin. Then and only then will we know who really is “Live.” Until then, check us each week for the current “Live Five.”

Posted 4:31 PM by Emmett
Women's Soccer: Team Loses First Game of the Season
Everyone knew it would happen, eventually. That The Evergreen State College Women's Soccer team would lose a game during the 2003 season. Not a lot of people, other than the opposing team, though it would happen today. Sunday, the final day of the 2nd Annual Arno Zoske Soccer Tournament, with the tournament championship on the line, the Geoducks and the Pacific Lutheran Lutes took the field. Ninety minutes later, when the players, coaches, fans and officials left the field, PLU (2-0) had their second victory of the young season, having defeated Evergreen (1-1) 3-1. But, due to the tournament tie-breaking format, the Lutes took home the 2nd place trophy and Western Baptist was named the tournament championship.

Posted 4:30 PM by Emmett
Women's Soccer: Geoducks Win Season Opener
Twenty-two minutes into the season opener against visiting Rocky Mountain College head women's soccer coach Arlene McMahon had what she wanted, a goal from her two-time 1st Team All-Conference forward Tiffany Fenster (Seattle, Wash./Roosevelt H.S.) and a 1-0 lead. Junior transfer Katie Frasier (Kirkland, Wash./Lake Washington H.S.) added an insurance goal in the 60th minute to give Evergreen (1-0) a 2-0 win over Rocky Mountain (0-1), ranked 4th in the NAIA Region I Pre-Season Poll.

Posted 4:29 PM by Emmett
Mens Soccer: Gjertsen the Younger, Evergreen Player of the Week
At the start of every season, for every team, there is uncertainty, even with the return of the star players. For The Evergreen State Men's Soccer team the uncertainty this season was multiplied with the unexpected absence of 1st Team All-Cascade Conference forward Jason Gjertsen (16 goals/11 assists) and 2nd Team All-Conference mid-fielder Chris Pugh. One is sitting out the 2003 season with insufficient credits, the other for financial reason.

Posted 4:27 PM by Emmett
Men's Soccer: Geoducks Win their First Game
One of the goals that had alluded The Evergreen State College Men's Soccer this season was achieved Monday and with style. After back-to-back overtime losses in their first two games, the Geoducks (1-2) recorded an impressive 7 - 1 win over Cascade Conference rival Northwest (0-2)