Another strong outing in Oregon for cross country, mixed results at home for soccer, and volleyball continues to struggle
It has been a week filled with highs and lows for the sports teams at Humboldt State. Cross Country, soccer, and volleyball were all in action with mixed results. The Jacks’ cross country team went up to the Charles Bowles Invitational in Salem, Oregon and performed well, with the women finishing in third place and the men finishing in fifth place. Men’s soccer played two games this past weekend at home in Arcata, losing to Chico State and then bouncing back with a resounding victory over Stanislaus State. Women’s soccer suffered two frustrating defeats against the same two teams, both by one goal. Volleyball continued their losing streak, falling to Stanislaus State and Chico State over the weekend.
Tuesday’s press conference at Lumberjack Arena featured comments from head coaches and selected athletes from each sport.
Men’s Soccer
The Jacks’ soccer team played their home opener on Friday against Chico State. After Gus Baxter was able to draw an early penalty and convert the ensuing penalty kick the Jacks lead the majority of the game 1-0 until Chico tied the game and then scored the game-winner with 36 seconds left, winning the match 2-1. The Jacks got their redemption on Sunday against Stanislaus State however, as the Jacks controlled the entire match, winning 3-0 with three different goal scorers.
Head Coach Fred Jungemann talked about how the team was frustrated after the Chico game, and how they were able to deal with that frustration and focus on the next game.
“I think we felt like we deserved something from that game [against Chico],” Jungemann said. “We had a discussion about not letting that frustration bring us down, letting that frustration inspire us, and not steering clear of that and pretending it didn’t happen.”
The Jacks will travel to UC San Diego and Cal State San Marcos this weekend.
Women’s Soccer
The Jacks had a frustrating homestand against Chico State and Stanislaus State. The Jacks played Chico State on Friday, scoring two early goals from Kelsey Bass and Lindsay Stoner and going up 2-0. But then Chico scored three unanswered goals and ended up taking the match 3-2. The game on Sunday against Stanislaus State was a little less heartbreaking for the Jacks but not any less frustrating. After a scoreless first half, Stanislaus scored the lone goal of the match in the 48th minute and won the game 1-0.
Head Coach Paul Karver was not available for the press conference, but Jacks’ midfielder Kelsey Bess was optimistic about the team despite not getting the results.
“I’m hopeful for us,” Bess said. “We’re not playing badly, I think unfortunate things are happening and we aren’t putting away as many goals as we should, but hopefully everything will come together.”
Bess was also excited to travel down to play UC San Diego, as she is from the San Diego area.
“I wanna give it to them, I want them to lose,” Bess said. “It would be so awesome to put it to them and win and have them thinking what the heck just happened.”
Cross Country
The Jacks had a good showing in Oregon. In addition to the excellent team finishes from the men and the women, there were some notable individual performances as well. For the women, Hannah Hartwell lead the pack, finishing in 13th place and earning her CCAA Runner of the Week honors. For the men, freshman Shane Burton stood out, finishing in 21st place and also earning CCAA Runner of the Week honors.
Head Coach Jamey Harris was happy that his runners were running in packs and working as a team, which is something that he has emphasized after past races this season.
“I’ve talked about the teams working together and packing up and they did a phenomenal job of that this week,” Harris said.
Harris also mentioned the depth of the men’s team, which is ranked 10th in the region currently.
“There’s about seven to nine of them that I think when we get to conference are almost interchangeable,” Harris said.
Volleyball
The Jacks continued their road trip in the challenging CCAA conference with matches against Stanislaus State and Chico State. They lost in three sets to Stanislaus State, and things did not get much better against Chico State as they suffered the same fate, losing in three sets.
Head Coach Kelly Wood emphasized trying to stay positive on this five-game losing streak, but for her, it’s frustrating not to get the result.
“We have to be mentally tough, prepared and engaged in every moment,” Wood said. “I guess we’re going into these matches as the underdog, but that should be a pressure-free feeling and we should be able to go out there and just battle and compete, but we don’t do that.”
