The Lumberjack



Students Serving The Cal Poly Humboldt Campus and Community Since 1929

Tag: press conference

  • HSU Athletics Press Conference Breakdown 10/22

    HSU Athletics Press Conference Breakdown 10/22

    Cross country prepares for CCAA championships at home, losing streak continues for volleyball and soccer has a mixed weekend

    Tuesday’s press conference at Lumberjack Arena featured comments from the cross country, volleyball and soccer teams this week.

    Cross Country

    The HSU cross country teams are preparing for one of the most significant home meets in recent history. The Jacks host the CCAA conference championships Saturday morning at the Baywood Golf and Country Club in Arcata. The Jacks have an advantage in knowing the course after hosting the Humboldt Invitational in September. However, the stakes will be a bit higher as the Jack runners will be running for the chance to go to the NCAA regional meet on November 9. Senior runner Daniel Tull talked about the excitement of hosting such a big event for HSU.

    “It’s really exciting for me,” Tull said. “I know a lot of runners personally that compete at different CCAA schools, so it’s cool to have them come up and show them what we’ve got here.”

    Volleyball

    The HSU volleyball team continues to produce frustrating results despite putting a good effort out there for each match. Last Friday, the Jacks traveled down to Los Angeles to take on Cal State LA and they were swept in straight sets, losing the match 3-0. The short journey over to Carson to take on Cal State Dominguez Hills didn’t result any better. Despite taking a set, the Jacks ended up losing the match 3-1, falling to 5-11 on the season. The good news for the Jacks is that they don’t have to deal with the rigors of travel for a while as they head into a five-game homestand. Head Coach Kelly Wood during the press conference talked about the relief of being able to play at home, noting that her athletes can focus on schoolwork and get back into their normal routine.

    The next match for volleyball is Thursday at 7pm vs. Cal State San Marcos at Lumberjack Arena.

    Women’s Soccer

    The Jacks were at home last weekend taking on Cal State East Bay and Cal State Monterey Bay. Friday’s match against East Bay was a frustrating one for the Jacks, as East Bay scored twice, but in the 82nd minute Pikake Hix was able to score a spectacular goal from distance to make it 2-1. Sunday’s match against Monterey Bay was a back and forth battle that would see the match go into overtime tied 0-0. Just one minute into overtime Kendal Spencer slipped the ball past the diving goalkeeper to win the game for the Jacks, 1-0. For Spencer, this goal held a special significance apart from winning the game, as she had just returned from being held out of playing with a concussion.

    “I couldn’t go to practice or anything,” Spencer said. “So then coming back I was so fired up to make a contribution.”

    Both men’s and women’s soccer will head to Southern California to take on Cal Poly Pamona and Cal State San Bernardino this weekend.

    Men’s Soccer

    The Jacks had a mixed weekend taking on East Bay and Monterey Bay at College Creek Field. Offense was on full display against East Bay on Friday, and the jacks won 4-2 behind a two-goal effort from Isiah Dairo. Sunday was a different story and the Jacks lost 2-1 to Monterey Bay despite Gus Baxter converting on a penalty kick. Head Choch Fred Jungemann was happy with the team played over the weekend, and said that the team played well on Sunday against Monterey Bay, but couldn’t put the ball in the net.

  • HSU Athletics Press Conference Breakdown 10/1

    HSU Athletics Press Conference Breakdown 10/1

    Soccer and volleyball fall to Sonoma State, cross country prepares for second Oregon meet

    For the Humboldt State volleyball and soccer teams, anything regarding the Sonoma State Seawolves is going to leave a bad taste in their mouth. Sonoma State dealt three different Humboldt State teams a loss over the weekend, all on the road in Rohnert Park.

    Men’s soccer was the victim of a come-from-behind effort from the Seawolves, women’s soccer lost a tight game and volleyball lost in four sets. Cross country didn’t compete last week as they continue to prepare for their upcoming meet in Salem, Oregon.

    Coaches and players from HSU soccer, volleyball and cross country were at the weekly Tuesday press conference at Lumberjack Arena.

    Cross Country

    After a good showing at the Sundowner Invitational in Monmouth, Oregon the Jacks’ attention turns to another Oregon course at the Willamette Invitational in Salem on Oct. 5. Head Coach Jamey Harris noted that training is going to be lighter going into this week in hopes that his runners are ready for the upcoming meet this weekend. He also noted the women’s race in Salem will be a 5k instead of the standard 6k, which could lead to faster times.

    Harris talked about the men being ranked tenth in the NCAA regional rankings and how it motivates his runners to be even better on race day. For junior runner Elliott Portillo the ranking is something to feel good about, but it serves as a spark to push even harder.

    “It’s definitely something very validating,” Portillo said. “It means people are beginning to take notice, and we have to show them that we are deserving of the title.”

    Another topic of conversation was the passing of legendary former HSU cross country and track coach Jim Hunt. Hunt coached the cross country and track teams from 1967 to 1986 and produced 64 All-Americans and 11 national champion runners. Harris was visibly emotional as he spoke about what coach Hunt meant to Humboldt State and to him.

    “The impact that he [Hunt] had on this university, I can’t even put it into words,” Harris said. “I honestly don’t know what to say, because I feel like I can’t say anything that will be adequate.”

    Volleyball

    The HSU volleyball team played Sonoma State on Saturday as part of their three-game road trip and lost in four sets by a score of 3-1. The Jacks won the second set and tied the score at 1-1 early on, but Sonoma won the next two sets and won the match. For Head Coach Kelly Wood, she feels that this year’s team is a vast improvement over last season’s team as far as talent, but that the team needs to be more consistent throughout the entire match. She talked about needing all of her players to have a great game, not just a few.

    “We’re showing good streaks within the match, but we have yet to pull together an entire, consistent match,” Wood said. “It seems like we need to get all of our cylinders firing during a match, we’ve got a couple on and a few that aren’t on.”

    Women’s Soccer

    For a team that is still getting their footing under them, going down to Rohnert Park and playing a nationally ranked Sonoma State team is going to be a significant challenge. The Jacks fell just short of completing that task, losing to the Seawolves 2-1 with Lindsay Stoner scoring the lone goal. Head Coach Paul Karver had a very positive attitude about the loss, despite the result.

    “The Rubik’s cube is sitting in the corner, it’s two turns away and we just gotta get there,” Karver said. “There was so much heart and determination out on the field and our girls were never going to say die in that moment.”

    Men’s Soccer

    The Jacks lost on Friday to Sonoma State in the cruelest of fashions, losing the game 4-2 despite taking a 2-0 lead early in the game. Isiah Dairo and Gus Baxter scored early for the Jacks but by halftime they were tied 2-2 and then Sonoma State scored two more times to seal the victory for the Seawolves. Jacks’ midfielder Ethan Waters talked about how the Jacks lost focus after gaining the early lead and eventually falling short.

    “We lost momentum,” Waters said. “We have to respect them a little bit more, of course we got the two-goal lead but I think overall we didn’t control the game.”

  • HSU Athletics Press Conference Breakdown 9/24

    HSU Athletics Press Conference Breakdown 9/24

    Women’s and men’s soccer win big, cross country performs well in Oregon and volleyball faces some tough competition at home

    This past week was successful for Humboldt State Athletics. The women’s soccer team soundly defeated the visiting William Jessup Warriors 4-0 in the friendly confines of College Creek Field. Men’s soccer traveled to Redding and kept their goal scoring barrage going with a 5-1 win over Simpson University. Cross Country traveled to Monmouth, Oregon and reached excellent individual numbers with both the men’s and women’s teams finishing in fourth place. Volleyball started their CCAA conference schedule at home in Lumberjack Arena, winning the first match and then losing the next two to some very tough competition.

    Tuesday’s press conference at Lumberjack Arena featured comments from all of the head coaches and selected athletes from each sport.

    Women’s Soccer

    The Jacks played their home opener on Saturday and played effectively against the visiting William Jessup Warriors. The tone was set early in the match when senior midfielder Lindsay Stoner scored just three minutes in. From there, the Jacks never relinquished control of the game.

    Even though, to the untrained eye, there was not much fault in the game for the Jacks, Head Coach Paul Karver noticed that after scoring the first goal his players were losing a bit of focus.

    “We had a conversation at halftime about we need to play our style, and we need to have a real identity and we need to get back to that,” Karver said. “And that was a challenge because everyone is trying to do more and get on the scoreboard.”

    Men’s Soccer

    Right now, the Jacks seem like an offensive force that is going to be very hard to stop. In the last two games the Jacks have outscored their opponents 10-2 and overall this season they are already averaging almost four goals per game. Head Coach Fred Jungemann was happy with the results of his team thus far. He feels that his team is ready for the tough CCAA conference which begins on Friday as the Jacks take on Sonoma State in Rohnert Park.

    “Certainly the preseason has helped and brought us to a level of confidence,” Jungemann said. “We’re going to this game on Friday with a self-belief that we can step on the field and compete with anybody we play against whether we score five goals or not.”

    Cross Country

    In addition to both cross country teams finishing in fourth place, the Jacks had some standout performances. For the men, it was Daniel Tull who finished second in the race and earned himself an all CCAA award for the second time this season. For the women it was Cessair McKinney who had the standout performance for the Jacks, finishing seventh and earning herself student-athlete of the week.

    The men’s team also earned an 8th place NCAA regional ranking based on their recent performances and for freshman runner Finn Tyvoll the ranking is a validation of the team’s success.

    “It’s fantastic because it shows how much work we’re putting in,” Tyvoll said. “It’s worth it because of the grind and putting Humboldt on the map.”

    Volleyball

    The Jacks volleyball team went 1-2 on their opening homestand at Lumberjack Arena last week. They won their home opener 3-1 against Cal State Monterey Bay in front of a packed crowd. The next night, the Jacks lost 1-3 to the nationally ranked Cal Poly Pamona Bronco’s. A significant challenge was presented to the Jacks on Saturday as the No. 1 team in the nation, Cal State San Bernardino, played at Lumberjack Arena and swept the Jacks 3-0.

    Despite the daunting task, Head Coach Kelly Wood was not phased by the level of competition that CSU San Bernardino presented.

    “Overall we went into it very loose, understanding that the pressure is always on the team that’s expected to win,” Wood said. “I think we could have competed harder than we did and maybe we could have played a little better and taken a few more points off of them, but there’s always room for improvement.”

  • Fall’s 1st Athletic Press Conference

    Fall’s 1st Athletic Press Conference

    Coaches and players from HSU’s volleyball, cross country and soccer teams spoke about the upcoming season

    The fall sports season is almost underway here on the North Coast and head coaches and select players from Humboldt State’s volleyball, cross-country and soccer teams were in the press room at Lumberjack Arena to discuss their upcoming season.

    They talked about their previous season of play, along with their expectations and strategy against their opponents. The mood in the room was hopeful and optimistic as each sport has its entire upcoming season around the corner.

    Volleyball

    Lumberjack volleyball started their 2019 season on September 6th at the Toro Classic in Carson, CA on the campus of Cal State Dominguez Hills. After a winless 2018 conference play season, the volleyball team finished with an overall record of 3-23. Head Coach Kelly Wood is determined to change the dynamic going into this season.

    “We don’t want to go through that again, we don’t want to end on another losing streak,” Wood said. “They worked really hard on the basics again, serving and passing and all that, but also are having a lot of tough and difficult conversations.”

    Despite past struggles, Wood seemed hopeful with the group of players that she has going into the 2019 season.

    “I just think we’re all on the same page, and we all have a little more faith and a little more trust in one another,” Wood said.

    Cross-Country

    While all other sports start out on the road, the men’s and women’s cross country teams start their season at home. The Humboldt Invitational was on September 6th Baywood Golf and Country Club in Arcata.

    Head Coach Jamey Harris talked about the advantage of being at home and knowing the course better than the visiting competitors.

    “Knowing how to run fast on some of the more difficult parts and how to measure your effort through it should be helpful both this weekend and through the season,” Harris said. “We love getting out there and knowing our first meet is going to be at home on our own course,”

    “We’re looking forward to showcasing what we’ve got, and hopefully the Arcata running community will get excited,” Harris said.

    Senior runner Joseph Shanahan also went up to the podium and talked about his experience running the Baywood course.

    “For me, it was a relatively difficult course,” Shanahan said. “There’s a big hill and a pretty gradual uphill, and you’re either going up or going down.”

    Women’s Soccer

    The HSU women’s soccer team finished with a record of 6-9-2 last season, but the record was mostly attributed to playing in the very competitive CCAA conference. Head Coach Paul Karver knows what the team needs to do to win, but he also understands what the team is up against in CCAA play.

    “They’re really dedicated to making that push, and we have the players that can get it done,” Karver said. “Unfortunately, everyone else in the conference does, and we play in the best conference in the country.”

    Karver talked about the preseason practices being very competitive, and with a smaller roster than usual more players will get a chance to play during the season.

    “We have a lot of high soccer-IQ kids, and that’s going to allow us to move things around,” Karver said. “It has made training every single day competitive, it made it really fun and it’s a really fun group to be around.”

    Men’s Soccer

    The HSU men’s soccer team came off a 2018 season finishing 7-8-2, but the good news is they return with a good core group of players from last year, along with some bright new prospects. One of the experienced returners, senior goalkeeper Robert Quintero, mentioned how a skilled and fast team made him hopeful.

    “I think we’re strong both offensively and defensively,” Quintero said. “Offensively we have some of the fastest guys on top, and they can put the ball in the back of the net.”

    Head Coach Fred Jungemann talked about the team’s goals. For example, trying to make the CCAA conference tournament and win more games than last year. Building a strong culture for HSU soccer and having guys who mesh well together was another big emphasis.

    “There’s a really good group of guys, not just on the field but their personalities fit together very well,” Jungemann said. “One of our biggest strengths is that we have a close-knit group of guys that enjoy being together, not just on the field but off the field.”