Monthly Archives: August 2010
Women’s Soccer: CCSU tops Holy Cross 3 to 2.
by David F.P.
After entering the half tied at 2 all, Central’s Beth Lloyd headed a ball past the goaltender for the Crusaders to take the lead and earn the eventual win for the Blue Devils before the home crowd at Arute Field.
Women’s Soccer: Army goal in last minute of play nets them a 1-0 win over Central
by David F.P.
NEW BRITAIN, CT-The Central Connecticut State Blue Devils Women’s Soccer team fell to the visiting Army squad due to a disputed goal in the last minute of play. An Army corner kick put the ball in play apparently bouncing off the goalie’s hands past the goal line, though the Central players were none to happy about the ruling. The majority of the first half had had few scoring chances, though Army had decidedly more opportunities. CCSU got in their shots in the second half though Army threatened as well throughout. The win puts Army at 1-1 for the season, and Central at o-1 in the out of conference contest.
Hartford Colonials Hold Saturday Open Practice
Josh McCown under center as his offense takes on the defense in an advanced drill.
by David F.P.
BERLIN, CT- The Hartford Colonials of the United Football League only opened up practices a few days ago, but when they did the public was invited. This continued Saturday afternoon in Sage Park as the Colonials went through some drills and then gradually scrimmaged. [Editor's note: left before the scrimmage got underway to get to the WPS game down the road.] Several fans were there at 3, and more steadily arrived throughout filling the parking lot. Several media outlets were on hand as well to take in the ongoing building of the team. Quarterbacks Josh McCown, Andre Woodson, and Ryan Perrilloux were running drills and alternating in operations with the offense, the special teams units were testing their return plans and defensive attacks as well. The team started out with light run throughs, then got the helmets on and started contact. Towards the end of my time there they were moving towards scrimmage mode lining up two full units on either side and seeing what happened. Coach Palmer and his assistants stood shouting commands and advice throughout. Even in the practice environment, the players were getting heated up when a play was made. Many of the players most familiar to the Connecticut crowds, including Andre Dixon, Dahna Deleston and others were going through their motions as well.
It’s interesting to note that aside from the Connecticut alums and local products like BC’s Ryan Glasper, there was a slew of players from Florida State, and Louisville, as well as representatives from nearly every college imaginable from the top of the BCS on down. For those who played the game, the football practice might have seemed like a familiar environment, albeit with some high quality players battling not only to learn and operate the coach’s directives, but also gain playing time. For those who did not play the game, such as this writer, it was a fascinating display of the elements that contribute to the on the field performance come gameday. For any fan of the team, it offered a remarkable opportunity to see the players up close before the big games that are to follow.
For more information on the Colonials activities including practices, interested people can always check out The Hartford Colonials Website
Women’s Professional Soccer comes to New Britain
by David F.P.
NEW BRITAIN, CT- Veterans’ Stadium in Willowbrook Park has hosted many a soccer match and Saturday evening the Women’s Professional Soccer league came in to play. The Boston Breakers hosted the Atlanta Beat in their home away from home and despite going down 3 to 0 rallied to score 2 before falling before a good crowd of hardcore soccer fans. It was a nice atmosphere, with the Rock Cats stadium next door, there facility was more than ready for the game. The WPS has a lot of heralded athletes playing for their teams including Breakers player and CT native Kristine Lilly. Each team has a handful of current national team members. Fellow nutmegger Alyssa Naeher also plays for Boston, and the Beat’s Kia McNeil is also from CT giving the game a local flavor. Numerous college and club teams from the region were also in the stands.
Atlanta had pulled out to an early lead about 10 minutes in when Lori Chalupny scored. Much of the rest of the half was spent with Atlanta goalie Hope Solo and her defense fending off attacks from the Breakers. Boston was unable to get the ball into the net though and play resumed in the second half. Eniola Aluko scored 66 minutes into the game, and then again at the 72 minute mark to give her team a 3-0 advantage. [Editor's note: Summer's are busy for an unpaid blogger, it is not always possible to stay through full events as compared to Fall and Winter, thus I was unable to remain for the full length of the game.] the WPS reported afterward that the Breakers fought back to get the game within 1, but time obviously ran out.
More info can be found at the WPS website.
Visa Championships: Bross wows crowd takes lead with 60.4, Sacramone, Sloan earn large ovations.
Alicia Sacramone's return was of great interest thursday night.
HARTFORD, CT- The Senior Women rolled into the XL Center Thursday night for day one of competition. Defending U.S. Champion Bridget Sloan was competing but limited to one event, and fellow Olympian Alicia Sacramone would compete on Beam and Vault this evening as well. The spotlight was on those who would attempt to win the 2010 title. The mood was upbeat, as the gymnast arrived, the stands were filled with fans and gymnasts who shared the goal of getting onto this competition floor someday. The television cameras were in place, the notable announce team had arrived, many of the legendary coach’s and olympians were int he arena, coaching or doing commentary, it was a big night, that can only get bigger on Saturday for finals.
Rebecca Bross led the session from start to finish thanks to a 15.150 start on Bars which was the only routine of rotation one to break 15. She followed that up with a high scoring beam, and then took to the floor where she did a tumbling pass ending in a front flip and then jumping immediately into a stag leap. As her music went along, the crowd joined into clap and support her efforts as the front runner, and she landed her dismount nearly stepping out of bounds, but just remaining inside. She went on to sitck her vault landing to solidify her lead. She ended posting a 60.400
Among those chasing her it was an up and down affair to determine who was going to be close, though six gymnasts would end up past the 56 mark. Mattie Larson’s 58.2 of the meet was the second highest, and was cemented around her incredibly successful floor routine which got a wild cheer of appreciation.
Alexandra Raisman was third on the day with a 57.550. This included a stuck vault to give her a 15.050 for that event.
Chelsea Davis had a 57.150 based on several solid routines, including her Bars set which was the highest.
Kytra Hunter was sixth in placing in the session with a 56.80. She had solid scores on beam and floor, but her vault was filled with great height as she flew off the horse and landed with one step for a 15.1.
Vanessa Zamarripa broke 56, including a pair of vaults that wowed the crowd.
Bridget Sloan’s night was limited to beam and unfortunately a fall came early on in the routine, but she finished strongly and received a rowdy cheer from the spectators.
Alicia Sacramone put together a high scoring beam rotation, but many were awaiting her vaults. She vaulted twice with little fanfare, but great interest and scored highly as well to the delight of the attendees.
One of the major themes of the night was just how clean the routines were, the leaders not only had to put difficulty into their routines but also excute as flawlessly as possibly. Step 1 for any of the athletes was hit the skills, second was how difficult the skills might be. While the new scoring system to this day eludes easy comprehension, the basic concepts do not, a fall, or a step out of bounds can be a major issue, but solid execution is understood.
Unlike the men’s competition, the women only have four events. These include the vault and floor like the men have, but the other two are the balance beam, and the uneven bars. Whereas the men have the high bar which is one bar, the women have a high one and a low one to transition between, though the basic conception of flipping around the high bar is the same in both. The balance beam is a four inch wide apparatus high off the ground. Gymnasts attempt to balance on the beam, hence the name, and also flip, twist, and leap, and land safely. Even some of the “simplest” moves on the beam, can lead to disaster as was seen thursday night. The floor for those who do not recall, is a giant springed mat, which the gymnasts must tumble across, often adding flips and twists at the same time. They must not only land properly without checking themselves, but also not step out of bounds, requiring both power and accuracy. As for the vault, it’s essentially running down a runway, leaping or doing a round off onto a springboard, flying off a vault, and flipping and twisting, to land in a designated landing zone…easy right? No.
The Senior Men wrap up competition today, and the Women are back on Saturday.
