Volleyball: Syracuse Falls to Colgate

Story and photo by Kelsey Snider

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – From the sound pouring out of the Women’s Building, you could tell volleyball was back in action for their season opening weekend.

On Sunday, the Syracuse women’s volleyball team fell to Colgate (1-3) in an intense four-set match making the Orange record 0-2. Syracuse won the first set 25-18, and looked strong coming into the next three sets, but just couldn’t hold it (22-25, 23-25, 22-25).

"It's a lack of confidence," head coach Leonid Yelin told Cuse.com http://cuse.com/news/2016/8/28/volleyball-first-set-surge-not-enough-in-home-loss-to-colgate.aspx
"It's a game of momentum. It happens to much better teams, but they can respond much faster back. That's why I'm saying lack of experience, and based off of that, we start losing our confidence.

"We were responding a little bit late. Giving up more than a couple points puts us in a situation where we're deep in a hole and have to dig ourselves out. That definitely did not help us. We are painfully learning to stay focused. We lose and now we get ready to play."

Even though SU led in points, with outside Mackenzie Weaver leading the team with 20.5 points, and blocking led by middle blocker Amber Witherspoon, with six blocks, it was the SU offense that became its downfall. The Orange trailed the Raiders in kills, assists and hitting efficiency.

On Friday, September 2, the Orange will take on the Oregon State Beavers in Lincoln, Nebraska at the Nebraska Invite.

Volleyball will be back at home in the Women’s Building on Friday, Sept. 9, where Syracuse will play against Hofstra at 1 p.m. in the Syracuse Tournament.

Syracuse Women's Soccer Defeats Albany Great Danes

Story and photos by Jacqueline Mundry

SYRACUSE N.Y. – The heat didn't seem to hurt the home team on Sunday when the Syracuse women's soccer team beat the University of Albany 2-0 at the SU Soccer Stadium.

With the temperature pushing 90 degrees, the Orange improved its record to 3-0-1 on the season - the team's best start since 2003. 

Although head coach Phil Wheddon said he's "not one for records" he credited the team and its chemistry for the success in the first four games.

"They work very hard and they're a very close knit group and I think that has a massive part of all of it," Wheddon said.

Defense and scoring

Junior goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan recorded her third straight shutout. 

"I think the defense has really been stepping up so we're working really well so far," she said.

From the start, the Orange put pressure on Albany's goalkeeper Chloe Boarasky with a total of eight shots on goal.

Senior defender Maddie Iozzi scored the first goal  in the fourth minute of play. This was Iozzi's first goal of the season.

"At first I was going to cross it then at last minute I changed my mind," Iozzi said, "I saw the back post open so I just went for it."

With the first goal coming early in the game, it set the tone for the rest of the half with another goal at minute 18. Freshman defender Taylor Bennett scored her first career goal on a 35-yard free kick.

Second half: Wheddon wants more

The second half was scoreless and Wheddon said that the team needs to get better at playing its hardest for the entire game, 

"When you go into the ACC part of the season, we've got to be able to sustain an all out attack for 90 minutes."

Next

The next task for the Orange is Bucknell University.

"We'll certainly work on the finishing," Wheddon said. We'll scout Bucknell to make sure our team has that information and then we'll come up with a game plan,"

The SU women's soccer team will host the Bucknell Bisons on Thursday at 4 p.m. at the Syracuse Soccer Stadium.

Boeheim & Anthony: Success Beyond Syracuse

Story and photos by Matt D'Ambrosi

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – You didn’t have to look any farther than the outside of the building where Syracuse University Men’s Basketball Coach Jim Boeheim was speaking Tuesday afternoon to feel the connection.

Fresh off of helping guide the USA Basketball Men’s National Team to the gold medal in this year’s Rio Olympics, Boeheim was standing at a podium fielding questions about the experience in a building named after one of his former players and arguably the biggest star of this year’s Olympic squad – Carmelo Anthony.

“He’s always helped us here; with this building,” Boeheim said. “We wouldn’t be in this building if it wasn’t for him.”

The building Boeheim is referring to, of course, is the Carmelo K. Anthony Center on Syracuse University’s campus – perhaps the most concrete aspect of Anthony’s legacy at SU – equipped with amenities necessary to keep a program such as Boeheim’s competitive on a national level.

Even though Boeheim is long removed from having coached Anthony during his lone season playing for the Orange in 2003 that resulted in a national championship, being a part of USA Basketball has given Boeheim the opportunity to team now and again with Anthony at different points throughout their respective journeys.

And the results have been tremendous.

Boeheim and Anthony have both been a part of each of the last three USA Basketball Men’s National Teams to compete in the Olympics, all of which have won gold medals starting with Beijing in 2008, then London in 2012 and now in Rio in 2016.

In this year’s competition in Rio, Anthony's play on the court led to him becoming the all-time leading scorer in USA Basketball Men's National Team Olympic history. But according to Boeheim, Anthony was a crucial part of this year’s team off the court as well.

“He was a really good leader on this year’s team,” Boeheim said. “When we were struggling there, he was a good voice in the locker room [to] keep everybody together.”

When asked about this year’s Olympics perhaps being the last time Boeheim will get to coach his former star, the two’s long history together showed through.

“He’s just such a great kid,” Boeheim said. “He really is not a kid any more, but to me he is. He just gets along with everybody. He always has. He’s always given back.”

Voth And Late Power-Up Allow Chiefs To Best Bisons

Story by Mike Drew

Photos by Mike Drew and Newhouse Sports Media Center Staff


SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A sun-splashed summer night at NBT Bank Stadium. His 21^st start of the season. His team needing a spark after losing the second game of a doubleheader Tuesday night. This was Austin Voth’s moment, and he owned it. 

The 24-year old right hander dazzled the Buffalo Bisons Wednesday night, leading to a 6-1 Syracuse victory. Voth pitched seven strong innings, yielding only one earned run and collected his sixth win of the season. 

Voth was not available after the game but his manager, Billy Gardner, Jr., said the Redmond, Wash. native delivered exactly what his team needed on the mound. 

“His command was real good,” he said. “He used his fastball really well. In and out. Up and down. Mixed in his breaking ball. He’s a very good competitor and he’s done a good job of keeping us in the game.”

Help comes early

Offensively, Voth was staked to an early 1-0 lead in the third inning. Highly touted center fielder Michael Taylor roped a ball off the top of Buffalo center-fielder Dalton Pompey’s glove for a single. Zach Collier, who led off the inning with a walk, scored from second base. 

Limiting the damage

Buffalo starter Scott Copeland did his best to keep the Chiefs hitters at bay in the middle innings. He retired six out of seven batters in the fourth and fifth innings, providing his teammates with the opportunity to swing momentum in their direction. That’s exactly what they did in the top of the sixth inning. 

In the only real trouble Voth faced all night, the Bisons’ number three and four hitters, Matt Dominguez (3-3, three singles and a walk) and Jesus Montero (2-3, two singles), both punched singles into the outfield to begin the frame. 

Then, following a 5-4-3 double play, right fielder Junior Lake beat out an infield single to second base. Christopher Bostick managed to get to the ball for the Chiefs, but his throw to first base was just late. Dominguez scored and the game was knotted at 1-1.

Gone in a flash

The bottom of the sixth inning proved to be the turning point of the game. After Taylor lined out to center, third baseman Matt Skole stepped to the plate to face Chad Girodo, a left handed reliever summoned by Buffalo manager Gary Allenson for this specific matchup. 

“I knew he was going to try and throw something soft to get me to chase,” Skole said. “But, he made a mistake.” 

Did he ever. Skole crushed a solo home run well over the right field fence to give the Chiefs the lead again at 2-1.

Adding on

They never looked back. Left fielder Matt den Dekker added an RBI double in the inning to extend the lead to 3-1. Shortstop Jason Martinson tacked on a two-run double in the seventh off of right hander Matt Dermody. 

Then, first baseman Caleb Ramsey capped off the night’s scoring by scorching a line drive home run to right against right hander Bobby Korecky in the eighth to make it a 6-1 game.

What's next

The Chiefs and Bisons will meet once more on Thursday night to conclude the four-game series. The Chiefs will attempt to win three out of four games in the series.

 "It's a game of adjustments," Gardner said. "And I see our guys right now making those."

With the win, the Chiefs improved to 50-61 on the season, while the Bisons fell to .500 at 56-56.

The love of baseball is generational

Story and Photos by Jacqueline Mundry

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Summers fly by faster than the blink of an eye and it can be hard to make time for family traditions, but Anthony Christiano and his 13-year-old son Ian Kish say they always visit NBT Bank Stadium before the summer ends.

Tradition runs deep

The Syracuse natives, Christiano and Kish, went to their first Chiefs game of the season on Wednesday when Syracuse defeated the Buffalo Bisons 6-1.

Attendance was fairly sparse on the warm August night, but for Christiano and Kish, it was the perfect time to go because Kish is off most of August after playing on three different baseball teams this summer.

"I just wanted to get to one before the season passes me by, I realized 'holy crap it's August,'" Christiano said.

The love of the sport outweighs the love of a team

The two are not necessarily Chiefs fans, as much as they're fans of the sport. The father and son are sure to make time for baseball in their everyday life.

"Both of us pay attention to baseball pretty closely, watching MLB Network quite a lot and we pay attention to who's up, who's down, and I follow the Blue Jays pretty closely," Christiano said. 

Considering Christiano likes the Blue Jays, he enjoys watching the opposing team, the Buffalo Bisons, to see who will be the next up and comer on the Jays.

The Jays fandom doesn't stop them from visiting other stadiums and other teams. The two began baseball season at Yankee Stadium's Opening Day. This was the first time they went to opening day and though it was memorable for many reasons, the first memory that comes to mind is the temperature.

"It was 35 degrees that day and there was like a 30-mile-per hour windchill," Christiano said.

It may have been cold, but Christiano and Kish agree it was worth it.

Combining both passions

Going to the Chiefs games has been a tradition for Christiano and Kish. It's also a creative outlet for Christiano, who is a photographer. He said he feels the most gratified when he photographs sports.

"It's nice to be able to come down to the games and get some work in, kind of exercise the creative muscles," Christiano said.

Kish asked his dad if he was going to bring his camera to Wednesday's game, but Christiano decided it wasn't necessary, "I just want to be a person tonight," he said.

Christiano said that when he does bring his camera to games, he tends to only pay attention to the photos instead of spending the evening watching the game with his son,

 "I tend to hyper focus on the work, rather than focusing on hanging out with him."

"He's over there, then over there," Kish said talking about his dad and motioning around the stadium.

Christiano got his start in photography by taking photos of Kish playing baseball ten years ago. He then started taking pictures of the Chiefs among many other things and has owned his own photography business for three years.

"It's just rewarding in a way that, say, wedding photography is not," Christiano said of sports photography, "this is more immediately gratifying."

Christiano explained that he gets the most gratification out of photographing sports because he is combining his two favorite things, photography and sports.

Sisters Night at Chiefs Game

Story and photos by Michelle Fenelon 

Syracuse, N.Y. – Two friends sat side-by-side in Patrick Mannion’s suite on Wednesday night at NBT Bank Stadium. Mannion, who is one of the longest-standing suite owners at the stadium, hosts a group of nuns from around the area once a year.

Sr. Colette Walter and Sr. E.J. Timson are two of the nuns who shared the most history with one another. They met when they were both stationed to work at St. Margaret’s School in Mattydale. And what started out as a relationship between two colleagues in 1954, blossomed into a 60-year friendship.

“Sometimes we’ll go to the movies together or we’ll go out to eat, or we’ll just hang out, talking,” Walter said. “It’s just a very comfortable, comfortable feeling to be with her.”

The Syracuse natives taught together, they’re both sisters of the St. Francis of the Neumann Communities together. And they enjoy catching an occasional Syracuse Chiefs game.

So, when the Onondaga County Legislature gave the Chiefs a new lease to secure the team for at least 10 years, Walter said she was pleased. As a long-time attendee of Chiefs games with Timson, Walter said going to the stadium, which is just seven minutes from where they first met, allows her to enjoy her beloved Chiefs and also spend time with her sister.

                                                                                        Community Service

Timson and Walter dedicate their lives to service while working as sisters of the St. Francis of Neumann communities. The St. Francis of Neumann Communities are a group of four congregations from Philadelphia, P.A., Buffalo, Syracuse, and Hastings-On-Hudson in New York. These four communities formed together to minister to the homeless, immigrants and any other needs their respective city or state requires at the time.

While both sisters belong to the same community, their ministry takes them to different places.

Carlton, who’s worked at the Francis House since 2001, provides emotional and spiritual support to people who are dying. The Francis House serves as a comfortable place for residents – regardless of race, gender and religion – to stay when they are dying.

“It’s good to be supportive for them and their families and to bring God into their lives at this time in their life,” Walter said.

“Not everybody can do that because it’s too difficult,” Carlton said in regards to caring for people who are dying. “I have never found it difficult because I can always see the progress as it happens.

Timson conducts fundraisers, such as wine and cheese tasting and golf tournaments to raise money for retired nuns.

“When they see me, they say ‘well, here comes E.J., hang onto your wallet,’” Timson joked.

Sisters

Over the years, Carlton and Timson became more than friends.

“We’re family-oriented friends,” Timson said. “We did everything as family. My family got to know her family, so we went to parties, we celebrated birthdays, anniversaries.”

As nuns, who serve the Catholic Church and the community, they say it’s important for them to have a relationship with someone who enriches their faith in God.

“There’s that support system that you have,” Walter said. “And there’s always somebody there you can go and talk to that you know God is present in her and God is present in me.”

Over the years, Carlton and Timson’s friendships has seen every aspect of each other’s lives – the good, the bad and the illnesses. And they’ve been by each other every step of the way.

The long-time friends do not live together, and they see each other on occasion, but although they don’t see each other as often as they’d like, they say it's ok because they “know the friendship is there.”