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Big Weekend for Keuka Athletics
October 26, 2012
The Keuka College soccer teams have a big weekend of jockeying for position in the NEAC postseason tournaments, the cross country squads will vie for NEAC championships and the women's volleyball team is lending a hand to a military family in the area during its regular-season finale vs. Morrisville State Saturday afternoon.
Keuka College’s intercollegiate athletics teams have a big weekend ahead as two teams vie for positioning in the postseason tournament while the cross country teams compete for conference championships and women’s volleyball lends a hand to a military family in the area.
The women’s volleyball team (22-7, 9-2 North Eastern Athletic Conference) has already clinched the No. 2 seed in the upcoming NEAC tournament. Keuka will host Morrisville State (5-17, 2-9 NEAC) at 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon in a Parents’ Day contest inside the Weed Physical Arts Center.
The Green and Gold have joined forces with Operation First Response, a national organization that offers assistance to veterans and their families. The Storm will wear special green camouflage jerseys that will be sold after the match, with all proceeds helping a local military family struggling to make ends meet.
The members of the Storm are also selling camouflage “KC Supports our Troops” drawstring bags for $7 apiece, with all of those proceeds also benefitting Operation First Response. The team has set a goal of raising between $600 and $1,000 for Operation First Response.
Keuka set a school record for most wins in a season with Wednesday night’s sweep of Alfred University. The Storm finished the NEAC portion of the schedule tied for second place with Penn State-Berks (9-2 NEAC), behind only Gallaudet University (11-0).
Both Keuka and Gallaudet earn byes into the semifinals. Berks earned the No. 3 seed, Lancaster Bible (8-3) earned the No. 4 seed, SUNYIT (7-4) wrapped up the No. 5 seed and Abington (6-5) netted the No. 6 seed.
Keuka would face the winner of Berks and Abington in one semifinal and Gallaudet would meet the Lancaster Bible/SUNYIT winner in the second semifinal match on Nov. 3. The winners of those two semifinal matches will square off for the NEAC championship at 3 p.m. on Nov. 3.
The winner of the postseason tournament earns the conference’s automatic qualifier into the NCAA Division III tournament.
As part of the Storm’s recent “Count on Me” Campaign, Keuka’s student-athletes are also invited to participate in a Green Out during Saturday’s Parents’ Day game.
All student-athletes are asked to wear their green “Count on Me” t-shirts to the contest as a sign of solidarity among the 16 intercollegiate sports teams on campus.
Meanwhile, Keuka’s women’s soccer team has clinched a berth in the NEAC tournament and can earn a home playoff game with a win over SUNYIT while the Storm men need a victory over SUNYIT to punch their ticket to the postseason tournament.
Keuka’s men (7-7, 5-4 NEAC) travel to Utica to face SUNYIT (8-7-1, 5-3-1) at 3 p.m. Saturday in an elimination game for the Storm. If Keuka can knock off SUNYIT, the Green and Gold will clinch a spot in the NEAC tournament. If the Storm loses at SUNYIT, Keuka is eliminated from the postseason.
With only one NEAC contest remaining, Keuka sits in sixth place in the conference. The top five schools advance into the postseason tournament, which starts Oct. 31 and runs through Nov. 4.
Penn State-Abington (9-1 NEAC) has wrapped up the top seed in the men’s draw, followed by Morrisville State (8-1-1) and Cazenovia (7-1-2).
Penn State-Harrisburg (5-3-1) sits in fourth place, followed by SUNYIT and Keuka. Harrisburg hosts last-place Berks (0-8-1) in the regular-season finale Saturday, and a win earns Harrisburg the No. 4 seed. If Harrisburg was to lose to Berks and Keuka defeated SUNYIT, Keuka would earn the No. 4 seed and Harrisburg would be the No. 5 seed.
With a win over SUNYIT coupled with a Harrisburg loss to Berks, the Storm would then open the NEAC tournament at home against Harrisburg on Wednesday. If both Keuka and Harrisburg win, the Storm would travel to Harrisburg for Wednesday’s quarterfinal.
On the women’s side, the Storm (8-5, 8-3 NEAC) is guaranteed a spot in the postseason, but that’s about it. Keuka still has a chance to host a quarterfinal playoff game, as either a win or a draw with SUNYIT (9-9, 7-4) during Saturday’s 1 p.m. road game would clinch the No. 4 seed and a home game against Penn State-Abington (8-3-1) in Wednesday’s quarterfinal.
If Keuka loses at SUNYIT, the Green and Gold would fall to the No. 6 seed and would face the No. 3 seed (currently Penn State-Harrisburg) on the road on Wednesday.
Lancaster Bible College (11-1) sits in first place, followed by Penn State-Berks (10-0-1) and Harrisburg (10-1).
Berks travels to Harrisburg for a 12 p.m. game Saturday afternoon. With a win, Berks would earn the No. 1 seed and would host the tournament, which starts Oct. 31 and runs through Nov. 4.
A draw with Harrisburg clinches the top spot for Lancaster Bible and gives Berks the No. 2 seed. If Harrisburg knocks off Berks, then Lancaster Bible earns the top seed, Harrisburg earns the No. 2 seed and Berks falls to the No. 3 seed.
Both the men’s and women’s cross country squads will compete for NEAC championships Saturday morning at Lorimer Park in Huntingdon Valley, Pa.
The women’s 5-kilometer (3.1 miles) race is set to begin at 9 a.m., while the men’s 8-kilometer (4.96 miles) race will start at 10 a.m. The top five finishers for each team will count towards their team’s overall score, with the best overall score from each race taking home the championship.
The first place finisher of each race will be named the conference’s Runner of the Year, while the top 21 runners from each race will be named to the NEAC All-Conference Teams.
Be sure to check back on www.KeukaStorm.com, as well as www.Facebook.com/KeukaStorm and on Twitter @KeukaAthletics for updates during the day Saturday.
