Some observations on this past weekend in Auggie sports ... FOOTBALL -- We had 24 voters vote in our poll here regarding how Saturday's Augsburg-St. Olaf game would turn out, and if you're the one voter who put Augsburg winning by 21-plus points, pat yourself on the back. (Other votes -- Augsburg winning by 1-10 points, 14 votes; Augsburg winning by 11-20 points, 6 votes; St. Olaf winning by 1-10 points, 1 vote, and St. Olaf winning by 11-20 points, 2 votes).
What a game! Who would have thought Augsburg would be that dominant against a very good St. Olaf team? The Auggies started out hot and never looked back, scoring on their first five possessions to build a 35-14 halftime lead, en route to the 49-21 Homecoming triumph.
Everything connected for Augsburg on Saturday. On offense, Jordan Berg threw for 397 yards and three TDs, all going to Royce Winford, and Jason Potts scored two rushing touchdowns. On defense, the Auggies held the Oles to just 252 yards of total offense, and junior Alex Glasenapp had a terrific game, with two sacks and two forced fumbles -- one of which was returned 64-yards for a TD by Andrew Bergeson. On special teams, Augsburg's David Tilton did something not accomplished by an Auggie since 1999 -- a kickoff return for a TD. All in all, a fun game in front of a packed house at Edor Nelson Field.
The Auggies are 3-0 for the first time since 1999, and have a chance to go 4-0 for the first time since 1973 (the Auggies won their first five games en route to a 7-2 finish) with a win at Hamline this coming Saturday. The Auggies have the potential to be 5-0 going into a crucial home game against Concordia on Oct. 18 ... but this team has to take everything one game at a time.
The 2008 Auggies have the chance to be a truly special team, but it's a long season and anything can happen. But I will admit something ... every game this team plays reminds me more and more of the great conference-championship team of 1997. Things fell into place perfectly for that team, and it seems like things are starting to fall into place for this team.
WOMEN'S SOCCER -- Augsburg is off to a great 6-1-3 start to the season, after Saturday's 2-0 victory at St. Catherine. The win broke a stretch of two straight ties, and coach Mike Navarre told me that breaking that stretch of ties was a great relief for the Auggies.
Lots of balance in this team. Seven different players have scored goals, and 11 different players have contributed either goals or assists. And the defense, which has been a hallmark of Navarre's teams over the years, continues to be solid. Goalkeeper Maggie DeGroot has been her usual brilliant self, with seven shutouts and a 0.48 goals-against-average. The defensive foursome in front of her -- Kristi Castelic, Felicia Faison, Whitney Holman and Gaby Hamerlinck -- has allowed just six goals in 10 games so far this season.
Augsburg has reached the MIAC playoffs the last four years in a row, and this team is primed for another playoff run. Currently, the Auggies are in third place with seven league points, with six conference games remaining. And this week will provide a good stretch of rest and preparation for the rest of the league season, which begins next Saturday with a home game against St. Mary's.
MEN'S SOCCER -- Coach Greg Holker's bunch should certainly be pleased with two ties over the weekend against some solid competition across the border in Wisconsin -- a 1-1 tie at Wisconsin-Whitewater on Friday and a 0-0 tie at Wisconsin-Oshkosh (your friendly SID's alma mater, by the way) on Sunday.
Augsburg is 5-1-3 after eight games, going into the heart of conference play this weekend with a game against St. Mary's on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Edor Nelson Field. Like the women, the Auggie men also get a week of rest and preparation before returning to MIAC action. Augsburg stands in a second-place tie in conference play with six points (3-1-0), with six conference games remaining.
Holker put it right in his summary of Sunday's game: "We are getting better -- and we are close to being pretty darn good." Like the Auggie women, the Auggie men are a study in balance, with six different goal-scorers and 11 different players claiming either goals or assists this year. And the Auggie defense has allowed just six goals this season, with goalkeepers Pascaul Venter and Donnie McCarthy both having very solid performances this past week.
VOLLEYBALL -- The Auggie volleyball team has had an up-and-down season, to say the least, which makes their 8-8 record entering tonight's nonconference match with North Central (7 p.m. at Si Melby Hall) understandable. After a three-game sweep by league contender Carleton on Wednesday, the Auggies rebounded with a great effort against a very good St. Benedict team, falling in five sets on Friday night.
Katie Christensen has had a great season so far, as the sophomore has cemented her place in the Auggie rotation. Versatile outside hitter Julie Jenkins has again been solid, and setter Shanna Reed and libero Dani Tanaka have both had outstanding seasons. Middle hitters Barbara Simmons and Amanda Rueb are showing tremendous promise.
Sitting at 0-3 in the conference with eight league games remaining, the Auggies' goal of making the top six for a berth in the conference playoffs will be a very tough goal to achieve, but it's still reachable. Another reachable goal would be to finish among the top eight teams in the league, ensuring the Auggies of a spot in the annual "crossover" weekend of matches with the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
