Sports

Women’s Soccer team claws out physical victory against rival to stay undefeated

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On Oct. 5 the women were in a dogfight early and especially late against a desperate McKendree University team. The two teams were obviously evenly matched; neither team really controlling possession for too long, but the Ranger women got the best shots on goal throughout the game (7-4 in our favor). The women controlled the tempo towards the end of the first half, but McKendree made a late push towards the final few minutes. The first half ended in a 0-0 tie.

The second half still proved how evenly matched the teams were, with nobody really able to get a leg up. A McKendree player was carded right before a Parkside corner kick; the corner kick that changed the game. After a McKendree foul in the box, Senior Emily Konior scored on a penalty kick in the 54’ minute (fifth goal on the season). That proved to be the only score needed, as the Ranger women won 1-0, pushing their impressive undefeated season forward to 8-0-2, and taking over first place in the GLVC. Their next home game is Oct. 17 at 3:30 p.m. against Truman State, the number two ranked team in our conference.

 

Article by Jalen Perry

Superstar Freshman Mario Samuel wins GLVC Freshman of the Year honors

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True freshman Mario Samuel was announced as the GLVC Freshman of the Year on May 7. He had an amazing season, pitching in eleven total games and starting ten of those. He had an impressive E.R.A. of 4.42 while compiling a team high 59 strikeouts, and also pitched the most innings (nearly 74) with five complete games.

One of the highlights of Samuel’s season was winning GLVC Pitcher of the Week on April 1st. He pitched a complete game shutout before claiming the honor in a victory against The University of Indianapolis, 2-0.

He’s the first player to win the honor for Parkside in ten years. Samuel’s record on the year was 5-5. The Rangers overall wrapped up their season with a 15-29 record, 13-23 in conference and finishing 7th in the GLVC East.

Article by Jalen Perry

The Milwaukee Bucks to be sold to Billionaire investors for $550 Million

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The Milwaukee Bucks are set to have new ownership for the first time in nearly thirty years. Current owner and former Senator of Wisconsin, Herb Kohl, has agreed to sell the franchise to Wesley Edens and Marc Lasry, billionaire investors who vow to keep the team in the city and have already matched Kohl’s hundred million dollar donation to build a new stadium for the team. Kohl never once considered selling to investors who had plans on moving the team to another city, “My priority has always been and will continue to be keeping the Bucks in Milwaukee… This announcement reinforces that Milwaukee is and will continue to be the home of the Bucks. Wes and Marc agree, and they share my commitment to the long-term success of this franchise in Milwaukee,” said Kohl.

Steve Balmer and Chris Hansen, investors who nearly moved the Kings to Seattle, were in talks initially, but with them not planning on keeping the Bucks home here in Milwaukee, they were eliminated from contention. The BMO Harris Bradley Center is the third oldest arena in the NBA, originally opening in 1988; the only two arenas that are older are Oracle Arena (G.S. Warriors), who are planning on moving back to San Francisco, and Madison Square Garden (N.Y. Knicks), which recently underwent a billion dollar face lift. It’s very difficult to get backing and fan support for a new arena when the team hasn’t won a playoff series in almost a decade and a half, being especially poor this season, winning only 15 games (worst in the NBA, even behind the Philadelphia 76ers who went on a 26 game losing streak this season). The only bright spot for the organization is that they are nearly guaranteed a top three pick in this years NBA draft (already clinching the number one spot in the draft lottery). Hopefully a young prospect chosen in this years draft, matched with new ownership will mean a fresh start for a team in need of just that.

Article by Jalen Perry

Rangers fall short against Drury in opening round of NCAA Tournament

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Despite an 11-1 run late in the game, our Rangers (23-7) lost to the defending NCAA champion Drury University Panthers (26-3) 69-64. The game started out very slowly for both teams, Parkside going 2 of 11 from the field in the opening minutes, and Drury turning the ball over on their first three possessions. After the first media timeout is when Parkside made their first push, going on a 7-1 run, taking an early 17-10 lead. After that, it was pretty even for a while, both teams exchanging leads (seven total lead changes in the first half). Both teams were playing extremely tough going into the half, not wanting to give each other any momentum going forward. But, around the 1:05 mark of the first half is when Drury began to pull away. After a Parkside turnover, they took it coast to coast for an easy dunk and didn’t look back. Drury took a 33-26 lead into halftime.

Parkside’s First-Team All-Conference player, Ziggy Riauka led the Rangers in both points and boards in the first half (8 in both categories). Jimmy Gavin added 6 points and 3 dimes in the first half and Jordan Mach chipped in 8 points.

Drury started out the second half triple teaming Ziggy in the post, not allowing the All-Conference player to get into any sort of rhythm. Drury started out the half very strong, eventually getting their biggest lead of the game (15). Around the 7:50 mark is when Parkside went on their last and strongest push of the game, going on an 11-1 run and getting as close as five points. Drury slowly began to pull away again, but Andy Mazurczak, who finished with eleven points, gets a very clutch and-one basket to bring the Rangers back to within five with a minute and seven seconds on the clock. As Drury began to use clock and force Parkside to foul and seemingly pull away, Colt Grandstaff, who finished with eleven points, hit a three pointer with fourteen seconds left, making it a 65-61 point game. But, even a Jimmy Gavin three point basket as time expired wasn’t enough to lift Parkside passed the defending champions, as they fell short 69-64.

The Rangers went far and beyond expectations for the year. Going 23-6 before the loss on Saturday and picking up a second consecutive GLVC East Division regular season title. The Rangers went on an early 10 game winning streak to kick-start the season, and got as high as 16th in the rankings. Though they may have fallen short on Saturday, we should all be proud of the program for what they accomplished this season and for the bright future ahead.

Article by Jalen Perry

Back and forth: Rangers Volleyball squeak past Northern Michigan

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In a match that saw 17 ties and four lead changes, the UW Parkside volleyball team was able to manage a victory over an evenly matched Northern Michigan squad, clinching the tiebreak set by a score of 19-17.

“That was a fun win for us. We go into every game expecting a battle, but that was our first five set match of the season,” senior Makenzie Fahnestock said. “I think it showcased our work ethic and heart.”

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