DRAGON ATHLETICS
Dragon TALES
DRAGON TALES
By Larry Scott, MSU Moorhead Sports Information Director
Now comes the real test.
When league heavyweight Winona State University rumbles into Alex Nemzek Stadium on Saturday, they’ll bring the swagger that only five championship finishes in seven seasons can spawn. Unbeaten in three Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference appearances, Winona State is 4-1 overall and well positioned for another title run.
The Warriors are especially well fortified on offense with quarterback Drew Aber, wide receiver Scott Peters and runningback Alex Wiese among the elite playmakers in the NSIC. The offensive line may be short on seasoning but has ample size and potential, and the Warrior defense left its calling card with a recent 41-0 whitewash of Upper Iowa.
Saturday’s showdown will be a tall order, indeed, but the Dragons can look back to last year’s visit to Winona for inspiration. On the verge of being chased out of Maxwell Field, MSU Moorhead responded to the Warriors’ knockout punch with a rousing second half performance that set the stage for a rewarding late season revival.
MSUM MEMOS. . . . . MSUM inside linebacker JONATHAN MILLER is tied for seventh on the latest NCAA Division II national statistics for total tackles, 11.8, and 12th in solo tackles, 6.4. Quarterback DUSTIN LONG is 19th in total offense, 270.4, and 28th in passing yards, 243.4. . . . . KELCI GUENTHER ranks first on the latest NSIC volleyball chart in blocks, 1.78, MEGAN NORLING third in kills, 4.19, and JULIE VANCURA third in assists, 12.58. Vancura became the Dragons’ career leader for assists last week with 4,751 lifetime assists. Vancura was named NSIC Setter of the Week on Monday for a second straight week as well. CALLA OFTEDAHL matched the single game mark of 43 digs at Northern State while Norling tied the single match attacks record of 77 shared by Dragon Hall of Famers AMY GERNAND and EMILY HEGG. . . . . Buoyed by a four-match win streak, MSU Moorhead faces a pair of NSIC women’s soccer road matches this weekend against Minnesota, Crookston (Saturday) and Bemidji State (Sunday). MSUM moved to the top of the league with a 3-1 triumph over Concordia University last Sunday. . . . . MSUM, 11-4 overall and 6-2 in the NSIC, hosts Bemidji State at 7 p.m. on Wednesday and nationally-ranked Southwest Minnesota State at 4 p.m. on Saturday. . . . . Following a sparkling performance at last Saturday’s prestigious Roy Griak Invitational at the Les Bolstad golf course in Falcon Heights, Dragon men and women will enter the Jamestown College Invitational at 4 p.m. on Friday at Jamestown, ND. SCOTT EGEBERG was honored as NSIC Men’s Runner of the Week while ANNA VAN WECHEL was named NSIC Women’s Runner of the Week. Dragon women climbed to sixth on the latest regional poll while MSUM men remain ninth. . . . . MSU Moorhead will enter the fall portion of the 2007-08 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Women’s Golf Championships on Saturday and Sunday, October 6-7, at Pebble Creek golf club near Becker. MSUM placed seventh in a field of 11 teams at the Sioux Invitational at Grand Forks, ND on Sunday and Monday. Nebraska-Omaha captured the team title with a composite stroke total of 627 while MSUM shot a combined 689. CHELSEY OUREN tied for 15th with an 83-81--164 while KASEY MAIER was second on the Dragon leaderboard with an 81-89---170. . . . . Senior defensive tackle MATT OACHS suffered a broken hand in last week’s 31-28 victory over Upper Iowa and is shelved indefinitely. Sophomore defensive tackle MARK RICHARDS is shelved as well with a knee injury. . . . . Thirty years ago this week ED SCHULTZ completed 14 of 21 passes for 204 yards and three touchdowns before an early exit in a 51-7 romp at Southwest Minnesota State. Schultz would lead the NCAA Division II in passing as a senior in 1977 and later launched a rewarding broadcasting career. Today the ED SCHULTZ SHOW is broadcast throughout the nation. . . . . Alex Nemzek Hall will host the Beyond the Yellow Ribbon project for a second time on October 27-28. The program, to enhance the reintegration of returning reserve and guard veterans from Iraq, is directed by Captain AARON KRENZ, a former starting linebacker for the Dragons. . . . . The Dragons have unveiled a new athletic website designed by TOM CHALLEY. . . . . BRETT BEESON, the NCAA Division II Player of the Year and a national scoring champ at MSUM in 1995-96, will continue his professional basketball career overseas again this winter. Beeson will play for Archena, Spain. Last season at Sabadell, Beeson led the league in scoring with 19.2 ppg. . . . . The next Dragon Fire luncheon is scheduled for Wednesday, October 10, at a site to be determined. . . . . Dragon football games are broadcast over ESPN Radio 1660 AM. Steve d’Eustachio returns for his 10th season as play-by-play announcer while Mike Larson will provide commentary. All Dragon games are also available on the World Wide Web at www.msumdragons.com. . . . .
