Fast Break: Football finds success in the south, Washington treats the rest of us poorly

Students of Willamette play a game of pickup soccer with the ducks. Art by Alyssa Diggdon.

Hello, Bearcat Fan! Our beloved fall sports traveled north this weekend (or to sunny California in the case of football) to mixed, and somewhat disappointing, results. Let’s review how it went, shall we?

Women’s soccer took on the Whitworth Pirates away in the greatest city in the world — better known as Spokane, Washington to the layman — bagging a 2-1 win on Saturday. On Sunday, they were held scoreless in a 0-1 loss against the Blues, rendering the ’Cats No. 5 in conference standings.

Men’s soccer also traveled to the Whits, drawing 2-2 against the Pirates and losing 0-2 to the No. 1 ranked Blues. 

Volleyball, oddly enough, also traveled to Washington this weekend. Who makes these schedules anyways? On Friday, they lost 2-3 to Whitman in a hard-fought match, then 1-3 against Whitworth in Spokane on Saturday. Talk about a long drive home.

Men’s and women’s cross country both traveled, suspiciously, to Tacoma, Washington to participate in the PLU Invitational, with the men’s side bagging a No. 6 team finish and the women’s a No. 5.

It seems like our Bearcats need to go south more often, as football had a strong showing against the La Verne Leopards, winning 29-14 on Saturday. The defense forced five turnovers against the Leopards, one of which was a fumble returned for a touchdown by, you guessed it, linebacker Javi Rodriguez (’27).

In the wider world of sport: Round 1 of the WNBA playoffs finished on Friday, with the Las Vegas Aces, Indiana Fever, Minnesota Lynx, and Phoenix Mercury all advancing to the semifinals. I’m temporarily reinstating my status as a Bears fan to celebrate that we crushed America’s team on Sunday. The Packers lost to the 40-year-old Joe Flacco-led Cleveland Browns, also on Sunday. Ouch. The Ducks have shot up in the NCAA football Top 25 rankings, now comfortably at No. 3, and the stupid, stupid Ohio State Buckeyes are still No. 1. 

In the coming weeks: Triathlon faces their second competition this weekend, heading to the coast for the Newport Harbor Triathlon. Football gets a bye this week before opening conference play against the Pacific Lutheran Lutes on Oct. 4. Volleyball and soccer both face the Lutes and the Puget Sound Loggers at home this weekend, hoping to redeem themselves against the Washingtonians and gain some footing among the top four conference spots.