Judson teams optimistic about postseason

Another year.

And another successful Judson University men's soccer team.

Through Thursday, the Eagles were 11-4-2 overall and 6-1-1, which put them in first place in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference with one match to play at Illinois Tech Saturday at 7 p.m. Judson is looking for its fourth conference title in a row and started the week ranked 20th nationally thanks to a recent 8-match unbeaten streak (7-0-1).

"We're coming together nicely at the end of the season," said veteran Judson coach Steve Burke. "We replaced seven starters from last year. It's taken a little time to do that, but we've done very well lately. We are peaking at the right time."

Burke lauded the play of senior third-year captain and center back Steve Moldenhauer (Charlotte, N.C.).

"Our defense has been playing very well of late and Steve's been a key to that as a four-year starter," said Burke.

Gustavo Oliveira (Brazil), has also been a key cog in the central midfield for the Eagles, along with Petar Bajic (Serbia).

Oliveira was recently named the conference offensive player of the week honor -- which makes the third different Judson player and fourth overall to earn the honor in 2007.

"Both Gustavo and Petar have anchored the center of the field for us," said Burke.

Mark Howlett (England) leads the team's offensive charge. He had 11 goals and 7 assists to start the week.

"Mark has been scoring a lot of goals for us," said Burke, who noted Howlett recently earned a league player of the week honor. "When you are playing well, you have a lot of key players."

A first-place finish in the conference would afford Judson a first-round bye in the conference tournament and would also help with region postseason seeding.

Burke also noted the team has gone on its recent tear despite the fact three starters have been felled by injury.

Starting left midfielder Adauto Oliveira (Brazil), right midfielder and captain Tim Balatsoukas (Greece) have been sidelined as has goalie Neil Thompson (England).

"Those are three really key players for us," said Burke, who had 427 career wins to start the week. "It will be nice when we've got things back at full strength."

To start the week, Judson had outscored its opponents 48-11. In addition to Howlett, Gustavo Oliveira had 7 goals and 11 assists. Serbia native Milos Bajic had 10 assists, while Brazil product Leonardo Silva had 9 goals and 6 assists. Balatsoukas had 7 goals and 3 assists. Thompson had a 0.74 goals-against average and 4 shutouts to his credit.

Judson women's volleyball: The Judson women's volleyball team started the week 10-18 overall and was 2-5 in conference action.

But the Eagles have been besieged by injuries this season. The team started with 13 players and is now down to only 7.

"It's been injuries, injuries and injuries," said first-year Judson coach Craig Vlietstra. "But I couldn't be prouder of how we've played. We got dealt some bad cards, but I have absolutely no complaints. I am proud of how we've responded, for sure."

Vlietstra has been using a lineup that features 3 freshmen and 2 sophomores. That group of youngsters includes freshmen Jessie Fortner (5-foot-10, MB, Elgin H.S.), Carly Campioni (5-7, S, CL South) and Michelle Weissman (5-9, OH, Maine East), along with sophomores Deb Leganski (5-7, Libero, Larkin) and Danielle Dull (6-2, MB, Waupun, Wis.).

"We've got a nucleus of young athletes that are starting to step up," said Vlietstra.

Seniors Kym Gagnon (5-10, OH, Flagstaff, Ariz.) and Erin Bultinck (5-10, OH, Kishwaukee C.C. via Larkin) have also been key components.

"Those two seniors have really been helping us," said Vlietstra, who came to Judson from Michigan Tech. "They are getting to almost every ball. They are doing all of the ball control and the majority of hitting. They've done a great job for us."

Bultinck was averaging 3.22 kills per game, while Gagnon was averaging 2.74 kills. Dull was averaging 2.39 kills. Gagnon was also averaging 3.55 digs per game. Leganski was averaging a team-best 6.03 digs per game and was leading the squad with 60 service aces. Campioni was averaging 8.99 assists per contest.

The Eagles host an NCCAA regional Saturday at 2:30 p.m. against Bethel College. The winner advances to NCCAA nationals next month in St. Paul, Minn.

Judson women's soccer:ŒThe Judson women's soccer team was 9-5-1 through Thursday and 6-3 in CCAC play. The Eagles finished tied for fourth in the conference and will host Olivet Nazarene at noon Saturday in the first round of the conference tournament.

One key piece to puzzle for Judson of late has been the goalkeeping position. Regular goalkeeper Alice Phoneprasith (Larkin) missed a number of games early on and was replaced by junior team captain Rebecca O'Donnell (Buffalo Grove H.S.), who is normally the team's best defensive midfielder.

"We've been able to get our starting goalkeeper in place, so that's had kind of a domino effect," said Judson coach Freddie King. "We had our best defensive mid playing goalie. Rebecca knew that was what the team needed. She didn't complain. She did a great job for us in goal. Now we've got everybody back to playing their normal position."

King has been impressed with how the team has performed on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.

"We're playing hard on defense and we're taking our chances on offense," said King. "We've been more aggressive in our attack and that has been a big difference. I think we can continue to be successful."

Dundee-Crown product Christina Thornton has enjoyed a solid sophomore captain for the Eagles. Thornton exploded on the college scene in 2006, setting Judson team records for most goals (23) and points (56) in a season. She had 14 goals and 4 assists for 32 points to start the week. Thornton was an NAIA All-American honorable mention pick last year.

"It's been a challenging year for Christina," said King, in his fifth year at Judson. "Other teams definitely know about her now and they have learned her tendencies. Her game has evolved. She's been more creative and has been able to get more scoring chances for herself. She's managed it very well. She's a very dangerous player for us as she was last year."

King, who earned CCAC and NCCAA region coach of the year honors in 2006 after directing Judson to a school-record 15 triumphs, feels the conference tournament will be very competitive.

"There are probably seven teams that on any given day can beat each other," said King. "Our conference is very competitive."

Besides Thornton, senior Samantha Vestal (Bakersfield, Calif.), sophomore Baerbel Hartner (Germany) and freshman Lynsey McFarland (Scotland) each had 4 goals to start the week. Phoneprasith had a 1.97 goals-against average, while O'Donnell had a 1.83 GAA during her tour of duty in goal.

Off at College wants your help: Send information and/or statistics on Fox Valley area athletes playing collegiately to Mike Miazga at difibulator@aol.com.