The Carletonian

Saturday, the women’s cross country team left the rest of the MIAC quaking in its boots as they grabbed 3rd in the conference championship, two points behind Bethel, and a mere five points behind St. Thomas, who won the meet with 66 points.

More than 5,700 college, high school and club swimmers from nearly 100 different teams jumped into the pool on Thursday, Nov. 6 with the same goal in mind––going all out for an hour in the name of cancer research.

It was a wonderful day for Carleton Cross-Country this past Saturday. On this sunny, 45-degree morning, Carleton cross-country members of the past and present stepped on the line. This year’s annual Running of the Cows meet brought together Carleton’s current and alumni runners to run and be merry.

With a convincing 1-0 win over Hamline University, the Carleton men’s soccer team clinched a spot in the post-season MIAC playoffs for a second consecutive year. Though the Knights had previously faced difficulties against the Pipers, not beating them in four years, history was erased as the Knights dominated the match. Wes Elfman ’11, sealed the Knights’ victory with an immaculate finish off of an impeccable pass by senior captain Paul Pedtke. Also critical in the Knights’ victory was the rock solid performance of Ross Hamilton ’10, whose command of the midfield allowed the Knights free reign over the reeling Pipers.

The women’s soccer team has had a great week. Over parents weekend they defeated Hamline, with a score of 4-1.

In a game filled with numerous heroic Knight performances, the kind that ballads and roundtable discussions and animated movies are made of, Carleton was unable to overcome several bad bounces as Gustavus handed the Maize and Blue their first loss of the season, a 29-30 nail-biter.

Chris Marshall ’10 led the Knights in scoring for the third time this season, amassing 20 points with his 27:41 race. Marshall has scored 330 points this year.

Despite a ruckus crowd bolstered by parent’s weekend, the inspired women’s volleyball team could not pull off the upset of 21st ranked College of St. Benedict’s College Blazers last Friday, losing in five sets (18-25, 25-23, 25-21, 20-25, 12-15).

The Knights recorded their first loss of the season in a 1-0 heartbreaker against Augsburg College last Saturday. Despite out-shooting the Auggies 9-6, the hot-gunning Knights were unable to find the back of the net for only the second time this season. While the battle seemed even in the opening minutes of the first half, the Augsburg offense scrounged a loose ball in the Knight’s defensive third and managed to barely place it by a sprawling Pete Semmer ’11 for the first and only goal of the match. Though the Knights battled back bravely and seemed to be on the verge of taking over several times, the Augsburg defense managed to clear several balls off the goal line to preserve their fragile lead. While the Knights were unable to bury the bone, senior captain Bobby Phillips provided several opportunities with his penetrating runs and tireless hustle throughout the game. Another bright spot for the Knights was the performance of freshman Andrew Thappa, who came agonizingly close to finishing on a few occasions and generally proved to be a nuisance to the Augsburg defense.

The Women’s Soccer team has had more losses this season than originally hoped for, but most of their losses have been to nationally ranked teams so there has been no loss in confidence or excitement for the team. They are playing well, looking good, and getting ready for a big next couple of weeks.

With a roster filled with such household names as Ziller, Henfling, Ramey, and Frank, it was only a matter of time before the Carleton Knights, already known as the nation’s classiest team with the most attractive fans, were officially recognized as the top football program in the MIAC. That time came last Saturday, when the Knights defeated the previously unbeaten Augsburg Auggies at their own stat-padding game in a 49-41 shootout. When the offensive dust had settled, it was Carleton that was left alone atop the conference standings for the first time in over a decade.

Carleton’s cross country teams will host their only full-squad home meet of the season—the Running of the Cows—tomorrow in the upper arb.