StarBulletin.com

Creighton's Wittig makes stand in soccer


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POSTED: Friday, November 21, 2008

Last week the women opened play in the NCAA Division I soccer tournament.

Now it's the men's turn, although Hawaii's influence in the 64-team field is not nearly as significant as it was a week ago.

Creighton sophomore midfielder Jeremy Wittig (Lutheran '06) is the most likely of players with Hawaii ties to see action in the tournament.

The Bluejays clinched the seventh seed in the tourney by winning their 11th Missouri Valley Conference title and will be making their 17th consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournament.

Wittig, who redshirted in 2006, appeared in 11 games this season, recording two shots.

Syd Tom (Leilehua '07) is a redshirt freshman forward for UC Irvine, which is seeded 14th and has a first-round bye, but Tom hasn't appeared in a game this season.

Such is the same for UC Santa Barbara junior midfielder C.J. Cintas (Hawaii Prep '06). The Gauchos are seeded 15th, after losing to the Anteaters in the Big West tournament, and also have a first-round bye. Cintas hasn't played this season after appearing in 15 games and making four starts a year ago.

» Gonzaga junior midfielder Tye Perdido (Seabury Hall '06) was named first-team All-West Coast Conference and sophomore forward Nick Love (Punahou '07) was named honorable mention this week. Perdido led the Bulldogs in goals (eight) and points (19) this season and is eighth all-time with 15 career goals.

 

WOMEN'S SOCCER

» Rutgers sophomore midfielder Ashley Medcalf (Christian Academy '07) is the lone remaining player with local ties left in the NCAA Division I women's soccer tournament. Medcalf started both tournament games for the Scarlet Knights, who defeated No. 20 Penn State 2-1 in the opener and then knocked off No. 7 Oklahoma State in penalty kicks.

Caycie Gusman (Kamehameha '06) is also on the team, but is out for the season with a torn ACL. Rutgers will face top-seeded Stanford in the sweet 16 today at 5 p.m.

 

FOOTBALL

» Oregon sophomore quarterback Jeremiah Masoli (Saint Louis '06) threw for a career-high 298 yards and accounted for five touchdowns in a 55-45 win over Arizona. Masoli completed 21 of his 26 passes and threw for two touchdowns. He rushed for three more and finished with 89 yards on 10 carries, including a 66-yard touchdown run on the third play of the game.

» Southern California senior linebacker Kaluka Maiava (Baldwin '05) had seven tackles in a 45-23 win over Stanford that kept Southern California's slim BCS national championship game hopes alive. Cardinal defensive tackle Matthew Masifilo (Campbell '07) had two tackles and recovered a fumble.

» Oregon State senior safety Al Afalava (Kahuku '05) had four tackles and a pass defense, cornerback Brandon Hardin (Kamehameha '07) added three tackles and Suaesi Tuimaunei (Kahuku '06) chipped in two in Oregon State's 34-21 win over California to keep its Rose Bowl hopes alive. Tyson Alualu (Saint Louis '05) finished with six tackles and Mika Kane (Kamehameha '05) added three for the Golden Bears.

» Washington junior defensive end Daniel Teo-Nesheim (Hawaii Prep '05) had five tackles and two sacks in a 27-7 loss to UCLA.

» Western Oregon junior Shaun Kauleinamoku (Saint Louis '05) was named first-team All-Great Northwest Athletic Conference as a punt returner and made the second team as a wide receiver.

» Linfield (Ore.) defeated Pacific Lutheran 45-0 in the season ender for both teams last Saturday in Puyallup, Wash. Sparky Gonzalez (Saint Louis '08) had one sack to add to his total of three for the season. He had 5.5 tackles for loss while starting in six games for the Wildcats this season.

Also playing for Linfield this year were Kalae Parrish (Kapolei '08) and RJ Kukahiko (Kamehameha-Maui '06), who both had five tackles for the season. Brent Shimabukuro, (Saint Louis '08) added three tackles and Ian Estrada (Kamehameha '05) had six tackles as a starting defensive tackle before suffering a season-ending injury in the third game of the season.

Kyle Whitford (Punahou '07) had eight receptions for 34 yards for PLU in the game and ended the year with 38 catches for 353 yards.