The Des Moines Register from Des Moines, Iowa • Page 33

Sports The Des Moines Register Sunday, Jlxy 27, 1997 5D Hawkeyes "1,1 i Menace win division; on to national tourney' fife JWL, ,4 Flames' defense to get open for a shot that beat goalkeeper Jon Epperson. Calderon scored Des Moines' third goal on a similar play with less than 8 minutes left in the half. "The defense was swarming," Calderon said. "We proved to everybody else in the league we have a great" team." Des Moines midfielder Craig' Scheer scored the second goal. He took a free-lack pass from Justin Sells and powered a line drive kick- into the back of the net The ball-' went through Epperson's hands.

"That was a great strike by Craig," Sells said. "Finally, we jelled as a team and everybody accepted their roles." Menace goalkeeper Kevin Zim-. merman stopped 19 shots. "I played with a lot of Zimmerman said. "I was proud of way the guys played defensively." Dowling's Kara Opp steals second owling ousts Ankeny base as the ball gets away from By STEVEN DEACE kforsTKR Staff Writkr Omaha, Neb.

Last weekend, after the Des Moines Menace finished the soccer season with its fourth loss in five games, few would have believed it was possible. The Menace achieved its goal and beat Omaha, 6-0, to win the United Systems of Independent Soccer Leagues' Premier Central Division tournament. "This weekend was what we thought the season should be," Des Moines co-coach Blair Keid said. "As the season wound down, I told the players I was bushwacked and confused by the way they were playing. For these two games, everjlluiig me and (co-coach) lan Collard asked them to do they did.

They surprised me." Des Moines came into the play offs as the fourth seed and had to defeat top-seeded Lincoln, 4-0, in the semifinals Friday. "We never lost confidence, Reid said. "When you shut out the two top teams, it's one top stellar performance." The Menace next plays in' the league's regional tournament Friday at Kalamazoo, Mich. If we play like we did this week end, we've got a chance," Reid said. With an on-field temperature of 103 degrees, the Menace took a 3-0 lead in the first half and cruised.

'In the heat, it's doubly difficult to come back," Reid said. "We told the guys at halftime that our plan defensively was to just dump the ball and frustrate them." Miguel Calderon scored the first goal 11 minute 43 seconds into the match when he sliced through the THIS WEEK TINA CHEEIRY IKERKATUKAL ADULT SUPER MODEL COVEH 7pm CLOSE $10 NON-Alcohok Beverages AwUbleotBYOB DmMoimt 3 Omaha Catdtfon IBobol. 1143 Schear (Sellsl, Calderon (Wilson), 37:10 Wilson (Philliiis). 64:30 Phillips (unaisisledl, 77:34 Bused (Wilsonl, Shod on goal Oes Moines IS, Omaha IS. A 84S.

Sunday, July 27,1997 Simulcast Schedule IVm Rrointf.r East's Jackie Beener leans into a pitch against a Lincoln hitter during seventh-ranked East's Class 3-A regional semifinal soft-ball victory Saturday night at sixth-ranked Lincoln. could go far this year, writers say FOOTBAll Continuedrow Page ID and Michigan. Late-season trips to Wisconsin and Northwestern are also tough, but another big year is waiting in the wings for the Hawkeyes." Iowa, which had a 9-3 record last season, also fares well in a sampling of other preseason magazines. Lindy's picks Iowa 19th nationally and fourth in the Big Ten behind Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan. Too much road work, but the Hawks are poised to do damage.

the magazine says. "A lineup stocked with experience and all-star candidates in virtually every posi tion group suggests that the Hawkeyes who have won 12 of their last 15 games can play with anybody again. Lindy's concludes that Iowa's "soft non-league slate creates a shot at a 10-win season, and postseason plans may be defined by mid-October. Street Smith's College Football picks Iowa to finish fourth in the Big Ten behind Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State. "It's getting to be an old story in Iowa City, the magazine says.

The Hawkeyes appear to be a Rose Bowl contender until they play another Rose Bowl contender. "Last year, they tantalized their followers with an upset victory at Penn State, then watched the momentum from that triumph slip away in blowout losses to Ohio State and Northwestern. The fact that those defeats came in Kinnick Sta dium made them harder to swallow." The magazine says if Iowa can survive the games at Ohio State and Michigan "its faithful followers may be ready to point the Winnebagos to Pasadena next New Year Day. Game Plan's College Football picks Iowa 18th nationally and fourth in the Big Ten. "Hayden Fry has built an excellent football program at Iowa, and that fact will be reflected by the team's performance this season," Game Plan says.

"Offensively, the Hawkeyes are very well-balanced and certainly capable of exceeding their 1990 out put of 356 yards and 28 points per game. As for Iowa's stop troops, if the new people on the peruneter are up to the mark, this unit could be more grudging than its 1996 coun terpart that allowed averages of 30o yards and 20 points per game. "We look for the Hawkeyes to challenge for Big Ten supremacy in 1997, and we also look for them to secure another bowl bid. Iowa is picked to finish fifth in the Big Ten by Athlon Sports National College Foot ball. "Fry has concentrated in recent years on recruiting bigger, faster defensive linemen, and he tlunks he has them," Athlon says.

Iowa State The magazines feel Iowa State is still a long way from being a factor in the Big 12 Conference. Lindy's ranks the Cyclones sixth and last in the North division and 1 1th ahead of only Baylor in the overall conference rankings. "Iowa State went 5-17 with Troy Davis running for 2,000 yards each of the last two seasons, Lindy says. "His brother, Darren, takes over in the backfield. That's not the problem.

A defense that was 106th nationally in rushing defense is." also picks the Cyclones last in the North division. Game Plan isn't quite so pessimis tic. It ranks them fifth in the North. Phil Steele's magazine says Iowa State Dlavs the nation's sixth- touehest schedule. It and The Sport ing News predict the Cyclones to finish sixth in the North.

Athlon puts Iowa State sixth in the North, saying, "Progress is painfully slow for a pro gram that has endurea seven consecutive losing seasons. RonMcdy Saratoga 12:00 p.m. Canterbury Downs 1 :00 p.m. Ellis Park 1:00 p.m. Louisiana Downs 1:00 p.m.

Arlington 1:05 p.m. Remington Park 1:15 p.m.' Gulf Greyhound 1:30 p.m. Lone Star 1:35 p.m. Bluffs Run 4:00 p.m. Del Mar 4:00 p.m.

Penn National 4:00 p.m.. Downs at Santa Fe 4:15 p.m. Columbus 6:00 p.m. Balmoral 6:30 p.m. Gulf Greyhound 7:30 p.m.

Ull.l. NKIBKKfl.M.lTHE RhftltiTKK Ankeny shortstop Erica Junod. T3 routed 16th-ranked Valley. Valley (30-18) OOO 0034 Ottumwa (30-19) 020 10 12 7 0 Beniamin, Seved (4) and Johnson; Grimes and Chidester. Woodward-Granger 13, Pleasantville 0 The Register's Iow a News Nervicf.

Woodward, la. Sophomore Jen Bice struck out 12 in five innings, allowing no hits, to lead Woodward-Granger, the top-ranked team in Class 1-A. Woodward -Grani anger (44-21 ..044 23 13 13 Pleasantville (23-14) 000 00 0 0 5 J. Bice and 0. Bice, Nelson 13); Miller and little.

NORTH POLK 10. SOUTH HAMILTON 0 AT ALLEMAN South Hamirton 123-14). 000 OOO 0 1 6 North Polk (31 9) 013 204 10 9 0 Anderson and Miller; Chnstensen and Johnson. PERRY 6, WEBSTER CITY 1 AT WEBSTER OrY Perry (28-141 302 001 0 6 7 I Webster City 128-20) OOO 010 0 1 7 1 Shimon and Bocker; Ehar and Keyier. VjyJH- Vs- ti i in NEW! nrrmr i i Liz Dennis pitches Dowling past defending state champion Ankeny.

By ANDREW L0GUE Rkoistrr Staff Writer West Des Moines, la. Losing the regular-season finale gave Dowling's Liz Dennis a fresh outlook on the postseason. Dennis pitched third-ranked Dowling to a 6-2 victory over ninth-ranked and defending state champion Ankeny in a Class 3-A regional semifinal Saturday night She also singled, tripled and drove in a run. Dowling first baseman Pam Kruger finished 2-for-3 with a double and two runs-batted-in. The Maroons combined for seven hits in the last three innings.

Less than two weeks ago, Dennis was beaten, 10-0, by Lincoln in a game that determined the Central Iowa Metropolitan League American Conference title. In three district and regional games since, Dennis has allowed a combined eight hits. She pitched a no-hitter against Ames, 1-0, on July 21 and held opponents score less through the first 20 innings. Ankeny scored twice in the seventh inning. After the last game of the season, my mental game became a lot stron ger, said Dennis, who unproved to 29-3 on the season.

"Everyone has always said don't base the future on the past and I finally realized that." Dennis retired the first rune bat ters against Ankeny, recording five consecutive strikeouts during the second and third innings. She fin ished with six strikeouts and no walks. Three of Ankeny's five hits came in the seventh inning. 'When I go into a game, I always think our defense is dominant and if we get the bats going, we'll win," Dennis said. Dowling (47-3) can earn its first trip to the state tournament since 1993 with a victory against seventh- ranked East in a regional final 6:30 Monday at Urbandale.

Last year, Ankeny beat Dowling twice during the postseason, including a 3-0 regional final victory. "It a little different because tlus isn't a final game," Dowling catcher Tiffany Payton said. "They're a different team and we're a different team. We played some of these girls when we were younger, so that's what we focused on." Ankeny pitcher Missy Voigt (21-7) didn't allow a hit through the first four innings, but Dowling outfielder Kara Opp led off the fifth inning with a hit that bounced over third base man Leah Heston for a double. Kruger followed and tried to advance Opp to third with a bunt, but fouled twice.

Forced to swing away, Kruger hit the ball to the left field fence to give Dowling a 1-0 lead. I was a little mad at myselt so I tried to make up for it," said Kruger. It wasjustalongbunt. Kruger was down two strikes again in the sixth inning, but singled to center field to score Opp from second, giving Dowling a 3-0 advantage. 1 Sai a Order Your Iowa State www.prairiemeadows.com I-80 Exit 142 Altoona.lA 515-967-1000 800-325-9015 FREE Nationwide Warranty MITCHELL TRANSK1ISSI0IJ 1440 Locust 283-2446 SI Yean of Service to Des Moines Special Group Rates 1 'I I 1 -r-'M Football Tickets Today! I "I thought we played a pretty good ball game for the first three or four innings," first-year Ankeny Coach Galyn Johnson said.

"They got a couple of runs, but I thought we'd be ok, but we couldn't put anything together and they got the hits when they needed them." Dennis' triple came in during a three-run rally in the seventh. Kim Steffen and Angie Ligouri added singles. Ankeny (31-9) won the CIML's National Conference. Heston doubled twice and drove in a run in the seventh inning. DowMna 000 021 3 6 7 Ankeny OOO OOO 2 253 Dennis and Payton; Voigt and Agena.

Carlisle 2, Waukee 0 The Rkoistkr's Iowa Nf.ws Kf.rvicf. Carlisle, la. Penny Cope struck out 13 as Carlisle, the top-ranked team in Class 2-A, took advantage of two Waukee errors for both of its runs. Waukee (31-10) OOO OOO 0 0 3 2 Carlisle (36-4) 010 0010 2 1 3 Kragel and Shell; Cope and Kadmg. Urbandale 1, Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln 0 Urbandale, la.

Diane Stratton scored on a wild pitch in the sixth inning to lift Urbandale. Urbandale pitcher Allison Stewart pitched a one-hitter, striking out nine. B. Ab. Lincoln (24-18) ...000 000 0 0 1 1 Urbandale (4S-7) 000 001 1 4 1 Livingston and Ferguson, Stewart and Rumpp.

Indianola 2, Oskaloosa 1 The Rfxjistfr's Iowa News Service Indianola, la. Eleventh-ranked Indianola advanced to a regional final with a victory. Indianola (43-81 000 200 0 2 2 2 Oikaloota (19-28) 100 OOO 01 3 3 Heller and Hoover; Shargo and Matlock. Ottumwa 12, Valley 0 The Rkoistf.r's Iowa News Ottumwa, la. Steph Swartz drove in three runs as Ottumwa next three opponents, 17-3.

"You can lose and let it beat you or you can take it and make a gain from it," West said "In a tournament like this, you never know the kid that beat you could lose and you'll wind up in the finals. "I could have said 'I quit' and went home, but you don't get any satisfaction from that You've got to come back, be strong and finish as hard as you can." Two other Iowans lost their final match of the tournament Saturday. Terry Parham of Pacific Junction, a state champion last winter at Glenwood, lost to Nathan LawTenz of Kansas, 6-2, in the seventh-place match at 154 pounds. Matt Kauff-man of Emmetsburg lost by technical fall, 1 1-0 in 2:20, to Chris Luciano of Pennsylvania in the third-place match at 178 pounds. It was the second time in the 27-year history of the Junior Nationals that the Iowa team failed to have a freestvle finalist.

The first time was in 1992. rM. 4-H aW MMHTIrilaMMIMIiraaal eMe1ealljltllMIM For Single Came Tickets $22.00 1 -1 5 tickets per game) (16-50 tickets per game) 1 8.00 (5 1-99 tickets per game)" $14.00 (100 tickets per game) 1 For iiiore Information about group tickets contact trie Athletic Marketing Office at 515-294-3558 For ticket information or to purchase Cyclone tickets, call the Athletic Ticket Office Toll Free at: 1-8 8 8-ISU-C YCLONE (1-888-478-2925) Please return this form with your payment to: Iowa State Athletic Ticket Office Jacobson Athletic Building Ames, I A 50011 or Fax to: 515-294-0104 Iowa wrestler third at Junior Nationals mm mm mm mm mm mm mm mm mm mm mm mm mm mm mm mm mm mm mm mm Ticket Packages Quantity Price Total Full Season I I $110 I Family Pack $168 Individual Home Games Aug. 30 Oklahoma Slate Sept. 20- Iowa $27 Oct.

25 Baylor Nov. 8 Colorado Nov. 22 Kansas State Hillside Tickets Only, Limited Availability Handling $3.00 Ibtal Payment Information Check enclosed made payable to: Iowa State Athletic Department Or Charge To: Mastercard Visa Discover Cardtf Expiration Date Signature By DAN McCOOL (o.wxTKR Staff Writkr Fargo, N.D. Jesse West learned how small the margin between a championship match and a place finish can be in the Junior Nationals wrestling tournament. west, of Iowa City, placed third in freestyle at 123 pounds Saturday, but he was one takedown from having the afternoon off.

Eric Larkin of Arizona scored a takedown with 1 minute 24 seconds remaining in a Saturday morning match for a 4-3 victory. West finished second in his pool. "I believe I wrestled a good tour nament, I just didn't wrestle a good enough tournament," said West, who will attend Iowa State this fall. I was one point away from achieving my high school dream, but I've got a lot to look forward to (at Iowa State) and beyond." West seemed to draw energy from Northern Iowa Game Plan feels Northern Iowa, under first-year coach Mike Dunbar, can repeat as Gateway Conference champion. "While the rest of the conference will make up some ground this season due to the Panthers' loss of 26 seniors from last year's fine squad, it is still very doubtful that anyone can dethrone Northern Iowa," the magazine says.

"Of course, one could argue that Northern Iowa is the favorite only because the rest of the league is pretty mediocre." However, picks the Panthers to finish second behind perennial power Young-stown State. The Panthers host Youngstown State Oct. 18. said Northern Iowa "has the league's two premier players in split end Alonzo Clayton and defensive back Tyree Talton." Ron Mai Name: Address: CityStateZip: Day Phone: Evening Phone: the loss to Larkin, outscoring his.