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The Times Advocate, 2008-06-25, Page 12THIS WEEK IN SPORTS Golf scores Page 13 Soccer scores Page 13 12 TIMES ADVOCATE Sports SPORTS TIPS? Contact Times Advocate Tel: Pat Bolen (519) 235-1336 x113 Fax: (519) 235-0766 E-mail: sports@southhuron.com Wednesday, June 25, 2008 TWO losses for Fury Track and field medals EXETER — The Exeter Fury suffered losses in their last two games, dropping a close 3-2 decision at home June 18 against the Assyrians and a 3-0 defeat in St. Thomas on June 15. At home against the Assyrians the Fury juggled their lineup in an attempt to break out of their scoring slump. Shawn McFalls had a good chance 20 minutes in but his blast drifted over the bar. The game remained scoreless into the second half with the vis- itors having the better chances. The Assyrian team capitalized early by firing a shot that Fury keeper Shawn Tucker had to dive for. The rebound landed on the foot of the opposition who then made no mistake placing the ball into the empty net to put the Fury in the hole down 1-0. Within five minutes the Fury were down two goals but that lead didn't last long. Exeter began to create some offense and pressure the Assyrian defense. The hard work paid off when Trevor Boersma passed to Pete McAllister who then headed the ball over to Dylan Fidler who blasted the ball past the keeper to make it 2-1. Shortly afterward Boersma narrowly missed a chance and a Fidler to Nick William cross was headed just wide of the net. A turnover in the Fury end allowed the visitors to counter- attack and regain a two -goal lead by firing a long shot past Tucker who played a strong game while filling in for regular keeper Ryan Masse. Down 3-1 the Fury were awarded a free kick. McFalls fired a low shot that bounced in front of the keeper allowing Fidler to pick up the rebound and knock it home from in -close to make it 3-2. Exeter continued the pressure but were unable to notch the equalizer. Stu Parsons and Jon Nesbitt were solid in their first full game on defense. "We saw some positive signs this game despite the loss," team spokesperson Jason McFalls commented. "If we keep putting the effort in the results will come," McFalls added. The game in St. Thomas start- ed off on a bad foot for the Fury when they found themselves with only one player on the bench. The home team moved the ball well and put the Fury on their heels almost from the start. Defensive miscues and lost coverages by the whole team marred the first half for the Fury, but these mistakes were cleaned up by strong clearance plays by the defense. Eventually the lapses on the defensive end caught up to Exeter. A well placed through ball sent a St. Thomas striker on a break away. A hustling Joe Forrester tried to catch up, but the defender put on the brakes and Forrester fouled him. The resulting penalty shot put the Fury down a goal despite keeper Ryan Masse's best effort. On the offensive side, the Fury did string together some strong passing plays, but few strong scoring chances emerged. Later in the first half, Chris Hern found himself in a struggle for the ball. After a short battle, the St. Thomas striker went down and was rewarded with a penalty shot. This time Masse read the striker perfectly and made the save. The second half did not fare any better for the visitors. Injuries, fatigue and a focussed St.Thomas squad put the Fury on the defensive for most of the half. Two turnovers in the second half and solid St. Thomas finish- es resulted in two more goals to make the score 3-0. Ryan Masse made a handful of spectacular saves and kept the Fury squad in the game. The Fury are in London Saturday to take on Ingersoll. Exeter has a record of 2-5 for six points. Senior Rookies team is hot EXETER — The Exeter Senior Rookie Eagles came within a hair of advancing to the semi- finals in a 16 -team tournament in Goderich June 14-15. The Eagles started the tourna- ment with 19-6 and 20-6 wins over North London and Wyoming. On Saturday evening they faced Niagara Falls in a must win situation, with the winner advancing to the semifinals on Sunday. The game was a see -saw bat- tle. The Eagles were up 7-6 enter- ing the bottom of the seventh. In an exciting finish, the Eagles managed to get two outs before Niagara Falls was able to get the tying and walk off runs. "I am very proud of our team," said coach Dave Reid. "They played really well throughout this tournament." The Eagles are off to a great start in league play with a 6-1 record. They defeated Clinton 17-9 and 11-6, blasted Goderich 25-1 and 14-3, and defeated St. Marys 24-4. The Eagles' next home games are at 6:30 p.m. on June 24 and July 8 at diamond one. The Eagles are Jarrett Baker, Connor Drager, Drew Horner, John Miller, Owen Otterbein, Nick Overholt, Brett Reid, Noah Rothbauer, Mac Schilbe and Lucas Toornstra and are coached by Reid, Dwayne Overholt, Kevin Drager, and Bryan Baker. Precious Blood team —The track and field team at Precious Blood School brought home 18 medals after participating in the Huron -Perth Catholic District School Board System meet June 11 in Clinton.Above front from left are Justin McCarter,Amanda Verbeke, Josh McQuiggan, Bradley Regier and Megan Dalrymple; middle row are Zach Ratte, Koen Bertens, DereckVisouvath, Lindsay Dalrymple, Corey Davidson and Shae- Lynn Van Haarlem; back row are Bailey Oud,Anna Bilcke, Zac Sereda,Ashlyn Jaques, Jayden Vanneste, Matthew Hagarty, Megan Verbeke and coach and Grade 4 teacher Jeff Thuss.Thuss says the track and field team remained "dedicated" and he is pleased with the medals won. Missing from the picture are coach and Grade 8 teacher Donna Gregus and coach and French teacher Anne Marie Parsons. (photo/Nina Van Lieshout) Exeter Express sweep doubleheader EXETER — The Exeter Express shook off their two tough losses to Lakeside by posting wins over Strathroy and Forest recently. The Express record is now five wins and two losses. Manager Doug Fairbairn stated that Derek Masse was superb throughout the game against Strathroy Friday night, allowing two runs on three hits while strik- ing out 12 batters (including three in the ninth inning). Exeter took an early three run lead in the first inning with hits by Aaron Patterson, Bobbie Grant and Lonnie Hawke. Patterson, Grant and Justin Hayter had key hits in a two -run third. Masse held Strathroy in check until the eighth on one hit. Strathroy's only rally came in that inning as the Royals added two hits and a walk to their offen- sive total to score two runs. The Express replied with a monster home run by Dan Masse reported to be in the same category as those hit by Dave Shaw in his playing days for the Express. The offensive stars of the game were Grant who had three hits and a walk plus a stolen base, Dan Masse with a single and a home run and a stolen base, Patterson with two hits and a stolen base and Hayter with one hit. Sunday's doubleheader with Forest had to be moved to Forest as the local diamond was unplayable. The Express had only nine players but they were good enough to win the games by scores of 6- 2 and 6-4. Game one was a score- less battle until the fourth when the Express explod- ed for five runs. The rally began with walks to Grant and Hawke. This was followed by a triple by Adam Leppington, another walk to Vic Oliveira, singles from Curtis Meyers and Patterson and a double by Nate Burns. Forest responded with runs in each of the fourth and fifth innings. In the seventh Grant walked and eventually was moved around on a hit by Chris Gosnell. Meyers made his first pitching start of the year and team spokesperson Joe Fulop said Meyers looked good for four innings, allowing one run on two Forest hits. Terry Hogg also made his first pitching perfor- mance of the year. He was touched for one run on two hits over three innings. Meyers had four strikeouts and Hogg had three in his relief effort. Hitting stars in game one were Patterson and Meyers with two hits each. Game two was a harder game to win as Forest jumped to a four run lead by the end of the fourth inning. Pitcher Gosnell had his usual steady game said Fulop. Forest scored four runs on five scattered hits and struck out nine Forest batters. The Express left run- ners on the bases in the first four innings Patterson walked and stole second in the first inning but was stranded there. Leppington had a long double in the second but went no farther. Patterson walked and went no farther in the third. Grant doubled and stayed on the base paths in the fourth. The turning point of the game came in the fifth as Leppington hit a home run, Meyers and Patterson walked and were driven in by a Burns long bomb. The final two Express runs came in the sixth inning on walks to Gosnell, Leppington and Hogg plus a single by Oliveira. With the many rained out games to be made up the Express face a diffi- cult schedule over the next week with away games against the London Bulls last night (Tuesday), Lakeside on Friday and Strathroy on Sunday.