The overall category is called social media, but for a lot of us old folks it is a new planet with new rules and new expectations. So here I was on a Sunday morning and anxious for an update on Beach women’s soccer (sadly there is no Beach men’s soccer). How to get the 411? Simply travel into the Twitter universe.
With the North Texas match starting at 8AM LB time, I opted to not chase the game tracker in favor of a peek into Twitter. And sure enough, the passionate drum-beating boys of the Beach Hooligans had already begun to post. The great thing is that you can almost hear them through your PC: “Nadia Link shoots from nine yards out inside the box … GOOOOOAAALL!”
Then “let’s get another one beach!!!” and “LBSU 2, UNT 0.” Of course this 2012 edition doesn’t make it too easy, so the match gets sent to OT at 2-2. Then the 140 characters I was waiting for: “amazing!!!!..Hat-Trick!!!!… Nadia with the golden goal!!!!!!!!!!!” For the purist it was Ms. Link recording her first career hat trick and the game-winning goal. With 16 goals last season Nadia had only one so far this year and now has added three more on the steamy turf at Ellis Field on the campus of Texas A&M. Six minutes into the overtime period, Link received a pass from junior Eileen Maes from inside the box to score the game-winning goal in the 96th minute and the 49ers (5-2-0) also got kind words from their head coach.
“I thought our team prepared very well to win the first half,” 49er head coach Mauricio Ingrassia said. “We really put together our best half of the year. Credit to North Texas for the way they kept fighting and got back into the game. Obviously, Nadia had a special day today.”
LBSU returns to action this coming weekend, taking part in the Cal State Fullerton Under Armour Invitational at Titan Stadium in Fullerton. The 49ers will face Texas Tech on Friday evening at 5PM, and Army on Sunday morning at 11AM.
Now as good as the Hooligans are in tweeting me up-to-date on the road, Donna Schultz of Spiker News also does it for volleyball which was in the State of Washington. The team got skunked by the host Huskies Friday night but played strong in a tight third set to close out a sweep over Seattle University, defeating the Redhawks 25-17, 25-16, 25-23 on Saturday.
The kiddie corps came through for LBSU when Chisom Okpala led the 49ers with 12 kills on .524 hitting with seven blocks; while freshman Alex Reid added a career high 11 kills on .320 hitting. Setter Tara Roenicke was dialed in handing out 33 assists with three kills and six digs. Sophomore Tyler Jackson led LBSU with 16 digs over the three-set match. The road continues for the sweethearts of spike in Peoria where they three matches next weekend, Arkansas State, Northern Illinois and Northern Iowa.
The middle blocking issues are still there, Haleigh Hampton was actually hurting prior to the start of double days. Her summer might have been just too busy, giving private lessons instead of resting and rehabbing the shoulder. Her blocking pal Alma Serna will likely be back in time for Big West play September 21.
Having Misty May-Treanor withdrawals? Well there are still those commercial endorsements although the Wheaties box hasn’t made it to my corner grocery. Misty writes. “Hope you ‘dig’ my new signature volleyball—available at Target and similar sporting goods retailers.” And her next big local event will be the 30th annual Belmont Shore Christmas Parade Saturday night December 1st (stalker alert—that fit looking guy next to the not-so-frail Misty is her HUSBAND and Dodger catcher Matt Treanor). Misty has the princess wave down; she also did the parade in 2004 after GM1 (that is, Gold Medal One.)
DUST BUSTING DIGITS—Niner numbers of note, The Beach got 54,086 applications this summer, admitted 17,000 and actually saw 4300 new kids on their block. Each of them pays $6,738 annually, but if you ask the athletically obsessed alumni they would like another couple grand a year to pump up sports, but that ain’t likely going to happen.
New rich guys with passports are last year hoop heroes. Long Beach State’s Larry Anderson just signed a professional contract with Belgium team Okapi Aalstar and will begin his pro career overseas just like teammate Casper Ware, who is currently in Italy with A.S. Junior Pallacanestro Casale. Okapi Aalstar plays in the Belgium-Ethias League, and according to Euro sources, most of their roster is made up of Americans, so Anderson will have some help adjusting to the foreign culture.
Greg Plater, from the year before, played for ARBA which is in the small city of San Ramon, Costa Rica. ARBA won the regular season and clinched the #1 playoff spot before defeating the 6-time defending champions. It was the team’s first championship in over 30 years. ARBA then played for the national championship and won in 5 games after being down 0-2. It was the second time a team came back from being down 0-2 to win the national championship in the history of Costa Rica, and the first time ARBA won a national championship.
Last in, Eugene Phelps has just started his play for pay days. In his first professional game for Abejas (Mexico); Eugene scored 34 points and collected 13 rebounds. And put a lot of pesos in the banco.—DR. DAN