Spring Break
It was Oct. 18, 2006 - almost two months into the season - when the UMKC soccer team won their third soccer match last year. The Kangaroos, at a perfect 3-0 on the season, put that memory to rest Friday night at Bourke Field on the campus of Rockhurst University, posting a 3-1 victory over the Ramblers of Loyola University Chicago.
Senior Jessica Scott, a nursing major, began running competitively more than nine years ago. She had no idea her fun-loving spirit and dogged determination would somehow form a partnership in the grueling sport of cross country. The energetic senior now uses the off-shoot from this odd enterprise to manage a very busy life which, not surprisingly, keeps a pretty fast pace.
The UMKC cross country team landed a smooth 9th place overall at the Bob Timmons Invitational Sept. 1 in Lawrence, Kan. Leading the girls in the 6K race were a pair of top-15 finishers, senior Jessica Scott in 7th place and senior Sara Hiller, who came in 12th.
Eastern Illinois University's (EIU) lone tally in the 58th minute turned out to be the game winner as the Panthers handed the UMKC men's soccer team their first loss of the season, a 1-0 setback at Bourke Field on the campus of Rockhurst University. The Sunday afternoon match up was the championship game of the UMKC/Brookside Mr.
Senior Communication Studies major and UMKC soccer team starting midfielder, Richard "Richie" Harris, decided against a career in broadcasting after a 2 1/2-year stint at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wis. Subsequent to his soccer coach's resignation at Marquette in 2005, a disenchanted Harris returned to the Kansas City area and transferred to UMKC, where he presently focuses on the field of interpersonal communications.
Volleyball's senior middle hitter Sarah Johnson has several goals for her future, many involving medicine. "I want to go to medical school," Johnson said. "I want to become a surgeon of some sort probably. I'd also like to do a lot of volunteering overseas and a program called Doctors Without Borders sometime in the future … after I have my medical degree.
Senior Sarah Johnson and sophomore Jamie Hagerman, middle hitters for the UMKC volleyball team, were bright spots in an otherwise dreary week. The killer combo kept the Kangaroos close in the majority of games played during the stretch. The squad lost five times during a week that pitted them against the Kansas Jayhawks in Lawrence, Kan.
The fall sports season is now in full swing with soccer, volleyball, cross country and even golf off to running starts. Kangaroo athletes have enjoyed some strides forward, a few setbacks and a couple of moral victories. In the coming weeks, we can expect to see tough conference action at Swinney Recreation Center and just across Troost Ave.
UMKC soccer's junior goalkeeper Brandon Amaya received Summit League Defensive Player of the Week honors for the week ending Sept. 3, 2007. Amaya's 0.50 goals against average, coupled with a .923 saves percentage, sparked the Kangaroos to a 2-0 record in their first week of regular season match play.
