GOCOWOSO Falls Prey

On November 3^rd, the Scots’ women’s soccer hosted Roger Williams’ Hawks on Gordon’s campus for the CCC final face-off.  Held at a tie for 76 minutes, the game suddenly turned, much to the detriment of Gordon’s fans. The Hawks swept up the Scots for a loss of 1-0. 

With an overwhelming record of 17-2 and the title of the No. 1 seed, the Scots were the expected winners for the regional finals.  When the Hawks won the match, they earned themselves the seat for the NCAA tournament, entering with a record of 12-6-3.  The season was over for GOCOWOSO. 

The first half was evenly matched, each team making shots on goal and equally defending their end of the field. It wasn’t until after halftime that the numbers changed. Though a few solid shots were made by the Scots’ forwards, the fired shots were defended by Hawks’ goalie, Stephanie Jaques ’14.  The scoreboard remained empty until Roger William’s Kristen Tetreault ’15 brought the silence to an end.

What brought down the Scots’ strong stride?  While the halftime break brought new energy and bite to the visiting team’s play, the Scots’ performance dipped.  So now the question is, what occurred in the Scots’ halftime huddle?

Captain Rachel Ashley ’13 said that the pregame rituals were carried out as usual: team dinner the night before, locker room worship songs and pump-up speech, conducted by goalie, Kari Christensen ’14.  Head coach Marc Whitehouse made the speech in the halftime huddle. 

“I try not to make it anything special,” said Coach Whitehouse about the halftime speech. “It’s just another big game. I don’t want my girls to shoot too high or too low.”

Roger William’s head coach, Tim Moody, said that they went into the second half knowing that they had the advantage. “Out of the two teams we kept the ball better, we possessed the ball better. We needed to just keep doing what we were doing.” 

In Coach Moody’s mind, they had already won the game at halftime.

“I was very pleased with our first 45 minutes,” said Moody. “We were playing into the wind on the first half, the second half we’d have more chances.”

And it seemed they did.

“RWU came out strong and we had the wind in our faces,” said Ashley.

A break in Gordon’s defense and the factor of a strong wind allowed RWU to score the game-winning goal, earning them their third consecutive CCC championship title.

“Unfortunately, there is no mercy in soccer,” said Ashley, “and one error can change everything.”

Though the Scots did not win the championship, Coach Whitehouse was not discouraged.

“I’m really proud of my kids,” said Coach Whitehouse, “they handled it very well.  Roger Williams saw how we handled that stuff - inviting them to postseason snacks and such. They leave saying, ‘Man these guys are classy people,’ and we are.  We played it out in our wins and losses throughout the season and especially in that loss.”

In addition to the women’s soccer, Gordon sent two other teams to the playoffs for the fall 2012 season. Men’s soccer made it to the semifinals in Newport R.I. where they faced the Salve Regina University’s Seahawks.  The Seahawks progressed to the finals with a win of 2-1 against Gordon. 

Though the Scots lost the game, they put up quite a fight.  Freshman defender Dalton Weaner ’16 scored the only goal for Gordon, and also his first collegiate goal, off a free kick made by midfielder Andy Guthrie ’15 in the second half of the match.

The Scots also sent the women’s field hockey to North Field, home of the Endicott Gulls, to compete in the semifinals.  This was the second consecutive year that the Scots faced the Gulls for the semifinals in field hockey and history proved to repeat itself. The Gulls won the game with a final score of 2-1, after a brutal overtime.  

A Delicious Day in London Town

Inspired by England’s historic train station of the same name, Victoria Station is a festive and fun restaurant found on the harbor’s edge of Salem, Massachusetts. Themes are carried throughout the dining hall and deck, featuring boxcars, a train’s caboose, a classic London phone booth and railroad artifacts. While maintaining a historic aestheticism, this restaurant stays current, recently receiving three of the 2012 Best of the Northshore awards as well as an award from Boston magazine’s “Best of Boston 2012.” But don’t worry, the London décor does not carry through to the menu. The cuisine is authentic New England style, including steakhouse and seafood specialties and an all-you-can-eat salad bar built into the wooden frame of the “boathouse.” Though it’s a bit pricey for the average college budget, it’s a good choice for the occasional splurge or for impressing that “good friend” of your's.  Entrée prices for the dinner menu range from $16 to $29. If that’s too steep for your wallet, a bowl of their amazing New England clam chowder is a fair $6. Lunch options are also more reasonable,ranging from $10 to $14. But if you’re able to spend the cash, the fork-tender Boneless Braised Short Ribs or the Lobster Mac’ and Cheese is worth every penny! The “boat” even has a deck that visitors may dine on during the warm seasons. Tapping into the local Halloween festivities, Victoria Station recently held the2012 Zombie Prom event. On Friday, October 26, visitors were welcomed into the restaurant by costumed hosts and hostesses where they had their prom photos taken before their meal. Giveaways and prizes were awarded as well as the crowning of this year’s King and Queen. Throughout the night, Boston’s local Ross Livermore Band played live music for guests and zombies alike. It can be hard to choose where to dine in downtown Salem. There are so many festive and unique restaurants. Victoria Station is a fun pick for waterfront dining. The nostalgic experience of this restaurant is enjoyable even if you’ve never stepped on London’s original platform.

Athletics and Enrollment at Gordon

“Recruiting is one of our best investments within athletics and for the overall health of the institution,” said Gordon Athletic Director Jon Tymann. 

Studies done by the National Collegiate Athletic Association have shown that the success and growth of a small college’s athletic program will greatly affect the enrollment of the institution.  An NCAA research study appeared in the Chronicle for Higher Education proving, “The cohort of student athletes provides for full-time enrollment, an increase in cultural diversity and a greater yield in goal-oriented students, which translates into higher retention, transfer and graduation rates,” reported by the Strategic Enrollment Management Team, “These initiatives also play a significant role in outreach strategies and image building for the institution and its constituents.”

According to Gordon’s Admissions Information Technology Coordinator Jerica Lucero, of the 28,705-student inquiry pool for 2012, 5,252 were marked as being interested in one or more sports programs, not including REC-IM.  21% of the current students at Gordon are varsity athletes not including those who are involved in athletic training, production and attending events.  If sports are such a crucial component for attracting perspective students to Gordon, why does Gordon Admissions supply zero funding for athletic recruitment?  Instead, the expenditures used for recruiting athletes are taken from the already limited sports budget, cutting into the growth and advancement of the established teams and athletic facilities. 

How does this affect enrollment?  Ten years ago, Gordon enrolled over 1,600 students.  Endicott enrolled a similar amount the in 2001-2002.  However, while Gordon enrolled a little over 1,500 students for the 2012-2013 year, Endicott boasts over 2,400 students enrolled. Why has Endicott’s admissions almost doubled, while Gordon’s number has decreased?  Many attribute it to the addition of their football program in 2002.  While this was a great expense for the college, it has been worth the investment.  Ever since this addition, the enrollment has steadily increased at Endicott. 

“I have to make hard choices as to how to best ‘invest’ our budget for greatest success,” said Tymann. “Recruiting is one of our best investments within athletics and for the overall health of the institution.”

This is not just a problem that Gordon faces, but most small Christian colleges do not put enough stock into their athletic program. According to the athletic director of Westmont College, Dave Odell, athletics raises about $750,000 worth of scholarship funds each year, separate from the school’s general budget.  However, he also added, “We do not have a budget for recruiting.  Our coaches often use fundraised money or pay out of their own pockets.”

The success of their athletic program has earned them national and global exposure.  In fact, Westmont’s Tugce Canitez ‘13, member of the women’s basketball team, played in the 2012 London Olympics for Turkey’s women’s basketball team. This exposure may be attributed to the great effort put into their recruiting process. 

“We recruit 70 new athletes, which is about a quarter of our incoming class each year,” said Odell.  “And we don’t get a budget!”

He laments this budgeting choice because he believes that the athletics’ budget is too limited.  If the program puts a sufficient amount of the funds into the recruitment of player to make this successful, there will be no funds left to build on the current teams and athletic facilities. 

So what does Endicott’s athletic program have that other small colleges need? The “Gull Club.”  The Gull Club is made up of “Parents of athletes, athletic alumni, faculty, staff, corporations, and friends… making a contribution.” According to the college’s athletic website, “Investment in our student-athletes and coaches through annual giving allows them to compete at the highest level in Division III athletics… The combined support of the College and the Gull Club will have a significant impact on all of our student-athletes.” 

If funds will not be supplied by admissions at Gordon, maybe it’s time to turn to alumni, parents and donors.  But wait, such a thing does exist.  Though many are not even aware of it.  The Highlander Club was established for Gordon’s Athletics for just this purpose in 2003.  So what does the Gull Club have that the Highlander Club needs?  Supporters, recognition and events. 

“Right now Highlander Club is on the backburner,” said Highlander Club Assistant Mechelle Brown. The focus has been on student involvement, mainly revamping the PIT.  However, students are not the ones who are able to provide the funds for athletes and their teams. 

Perhaps students need to be more involved in raising this awareness and taking part in the club.  If we as students want to see change and improvement in our programs, why don’t we take initiative to see that change happen?