The Week That Was in Bates Sports

November 10-17, 1996

Cross Country
Men's Soccer

Myrick Earns All-America Honors; Twiest Top First-Year At Cross Country Nationals

Sophomore Adelia Myrick (Kodiak, Alaska) became the third woman in Bates College history to earn All-America honors in cross-country when she placed 15th at the NCAA Division III National Cross Country Championships at Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill., on Nov. 16. Teammate Abigail Phelps (Chester, N.H.) placed 56th overall, while first-year runner Matt Twiest (Albuquerque, N.M.) placed 43rd for the men.

Myrick ran the 5K race in 18:17, improving her personal best time by 26 seconds. She was the top finisher from New England and the fourth sophomore to finish. She becomes the Bobcats' first cross country All-American since 1992. Phelps equaled her personal best with a time of 18:54. She was the ninth runner from New England to finish the race. Twiest also set a personal best for 8K, finishing in 25:20. His 43rd place finish made him the first first-year runner to finish the course and seventh among New England competitors.

Men's Soccer (9-5-1) Bows to Connecticut College in ECAC Quarterfinal

In a rematch of the Bobcats' lone tie of the season, eventual ECAC champions Connecticut College thwarted the 1996 men's soccer team's effort to tie the school record for wins in a season. The Camels withstood a late Bates surge to win, 1-0.

The Camels had the first good chance in the game in the 20th minute when senior tri-captain Tom Murray (Marshfield, Mass.) ran over a Conn. College player, earning himself a yellow card and a free kick for the Camels. The shot off the indirect kick went over senior goalkeeper Mike Marsh's (Manchester, Conn.) head but ricocheted off the crossbar and was safely cleared away. The Bobcats got a terrific opportunity when first-year forward Andy Apstein (Waban, Mass.) shook loose in the 33rd minute and fired a shot out of reach of the Conn. College goalie, but just past the far end of the net for a goal kick. With just 2:28 remaining in the first half, the Camels got on the board, converting a corner kick after a scramble in front of the goal.

Much of the action was played in the Bates half of the field in the second half, though the Bobcats had a couple of good chances. With 15 minutes remaining, Apstein was hauled down from behind 25 yards out. Conn. College was hit with a red card, leaving them a man down for the remainder of the game. The free kick was handled by the Camel goalie, but the Bobcats kept the ball in the opponents' territory. After the Bobcats' initial shot was deflected away with the goalkeeper out of position, three shots were sent on a keeper-less goal, but two Camel defenders and their diving goalkeeper protected the 1-0 lead. With five minutes to go, Marsh strayed into the offensive end to create an 11-on-9 advantage, but nothing materialized, especially after Murray was ejected for picking up his second yellow card of the game.