It was a weird week. Suddenly, basically every team kind of had its own off week. But regardless, it was a good week. Also, I’ve had a really busy weekend (Happy birthday Hannah), so let’s just jump right in.
Football (3-0, 2-0): Weren’t they supposed to put up 70?
Yeah, I really thought this was the one where Bethel’s offense blew up (in a good way). Last season, the Royals put up 70 at Hamline, who they played again Saturday, but couldn’t quite match that total in a 62-12 win.
Aiden, really, you’re complaining about them being eight points away from 70 even though it was still a blowout?
A little bit, yeah. I thought this offense was supposed to be better. Maybe Hamline is slightly better than it was last year. Still, a 50-point win is a 50-point win.
Bethel running backs fared well Saturday. Three of them – junior David Geebli and freshmen Taye Manns and Ian Burkman – shared seven total rushing touchdowns.
Quarterback Cooper Drews had a productive performance, but not as eye-popping as we’re used to. Still, 14 completions on 25 attempts and a touchdown did the trick. Especially when the ground game was performing like that.
On the defensive side, the Royals picked off the Pipers four times, with junior linebacker Caleb Busse snagging two of them. The pass rush did its job as well, getting to two different Hamline quarterbacks three times each. Junior Phil Conant tallied three of those sacks, senior linebacker Thomas Rush got his own two, and Double Coverage’s favorite defender, Jake Borman, got another one.
Despite not reaching that “magical” 70-point total offensively, it’s encouraging to see Bethel not hold back against MIAC opponents. Point differential matters this year more than ever, as the MIAC championship is dependent solely on win-loss record.
I’m sure a coach would never say this, but it’s fair to consider next week’s St. John’s-Bethel matchup this year’s MIAC championship. With the also-undefeated Johnnies coming to Arden Hills Saturday, and both teams performing as dominant as everyone expected them to be, whoever wins this one wins the conference.
Stay tuned, folks.
–
Volleyball (6-7, 0-1): Oles don’t treat raw Royals too kindly
First off, yes, the Royals volleyball team is 6-7. O.K. I said it.
Now, what in the world happened? I thought the Royals were turning the corner with their Illinois and Wisconsin road trips. I thought they were going to roll through the early conference schedule.
Yeah, but…
St. Olaf beat the No. 1-ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater last week. Swept them, in fact. And then they came into Arden Hills and cruised through a four-set win Friday night. So theoretically, the Royals are better than the best team in the nation.
I finally caught this game in person.
St. Olaf consistently put solid hits on every possession. Pair that with a raw, inexperienced Royals front who struggled to find their blocking assignments, and it was difficult for Bethel defenders to get their hands on the ball.
“They just have six hitters that all get involved,” head coach Gretchen Hunt said. “You can’t really overplay anybody.”
Still, Bethel played the Oles close each set, and several Royals’ performances were encouraging.
Sophomore hitter Hannah Penke racked up 22 kills, surpassing her previous career high of 16 from last season. Freshman right-side Sara Scherber (featured in my latest article – coming soon) added 14 kills. And they were impressive. Her vertical and swing combined for powerful hits at an angle I rarely see in MIAC volleyball. Junior middle blocker Peyton Howie had 12 kills as well.
Freshman setter Sophia Rubio, an impressive storyline all season, once again beat her career high with 49 assists. She leads the MIAC in assists per set.
Bethel hosts Carleton Wednesday, and then earns 10 days off before it travels to Concordia-Moorhead Oct. 11 – hopefully a lighter stretch to keep working out the inexperience of this team. It’s still early and there are lots of reasons to hope for these young Royals.
–
Men’s soccer (7-0-2, 3-0): Royals take care of business on long road trip
Concordia-Moorhead always feels like a tough place to play. You have to take a three-plus-hour bus ride to play an in-conference rival. Regardless of how many wins the Cobbers have, it’s always a factor.
But the Royals weren’t phased Saturday. In spite of the 1 p.m. start time, winless Concordia fell to the (still) undefeated Bethel University 2-0.
Seniors Crioni Menendez and Jordan Ross each scored goals, and sophomore goalkeeper Griffin Blokker registered his third shutout of the season.
If you haven’t yet, listen to the Ryan Swanda interview from last week’s Double Coverage podcast episode. He knows a lot more than I do about the soccer team, and it’s all incredible stuff to hear about.
Gratitude prevails as the theme of the “BUMS” (Bethel University Men’s soccer) team culture. Cultivated by the leadership of coach Jeremy Iwaszkowiec, it’s led to strong development for the younger players who are now contributing to the success of this season.
–
Women’s soccer (1-7-1, 1-2): WINLESS NO MORE
I knew it. Double Coverage co-host Tyler Gustafson knew it. The entire women’s soccer team knew it. Did you know it?
Bethel University women’s soccer, winless for its first eight matches, took the same long bus ride to Moorhead and defeated the Cobbers 4-1.
Frankly, it was a fight between two of the lowest-ranked teams in the MIAC. Concordia remains winless itself. But I highly doubt the Royals care. Winning always feels good, especially for young players who have found themselves in the middle of the action all this season.
Junior captain and midfielder Malia Beilby scored two goals, while sophomore defender Kendall Craigan and freshman midfielder Mia Backous each added their own. Backous assisted on the first Beilby goal.
Maybe a dominant win is what the Royals needed. St. Scholastica, also winless, comes to town Wednesday. Another victory could continue building the momentum this team needs to climb back up the table. Bethel has three points in the MIAC overall, tied with Augsburg and Hamline. Still near the bottom, but certainly not out of it. St. Benedict and St. Catherine’s run the top with nine points.
–
Until next time, buy a drip coffee maker, celebrate and love your significant others well and try not to smile too much. But actually do the opposite of that last one.
Love y’all.
