For the first time in league history, three football teams from the Mountain East Conference have earned a national ranking after the release of the American Football Coaches Association Poll Monday.
Shepherd, which has been ranked nationally for the entire season, remained at No. 3 this week. Fairmont State jumped from No. 23 to No. 20, and Notre Dame, after receiving votes for several weeks, debuts at No. 25. It is the first national ranking in program history for the Falcons.
Thursday night's game between Notre Dame and Fairmont State is one of just two games in NCAA Division II this week between top 25 teams. It is just the second time in MEC history that two nationally ranked league teams will meet (Concord and Shepherd were both nationally ranked in the final game of the regular season in 2014).
n Urbana's Tajuan Green and Fairmont State's Demonne Cox and Laurence King have earned MEC player of the week honors.
Green, a junior quarterback from Ohio, earned offensive honors after helping lead Urbana to a 35-34 win over Charleston Saturday. Green was 16 of 23 for a career-high 323 yards and three touchdowns, and also rushed 14 times for 88 yards and two more scores. He scored on a 58-yard run with 2:20 left in the game that proved to be the decisive score for the Blue Knights.
Cox, a junior defensive back Maryland, is the defensive player of the week for his part in Fairmont State's 58-3 win over Virginia-Wise. Cox was in on a team-high seven tackles, including a sack, forced two fumbles, and later intercepted a pass against the Cavaliers. King, a freshman from Maryland, is the league's special teams player of the week after helping the Falcons get off to a quick start against the Cavaliers. After a first quarter safety, King took the ensuing free kick 82 yards for a touchdown to put the Falcons ahead 9-0 just five minutes into the game. He also added another return for 36 yards and contributed on offense with six catches for 55 yards and a touchdown.
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WVU SOCCER: The newly crowned Big 12 Conference champion West Virginia University women's soccer team is ranked No. 1 in the TopDrawerSoccer.com women's top 25 poll for the third straight week.
The Mountaineers (15-1-1, 7-0) also sit at No. 2 in the sixth NCAA RPI of the season. WVU hit No. 1 last week for the first time in program history.
South Carolina (16-0-1) continues to rank No. 2 and is followed by USC (13-3) at No. 3, Stanford (14-1-1) at No. 4 and BYU (13-2-1) at No. 5.
n WVU men's player Jad Arslan has been named the Mid-American Conference player of the week.
The junior midfielder scored two goals, including the game-winner in the Mountaineers' 3-1 upset-victory at No. 22 Akron Saturday. The Georgia native leads WVU with four goals and nine points on the season.
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WVU VOLLEYBALL: After leading the league in blocking this past week, West Virginia University volleyball's Mia Swanegan has been named the Big 12 Conference defensive player of the week. It marks the second time this season the Missouri native has earned the honor.
Swanegan posted a league-best 1.75 blocks per set through a pair of matches in Kansas this week. The middle blocker tallied a career-high 13 blocks in a five-set loss to Kansas State Saturday, the second-highest total in a single match by a Big 12 player this season. Swanegan also hit .227 with seven kills and a block against Kansas. She totaled 15 kills and 14 blocks on the week.
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YOUTH SOCCER: The West Virginia Soccer Association's Hot Winter Knights Indoor Soccer Tournament is set for Jan. 14-15, 2017 at Cabell Midland High School.
The tournament will feature boys and girls teams with age groups of 9-and-under, 11-and-under, as well as middle school and high school teams.
For more information, contact Brian McNeel at bmcneel@k12.wv.us.
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MIDDLE SCHOOL SOCCER: Xavier Bohn netted four goals as top-seeded Charleston Catholic took down No. 4 Horace Mann 8-0 in the Kanawha County middle school boys soccer tournament semifinals.
Bohn scored the first four goals of the game. Noah McLaughlin added a score, Will Swan tacked on a goal and dished out three assists for the Irish, who also got goals from Farris Murad and Warner Murad. William Shumate and John Patnoe combined for the shutout in goal, Shumate with six saves and Patnoe with three saves.
Charleston Catholic will take on second-seeded South Charleston Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at Andrew Jordon Field at Trace Fork.
South Charleston 2, John Adams 1: Emerson Beal and Mason Pinkett each scored to help South Charleston edge John Adams in the Kanawha County boys soccer semifinals.
Alec Ellis scored for the Falcons.
John Adams 2, Sissonville 1: Kalissa Lacy found the back of the net to lift top-seeded John Adams over fourth-seeded Sissonville. Sophia Chugha tallied a score and Kate Sutton and Mary Taylor Shaak each had an assist for the Falcons. Amelia Compston scored for Sissonville. John Adams plays Charleston Catholic at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Trace Fork.
Charleston Catholic 2, Andrew Jackson 1: Abigail Cunningham and Audrey Miller scored goals for the second-seeded Irish to push them into the title game versus John Adams. Alaina Mahairas scored No. 3 seed Andrew Jackson's goal.