Hey, sports fans,
Another hustling/bustling week at Angelina College Athletics, with our women’s and men’s soccer teams closing out their regular seasons, Lady Roadrunners winning a first-round tournament match (and the men revving up for the first round this Wednesday), basketball teams steaming toward their regular-season openers and our diamond folks (baseball and softball) putting away their cleats until January.
The Lady Roadrunners soccer team’s first-round win on Friday also marked the first JUCO postseason win for first-year head coach Sergio Gardea.
Here’s a quick rundown of the week’s events, along with what’s coming up next:
Lady Roadrunner Soccer Tops Paris in Tournament Opener
Their ninth straight win was a doozy.
AC’s Lady Roadrunners hosted Paris College on Friday in the quarterfinal round of the Region XIV Conference Tournament. The Lady ‘Runners notched a 2-0 win, giving first-year head coach Sergio Gardea his very first postseason win as a JUCO head coach.
The defense and goalkeeper Deanna Boon pitched their sixth shutout in the past nine matches, and Luna Berushi and Paula Suarez provided the scoring.
Berushi banged home a goal off a deflection just six minutes into the match for a 1-0 AC lead, and Paula Suarez proved the “try, try again” approach when she slammed a shot toward the goal and then scooped her own rebound for the score.
Earlier in the week, the Lady Roadrunners topped Jacksonville College by a 3-1 final, getting goals from Suarez, Brenda Izaguirre and Estephany Aguilar (with the assist from Suarez).
Before the kickoff, the team recognized its sophomores in a Sophomore Day ceremony. Those players included Camila Rico, Tannia Diaz, Luna Berushi, Clara Sonet, Estephany Aguilar, Evelyn Cornelio, and Catherine Rivera.
The Lady Roadrunners hosted Tyler Junior College on Sunday in Tournament Semifinal action.
No. 14 Roadrunners Win Season Finale, Set to Open Tournament at Home
For their regular-season finale and Sophomore Night celebration, the Roadrunners on Tuesday brought out all the fireworks.
The men hammered Jacksonville College by a 6-0 final, with Alek Melo knocking home three goals for the hat trick to lead the squad in scoring. Patricio Villalobos, Yanis Diakhate and Filliph Kamfjord also scored, with Elias Taj accounting for two assists, and Luis Perez and Enrico Singh each adding another.
The team honored its sophomores in a pre-game ceremony, with Adam Gallagher, Abdallah Traore, Filliph Kamfjord and Danny Smith receiving recognition.
The Roadrunners host Paris College in Region XIV Conference Tournament Quarterfinal action at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 30 at the Larry Phillips Family Sports Complex on the AC campus.
The winner of Wednesday’s AC/Paris match then will face the winner of the Tyler/Jacksonville match in the semifinal round. Date, time and location will be announced as soon as possible.
Roadrunner Basketball Holds Final Home Scrimmage
The Roadrunner men’s basketball team held its final home scrimmage in a closed session this past Wednesday against Legacy Prep. AC took the 83-61 win (again, not stats kept for a scrimmage) and now will focus on the regular-season opener on Saturday, Nov. 2, when AC will host Strength ‘N Motion at 4 p.m. at Shands Gymnasium.
Lady Roadrunner Basketball Hosting First Home Scrimmage
It’s not as if the Lady Roadrunner basketball team is trying to be mysterious considering local fans haven’t seen them in action yet.
It’s just that the entirety of the team’s scrimmage season has been spent on the road.
Finally, on Monday, fans will get a peek at the new squad –and its new head coach.
AC’s ladies will host Western Gulf Collegiate in a scrimmage set for a 6 p.m. tipoff at Shands Gymnasium. It’s the last pre-season game for the Lady ‘Runners, who open the regular season Friday and Saturday at the McLennan Classic in Waco.
AC faces Weatherford College at 2 p.m. on Friday before facing McLennan College at 6 p.m. on Saturday.
Roadrunner Baseball, Softball Close Out Fall Seasons
Both denizens of the diamonds (the Roadrunner baseball and Lady Roadrunner softball teams) wrapped up their fall schedules this past week.
The next time they’ll hit their respective fields will be in January when the Spring 2024 season experiences its first pitches.
Baseball opens the season on Sunday, Jan. 24 at Galveston, with the first home stand against the same Whitecaps on Sunday, Jan. 26.
The Lady Roadrunners open the season at home on Wed., Jan. 29 against Cisco College.
Roadrunner Baseball Works Zoo Boo, Dodgeball Tournament
AC’s baseball guys continued their commitment to the community while having about as much fun as one is allowed this week.
The Roadrunners helped out the annual “Zoo Boo” at Ellen Trout Zoo, then hosted an intense HyJinx Dodgeball tournament.
Head coach Jeff Livin promises the Halloween costumes the guys donned will not become part of the official team uniforms.
Live Streaming Reminder:
All AC Athletics regular-season home games will be live streamed on TSBN Sports (a free streaming service for fans), with most of the conference road games also available for streaming. (This does not include baseball and softball fall games, as those are not considered official games.)
Once TSBN posts its schedules, AC fans simply need to visit the AC Athletics web site, look at the scrolling schedule in the middle of the page and click the blue “Video” link.
TSBN also offers an app great for smart phones, devices and smart TVs. (You’ve GOT to see those matches and games on the big screen.)
Reminder II: Admission to ALL Angelina College Athletics sporting events is free, as is the TSBN live streaming. Any other links offering streaming are scams.
Reminder III: For the most current schedule updates, visit the official Angelina College Athletics website (angelinaathletics.com).
Upcoming schedules:
Monday, Oct. 28:
Lady Roadrunner Basketball vs. Western Gulf (Scrimmage), 6 p.m. at Shands Gymnasium
Wednesday, Oct. 30:
Roadrunner Men’s Soccer vs. Paris College, Region XIV Tournament Quarterfinal, 7 p.m. at Larry Phillips Family Sports Complex on the AC campus.
Friday, Nov. 1:
Lady Roadrunner Basketball vs. Weatherford College (regular-season opener) at McLennan Classic, 2 p.m. in Waco.
Saturday, Nov. 2:
Roadrunner Basketball vs. Strength ‘N Motion (regular-season opener), 4 p.m. at Shands Gymnasium.
Lady Roadrunner Basketball vs. McLennan College at McLennan Classic, 6 p.m. in Waco.
For any other information, contact Sports Information Director Gary Stallard at gstallard@angelina.edu.
We’ll see you at the games.
Gary Stallard
Email: gstallard@angelina.edu.
Phone: (936) 465-4614
