Sports Shorts Sports Shorts (March 30, 2005)

SOLID IN SOCCER . . . The Palo Alto Blue 88 boys' soccer team reached the semifinals in prestigious Nomads College Showcase Tournament held in San Diego, March 18-20. Out of 24 teams from western regional states, the Palo Alto club team beat out 23 other teams before losing 1-0 to eventual winner Marin FC 88. Palo Alto won its opener over Tucson, Ariz., 2-1, on goals by Amar Ghose and Jeff Bowman. Palo Alto tied Canyon Classic FC (Southern California), 0-0, and Broomfield Blast Red (Colorado), 1-1, with Russell Wynne scoring the lone goal for PA Blue 88. In the quarterfinals, Palo Alto posted a 2-1 win over a strong SoCal United team as Brandon Der and Darren Sweeman scored goals. During its five-match run, Palo Alto allowed just three goals as Doug Simpson, Vinnie Beltrami, Ben Vasser and Avery Naar led the defense. The net was tended by the combined efforts of goalies Ian Powell and Matt Barton. Midfielders JB Barley, Andrew Ninnemann, Nick Prebin and Julien Veron transitioned the ball from the defense and set up plays for the offense throughout the tournament. Stanford men's assistant Ryan Webb coached the team.

OAKS' CORNER . . . The Menlo College baseball team's lone victory in a four-game series with visiting Northwest Nazarene was dramatic. Jim Goethals hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to give the Oaks a 10-8 win on Friday. The Crusaders won the next three games, taking a 9-3 decision in game two on Friday and sweeping a doubleheader, 3-2 and 9-6, on Saturday. Goethals' homer ended a see-saw battle. The lead changed hands three times before Menlo (16-7-1) won in its final at bat. Gabe Duran also homered for the Oaks. Duran pitched the final 1 1-3 innings to gain the win. The Oaks start a three-game at Cal State East Bay on Thursday.

CARDINAL CORNER . . . The defending national champion Stanford women's volleyball team opens its spring schedule on April 9 against San Francisco. The Cardinal host the Stanford Spring Fling at Maples, April 30 . . . The Stanford crew program will again host the Windermere Collegiate Crew Classic, an invitational rowing regatta held at Redwood Shores on Saturday, April 9 from 9am to 5:30 pm, and Sunday, April 10 from 9 a.m. to 4:30 pm. The regatta features crew races between 17 of the nation's top universities as well as nearly 400 Bay Area community and high school rowers.

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