East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, January 15, 2020, Image 9

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East Oregonian : E.O., January 15, 2020, Page 9, Image 9

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Newspaper Page TextSPORTS Wednesday, January 15, 2020 Monica Plut named first women’s lacrosse coach in EOU history By RONALD BOND EO Media Group LA GRANDE — East- ern Oregon University has its first ever women’s lacrosse coach. Monica Plut, who recently wrapped up her first year as head coach of NCAA Division II school Adams State University in Colorado, was named the head coach Tuesday by the school in a press release. “She is extremely pas- sionate about the sport, of just growing the sport,” EOU Athletic Director Anji Weissenfluh told The Observer Tuesday. “She is very well connected within the lacrosse community, (and were impressed with) her ability to network (and) be passionate about the sport.” Plut, who according to the press release is a US Lacrosse Level 3 cer- tified coach, has been a head coach in several loca- tions around the country at the high school and colle- giate levels. After start- ing as a coach in Chicago in 2014, she coached in Kentucky from 2016-18, leading Woodford County High School to a berth in the 2017 state title game and the next season lead- ing Sayre School to a league semifinal berth and a No. 1 ranking in the East District. Plut went 0-13 in her only year at Adams State, though she was coaching a program that has struggled to find success in its nine- year existence and has gar- nered just 11 victories in that time. According to the EOU press release, Plut taught the sport to middle and high school PE classes in her time at Adams State and looks to do the same in La Grande to build the sport in the region. “I am extremely excited for the oppor- tunity to start a lacrosse Plut prog ram f r o m scratch at Eastern Ore- gon,” Plut said in the press release. “With the sport of lacrosse growing on the West Coast and at the col- legiate level, it is exciting to be a part of that growth by bringing it to EOU and the valley.” Weissenfluh said Plut, a 2014 Georgia South- ern University graduate who founded the women’s lacrosse club team at the school, has impacted the sport by putting on train- ing sessions for coaches and clinics nationally. “One of the focuses is to grow the recognition of women’s lacrosse out here in the Pacific Northwest,” Weissenfluh said. She also said Plut has a background in sales, which will further help her on the recruiting trail. “A huge component of recruiting is having the skillset and the tools to recruit,” Weissenfluh said. “With that background, it will be possible.” Plut also impressed the hiring committee with, Weissenfluh said, “how she was able to answer questions, through not only her words but her past experiences of what we were looking for and need- ing when we start a new program. And not only a new program, but what we would call an emerging sport in the Pacific North- west. It’s still growing.” Plut will be on campus in late January to begin building the program that will take the field for the first time in the spring of 2021. East Oregonian A9 Defending champ Sounders open camp with plenty of questions By TIM BOOTH Associated Press TUKWILA, Wash. — Barely two months after celebrating their second MLS Cup title, the Seattle Sounders opened training camp Tuesday in a winter snowstorm. The thin layer of snow on the practice field was hardly the biggest obstacle fac- ing Seattle after a challeng- ing offseason. Players have departed and the team has struggled to finalize new signings — not to mention league-wide uncertainty regarding negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement. All told, it’s been a quiet break for a team trying to build on last year’s title run. “That offseason after you win is always the roughest offseason because everyone gets recruited, right?” gen- eral manager Garth Lager- wey said. “Understandably and correctly, everyone’s like, ‘Oh, you have a really good team, we want your players. And so players get other opportunities. So we have to always work through AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File In this Nov. 10, 2019, file photo, Seattle Sounders players cel- ebrate after beating the Toronto FC in the MLS Cup champi- onship soccer match in Seattle. that. And if you combine that with not having a CBA, that’s been really tough.” The Sounders will return the core of a roster that led Seattle to its second league championship, but Lager- wey would like to make supplemental additions, especially entering a season where depth will be tested due to the number of compe- titions Seattle faces. Along with the MLS season, the Sounders will also be in the CONCACAF Champions League, U.S. Open Cup and the Campeones Cup against the champion of LigaMX. Making those addi- tions would be easier for Lagerwey and coach Brian Schmetzer if Seattle knew the structure of the CBA. Right now, it’s all a guess- ing game. “They’ll tell us when they tell us, and when they tell us, then we’ll jump in and do everything we can,” Lagerwey said. “In the meantime, you wind up as a GM doing more work because you have to have a Plan A, a Plan B and a Plan C, and you might not be able to execute any of them.” The uncertainty of the CBA has a major trick- le-down for Seattle, espe- cially in its more glaring area of need along its defense. The Sounders started camp with just one center back in Xavier Arreaga and in need of a left defender. Roman Torres signed with Inter Miami in the offseason, and both Kim Kee-hee and Brad Smith — key contributors to Seattle’s defense — are unlikely to return, Lager- wey said. Midfielder Victor Rodri- guez, who scored the key second goal in the final vic- tory over Toronto, is also not returning to Seattle. For now, a thin roster is fine. But Seattle begins its busy season on Feb. 20 when it starts play in the Champi- ons League. The Sounders open the MLS season on March 1 hosting Chicago. “It’s challenging to open training camp with- out perhaps a full roster,” Schmetzer said. “I can’t hide from that fact. But that’s part of life.” Dawgs: Will host Chiawana on Friday Continued from Page A8 points, and Avery Fiander added 15. “I was really proud of Madi,” Santo said. “She really struggled in the first half.” Hermiston is back in action Friday, hosting Chi- awana at 5:45 p.m. MCC boys basketball KENNEWICK 83, HERMISTON 35 — Ken- newick’s Ayoni Benavi- dez scored a game-high 26 points to lead the Lions to an MCC win over the visit- ing Bulldogs. The Lions led 23-5 at the BOYS BOX SCORE GIRLS BOX SCORE HERMISTON 5 11 11 8 — 35 KENNEWICK 23 19 20 21 — 83 HERMISTON 12 10 7 10 — 40 KENNEWICK 15 15 16 22 — 68 Hermiston— Ruloph 6, Pitney 2, Lin 6, Elliott 12, Ramos-Barron 2, Moreno 3, Jai.Ramirez 4. Kennewick — Pyu 11, Benavi- dez 26, Chavez 9, Moses 5, Dick- inson 3, Collier 9, Mayer 3, May- ovsky 6, Knapik 2, Bai.McElroy 5, Bra.McElroy 4. Hermiston — Heideman 10, Ray 4, Hernandez 13, Romero 6, B.Young 7. Kennewick — Av.Fiander 15, Ai. Fiander 4, Flores 3, Thornton 7, McBee 17, Gebers 19. end of the first quarter, and 42-16 at the half. “The biggest concern for me is the kids’ effort,” Hermiston coach Drew Pre- uninger said. “I need to find a group that will give a con- sistent effort. I think they can give me a little more.” Hermiston (2-11, 1-8 MCC) played without Ivan Rangel (ankle injury), who was injured in the Richland game last week. “We hope to get him back next week,” Preun- inger said. “He is a big body, and he’s physical.” Chase Elliott led the Bulldogs with 12 points, while Jaiden Ruloph and Tyler Lin each had six points. Benavidez, the MCC’s leading scorer, needed just seven points before the game to join the 1,000th-point club. Benavidez hit two free throws, a basket, and a 3-pointer from the top of the key just 2:53 into the game to reach the milestone. Jack Pyu added 11 points for the Lions (8-4, 6-3 MCC), who had all but one player score. Hermiston will host Chi- awana at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Rolovich: Hawaii’s passing game ranked fifth Continued from Page A8 fully adopted a pass-heavy offense for the Warriors. Washington State athletic director Pat Chun didn’t give much detail last week about what he was seeking in a head coach and whether he wanted to stay with the specific style Leach coached, which made Washington State an attractive destination for quarterbacks and skill position players. Chun didn’t give a timeline, only reiterating he understood the urgency of landing a head coach while not wanting to rush the process. Chun said he believed it was not the same job it was when Leach was hired in late 2011. Washington State was 9-40 before Leach arrived. The Cougars went 55-47 with six bowl appearances in Leach’s eight seasons. “I believe that Coach Leach has left us in great shape,” Chun said. “Based on what he took over and what is here now, this is not a rebuild anymore at Washington State. We need and will go find the right person that is going to add to this program.” SCOREBOARD LOCAL SLATE WEDNESDAY, JAN. 15 Staff photo by Ben Lonergan Weston-McEwen’s Charli King (3) drives toward the bas- ket during the second half against the Bobcats. The Union Bobcats defeated the Weston-McEwen TigerScots 49-22 in Athena Tuesday night. TigerScots: ‘They didn’t give anything away’ Continued from Page A8 Glenn answered back to help Union to a 27-12 lead at halftime. “There was a lot of phys- icality,” Griggs said. “We had to make some adjust- ments. We weren’t doing enough to be competitive. (Our team) worked hard to make those adjustments — I’m proud of our girls for that.” The Bobcats poured in six more points across the first four minutes of the third quarter before King got the TigerScots going again with a basket at 3:15. She and Scheib- ner would be the only two Weston-McEwen players to score in the quarter. “They were really fast. They didn’t give anything away,” King said. “We hustled and kept our atti- tudes up. You have to keep finding positives. We’re finally coming together as a team.” Weston-McEwen nearly matched the Bobcats in scoring in an 8-6 fourth quarter. Munck and fresh- man forward Genna Rob- inson posted two back- to-back baskets for a 45-22 game, but Union responded with two con- secutive baskets that fin- ished off the win, helping them stay undefeated in league play. “It was a physical game, and there were some moments where we didn’t prepare ourselves for that,” Griggs said, “but we bounced back.” King and Scheibner both netted six points to lead Weston-McEwen (2-12, 0-3 BMC). The TigerScots visit Grant Union on Saturday at 4 p.m. Union (11-3, 2-0 BMC) hosts Stanfield on Friday at 6 p.m. Boys basketball Irrigon at Umatilla, 7:30 p.m. Girls basketball Irrigon at Umatilla, 6 p.m. Boys wrestling Hanford, Kamiakin at Hermiston, 6 p.m. Men’s basketball Yakima Valley at Blue Mountain, 7:30 p.m. Women’s basketball Yakima Valley at Blue Mountain, 5:30 p.m. THURSDAY, JAN. 16 Boys basketball Corbett at Mac-Hi, 6:30 p.m. Riverside at Irrigon, 7:30 p.m. Girls basketball Riverside at Irrigon, 6 p.m. Boys wrestling Pendleton at Ridgeview, 5 p.m. FRIDAY, JAN. 17 Boys basketball Umatilla at Burns, 6:30 p.m. Hood River Valley at Pendleton, 6:30 p.m. Grant Union at Pilot Rock, 7:30 p.m. Mitchell/Spray at Echo, 7:30 p.m. Enterprise at Heppner, 7:30 p.m. Condon/Wheeler at Ione/Arlington, 7:30 p.m. Cove at Nixyaawii, 7:30 p.m. Helix at Imbler, 7:30 p.m. Stanfield at Union, 7:30 p.m. Chiawana at Hermiston, 7:30 p.m. Girls basketball Umatilla at Burns, 5 p.m. Chiawana at Hermiston, 5:45 p.m. Grant Union at Pilot Rock, 6 p.m. Mitchell/Spray at Echo, 6 p.m. Enterprise at Heppner, 6 p.m. Condon/Wheeler at Ione/Arlington, 6 p.m. Cove at Nixyaawii, 6 p.m. Helix at Imbler, 6 p.m. Stanfield at Union, 6 p.m. Pendleton at Hood River Valley, 6:30 p.m. Boys wrestling Pendleton at Oregon Classic (Red- mond), TBD Girls wrestling Hermiston at Lady Huskie Invite (Oth- ello, Washington), 5 p.m. SATURDAY, JAN. 18 Boys basketball Echo at Horizon Christian, 3:30 p.m. Mac-Hi at Baker, 4:30 p.m. Union at Heppner, 5:30 p.m. Nixyaawii at Helix, 5:30 p.m. Enterprise at Stanfield, 5:30 p.m. Weston-McEwen at Grant Union, 5:30 p.m. Girls basketball Mac-Hi at Baker, 3 p.m. Union at Heppner, 4 p.m. Nixyaawii at Helix, 4 p.m. Enterprise at Stanfield, 4 p.m. Weston-McEwen at Grant Union, 4 p.m. Boys wrestling Hermiston at Farm City Invite (Hermis- ton), 7 p.m. Pendleton at Oregon Classic (Red- mond), TBD Girls wrestling Hermiston at Lady Huskie Invite (Oth- ello, Washington), 10 a.m. Boys swimming Hermiston at Blue Devil Invite (Walla Walla), noon Men’s basketball Blue Mountain at North Idaho, 4 p.m. Women’s basketball Blue Mountain at North Idaho, 2 p.m. 2019-20 BOWL GAMES SATURDAY, JAN. 18 East-West Shrine Classic At St. Petersburg, Fla. East vs. West, 12 p.m. (NFL) NFLPA Collegiate Bowl At Pasadena, Calif. American vs. National, 2 p.m. (FS1) NFL PLAYOFFS DIVISIONAL PLAYOFFS Saturday, Jan. 11 San Francisco 27, Minnesota 10 Tennessee 28, Baltimore 12 Sunday, Jan. 12 Kansas City 51, Houston 31 Green Bay 28, Seattle 23 CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS Sunday, Jan. 19 Tennessee at Kansas City, 12:05 p.m. (CBS) Green Bay at San Francisco, 3:40 p.m. (FOX) PRO BOWL Sunday, Jan. 26 At Orlando, Fla. AFC vs. NFC, 12 p.m. (ESPN) SUPER BOWL Sunday, Feb. 2 At Miami Gardens, Fla. NFC champion vs. AFC champion, 3:30 p.m. (FOX) NBA STANDINGS Brooklyn New York 18 11 21 30 .462 .268 9½ 17½ Southeast Miami Orlando Charlotte Washington Atlanta W 27 19 15 13 9 L 12 21 28 26 32 Pct .692 .475 .349 .333 .220 GB — 8½ 14 14 19 Central Milwaukee Indiana Chicago Detroit Cleveland W 36 25 14 14 12 L 6 15 27 27 28 Pct .857 .625 .341 .341 .300 GB — 10 21½ 21½ 23 WESTERN CONFERENCE Southwest Houston Dallas Memphis San Antonio New Orleans W 26 24 19 17 15 L 13 15 22 21 26 Pct .667 .615 .463 .447 .366 GB — 2 8 8½ 12 Northwest Utah Denver Oklahoma City Portland Minnesota W 28 27 23 17 15 L 12 12 17 24 24 Pct .700 .692 .575 .415 .385 GB — ½ 5 11½ 12½ Pacific W L Pct L.A. Lakers 33 7 .825 L.A. Clippers 27 13 .675 Phoenix 16 24 .400 Sacramento 15 25 .375 Golden State 9 32 .220 ——— Tuesday’s Games Atlanta 123, Phoenix 110 Utah 118, Brooklyn 107 Memphis 121, Houston 110 Milwaukee 128, New York 102 Cleveland at L.A. Clippers, late Dallas at Golden State, late Wednesday’s Games Brooklyn at Phila., 4 p.m. Detroit at Boston, 4 p.m. San Antonio at Miami, 4:30 p.m. Indiana at Minnesota, 5 p.m. Toronto at Oklahoma City, 5 p.m. Washington at Chicago, 5 p.m. Charlotte at Denver, 6 p.m. Portland at Houston, 6:30 p.m. Dallas at Sacramento, 7 p.m. Orlando at L.A. Lakers, 7:30 p.m. Thursday’s Games Phoenix at New York, 4:30 p.m. Boston at Milwaukee, 5 p.m. Utah at New Orleans, 5 p.m. Denver at Golden State, 7:30 p.m. Orlando at L.A. Clippers, 7:30 p.m. GB — 6 17 18 24½ NHL STANDINGS EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Boston Toronto Phila. W 27 25 25 L 11 14 16 Pct .711 .641 .610 GB — 2½ 3½ EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Boston Tampa Bay GP W L OT Pts GF GA 48 27 9 12 66 159 128 46 28 14 4 60 166 133 Toronto Florida Buffalo Montreal Ottawa Detroit 47 25 16 45 24 16 47 21 19 47 20 20 46 16 22 47 12 32 6 5 7 7 8 3 56 173 157 53 166 152 49 140 149 47 145 148 40 123 157 27 102 183 Metropolitan GP W L OT Pts GF GA Washington 47 31 11 5 67 166 138 Pittsburgh 46 29 12 5 63 161 125 N.Y. Islanders 45 28 13 4 60 132 119 Carolina 46 27 17 2 56 150 125 Phila. 46 24 16 6 54 146 142 Columbus 47 23 16 8 54 124 124 N.Y. Rangers 45 22 19 4 48 152 151 New Jersey 46 17 22 7 41 124 163 WESTERN CONFERENCE Central GP W L OT Pts GF GA St. Louis 47 30 10 7 67 152 125 Dallas 46 27 15 4 58 124 109 Colorado 46 25 15 6 56 164 137 Winnipeg 47 25 18 4 54 145 140 Nashville 45 21 17 7 49 152 149 Chicago 47 21 20 6 48 137 152 Minnesota 46 20 20 6 46 138 157 Pacific GP W L OT Pts GF GA Arizona 49 26 18 5 57 142 128 Edmonton 48 25 18 5 55 148 150 Calgary 48 25 18 5 55 131 141 Vancouver 47 25 18 4 54 155 147 Vegas 49 24 19 6 54 151 149 San Jose 48 21 23 4 46 129 159 Los Angeles 48 18 25 5 41 121 150 Anaheim 46 17 24 5 39 116 147 NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. Top three teams in each division and two wild cards per conference advance to playoffs. ——— Tuesday’s Games Buffalo 4, Vegas 2 Columbus 3, Boston 0 N.Y. Islanders 8, Detroit 2 Pittsburgh 7, Minnesota 3 Tampa Bay 4, Los Angeles 3 (SO) Toronto 7, New Jersey 4 Chicago 3, Ottawa 2 (OT) Winnipeg 4, Vancouver 0 Arizona 6, San Jose 3 Dallas 3, Colorado 2 (OT) Edmonton 4, Nashville 2 Wednesday’s Games Chicago at Montreal, 4:30 p.m. Phila. at St. Louis, 5 p.m. Thursday’s Games Pittsburgh at Boston, 4 p.m. Carolina at Columbus, 4 p.m. Los Angeles at Florida, 4 p.m. N.Y. Rangers at N.Y. Islanders, 4 p.m. Montreal at Phila., 4 p.m. Calgary at Toronto, 4 p.m. New Jersey at Washington, 4 p.m. Vegas at Ottawa, 4:30 p.m. Tampa Bay at Minnesota, 5 p.m. Anaheim at Nashville, 5 p.m. Buffalo at Dallas, 5:30 p.m. San Jose at Colorado, 6 p.m. Arizona at Vancouver, 7 p.m.