University of Mary women's soccer coach Levi Evans likes to make sure defender Joanna Drennen is on the field in a corner kick situation.

Drennen has assisted on three goals, and has done an impressive job on setting up her teammates on the corner kick.

"She doesn't hit it too far, and she's doesn't hit it too short," Evans said. "She hits it just right. She's accurate in her passing. We ask her to put the ball on the back post. For the most part, she puts it there."

Drennen, a junior from Burnsville, Minn., has scored one goal this season, which came directly off a corner kick. She has totaled five points on the season.

Her corner kick goal came against Augustana on Sept. 27.

"The conditions were right,"Evans said. "It was a tough thing to do, and she achieved it. She told me she tried to utilize the wind and that she got it on the back post."

Drennen has also wreaked havoc on defense, which has helped the Marauders win seven of their last eight matches.

"She destroys people's attack,"Evans said. "She has a knack for destroying things. Her depth perception is good. She's able to get there before the ball is able to get there."

In a 5-0 win against MSU-Moorhead, Drennen helped hold the Dragons to three shots total, one of which was on goal.

Cross country teams improving

U-Mary cross country coach Mike Thorson has seen a tremendous amount of improvement from his men's and women's teams.

Both teams placed third this past weekend in Duluth. It was a positive way for the teams to enter the Northern Sun Championships on Oct. 25 at Aberdeen.

"Our men and women desperately needed that going into the conference meet," Thorson said. "We have made a lot of progress since we competed against some of those teams (earlier) at Northern State. It's rewarding for the athletes to see a step in the right direction and that they have made a lot of progress."

The top three women's runners were Alyson Piccolo, Kristen Neumiller and Irene Kosgei, placing ninth, 10th and 12th, respectively.

The men's top finishers were Eamin Entwistle, Andrew Reichenberger-Walz and Bennett Mayo, placing seventh, ninth and 10th, respectively. Entwistle has been U-Mary's top runner at every meet.

Men's soccer team loses close one

U-Mary soccer coach Dave Cook could almost taste victory against MSU-Billings on Sunday. The Marauders lost 1-0 in double overtime to Billings. Sam Charles scored the game-winning goal at 1:01.55. Billings defeated U-Mary 3-1 earlier this season.

"It was a good goal,"U-Mary coach David Cook said. "The guy who scored it is a great player. He's been the difference maker for them. We missed a chance inside 6 yards with the goalkeeper lying down."

Even though the Marauders missed a golden opportunity, Cook said his team looked at the bigger picture.

"They took a good perspective to it," Cook said. "In the locker room, their heads were down. They knew they should have won. As we started talking, they came to a perspective. They're happy with the direction we're headed, and we've come a long way."

Hoops season begins

Where did the fall season go?

The Bismarck State men's and women's basketball teams began practice Sunday.

The U-Mary men's and women's teams begin practice today.

The BSC men and women travel to Bottineau on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 to open up their season at the Kevin Thom Classic.

"We have two sophomores and 11 freshmen, so it's a whole new ball game for us," BSC men's coach Jason Harris said. "I think we have a good group of guys. They are working hard."

The U-Mary men open up their season in Seattle on Nov. 19, 21, 22 against St. Martins, Seattle Pacific and Western Washington.

The U-Mary women open up at the Notre Dame de Namur Tournament in Belmont, Calif., on Nov. 15-16.

U-Mary women's coach Fred Fridley said there is some extra enthusiasm because of a change of pace from offseason workouts.

"You can see the anticipation," Fridley said. "You can see the nervousness. No matter how old you are, every girl is excited, yet nervous. No one has playing time yet. It is all yet to be earned, and that's part of the nervousness."

Bondley bound for nationals

Bismarck State sophomore Jordan Bondley earned a berth in the NJCAA Division II national golf tournament. It will be played in Scottsboro, Ala., on May 19-22.

Bondley carded a 153 for fourth place at the regional tournament in Brainerd, Minn., on Oct. 5-7.

Bondley had his work cut out for him at regionals.

"It was an extremely hard course," said Harris, who also coaches the men's and women's golf teams. "It's not the type of course you see around here. You have to be in the fairway. The fairways are 30-25 yards wide. It's tough putting on the greens."

Bondley qualified for the national tournament last year.