Lots Of Things To Cover
Sept. 5, 2008
This blog entry is exciting for me because it's my first trip to the HoriZONE! I'm Josh Rattray, the new Assistant Director of Communications at the Horizon League. I'm happy to be a part of the staff here in always vibrant downtown Indianapolis.
The main part of my job is to disseminate information regarding my assigned sports (both men's and women's soccer, track/cross country, women's basketball and softball), and it gives me the pleasure to keep my finger on the pulse of what's going on in the Horizon League. There are a lot of good things going on around the 10 campuses, and I'd like to mention a few (of hundreds!) that have taken place recently.
The Detroit men's basketball team just hired a new coach in Ray McCallum, who brings an impressive resume to the Titans. Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press wrote an article detailing the new excitement Coach McCallum is bringing to Detroit. Pat Caputo of the Oakland Press agrees with me that the Titans will get back to their proud basketball tradition.
The fall sports season has just begun, but already teams around the league have made headlines. In men's soccer, both UIC and Loyola have defeated powerhouse Santa Clara, who was recently No. 1 Top Drawer Soccer's preseason poll. For his efforts over the season's opening weekend, UIC's Baggio Husidic was named national player of the week. Also, the Butler Bulldogs and the Valparaiso Crusaders are off to perfect starts heading into this weekend's play.
In Horizon League women's soccer, Milwaukee is aiming for its ninth straight regular season title, and the Panthers have looked good early. Led by freshman Sarah Hagen, UWM is 4-0-0 and has scored 12 goals. Hagen leads the Horizon League with six goals.
What many people nationally fail to realize is how strong the Horizon League is in men's and women's soccer. Annually, the men's champion is a threat to go deep into November, just take UIC's run to the national quarterfinals last season. And although Milwaukee has owned the regular season in women's soccer, it seems like a different team steps up in the league championship each year.
In volleyball, Valparaiso won Notre Dame's Shamrock Invitational, taking a 3-1 match against the Fighting Irish. In the upcoming weeks, the HLN will show a feature on Valpo libero Brittany Malicoat. Also, the Milwaukee volleyball team recently defeated nationally-ranked Iowa State.
Those are just a few things that have been in the news lately. I could go on and on. But for now, I'll cut this blog entry short, because the next big story is just over the Horizon.
