DOWDY DOES IT IN LEADING TMU FOOTBALL TO ITS 1st WIN
Football may be the ultimate team game but it was pretty much something of a one-man show in Thomas More’s come-from-behind 31-28 win over Kentucky Christian in Grayson, Ky. Saturday. And that one man, wide receiver Roques Dowdy, caught eight passes – three of them for second-half touchdowns — for 91 yards. That performance not only earned the 1-1 Saints their first win of the season but earned Dowdy, from Athens, Ga, his first-ever Mid-South Conference Offensive Player of the Week award. Down 28-10, TMU used a Blaine Espinosa-to-Dowdy 17-yard TD pass with 7:30 left in the third quarter to cut the deficit to 28-17. After an hour-and-a-half weather delay, Dowdy followed with another TD catch on a 28-yarder from Espinosa with just 3:48 left in the game to trail 28-23. But Dowdy’s day wasn’t over. He caught the game-winner with just 1:02 left, also from Espinosa, from nine yards out to become the first Saint to catch three TD passes in a single game since Nov. 2, 2019. The Saints stay on the road this week again, heading to Pittsburgh, Pa., to play NCAA Division I Duquesne.
FOOTNOTABLE: This is TMU Coach Chris Norwell’s first head coaching win . . . Espinosa finished 25 of 38 for 241 yards, three TD . . . Maleek Jarrett had 18 carries for 78 yards, TD . . . Del Thomas recorded 11 tackles (two solo, nine assisted) . . . Antonio Davis had his first collegiate interception and Colton Sandhas had his third of the season.
SAINTS WOMEN’S SOCCER TEAM STAYS UNBEATEN
It wasn’t easy and it certainly wasn’t quick but in the 87th minute of the match that won them the Inaugural Saint Classic Sunday, sophomore Ainsley Clark (Oxford, Ohio) hit the game-winner for a 1-0 victory over Madonna, upping TMU’s season mark to 3-0-1. Juniors Ryann Meddings (Fairfield, Ohio) and Sydney Rhodes (Cincinnati) each earned an assist on the game-winner while freshman goalkeeper Lauren Welsh (Ballyclare, Northern Ireland) recorded the shutout with three saves. The TMU women are back on the pitch Saturday in Arlington Heights, Ill., against Roosevelt.
TMU MEN SCORE 4-1 SOCCER WIN OVER MIDWAY
Big second-half numbers told the story for the Saints in their 4-1 win over Midway that had the winners with all four scores – and eight assists – coming after intermission. The big offensive numbers came on 27 shots – 14 on goal. International sophomores Flo Meyer (Mulheim, Germany) and Dan Hill (Tewkesbury, England) each scored goals along with redshirt junior Thomas Wolfe (Marysville, Ohio) and sophomore Nathan Ortiz (Orem, Utah). Freshman Julen van Egmond (Amsterdam, Netherlands) had two assists, as did Wolfe. Juniors Rees Foster, a CovCath alum from Florence, and Charlie Allan (Cardiff, Wales), sophomore Sondre Takio (Aalesund, Norway), and junior Matt Lodge (Northampton, England) were credited with the final three assists.
TMU WOMEN WIN 3 of 4 at SIENA HEIGHTS VOLLEYBALL
With opening day wins over Kentucky Christian, 3-0, and host Siena Heights, 3-1, the TMU women moved on to Day 2 unbeaten before splitting their final two matches, losing to Cardinal Stritch, 3-2, and then sweeping Roosevelt, 3-0. The Saints are now 5-4 on the season. Top performers for TMU included: Sydney Hilderbran, Asia Ferrando, Sam McClanahan, Ally Albrinck, Jess Gearries, Ruthie Neu, Sawyer Lorentz, and Ebony Gomez. Next up for the Saints is a road match at NAIA No. 11 Indiana Wesleyan Friday at 7 p.m. followed by a Saturday tri-match at No. 25 Mount Vernon Nazarene (noon) and West Virginia Tech (2 p.m.).
