TAT: Final Takeaways From the Week That Was (Sept. 11)

This article originally appeared in the September 11, 2013 issue of The Arkansas Traveler.

The Razorbacks had another full schedule last week, with games and meets in men’s and women’s cross country, volleyball, soccer and football. Here is a look at how each team did.

Cross Country

Both men’s and women’s cross country teams started their seasons Friday with dominating performances.

The women’s team picked up a pair of perfect scores. They took the top six spots against Missouri and the top seven against Missouri Southern.

The men’s team almost duplicated that performance, but a third place finish by Missouri Southern’s top runner prevented the double perfect score.

Even with these impressive performances, Razorback fans shouldn’t get too excited, yet. Missouri and Missouri Southern are far from Arkansas’ toughest opponents. The Southern Stampede in Joplin, Mo., Saturday and the Chili Pepper Festival in Fayetteville Oct. 5 will give fans a better idea of how the season will go.

There is reason to celebrate, though. Arkansas’ men’s team was without senior Solomon Haile, an All-American in 2011 and All-SEC performer last year, who should contribute this season.

On the women’s side, senior Stephanie Brown picked up her first collegiate cross country victory. Brown did not compete last year and the Razorbacks still finished second in the SEC, so she could be a big addition.

Women’s Volleyball

After starting the season 3-0, Arkansas struggled last week, dropping two out of three games.

The Razorbacks lost in straight sets against Oklahoma on the road, before losing to Kansas at home in heartbreaking fashion. Up two sets to one, Arkansas lost the final two.

They were in position for a third consecutive loss, but fought back for a win against the Jayhawks just two days after their five-set loss. Playing at Kansas, Arkansas lost the fourth set 25-12, which could have been demoralizing and made the players give up.

However, they did not fold up the tent. Instead, they won the fifth set 15-11 to remain above .500.

Winning a game like this on the road should give the Razorbacks a confidence boost heading into the Golden Hurricane Classic, which marks the beginning of the second half of their nonconference schedule.

Women’s Soccer

Six games into the season, the women’s soccer team is still undefeated.

For the second time this season, Arkansas had to play over 100 minutes before getting a win. Senior Evan Palmer’s goal in the 103rd minute against Nebraska gave the Razorbacks a double overtime 2-1 victory.

The win over Tulsa did not come easy either, as they won 1-0 on a goal by Alexandra Fischer in the 66th minute.

It seems that nearly every game Arkansas plays is a close one, which will prove beneficial later in the season against SEC opponents. Instead of playing less competitive teams and winning easily, they are playing quality competition and gaining valuable experience in close games.

Sophomore Ashleigh Ellenwood also scored a goal against Nebraska. It was her team-leading fourth goal of the season.

Palmer and Ellenwood are the only Razorbacks with multiple goals this year, but eight different players have at least one. Head coach Colby Hale said that he thinks there are many goal scorers on the roster, which will also help in SEC play. Teams won’t be able to focus on one or two players, because several players are capable of scoring at any time.

Football

Despite improving to 2-0, the Razorbacks did not look good Saturday at War Memorial Stadium.

They beat Samford, an FCS (formerly DI-AA) team, by only 10 points in a game that, at times, drew comparisons to last year’s game against Louisiana-Monroe in Little Rock.

Holding onto a 17-7 halftime lead, Samford recovered a fumble and scored a touchdown to pull within three points. On Arkansas’ ensuing drive, the Razorbacks ran two pass plays in a three-and-out series.

However, unlike last year against Louisiana-Monroe, they got it figured out and began to pound the ball on the ground and run out the clock.

For the first time in UA history, Arkansas had two running backs rush for over 100 years in each of the first two games of a season, as true freshman Alex Collins picked up 172 yards and sophomore Jonathan Williams added 126 yards.

Through two games, it is clear that the Razorbacks will run the ball with authority this year, and that may be their best defense. As long as Arkansas is running the ball, the clock will count down and give the other team less opportunities to score on their weak defense.