6B
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAS
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2007
The men's and women's cross country teams will compete on Saturday after two weeks off.
Teams back on course Saturday
CROSS COUNTRY
BY TYLER PASSMORE
tpassmore@kansan.com
The stakes and importance will be the highest they have been this season when the University of Kansas men's and women's cross country teams step foot on the course for the first time in two weeks on Saturday.
The Jayhawks travel to Minneapolis, Minn., to compete in the Roy Griak Invitational. This will mark the toughest competition the Jayhawks will have faced this year because seven of the top 15 teams in the Midwest will be competing. Among those teams are names like Arizona State, Iowa State, Kansas State, Michigan State, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma.
The men's team will be led once again by All-American senior Colby Wissel. Wissel is 100 percent on this season, winning both of his first two events. Last year, he put up an inspiring performance, finishing ninth overall.
Another strong finish last year came
from the other All-American senior Paul Hefferon. Hefferon did not run for the men's team in Manhattan and should have the rest needed to help get a victory. A second key component
will be on the legs of sophomore Bret Imgmore
Imgrund has run well in the first two events of the year, and expectations continue to rise among Imgrind and the media.
Imgrund
The men's team received votes to be in the U.S. Track & Field Coaches Association PoI this week, and that can only help the team confidence as they depart for Minnesota.
The women's team wants to build off its youth's production and avenge a loss in its last outing. The women will take the field Saturday with three seniors at the reign, but it may be an underclassman that will be the missing ingredient.
Sophomore Lauren Bonds will run again this Saturday. She had a very
strong performance at the season opener.
Facing the tough competition this week, the women will need to make a team effort to finish in the top 10. With the underclassmen stepping up and the trio of seniors pushing the tempo, the women will create a stir this weekend when they toe the line at 12:50 p.m.
The gun will sound Saturday for the men at 12:10. They go into the meet 2-0, as the women just missed that mark, entering 1-1. This meet also will be the first NCAA Championships qualifier of the year.
- Edited by Kaitlyn Syring
race info
>> **Gold Mens**
iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State,
Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma.
>> **Gold Women's**
iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State,
Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma.
Source: KU Athletic
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SPORTS BRIEFS Catch the fan bus to see club hockey play Missouri
**Game:** vs. Missouri
**Time:** 8 p.m. Friday
**Location:** Ice Midwest Family Fun Center, West 135t Street and Quivira Road in Overland Park
**Admission:** Tickets cost $3 with a KUID and $5 without one.
**Travel:** The fan bus leaves from the Crimson & Brew bar at Ninth and Iowa streets at 6:30 p.m.
Kansas softball sponsors cancer benefit tournament
The Kansas softball team plays host to the Jayhawk Pink Classic this weekend. On Saturday the Jayhawks play Iowa Central at 2 p.m. and Emporia State at 4 p.m. On Sunday the softball team will take on Washburn at noon. The Jayhawks went 3-0 in last weekend's triangular and hope to add more victories this weekend. Money raised during this weekend's games benefit the Susan G. Komen breast cancer foundation.
Britt Beasley
WORLD CUP
Goalie dispute inflames big loss
BY STEPHEN WADE ASSOCIATED PRESS
HANGZHOU, China — The way Brazil and sensational striker Marta played, it didn't matter who was in goal for the United States.
The Brazilians will play in their first final Sunday against defending champion Germany.
Marta scored two goals and the Brazilians put on a dazzling display of soccer Thursday, outstulting the Americans at nearly every turn to cruise to a 4-0 victory in the Women's World Cup semifinals.
Ryan defended his decision and Scurry, who made her 164th appearance for the United States.
"It was the wrong decision, and I think anybody that knows anything about the game knows that," Solo said. "There's no doubt in my mind I would have made those movies. ... You can live in the present. And you can't live by big names. You can't live in the past."
"If you asked me how I do that, I can't explain," Marta said, even after watching TV replays of her goals.
"Things happen very quickly during the match, and afterward I start thinking: 'How do I do that?'
Ryan might have been right. The Brazilians attacked from the start, and the Americans were unable to keep pace as they saw their 51-match unbeaten streak end with their worst loss in a World Cup match.
That's what American goalie Hope Solo was asking. Angry she was replaced for the critical game in favor of veteran Briana Scurro, Sally lashed out at U.S. coach Greg Ryan.
"I don't have any regrets about that," he said. "I think Bri played a great game."
The U.S. will play Norway for third place Sunday.
He stressed that he didn't think the switch affected the game.
The opening score came on an own-goal in the 20th minute, when American defender Leslie Osborne headed a corner behind Scurry. Lucky or not, the Brazilians were off and running and proved to be better in every facet: clever triangulated passes, counterattacks, audacious moves and blistering shots.
"The they played like a team," American striker Abby Wambach said. "I've never seen them play so well. They brought all of their heart and all of their soccer to the table."
The United States won titles in '91 and '99 with Norway winning in '95 and Germany in '03. But Brazil, which spends little on the women's game, has the edge in pure skill, backed by world soccer's deepest pool of talent.
"We haven't let up with the women's program," said Sunil Gulati, president of the United States Soccer Federation. "If anything we have accelerated everything."
"We are not where we were 10 years ago. It's not because we are not better, it's because everyone else is investing in the game."