Purdue University Northwest Sports Update, October 20, 2016

PNW-Purdue-Northwest-Downs-St-Ambrose-4-1Purdue Northwest Downs St. Ambrose, 4-1 The Purdue University Northwest men’s soccer team defeated St Ambrose University, 4-1, in a key Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference contest Wednesday afternoon.

The Pride (8-4-3, 6-1-2 CCAC) took down the Fighting Bees (7-7-1, 6-3-0 CCAC), thanks to a strong aggressive attack for 90 minutes.

Senior Sergio Reyes (Tabio, Columbia/Gimnasio Minuto de Dios) recorded his first career goal in the eighth minute of the match on a pass from Michael Brownsea (Albury, Austrailia/Albury).

The Pride would hold the Fighting Bees scoreless for the rest of the half, taking a 1-0 advantage in to the break.

Grant Ugarte (Oak Lawn, Ill./Oak Lawn) would put the Black and Gold ahead by two, connecting on his first goal of the game after a pass from Chris Rassel (Saint John, Ind./Lake Central) from 25-yards out found the 6-foot-5 freshman in the box who headed it in to give the Pride a 2-0 lead.

The Black and Gold continued to pressure the Fighting Bees, scoring in the 50th minute after Alec Guarino (St. John, Ind./Marian Catholic) notched his seventh goal of the season on a pass from Tulio Ribeiro (Itajuba, Brazil/Colegio Sagrado Coracao de Jesus) to put the Pride up 3-0.

PNW would score their final goal of the match in the 68th minute, on another goal from Ugarte set up by a corner kick from Rassel, giving the Black and Gold a 4-0 advantage.

Sam Anstey would put the Fighting Bees on the scoreboard in the 78th minute, but the Pride would continue fight and come away with the 4-1 lead.

The Pride outshot St. Ambrose 12-4, thanks to a team-high four shot by Guarino, three from Ugarte and a pair of shots from Ribeiro.

PNW returns to action Saturday, Oct. 22, when the Pride travel to Notre Dame, Ind. for a match against Holy Cross at 1:30 p.m.

Nicole Hartford Tabbed to Lead Purdue Northwest Cross Country Program Nicole Hartford has been named the interim head coach of the Purdue University Northwest men’s and women’s cross country programs following the resignation of head coach Stephanie Beck.

Hartford, former head coach of Purdue North Central’s women’s cross country team in 2015, will take over head coaching duties with two meets remaining in the season, including the conference championship race Nov. 5.

“I appreciate Nicole taking over on an interim basis during this important part of the cross country season,” PNW Athletic Director Rick Costello said. “I look forward to her leadership and impact on PNW cross country.”

Hartford led PNC to a ninth-place, Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference finish during the team’s second season of competition last fall and assisted in training the program’s first-ever National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) national qualifier and CCAC Freshman of the Year, Kyleigh Werner.

“I appreciate Rick Costello providing me the opportunity to coach collegiate cross country here at PNW, and I’m excited to step in and help prepare the program for the upcoming CCAC Championships,” Hartford said.

A former student-athlete herself, Hartford ran collegiately at Mid-American Conference member Ball State and serves as head coach for boys and girls varsity track and field at Westville High School. Hartford, who has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Ball State, also works as an academic advisor and instructor in the Purdue Northwest College of Nursing.

Beck began her third season in 2016 as the head coach of the cross country programs, first leading the Purdue Calumet men’s and women’s squads in 2014 and 2015 before taking on the same role for Purdue Northwest.

“I want to thank Stephanie for her service during her time at Purdue Northwest and wish her the best in her future endeavors,” PNW Director of Athletics Rick Costello said. “She did a tremendous job with the growth of our cross country programs in addition to her role as the lead assistant coach for the highly successful women’s basketball team."

“My deepest thanks go out to Rick Costello and Tom Megyesi for the opportunity to coach at my alma mater,” Beck said. “While it is a difficult decision to leave, another opportunity was too hard to pass up. I will greatly miss the staff, coaches, and above all, the student-athletes who I’ve had the pleasure of coaching here at Purdue Northwest; I wish them nothing but the best.”

In 2015 while heading the Purdue Calumet men’s cross country program, Beck coached the first NAIA national qualifier in Alex Cordova. Cordova and his cousin and teammate Salvador Cordova, both Beck recruits, also made marks in program history with the two highest finishes (21st and 25th, respectively) at the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships.

Both also captured the first CCAC Runner of the Week honors in school history in 2014, and Alex Cordova earned the award again in 2015.

Off the course, four runners were named to the CCAC All-Academic team in 2015,and Abigail Bondi was awarded NAIA Scholar-Athlete honors.

In addition to her duties as head men’s and women’s cross country coach, Beck served as the lead assistant coach under head coach Tom Megyesi for the Purdue Northwest women’s basketball team that in 2015-16 captured its fifth-straight 20-win season and third trip to the NAIA National Tournament in four years.