Allegheny College Athletics

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Allegheny women’s soccer has been picked to finish third in the North Coast Athletic Conference following a preseason poll of the league’s head coaches it was announced on Tuesday. The Gators have finished third in the conference standings the past two seasons, but have the weapons and experience to finish ahead of the pack in the race for the 2010 conference crown.

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Courtesy of Pittsburgh Post-Gazette   Thursday, August 19, 2010 By Ken Wunderley, Tri-State Sports & News Service Ryan Zipf was a junior when he started kicking for the Seneca Valley High School football team. Now a junior at Allegheny College in Meadville, he is considered one of the top kickers in the country. "My first love was soccer," said Zipf, a Cranberry Township resident. "I tried placekicking my junior year because the football team needed a kicker." Zipf connected on 11 of 14 field-goal attempts his senior year at Seneca Valley High School. "I was torn between soccer and football when it came time to choose a college," Zipf said. "I had been playing soccer since I was 5, but I needed a change. There is also a lot less running with football." Zipf eventually chose football and Allegheny College. "My brother, Andrew, played tennis at Allegheny," he said. "He's four years older than me and graduated in 2008. That's the main reason I chose Allegheny." Zipf was a three-sport star at Seneca Valley and began his college career as a two-sport student/athlete. "I played tennis and soccer all four years in high school," he said. "I tried tennis and football my first year at Allegheny, but it was just too much for me. I didn't have any free time." Zipf converted on four of nine field-goal attempts as a freshman at Allegheny. He also connected on 20 of 23 extra point attempts. The numbers were not sparkling, but three of the four field goals were significant. "He kicked a [career long] 47-yard field goal at Denison," Allegheny coach Mark Matlak said. "He also kicked the deciding field goal in two overtime victories at the end of the season." Zipf connected on a 37-yard attempt to beat Wittenberg and a 33 yarder in a victory against Ohio Wesleyan. "It was a great feeling to kick the winning field goal in overtime in our last two games," he said. "My teammates mobbed me after the first one. I tried to run away from my teammates after the second one. There are some pretty big boys and I didn't want to get crushed." He was even more impressive last season, connecting , on 12 of 14 field-goal attempts and 24 of 26 extra points. "Ryan was money in the bank last season," Matlak said. "He made all the big kicks. He was the difference in four or five games." With such an impressive season, it was no surprise that Zipf was nominated for the Fred Mitchell Outstanding Placekicker Award, which honors the nation's top collegiate placekicker among more than 600 collegiate teams competing in the Division I-AA, Division II, Division III and the NAIA. The award is named for Fred Mitchell, a record-setting placekicker at Wittenberg University who is a sports columnist for the Chicago Tribune. The recipient of the Fred Mitchell Award is based on excellence on the football field and in the community. "It was a great honor to be nominated for the Fred Mitchell Award," said Zipf, who was one of 40 kickers nominated throughout the country. "It would be pretty special if I could win this year." He is on a watch list for this year's award. "Allegheny has never had a kicker nominated for the Fred Mitchell Award," Matlak said. "It's a great honor just to be recognized. The thing I like the most about this award is that it recognizes a player's accomplishments on and off the field. All the players must be strong academically and volunteer in their community." Zipf volunteers at the Active Aging Senior Center in Meadville. Slippery Rock University's C.J. Bahr is also on the watch list. Bahr, a senior who attended Boalsburg High School, is also on the 2010 watch list. Bahr is the son of former NFL kicker Chris Bahr. Zipf would love to play in the NFL, but realizes that will most likely not be possible. "I need to put 10 more yards on my distance [on kickoffs]," he said. "That would improve my chances of being drafted." He will graduate with a degree in economics in May and he is considering enrolling in graduate school.

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MEADVILLE, Pa. - The Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association listed Allegheny College on its list of academic award winners for the 2010 season. Teams with a cumulative grade-point average above 3.0 elicited Academic Squad honors, while Merit Squad status was awarded to the nation’s top three classroom achievers. In total, 64 schools across all NCAA divisions reached the academic target.

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