Schooley put in charge of RMU hockey’s rebirth
Robert Morris University vice president and athletic director Chris King announced Tuesday that Derek Schooley has been named head coach/director of men’s and women’s hockey operations.
“Naming Derek as the head coach and director of operations for both teams adds stability as we continue to work with the Pittsburgh College Hockey Foundation in the goal of reinstating both teams,” King said. “Derek is synonymous with hockey at Robert Morris and is well-respected in the Pittsburgh hockey community and beyond. Having him in charge of both programs this fall is crucial as we strive for viable solutions and a sustainable financial model to support both programs.”
Schooley was named to lead the RMU men’s program August 21, 2003, and is the only head coach in program history. He guided the Colonials to six conference tournament championship games and helped RMU earn its first NCAA tournament berth in 2014. If the RMU men’s and women’s hockey programs are reinstated, a national search for a women’s coach will be conducted.
“This is another big step in the process of reinstatement of the RMU hockey teams,” Schooley said. “I look forward to working with hockey alumni, the RMU administration, donors, corporations and the Pittsburgh College Hockey Foundation toward returning Robert Morris hockey to
the pinnacle of their respective conferences.”
More colleges
Graduate outside hitter Kayla Lund of the No. 4 Pitt volleyball team (5-0, 0-0 ACC) made history as the program’s first student-athlete to earn national player of the week honors from the American Volleyball Coaches Association. In addition to her national accolades, Lund was named the ACC coplayer of the week alongside junior middle blocker Marina Markova of Syracuse.
• After a strong performance at the 2021 Bearcat Challenge, Saint Vincent junior Madie Marsico has been named the Presidents’ Athletic Conference women’s volleyball defensive player of the week. In three matches spanning 11 sets, Marsico totaled 64 digs, with four service aces.
Baseball
Washington (53-37) went into the bottom of the ninth with a 7-4 lead against New Jersey (36-53), but visiting Wild Things reliever Zach Streckler gave up five runs, including a two-run walkoff homer to the Jackals Josh Rehwaldt in a 9-7 loss at Yogi Berra Stadium. Andrew Sohn went 3 for 5 for the Wild Things whose magic number to clinch the Northeast Division is one.
Soccer
Two starters are injured, another tested positive for COVID-19 and a fourth, midfielder Weston McKennie, was sent home as punishment. Less than a week into World Cup qualifying, much has gone wrong for the U.S. team, which is back at another challenging Central American stadium. The Americans play Honduras Wednesday night with intense pressure, key absences and a messy discipline issue following disappointing draws against El Salvador and Canada.
• Frenchman Antoine Griezmann scored twice and was set up by Karim Benzema both times in a 2-0 win against Finland that put the defending World Cup champions in control of their qualifying group for the 2022 tournament in Rome. Also, European Championship semifinalist Denmark extended its perfect start by dominating Israel, 5-0.
• Australia edged Vietnam, 1-0, in Hanoi to make it two wins out of two in Group B of Asia World Cup qualifying. In Group A, South Korea defeated Lebanon, 1-0, at Suwon World Cup Stadium to pick up its first win of the stage.
• Disciplinary proceedings were opened by FIFA against Argentina and Brazil over the chaos that led to their World Cup qualifier being suspended after Brazilian health officials stormed the field to question the quarantine status of players.
Elsewhere
A German modern pentathlon coach who struck a horse at the Olympics was ordered to undergo training on animal welfare before she can work again at major competitions. TV footage from the Olympics last month showed Kim Raisner leaning over a fence to strike Saint Boy, which refused to jump fences in the show jumping round. Raisner was coaching German athlete Annika Schleu, who lost her chance of a gold medal when the horse, assigned to her at random, re-fused to jump.