CUA Hosts Arizona Cardinals: NFL Team Makes DuFour Their Nest to Avoid Flight Home

By John Meehan for The Tower

As it has done for each week of the fall football season since its opening in 1985, the Raymond A. Dufour Athletic Center played host to a gridiron cast of Cardinals for five days worth of practice this week. This week, however, the Cardinals taking the field weren’t from CUA — they were from Arizona.

After suffering a 24-17 loss to the Washington Redskins at nearby FedEx Field in Landover, Md. late on Sunday afternoon, the NFL‘s Arizona Cardinals spent the past week preparing for their next game by training at the DuFour Center. To ensure a closed practice, the fence along the perimeter of the DuFour fields were covered by a blue tarp, and the DuFour center facilities were closed to students during team practice hours for most of the week.

Though the Cardinals opened their season with an impressive 2-0 record after besting two teams while playing in their native western time zone (opening the season with a 23-13 win against the San Francisco 49ers in California, and then besting the Miami Dolphins 31-10 while at home in Arizona), last week’s jet-lagged loss to the Washington Redskins served as a painful reminder that cross country travel has proven disastrous for this Arizona-based franchise. Since 2003, the Cardinals have gone 2-15 while playing games in the Eastern Time zone.

This Sunday, the Arizona Cardinals will square off against the New York Jets at the Meadowlands, and so the decision was made to keep the team on the east coast. “It is really a unique circumstance where we have back-to-back road games on the east coast,” said Mark Dalton, Arizona Cardinals’ vice president of media relations. “Being one of the [NFL] teams that are from so far west, there are inherent challenges every time you travel east. There’s a certain amount of physical stress and recovery time that you have to do whenever you travel across the country, and a big part of our preparation as a team is maintaining a sense of routine and some normalcy. When you put it all together, this was really the best option for us.”

Dalton believes that his team’s stay on the east coast should result in huge dividends in Sunday’s game against the New York Jets. “We came in [to the east coast] last Friday before the Redskins game, and we didn’t have much time to acclimate to the change in time zone or to modify our practice schedule.” The Cardinals spent a full week in Washington before catching a short train ride on Saturday afternoon to New York. The Cardinals look to go into Sunday’s game against the New York Jets well-rested and settled comfortably into their east coast training regimen.

The veterans on the Cardinal football roster seem to share in Dalton’s optimism. “I was talking with [Arizona quarterback, former Super Bowl MVP award-winner, and two-time NFL Most Valuable Player] Kurt Warner yesterday,” Dalton said, “and [Warner] said that he believes the team will feel the benefits most on Thursday, Friday and Saturday — which puts us exactly where we need to be for Sunday’s game.” Dalton noted that their opponents, however, may not be so fortunate. The New York Jets, whose record fell to 1-2 after dropping a Monday night road game to the San Diego Chargers, come into this Sunday’s game both with a shortened week of practice time and with a 6000-mile flight to disrupt their usual schedule. “The Jets will have to battle the same logistics that we’re usually accustomed to facing,” said Dalton. “We’ve spent more time on the east coast this week than they have, which could be a major advantage.”

A second crucial advantage the Arizona Cardinals will have in Sunday’s game is that they have spent the week practicing on the University’s newly renovated football field, which is constructed using a state-of-the-art synthetic material known as “FieldTurf” — a playing surface that is virtually identical to the artificial field the Cardinals will encounter when they face the Jets at Giants Stadium this coming Sunday afternoon.

Dalton said that the Arizona Cardinals rented and made use of all of the DuFour Center’s amenities and were very impressed. “The field is phenomenal, and the facilities are great. Catholic University has been extremely gracious and [University Athletic Director] Mike Allen and his entire staff have absolutely bent over backwards to accommodate us,” said Dalton.

In Allen’s estimation, the Arizona Cardinal’s workout on University premises is a testament to the quality of the newly refurbished DuFour Center facilities — which he said have previously been used by NBA’s Seattle Supersonics basketball team, among others. “[These players] are clearly bigger guys, and I’m pretty sure they worked out using every single weight in our gym.” Allen was “very happy” with the Arizona Cardinals visit to the University, saying that team were “great guests” during their stay. Allen believes that the week’s practices will serve as a powerful recruiting tool in attracting new student athletes to CUA for years to come.

The University football field was resurfaced in 2006 as part of Phase I of the Competitive Edge Campaign for Cardinal Athletics — a comprehensive alumni giving campaign spearheaded by former Athletic Director Bob Talbot, the first phase of which raised more than $1.8 million for the renovation of the University’s athletic facilities. Phase II of the Competitive Edge fundraising campaign — which is currently ongoing — calls for building new men’s and women’s locker rooms, as well as a new reception area that will be used to host fundraising events, alumni gatherings, and information sessions for prospective student athletes.

This week’s practices at the DuFour Center are not the first time that the Arizona Cardinals and Catholic University have crossed paths. University alumnus Michael J. Bidwill, J.D. 1981, is general counsel and president for the Arizona Cardinals organization. He also serves on the NFL’s Business Ventures Committee.

As president of the Cardinals, Bidwill spearheaded the development of a new stadium for the franchise, the University of Phoenix stadium, which opened in 2006 and has been recognized by BuisnessWeek magazine as one of the top 10 athletic facilities in the world. In February of this year, this acclaimed new venue played host to Super Bowl XLII.

Bidwill is one of several University graduates who currently serves in such a high-ranking front office position with a professional sports franchise. Fellow CUA alumnus Martin R. Hurney, B.A. 1993, is the general manager of the Carolina Panthers, and Brian Cashman, B.A. 1989 is the vice president and general manager of the New York Yankees.

Cardinals Offense Preps for Tough Season

Preseason training saw the Card’s striving to sharpen a rushing offense which faltered last year, as well as getting the feet under returning senior quarterback.

Last season the Cardinals under Head Coach Dave Dunn finished their season 5-5 with a 1-5 conference record, the most wins a Catholic team has had since 2000 when the team went 6-4. Four of last year’s losses came within 10 points or less. In talking to Coach Dunn, he cited experience as the biggest difference between this year and last year’s team. “We have all our guys on the same page,” he says. It seems that is the case, especially when 16 starters return from last year’s team.

The offense will be lead by senior quarterback Keith Ricca. The Cardinal’s aerial attack was third best in the ODAC last year with 3101 yards and 26 touchdowns. The run defense also gained distinction for limiting opponents to 3.3 yards per carry, making it the third best in 2007. In addition, the Cardinals return the most dynamic punt-returner in the conference, Nick Olivero. The talented senior defensive back and team captain doubles as a return specialist, returning 39 punts for 285 yards and two touchdowns. He also led the conference with 6 interceptions last year.

After talking with Ricca, it was clear that a perfect season was on his mind. “In the last couple years our offense has put up great stats throwing the ball, but we haven’t won many games”, admits Ricca. “I’d rather win 10 games and have less personal stats than throw for a ton of yards and touchdowns and have a losing season. With the talent we have at the wide receiver and running back positions, the stats will come as long as we just execute our offense. This is the strongest senior class we’ve had in years”.

Ricca has been working hard this summer on his footwork and getting a greater understanding of Coach Dunn’s high-octane offense. After asking him about the Cardinal’s preseason ranking as #6 in the conference, Ricca says he would have it no other way. “We are gonna surprise some people this year,” says Ricca.

The confident quarterback has a number of targets that may turn out to have big seasons this year. None are more experienced than wideouts Andrew Buis, Miles Sabrick, Peter Mercatanti, and tight end Ryan Mcmanus. When asked about how many weapons the offense had, Buis was quick to acknowledge his offensive line. “As far as I’m concerned there are 11 weapons on this offense,” says Buis. Buis also says he expects a number of underclassmen to contribute early. “Freshman Alonzo Cooke has been very good working out of the slot receiver position, and sophomore Rich Brennan is going to be key for our o-line,” says Buis.

In any case, the Cardinals will have to improve on last year’s abysmal 511 total rushing yards on the ground if they are to make a deep postseason run. Several Cardinals may see time running the ball. The leading candidate is senior tailback Greg Brown. Ricca calls Brown “the most athletic player on this team”. Several other players may spell Brown who was redshirted last year. They include senior Stevie Hendley and sophomore Rich Barry.

The talent is obviously there; it is just time for the Cardinals to put it all together.

Cross Country Seeks Steady Race

Both the Men and Women’s Cross Country teams start up their season this weekend and look to shock some of the preseason predictions in their second year in the Landmark Conference.

In the women’s league, Catholic holds the fourth spot after earning 46 points in the voting, just eight points behind Susquehanna University in a very tight race to begin the season. Juniata College has been picked to repeat atop the conference as selected in the preseason poll. Juniata stacked up 70 points, 11 ahead of the second-place team Moravian College.

CUA had three All-Conference performers in 2007, which was enough to help the Cardinals to a third-place conference finish. Senior Jenna Hackett is back after placing fourth at the Landmark Conference meet. The team did, however, lose two of its top-five runners, including an NCAA Championship qualifier. With the addition of eight freshmen, team unity is the biggest key for success this season, according to Hackett. “The freshmen are bringing a new energy to the team and I am looking forward to running with these girls,” she says. “I think we could shock some people early on in the season.”

As for the men, they are looking to bounce back after a disappointing season in the Landmark Conference. Catholic is predicted to finish in 7th place, ahead by a six-point margin over only the United States Merchant Marine Academy.
The Susquehanna University men’s team has been voted to repeat as champs in the Landmark preseason poll. Susquehanna, who won the Landmark Championship in 2007, piled up 68 points in the poll.

While Catholic may not be top pick in the preseason, they are certainly looking to turn some heads this season. Andrew Smith, CUA’s top finisher at the Landmark meet, returns along with each of the team’s point producers from the group that placed sixth last season at the Conference Championships.

The gun will sound for both the men and women’s team for the first time this season on Saturday at the Washington and Lee Invitational in Lexington, Virginia.

Men’s Soccer Wins First Tournament in Seven Years

Catholic kicked off their season strong with two consecutive wins this weekend.
On Saturday’s game against Randolph-Macon, the Cardinals separated themselves from the beginning when sophomore Adrian Davis connected on a crossing pass that bounced inside the box. CUA went into halftime up 1-0, but Randolph-Macon responded within the first four minutes of the second half. Despite the setback, they rebounded with a game-winning goal by junior captain Matt Brady. The defense tightened up for the remaining 30 minutes as CUA sealed the win. With 2 additional saves by goalkeeper Quinn Daly, the Cards defeated Randolph Macon 2-1.

Catholic was back on the field Sunday against Randolph, defeating them 3-2 in a tough battle that was decided in overtime. CUA was the first on the board after Matt Brady scored on a free kick from 23 yards out. Brady bent the ball over a wall of Randolph defenders, netting a score in the corner of the goalpost. The Cardinals dominated the remainder of the first half, but were unable to put one in the net.

CUA continued to put pressure on Randolph early in the second half, and it didn’t take long for Kevin Duffy to score. The Cardinals carefully strung together a series of sharp passes which culminated in yet another goal from sophomore Kevin Duffy. Randolph, however, would not go down without a fight. Minutes before the final whistle, they wove through the Cardinal defense and were taken down in the box. Randolph capitalized on the penalty kick, and the two teams were tied with 2 goals and sent into overtime.

Three minutes into overtime, Duffy nailed the game-winning goal with a deep pass from junior Austin Costeira. “Austin was huge for us today,” says sophomore Matt Hofrichter. “Not only did he assist Duffy’s goal, but also had a key clearance late in the game”.

With the win over Randolph College, the men’s team not only improved their record to 2-0-0, but was also overall winner of the Randolph-Macon tournament. Duffy was named Landmark Conference offensive player of week and MVP of the tournament. Captain Tim McAneny notes, “We played well as a team, and it was good to pick up our first two wins.”

The successful weekend at the Randolph-Macon tournament has certainly influenced the team going into the new season. “We are young and are still getting to know the tendencies of each other,” says Coach Travis Beauchamp. “I think as we progress and gain confidence we will continue to improve. We have a very difficult weekend ahead of us up in New Jersey. However, if we play the way we are capable good things can happen.”
The men’s soccer team will compete in the Richard Stockton tournament this weekend in Pomona, New Jersey.