The Amsterdam Arena, in the midst of an Ajax soccer game, was the loudest place Chris DelGiudice had ever been. When a player on Roda JC, Ajax’s opponent was awarded a penalty kick, the arena got even louder.

“He ended up missing it, and the place got even louder,” DelGiudice, a Husson University senior and a captain on the Eagles’ men’s soccer team, said.

DelGiudice and 14 of his Husson teammates recently returned from an 11-day tour of Europe, in which the team took in professional games in Holland, Belgium and Germany, and played four games against amateur clubs.

“We tied our first game, and the next three we lost,” DelGiudice, a Messalonskee High School graduate, said.

Most of the players on the European teams the Eagles faced were a little older, in their mid-20s, DelGiudice said. As the Eagles played against the strong competition, DelGiudice, a midfielder, noticed improvement.

“We started passing and moving a little better,” DelGiudice said. “Either we were going to do it, or keep getting embarrassed.”

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For the 15 players who made the trip, the experience against stronger competition will only help when the Eagles begin preseason workouts next week.

“All 15 of us can bring this to our preseason,” DelGiudice said.

Husson reports to preseason camp this weekend. The Eagles open the season on Aug. 30 at Wheaton College.

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Colby hired a new men’s lacrosse coach, Jack Sandler, who spent the last eight season as head men’s lacrosse coach at Skidmore College.

Sandler replaces Justin Domingos, who left Colby to become an assistant men’s lacrosse coach at Boston University. Domingos coached the Mules for three seasons.

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A Bates graduate, Sandler was the Liberty League Coach of the Year in 2007 and 2011. He led the 2011 team to a league regular season title and led the Thoroughbreds to appearances in the conference title game in 2007 and 2010.

“It’s bittersweet for me in that I’m really excited and energized to get going with that group of guys at Colby, but it’s also tough to leave this group here behind,” Sandler said in a Colby release.

Sandler was a four-year starter at Bates, and finished his career as the second all-time leading scorer in Bobcats history with 199 points. Sandler was the 1999 NESCAC Rookie of the Year after leading the Bobcats in scoring and earned 2002 All-New England Small College Athletic Conference First Team honors.

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The defending North Atlantic Conference men’s soccer champion, Thomas College will have to go for its third trip to the NCAA tournament in four years primarily on the road.

Of the 17 games on the Terriers’ schedule for the upcoming season, only five are home games. Thomas opens the season on Aug. 30 against William Patterson at the Endicott Invitational Tournament. The Terriers won’t play at home until Sept. 27, when they host Bowdoin. That home game comes after seven consecutive road games to start the season.

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The Terriers will make their playoff push on their home turf. Four of Thomas’ final five games of the regular season are at home, and all are conference games.

Thomas went 15-3-2 last season, falling to Williams, 2-1, in the opening round of the NCAA Division III tournament.

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Stephen Whelpley, a 2005 graduate of Colby, will compete with the U.S. National Team at the 2013 World Rowing Championships in Chungju, South Korea. The world championships begin on Aug. 25 and continue through Sept. 1.

Whelpley earned his first-ever senior national team trials win with a victory in the men’s single final, rowing a time of 7 minutes, 15.5 seconds on Mercer Lake in West Windsor, N.J.

“This has been a long time coming,” Whelpley said in a USRowing news release. “I’m an older guy here at the trials, but by no means too old. Eight years has been a long time coming.”

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Whelpley’s win capped a strong summer. In June, he won the men’s single final at the USRowing National Championships, also at Mercer Lake, with a time of 6:57.28. Whelpley started that meet with a time trial win of 6:46.53, beating a field of 21 rowers.

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The Friends of Maine Women’s Basketball will hold their 19th annual golf classic on Sunday, Sept. 8, at Belgrade Lakes Golf Club.

The cost of the day of golf is $150 per player, which includes a cart and barbecue. Each team will have get a chance to have a photo taken with Maine women’s basketball coach Richard Barron, as well as meet members of the team.

Registration will begin at 11:30 a.m., with a shotgun start kicking off the four-person scramble format at noon.

Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242

tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com


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