Boukidis delivers Huskies’ first 2011 win

The following are updates on area athletes at the collegiate level.

Frances Boukidis (Crescenta Valley, 2010) Northern Illinois women’s soccer, sophomore: Boukidis helped deliver Northern Illinois its first win of the year, scoring two goals against Loyola on Sunday to give the Huskies a 2-0 victory in their senior game and nonconference finale.

Northern Illinois has struggled offensively all season, scoring one goal in seven games coming into Sunday. Boukidis changed that with a bit of luck, as she proved to be in the right place at the right time, cleaning up two rebounds on shots from teammate Kelsey Passaglia for goals.

Boukidis’ first goal came in the second half when Passaglia worked her way into the box and fired off a shot that Loyola’s keeper couldn’t handle, leaving a rebound for Boukidis to put away for her first goal of the season.

“Kelsey pretty much did all the work for it,” Boukidis told niuhuskies.com after the match. “I was just there to follow up with it. She charged the goalkeeper, the ball popped out and I was just focused on placing it.”

The former Falcon’s second goal came in the 74th minute when Passaglia rifled a shot that bounced off the right post to the middle of the box, where Boukidis knocked it in to seal a 2-0 win for the Huskies.

Northern Illinois’ defense also had a big part to play in its first win, limiting Loyola to just two shots on goal. The Huskies haven’t allowed a goal in the past 200 minutes.

Boukidis is her team’s goal and points leader (with two goals and one assist for five points), as she’s played a part in all three of the Huskies’ goals this season. She had an assist on her team’s first goal of the season against Northern Iowa on Sept. 4.

The Huskies open Mid-American Conference play against Toledo on Friday at 2 p.m.

Eric Kleinsasser (Crescenta Valley High, 2007) Occidental College men’s cross-country, senior: Kleinsasser knows cross-country isn’t the hottest sport on the market. It turns out the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference couldn’t ignore his performance at the UC Riverside Invitational Saturday, though.

The former Falcon and three-time SCIAC men’s cross-country champion finished first Saturday with a time of 24 minutes 21 seconds, beating out 139 runners. The performance earned him SCIAC Male Student-Athlete of the Week honors, which were released Wednesday.

“I’ve gotten this honor a couple times in the past and it’s always great to know that the SCIAC is involving all sports in athlete of the week honors,” Kleinsasser told oxyathletics.com. “It’s always appreciated to see running get some credit. I was happy with how Saturday went and I’m glad that I got recognized.”

Kleinsasser’s first-place time delivered a second-place finish for the Tigers.

“That second place didn’t happen because I wanted it to happen, it was because of those two through five right behind me,” Kleinsasser told oxyathletics.com.

Occidental Coach Rob Bartlett agreed with his star runner.

“[The award] embodies all of the hard work and dedication that Eric has put into cross-country for the past three years,” Bartlett told oxyathletics.com. “It’s a reflection of where we’re at as a team. Eric isn’t where he’s at without the support of his teammates.”

Luke Collis (St. Francis High, 2007) Occidental College football, junior: Collis has proven to be the most important piece of Occidental’s offense two games into the season. The former Golden Knight has accounted for all six of his team’s touchdowns this season.

Occidental opened the season with a 30-12 win on the road against Puget Sound on Sept. 10. Collis completed 24 of 35 passes for 287 yards and four touchdowns.

Collis threw for 235 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, completing 26 of 43 passes, in a 41-17 loss to Menlo College at home on Saturday. The Tigers moved the ball well, racking up 21 first downs, but turned the ball over four times, twice in the red zone.

Occidental will look to improve to 2-1 when the team travels to Whittier College to face the Poets on Oct. 1 at 7 p.m.

Jenna Orlandini (Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, 2009) Washington women’s volleyball, junior: After cruising through their nonconference schedule, the Huskies dropped their PAC-12 home opener to No. 13-ranked USC on Friday, 25-20, 28-26, 25-20. Orlandini had 19 digs, two assists and an ace in the match.

Washington bounced back with a three-game sweep of UCLA in a home match Saturday. The fourth-ranked Huskies defeated the sixth-ranked Bruins, 26-24, 25-12, 25-20, which improved Washington’s record to 9-1, 1-1 in the PAC-12. Orlandini had 10 digs and an ace in the win.

The Sacred Heart graduate has a team-high 121 digs this season. She also has 27 assists and nine aces this year.

Brian Trejo (Hoover High, 2009) San Francisco State cross-country, junior: San Francisco State has taken first at each of its two meets to open the year, the Notre Dame de Namur and Sundodger invitationals on Sept. 3 and 17, respectively.

The Gators took first with 24 points at the Notre Dame de Namur Invitational, behind six top-10 efforts. Trejo finished eighth in 22:15. San Francisco State’s 61 points were good for first place at the Sundodger Invitational two weeks later. Trejo was one of five Gators to crack the top 20, as he took 19th in 25:25.88 in the meet.