Begrüßung » no fan of the trades allowed in the North

Bowling Green, KY (SportsNetwork.com) - Ranked by the Associated Press for the first time in school history, the 25th-ranked Old Dominion Monarchs try to keep the good times rolling on Saturday as they clash with the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers in Conference USA play at E.A. Diddle Arena. Off to the best start in program history, the Monarchs have lost just one of their first 14 outings, a surprising 64-45 setback versus Illinois State in late November. Since then the team has rattled off 10 straight victories which, while impressive, is still 12 shy of the school record of 22. Closing up a three-game road trip with this outing, Old Dominion most recently delivered a 72-51 knockout to Marshall on Thursday night in West Virginia. ODU, which has won 12 straight at home, returns to the Ted Constant Convocation Center next week for a meeting against Rice. As for the Hilltoppers, they too are off to a 2-0 start to the league slate thanks to an 81-62 beating of the Thundering Herd last weekend and a 74-66 triumph over Charlotte two nights ago at home. WKU has won four straight and six of the last seven outings, the one loss during the stretch coming against fourth-ranked Louisville, 76-67, on Dec. 20. With respect to the all-time series between these former Sun Belt Conference foes, the Hilltoppers cling to a 15-12 advantage, although this is the first meeting since the 1990-91 campaign. Defensively, the Monarchs held Marshall to just 37.0 percent shooting from the field and forced a total of 22 turnovers, far too much for the Herd to be competitive a few nights back at the Cam Henderson Center. At the offensive end, Jonathan Arledge tallied 13 points, followed by Trey Freeman and Jordan Baker with 11 points apiece. For Baker, the scoring burst marked just his second double-digit effort of the season and came on the heels of his scoreless performance versus Charlotte. From an offensive standpoint, Freeman is the only double-digit scorer for Old Dominion with his 16.0 ppg, stemming from 82.0 percent accuracy at the free- throw line. Freeman, who accounts for 3.9 rpg, is also first on the unit with 47 assists, just ahead of Aaron Bacote (9.1 ppg) who has handed out 40. From a defensive perspective, there are few teams in college that are as suffocating, limiting foes to only 54.8 ppg on 38.5 percent shooting from the field and 28.9 percent beyond the arc. After being knotted at 40-40 at the break, the Hilltoppers found themselves behind by seven in the second half before producing a 15-point swing in the period and the eventual victory at home. Except for Aleksej Rostov who finished with just two points in 12 minutes of action, every starter landed in double figures, led by T.J. Price who tallied 21 points. George Fant registered a double-double with 18 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, followed by Trency Jackson and Chris Harrison-Docks with 15 points apiece. Price, who is now 15th on the schools all-time scoring list and just 16 points shy of 1,500 for his career, is leading the WKU offense with 17.7 ppg, stemming from his 47.7 percent accuracy from behind the three-point line, which just happens to be better than his 46.9 percent from the field overall. Fant adds another 11.8 ppg and is tops with 7.7 rpg, although his 61.2 percent effort at the free-throw line keeps him from catching up to Price on the all- time scoring list. TORONTO -- Issey Nakajima-Farran walked past a reporter recently, confiding with a smile that he had finally got a TV for his new apartment. The Toronto FC midfielder was looking forward to being able to watch soccer again. The MLS newcomer was starting to put down roots in Toronto. An artist as well as a soccer player, he had deliberately chosen a slightly grittier part of town to make his home, to get a taste of the town. The Canadian international will be looking for a new cable provider and home after being traded Friday, on his 30th birthday, to the Montreal Impact for American Collen Warner and allocation money. The move, the first ever trade between the two teams, clearly came as a shock. "Birthday surprise!! Wow! Just like that. Its not right. Surreal. .mlssoccer .Inhumane," Nakajima-Farran tweeted. "Still in the dressing trying to soak it all in. My cargo box still hasnt arrived from Spain. Was ready to call this home! Life goes on." he added in another tweet before thanking the Toronto fans, players and everyone who had helped him settle. Nakajima-Farrans last kick in a Toronto uniform was the penalty shootout winner Wednesday that sent the Reds past Vancouver into the final of the Amway Canadian Championship. For Toronto, the deal is a chance to bolster a midfield that will be without Michael Bradley until his World Cup duties with the U.S. team are over. It also offers manager Ryan Nelsen a different piece in the midfield puzzle. When healthy, Toronto has options on the flank in Brazils Jackson, Alvaro Rey and Dwayne De Rosario. Nelsen also likes to use Jonathan Osorio there, allowing the creative Canadian to drift in and out. In central midfield, the options were fewer outside of Bradley and Osorio, especially with Jeremy Hall still working his way back from injury. Canadian Kyle Bekker has shown great growth but more help was needed. Warner is a holding midfielder who can play elsewhere along the middle. "Ive liked Collen for a long time, to tell you the truth," Nelsen said after practice Friday. "He gives us options in that midfield that we just didnt have," he added. Warner has 92 appearances, including 64 starts, with Montreal and Real Salt Lake since emerging from the football factory of the University of Portland. A holding midfielder, the 25-year-old has started all nine of Montreals MLS games tthis season but was sent off for handball last time out in a 3-0 loss to Sporting Kansas City.dddddddddddd Nakajima-Farran has two goals in five games since signing with Toronto, second only to Jerman Defoes three. He had been with the team since training camp but did not sign until late March. "I feel sorry for Issey," Nelsen said. "Because since we brought him in, hes done nothing wrong. Hes such a great guy and hes done really well. "But unfortunately when we have all our players back, it probably would have been hard to see him starting on the team. Where with Collen, hell start. Hes a starting player .... Hes a guy we targeted and Im glad hes going to be walking in the door." Nakajima-Farran will offer Montreal some creativity and flair in the attacking half of the park. But with seven goals for and 17 against, the Impact needs help at both ends. Toronto FC captain Steven Caldwell was sorry to see Nakajima-Farran go. "Its horrible and thats just the game we play, especially in this (MLS) environment with the trading and different things that go on," said the Scot, no fan of the trades allowed in the North American league. "We wish him all the best. He was an important member of our squad. We enjoyed his play and his company and everything about him. A fantastic lad. "But decisions are made and we move forward. Were getting an excellent player coming in. Isseys going to a great football club as well. Hopefully everyone benefits from it." Born in Calgary to a Japanese mother and a British-Canadian father (who was born in Rhodesia), Nakajima-Farran moved to Tokyo when he was three and London when he was 10. He spent his teenage years in the British capital, playing in the Crystal Palace youth system before heading to Japan to begin his pro soccer career. He went on to play in Singapore, Denmark, Australia and Cyprus. "He is a player whose qualities will fit well within our group and style of play," Impact head coach Frank Klopas said in a statement. "We feel his experience with both the national team and abroad will benefit our team." Impact owner Joey Saputo has promised changes to his 1-5-3 team. The allocation money obtained in Fridays deal may help that cause. Nakajima-Farrans salary is listed at US$110,000 by the MLS Players Union, compared to US$143,000 for Warner. ' ' '