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At almost the same moment on an August afternoon that West Virginia played its season opener against Penn State, beginning a journey that now finds it two wins from its first national championship, the teams best player was otherwise occupied winning an Olympic bronze medal a hemisphere away.As the Mountaineers concluded that first week with a game against Buffalo, Kadeisha Buchanan instead soaked in the Olympic closing ceremonies in Rio de Janeiro. She even met Usain Bolt.Which is to say that from the outset this season, Buchanan ran in different circles than your typical college senior.Different circles than even your typical All-American, for that matter.But it is what Buchanan has done since arriving back in Morgantown from Rio that makes the defender espnWs national player of the year. After a tie in their opening game without her, the Mountaineers have gone 21-1-1 with her in the lineup. They shut out the Big 12 for an entire conference season, allowing nary a goal in eight consecutive games. They earned the programs first No. 1 seed and survived both snow and foes to reach their first College Cup.Center backs rarely get to be stars. The position is responsible as much for defusing highlights before they occur as creating them in their own right. But already a World Cup and Olympic veteran for Canada at the age of 21, Buchanan cant help but be the center of attention for West Virginia. Her command of a craft stands out like, well, Bolt sprinting away from the pack in Rio. None of her peers do it as well as she does it.She is a soccer mind, West Virginia coach Nikki Izzo-Brown said. Shes commanding. She knows where everyone needs to be. Shes directing, shes orchestrating. Coaches will always tell you that they need great leadership to be successful, and thats exactly what we have in Keisha back there.It is difficult to quantify what makes a defender special, let alone the best player in the nation. Though they may score goals, as Buchanan has three times this season, and make themselves useful on set pieces, compiling statistics isnt a center backs primary work. Beyond the mere eye test, assessing Buchanan is a process of deduction. West Virginia has the second-stingiest defense in the nation. Buchanan is the teams best defender, backed up by an international pedigree that includes being named the best young player in the 2015 World Cup and a member of FIFAs all-star team for that tournament.Someone to whom all that applies, who North Carolina coach Anson Dorrance suggested might be the best center back in the nation -- a few weeks into her freshman season -- must be pretty good, right?Yet no matter how brilliant her soccer mind or impressive her athleticism, a defender will struggle to excel alone. Maybe more than any other position, a center back is dependent on the collective. And it is in that regard that Buchanan has grown from an amazing talent into a world-class player. Gone is the quiet reserve of a 17-year-old freshman who just wanted to play, not speak or lead.When shes telling someone to move, theyre moving, Izzo-Brown said of what she sees now. And people respond so well to her, and understand that she knows the game so well, that she is our fourth coach out there. ...Its like having a coach behind your team coaching.Even if leading from behind isnt exactly what Buchanan hoped for in Morgantown. It may be a myth that a frustrated striker inhabits the soul of every great defender, but Buchanan wont help dispel it. She had already debuted for the senior Canadian national team by the time she arrived at West Virginia, having previously earned a reputation as an up-and-coming defender on youth national teams. So she knew her role in college would likely follow that same route. But with a veteran back line already in place for the Mountaineers, the former striker for her club team hoped she might get some of the goals for herself.Those dreams died very quickly, Buchanan said. I knew coming into West Virginia that I was going to play center back. I kind of wanted to play forward, but Coach didnt let me. I got over it.Her tongue-in-cheek tone made it clear it wasnt an entirely serious lament. Not entirely.But twice this season the Mountaineers have needed Buchanan to revive her old skills.Down 2-0 at halftime against TCU in the Big 12 tournament final, matching the number of goals they conceded in the 12 games immediately preceding that contest, the Mountaineers pushed Buchanan into the attack in the second half. With a little more than a minute remaining in regulation, she scored the tying goal that brought on overtime and teammate Ashley Lawrences eventual winner.That was a game the Mountaineers very much wanted, the opportunity to sweep the conference tournament and regular-season titles. Then, when Buchanan stepped to a snowy spot as the fifth and final Mountaineer in a Sweet 16 penalty shootout against UCLA, a goal was a necessity.In a shootout for the first time since the 2014 tournament, when West Virginia lost to Georgetown, Buchanan lined up an attempt. Izzo-Brown said she asked Buchanan if she wanted to be on the list of takers. Buchanan didnt hesitate. She drilled the ball into the net, turned and leaped into the air as onrushing teammates swarmed her.West Virginia is most comfortable when its season is at her feet.Although she knew of the College Cup growing up -- plenty of Canadian national team players were veterans of NCAA championships in the United States -- it wasnt until a second-round loss against Virginia Tech her freshman year that she fully felt its importance. It is the biggest prize she can win in this uniform.Ive got to get one before I leave, Buchanan recalled thinking.She has since starred in a World Cup on home soil and won a bronze medal in the Olympics.And in her final college season, the best player in the nation has done all she can to give herself a chance at a different trophy.Colorado Rockies Gear . The 27-year-old Scrivens will be joining his third NHL club since signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs as a free agent in 2010. The move also reunites with him with head coach Dallas Eakins from their time together with the American Hockey Leagues Toronto Marlies. Cheap Rockies Jerseys . The incident occurred at 19:56 of the second period of the Kings 4-2 road win over Edmonton on Sunday. Nolan punched Oilers forward Jesse Joensuu in the jaw in front of the Kings goal during a scrum. https://www.cheaprockiesjerseys.us/ . The 29-year-old Baines has established himself as one of the top attacking full backs in the country and was the subject of two bids from United during the last off-season. Everton manager Roberto Martinez says that keeping Baines at the club is a "massive boost and exciting for the future" because he brings "maturity and football knowledge in a very specialized position on the pitch" and an "infectious and positive influence to the rest of the squad. Colorado Rockies Store . Inter president Erick Thohir says in a club statement on Wednesday that Vidic is "one of the worlds best defenders and his qualities, international pedigree, and charisma will be an asset. Rockies Jerseys 2019 .B. -- The Baie-Comeau Drakkar took over sole possession of first place atop the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League on Thursday with their sixth straight win.Jharkhand 236 for 5 (Tiwary 65, Virat 57, Mohanty 2-43) lead Odisha 152 (Pattnaik 43, Nadeem 4-31, Gupta 3-56) by 84 runsScorecard Virat Singh and Saurabh Tiwary made good use of perfect batting conditions at the St. Xaviers College Ground in Thumba to help Jharkhand take the first-innings lead on the second day of their final Group B clash against Odisha.Having folded for 152 on the opening day, Odisha needed to grab the chances that came their way. But they let off Tiwary on 5 at short fine leg. The Jharkhand captain struck 65 before retiring hurt; Jharkhand ended the day on 236 for 5 for a lead of 84.The day began with a fiery spell from Suryakant Pradhan. Sumit Kumar was bowled by one that cut back in at pace and uprooted leg stump. Virat walked out to a chirpy cordon and a short-ball barrage from Pradhan, who was pacy and hit good lengths to extract bounce on a flat deck. He also grazed the shoulder of Anand Singh on an occasion.Jharkhands batsmen, however, kept the score ticking, running sharply between wickets, making for a neat contrast to Odishas start on the first day. When Pradhan erred in his length, they were smart in using his pace to pick up boundaries.Anand and Virat added 63 for the second wicket to offset the early loss of Sumit, before Govinda Poddaar, the Odisha captain, broke through, having Anand caught at cover.dddddddddddd Poddar was denied a double strike when Tiwary lobbed a catch that the short fine leg fielder missed in the last over before lunch.Virat showed good judgement outside off and used his feet well against the spinners. The fifty came with a straight six after stepping down the track to Poddar. Virat handled the short and fuller balls with ease, cutting and driving to equal effect. But when he fell, it was to a nothing shot, trying to guide a wide ball from Basant Mohanty and finding point.Tiwary, though, was unafraid to loft the ball when it was pitched up. Shortly after he retired hurt, Mohanty struck for Jharkhand when Ishank Jaggi charged down the track and missed a fuller ball that took out off stump.A couple of muscular straight sixes from Kaushal Singh provided some late entertainment before Jharkhand suffered a late setback. Ishan Kishan, who had benefitted from some neat tucks and a swept boundary, was trapped lbw by Deepak Behera in the penultimate over of the day. But given the amount of dust on the surface, this lead could soon swell into a decisive one. ' ' '