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(STATS) -- Several Northeast Conference teams had reason to smile after season-opening wins, a few more were left looking for answers following losses and one should be more than happy about its performance despite a defeat.Those victories could be harder to come by in Week 2.Bryant, Wagner and Sacred Heart were the conferences opening week winners, but Bryants victory came against Merrimack, a member of the Northeast-10 Conference affiliated with Division II. Any positive outcome for Wagner is big considering it opened 0-9 last season en route to a 1-10 finish, but the Seahawks 38-16 home win came against Saint Anselm, also a member of the Northeast-10.Great to get a win, Wagner coach Jason Houghtaling said. I think we played extremely hard, which was great to see.There was nothing cheap about Sacred Hearts 18-14 road win against Stetson as the Pioneers scored 12 unanswered points and limited the Hatters to 35 total yards in the second half. The Pioneers received outstanding work from tailback Ose Imeokparia and linebacker Kevin Barry. Imeokparia carried 13 times for 112 yards and produced the deciding touchdown on an 80-yard run, while Barry made a triumphant return to the field with a career-high 13 tackles after losing the final eight games last season due to injury.Sacred Heart opposes Valparaiso on Saturday in its home opener for the second of three consecutive contests against Pioneer League teams. Valparaiso has dropped 10 of its last 11 games, including a 56-3 loss to the Pioneers last season.Central Connecticut State was extremely sloppy in its 24-10 loss to Lafayette, turning the ball over on its first four possessions. The Blue Devils, though, did rally from a 10-0 deficit and were tied heading into the fourth quarter only to have the Leopards score 14 unanswered points.No Northeast team has a bigger challenge this week than CCSU, which has to travel to face James Madison -- ranked 12th in the STATS FCS Top 25 -- with the Dukes coming off an 80-7 annihilation of Morehead State last weekend. James Madison set several offensive records in the rout, piling up a school-record (for Division I) 607 yards of total offense, 498 on the ground, with a program-record 10 rushing TDs.The Blue Devils run defense was excellent in the opener, allowing just 22 yards on 34 attempts but the Dukes attack is far more formidable and varied.Also facing difficult assignments this weekend are Robert Morris and Bryant. Robert Morris would seem to be staring at a third consecutive 0-2 start with a visit to Dayton up next. The Flyers, who are 16-2 in the all-time series, won their 2016 opener after going 10-2 last season and will be facing a Colonials team that finished with 149 total yards in a 14-7 loss to Division II Alderson-Broaddus last Saturday.We lost the game because we didnt execute, said Robert Morris coach John Banaszak.Bryant will visit perennial power Montana State for the programs first-ever game against a Big Sky opponent and first-ever trip west of Pittsburgh. This will also be only the second time the Bulldogs have flown to a game.Defending conference champion Duquesne allowed Youngstown State to score on four of its first five possessions and was outgained 610-222 in a 45-10 loss. The Dukes try to regroup Saturday at home against Bucknell seeking their fourth win in the past five meetings.Theres little doubt that the Northeasts most impressive season-opening effort came courtesy of Saint Francis in a 41-31 loss at then-No. 14 Montana. The Red Flash, playing in front of the largest crowd in its FCS program history, held a 17-13 lead in the third quarter before the powerful Grizzlies reeled off the next 21 points.Montana coach Bob Stitt had high praise for Saint Francis.Theyre going to win a lot of games, Stitt said. They gave us everything we wanted. It was a struggle.To the surprise of nobody, Lorenzo Jerome shined again for the Red Flash. The senior defensive back totaled 196 yards on four kick returns, including a 73-yard touchdown, while also adding two interceptions. Jerome was named STATS FCS National Special Teams Player of the Week for his efforts.Saint Francis plays the second of four straight road games to open the season Saturday with a matchup against a Towson team that has won all four previous meetings, including a 35-20 victory last Sept. 12. Jannik Hansen Jersey . The Americans, skipped by John Shuster, seized the advantage in the eighth end by scoring five points for a 7-3 lead. The Czechs pulled two back in the ninth, but Shusters team of third Jeff Isaacson, second Jared Zezel and lead John Landsteiner ended with another point to secure the last Olympic berth on offer. Dylan DeMelo Jersey . Takahashi, who had a 10-point lead after the short program, received 268.31 points after the free skate to finish 15 points ahead of second-place Nobunari Oda. http://www.cheapsharksjerseys.com/?tag=adidas-logan-couture-jersey . Nigeria beat surprise package Ethiopia 2-0 in the second leg of their playoff for a comfortable 4-1 aggregate victory. Victor Moses converted a 20th-minute penalty after an Ethiopian handball, and Victor Obinna made certain of Nigerias place in Brazil with his powerful free kick in the 82nd at UJ Esuene Stadium. Brenden Dillon Jersey . Reassurance came from Paul Tesori, his caddie and close friend whose newborn son is in intensive care in a Florida hospital. "Paul sent me a text this morning, just told me he loved me and wanted to go out and fight as hard as I would any other day," Simpson said Sunday after doing just that. Chris Tierney Jersey . The Oilers come in having lost five in a row (0-4-1) and 16 of their last 20 games, dropping a 2-1 decision to the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday. RIO DE JANEIRO -- What happened out there?Serena Williams possesses what is arguably the most dominant stoke in the history of womens tennis: a powerful serve that has led her to 22 Grand Slam singles titles and Olympic gold in 2012. But Tuesday night in Rio, just when she needed it most, her serve looked like it belonged to a rank amateur playing a weekly round-robin at the local public courts.Time after time it happened: Her tosses wobbled in the air, and when her racket arm clunked into position it looked like her Wilson racket carried 20 pounds of extra weight. There was one uncertain double fault. Then another. Then, a little while later, another. Five double faults in one game, including one she barely managed to push into the net, leading to a break of serve that led to a three-game run of ungainliness that closed out the match.At the end of this 6-4, 6-3 third-round loss to 21-year-old Elina Svitolina, Williams game had vaporized into the warm Brazilian night. She was trying, but some in the crowd booed as if she wasnt. Others sat stone-faced, eyes wide, shocked at Williams loss of confidence, her 37 unforced errors and the sight of a supreme athlete looking lost on an Olympic stage.Was an injury the cause of it? She dropped out of the Montreal tour stop last month, citing shoulder concerns. But shes not saying, partly because shes not exactly saying much. When the match was done, Williams, the top seed, didnt make herself available to answer questions from the assembled media. Instead, she spoke into a recorder to a United States Tennis Association communications manager, who relayed to the media corps a short string of quotes.Its obviously disappointing but, you know, she played really well, and I think the better player today won, Williams said. It didnt work out the way I wanted to, but at least I was able to make it to Rio.It was awesome. It was fun. But its over now.Uh, yeah. That doesnt exactly give us much. It was Serena being Serena, which is why she is one of the most hot-button champions of our time.Make no mistake, from the start Svitolina dictated the terms of this match. Her forehand was simply dominant. She did not make many unforced errors. Importantly, before Williams meltdown, Svitolina did not back from the fight.The feeling is unreal. I still cant believe this match ended with a win for me, said the Ukrainian, who has risen to No. 20 in the world and is getting coaching help from retired Belgian great Justin Henin.Svitolina spoke of the importance of staying in the moment. How she kept on reminding herself, Dont play Serena Williams, Olympic champion and so many Grand Slams. Just play the ball and go for it.And so we have another stunner. Anotherr top seed down.dddddddddddd The Olympics can be rough ground for the top ranked players. Just ask Roger Federer, who has never won singles gold. Or world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, himself bereft of gold, the loser in a raucous upset Sunday night to Juan Martin del Potro.Part of it is that Olympic tennis is still trying to establish its importance. Motivation among the top players can wane; losing here hurts, but for most its not likely to sting as much as losing in a Grand Slam.This tournament just means more to the lesser-known players like Svitolina. For me, she said, the Olympics is the most special. Win the gold medal here, and she becomes a national hero in her Ukraine, no doubt.Less certain is whats happening with all of pro tennis right now. This match exposed the openings that seem to be spreading through the top of both the mens and womens games in 2016. Serena won Wimbledon but looked uncharacteristically befuddled in the finals of the Australian Open and French Open. Combine those results with Rio -- then consider her age and the upset she suffered in last years US Open semifinals against Italian Roberta Vinci -- and she seems far from a lock for taking Grand Slam No. 23 at next months event in Flushing Meadows.And what of the men? Djokovics upset loss here comes on the heels of being knocked from Wimbledon by journeyman Sam Querrey. With 35-year-old Federer off the tour for the remainder of 2016 because of injury, one has to wonder if theres an opening for someone else to make a sustained run at the top ranking that has been dominated by Djokovic for the past five years.Maybe itll once again be Andy Murray, who looks supremely confident after winning Wimbledon. He had an easy 6-3, 6-1 win Tuesday against Juan Monaco of Argentina. Maybe itll once again be Rafael Nadal, who looked very much his old self, beating Italys Andreas Seppi 6-3, 6-3. (Though two matches are not enough to judge someone who has been struggling through a year-long battle with injury and confidence woes.)Maybe itll be someone else. A few young talents are out there. Milos Raonic? The Wimbledon runner-up is one of them, though it would have been nice if hed bothered to show up in Rio. Nick Kyrgios is another. No doubt he has the talent, but his win last week in Atlanta cant cover up the fact that Tennis Australia declined to bring him to the Olympics because of his unpredictably awful behavior.Openings like this at the top havent come often in the most recent era of pro tennis. Then again, neither have performances as ungainly as those by Rios two No. 1-seeded players. ' ' '