Rend Lake College Soccer

RLC vs McKendree

2010-09-29T19:56:00.000-07:00

After our loss to East Central on Monday, we were hoping to get back on the winning track with a W at McKendree today. This is the second time that we have made the trip to Lebanon in the past three years. They were scheduled to come to The Lake last year but we had a rain out and couldn't squeeze a make up date in. We lost to McKendree's JV two years ago 5-4.

It's a shame when a game that is played on such a large field as soccer gets managed by two officials. It's hard enough for a three man crew to watch twenty two guys, much less two men. It's especially hard when those two men aren't very mobile. We had two officials today that had trouble walking up and down the field much less running at a pace that they need to in order to keep up with the game. I know it's a JV game for McKendree and it's a non conference game for us, but try telling that to the guys that play. They play for a win whether it's a scrimmage, a JV, or a regular schedule conference match. Officials rarely play a part in the outcome of the match, but today they did, for both sides. Okay now that I have that off of my chest I feel a little better.

McKendree scored first about half way through the first half. Yes it was a questionable goal but nonetheless it was a goal. They found the back of the net 10 minutes later on another questionable goal. We came close to scoring two or three times as the result of some very nice shots on goal, but their Keeper was able to keep them out of the net. The half time talk was about how we could get back in the game. I stressed the need to play 1 and 2 touch ball as we build the attack and to utilize our wide players to stretch the defense so that our forwards can match up with the backs one on one, then we can send the ball in and hopefully get a goal. I think that talk went in one ear and out the other one without touching anything inbetween.

The score remained 2-0 until Jordan Grace had a nice shot on the frame that beat their Keeper. That seemed to stir a fire in us and we played with renewed interest for the rest of the half until they scored on a thirty yard shot late in the half.

We're on a losing skid. We have to find a way to put the brakes on and turn this thing around. Half of the season is gone and our record is 3-7. We have some hard games ahead of us. If we don't find a way to rack up a few wins we're in danger of not finishing above 500.

RLC vs East Central College

2010-09-28T10:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a beautiful day for soccer. The morning temperature was in the 50's and by game time it had climbed to the upper 70's. We had plenty of sunshine so it made for a great day for soccer.

This was our first meeting with East Central College. I received a call from Coach Bobby Peters back in the spring about putting a match together. So we settled on a date and agreed to a home match with them. Coach Peters is in his third year as the head coach and he has put together a good program.

I did a little research on them and found that they had played some teams just as close as we had played them so I figured that we were in for an even match. My estimation proved to be true.

We started out the match on a good note. We played well and had two very good chances to go ahead early but our chances didn't produce the goals that we wanted. East Central struck first. It was a very unexpected goal. One of their players struck the ball about 35 yards out. It wasn't a hard shot, but it was a low shot that looked as if it was going wide right of the frame. Instead it hit the lower right corner and ricocheted in the goal, just outside the reach of Timmy. We played the rest of the half equal and when the first 45 minutes expired we were down 1-0.

At the half I told the boys that I wasn't aware of any part of our game that needed to be adjusted. Aside from the fact that we still are not disciplined enough to possess the ball in the last portion of our middle third and the first part of our attacking third, we played a very good first half. Timmy made some key saves, and our boys played hard. I couldn't ask for more from my players than they gave me. We wanted to go out in the second half and square the game up early so that we could settle in and play a controlled game the rest of the half. But they scored again, and we found ourselves down 2-0.

The Warriors kept battling, and in the 82nd minute Rocky found the back of the net. 2-1 looks a lot better than 2-0. With 8 minutes remaining our boys poured it on. They pulled out all the stops and battled intensly until the horn went off. Neil Houlihan missed a goal by inches as he banged a header off the side post, and a few other boys had good chances to even the score, but it wasn't meant to be.

This was one of those games where I felt that we won the battle but lost the war. Both teams had some very good goal scoring opportunities, and both teams played possesion ball. Maybe I'm biased, but I think we had the edge in possesion and goal scoring opportunites. In the end, we congratulated ECC for a well played game. I look forward to traveling to their place next year to even the score...:-)

RLC vs Kaskaskia

2010-09-23T20:24:00.000-07:00

Soccer in Region 24 is tough no matter who you play, but the stakes go up when you play someone in your neighborhood. That's the feeling that I have had for the past two years when we have played our neighbors, SWIC and Kaskaskia. Today was no different. Coming into the match today RLC and Kaskaskia were both 0-4 in Region 24 play. So to say that both colleges wanted a win in the region is an understatement.

After looking at the records of both teams and comparing how we have faired against the teams that Kaskaskia has played I felt like today's match would be a close game. They have played some teams close, just as we have and they have lost some games by the same goal differential that we have lost. On paper it looked like an even match. So we approached this match with the hopes that we would get out in front and stay there the entire match, putting the pressure on them to play catch up.

We scored our first goal in the 12th minute. Nelson Kenne put one in on the end of a nice run to the box. After his goal I could see the hunger in the eyes of the other boys as they were celebrating the first goal. The second one came nine minutes later in the 21st minute from Robert Rock. This was the first of two goals for Rocky on the day. He scored later in the second half in the 59th minute. Our midfield and defense kept the ball out of our defensive third for most of the first half, making life easy for our Keeper, Timmy Meldezis. After missing some very good opportunties to score in the first half (we failed to convert a PK) we went into the half with a 2-0 lead. My speech at half was, "Don't come out flat, go out with maximum intensity and put this one away early". I challenged them to mess KC's sheets up in the first five minutes so that we would dash any hopes of them coming back to make a game out of it.

The boys overwhelmingly responded. Jordan Grace found the sheets at the 47th minute off of a sweet assist from Alex Larson, who by the way played a man's game in the middle. Twelve minutes later Rocky delivered the knock out punch with a goal in the 59th minute and once again Larson was credited with the assist. With the game under wraps we tacked on three more goals in the remainder of the game. Jordan Grace and Neil Houlihan teamed up for back to back goals in the 76th and 77th minutes. It was Alex Larson that finished the scoring as he capped off an attack lead by Micah Ressler with a goal in the right side of the net in the 89th minute.

This was a breakout win for us. We have been in some very close games where we felt like we should have scored but for whatever reason we just couldn't get a goal. The first one is always the hardest to get, and I feel like if we can get the first one that it will open the gate for the rest of them. The gate opened tonight and the boys responded with a very good performance. I hope that we can play Monday's game with this game fresh on our minds. If so, we should score first and often against East Central.

Nice win Warriors!!! Keep up the good work.

RLC vs Lewis & Clark

2010-09-20T20:13:00.000-07:00

We drove to Godfrey this past Saturday to take on Lewis & Clark. Godfrey isn't a bad drive, a little over two hours. So, we weren't to terribly exhausted when we got there. The weather was excellent for a September match. The sun was out and the temp before game time was upper 80's. When we stepped on the pitch I was very surprised that the pitch was in such bad shape, but when Coach Tim explained that they had a double header on it during a big rain a week earlier then I understood why the pitch was so beat up.

In spite of the poor field condition our boys played a very good first half. We had three shots on goal and held them to only one shot. The Warriors came off the pitch at half confident that we would put one in the net before they did. We had plenty of very good opportunities to do so. When you get excellent shots on goal like we had you tend to think that surely one is going to get in sooner or later. However, that's not the way it turned out. They got a 22 yard free kick at the top of the box on a questionable call that resulted in the lone goal of the game in the 73rd minute. But our guys did not put their heads down, they stepped up and played intense soccer for the remainder of the match with a couple of excellent chances to score. In the last minute of the game, the blind official missed an aggressive foul on L&W that should have resulted in a PK but instead he ruled it an obstruction and gave us an indirect kick in the box with 33 seconds on the clock. We took the kick and almost converted it as it ricocheted off one player and then another.

We had some good performances from several players in this match, but the young man that stood out was Tyler Weston. He stepped in and played the 4 spot for the absent Griffin Groves. Griffen was at his Grandmother's funeral. Tyler played excellent and demonstrated to the coaches and the team that he is capable of stepping in and playing at a high level in the back.

The 1-0 loss was a little bitter since we played so well, but that's the way the ball rolls sometimes and we have to learn from it, keep working hard, and hope that the ball will roll our way this Tuesday and Thursday.

RLC vs St. Louis Community College - Forrest Park

2010-09-16T19:18:00.001-07:00

Last year we drove to St. Louis to play Forrest Park. That was our first meeting so we had no idea what to expect. What we found was an equally matched team that played physical just like we did. The end result was a 1-1 tie after regulation time had expired and after two 10 minute overtime periods. So based on last year's experience I was expecting a similar match this year, and that's exactly what we got.

When the game started both teams were playing high defense with intense pressure on the ball. This battle took place for the first 10 minutes with both teams pressing the ball into the other teams attacking third but with no real threat to score. That changed in the 28th minute when Forrest Park struck first. But the Warriors didn't lay down, they came back with a very good effort and put one in their sheets in the 33rd minute. Alex Larson set up Jordan Grace with a nice ball and Grace was able to finish. That's the way the score remained until half, although Jake Keck had a very nice 25 yard shot bounce of the top iron right before the half.

At the half we felt like we had a very good chance of going up a goal and staying on top, but that wasn't the way that it played out. Forrest Park struck again in the 71st and 82nd minutes on two silly, mental mistakes on our part. Hopefully we can make some adjustments before our next match and get a win at Lewis and Clark this Saturday.

RLC vs Danville

2010-09-09T21:23:00.000-07:00

Since year one RLC and Danville matches have been very good matches. Coach David and I are two of the newest coaches in the Region and our programs are fairly new as well. So that combination has made for some very close matches over the past two years. I was expecting the same this year, but Coach David did a very good of recruiting this year and he has put together a pretty good team.

We made the trip today thinking that we might be playing in the rain since it was cloudy and threatening rain in the Mt Vernon area when we left. But when we got to Danville we were greeted with sunny skies and 80 degree weather. It was a beautiful day for soccer. We started on a right note. Within the first two minutes of the game we take the ball down the left side and get a shot on goal. The Keeper made a good stop and it looked like we were going to have a good shot at putting some pressure on their defense. They scored 15 minutes later on a free kick, one of our weaknesses this year, and we didn't allow another goal for the rest of the half. We had a couple of good opportunities to score but the ball wouldn't roll for us.

In the second half, we broke down mentally due to some questionable calls that resulted in two goals. When we went down 3-0 you could see the frustration on our faces. Our goal came on a nice shot from Rocky, about 22 yards out on the left side of the box. He drove it through the Keeper's hands. He almost scored again on a 35 yard set piece right in the middle of the field. He banged it off the top iron.

We had some good things happen in the game. We possessed the ball well, and we had some decent runs in the game. Since we aren't a very tall team, we worked on playing the ball on the ground to feet or to space behind the defense and that part of the game showed up today. Our young team is still adjusting to the 4-3-3, especially the front three. But they're making progress with every game, and hopefully by the time tournament time comes around we'll have it down and be ready to have a good showing.

Danville is a good team. They have already surprised some of top teams in our Region and they are going to give the rest of them fits, and possibly win more than they lose. We've played three very good teams already and have played with them for the most part. The final score today was 6-1, with the last three goals coming afer I subbed my starters.

The rest of the season is going to be a challenge. I hope the boys recover and get mentally tough for the next few games. A win or two for us can make a big difference in the season.

RLC vs Richard Daley College

2010-09-07T19:06:00.001-07:00

I got a call back in the spring from Coach Gonzalez at Richard Daley College in Chicago. He was looking for a match and was wondering if RLC would be willing to host a match. I agreed without knowing anything about RDC and didn't know what to expect from them. After our phone conversation I got online and did a little research and found out that they were a new program like RLC. Since they were a new program I figured that this would be a pretty equal match for us.

When RDC came to RL today, I felt like we had a good chance of coming out on top with a win. We needed a win since we had just dropped two games in a row to SWIC and Lincoln Land. I wanted a win as well, but I didn't want one like the one we got today.

We played RDC scoreless in the first half. I was disappointed, Coach V was disappointed and the boys were disappointed that we played for 45 minutes without converting on A LOT of goal scoring opportunitites. When we came out in the second half, I was sure that we would get a quick goal, but it wasn't until the 23rd minute of the second half that we found the net. Neil Houlihan scored an unassisted goal to put us ahead 1-0. That's the way it stayed until the 94th minute. RDC scored with 30 seconds left on a corner to send the match into overtime.

In the first ten minute golden goal overtime we blew two good chances to score, but in the second one Neil Houlihan messed up their sheets on a nice assist from Rocky, and sealed the victory for us.

I had a headache after the game. I guess I was a little tense after the half due to our lack of scoring. It was a win, not the kind that I wanted, but it was a win. That improves our record to 2-2. We'll have to play better soccer than this on Thursday if we hope to get a victory at Danville.

RLC vs Lincoln Land

2010-09-07T18:54:00.001-07:00

Lincoln Land has been one of the top teams in Region 24 for the past three years. Coach Noonan does a very good recruiting some top notch talent and it shows in his games. When we drove to Springfield last Saturday I knew that we were stepping on the pitch with the 15th ranked NJCAA Division l team in the nation. However I had a feeling that if played the kind of game that we played at SWIC that we would give them a good match.

We played high energy, intense soccer for 90 minutes. I thought we did a good job of possessing the ball and we had the ball in the attacking third plenty of times, but we couldn't find the net. Lincoln Land scored four goals. All four of them were on set pieces. That says a lot about our defense. They did their job by shutting down the runs and the through balls. But LLCC's height was to much for us on corners and set pieces. We didn't match up well with them on those plays.

We had three really good scoring opportunities but we failed to convert them into goals. When we play a team of this caliber we have to make good on those goal scoring opportunities in order for us to have a chance to win the game.

I was pleased with our boys, they played hard and would not quit even when we were down.

2010 Rend Lake Warriors

2010-09-06T07:35:00.000-07:00

We set a date for team pictures twice but for various reasons those two times didn't work. The third time was a charm.

Back row from left to right; Dylan Starr, Joel Harrison, Chase Winn, Cody Shires, Grant Odell, Timmy Meldezis, Neil Houlihan, Alex Larson, Griffin Groves, Jacob Butler, Dusty Whiteside, and Wan Kuzac.

Middle row from left to right; Dillon Peebles, Victor Barillas, Sammy Fuentes, Micah Ressler, Jarrid Kraft, and Tyler Weston.

Front row from left to right; Jake Keck, Ben Wilburn, Robert Rock, Jordan Grace and Nelson Kenne.

RLC vs SWIC

2010-09-02T19:50:00.000-07:00

Today was our third meeting with SWIC in as many years. The first meeting was at their place and we were handed an embarassing 10-0 loss. Last year we were the host and we played respectable soccer with several shots on goal in the first 20 minutes of the match but no score. In the end we dropped that one 3-0. Today we made the trip to SWIC with only one tuneup match under our belts, a scrimmage with Williams Baptist College that we won 1-0. I was eager to see what kind of game we would play with the adjustments we made after we watched the film of our match with WBC.

After the opening whistle we started out like we did in our scrimmage, nervous and anxious. However, after 10 minutes we settled down and played as we are capable of playing. We battled SWIC to a 0-0 tie at half and to say that I was pleased would have been an understatement. I told the boys at the half that I just watched the best half of soccer that I have seen at RLC. After we settled down, we possessed the ball, played aggressive defense, had several shots on goal, but we were not able to mess up their sheets. But even without a score I saw some beautiful soccer. I was pretty confident that we would come out in the second half and go up a goal early with a very good chance to win the game. That was what almost happened in the 75th minute. Dylan Starr had a great shot on on the left side of the field after receiving a cross from the right side of the pitch, and it was just barely off the mark. That wasn't the only shot on goal we had. We had plenty of chances to get on the board first but it wasn't meant to be.

Timmy Meldezis turned in another brillant performance at Keeper, and I can't say enough about the back four with special cudos to Neil and Griffin again for being a wall in the middle. Joel, Dillon, Ben and Tyler all played well at the 2 and 5 spots. Micah and Jake played well at the 6&8 spots, and Alex had a very good game at the 10 spot. Chase Winn turned in a very good performance as he spelled Alex at the 10 spot in the second half. The front three (Nelson, Rocky, and Jordan) worked hard and made a lot of things happen in the attacking third of the pitch. Sammy and Dylan did a very good job coming off the bench to play up front.

In the end SWIC scored in the 84th minute. We made a defensive mistake by leaving a man unmarked as one of their boys played a nice angled pass from the goal line to the top of the box.

All in all I am very proud of our boys. They played a good game and demonstrated good sportsmanship, which is more than I can say for a few of our opponents. With a few adjustments we should be able to improve as the season progresses and hopefully we'll peak when the post season comes around.

Injury in the first match

2010-08-26T19:44:00.000-07:00

Our first match was 08/23, and by the 25th minute our roster was reduced by one due to an injury. Wan Kuzac Wan Kamal was playing midfield when he went down with an injury to his left knee. He was making a cut back at the time that a defender clipped him from behind (not malicously) and he went down. When we got him to the sideline he told the Athletic Trainer that he heard a pop when the contact was made. I looked at her and said, " A pop isn't good is it". She shook her head signifying no. Since Monday, Wan Kuzac has been walking with crutches and has had two doctor appointments. He had his MRI today and we are waiting for the official results. It appears that he will be out for the season, but that isn't the official word. If that's the case that will be a loss for us. We were counting on him putting in some significant time in the midfield. But we have guys that can step up, and that's what they will have to do.

Keep Wan Kuzac in your prayers!

RLC 2010 Roster

2010-08-26T19:08:00.000-07:00

I have 23 boys this year. They come from as near as Mt. Vernon and as far away as Ireland. Here's a run down of the 2010 RLC Soccer Warriors.

My four returners from last year are Joel Harrison (Mt Vernon), Griffin Groves (Olney), Neil Houlihan (Springfield, Il), and Jordan Grace (Hopkinsville, KY). Harrison, Groves and Houlihan play in my back four and Grace plays forward.

I picked up four from Marion High School. Chase Winn, Ben Wilburn, Dillion Peebles, and Timmy Meldezis. Peebles plays in the back, Wilburn alternates between a back and a midfielder, Winn plays mid, and Timmy is one of my Keepers.

I have three local boys from Mt. Vernon. Dylan Starr plays forward, Tyler Weston plays in the back, and Micah Ressler plays at midfield.

Three boys from Crossville Tennessee joined the squad this year. Sammy Fuentes, and Victor Barillas play forward and Jacob Butler plays in the back.

The rest of the Illinois boys are; Jake Keck (Breese) plays at midfield, Dusty Whiteside (Anna Jonesboro) plays in the back, Alex Larson (Springfield) plays at midfield, Wan Kamal Wan Kuzac (Carbondale) plays midfield and Grant Odell (Carbondale) is my other Keeper, Cody Shires (Harrisburg) plays in the back and Jarrid Kraft (Belleville) plays midfield.

My last two boys are a good ways from home. Nelson Kenne is from Michigan and plays forward, and Robert Rock hails from Dublin, Ireland, he too is a forward.

We have plenty of talent on this young team. The challenge will be for everyone to accept their role and play as a team. If we can do that we have a good chance of having a successful season.

RLC vs Williams Baptist College

2010-08-23T21:17:00.000-07:00

We played our first match of the 2010 season at The Lake today at 2:00. Our opponent was Williams Baptist College. Williams Baptist is a four year college in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas. I have a special connection with WBC, it's my alma mater. I graduated in 1979 when it was called Southern Baptist College, at that time it was a Junior College. The Lord used those two years at SBC to lay some foundations of faith in my life, and I made some life long friends as well. Enough reminiscing, let me tell you about the match.

The weather was perfect. It was sunny with mid to upper 80's temperature and a nice breeze to top it all off. It was our first match of the season, and it was long overdue. We started training on August 2nd with two a days until August 16th. We just completed a week of one a days and the boys were ready to take on someone besides their team mates.

When the whistle blew our boys were so pumped that they were a bit nervous and out of sorts for the first few minutes, then they begin to settle in. We were playing well with several opportunities in front of their net, but we couldn't put one in. In the 15th minute Griffin Groves went for a header in the box and the Keeper came out and up to challenge it and the Keeper got the worst of the collision. He fell on his back and his head hit the ground pretty hard. It was one of those things that happens in this game. Their was nothing wrong with Griffin's header and there was nothing wrong with the Keepers challenge, it was incidental contatct. The Keeper remained on the ground and the Official promptly stopped play. After our trainer examined him she called the ambulance just to be on the safe side. He was taken to Good Sam in Mt Vernon and was discharged later that night around 6:00ish. Praise the Lord that the Keeper didn't suffer any permanent damage. His neck is very sore and it will be for awhile. After the Official restarted the game we came out flat and just couldn't get it together. In the 25th minute one of our own, Wan Kuzac, went down due to a hard tackle from behind. He was carried off the pitch by his teammates. He sat out the rest of the game, and we're waiting to hear the official report on him in the next few days. He has to wait for the swelling to go down first. We need to pray that his injury is not a season ending one. After all of that first half drama, we somehow managed to find the back of the net at the 44:45 mark. Jordan Grace got the goal off of a very nice assist from Neil Houlihan. So we went into halftime with a 1-0 lead.

There's only one way to describe the second half,,, sloppy. We trained for three weeks on a 1-2 touch possession game, playing the ball wide, with 2 and 5 covering the flanks, 6 and 8 supporting 9 and 10, and 7 and 11 chasing back on the counter, but it looked as if we had only been practicing for a day or two. It wasn't lack of conditioning, our boys are fit, it was a lack of concentration and composure. The bright spot of the entire match was the stellar performance of our Keeper, Timmy Meldezis. He kept his net clean with some very nice saves.

We won, but it was ugly. We have some work to do in order to get ready for our tough Region 24 opponents. It's a good thing we got this game on film, we'll spend some time studying this film for the rest of the week.

Our next match is September 2nd against SWIC. We'll need to play better soccer to get a win at SWIC.

2010 Schedule

2010-07-03T19:25:00.000-07:00

We have 18 matches this fall. Below is the schedule:

August 23rd, Home, Williams Baptist College 2:00
September 2, Away, SWIC 4:00
September 4, Away, Lincoln Land 12:00
September 7, Home, Richard Daley 4:00
September 9, Away, Danville 4:00
September 16,Home, Forrest Park 4:00
September 18,Away, Lewis and Clark 12:00
September 21,Away, Heartland 3:30
September 23,Home, Kaskaskia 4:00
September 27,Home, East Central 3:00
September 29,Away, McKendree JV 1:00
October 1, Away, Lincoln 1:00
October 5, Away, Kaskaskia 3:00
October 9, Home, ICC 12:00
Ootober 11, Away, Greenville JV 4:00
October 14, Home, Parkland 4:00
October 16, Away, St. Charles 2:00
October 18, Away, Lindenwood @ Belleville 3:00

Open Field

2010-03-20T07:03:00.000-07:00

The Rend Lake Soccer field is OPEN to anyone on Tuesday and Thursday at 4:30 til ? It is also OPEN on Saturdays from NOON til ? Open means that high school, college, and adults are invited to come and kick the ball around. The OPEN field started this week and will continue to the end of the semester. Of course, weather will have something to do with it so make sure and check with me before you come to make sure it isn't to wet to play. You can reach me at jimduncan@charter.net or call me 618-437-5321 ext 1717. So, grab a ball, some shin guards, shoes and join us for some soccer!

Update on Women's Soccer

2009-11-20T15:20:00.000-08:00

I had a meeting at Rend Lake this afternoon and in this meeting I was informed that Women's Soccer has been put on hold. RLC will not have Women's Soccer in 2010 due to a shortfall in state funding. Hopefully the program will start in 2011.

RLC Women's Soccer

2009-10-28T19:25:00.000-07:00

Rend Lake College has decided to add another sports program to their list. Women's soccer will commence in August 2010. I have been hired as the head coach of men and women's soccer. I will be hiring one assistant for the men and one assistant for the women to help me run both programs.

If you know of any young ladies that are looking for a place to play collegiate soccer, please tell them to contact me. Since the high school girls play in the spring, I'll have plenty of time to scout the 2010 class. I'm sure we'll be able to put a competitive team together for our first season.

Region 24 post season scores

2009-10-28T16:09:00.000-07:00

Information on Region 24 post season games is hard to come by so I thought I'd publish this in order to keep you informed about the tournament.

The three play in games were:
SWIC (1) vs K.C. (0)
RLC (2) vs Danville (0)
Lewis and Clark (6) vs SCI (1).

Round One had:
Lincoln Land (2) Lewis and Clark (1)
ICC (7) RLC (0)
SWIC (4) Heartland (2)
Lincoln (2) Parkland (1)

Round Two has:
SWIC vs ICC playing on 10/28
Lincoln vs Lincoln Land playing on 10/29

I'll update the scores when I get them

UPDATE!! ICC beat SWIC 1-0.
Lincoln Land beat Lincoln 2-0

ICC and Lincoln Land play for the Region 24 Championship at Bradley University on November 1st.

UPDATE,,,, ICC beat Lincoln Land 1-1 (3-1 PK) They play SchoolCraft College (16-1-1) on November 6-7th.

UPDATE,,,,SchoolCraft beats ICC 2-1 in overtime.

Post Season Honors

2009-10-28T15:57:00.000-07:00

I received an email from Rod Lovett, Region 24 Men's Soccer Director, notifying me that we have three boys that have been selected for post season honors.

Thad Snell has been selected as First Team All Region. Logan Gregg and Juan Arreola received Honorable Mention for Region 24.

The coaches of Region 24 teams submitted their nominations two weeks ago, and the selection was made public today. This is another accomplishment that we can add to our list this year.

Congratulations to Thad, Logan, and Juan!

RLC vs ICC

2009-10-24T18:57:00.000-07:00

We made the road trip to Peoria today for the second time in seven days. Last Saturday we wrapped up our Region 24 play at ICC and today we were back for the first round of the Region 24 playoffs after winning our play in game last week against Danville.

The field was the same,,, awful muddy and mucky; The weather was the same,,,, cold and windy; and the result was the same,,, ICC won. We lost to a very good team 7-0. We tip our hats to Coach OZ and his boys. They are a very fine team.

Our boys played a very good game in spite of the poor field conditions, and Josh Sears put in a fine performance at Keeper. I've watched a lot of Keepers this year in Illinois, Arkansas, Missouri and Illinois, and I've seen a few just as good as Josh, but I haven't seen one better than him.

We'll get to host ICC next year. Hopefully the pitch will be dry and fast, and maybe the outcome will be different.

RLC vs Danville

2009-10-22T07:13:00.000-07:00

We hosted Danville in the first round of Region 24 post season play on October 21st at 2:00. Of all the teams in Region 24 we know Danville the best because we have played them four times in the past two years. Of those four matches Danville has won 2, we have won one, and we tied one. It's always a good match when we take on Danville.

This one started the way we wanted it to, with a 1-0 lead by a goal from Jared White in the 8th minute. That's the way the scored stayed until half. In the second half we dodged a bullet as Danville banged on off the top post on a wide open goal. In the 80th minute we went ahead 2-0 on a goal from Thad Snell, and that turned out to be the final score.

Josh Sears turned in nice performance as he recorded another shutout with 8 saves. We finished with 17 shots on goal.

With this win our record is now 9-9-2. Our next match is this Saturday against ICC.

RLC vs Forest Park

2009-10-22T07:00:00.000-07:00

We played Forest Park Community College in St. Louis on Ocotber 19th. The match was played under the lights at the beautiful soccer specific facilities of St Louis University High School.

We got on the scoreboard first with a goal by Jared White. Forest Park tied it a little later on, and we went ahead again by a nice goal from Eli Bradley on a beautiful assist by Cesar Garcia. Forest Park tied the score with 35 seconds to go in the match on a nice corner that they converted on the back post. After two 10 minute golden goal overtimes the match ended in a 2-2 tie.

Our thanks to Coach Henson and his boys for hosting us. We're looking forward to returning the favor in the 2010 season.

RLC vs ICC

2009-10-22T06:24:00.000-07:00

The trip to Peoria is a long one on any given day, but when you drive for 11 hours the day before it makes it a bit longer. We got back from our Mississippi late Friday night, then left for Peoria on the morning of the 17th to drive for four hours and play one of the best teams in the nation.

It wasn't the best of days to play. Peoria had received a lot of rain and the pitch was in bad shape. Add to that the cold weather and it didn't make for one of those "perfect days" to play on.

We went up 1-0 on a nice goal by Griffin Groves. He had a nice break away on the left side and sent the ball to the right side of goal from 20 yards out. ICC tied it shortly after that on a PK, and by half it was 4-1. The game was called in the 72nd minute due to the unsafe conditions of the pitch with ICC leading 9-1.

Coach Oz has done a great job assembling a nationally ranked team. They are awesome! One of our boys summed up the day the best when he said, "this is the best team I've played against on the worst pitch that I've played on".

RLC's Mississippi Trip

2009-10-22T06:04:00.000-07:00

One of the items on our fall agenda was to take a road trip in order to get our program some exposure outside of Southern Illinois. So on October 13th we hit the road for Mississippi.

We played Southwest Mississippi Community College on the 14th and walked away with a 4-3 win. It was a good physical match for us. We played one of the best possession games that we've played all year and it paid off for us. Many thanks to Coach Strother and his staff for making us feel welcome at SWMCC.

We left Summit the next day and drove to Poplarville to play Pearl River Community College. After going up 1-0 early in the game on a penalty kick by Ceasar Garcia, our boys were shot. The game the day before, the 90+ temp, the humidity, and a very good Pearl River team, were to much for us on that day. We lost 6-1. I would have preferred a day's rest between the games, but there wasn't much we could do about the scheduling this year. Next year, we'll try to avoid back to back matches. But our jerseys go off to Coach Byrd and the Pearl River boys, they played a heck of a game.

Hopefully we'll get to host one or both of these programs next year. This may be the beginning of some good matches with some Mississippi teams.

RLC vs St Charles

2009-10-10T17:45:00.000-07:00

We hosted St. Charles Commuity College this afternoon at 2:00. This was our first look at St. Charles. I knew very little about them before the match, except for their record. I had a hunch that it would be a pretty even match, and I was right.

We started the match like we have started most of our games this year, that is we scored first. Jared White laid off a text book cross in the box and Thad Snell was there to clean up. St. Charles looked a bit down, but they responded with an unlikely goal five minutes later. 1-1

After a foul just outside the box was awarded us, Thad Snell takes the free kick and messes their net up with a rocket shot that went through the wall and past the Keeper before he knew what was up. We're up 2-1 and feeling pretty good. But ten minutes later they take the ball down the right, cross it in with a diagonal pass and tie it up 2-2. That's the way the half came to a close.

In the second half one of our boys gets his second yellow (I'm not going there to talk about the call) and we have to play the rest of the half down one man. That worked to St. Charles' advantage. They scored in the 70th minute and we failed on several opportunitites to capitalize. 7-7-1 is not where we wanted to be at the end of this week, but that's the way the ball bounced for us.

We're taking a trip to Mississippi next week to play Southwest Mississippi Co.Co.and Pearl River Co. Co. We get back on Friday, go to Peoria on Saturday and wrap up our season on the 19th in St. Louis against Forrest Park Co. Co.

RLC vs Parkland

2009-10-06T19:19:00.001-07:00

Parkland was one of those teams that beat us pretty bad last year. They are one of those teams that is on our payback list...:) We knew going into the match that we would give them a good one, and that we might even be able to pull off an upset.

The crowd, and the opposing team, were a little stunned when Thad Snell put one in from the right side in the 15th minute of the first half. The rest of the half was played hard, and physical on both sides, and it would have been a very good half IF the officals would have done what they were paid to do,,,, call a fair game. I don't like to talk about poor officiating, and 99% of the time I don't. But when lack of calls and missed calls result in goals,,,that's when I get a litte upset. What really upsets me even more is when an official acts in a non professional manner and taunts my boys! It is my responsibility to stick up for my boys, and that's what I did. Okay enough about the poor officiating, except to say that Parkland scored two goals on two missed calls, and we were denied one goal scoring opportunity because a foul on our attacker was not declared a PK, like it should have been. So, at the end of the first half it was 2-1 Parkland.

In the second half we had some good opportunities to tie the game, but their Keeper played a nice game and turned us away. Parkland got one more goal in the last two minutes of the game. When the whistle blew, we walked away feeling like it was a much closer game than a 3-1 loss.

They are still on our payback list, so hopefully next year when we welcome them to The Lake, they'll have a long bus ride home.

RLC vs Danville

2009-10-06T19:05:00.000-07:00

Danville. When I mention that name to my sophomore boys they get this look in their eyes and a taste in their mouth for victory. Last year in our first meeting we had a bitter battle with them at home, we lost 4-1. The second game of 08 was played at Danville and they won 2-1 on a last minute goal. So, needless to say, we wanted Danville in the worst way this year.

Our first match ended in a tie at the end of regulation, but that was due to poor officials who didn't know that we were supposed to play two ten minute golden goal overtimes. Fast forward to last Saturday, and we are hosting Danville for our second match of the year.

The first half was played extremely hard, something that our boys and Coach David's boys find easy to do when we play each other. In spite of hard, physical play the first half ended with a 0-0 tie.

What a difference halves can make. Our boys came out on fire. We shifted from a 4-3-3 to a 4-4-2 and messed up their net three times in the last 45 minutes. Jared White put in two and Thad Snell added one. Danville got one late in the second half, but that was all they could muster. Kudos for an excellent effort to our Keeper Josh Sears. He had several nice saves and some unbelievable boots up the field to help us keep the pressure on their end of the field for most of the second half.

Now that we have a win against Danville, maybe our boys can relax a little bit next year and put Danville away twice without the pressure of getting that first win.

RLC vs Kaskaskia

2009-10-06T18:48:00.001-07:00

We took a road trip to Kaskaskia last Friday to match up with the Blue Devils for the second time this season. Our first meeting ended in a 2-1 win for us in double over-time.

The game got under way just like the first one did. We found the back of the net early in the match for a 1-0 lead. KC got on the board a little later on and the first 45 minutes came to an end with a 1-1 tie.

In the second half we made an adjustment in our midfield that allowed us to dominate possession. Yet in spite of almost total control of the game we were only able to score one more goal. Give credit to the KC keeper, he made several saves.

Our boys wanted this win pretty bad, and in spite of a low scoring game they felt like they had the game under control for the bulk of the game. It's a nice feeling to be able to beat a conference opponent twice in the season. I'm sure this is the beginning of a very good rivalry.

RLC vs Lincoln Land

2009-09-26T20:50:00.000-07:00

We hosted the 10th ranked team in the NJCAA today. Lincoln Land College came to Rend Lake today at 2:00. At the beginning of the match, the weather was beautiful, but by the 72nd minute the lighting came and the heavens opened. An hour later the rain finally stopped but the field was declared unsafe by the officials and the game was called.

Lincoln Land is a very talented team. They played physical, but our boys stood up to them and gave them a very good first half. The score was 2-0 at half, but one of the goals came on a mistake by us. So, I told our boys that they only had one earned goal in the half. 1-0 is not a bad score for the first 45 minutes of play against such a talented team. We didn't have a very good possesion game in the first half and that was probably due to Lincoln Land's pressure. We did a little better at possesion in the second half but the rains came and cut our chances short to try to catch up with them.

The game ended 3-0. We have two games next week. Hopefully we will have our injured boys back for those games.

Soccer Pictures

2009-09-26T20:36:00.001-07:00

Dr. Brian Lee is not only an exceptional Podiatrist, he is also an accomplished photographer. He was at our game with Heartland and today's game against the 10th ranked team in the NJCAA, Lincoln Land.

Follow the link below to view and, if you want, to purchase some pictures.

http://www.toedoc.smugmug.com/Sports/Rend-Lake-Soccer-2009

RLC vs. Lincoln

2009-09-17T18:59:00.000-07:00

Last year we made a trip to Lincoln and when the match was over we were looking at 10-0 loss. It was an ugly match, with poor sportsmanship on both teams but more so on them. I remember leaving the pitch thinking, "Next year things will be different".

We hosted Lincoln today. The weather was perfect, the pitch was in excellent shape, and the boys were ready. We got off to a good start. Thad Snell scored in the tenth minute. A few minutes later Griffin Groves missed a wide open shot in the six yard box. Seven minutes later Keiler Dillman put one in, and in the 32nd minute Thad messed up their net again. The half ended with the Warriors on top with a 3-0 lead.

The second half saw Lincoln turn up the heat, but our defense responded (as they always do), and shut them out with a little help from our Kepper, Josh Sears. Josh had 11 saves in the game. Before the final whistle blew Thad got the hat trick in the 73rd minute, a first for a Rend Lake Warrior!

This was a nice win for us. It's great to be 5-4-1. We're almost half way through the season and we're above .500 in one of the toughest regions in the nation. Not bad for a second year program!

RLC vs. Lewis & Clark

2009-09-17T18:50:00.000-07:00

We hosted Lewis and Clark this past Tuesday at 4:00. From the get go we felt like we had an excellent chance to get a win against a team that beat us 9-2 a year ago.

The first half was a very good effort for us. When the first 45 minutes had expired we had 7 shots on goal with two corners, but no score. L & C scored two in the first half on four shots on goal.

The second half was another battle and when the dust settled we had four more shots on goal but none had found the back of the net. L & C remained scoreless as well. It was a hard fought match, and we came out short.

I have to think that if we play them six times, we would win half of them. But this is the one that counts, so we'll chalk it up as a learning experience and hopefully come out on Thursday and score some goals.

This loss drops us to 4-4-1.

RLC vs SCI

2009-09-12T18:06:00.001-07:00

We hosted Springfield College in Illinois today at 2:00 pm. Last year we traveled to Springfield and got beat 6-0. So, this was one that we really wanted, and we got it with a 2-1 victory.

I gave the boys Thursday and Friday off because we were so banged up, and worn out. We had a long road trip this past Monday, and we had a battle with SWIC on Wednesday. So, I called for a two day hiatus, and I think it made a huge difference. Our boys were fresh, and so ready to play.

We came out hot. Thad Snell had his first of two goals in the fifth minute. He found the back of the net again in the 20th minute. My Mids played a very good game, and my Defense was stellar. When we have both of those things going for us, all our Forwards have to do is hit the gaps on the runs and finish. We didn't finish like we should have. One goal was called back for offside, and two bounced off the wood, while three went wide. They snuck one in with in the 40th minute.

When time expired our boys were pretty happy, and so were the coaches,,,:) 4-3-1 is a record that I'm very happy with. We only have two games next week, and both are home games. I'm glad we are not traveling, that will help us recover, and hopefully be fresh for both games.

Injury report. Neil Houlihan and Joel Harrison are still on the DL. They both have severe quad injuries. We're going to nurse them along and bring them back when they are healed. We will need them for the middle to the end of the season and also for our post season play. Keep them in your prayers.

RLC vs SWIC

2009-09-09T16:01:00.000-07:00

We hosted SWIC this afternoon. The 3:00 scheduled game came on a beautiful sunny afternoon. It was hot, and I think the temp got a little hotter as the game got under way.

SWIC is a very good team. They were one of the teams that beat us pretty bad last year. Needless to say, we wanted to give these boys a run for their money this year. Realistically I thought we could play with them this year, and we did.

We started the game with three starters out with injuries and three more starters played with injuries. Thankfully we have some talented guys that can come off the bench and give us some good playing time. If we get a chance to see them again this year, hopefully it will be with an injury free squad.

When the whistle blew to start the game, it was on. Both teams wanted to establish dominance, and it was a fast paced game for the first ten minutes. They got on the board first at the 15 minute mark. We came back with a nice shot on goal that almost broke through. 10 minutes later they get their second one, and that's the way it stayed until half. We had three shots on goal in the first 45 and they had six, converting on two of them.

The second half was ours for the first quarter. We had two very good opportunities to score, one on a break away, and one from a corner. At the 65 minute mark they scored their final goal. We had two more chances to get on the board, but they both were stopped. Both teams ended the half with 4 shots on goal.

Our defensive backs played superb. Those guys leave everything they have on the field. When they walk off, they are spent. Our mids did a pretty good job of possessing, but against such a quality team we had some trouble with that part of our game. Freshman Keeper Josh Sears played an excellent game. Our forwards are banged up, and it showed today. We need some rest and recovery in order to get ready for SCI this Saturday.

The loss puts us at 3-3-1. If we're going by points, we have 10. Not a bad start at all.

RLC vs Carl Sandburg

2009-09-07T21:45:00.000-07:00

We took the boys to Galesburg today, a five hour bus trip, to play Carl Sandburg. The start time for the match was 3:00. Two minutes into the game and we're up 1-0 with a nice finish from Thad Snell. By the time the whistle blew for the half we had a 3-0 lead. Thad had put another one in and Andy Jerome scored his first of the year.

At the half we talked about not coming out flat, like we had done on two other ocassions. The boys responded. Our defensive game never looked better. The back four turned in a stellar performance as they helped our rookie Keeper, Josh Sears, keep the net clean the entire game. Marcus, our starting Keeper, is out with a back injury. Our offense also responded. Jared White and Eli Bradley found the back of the net for the first time of the year with two sweet goals.

The win made the five hour trip home a little better, although it's no fun getting up at six, leaving at eight, and getting back home at 11:30.

We're at 3-2-1. At the beginning of the season I looked at our schedule and wondering where we would be at this point of the season. At that time I thought we would have a little better record than we have, but I am not complaining.

We have two tough matches this week. SWIC comes to the Lake on Wed and SCI pays a visit on Saturday. I hope we are able to stay close with these teams until the end of the match so we can give ourselves a chance to pull out a couple of more wins.

RLC vs. Heartland

2009-09-05T15:30:00.001-07:00

We hosted Heartland College from Bloomington this afternoon. Heartland was one of those opponents that we had no chance against last year, but this year was different.

The game was 3-1 at halftime with Heartland in the lead. Juan Arreola hit a rocket in the 25th minute to put us on the scoreboard. Our defense held and at half we were down by two goals. This is the first game this season where we haven't scored first. We had some very good opportunities to score in the first half, but we didn't get the job done.

The second half started out in our favor. We put early pressure on Heartland and had two near miss shots on goal. Thad Snell scored in the 70th minute, after they had scored another goal. We had two more good opportunities to score, one being a penalty kick that the Keeper stopped, and the other being a one on one break away. The game ended with a 5-2 loss. That puts us at 2-2-1.

I told the boys that they played exceptionally well against one of the better teams in our Region. Hopefully when we get our injured players back, we'll put together a better performance in our next few games.

Right now we have three guys nursing quad problems; Neil Houlihan, E.Z. Wright and Joel Harrison. Two of our guys have taken some pretty hard hits on the head and they aren't back to full strength yet. They are Micah Duncan and Griffin Groves. Hopefully we'll have all of these guys back by midweek next week.

We go to Carl Sandburg on Monday. It's a long drive, and I hope we get a much deserved win.

Big Conference Win

2009-09-02T20:37:00.000-07:00

There are only three men's soccer programs in the GRAC. They are Rend Lake, Southwest Illinois College, and Kaskaskia. We played KC today at 3:00 and came out on top 2-1 in a double overtime.

The game was scoreless at half. Both teams put forth a good effort. We ended the half with three shots on goal, KC had one. We had 10 breakaways but we couldn't find the back of the net on any of them. Frustrated was the mood at half. Our forwards were shaking their heads because of all the missed opportunities to score. We came out in the second half and put one in. That seemed to take some pressure off. We wanted a second goal quick in order to take the air out of KC's balloon, but after several chances the score was still 1-0 until they scored on a good shot from midfield. It was tied with 17 minutes to go in regulation. We kept the ball on their end and had a few good opportunities to go ahead, but the whistle blew before we could add one to the column.

The first ten minute overtime lapsed without a score, although we had a near goal in the first two minutes on a nice breakaway on the left. In the second overtime Thad Snell took the ball down the left, put a nice cross in the middle and Neil Houlihan finished. It was an exciting win, and it puts us in a good position early in the season. 2-1-1 is a pretty good start.

1-1-1

2009-09-01T19:28:00.000-07:00

That's the way our season has started. One win, one tie, one loss. We hosted Lindenwood University at Belleville yesterday afternoon at 4:00. LU @ Belleville is a new program, much like Rend Lake was last year, except for the fact that LU is a four year university. Coach Dan Hogan found 18 Junior College transfers and has put together a pretty good team.

I had no idea what to expect when the whistle blew yesterday afternoon, but I was confident that our boys were up for the challenge. The first half was pretty even. We had the slight edge in possession time and we had a few more opportunites to score than they did, but we both come up blank in the first 45 minutes. It was a physical game, but the Head Ref kept things under control. So, at half we talked about putting one in quick to gain the mental advantage. We responded with a beautiful cross by Juan Arreola and a nice finish by Neil Houlihan in the goal box. We have scored first in our first three games. That's normally a good sign of things to come, but not necessarily so.

We did the same thing in this game against LU that we did against Danville when we went up,,,, we relaxed. The intensity was gone, we let our guard down and they scored within 15 minutes. We talked about correcting that in tonight's pratice. 15 minutes later LU finds the net again. Now we're down 2-1 and LU is nervous. They change their game plan, and try to go to a stall game. Our boys dug down and put pressure on their end of the pitch for the next fifteen minutes. We bounced one off the far post, missed by inches. And Juan Arreola had a rocket shot from 35 yards out that almost caught the upper 90. Two inches to the right and we're up by one, if you count the one that bounced off the far post. We put constant pressure on their Keeper in that last quarter of a half, but it wasn't meant to be. The final whistle blew and we walked away with a very near miss.

Positive points on the game were: (1) Marcus Fernandes turned in a very good performance as Keeper. (2) Backs. I used six backs in the game and they all gave me a great effort. (3) Possession game. We did a very good job of possessing the ball in the first half, we didn't use it like we should have in the second half. (4) Forwards, worked hard to open up space for some nice runs. I used six forwards and there isn't much difference in all six. They all gave me quality time.

Yes, I was disappointed. This one could have easily gone our way. I always feel better after a win, but we can't win them all. This was a very good effort against a good team. We're a better team for playing this game. So, we'll build off of it and hopefully get a win tomorrow against Kaskaskia.

First Official Match

2009-08-29T19:07:00.000-07:00

On August 28th we took a three hour road trip to Danville to play our first "official" game of the 2009 season. Last year we lost to Danville 4-1 and 2-1. Needless to say we were wanting to go to Danville and get a win this year.

The game stared the way we wanted it. Thad Snell put in a goal on a breakaway from the left side at the 15 minute mark. We were looking good. Our possession game was exceptional, and we were putting good pressure on the ball. But after our first goal we hit a lull, and we didn't see much production although we had some good chances to score. Danville put in their first goal late in the first half. It was a 30 yard shot from midfield after a rebound from the penalty area. So, at half time it was 1-1. Not exactly what I was hoping for at half time, but it wasn't a bad effort.

In the second half Neil Houlihan found the back of the net on a breakaway. His goal put us up 2-1 and that's the way it stayed until the 80th minute. They scored from the midfield again after a poor effort on our part to clear the ball. Their second goal should have never been. Our boys seemed to dig down a little bit after that tieing goal. We had some very good chances to go ahead. Three breakaways were foiled by a good effort on the Keeper.

Disappointed, not angry, was a good description of me after the game. I felt like we had the advantage in speed, and talent. I'm not making excuses for the game, but the officiating was sub par for collegiate soccer. Even the opposing coach agreed with me after the game about the sub par officiating. BUT officiating did not lose the game for us. We just simply failed to finish on the ample opportunities that we had. If we would have made half of the breakaways that we had, the score would have been 5-2. Hopefully, we'll do a better job at finishing next week at our three home games.

This was a good test for us. It humbled us a little. I think the boys went into this match thinking that we would be able to do to Danville what we did to Williams Baptist. Hopefully we have learned to not take any game for granted.

Next week is a busy week with three home games. We play Lindenwood University at Belleville and I don't know a thing about them. So we will prepare for them like they are an excellent team and hopefully have a good showing on our home pitch. Kaskaskia is our opponent on Wednesady. They are a new program like us, and that should be a pretty even match. Heartland comes to the Lake on Saturday. They will be a tough opponent. Last year we played them a close game on a small field, but at the end of the season we played them on a different field and they handed it to us. I think we'll give them a little better game this year.

In the end 1-0-1 isn't a bad start, could be better, but it could be worse.

Season is under way

2009-08-24T20:41:00.000-07:00

The day of the first game, although it was a scrimmage, has come and gone. We played Williams Baptist College in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas this past Saturday. I never thought August 22nd would get here. It's a long time between August 1st and the 22nd when you are conditioning, training, and playing inter squad games. The boys were eager to play, and the coaches were certainly eager to see the boys play someone else.

We had a good showing. Our possession game was very good and so was our defensive pressure. We could have finished a little better on a couple of headers, and our corners need a little work, but all in all it was a very good outing. Our freshman Keeper (Marcus Fernandez) got put to the test a few times and he had a good showing. He'll continue to improve with experience and training.

You're not supposed to keep score in "scrimmages", but we won 4-1,,,:) We had some goals by two freshmen, Thad Snell and Neil Houlihan, and one goal by one of our returning sophomores, Jared Butler. Josh Sears, Griffin Groves, Andy Jerome, Ceasar Garcia, and Jared White all had opportunities to put one in the back of the net, but it wasn't meant to be for them. We have an excellent starting front line and we have three to four more on the bench that will come in and spell those boys and do an excellent job.

What I was most proud of was our possession game. I love possession soccer. To be able to build the attack from the back with one and two touches passes, taking the ball wide to stretch the defense, then passing to the middle so that our mids can send the ball forward through lanes created by our forwards making creative runs is simply beautiful to watch. We have three very good mids that can get the job done, along with two - three reserves on the bench that can come in and make a positive contribution. If we continue to do what we did last Saturday, and improve on that part of our game, we will be a pretty tough team by mid season.

The one downside to the game was the concussion (or contusion the drs. can't seem to make up their mind) that Micah Duncan sustained early in the first half. He went up for a header in a crowd and took a shot to the head either with an elbow or another players head. He came off the field during a regular substitution complaining of blurred vision. So I set him out for the rest of the game and took him to the Emergency Room after his symptoms continued. But the Emergency Room Dr. said that the scan didn't reveal any serious damage and we were cleared to go home, after a 3.5 hour visit! Micah is day to day right now. He should be back in a week or so.

Our next match is the start of our "official" season. We go to Danville this Friday to play the team that beat us last year 2-1 with 10 seconds left on the clock. Needless to say, we want this game pretty bad. Hopefully we'll show up ready to play and give Danville a very good game.

News on the Kenyans

2009-06-21T21:03:00.000-07:00

Oscar and Antony had their appointment with the U.S. Embassy on the 17th of June and they were denied their request for a student visa. The reason they were denied is complicated so I won't go into any details, but it was not a permanent denial. They can reschedule their appointment with the Embassy and provide the information in that interview that was lacking in the first interview. Keep them in your prayers as they make another appointment in the very near future. Their bags are packed, their airline tickets are arranged, all they need is approval from the Embassy to come the states.

Just in case they don't make it, I'm on the hunt for some others that might fill their spots. We will have a full team of players by August, one way or the other.

With or without the Kenyans we are going to be a good team. I'm very pleased with the talent that we have been able to assemble so far. I was wanting to see you all on the pitch in a bad way on the night of our team meeting, but it wasn't meant to be. Hopefully we will get you all together soon so we can see what we have.

Keep conditioning, you're going to need to be in very good shape by the time we hit the ground running on August 1st.

Team Meeting Update

2009-05-28T20:55:00.001-07:00

The Team Meeting will be June 8th, 5:00 p.m. at Second Baptist Church. SBC is located at 605 South 34th Street, Mt. Vernon. We'll meet at 5:00 for a cookout/meeting, then conclude with a light scrimmage just to see what we have as a team. You won't need to bring anything for the cookout, just an appetite. If for some reason you can't make it, (you better have a very good reason why you can't make it) call me or text me and let me know.

For those of you that live an hour or so drive from Mt. Vernon, you may want to contact Coach V and make arrangements to spend the night at America's Best Inn in Mt Vernon. Coach V owns the motel.

2009 Schedule

2009-05-28T20:31:00.000-07:00

RLC is having trouble posting the new schedule so I thought I'd publish it.

8/22 Williams Baptist College JV Away Not yet determined
8/28 Danville Away 3:00
8/31 Lindenwood University Home 4:00
9/2 Kaskaskia Home 3:00
9/5 Heartland Home 2:00
9/7 Carl Sandberg Away 3:00
9/9 SWIC Home 3:00
9/12 Springfield College Home 2:00
9/15 Lewis and Clark Home 4:00
9/17 Lincoln College Home 3:00
9/22 ICC Away 3:00
9/24 McKendree JV Home 3:00
9/26 Lincolnland Home 2:00
10/2 Kaskaskia Away 4:00
10/3 Danville Home 2:00
10/5 Parkland Away 4:00
10/8 Missouri Baptist JV Away 5:00
10/10 St. Charles Co. Co. Home 2:00
10/14 Southwest Mississippi Co.Co. Away Not yet determined
10/15 Pearl River Co. Co. Away Not yet determined
10/19 Forrest Park Co. Co. Away 7:00

Better late than never

2009-05-21T11:30:00.000-07:00

Jared White was one of the first guys to sign back in late fall of 2008. I wasn't able to get ahold of his picture until recently. He will be a force to reckoned with in the midfield. He played high school soccer at Triad and he played one year at our rival SWIC. We won't hold that against him,,,:) I'm glad that he is a Warrior. He will make a big difference for us this year.

Team Meeting

2009-05-20T20:25:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, I'd like to have a team meeting on June 8th or 9th. I need to know how many can make it on those days. If we go on the 8th we will have a meeting in the late afternoon with a cookout/meeting and a fun scrimmage just to see what we have. If we go on the 9th we will have the meeting in the morning with a meeting/cookout and a fun scrimmage.

Text me and let me know what day is best for you. Then I'll get back with you on which day works out best for all of us. Hopefully all of you can make it.

Housing News

2009-05-20T19:42:00.000-07:00

I got word today that the housing deal in Ina is approved! George (the owner) has purchased two homes that will house 16 people. The rooms will be $225 for the first two months and then drop to $200 for the rest of the year. Rent includes water, gas, electricity, and garbage pickup. Beds, end tables, stove, refrigerator, and a washer and dryer are included. Cable and Internet access are not included. But the guys that stay in the houses can get together and purchase cable/internet as a group, if you want. The houses will be ready within two weeks. George is having new carpet installed in both houses. I'll let you know when you can come and check them out.

As of now, 16 of you have said that you are interested in the housing. So we are maxed out on housing. If you have changed your mind and are no longer interested let me know as soon as you can.

Schedule for fall 2009 is ready!

2009-05-19T19:30:00.000-07:00

One of the hardest parts of this soccer job is scheduling games. I'm happy to report that the hard work is over and we have a final schedule. We will have to tweek it just a little because we don't have the start time on three of our games, but other than that it is ready to publish. It should be online in a few days, so go to rlc.edu and check out the soccer page for the schedule.

I'll go ahead and give you the dates and opponents that we play on a few of the games so you can start to plan your schedule:

August 28th Real Madrid

September 2nd Manchester United (we'll put Coach V on Ronaldo)

September 7th AC Milan

Looks like we have our work cut out for us,,,,;)

But seriously the REAL schedule will be online by the end of this week

We have a Keeper

2009-04-24T20:46:00.000-07:00

Let me introduce the latest addition to our squad,,,Marcus Fernandes. He is a 6'1", 160 lb Keeper that lives in Nixa, Missouri. He is excited about coming to Rend Lake to pursue the new Athletic Trainer program at RLC, and to play some soccer this Fall. I'm looking forward to some good things from Marcus.

He is the 15th signee, that means I have one more to sign, besides Oscar and Antony from Kenya.

In a few weeks you'll be receiving news about our first team meeting. We're trying to work out a date in the first of June. That way you all can meet your team mates and we can have some fun around a cookout and a kick around.

Latest Recruiting News

2009-04-17T19:23:00.001-07:00

I have verbal commitments from numbers 15 and 16 on our roster. That leaves two spots (numbers 17 and 18) on the scholarship roster for Oscar and Antony.

We have mailed the student visas to Oscar and Antony, they should have received them by now. Hopefully they will be able to get an appointment with the U.S. Embassy soon and then we'll have to wait and see if they can get permission to come over.

The two latest recruits are Marcus Fernandes and Neil Houlihan. Marcus is a Keeper from Nixa, Missouri, and Neil is a Forward from Springfield, Illinois. I'll be signing both of them sometime next week.

After all of our high school scholarship guys graduate, we'll have a team meeting to introduce everyone, have a little cookout, and a kick around, just to get to know each other. Also once we get our high school guys graduated we'll be able to get everyone together throughout the summer for some scrimmages.

I'll pass the word along just as soon as I hear from the guys from Kenya.

And yet a few more pics,,,,

2009-03-23T17:13:00.001-07:00

I couldn't load all the pics in the first blog, so here are the rest. Josh Sears and Tyler Appleby are at the top and last but not least, Logan Gregg.

I couldn't help but throw in one of my grand daughter Lily Faith,,,:)

A few more pics of the guys

2009-03-23T17:03:00.000-07:00

Nathan Wheeler is the sports information director at RLC. He sent the following pics so that I could post them on this blog.

From top to bottom are : Jared Butler, Micah Duncan and Joel Harrison, Cesar Garcia, Andy Jerome, and my fearless assistant Vimal Patel or as he is known by the guys,,,Coach V!

Scrimmage on Tuesdays

2009-03-07T11:09:00.000-08:00

This Tuesday, March 10, we will have "open field" on the RLC soccer pitch starting at 5:00 p.m and going until dark. We will have "open field" every Tuesday (except March 17th that's Spring Break) unless you hear different from me. I've invited all the guys that I've signed and a few other guys in order to get 22 so we can go 11v11. Bring your shin guards, and let's enjoy some time outside with this warmer weather.

If any of you guys at RLC are free during the day on Monday, I could use some help lining the field. I should be on campus by 10:00 a.m.

New Recruits

2009-02-25T19:46:00.000-08:00

From top to bottom are my three newest recruits. Jordan Grace from Hopkinsville, Kentucky, Eric Wright from Harrisburg, Illinois and Griffin Groves from Olney, Illinois are the latest young men to sign a letter of intent to play soccer for RLC this fall.

Jordan played forward for the University Heights Academy in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. He had several accomplishments this past fall including being named to the all district team and scoring 40 goals in his senior season! He set a school record of 100 goals in his four years at UHA. He's a talented player with a no quit attitude. He'll make a very nice addition to our squad this fall.

Eric played Keeper this past year for Coach Gregg, but he played the field his freshman through junior years. Eric did a great job at Keeper this past season as he stopped 7 out of 8 penalty kicks. He was named to the All South team this past year and he is very eager to get started at RLC. Although Eric did a great job at Keeper I'm probably going to use him on the field as a midfielder.

Griffin set the Olney High School record for career goals and assists this year. He was all sectional, all-state Chicago Fire all academic team, Decatur Herald first team, and all-south for two years. He's a very talented player that can fill any position on the field.

I'm very excited about these three young men. They are going to be an excellent addition to our 2009-2010 squad.

Recruiting News

2009-02-11T08:06:00.000-08:00

Since my last post a few things have happened regarding recruiting, so I thought I'd pass those things along to you.

I am no longer trying to recruit the young man from Venezuela. He has other interests than RLC, so I have withdrawn my scholarship offer to him. I have decided to spend my time and energy on another international that has a great desire to play at RLC.

His name is Antony Kabui from Nairobi, Kenya. Some of you know that I tried to get Oscar Walunde and Antony to come to RLC last fall. However we had limited time last year and they could not get an appointment with the U.S. Embassy in time to get here last fall. We have plenty of time this year, so I'm confident that we will get Oscar and Antony. I have been in touch with Robert Mbatia (our contact in Kenya) several times this past week, and he assures me that the paper work for Oscar and Antony will be faxed to RLC this week. When we receive the paper work we can then forward the student visa requests. Once Robert, Oscar and Antony receive the paper work they will set up an appointment with the U.S. Embassy to see if they can get approval to come to the States on a student visa. That will be the hard part. So, if you're a praying person I request that you join me in praying that the boys will get approval from the Embassy. Hopefully the boys will be able to get here by June so they can get acclimated with the area, and put in some time with the team.

I'm very excited about the way the '09 team is shaping up. I have three - five more spots to fill on the roster and we will be set. I've tried to focus on recruiting talented midfielders, and I think I've been successful. We should be able to build an attack from the back, possess the ball in the middle and send it forward on a consistent basis this fall.

I am still waiting on an answer from two young men that I have offered scholarships. Once they give me a yes or a no, I will then be able to fill the other three - five spots. When I get those spots filled I'll post the news.

Update on 2009 Recruits and Scheduling

2009-02-06T10:24:00.000-08:00

The 2009-10 recruiting year is off to a great start. Here's a rundown on how the squad is shaping up.

I'm bringing back four starters from the 2008 team. Andy Jerome, Logan Gregg, Tyler McKibben, and Jared Butler will bring back some experience and leadership to the team this year.

I've signed seven new young men, and offered scholarships to three more. The young men that I have signed are Micah Duncan, Tyler Appleby, Josh Sears, Joel Harrison, Cesar Garcia, Juan Arreola, and Jared White.

I'm in contact with three international players, two from Kenya and one from Venezeula. Hopefully, out of those three, we will get two of them.

The schedule has been set for 2009. I have scheduled 19 matches and one scrimmage. I'm waiting on one other coach to schedule a scrimmage with me. That will put us at 21 matches. Last year, because we got such a late start, we only had 13 matches. Included in this year's schedule is a trip to Southern Mississippi where we will play Southwest Mississippi Community College and Pearl River Community College. This should be a fun and challenging trip for our squad.