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.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Soccer Pictures
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
Follow the link below to view and, if you want, to purchase some pictures.
http://www.toedoc.smugmug.com/Sports/Rend-Lake-Soccer-2009
Thursday, September 17, 2009
RLC vs. Lincoln
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!
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
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.
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.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
RLC vs SCI
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.
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.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
RLC vs SWIC
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.
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.
Monday, September 7, 2009
RLC vs Carl Sandburg
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.
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.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
RLC vs. Heartland
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.
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.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Big Conference Win
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.
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.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
1-1-1
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.
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.
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