2010 Rend Lake Warriors

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!