Monday, September 29, 2008

WNCC soccer, volleyball host home matches on Tuesday

It will be a busy week for the Western Nebraska Community College volleyball and soccer teams with plenty of home contests.

Action begins Tuesday as each team will have home contests. The WNCC men’s and women’s soccer teams start the week taking on defending Region IX champions Laramie County Community College at the Landers Soccer Complex.

The Cougar men tangle with the Golden Eagles at 2 p.m., while the Cougar women face the No. 8 team in the nation at 4 p.m.

WNCC coach Todd Rasnic knows his team needs to play a complete match start to finish.

“Both teams have to play at the top of their games,” he said. “The women came out stronger in that first game (a 2-2 tie against LCCC), and they can’t slack off at all. They have to play their game the entire match. We have to be disciplined and we have to be playing at a high rate of speed and win individual challenges with the ball. Talent-wise, they are on track to be a top team this year. If we do that, we have a good chance to come out on top.

“On the men’s side, we just can’t play a first half like we did three or four matches this year. The men need to play a complete game of soccer, and right know they are playing like a one-half team. In order to win, they will need to play for the entire 90 minutes. We did make some changing of our system and moved some players around to use our talent in a correct way.”

The last time the two Region IX schools faced each other, the men lost an overtime thriller 2-1. The women’s team, after trailing 2-0, scored two late second half goals to earn the tie against a ranked team. Rasnic said hoping positive things happen Tuesday for his squad.

“Both games should be good contests,” he said. “I think we have a good chance of coming out on top in both of those contests.”

After the soccer matches on Tuesday, the No. 2-ranked Cougar volleyball team returns to action at 7 p.m. against McCook Community College. WNCC, 31-2 and have not seen action since Sept. 20 when they won the Wyo-Braska Shootout, will begin the first of four home matches on Tuesday.

“It is hard not playing for that long, but it was good to get the team some rest, and now we can get back on track again,” first-year coach Giovana Melo said. “We haven’t played at home matches where people could come see us because the Wyo-Braska was pretty much during the day. Now, people can come watch us and have them get excited with our team.”

Tuesday’s McCook match will also be “Fear the Cougar” wristband night as the first 250 spectators will receive a wristband.

Tuesday’s matches, the Cougars will host Lamar Community College Thursday at 7 p.m., Otero Junior College Friday at 7 p.m. and Trinidad State Junior College at 1 p.m.

Thursday’s contest against will be “Family Night, featuring free children’s ticket with the purchase of an adult ticket, as well as 50 cent hot dogs.

Friday’s match will be “Breast Cancer Awareness Night,” individuals are urged to wear pink to show support for those fighting breast cancer and for cancer survivors. Also, $1 of your ticket price will go to the Dig Pink Foundation to help fight breast cancer. There will be raffles and cancer information during the night.

Saturday’s volleyball match with Trinidad State will honor all the Girl Scout troops. That contest will begin at 1 p.m.

The week’s home contests will end with the men’s and women’s soccer home finale’s slated for Sunday at the Landers Soccer Complex against Dodge City Community College. The women will kick off at noon, while the men will begin at 2 p.m.

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