WNCC signs three local players to play soccer

                The Western Nebraska Community College men’s and women’s soccer teams added three more local players to its roster for next season.

                Scottsbluff’s Tyler and Megan Patrick, who are brother and sister, will be joining the program. Tyler, who spent last season at Hastings College playing football, decided to transfer back to play soccer. Tyler will join his sister, Megan, who graduated from high school on Sunday, to play for WNCC coach Todd Rasnic.

                Chanice Blanco, who graduated from Gering in 2011, will be returning to WNCC to play soccer. Blanco spent one season attending the University of Nebraska Kearney and said she missed playing soccer.

“I really missed it. I thought about it every day and having sisters in high school [Shelton and Laettner) still, it made just want to play even more,” Blanco said. “That is the only thing I did in high school for sports. That was my thing and not doing it any more made me want to continue on with it.”

That year away from the sport definitely gave Blanco the itch to play against, especially after watching a UNK match as well as watching her sisters play for Gering. That is why she couldn’t resist in coming back to WNCC and playing a sport that she loves.

                “I took a year off of playing the sport and I realized I really missed it,” Blanco said. I thought it would be a good opportunity for me to play another two years and hopefully it will open some doors for me in the future.

                WNCC coach Todd Rasnic gave Blanco the opportunity to come back and she jumped at that opportunity.

                “I thought about playing soccer all year at Kearney because I really missed it,” she said. “In the spring I talked to coach and I then decided to take the opportunity that he offered me and go with it.”

                Rasnic said that Blanco brings many intangibles to the game.

                “She has a good work rate and she has the right mental attitude to play the game at this level,” he said. “She is very well skilled and I like her technique as a player.”

                Blanco was a four-year varsity player for the Bulldogs and was a captain and starter her last three years of high school. Blanco was mainly a mid-fielder that chipped in a couple goals in her career. She is hoping her two years here will help her continue playing at the next level.

                “I am very excited to be playing again,” she said. “I like being here and I think playing for this team will be a great chance for me.”

                Just like Blanco, Tyler Patrick is excited to be playing soccer once again. For Patrick, however, he spent last year with the Hastings College football team before realizing that he was too small to play college football. And, after talking to Rasnic, Patrick got that same itch that Blanco had to play soccer once again.

                “Last year I played football and I found out I was a little too small to be a college football player,” he said. “Todd gave me the opportunity to come and play soccer here so I decided I would take that.”

                Patrick hopes to bring some leadership skills to the team having been at the college level.

                “I am looking forward to being back home and being around my friends and playing in front of people that I know,” he said. “I just want to contribute to the team anyway I can on the field or in a leadership role.”

                Patrick was a 4-sport athlete in high school as a fierce defensive player for the football, team, a state-qualifying wrestler, and a defensive player for the soccer team. He also played for the WESTCO Zephyrs American Legion baseball team during the summer. After high school, however, he thought he would try his hand at football, but when that didn’t pan out, he fell back on his second love, soccer.

                Patrick said he started playing soccer in high school during his sophomore year and then was a starter his junior and senior year. During his junior year, the Bearcats won the district title and qualified for the state tournament. Scottsbluff finished second his senior year.

                Patrick said that he knows a lot about Rasnic’s coaching style, having played on a club team when he was younger.

                “I played on a team for a little while when I was younger so I know him pretty well,” he said. “That was part of the reason I wanted to come back because I know Todd, I know the family, and I know a lot of guys on the team.”

                Patrick said the biggest thing he can bring to the team is leadership having been at the college level, despite it being football instead of soccer.

                “With playing football last year, I have an idea of what college sports entail with conditioning, the work outs, and what all the practice schedules are like compared to high school,” he said. “I will be able to talk to the new guys coming up out of high school and help them out a little bit with what they can expect.”

                Rasnic is excited be getting someone of Patrick’s size and athleticism.

                “I think his work rate is the first thing that comes to mind from his high school days,” Rasnic said. “Even when he was playing club soccer with us, he always had an extremely high work rate and a never say die attitude.  I was impressed with the way he progressed in his mentality on the field in last few years of high school and the way he acted in defensive situations. He brings with him a great deal of quick speed from side to side, and obviously physical size is not going to hurt because our league is very physical. He is a good young man.”

                Patrick will also get to play alongside his sister Megan, who will be playing soccer at WNCC next year as well. Megan said she is looking forward to be playing a sport with her brother in college, making traveling a lot more fun.

                “I kind of follow him around with everything he does, but I think it will be a lot of fun,” she said. “I missed him a lot when he was away. It will be fun to work out together this summer and play soccer. I am excited.”

                Megan played softball and soccer in high school and this past soccer season, she was a captain and started every game her senior year. She really didn’t know if she had it in her to play collegiately, but Rasnic is giving her the opportunity to excel on the field for another two years.

                “I played both soccer and softball, but soccer has always been my favorite,” she said. “I wanted to play sports in college, but I didn’t know if I was good enough. So, when Todd said I could, it was exciting.”

                Megan, who played defense and midfield, said this year was her break out year.

                “This year for soccer was different from other years because I was a captain and I started every game and it felt so good,” she said. “I hope college is as exciting like that and I excel like I did this year.”

                She added that her brother has helped her improve her defensive skills just because his soccer talents.

                “We play around sometimes,” she said, “and I just get better at defense because is good shooting the ball away from me.”