Both Cougar teams will take part in the Barton Classic against teams that have been ranked in the top 15 polls a year ago. The Cougar men will face No. 4 Garden City Community College on Saturday and then No. 8 Barton Community College on Sunday.
The Cougar women, who captured the Region IX title last year and finished ranked as high as No. 11 in the nation, will open the season against Butler County Community College on Saturday and then battle Barton on Sunday.
“I think both teams are ready for the season to begin,” WNCC men’s and women coach Todd Rasnic said. “We have worked hard in the preseason and we have certainly given ourselves enough scrimmages this year to get a good look at all the players of where they best fit on the squad. Hopefully, we are prepared to move forward with the season and put our best effort out on the field this weekend.”
Rasnic said these early season contests will be a good indicator of where the team is at as far as what they have to improve upon.
“We are taking on some pretty talented squads. On the men’s side, we are starting off with No. 4 ranked Garden City and then No. 8 Barton County,” he said. “Anytime you take on two top-10 ranked teams to start the season will be a tough, but it is something that we need to show us what that level looks like and to see how close we are or we are actually playing at that level.”
Both teams will be entering the regular season this weekend with some confidence. The Cougar women finished up their preseason schedule with a 10-0 scrimmage win against Dodge City Community College as Gering’s Keah Brost recorded a hat trick and Jaime Gastelle and Ana Jacobo each had two goals each.
Rasnic realizes there is a lot of pressure of repeating as regional champions, but he is more worried about them playing cohesively as a unit.
“I think the focus for the ladies is a repeat of the Region IX championship, but my goal as a coach is to get the players playing consistency and to get them working as a unit and the results will take care of themselves,” he said. “If you get a group of 11 players to play together at a high level, the odds of having success will be pretty high. This year we have a group of ladies that will work well together. I think they have commitment. They are committed to training and they are committed to doing whatever it takes to be a successful this season. I think in the long run, that will pay off with.”
The WNCC women return eight players from last year’s championship, including Brost, Gastille and Jacobo, who all had multiple goals Sunday’s soccer scrimmage against Dodge City. Also returning for the Cougars is Jessica Arreguin of Greeley, Colo., Shauna Michaelis of West Jordan, Utah, Taylor Johns of Gering, Laura Abbott of Scottsbluff, and Brooke Dudley of Loveland, Colo.
The Cougar women also have a good mix of freshmen that Rasnic has been impressed with. The newcomers include BrittanyMcNeil of Milliken, Colo., Lyanne Herandez of Lafayette, Colo., Jimena Jimenez of Aurora, Colo., Jacee Roseberry and Ashley Heimbouch of Gering, Jordan Lutkin of Gillette, Wyo., Miriam Alfaro of Denver, Cristina Soto and Jessica Taylor of Longmont, Colo., and Tiffany Snethen of Rapid City, S.D.
The Cougar men, who were victorious in their last preseason contest winning 2-0 against Dodge City on Sunday, also feature a roster full of talent. In fact, Rasnic is pleased with the make-up of both teams.
“We have coupled some great technical players with a lot of speed on the men’s team and gained some strength defensively,” Rasnic said. “We seem to have a group of men that have done a better job of working together. I think we had good, solid players last year, however; our team chemistry just came and went from game to game and we had a lack of consistency that is needed on an on-going basis. I think if there is any big change for this year, I think we have a group that is willing to work together and I think in the long run it will pay off for us. We will see if it works this weekend. Again, when you first walk up and play against two of the top 10 teams in the country, you get a pretty good idea of the level that you are playing at and where you need to get to by the end of the season so you can play for a Region IX championship.
The WNCC men return a good core of players from last year. The team will be led by goal keeper David Castillo, who sat out last season after undergoing ACL surgery. Also returning are Tony Rocha of Juarez, Mexico, Nathan Southard of North Platte, Matt Hoffman of Windsor, Colo., Gustavo Rincon of Caracas, Venezuela, Josh Ivey of York, Raul Sanchez of Alliance, and Ryan Dawson of the Amazons.
The newcomers to the team include Luis Orta, who played for the Cougar baseball team last season. Other newcomers include Pedro DeLeon from Las Vegas, Nev., Jose Macias of Aurora, Colo., Marcel Sales of Americana, Brazil, Chris Guadarama of Gering, Casey Zigray of Ft. Collins, Colo., Kevin Lopez of Aurora, Colo., Miguel Leon of Caracas, Venezuela, and Kareem Hernandez of Lafayette, Colo.
“We have a lot of freshmen on both teams,” Rasnic said. “We are going to look for the sophomores to step up and really be leaders out there and get us through the first few games.”
This weekend will definitely be the test the teams have been looking to. Rasnic said he is hoping his teams will be ready for the 90-minute battles on the field.
“This will be a good test for us. It is hard to predict where the other teams are sitting for talent this early in the season,” he said. “We will find out where we will stand after this weekend. But, I look for great things from both teams this season. The potential is there. We have a group of players that, at the very least, will stay together throughout the season. I think the one thing we will do this year is put together a consistent game of soccer every time we step on the field “.
No comments:
Post a Comment