WNCC men topple College of Eastern Utah

PRICE, Utah - The Western Nebraska Community College men's basketball gained some revenge on the College of Eastern Utah on Saturday night.

The Cougars, who lost to CEU on Tuesday 77-61, registered an impressive 86-77 win over the Golden Eagles on Saturday.

Four WNCC players scored in double figures as the team shot 50 percent from the 3-point line (7-of-13).

Francisco Cruz paced the Cougars with 29 points, including nailing two 3-pointers. Scott Bamforth, who was held scoreless on Tuesday, erupted for 18 points with three 3-pointers. Brylle Kamen finished with 14 points, nine rebounds and two 3-pointers, while Geddes Robinson had 16 points and six rebounds.

WNCC coach Russ Beck said this was a good win for his squad, which made some adjustments after Tuesday's loss.

``It was good that the boys were able to come back and get the win. We made some adjustments,'' Beck said. ``We also out-rebounded them 29-23, holding them to eight offensive rebounds. They are a good team, and we are on the right track.''

Beck also lauded his team's 77 percent free-throw shooting.

WNCC, 1-1, will next be in action Thursday through Saturday at the Air Force Prep Tournament in Colorado Springs, Colo.

WNCC women's basketball team picks up 18-point win over Colby

COLBY, Kan. – The Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team shot nearly 50 percent from the field in racing to an 86-68 victory over Colby Community College the Cougars season opener.

The No. 15-ranked Cougars put four players in double figures, including a 22-point effort from freshman from Yuki Morimoto. Also collecting double figure scoring was 6-foot-7 Thais Pinto with 16 points, Bayard’s Amber Kistler with 16 and Scottsbluff’s Madison Keller with 10.

The Cougars shot 49 percent from the field, including blistering the net from beyond the 3-point arc for 46 percent. Kistler, Morimoto and Hemingford’s Shelby Campbell all had two 3-pointers, while Keller netted on trey.

Assistant coach Jennifer Pedersen said while it was nice to pick up the win, they need to focus on playing tougher defense.

“The one thing we learned tonight was we need to do a better job defensively and on the boards. We out-rebounded them tonight, but our rebounding effort wasn’t very strong. I think we gave up 70 points tonight when we really shouldn’t have given up that many points.

“But for the first game of the year, we came out and executed offensively very well throughout the night. We just need to work on defense a little bit more this week.”

WNCC started slow leading 16-13 with just seven minutes into the game and before pushing it to 26-17 at the 9:16 mark. The offense continued opening up as the Cougars led 46-34 at halftime. WNCC led by as much as 22 points in the game in the second half.

Pedersen said the reason they played well offensively was because of their height advantage.

“They zoned us all night so we were able to run a high-low offense because we were a lot taller than them,” she said.

WNCC will be back in action next week when they travel to the Air Force Prep Thursday. The Cougars first contest will be against Northwest (Wyo.) College.

“We need to get a lot better defensively and a lot better on the boards,” she said.

WNCC (1-0) 46 40 – 86
Colby C.C. 34 34 – 68
WNCC
Shelby Campbell 6, Yuki Morimoto 22, Khayla Gladney 2, Amber Kistler 13, Kelli Culver 6, Thais Pinto 16, Madison Keller 10, Tayler Puttergill 3, Michelle Glaze 2, Carolina Alves 6.

VOLLEYBALL TEAM -- REGION IX CHAMPIONS!!!

STERLING, Colo. – Sabina Piegza missed the last two weeks of the Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team’s regular season with a knee injury and she was determined to play in the Region IX South volleyball tournament.

Piegza and the rest of her Cougar teammates made their presence a memorable one as they swept to their 11^th straight regional title in dominating fashion. The Cougars dropped Northeastern Junior College in straight sets 25-15, 25-13, 25-17 to earn a berth at the NJCAA national tournament in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Nov. 19-21.

Piegza, who was tabbed Region IX’s Player of the Year and Setter of the Year, said they have been working hard all year to get back to the national tournament, and this weekend, they played like true champions.

“I was just waiting for regionals to get back on the court,” the 6-foot-1 sophomore setter from Poland said. “I think everybody was waiting for regionals and it was a great time to be here.

“We did a very good job. I think we worked hard from the beginning of the season to get back to nationals,” the 6-foot-1 sophomore setter from Poland said. “I think we just played our game today as a team and this is how we are going to win a national title.”

Piegza, though, was one of many players that played a crucial role in WNCC capturing the regional title. Gering graduate Brooke Blomenkamp, who along with Piegza was named to the all-tournament team, said they entered the tournament with a game plan and they stuck with it.

“We had a game plan and we executed the game plan perfectly,” she said. “All we had to do is have fun out there. We knew they would come hard, and they did. This win feels awesome right now. We won it last year and we got it again this year and defending our title is just awesome. It feels so good inside. I just love it.”

Blomenkamp said the game plan involved putting up a brick wall on the Plainswomen’s talented hitters. The Cougars did that as WNCC registered 13 blocks, including one solo block and four assist blocks from freshman Tania Torres.

“We had to go out there and block Brunna [Kronbauer] and Karen [Rivatto], and we got that done,” Blomenkamp said. “I think that helped us a lot. We also stayed very disciplined. We also had strong serving.”

The Cougars definitely had plenty of motivation at the regional tournament as last week, the Plainswomen topped the Cougars in the regular season in five sets in Sterling. Blomenkamp said the team remembered that loss.

“Yes that did that loss did motivate us,” she said. “We were determined not to lose again and we did it.”

WNCC wasted little time in taking control as they vaulted to a 4-0 lead behind four points from Kuulei Kabalis. The Cougars couldnet hold the lead as NJC came back to tie the game at 10-10 on a Rivatto kill.

That was the last time the Plainswomen would be tied with the No. 3 team in the nation as Ariel Austin hammered home a kill and then Kuulei Kabalis had four point, on three blocks by Torres for a 15-10 lead. WNCC finished off the first set as Paulina Piegza served the final two points for the win.

WNCC started even stronger in the second set, rolling to a 3-0 lead and pushed the lead to double digits at 12-2 on four Kaleinani Kabalis points. The Cougars were never in danger of losing the second set has Kathryn Stock had four kills and Blomenkamp had two clutch kills for the wn.

NJC played tougher in the third set early on as the Plainswomen held a 4-3 lead. WNCC changed gears and started pulling away as Sabina Piegza had three points and then led 14-8. The Cougars kept accelerating to championship point as Weimer served three points for a 20-13 lead.

After two points from NJC, Kabalis hammered a kill into the gournd for a 21-15 lead followed by Sabina Piegza three service points as Kabalis had two more kills. NJC sliced the lead to 24-17, but then a missed serve gave the regional title to WNCC.

Stock, who also was named to the all-tournament team, said the entire team stuck together.

“We played great and we really played as a team,” the freshman hitter said. “I think we played smart and we were patient. We fought through the whole game. We played great together and I think we can play better next time. We know we can do it now, especially when we get everything back in sync.”

In the championship match, Kaleinani Kabalis finished with a double-double of 13 kills, 10 digs, and three points; while Stock had eight kills, three blocks, four points and seven digs. Also, Cami Weimer had seven points and 15 digs; Paulina Piegza had two kills and three blocks; Torres had four kills, five blocks, Kuulei Kabalis had 10 points, seven digs and 11 set assists; Sabina Piegza had 10 set assists, eight points and seven digs; and Ariel Austin had two kills.
Four members of the Cougar squad made the All-Tournament and All-Region teams. All-tournament members include Blomenkamp, Stock, Paulina Piegza and Kaleinani Kabalis.

All-region members include Blomenkamp, Paulina and Sabina Piegza, and Kaleinani Kabalis. Sabina Piegza was also named the Region IX South Player of the Year as well as the Setter of the Year.

WNCC, 39-3, will now compete in its 11th straight national tournament in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Nov. 19-21.

WNCC volleyball moves to regional final with wins over Otero, NJC in regional tournament

STERLING, Colo. – The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team is one win away from its 11^th straight regional title after sweeping through two matches Friday at the Region IX South tournament in Sterling, Colo.

The Cougars opened play with a sweep over Otero Junior College 25-19, 25-14, 25-18 Friday morning, and then shutdown Northeastern Junior College 25-17, 25-16, 25-14 in the winner’s bracket. Friday’s two wins moves the Cougars into the championship match Saturday at 1 p.m. in Sterling. A win Saturday sends the Cougars to their 11^th straight national tournament Nov. 19-21 in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

WNCC coach Giovana Melo said the team played one of its best contests of the season.

“I think this win was huge. I think it will make a big difference on our mentality for tomorrow [Saturday] for us to come out stronger with more confidence for the final,” she said. “This game was the best game with every single person playing really well. It has been a long time since that happened.”

The last time these two squads faced each other last week, the Plainswomen topped the Cougars in five sets,including snapping a 165-match Region IX winning streak. Friday’s rematch was totally different.

The first set started out as a tussle between two top 20 ranked teams. The match was tied at 8-8 early until Tania Torres hammered home a kill. Kathryn Stock then put some distance between the two squads serving five straight points for a 14-8 lead. WNCC pushed the lead to 16-10 on a Kaleinani Kabalis kill.

NJC fought back, slicing the lead to 16-14 before Kabalis stopped the rally with a kill. Kabalis then served two straight aces and then Torres finished off the Plainswomen with a kill for the first set win.

Cami Weimer made a difference in set two turning a 3-2 deficit into a 10-3 lead on eight straight points, including two aces, and two kills each from Kabalis and Paulina Piegza. The Cougars pushed the lead to 19-10 on two Piegza points and three Stock kills.

Weimer finished off the Plainswomen serving the final point.

NJC started the third set strong in holding an early 6-5 lead. The Cougars quickly turned up the head as Stock had two kills for a 13-9 lead. WNCC kept hitting on all cylinders as Torres, Ariel Austin, Kabalis and Brook Blomenkamp hammered home kills to take the Plainswomen out of their game. Kabalis finished off NJC hammering home two kills from the backrow.

Melo said this team almost played flawless. Now, they need to pick it up once again on Saturday in the championship match. WNCC will face the winner of the 10 a.m. match, which could be either NJC or the winner of the late game Friday between Otero and Lamar.

“We had a little game plan and they executed and it was perfect,” Melo said. “We now have to push 10 percent more.”

Stock and Kabalis paced the Cougars with 13 and 10 kills each. Kabalis also had one solo block, eight digs, and nine points, while Stock finished with eight digs, two solo blocks and eight points.

Also for the Cougars, Brooke Blomenkamp had seven kills, Paulina Piegza had three kills, eight points and two aces; Kuulei Kabalis had 17 set assists, four points, and five digs; Weimer had nine points, two aces, and nine digs Sabina Piegza had 12 set assists, three points and three digs, Austin had four kills; and Torres six kills and two solo blocks.

In the Cougars’ opening match against Otero, Kaleinani Kabalis had 16 kills, three aces and eight digs; Stock had 11 digs and four kills; Paulina Piegza had five kills and three digs; Blomenkamp had six kills; Kuulei Kabalis had 13 set assists, three digs and three aces; Sierra Schmidt had 11 set assists and five digs; Austin had five kills and two blocks; Torres had three kills and three blocks; Emily Hoehn had two aces and 12 digs.

Other scores in the South Sub-region tourney saw Northeastern Colorado beat Lamar 25-10, 25-17, 25-18, Otero top Trinidad State 25-16, 25-20, 25-23; Lamar eliminate McCook 25-16, 25-22, 27-25, 25-18; and Lamar dropping Otero 22-25, 25-21, 25-23, 25-20. NJC will battle Lamar Saturday at 10 a.m. with the winner facing WNCC for the title at 1 p.m.

WNCC volleyball team wins opener at regionals

The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team started the Region IX South tournament in Sterling, Colo., with a bang by sweeping Otero Junior College 25-19, 25-15, 25-18.

The win was the team's 37th of the season and pushed them into a 5 p.m. match with Northeastern Junior College later tonight. The championship is slated for 1 p.m. on Saturday.

The contests can be heard on the radio at KOZY 101.3 or on the web at kozy1013.com.

WNCC women's basketball tips off the season Saturday at Colby

Khayla Gladney has never played on a basketball team with so much height like the Western Nebraska Community College women’s basketball team has that she is elated to play on a team that features so much height and talent.

Gladney, a 6-1 forward from Los Angeles, Calif., won’t have to wait too much longer to get that chance as preseason NJCAA 15^th-ranked Cougars open the season on Saturday at Colby Community College.

“I think everyone is excited to get started,” the freshman said. “We are trying to build toward nationals and I think we are going to work really hard to make that happen.”

The one thing that is definitely in the Cougars favor is their height. WNCC has nine players that stand 5-10 or taller, with seven players listed 6-foot or taller. Gladney, said playing with all this height is something new to her.

“I have seen teams with as much height, but I never been a part of a team with so much height,” she said. “We have high expectations because Coach Harnish gets on all of us and tries to make us do the best that we can in everything from school to on the court.”

Gladney is just one of the tall timbers on the squad. The tallest Cougar is 6-foot-7 Thais Pinto of Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Pinto is the tallest women’s basketball player to play for Harnish since Awa Diop in the early 2000s.

The other tall players include 6-2 Kelli Culver of Arvada, Colo., 6-2 Soulijah Evans and 6-1 Tynetta Turner of San Diego, Calif., 6-0 Carolina Alves of Belo Horizonte, Brazil, 6-0 Tiffany Moorer of Harbor City, Calif., 5-10 Tayler Puttergill of Mullen, and 5-10 Yuki Morimoto of Tokyo, Japan.

The other members of the squad include 5-9 Amber Kistler of Bayard, 5-9 Stormye Everett of Aurora, Colo., 5-3 Shelby Campbell of Hemingford, 5-9 Ariane Brown of Colorado Springs, Colo., 5-8 Madison Keller of Scottsbluff, and 5-8 Michelle Glaze of Brighton, Colo.

Gladney said this team has a lot of potential.

“The season looks really good,” she said. “I think we will have a fantastic year. We have a lot of talent and we are working really hard to put it all together.”

Gladney said this team will be able to score some points from a variety of people.

“I think our strength is we have a lot of good shooters and a lot of people that can make good moves to the basket,” she said. “I think we have to work better on transition defense because that is what coach complains about the most.”

WNCC is not quite to head coach Dave Harnish’s perfection just yet.

“Harnish is a good motivator to us. He tells us what we need to do. He likes details and is kind of a perfectionist,” she said. “We aren’t quite neat to perfecting everything, but we are working on it. He is trying to make us get there.”

The Cougars are also a young team with just two sophomores returning from last year’s 24-8 squad that lost in the semi-finals of the Region IX tournament. Those two, Kister and Everett, will be vital leaders to the team.

“We are coming along pretty well and by the time the season comes, we should do well and play as coach wants us to play,” Gladney said. “I think we have enough talent to do so. We just have to bring it all together and we should be good.”

After Saturday’s contest in Colby, the Cougars will compete in tournaments at the Air Force Prep on back-to-back weekends before heading to Garden City, Kan., for a Thanksgiving tournament. WNCC will have their first home contests Dec. 3-5 with the Colorado/Nebraska Showcase followed by the Lady Cougar Holiday Classic the next weekend.

WNCC volleyball ready for regional tournament

The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team will be looking to capture its 11^th straight regional title when the Region IX South tournament kicks off Thursday at Sterling, Colo.

The Cougars, who enter the tournament with a lofty 36-3 record and a No. 3 ranking in the NJCAA national polls, earned the No. 1 seed in the tournament. The Cougars first round contest will be Friday at 11 a.m. against the winner of Thursday’s contest between Otero Junior College and McCook Community College.

The other first-round match on Thursday will see Lamar Community College taking on Trinidad State Junior College with the winner facing the No. 2 seed Northeastern Junior College at 9 a.m. on Friday. The championship match is slated for 1 p.m. on Saturday.

Giovana Melo said this team is ready to go out and leave everything on the court.

“They need to play as a team and fight for every point,” she said. “We need to play hard at all times.”

The Cougars road to a regional championship will not be an easy one considering WNCC fell to the host NJC Plainswomen last week in five, agonizing sets. The loss, however, will turn out beneficial for the Cougars, according to Melo.

“It is a good wake up call to show that we still have a lot to learn and get better,” she said. “Also, it shows that any team can win on any given day and that is why we have to give it our best at all times.”

The one strength that this team has accomplished was playing through a lot of adversity. The Cougars were without their leading hitter for three matches earlier in the season, and then have been playing without starting 6-foot-1 setter Sabina Piegza the past five matches. Just how much Piegza will play at the regional tournament remains to be seen as she continues to come back from a knee injury.

“We are not sure about Sabina yet,” Melo said. “It depends on how much progress she makes in the next couple of days. “

The team has picked up through all this adversity and that is one that Melo said sets this team apart from other teams.

“I think we have fought a lot adversity and we have faced many different situations as we showed we can compete no matter what,” she said. “We have a lot depth and that has helped us throughout the year.”

A number of players have stepped up each and every game to contribute in different ways. With Piegza absence from the setting position, freshmen Sierra Schmidt and Kuulei Kabalis have risen to the occasion. Melo said this team needs to continue playing hard at all times.

“This is going to be a lot tougher than it has been in the past to win,” she said. “But, it would mean much more than last year because of all the difficulties we have been facing.”

The Region IX tournament will be available via video on the Internet off the NJC website at gonjc.com. WNCC’s matches will also be available on the Internet and the radio at kosy1013.com or on the radio at 101.3 FM.

The winner of the regional tournament will qualify for the national tournament Nov. 19-21 in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Tournament Schedule

Thursday, Nov. 5

5 p.m. – Lamar vs. Trinidad State, 7 p.m. – Otero vs. McCook.

Friday, Nov. 6

9 a.m. – Lamar/Trinidad winner vs. Northeastern Colorado, 11 a.m. – Otero/McCook winner vs. WNCC, 1 p.m. – Otero/McCook loser vs. loser of 9 a.m. game, 3 p.m. – Lamar/Trinidad loser vs. loser of 11 a.m. game, 5 p.m. – 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. winners, 7 p.m. – winners of the 1 and 3 p.m. games.

Saturday, Nov. 7.

10 a.m. – third place game, 1 p.m. – Championship, 3 p.m. – if-necessary match.

Kalai and Kuulei featured in Hawaii newspaper

The Kabalises, Kalai and Kuulei, were featured in Honolulu Advertiser today. Check out the story at:

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20091104/SPORTS16/911040357/Volleyball+s+Kabalises+spur+Nebraska+college

WNCC men fall in season-opener to College of Eastern Utah

The Western Nebraska Community College men’s basketball team received a 22-point effort from Geddes Robinson, but it wasn’t enough as the College of Eastern Utah outlasted the Cougars 77-61 in both team’s season opener.

Eastern Utah blistered the nets with 47 percent shooting, including making 11 of 20 from the 3-point line. WNCC, on the other hand, shot just 38.3 percent from the field, including going 1-of-15 from beyond the arc.

WNCC first-year coach Russ Beck said his team just had an off night, especially rebounding.

“We just fell through in executing our game plan in terms of getting the offensive rebound,” he said. “I would guess they had 30 points just from offensive rebounds. A team that goes 8 of 10 from the 3-point line in the first half is going to be hard to beat. The second half we knew it wasn’t going to be that way. There were eight possessions where we went zone and they scored twice. We got the stops when we needed; we just failed to convert on the offensive side. We weren’t patient enough. We took the first available shot instead of making them play defense.”

The first half was a dogfight as both teams battled back and forth. WNCC held a 14-11 lead on a Francisco Cruz bucket, only to watch the Golden Eagles come storming back to hold a 21-18 lead on a Isiah Williams 3-pointer.

WNCC kept battling against the taller Eastern Utah squad, scoring four straight buckets to take a 26-21 lead. Geoffrey Firmin had the big plays putting WNCC up by thee after getting a steal and driving the length of the court for a bucket. O’Rion Hughes followed seconds later with a bucket to put the Cougars up 26-21.

Eastern Utah came roaring back taking the lead with 4:15 to play in the opening quarter on a Cliff Coloman trey at 28-26. Robinson brought the Cougars back, scoring three straight buckets to put WNCC up 32-30 with 2:12 to play. Williams buried a trey and then Micheal Glover had an old-fashioned 3-point play with 36 seconds left to help the Golden Eagles take a 41-34 lead into the locker room.

WNCC played tough early in the second half as Robinson connected on two bucket and then Firmin hit the only trey of the game for the Cougars to cut the deficit to 47-41. Eastern Utah then went on a 12-6 run to push the lead to double digits, 59-47 on a Williams 3-pointer.

WNCC cut the lead to within seven with 5:32 to play on a Al-Akeem Watson bucket and free throws from Robinson and Firmin, but that was as close as the Cougars could get.

Robinson led the Cougars with 22 points on 9 of 13 shooting from the field. Firmin finished with 15 points and five assists, while Cruz netted 10 points. Bamforth, who was the team’s leading scorer a year ago, was held scoreless.

“Geddes is just a horse. We run some sets for him to get some touches down low,” he said. “He is a very crafty player. He was 9 of 13 from the field and we need to continue to feed him the ball. But, give credit to CEU’s defense. They did a good job of guarding Scott Bamforth. He had an off night but that is going to happen. We just need guys to step up off the bench and I thought Al-Akeem Watson did a tremendous job coming in. He was hitting big shots and getting rebounds. O’Rion Hughes came in and gave us some solid defense.

"But, it all comes down to rebounding. If we continue to give up offensive rebounds and give teams second and third chances, we might be able to stop once, but you can’t stop two or three times.”

Eastern Utah had five players hit the double figure column. Glover led the team with 17 points followed by Williams with 12, Coloman with 11 and Chris Mast and Jonathan Mills with 10 points each. University of Nebraska recruit 6-foot-10 Vander Jorguim finished with six points, including two 3-pointers.

The Cougars will battle Eastern Utah on Saturday in Price,Utah, and Beck said they compete with anybody. They just need to execute the game plan.

“We are definitely a team that can play with the best,” he said. “It was just a night where we failed to do one important thing and that is rebounding.”

Eastern Utah (1-0) 41 36 – 77

WNCC (1-0) 34 27 – 61

COLLEGE OF EASTERN UTAH

Michael Glover 17, Isiah Williams 12, Cliff Coloman 11, Tony Dalton 5, Chris Mast 10, Jonathan Mills 10, Vander Jorquim 6.

WESTERN NEBRASKA

Geoffrey Firmin 15,O’Rion Hughes 3, Joe Stock 1, Francisco Cruz 10, Al-Akeem Watson 6, Brylle Kamen 4, Geddes Robinson 22.

WNCC men's basketball team opens season Tuesday against College of Eastern Utah at home

After a month of practices, the Western Nebraska Community College men’s basketball team will tip off the Russ Beck era at Cougar Palace Tuesday night.

The Cougar men, who finished 25-7 a year ago, will take on the College of Eastern Utah at 7 p.m. in each team’s season0-opener. Eastern Utah was 25-7 a year ago. Tuesday’s night is also Pack the Palace night with $1 admission.

Beck, who is beginning his first season as the head coach at WNCC, said the team is ready to go.

“I believe we are ready to go. We had a great week of practice last week. We are starting to focus on some things in terms of team rebounding that will help us. As long as we do the things that we have been practicing and being who we are, we have an excellent chance of winning this ball game. “

The players, themselves, couldn’t be more excited to get on the court.

“They are excited. They gained a little bit of confidence out there at the Jamboree [in October],” Beck said. “They realized a bunch of things they need to work on out there. I think everyone is excited. More and more guys are getting into the gym to get in extra shots.

WNCC brings plenty of talent into the season. The Cougars return pre-season NJCAA All-American candidate Scott Bamforth and Francisco Cruz. The two combined for over 1,100 points and over 80 3-pointers a year ago. Bamforth was a third team pre-season all-American.

Beck said while Bamforth and Cruz are the “headliners” on this year’s team, there is plenty of supporting cast members.

“I think the fans are familiar enough with Scott and Francisco to know they are a huge part of what we want to do,” Beck said. “But, other guys that will have an impact include Geoffrey Firmin at the point to take some burden off of Scott bringing the ball up the floor. Geoff really showed us at the Casper Jamboree that he is capable of running this team.

“Geddes Robinson and Brylle Kamen are two guys that transferred into the program and should be huge on the block and to battle and defend and score when needed. Those are the main guys right now, along with an O’Rion Hughes off the bench that we hope to be really productive for us.”

Firmin is a 6-2 redshirt freshman from Brussels, Belgium, while the 6-7 Kamen and 6-5 Robinson are transfers from Jacksonville State. Hughes is a 6-3 forward/guard from Aurora, Colo.

Other players on the team include returners 6-2 Saul Torres, 6-7 Ritchie Mundende, and 6-1 Mateus Chaves. Torres saw action last season for the Cougars, while Mundende and Chaves red-shirted.

Other players include Joe Stock, a 6-0 guard from Thibodaux, La., Kwame Alexander, a 6-7 transfer from Irviine Valley College, Dustin Murray, a 6-0 guard from Wilson, N.C., and Al-Akeem Watson, a 6-8 center from Newark, N.J.

Eastern Utah head coach Chris Craig is in his third-year. Craig played at Arizona Western and then professionally in Germany, Ireland, Switzerland and Mexico.

Beck knows this could be one of the Cougar’s toughest games of the year.

“They may be the best team we will play all year,” Beck said. “Sometimes you may look at that and think it is unfortunate that we play them the first two games of the year, but I think in the long run, it is very beneficial to our team. Win or lose, you will now where you are at. They were 25-7 last year and they have numerous kids that have transferred into the program. They are as good of a team that we will see on our schedule this year.”

Beck said the key to victory will be battling on the boards and taking care of the ball.

“They are a team that will be significantly bigger than us and probably deeper than us on the bench. They have a very athletic tea,” he said. “So, competing with them on the rebounding category is very key. Limiting our turnovers and making sure we hit our free throws are also very large keys for us. We really just need to focus on executing our game plan and controlling the tempo. They are a team that wants to get a lot of possessions so we need to limit their amount of possessions in the game, and at the same time, we need to take care of the ball and take the best shot that we can get. “

After Tuesday’s season opener, the Cougars will travel to Price, Utah, to face the College of Eastern Utah. WNCC will then spend back-to-back weekends at the Air Force Prep for different tournaments before returning home for the Thanksgiving Classic Nov. 27-28

WNCC volleyball team drops McCook in regular season finale, preps for regional tournament this weekend

MCCOOK – The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team tuned up nicely for this weekend’s Region IX tournament by dropping McCook Community College in straight sets Sunday afternoon on the road.

The Cougars, 36-3, topped the Indians 25-14, 25-9, 25-15 in a contest that was rescheduled from Friday because of weather conditions. It was also WNCC’s final regular season and sub-region contest of the season. WNCC finished the sub-region 9-1 and captured the No. 1 seed in the North Region IX tournament that begins Thursday in Sterling.

On Sunday, Kaleinani Kabalis recorded a double-double with 13 kills and 15 digs. Cami Weimer also put up a good effort, finishing with a near triple-double of nine kills, nine points and 16 digs.

Also for the Cougars, Brooke Blomenkamp had 12 kills, Tania Torres had six kills, Ariel Austin had six kills, Emily Hoehn had 23 digs, Kuulei Kabalis had 26 set assists, seven points and four aces, and Sierra Schmidt had 17 set assists.

Sunday’s win was an uplifting victory for the team after the Cougars fell to Northeastern Junior College on Wednesday on the road in five sets. Freshman Tania Torres said it was also good for the team to get back on the winning track entering the regional tournament on Thursday.

“The game against McCook was a really good one for us as a team,” she said. “Even though we won in three sets, it was a good game for practices and to get better. We, as a team, have to keep working for regionals and nationals. The contest got us ready for this important weekend.”

WNCC’s first contest in the regional tournament will be Friday morning at 11 a.m. against the winner of the No. 4 and 5 seeds. A win Friday morning will send them in a contest Friday evening at 5 p.m. The championship match is slated for Saturday at 1 p.m. with the winner qualifying for the national tournament in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Nov. 19-21.

WNCC women ready to open basketball season Nov. 7, team is ranked 15th in the NJCAA polls

The Western Nebraska Community College women's basketball team will enter the season with plenty of motivation this coming year. The Cougars enter the season ranked 15th in the nation after the pre-season polls were released last week.

Head coach Dave Harnish, who is beginning his 22nd year at the helm, knows there is plentyof talent on this year year after watching his squad go through scrimmages Oc. 25 against South Dakota Mines at home and then Nov. 1 on the road against Chadron State.

The scrimmages are a welcome change for the coaches and players after practicing for two hours a day since Oct. 1.

“For this team it is important for us to have as many scrimmages as we can have for a couple scenarios,” Harnish said. “For one, we have been practicing since Oct. 1 and I think the kids are tired of practicing against each other and ready to play against somebody else. And, from my side, it was a chance for me to see what we can do well and things we don’t do well. We still have two weeks to get everything corrected before our first regular season game.”

The scrimmages was especially beneficial for 13 newcomers to get some game experience before they season opens up for real on Nov. 7 at Colby Community College.

“For this team, they need to get a lot of experience because basically we have two sophomore coming back with Amber [Kistler] and Stormye {Everett] with any type of college experience in understanding the quickness and physical part of the game,” Harnish said. “It is important for this group of freshmen to get as much time on the floor against somebody else in terms of officiating and in terms of how the game will be played. I am sure it was nervous for a lot of kids and we found out we have a long ways to go. It was good for us to get one under our belt and move on.”

Harnish definitely found strengths and weaknesses about his team from the scrimmages. THe good things, however, include watching a team that is starting to mesh together.

The Cougar women feature one of its tallest and athletic teams in Harnish’s tenure. One of the players standing out was 6-foot-7 Thais Pinto of Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The Cougars also got strong guard play from returning sophomore 5-9 Amber Kister of Bayard along with red-shirt freshman 5-10 Yuki Morimoto of Tokyo, Japan.

The Cougars also received strong play from 6-1 Khayla Gladney of Los Angeles, Calif., 6-2 Kelli Culver of Arvada, Colo., 5-10 Tayler Puttergill of Mullen, 6-2 Soulijah Evans of San Diego, Calif., 6-0 Caolina Alves of Belo Horizonte, Brazil, 5-8 Madison Keller of Scottsbluff, and 5-3 Shelby Campbell of Hemingford.

Other players on the team include 5-9 Ariane Brown of Colorado Springs, Colo., 6-0 Tiffany Moorer of Harbor City, Calif., 6-1 Tynetta Turner of San Diego, Calif., 5-8 Michelle Glaze of Brighton, Colo., and 5-9 Stormye Everett of Aurora, Colo.

Harnish said he saw positives from some players that he wasn’t expecting from the South Dakota Mines scrimmage.

“The biggest thing yesterday is we have to learn how to compete and what it takes to win games in not only to executing and making shots, but to be better in rebounding, blocking out and not turning the ball over,” he said. “We didn’t do a very good job of that because we had too many travels and too many turnovers. But, again, you are working with basically 13 freshmen and those things will happen.

“For the most part, some of the girls played better than I thought and some didn’t perform as well as I thought. From that standpoint it was disappointing that we can play better, but it is early in the year and it is the first one.”

Still, Harnish believes that this team has the potential to be one of the best in school history with the athleticism the players have.

“I thought early in the year we had all the attributes to be successful. We have height, we have quickness, and we have kids that can shoot it,” he said. “But if you don’t rebound the ball or play defense and do the little things that are hard to coach, you will not be as successful as you can be based on the talent that you have. I think that is where we are at now. We have kids that are athletic and talented, but we are not being solid enough defensively or offensively and using our athleticism and height to the best we could use it.”

Cougar volleyball match postponed until Sunday

The Western Nebraska Community College and McCook Community College volleyball match scheduled for Friday at McCook has been postponed to Sunday because of weather conditions. The match will start at 4 p.m. MST on Sunday. This is the last regular season match for the Cougar women, now 35-3 on the season.

NJC snaps No. 3 WNCC's 26-match win streak with five-set thriller

STERLING, Colo – The Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team saw its 26-game winning streak come to a halt an halt in a heart-breaking fashion falling to No. 20 Northeastern Junior College in five sets.

The No. 3 ranked Cougars dropped the opening two sets 25-20, 25-16 before heating up taking the next two 25-22 and 25-16. NJC then shocked the Cougars in game five in a back-and-fourth set, winning 18-16.

The loss was only the Cougars third on the season and the first in the sub-region, dropping to 8-1 and 35-3 on the season. NJC is now 9-1 on the season and 25-11 on the season.

The Cougars started the contest cold, just like it was outside falling behind 22-17 and never getting any kind of rhythm going. The second set was even colder for the No. 3 ranked team, trailing 21-11 before falling 25-16.

WNCC, however, found a spark in third set. WNCC was trailing 11-9 before a clutch block by Kathryn Stock and Whitney Roth. Then Cami Weimer served up three points to push the lead to 14-11. WNCC kept hitting on all cylinders moving to a 22-16 lead. NJC sliced the lead to 23-22 before a Kaleinani Kabalis kill stopped the run and helped the Cougars capture the third set 25-22.

NJC forged out to a 5-3 lead early before WNCC came alive behind the serving of Gering graduate Sierra Schmidt, who served six straight points for a 10-5 Cougar lead. WNCC kept going pushing the lead to double digits at 22-11 on two Schmidt points, forcing a fifth set.

The fifth set – the Cougars’ second straight five-setter since 2003 – was back and forth. WNCC ran out to a 11-9 lead on a Kathryn Stock kill. WNCC couldn’t hold the lead, as NJC came back to tie the set at 12. After that, there were four ties before the Plainswomen finally won the contest 18-16.

Kaleinani Kabalis paced the Cougars with a double-double with 19 kills and 18 digs. Kathryn Stock finished with 14 kills and six digs, while Paulina Piegza had eight kllls and five digs.

Also for WNCC, Kuulei Kabalis had 31 set assists and six digs; Sierra Schmidt had 14 set assists, eight points and three aces; Tania Torres had three kills and five assisted blocks; Brooke Blomenkamp had three kills; Whitney Roth had two kills, four blocks and three points; Cami Weimer had five points and 23 digs; and Emily Hoehn had two points and five digs.

WNCC will look to rebound on Friday when they travel to McCook Community College for its final regular season and sub-region contest. After that, the Cougars will head back to Sterling, Colo., for the Region IX tournament which begins Nov. 6,

Confident Balza adds to Penn State's potent offense

WNCC volleyball coach Giovana Melo and Cougar softball coach Maria Winn-Ratliff flew to Happy Valley, Penn., last week and watched former Cougar Fatima Balza in action for the No. 1 ranked and 2-time defending champs Penn State University Nittly Lions.

Because of the success she has been having, there was a story in the Centre Daily about Balza. Check out the link before to read the story.

http://www.centredaily.com/sports/colleges/penn_state/story/1590077.html

WNCC women fall in penalty kicks, men lose 1-0 in Region IX final

CHEYENNE, Wyo. -- The Western Nebraska Community College men’s and women’s soccer teams bid for a regional championship came to an end Saturday in the Region IX championship games to Laramie County Community College.

The LCCC women, ranked No. 6 in the nation, outscored the Cougar women 4-3 in penalty kicks to earn the 1-0 win. The Cougar men never got to an overtime period, falling to the Golden Eagles 1-0 on a last minute goal.

WNCC coach Todd Rasnic said while he hates to lose, you can’t fault the effort of the teams on the field today.

“I thought in the women’s game we obviously didn’t generate enough offense and we have been struggling there this year,” he said. “It was unfortunate to go into penalty kicks and it could have gone any direction, unfortunately it was our that got saved. When a goalkeeper makes a good save, it is hard to come out on top.”

Rasnic said the men’s match was a case where LCCC wore down the Cougar men in the second half.

“Just being down numbers on the men’s side, I think fatigue set in,” he said. “They had a tough match yesterday and they had to come out and play today at that high level. In the second half, we lost possession to the other team and it ended up killing us in the end.

“I hate losing. It is really hard losing games and I think our guys put out the best effort that they could. We just have to look to next year and rebuild a little bit.”
The women’s match was a tight contest throughout, including the sudden-death penalty kicks. LCCC dominated the first half with the help of a 30 mph wind coming from the north. Still, the Cougar defense shut down the No. 6 Golden Eagles.

In the second half, WNCC had the wind to it’s advantage and came close in connecting on goals. Jaime Gastelle missed on a shot off a corner kick at the 32 minute mark. Six minutes later, Ana Jacobo missed on a shot.

Gering’s Keah Brost, though, had the best chance at goal as her cross shot hit the inside of the goal post and rebounded back into play with 17:43 left in regulation.

Laramie County had a couple of scoring opportunities as well in the second half, but Cougar goalkeeper Jessica Taylor turned those threats away.

WNCC had two prime scoring opportunities in the first overtime, one at the three minute mark and another off a corner kick with a minute to play, but they couldn’t connect. Neither team mounded any threat in the second overtime forcing the championship to be decided by penalty kicks.

WNCC’s Jessica Arreguin and Jaime Gastelle connected on the Cougars first two kicks as did the Golden Eagles’ Kelly Parkhurst and Cori Mizel. Brost and LCCC’s Amanda Halter both missed on the team’s third attempt. Brost’s shot, once again, hit the top of the goal and bounced into the field of play.

LCCC took a 3-2 lead after Ana Jacobo missed high and then Julianna Natal scored. Gering’s Taylor Johns tied the sudden death period up at 3-3 as she scored. But, the Golden Eagles’ Emi Yamamoto scored the winning goal for the Golden Eagles.

LCCC finished the contest with 10 shots on goal compared to just four for the Cougars. The Golden Eagles had seven corner kicks to the Cougars three. Taylor made 10 saves in net for WNCC, while LCCC’s Emily Michna had three saves.

WNCC’s Brooke Dudley said they just came up on the short end of the scoreboard.

“We played a really good game today,” the sophomore mid-fielder said. “It was a good last game to have here. Losing in penalty kicks [isn’t fun], but it happens. It just wasn’t in our favor today. Overall, we had a pretty good season. We had a lot of developing to do and it will give a good foundation for next year’s season.”

The Cougar men just came up short once again to the Golden Eagles on the scoreboard. The Cougars didn’t have that many shots on goal, getting out shot 19-4, but they had some prime scoring opportunities.

The Cougars had four scoring opportunities in the first half, including two off corner kicks. The best chance came with 25 minutes left as Casey Zigray just barely missed a chance. Then, with eight minutes left in the half, Tony Rocha had a wide-open attempt and was tripped up as LCCC’s goal keeper was coming out to defend.

In the second half, Zigray came up big on two saves to keep the score at 0-0. The first, with 21 minutes to play, gave LCCC an wide-open shot at goal. But Zigray came sliding into the box to knock the ball away. He later had another key save with about 10 minutes to play.

The Golden Eagles finally broke the ice, scoring with 6:18 to play as Chris Kistenoglu took a pass from Cory Tanner to put LCCC up 1-0 and they held on for the win.

WNCC was outshot 19-4 in the contest and had just two corner kicks to the Golden Eagles’ 11.

Rasnic said while he hates to see the season end, he can focus on rebuilding for next year.

“We have a lot of good stuff to build on the women’s side,” he said. “We have a lot of freshman with some talent. We are just now going to look for next year and try to get stronger.

WNCC soccer teams win in first round of regionals, advance to play LCCC for title

CHEYENNE, Wyo. – The Western Nebraska Community College women’s and men’s soccer teams advanced to the championship game of the Region IX tournament with wins over Western Wyoming Community College Friday in Cheyenne, Wyo.

The women scored two early goals and then let their strong defense shut down the Mustangs in a 2-0 win. The men’s contest was a little tighter, but the Cougars received a goal from Jose Macias with 18 minutes to play in the 2-1 win.

Both Squads advance to Saturday’s championship against Laramie Community College. The women’s contest starts at 1 p.m. with the men’s contest to follow at the LCCC soccer fields.

The Cougar women will be looking to capture their second straight title after downing LCCC last year. Sophomore Jaime Gastelle said they will need to be ready to play Saturday afternoon.

“We need to come out strong like we did today [Friday],” she said. “We have to work the full 90 minutes like we did today. We have to work hard and we have to play evenly to win.”

The Cougars lightning quick start definitely was a shock to everyone, even to Gastelle. Gastelle wasted little time in taking a pass from Ana Jacobo to score just 13 seconds into the game for the 1-0 lead. Jacobo put the Cougars up 2-0 in the first half as the sophomore from Aurora, Colo., scored at the 23^rd minute mark off an assist from Keah Brost.

WNCC let their defense control the pace of the game in the second half, shutting out the Mustangs. The Cougars received a stellar goal-tending effort from Jessica Taylor in net as the freshman recorded 15 saves. Many of the shots, however, weren’t a threat to go in.

“We did really well. We came out really strong and really fast and I think we caught the other team off guard,” she said. “That first goal 13 seconds in the match was a surprise, but it was a lift for our team.”

Gastelle said they wouldn’t be playing in the title contest if it wasn’t for another strong defensive unit.

“We were really strong defensively,” she said. “I thought we had really good defenders that ran through every ball and won a lot of balls. They did really well today.”

The men also got out to a quick start, but had to utilize some late-game magic to register the win against the Mustangs.

The Cougars’ Matt Hoffman scored the first goal off an assist from Nate Southard in the 22nd minute for the 1-0 lead. WNCC couldn’t hold the lead as Western Wyoming tied the game at 1-1 going into halftime.

Both teams played even after that until Jose Macias decided enough was enough. Macias, a freshman from Aurora, Colo., put the Cougars up 2-1 in the 18^th minute after stealing the ball from the defender and hammering it into the net. After that, wNCC shut down the Mustang offense to get the win.

WNCC coach Todd Rasnic said the guys controlled the tempo of the game after starting off a little shaky.

“They played well. We started off unlucky again by hitting the cross bar twice on shots. Our final third of play looked really nice. We built the ball up well and possessed most of the game. We definitely came out to play like we wanted to be the Region IX champions. We definitely pressured them a lot better then what we have against them.”

Rasnic said both teams will need to duplicate their efforts on Friday to the championship contests Saturday.

“Both teams will have to come out and duplicate efforts. The women played a pretty flawless game, scoring in the first 12 seconds and then maintaining the lead and adding to it as the game went along,” he said. “I think if both teams come out with that focus tomorrow with the same effort, I think we will be fine.”

The last time WNCC and LCCC met on the soccer field, about two weeks ago, the LCCC men registered an -1-0 win, while the Cougar and LCCC women settled for a 0-0 tie in double overtime. The winner of Region IX will head to districts the first weekend in November. The women will head to Kansas, while the men go to Missouri.

WNCC women's soccer updates at regionals

WNCC started the first-round of regionals on a good note. The Cougars are up 2-o over Western Wyoming. Jaime Gastelle scored in the opening 15 seconds and then Ana Jacobo netted a goal in the 23rd minute.

Scoring Summary
First Half
:15 -- Jaime Gastelle
23:00 -- Ana Jacobo

Kalei Kabalis picks up 1,000th career kill, No. 4 Cougar women need five sets to down No. 12 Casper

Kaleinani Kabalis recorded her 1,000 career kill and the Western Nebraska Community College volleyball team made it a happy sophomore night in registering an action-packed, five-set thriller over No. 12 Casper College at Cougar Palace.

The fourth-ranked Cougars rallied from a 2-1 deficit to record a 16-25, 25-14, 21-25, 26-24, 15-9 win for their 35^th victory of the season.

Kabalis finished the night with a season-high 28 kills, and she netted her 1,000th career kill on the first point of the fourth set.

But, it wasn’t just Kabalis that stepped up, the entire team had to dig deep to come out with the victory as three players finished with 15-plus digs. Emily Hoehn paced the defense with 22 digs followed by Brooke Blomenkamp with 18 and Kuulei Kabalis with 15.

Kaleinani Kabalis said this is a special win for everybody.

“This game was really big for us because it was like our sophomore night,” she said. “I felt this is the changing point for our team of how we got stronger without Sabi (Sabina Piegza, who is out with a knee injury). I think this win made us way stronger than before. We have more confidence in each and every person off the bench.”

The Cougars definitely had their backs to the ropes on many occasions. WNCC, however, found the drive to come away with the win. Kaleinani Kabalis said they just had to relax.

“We had to relax, calm down and play our game and remember that this is for us and one more step toward nationals,” she said. “We had to play with our heart instead of just our mind.”

Casper dominated the first set as Katya Kopanarova had five service points to push the T-bird lead to 10-4. WNCC never really mounted a threat in falling 25-16.

The second set was just the opposite as the Cougars started to find some rhythm. Casper held a 14-13 lead on two Marija Jovanovic points. WNCC’s Blomenkamp changed the complexion in a heartbeat as she hammered home a kill and then serviced seven straight points for a 22-13 lead. Kaleinani finished off the set with two thundering kills.

The third set was anyone’s set to take as WNCC jumped out to a 13-8 lead on three Kathryn Stock service points. The lead didn’t last long as Konefesi Vaisigano had three points and then Kopanarova had four points to give Casper a 19-16 lead. Kristin Glisczinski helped Casper to the set win with four points for the 25-21 win.

WNCC game out strong in the fourth set. On the very first point, Kaleinani Kabalis hammered home her 17^th kill of the night, which was her 1,000th career kill. WNCC kept playing strong as Paulina Piegza had four service points and later Kaleinani had three points for a 10-3 lead.

WNCC raced to a 19-12 lead and seemed they were on cruise control. Casper had other ideas, as Vaisigano served six straight points to slice the lead to 22-19. The Cougars came within set point at 24-20 on a Kaleinani Kabalis kill, but Kopanarova tied the set at 24. Kaleinani Kabalis heated up, hammering home the final two kills to force a fifth set.

The final set was heated as both ranked teams wanted the win. Casper held a 7-6 lead before Paulina Piegza heated up with two kills to give WNCC an 8-7 lead. Moments later, Piegza hammered home another kill and then Kathryn Stock had three service points as Kaleinani Kabalis and Piegza had two huge blocks and Piegza had a kill for a 13-9 lead. Piegza finished off the Casper upset attempt with a kill and then the final service point for the match.

Blomenkamp finished with a triple-double, finishing with 18 digs, 11 points and 11 kills. A number of players collected double-doubles on the night. Kaleinani Kabalis finished with 28 kills, 14 digs, two blocks and eight points; while Kuulei Kabalis had 53 set assists, 15 digs, nine points, and three kills.

Also for the Cougars, Paulina Piegza had 12 kills, four blocks and six points; Stock had eight kills, 10 digs and nine points; Hoehn had 22 digs and three points; and Cami Weimer had 11 digs.

Kaleinani Kabalis said this win will be huge for the rest of the season, especially since the sophomores finished their career at Cougar Palace on a high note.

“It was tough for us to play tonight because we didn’t have Sabi, but in our hearts we played for her mostly,” she said. “When we were playing out there, we knew that she is still out there in mind, soul and spirit.”

The Cougars will have two more regular season matches left as they travel to Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, Colo., next Wednesday before facing McCook on the road on Oct. 30. Kabalis said they have to keep playing with plenty of heart to keep winning.

“Next week we will have to play tough,” she said. “We need to keep our confidence level up and keep trying our hardest.”

WNCC soccer teams read for regional playoffs on Friday

The Western Nebraska Community College men’s and women’s soccer teams enter this weekend’s Region IX playoffs with plenty of fire in hopes of bringing home a couple of championship trophies.

The Cougar women, who captured the regional championship last season, will be looking for the chance to be back-to-back regional champions. They will begin that quest Friday at noon at the Laramie County Community College soccer field in Cheyenne, Wyo., against Western Wyoming Community College.

The Cougar women enter with a 7-6-1 record while the Mustangs have a 7-7-1 mark. LCCC, who is ranked 6^th in the NJCAA polls with a 12-2-2 mark, awaits the winner in the championship match Saturday at 1 p.m. in Cheyenne.

The Cougar men will take to the field at 2:30 p.m. Friday against Western Wyoming. The Cougar men sport a 4-5-1 mark while Western Wyoming comes into the first-round match with an 8-7-2 record. LCCC earned the No. 1 seed with a 4-0 regional record and enters with an 8-7 overall mark. The Golden Eagles will face the winner Saturday at 3:30 p.m.

Both WNCC and WWCC squads faced each other Friday at the Lander’s Soccer Complex with the Cougar women earning a 2-1 over the Mustangs, while the Cougar men fell 4-3 in overtime.

WNCC coach Todd Rasnic said his women’s squad will have the tougher road to haul, especially since they can’t sneak up on anyone like they did last year when they capture the regional title.

“We will have to go out and play better offense then what we have been playing this year,” he said. “Defensively we are O.K. Usually, if you are the one that won the region the previous year, the other teams are gunning for you. We will have to go out and not only prove that we can beat Western Wyoming but also go out and put some goals into the net against Laramie County. If we can get our offense going, we have a really good shot. We are hoping the ladies step up to the challenge and come out and play with the heart and desire that I am looking for.”

The one area that stands out for the Cougar women is their defense. The Cougar women have only given up five goals just once this season and that was Sept. 23 against Laramie County. But, the last time LCCC and WNCC battled, the two teams had to settle for a 0-0 tie.

Rasnic can’t rave enough about the kind of effort his defense has put out on the field. WNCC has only given up 12 goals in 14 contest this season, and just three goals this month.

“I think our women are in the top three in the nation in defense is concerned,” Rasnic said. “If you look at the scoring of our games this year, they are very low scoring affairs. Besides a few games at the first of the season, we haven’t give up more than two goals. Our strength is our defense this year and if we get our offense going, we are dangerous. I have to admit that we have struggled a bit in getting our offense going. We are looking for more consistency this weekend.”
The men’s team also boasts a strong defensive team. What has caused the men headaches this season is their unluckiness in scoring goals. Rasnic said if they can get their offense untracked, they have an excellent chance of advancing to districts Nov. 6-8 in Missouri.

“We have been in a lot of close contests and I usually don’t say this, but I think the men are the best team in Region IX,” he said. “Offensively, we have not really struggled because we had our moments. We were a serious threat to everyone that we played on the offensive side. We have some deadly weapons in the attacking third of the field, and at this point this weekend all we have to do is execute. We just have to step up to the challenge at the end of the year and play the way we know we can.”

The men have scored 13 goals in their last four contests, but could only come out of those contests with a 2-2 mark. That includes losing to Western Wyoming in the closing minutes of regulation and overtime last week. Western Wyoming scored in the closing minute to tie the match and then won the game with two minutes left in the overtime period.

“We struggled in finishing game. We had shots that hit off of cross bars,” he said. “Comparing the men’s and women’s teams, I would say the men have a much greater chance of coming out with a regional championship. That doesn’t mean they will. If they play well, they should walk away with a Region IX championship.”
Even if they lose, Rasnic will be pleased with the season as long as they give 100 percent.

“I told them all week that you only get one shot at it and from here on out, if we lose we are done,” he said. “I think it has been put in their minds that they have to come out with a great deal of desire this weekend and leave their best effort on the field. If they do that, no matter what the result is, we will be satisfied. “