Thursday, November 26, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Thanksgiving Recess
The majority of the Men's soccer team was headed home today after their classes. We wish all travelers, current, past, future players, their friends and family safe arrivals and departures during Thanksgiving Break.
Some of the Thanksgiving Travelers quotes:
"It's going to be good getting home," said forward Eddie Ramirez, "it's been a while, but the break is a needed one."
"No classes, no homework. No soccer, no practices," said Marcus McClellan. "Just food and sleep."
"It'll be good to get home to see the folks and hang out with some old friends," says Kalob Woodward.
"I looking forward to just sitting down and doing nothing," said Alberto Mata.
Coach Romanello and his wife will be staying in Dodge City for Thanksgiving. "I'll stay busy," says Romanello. "By busy, I mean with football, some college basketball and some Christmas decorations. It will be nice to get away from the office for an entire four days."
Some of the Thanksgiving Travelers quotes:
"It's going to be good getting home," said forward Eddie Ramirez, "it's been a while, but the break is a needed one."
"No classes, no homework. No soccer, no practices," said Marcus McClellan. "Just food and sleep."
"It'll be good to get home to see the folks and hang out with some old friends," says Kalob Woodward.
"I looking forward to just sitting down and doing nothing," said Alberto Mata.
Coach Romanello and his wife will be staying in Dodge City for Thanksgiving. "I'll stay busy," says Romanello. "By busy, I mean with football, some college basketball and some Christmas decorations. It will be nice to get away from the office for an entire four days."
2010 Conference Schedule Release
Following the annual Region VI soccer meeting, the Dodge City men's soccer released its 2010 KJCCC/Region VI fixtures.
Highlighting the 2010 schedule are the home-and-home fixtures with Garden City. Dodge City will play a non-conference match in Garden City on Wednesday, September 1. The Broncbusters return the favor Wednesday, October 20, a KJCCC match and regular-season finale that could have huge implications for both teams.
The Conqs won't see either champion until late in the year, Dodge City will first make a trip to Great Bend, Kansas to take on the 2009 Region VI and Plains District champs, Barton County, on Thursday, October 7th. The following week, a trip to Overland Park, Kansas calls when the Conq Men take on the reigning KJCCC champions Johnson County, Saturday, October 16.
Dodge City's Memorial Stadium will open it's gates on Friday, September 10, when the Conqs host Cloud County in the team's conference home-opener.
The Conqs will play two more contests this year, eighteen rather than sixteen. However, not all of the non-conference opponents or matches have been set into stone yet. The full schedule will be released once Dodge City has completely booked their 2010 fixtures.
AWAY: Allen County, Barton County, Cowley County, Garden City, Hesston College, Johnson County, Neosho County
HOME: Cloud County, Coffeyville, Garden City, Independence, Kansas City, Pratt
Highlighting the 2010 schedule are the home-and-home fixtures with Garden City. Dodge City will play a non-conference match in Garden City on Wednesday, September 1. The Broncbusters return the favor Wednesday, October 20, a KJCCC match and regular-season finale that could have huge implications for both teams.
The Conqs won't see either champion until late in the year, Dodge City will first make a trip to Great Bend, Kansas to take on the 2009 Region VI and Plains District champs, Barton County, on Thursday, October 7th. The following week, a trip to Overland Park, Kansas calls when the Conq Men take on the reigning KJCCC champions Johnson County, Saturday, October 16.
Dodge City's Memorial Stadium will open it's gates on Friday, September 10, when the Conqs host Cloud County in the team's conference home-opener.
The Conqs will play two more contests this year, eighteen rather than sixteen. However, not all of the non-conference opponents or matches have been set into stone yet. The full schedule will be released once Dodge City has completely booked their 2010 fixtures.
AWAY: Allen County, Barton County, Cowley County, Garden City, Hesston College, Johnson County, Neosho County
HOME: Cloud County, Coffeyville, Garden City, Independence, Kansas City, Pratt
Friday, October 23, 2009
Wedding Bells
After the team returned from Garden City late Thursday, head coach Tim Romanello and his wife, Annie, drove to Wichita to make their A.M. flight for Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Romanello's sister, Betsy, will be getting married on Saturday afternoon.
The team was given the weekend off before gear turn-in, starting Monday morning.
The team was given the weekend off before gear turn-in, starting Monday morning.
Conqs Fall in Season Finale
The Conqs played level with rival Garden City for 72 minutes. However, the team fell apart in the final 18 minutes as Garden City would eventually score five times and keep the Conq offense shutout to win 5-0.
With the loss, Dodge City finishes the year at 3-11-1 overall, good for ninth in the KJCCC and Region VI standings with ten points, six points better than last year's finish.
Garden City will host Kansas City, Kansas on Tuesday in the opening round of the Region VI Tournament.
With the loss, Dodge City finishes the year at 3-11-1 overall, good for ninth in the KJCCC and Region VI standings with ten points, six points better than last year's finish.
Garden City will host Kansas City, Kansas on Tuesday in the opening round of the Region VI Tournament.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Wet Weather Forces Men's Training Inside
Head Coach Tim Romanello has pushed practice inside the Conq Gymnasium due to inclement weather. While it is only rain, Mother Nature is providing hard enough rain to force the decision to be inside.
Given the team played twice on back-to-back days in cooler and moist conditions, it appears the move inside is an effort to keep the team healthy as the team's final Region VI game quickly approaches.
Practice is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. CST.
Given the team played twice on back-to-back days in cooler and moist conditions, it appears the move inside is an effort to keep the team healthy as the team's final Region VI game quickly approaches.
Practice is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. CST.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Romanello's Notebook: October 12
Opening Statements:
"Good morning. It was a long weekend of play and travel. It always is when you travel out-of-state in combination of playing back-to-back days. I don't like losing, never have, but, despite the losses, I thought we accomplished some good things. For one, I think our attitude has improve a little bit. We are playing with urgency, just not getting results still. And I think our consistency has improved. Not pleased with this past weekend. Not happy with the way they turned out, but again, some good things have developed.
From an injury standpoint, I haven't seen Marcus McClellan since we left on Friday, so I am unaware to what his status is. I know he's rested and ready to go, but his legs might say otherwise once practice picks up again tomorrow (Tuesday). Randolph Love's groin strain has subsided. He played the full 90 minutes in both games and is without pain today, so nothing to report there. Oscar Reyes is still not 100% from his pinched nerve he's suffered at the beginning of the year. But he has continued to play through that. And Alberto Mata has an injury to his ankle from a collision in Saturday's game early. His status is questionable for Friday.
On the caution side of things, Jose Esono served his yellow-card suspension on Sunday after collecting his fifth of the season on Saturday. Dalton Burkhard received two yellows in Sunday's game in minute 90 and stoppage time, so he'll sit Friday in our must-win against Cloud County. And Victor Mejia didn't travel and missed both games because of work, so his status for Friday is up in the air.
Should Manuel Hipolito or Fabian Sanchez collect one more yellow, they'll have to sit against the season finale against Garden City on the 22nd (of October). A bit more drama than I want, but we'll make due.
I thought that this weekend proved to be a bittersweet one. We lost both, that's the bottom line, and it sucks, but we need to build our confidence and play for when we play Cloud County on Friday. That's the game that counts the most. I thought our forwards did an outstanding job this weekend. They didn't score any goals, but they have been much more effective up on top with their touches and support play and you can see that our team has done significantly better on the possession side of the ball. Course, possession doesn't score goals, it creates them, but we need to finish our opportunities. Eddie Ramirez has helped create a lot of chances and Alberto Mata has come through of late.
In the midfield, Jack Wise continues to be a work-horse and Andrew De La Torre, despite some significant bench-time on Saturday proves to be a dangerous player when he sticks to the simple parts of the game. I thought we did much-improved job of possessing the ball this weekend, but unfortunately, we still lack the consistency in the defensive part of the midfield. But we're getting there. On Saturday, I thought we did a good job about attacking on the wings and Sunday too. I thought our counter-attack was solid on Sunday.
On the defensive side of things, if we communicate, our defense is stronger. When we don't, we let easy goals slide in. It's still a simple communication effort by our guys on the defensive side of the ball. On the positive side, Julian Sanchez played terrifically. I think he's found a new home and made a major impact. Randolph Love also got to play a defensive midfield position filling in for the injured Marcus McClellan.
We just need to maintain our composure and consistently inject high levels of energy into our play and I think we'll be fine."
On giving up early goals in both games
"You know it's difficult when you give up early goals because it takes you out of your game plan. But for us, unbelievably, we play better when we are down goals. As funny as that sounds, we don't have a lot of goals (when we trail) to show for that effort."
On whether or not Saturday's changed kickoff time affected the team
"I think we came out a little flat because of it. But I am not going to blame a result because of it. If we come out flat, that's our own problem. We need to learn to get geared up for no matter what happens prior to the game."
On whether the cold weather affected the team's performance
"The weather was fine. Sure, it was on the colder side, but there wasn't a lot of wind and there wasn't any rain. So right there, we had better conditions than we had against Neosho County. So, no. The cold had nothing to do with either one of our losses. We simply didn't score enough to win."
On Julian Sanchez playing left back
"I thought Julian played terrifically. I approached him prior to leaving for the game on Saturday and told him it was a possibility. And when I made a change in the back with Oscar, I threw him out to the wolves. He held his own. He definitely did. In fact, I'd say he was our most consistent player this weekend."
On Jose Esono's yellow card suspension
"Jose has a temper. No ifs, ands or buts. He's got to remain in control, though. He sat out on Sunday against Cisco and he'll be ready to go on Friday."
On the impact of not capitalizing on scoring chances by Eddie Ramirez and Jesus Gaspar
"Don't blame just them. It isn't just them. It's all of us. All of us can't find the back of the net. With that being said, those are four good opportunities to get on the scoreboard and change the game. Instead of down 3-0 at halftime, maybe we trail 3-2 or go into the break even at 3-3. But we'll never know. We'll never know because it didn't happen. All you can control is next time."
On playing without Marcus McClellan
"There was a bit of an impact at first. Randolph needed to find his feet a little bit there. But it all came back to him and I thought he did a great job staying in there. Marcus gives us a lot of options, but Randolph can give us just as good and productive minutes as anybody. So, sure, we missed him, but we have to play hard and our best with who ever is available."
On what happened in the 90th minute on Sunday
"Dalton went up for a flighted ball, brought up his knee to protect himself. The referee interpreted that as going after another player recklessly and gave Dalton a caution for it. Okay. Enough said. Dalton argued and earned himself a seat on the bench for Friday's contest. What more do you want me to say? He lost his cool. He chose to be undisciplined. And he put us in a tough spot. That's all I can say about that."
"Good morning. It was a long weekend of play and travel. It always is when you travel out-of-state in combination of playing back-to-back days. I don't like losing, never have, but, despite the losses, I thought we accomplished some good things. For one, I think our attitude has improve a little bit. We are playing with urgency, just not getting results still. And I think our consistency has improved. Not pleased with this past weekend. Not happy with the way they turned out, but again, some good things have developed.
From an injury standpoint, I haven't seen Marcus McClellan since we left on Friday, so I am unaware to what his status is. I know he's rested and ready to go, but his legs might say otherwise once practice picks up again tomorrow (Tuesday). Randolph Love's groin strain has subsided. He played the full 90 minutes in both games and is without pain today, so nothing to report there. Oscar Reyes is still not 100% from his pinched nerve he's suffered at the beginning of the year. But he has continued to play through that. And Alberto Mata has an injury to his ankle from a collision in Saturday's game early. His status is questionable for Friday.
On the caution side of things, Jose Esono served his yellow-card suspension on Sunday after collecting his fifth of the season on Saturday. Dalton Burkhard received two yellows in Sunday's game in minute 90 and stoppage time, so he'll sit Friday in our must-win against Cloud County. And Victor Mejia didn't travel and missed both games because of work, so his status for Friday is up in the air.
Should Manuel Hipolito or Fabian Sanchez collect one more yellow, they'll have to sit against the season finale against Garden City on the 22nd (of October). A bit more drama than I want, but we'll make due.
I thought that this weekend proved to be a bittersweet one. We lost both, that's the bottom line, and it sucks, but we need to build our confidence and play for when we play Cloud County on Friday. That's the game that counts the most. I thought our forwards did an outstanding job this weekend. They didn't score any goals, but they have been much more effective up on top with their touches and support play and you can see that our team has done significantly better on the possession side of the ball. Course, possession doesn't score goals, it creates them, but we need to finish our opportunities. Eddie Ramirez has helped create a lot of chances and Alberto Mata has come through of late.
In the midfield, Jack Wise continues to be a work-horse and Andrew De La Torre, despite some significant bench-time on Saturday proves to be a dangerous player when he sticks to the simple parts of the game. I thought we did much-improved job of possessing the ball this weekend, but unfortunately, we still lack the consistency in the defensive part of the midfield. But we're getting there. On Saturday, I thought we did a good job about attacking on the wings and Sunday too. I thought our counter-attack was solid on Sunday.
On the defensive side of things, if we communicate, our defense is stronger. When we don't, we let easy goals slide in. It's still a simple communication effort by our guys on the defensive side of the ball. On the positive side, Julian Sanchez played terrifically. I think he's found a new home and made a major impact. Randolph Love also got to play a defensive midfield position filling in for the injured Marcus McClellan.
We just need to maintain our composure and consistently inject high levels of energy into our play and I think we'll be fine."
On giving up early goals in both games
"You know it's difficult when you give up early goals because it takes you out of your game plan. But for us, unbelievably, we play better when we are down goals. As funny as that sounds, we don't have a lot of goals (when we trail) to show for that effort."
On whether or not Saturday's changed kickoff time affected the team
"I think we came out a little flat because of it. But I am not going to blame a result because of it. If we come out flat, that's our own problem. We need to learn to get geared up for no matter what happens prior to the game."
On whether the cold weather affected the team's performance
"The weather was fine. Sure, it was on the colder side, but there wasn't a lot of wind and there wasn't any rain. So right there, we had better conditions than we had against Neosho County. So, no. The cold had nothing to do with either one of our losses. We simply didn't score enough to win."
On Julian Sanchez playing left back
"I thought Julian played terrifically. I approached him prior to leaving for the game on Saturday and told him it was a possibility. And when I made a change in the back with Oscar, I threw him out to the wolves. He held his own. He definitely did. In fact, I'd say he was our most consistent player this weekend."
On Jose Esono's yellow card suspension
"Jose has a temper. No ifs, ands or buts. He's got to remain in control, though. He sat out on Sunday against Cisco and he'll be ready to go on Friday."
On the impact of not capitalizing on scoring chances by Eddie Ramirez and Jesus Gaspar
"Don't blame just them. It isn't just them. It's all of us. All of us can't find the back of the net. With that being said, those are four good opportunities to get on the scoreboard and change the game. Instead of down 3-0 at halftime, maybe we trail 3-2 or go into the break even at 3-3. But we'll never know. We'll never know because it didn't happen. All you can control is next time."
On playing without Marcus McClellan
"There was a bit of an impact at first. Randolph needed to find his feet a little bit there. But it all came back to him and I thought he did a great job staying in there. Marcus gives us a lot of options, but Randolph can give us just as good and productive minutes as anybody. So, sure, we missed him, but we have to play hard and our best with who ever is available."
On what happened in the 90th minute on Sunday
"Dalton went up for a flighted ball, brought up his knee to protect himself. The referee interpreted that as going after another player recklessly and gave Dalton a caution for it. Okay. Enough said. Dalton argued and earned himself a seat on the bench for Friday's contest. What more do you want me to say? He lost his cool. He chose to be undisciplined. And he put us in a tough spot. That's all I can say about that."
Playoff Plot Thickens
The Conquistadors need several things to happen if they want to qualify for the Region VI Tournament.
Dodge City is currently in a three-way tie for the last three playoff spots with ten points with Cowley County and Neosho County. However, because both Cowley and Neosho have twelve points remaining, it seems unlikely to stay par with the both of them considering Dodge City has just one game remaining, which means they can only gain three more points.
The team's best chance to hang on to a playoff berth is to hold off Coffeyville and Allen County. And given Coffeyville's (9 points) and Allen County's (7 points) two and three remaining games, Dodge City will play the waiting game and put their trust in Hesston College Tuesday and Thursday of this week. In order to make the playoffs, win-less Hesston College will have to either win or tie against Coffeyville or Allen County for Dodge City to keep their playoff hopes alive.
The Conqs also need Barton County to win at home against Allen County on October 20th and when Allen County hosts Coffeyville in the season-ending KJCCC and Region VI game, the Conqs will need the teams to play to a draw.
The hard-to-swallow portion for the Conqs is that both Allen County and Coffeyville hold the head-to-head tie-breakers over the Conqs. Coffeyville needs only a combination of four points in their final two games to qualify ahead of Allen County and Dodge City for the Region VI Tournament. On the other hand, Allen County needs to collect a combination of seven points (lost points by Coffeyville) in order to clinch the eighth seed.
Of course, none of the results matter if Dodge City doesn't beat Cloud County on Friday. A loss mathematically eliminates Dodge City from playoff contention.
Dodge City is currently in a three-way tie for the last three playoff spots with ten points with Cowley County and Neosho County. However, because both Cowley and Neosho have twelve points remaining, it seems unlikely to stay par with the both of them considering Dodge City has just one game remaining, which means they can only gain three more points.
The team's best chance to hang on to a playoff berth is to hold off Coffeyville and Allen County. And given Coffeyville's (9 points) and Allen County's (7 points) two and three remaining games, Dodge City will play the waiting game and put their trust in Hesston College Tuesday and Thursday of this week. In order to make the playoffs, win-less Hesston College will have to either win or tie against Coffeyville or Allen County for Dodge City to keep their playoff hopes alive.
The Conqs also need Barton County to win at home against Allen County on October 20th and when Allen County hosts Coffeyville in the season-ending KJCCC and Region VI game, the Conqs will need the teams to play to a draw.
The hard-to-swallow portion for the Conqs is that both Allen County and Coffeyville hold the head-to-head tie-breakers over the Conqs. Coffeyville needs only a combination of four points in their final two games to qualify ahead of Allen County and Dodge City for the Region VI Tournament. On the other hand, Allen County needs to collect a combination of seven points (lost points by Coffeyville) in order to clinch the eighth seed.
Of course, none of the results matter if Dodge City doesn't beat Cloud County on Friday. A loss mathematically eliminates Dodge City from playoff contention.
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