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.
Friday, October 23, 2009
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.
Conqs Drop Two in Texas
The men's soccer team went into non-conference games on Saturday and Sunday looking to find strong form for their season-ending Region VI must-win game against Cloud County Friday afternoon.
The Conqs ran into a buzz-saw against Western Texas, giving up two early goals and trailed at halftime 3-0. "We came out flat [in the first half]," said Conq head coach Tim Romanello. "There was no intensity, no passion, no fun."
However, it was the Conqs inability to pounce on their opportunities that also set the tone. "We had a number of opportunities that didn't end up getting converted," said Romanello. "Chicho [Jesus Gaspar] had two perfect opportunities to capitalize with shots over and wide on open goals. And Eddie [Ramirez] had a shot deflect off the crossbar and another wide. We are creating good opportunities, just not capitalizing [on them]."
A lone goal by Jack Wise in the second half prevented the shutout.
Sunday would spell better days for the Conqs. Despite giving up another early goal, the Conqs battled through and through and controlled much of the pace throughout. "Cisco gave us some counterattack opportunities, but again, we failed to capitalize," said Romanello after the game.
Cisco moved the ball around nicely and gave the Conqs a run for their money on numerous occasions, but the Conqs proved steadfast in their approach before conceding a second goal, late in the game.
Despite a number of opportunities, the Conqs failed to get on the scoreboard for just the third game on the year. Goalkeeper Dalton Burkhard received a yellow card in the game's 90th minute and another in stoppage time. He will miss the team's next match, a must-win against Cloud County on October 16th.
The Conqs ran into a buzz-saw against Western Texas, giving up two early goals and trailed at halftime 3-0. "We came out flat [in the first half]," said Conq head coach Tim Romanello. "There was no intensity, no passion, no fun."
However, it was the Conqs inability to pounce on their opportunities that also set the tone. "We had a number of opportunities that didn't end up getting converted," said Romanello. "Chicho [Jesus Gaspar] had two perfect opportunities to capitalize with shots over and wide on open goals. And Eddie [Ramirez] had a shot deflect off the crossbar and another wide. We are creating good opportunities, just not capitalizing [on them]."
A lone goal by Jack Wise in the second half prevented the shutout.
Sunday would spell better days for the Conqs. Despite giving up another early goal, the Conqs battled through and through and controlled much of the pace throughout. "Cisco gave us some counterattack opportunities, but again, we failed to capitalize," said Romanello after the game.
Cisco moved the ball around nicely and gave the Conqs a run for their money on numerous occasions, but the Conqs proved steadfast in their approach before conceding a second goal, late in the game.
Despite a number of opportunities, the Conqs failed to get on the scoreboard for just the third game on the year. Goalkeeper Dalton Burkhard received a yellow card in the game's 90th minute and another in stoppage time. He will miss the team's next match, a must-win against Cloud County on October 16th.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Romanello's Notebook: October 8
OPENING STATEMENTS
"Hello, good afternoon. Right off the bat, I thought our kids played well yesterday. I'm proud of them. I think we took a step back from things that we are capable of on Saturday (Johnson County). But it's a positive thing to see your team, your boys bounce back with something positive.
From an injury stand point, Randolph Love is bothered by a bit of a groin injury and Marcus McClellan is bothered by a case of shin splints. Rand played all 110 minutes yesterday (against Neosho) and McClellan had to come out of the game yesterday for a period of fifteen minutes to get some stretching done. Both will be further evaluated and get treatment today before, during and after practice. Love and McClellan will both travel to Texas this weekend, but McClellan will not play.
Yesterday's tie is encouraging. But, when all said and done, we needed a win. We should have won, I thought, in regulation and lost in overtime. We still refuse to do the simple things like defend our man when we have a lead. Course, you should be defending your man at all time, doesn't matter if you are winning or losing the game.
I thought our intensity was a lot better than it has been. It's quite obvious that we come out each half sort of slow. But today, we really got going from the beginning. If you were there, and I don't blame you if you weren't--it was dang cold and windy and rainy--but you got to see some of things we really are capable of being and achieving. We possessed the ball well, we moved well off the ball and I thought we did a good job about communicating with each other throughout the first half.
Again, I think our intelligence with a lead is not so bright. Our biggest problem is ourselves. We do too many things that cost us matches because we refuse to do things the way we do when we are playing well. It's night and day. But again, I'm quite happy with our first half play and our ability to get back into the game after trailing 2-1 in the second half. And I'm quite pleased about our ability to escape something completely terrible: a loss.
Our forwards today did a heck of a job, I thought. The scoreboard didn't show that, but our possession does. I thought our forwards gave us a bit of a link for our midfielders. Alberto Mata, Kalob Woodward and Eddie Ramirez did a fantastic job today helping out our midfielders.
Our midfielders played organized today. Andrew (De La Torre) I thought played extremely well on the outside of the midfield. I know he feels more comfortable in the middle of the pitch, but he's so incredibly dangerous on the outside. Jack (Wise) and Manuel (Hipolito) put in a solid effort. They were always involved and had an outstanding work rate. Fabian Sanchez had a good performance in his first appearance on the outside of the midfield, too. He's used to playing up on top, but he definitely contributed. He's got to learn his patience though and his required task.
Ah, defensively, Raul (De La Torre) does a heck of a job, as always. He doesn't get enough credit, he really doesn't. Collectively, the were working hard, staying organized and helping in getting the ball shifted from side to side. And Dalton turned in a good performance too. Those two goals against him really were because our defense decided to take naps a lot of the times."
ON THE TEAM'S EARLY LEAD
"I think it took some pressure off of us. We struggle finishing our chances, so I think that first, early goal got us going and gave us some confidence. Especially because we needed a good result against this team."
ON GIVING UP BACK-TO-BACK GOALS TO START THE SECOND HALF
"You know, I haven't quite figured out our team just yet. We're motivated, but we don't always back it up with our play. It's something in our heads though, that's for sure. It's almost like we play better, more comfortable down two goals than we do with a lead or tied. But, don't get me wrong, it's frustrating. It's just the simple task of maintaining our discipline and responsibilities that we get away from."
ON JACK WISE'S PERFORMANCE OF LATE
"You know, I know Jack was pumped up for today. That's his kind of weather. Jack continues to get better and better every time out. And to be honest, he wasn't in my original starting line-up. But, I saw how ready he was to play and the team (and I) needed that from him today. Jack moved well, served well and contributed well. Had it not been for his yellow card, he would have played all 110 minutes. But, no, Jack has been a bright spot for us lately. Lets all hope it continues."
ON ALBERTO MATA'S RARE START
"You know, Mata has been playing extremely well, he just hasn't had the confidence in himself for me to feel confident in him to play him good minutes (or at all). But he really stepped it up today. That was nice to see. And his teammates saw that yesterday too."
ON WHY REGULAR JESUS GASPAR DIDN'T LOG NORMAL MINUTES
"It was just one of those days. Chicho had a doctor's appointment on Tuesday after and when I chose to start Jack, I moved Andrew wide and I brought Fabian down to play wide as well to give Mata and Kalob a look up on top. I thought the eleven played real well and didn't want to mess with what we had going for us. It's just a normal coaching decision. He's still a big part of our good things and he'll continue to be."
ON THE TEAM'S PLAYOFF CHANCES
"There are some concerns. We've played ten games, have only ten points and a sixth-spot to show for them and have one game remaining. Our opponents who are trailing us by one and three points have four, five and six games remaining. That's a lot of points to have left for me or anybody else associated with Dodge City to fee comfortable. There's a lot that has to happen. Would it have been easier with a win against Neosho instead of the tie, certainly. But you can only control what you can control. And right now, that's Cloud County. You can't control any of the other teams, only this Dodge City one. And I'll try to do my best."
"Hello, good afternoon. Right off the bat, I thought our kids played well yesterday. I'm proud of them. I think we took a step back from things that we are capable of on Saturday (Johnson County). But it's a positive thing to see your team, your boys bounce back with something positive.
From an injury stand point, Randolph Love is bothered by a bit of a groin injury and Marcus McClellan is bothered by a case of shin splints. Rand played all 110 minutes yesterday (against Neosho) and McClellan had to come out of the game yesterday for a period of fifteen minutes to get some stretching done. Both will be further evaluated and get treatment today before, during and after practice. Love and McClellan will both travel to Texas this weekend, but McClellan will not play.
Yesterday's tie is encouraging. But, when all said and done, we needed a win. We should have won, I thought, in regulation and lost in overtime. We still refuse to do the simple things like defend our man when we have a lead. Course, you should be defending your man at all time, doesn't matter if you are winning or losing the game.
I thought our intensity was a lot better than it has been. It's quite obvious that we come out each half sort of slow. But today, we really got going from the beginning. If you were there, and I don't blame you if you weren't--it was dang cold and windy and rainy--but you got to see some of things we really are capable of being and achieving. We possessed the ball well, we moved well off the ball and I thought we did a good job about communicating with each other throughout the first half.
Again, I think our intelligence with a lead is not so bright. Our biggest problem is ourselves. We do too many things that cost us matches because we refuse to do things the way we do when we are playing well. It's night and day. But again, I'm quite happy with our first half play and our ability to get back into the game after trailing 2-1 in the second half. And I'm quite pleased about our ability to escape something completely terrible: a loss.
Our forwards today did a heck of a job, I thought. The scoreboard didn't show that, but our possession does. I thought our forwards gave us a bit of a link for our midfielders. Alberto Mata, Kalob Woodward and Eddie Ramirez did a fantastic job today helping out our midfielders.
Our midfielders played organized today. Andrew (De La Torre) I thought played extremely well on the outside of the midfield. I know he feels more comfortable in the middle of the pitch, but he's so incredibly dangerous on the outside. Jack (Wise) and Manuel (Hipolito) put in a solid effort. They were always involved and had an outstanding work rate. Fabian Sanchez had a good performance in his first appearance on the outside of the midfield, too. He's used to playing up on top, but he definitely contributed. He's got to learn his patience though and his required task.
Ah, defensively, Raul (De La Torre) does a heck of a job, as always. He doesn't get enough credit, he really doesn't. Collectively, the were working hard, staying organized and helping in getting the ball shifted from side to side. And Dalton turned in a good performance too. Those two goals against him really were because our defense decided to take naps a lot of the times."
ON THE TEAM'S EARLY LEAD
"I think it took some pressure off of us. We struggle finishing our chances, so I think that first, early goal got us going and gave us some confidence. Especially because we needed a good result against this team."
ON GIVING UP BACK-TO-BACK GOALS TO START THE SECOND HALF
"You know, I haven't quite figured out our team just yet. We're motivated, but we don't always back it up with our play. It's something in our heads though, that's for sure. It's almost like we play better, more comfortable down two goals than we do with a lead or tied. But, don't get me wrong, it's frustrating. It's just the simple task of maintaining our discipline and responsibilities that we get away from."
ON JACK WISE'S PERFORMANCE OF LATE
"You know, I know Jack was pumped up for today. That's his kind of weather. Jack continues to get better and better every time out. And to be honest, he wasn't in my original starting line-up. But, I saw how ready he was to play and the team (and I) needed that from him today. Jack moved well, served well and contributed well. Had it not been for his yellow card, he would have played all 110 minutes. But, no, Jack has been a bright spot for us lately. Lets all hope it continues."
ON ALBERTO MATA'S RARE START
"You know, Mata has been playing extremely well, he just hasn't had the confidence in himself for me to feel confident in him to play him good minutes (or at all). But he really stepped it up today. That was nice to see. And his teammates saw that yesterday too."
ON WHY REGULAR JESUS GASPAR DIDN'T LOG NORMAL MINUTES
"It was just one of those days. Chicho had a doctor's appointment on Tuesday after and when I chose to start Jack, I moved Andrew wide and I brought Fabian down to play wide as well to give Mata and Kalob a look up on top. I thought the eleven played real well and didn't want to mess with what we had going for us. It's just a normal coaching decision. He's still a big part of our good things and he'll continue to be."
ON THE TEAM'S PLAYOFF CHANCES
"There are some concerns. We've played ten games, have only ten points and a sixth-spot to show for them and have one game remaining. Our opponents who are trailing us by one and three points have four, five and six games remaining. That's a lot of points to have left for me or anybody else associated with Dodge City to fee comfortable. There's a lot that has to happen. Would it have been easier with a win against Neosho instead of the tie, certainly. But you can only control what you can control. And right now, that's Cloud County. You can't control any of the other teams, only this Dodge City one. And I'll try to do my best."
Playoff Chances Take Hit with Draw
Wednesday, the Dodge City men's soccer team needed max points in their final home match of the 2009 season against Neosho County. Despite their best efforts, Dodge City drew 2-2 in a 110-minute, added extra time affair that took place in the rain, wind and the cold.
"It's frustrating, because we are right there," said Conq head coach Tim Romanello following the game. "We're playing well, just not capitalizing on our chances and getting the right results."
After a nightmarish off-day against Johnson County over the previous weekend, Dodge City looked poised to keep their playoff hopes alive and in their own hands. From the opening whistle, the Conqs moved the ball quickly all over the field with relative ease and put pressure on the Neosho County goal area for the majority of the first half.
Kalob Woodward gave the Conqs the game's lead when he found the back of the net, following a beautiful through-ball by midfielder Jack Wise. Woodward's goal gave the Conqs an energy boost and a 1-0 lead going into halftime.
But it was much of the same story for the Conqs in the second half. The Conqs would allow two early goals and find themselves trailing once again despite playing inspired, solid soccer. "It's the same thing, game after game," said the drenched coach. "We have this mentality that playing just one terrific, solid half is good enough to win games. And it's not."
An unbelievable Marcus McClellan goal midway through the half tied the score again at 2-2. McClellan won and gathered the ball at the mid-stripe, made two moves past two defenders and struck a ball from thirty-five yards out. The shot sailed past the Neosho goalkeeper and into the upper right corner of the side-netting.
But Woodward and McClellan would be the Conqs only offense the rest of the way as neither Dodge City or Neosho found the back of the net, even through double overtime.
In the end, the draw (instead of a win) could end up hurting the Conqs in their quest for a playoff spot. Dodge City has one remaining game left against Cloud County and sits in sixth place with ten points. Coffeyville (9pts), Cowley County (7pts), Neosho County (7pts) and Allen County (7pts) all are on the Conqs heals. The difference is the rest of the field all have three, four or five games remaining in their Region VI schedules. The lack of remaining points for the Conqs versus the remaining points for their predators could end up hurting the Conqs in the long-run.
"The Cloud County game is paramount," said Romanello. "We put ourselves in this positions by not getting results, so it's only fair for it to be on our shoulders to get ourselves into the playoffs."
The Conqs travel to Texas this weekend for two tune-ups before taking on Cloud County in Concordia, Kansas next Friday, October 16.
"It's frustrating, because we are right there," said Conq head coach Tim Romanello following the game. "We're playing well, just not capitalizing on our chances and getting the right results."
After a nightmarish off-day against Johnson County over the previous weekend, Dodge City looked poised to keep their playoff hopes alive and in their own hands. From the opening whistle, the Conqs moved the ball quickly all over the field with relative ease and put pressure on the Neosho County goal area for the majority of the first half.
Kalob Woodward gave the Conqs the game's lead when he found the back of the net, following a beautiful through-ball by midfielder Jack Wise. Woodward's goal gave the Conqs an energy boost and a 1-0 lead going into halftime.
But it was much of the same story for the Conqs in the second half. The Conqs would allow two early goals and find themselves trailing once again despite playing inspired, solid soccer. "It's the same thing, game after game," said the drenched coach. "We have this mentality that playing just one terrific, solid half is good enough to win games. And it's not."
An unbelievable Marcus McClellan goal midway through the half tied the score again at 2-2. McClellan won and gathered the ball at the mid-stripe, made two moves past two defenders and struck a ball from thirty-five yards out. The shot sailed past the Neosho goalkeeper and into the upper right corner of the side-netting.
But Woodward and McClellan would be the Conqs only offense the rest of the way as neither Dodge City or Neosho found the back of the net, even through double overtime.
In the end, the draw (instead of a win) could end up hurting the Conqs in their quest for a playoff spot. Dodge City has one remaining game left against Cloud County and sits in sixth place with ten points. Coffeyville (9pts), Cowley County (7pts), Neosho County (7pts) and Allen County (7pts) all are on the Conqs heals. The difference is the rest of the field all have three, four or five games remaining in their Region VI schedules. The lack of remaining points for the Conqs versus the remaining points for their predators could end up hurting the Conqs in the long-run.
"The Cloud County game is paramount," said Romanello. "We put ourselves in this positions by not getting results, so it's only fair for it to be on our shoulders to get ourselves into the playoffs."
The Conqs travel to Texas this weekend for two tune-ups before taking on Cloud County in Concordia, Kansas next Friday, October 16.
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