This fall senior co-captain Allan Nekuda will be writing a journal telling you the story of the William Jewell College men’s team’s 2006 season.

November 18

Welcome back to the Lounge where I write a new entry from the fourth row seat on the way to our lunch. I didn’t write in the last two days due to a case of food poisoning that sent me to the hospital yesterday. It has been a busy couple of days, so I’ll start from the beginning. A storm hit Daytona Beach early on Thursday morning, so our practice was moved to the afternoon. After we practiced, we had the opportunity to do a clinic for middle school players at Warner Christian Academy here in Daytona. Finally, to end the night we went to see a movie courtesy of our honorary coach, Giles Electric Co.
Friday was the big day. We had waited the entire week for Friday; it was our first game of the tournament. We made it to the field to play the No. 3 ranked team in the nation, Southern Nazarene University. Southern Naz. struck first, but my brother put in a corner kick that Josh Howard tucked under the crossbar to tie. The game ended with the same score and remained the same through the 2 overtimes. We went to a penalty kick shootout where our shooters took care of our business by scoring every shot, and our goal keeper Andy Shields made 2 HUGE saves to put us into the Elite 8 of the NAIA National Soccer Tournament. After the game I headed to the hospital to be treated for dehydration. So if I looked a little sluggish it was due to having no nutrients in my body whatsoever.
Saturday morning we woke up to play the No. 2 ranked team in the NAIA of Rio Grand (pronounced Ri –Y-O not R-EE-O weird I know but they get offended). We scored a goal early in the first half with unbelievable team goal with Manny Tovar scoring the biggest goal of his college career. Our second goal came from the outside of the right boot of Austin Williams to give us a two goal lead when the half ended. The second half was not as fortunate as we gave up a goal in the first 15 minutes, followed by a second from Rio to tie. We held off all attacks from Rio to tie at the end of regulation. In overtime it was more of the same story with no team scoring, so we went to Penalty kicks again. The shooters again took care of business and Shields made even more saves for Jewell to advance. What it means is that WE made it to the final 4 for the first time in school history and each day I recover more from my obvious lack of energy.
I sit now at the famous Bubba Gump Shrimp restaurant getting ready to order. We are eating here thanks to our honorary coach. Thanks to all of the fans that made the trip down to Florida. So far, I think that our fan crowd here in Daytona is the biggest of any of the teams. Also, thank you to all of our fans that gathered for the Jewell watch party in the new Union and thanks to the players that have rallied around me to cover for the effort I was not able to give. I encourage all of you to check out the unbelievable photography by Kyle Rivas on the Jewell Men’s Soccer sight right below the link to the lounge. He has been shooting hundreds of pictures of the tournaments and has taken some amazing shots. If you are not busy, come join the mob on their way down here as we speak to see Jewell enter the semi-finals Monday night at 6 P.M. (Eastern Time). Our fan support is the talk of the tournament and the more the merrier, there are plenty of rooms. For a side note our asst. coach Rob Thomson scored 87 points in Pop-A-Shot basketball the other night and was extremely upset that I did not include that in the previous daily Lounge. That is some kind of personal record for him. Get down and watch us or head to the student union on campus for the watch party. The TREBLE is only two games away. FINAL 4 BABY.

November 14

The new daily Lounge comes to you from the site of the NAIA National Tournament in Daytona Beach, Florida. We made it to Florida with no problem to start our fun in the sun. We arrived at our hotel at about 2 A.M. local time and got acquainted to our new home for the next week. We walked into our room and saw a door that leads to a balcony. We walked out and saw nothing but water. Although it was dark we could hear the crashing waves from the fourth floor of our hotel.

We woke up the next morning to get out to the practice field to get in our workout. We spent an hour getting used to the weather and the natural surface we will play on. After a good lunch we had a free afternoon that a majority of us took to enjoy the beach.

This evening the NAIA hosted the opening banquet at the Daytona International Speedway and we took our team picture in the Gatorade Victory Lane. We ate with 636 participants, coaches, trainers, officials, and other miscellaneous staff. We had lasagna. The dinner was held in the garage area of the Daytona infield. To finish off the night we played miniature golf at the course across the street.

I write this from the opening game of the tournament from the bleachers (Thank goodness for mobile technology). We are watching the game between Lindsey Wilson College and Judson College. The score is 1-1 at the half in case you are not watching the live stream on naiasoccer.org. I will fill all of you in tomorrow to what is next for the Cardinals in Florida. The Treble draws nearer.


November 13

This is a special edition to the lounge celebrating the first Region V soccer championship in William Jewell College history. The victory gave us an automatic bid to the 48th annual NAIA National Soccer Tournament at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in beautiful Daytona Beach Florida. Here is a quick recap of how we got here. After a remarkable regular season we were the No. 1 seed in the region tournament. Our first game had us face of against Columbia College, which we won 1-0 (for more info check out the last lounge). After that game we played the winner of the No. 2 Hannibal-LaGrange vs. No. 3 Graceland game. Graceland won that game 4-3 on Penalty Kicks. So the final was set with two Heart of America Conference teams battling for the title Saturday night.
It was a miserable night for soccer with strong winds with brief spells of freezing rain and even some snow flakes flying around. The fans who made it out had saw a hard fought game on both sides but saw two strikes from Jewell that found the back of the net. The first coming off of an direct free kick in the first half from Justin Park assisted by Kevin Nekuda, and the second goal coming in the second half from Dusty Green with about 15 minutes remaining. Graceland put forth a valiant effort at the end but did not find net.
The win puts us into the 20 team tournament as the No. 12 seed. (It’s a long story to explain how the seeds work) and play Southern Nazarene the No. 5 seed on Friday morning. We leave for the Sunshine State tomorrow evening to be there for the opening ceremony. When we return I will give an account of how things went in Florida, from the thing we got to see and do, as well as the championship we should be winning. And if you hear anyone discussing Jewell winning the treble, it will be the Conference, Regional, and National Championships. VIVA LA TREBLE.


November 8, 2006

Welcome back to the Lounge! The Jewell Men’s team has earned a spot in the Region V final, continuing a 13 game winning streak. Tonight we played the Columbia College Cougars for the second time this season and we earned yet another favorable result. It was a beautiful night on campus and Jewell had the largest fan crowd we’ve ever had. We came out right from the start to make certain that Columbia did not believe that this win was another “fluke.” Within the first three minutes we hit the cross bar twice, essentially setting the tone for the entire game. Columbia had a couple of chances, but we successfully defeated any opportunity for them to take the lead. We made the only goal of the game when Derrick Simmons took a quick throw and hit Johnny Barber, who turned and beat the keeper who over committed too early. Barber punished him by slipping the ball in the quasi-open net.
Already this postseason our players have been inundated with awards. Those include 8 All Heart of America Athletic Conference players, 3 Region V players, and 3 Academic All-Americans. These prestigious are the most of any other team in Jewell history. We also broke the single season win record for WJC with 17 wins and we are not done yet. All of the awards this year are due to our success on the field collectively. For all of you loyal Lounge readers this will not be the last Lounge of the year, there is still a lot of soccer left for us to play, hopefully on the sunny beaches of Florida.
Our win enables us to continue to play against Graceland University on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. on our home turf. Graceland played Hannibal-LaGrange this afternoon and beat them in penalty kicks. This will definitely be our final home game of the season. Come out Friday night to watch Jewell play for the Region Championship and the seniors (Derrick, Dusty, Matt, and me) in our last game to be played at Jewell. Come watch us go out with a win and birth in the NAIA National Tournament.


November 1, 2006

Welcome back to the Lounge where the Jewell Men’s team has just won a conference championship going 9-0 in Heart of America Conference competition. Last week we played Avila and Missouri Valley College, beating them by a combined score of 10-1. We are heading into the playoffs with the number one seed which entitles us to play all of our playoff games on our home field. This is the best season our team has had in the history of Jewell’s soccer program. So, if you have not had the chance to come see us we will be at home next week on Wednesday night taking on the winner of the 4th and 5th seed game being played on Monday.
Being that the Lounge is winding down due to the regular season being over I need to catch up on some “Lounge Love” to some of the players that have contributed to our successes. First, our goal keeper Andy Shields has made unbelievable improvements this year and has on his own won 5 games for us this season. Part of Andy’s success can be accredited to the hard work of our defenders. Josh Howard, after returning from a preseason illness, has come back to score crucial goals while preventing many others. He also wins the best head-gear award for his Full 90 head-gear he wore to protect the staples he had in his head from the Graceland game. Also, Jake Patton and Justin Park who have played their roles as marking backs and shutting down forwards. The midfield has been dominated with Kevin Nekuda and Manny Tovar in the middle with Dusty Green and Austin Williams scoring and defending from the flanks. That leaves the forwards, Matt Happy and John Barber, who have scored many goals with their speed and skill. Others who have made very solid contributions are: Derrick Simons, giving us a spark in the midfield, Dan Tilbury who is our utility player and does his job wherever he plays, and Marcus Mallams to hold down our defense. Everyone on the Jewell team has contributed every day in making us as successful as we have been. Each and every practice is more competitive, much more so than in any of the previous years that I have been here. The competition is what has pushed all of us to become better and continue to improve every game.
Hopefully, if you read this from Kansas you will vote for the soccer complex in Johnson County. If there is anything I would say about playing youth soccer is that Kansas City is behind many other soccer cities in quality fields. Other cities can develop players and attract caliber play from all over the country. I believe that with a quality complex, Kansas City can level the playing field and develop even more players and create opportunities for kids to play soccer at higher levels. Growing up, if I wanted to play against the best teams in the nation I would have to travel to Texas, or Florida, or St. Louis. Why couldn’t Kansas City attract teams from those places to come here? Perhaps with this complex we can look in 15 years and see some of the players from this complex playing for the U.S. National Team in World Cups or playing professionally in Kansas City. Vote Yes for soccer. See you next week in the Lounge.


October 25, 2006

I took a week off of the Lounge to get caught up on some homework fulfilling my duties as a STUDENT-athlete. However, this week will be more about my recollection of the previous years I have been at Jewell. First, if you did not hear we beat the number 3 team in the nation 2-0 at home to put us in an almost perfect position to get a conference championship banner to hang from the Mabee Center rafters. We will guarantee the championship Wednesday when we play Avila University. It will also be senior night for me and the other seniors of Dusty Green, Andy Shields, Matt Holdaway, and Derrick Simons. I encourage all of you who read this to be in attendance as the team honors the seniors as well as honors the Men’s soccer team for winning the first conference championship in recent memory. The game is at 7:30 at Greene Stadium at Jewell. It is also the last regular season game of the year.
As it is our last home game I would like to take this time for thank you’s. I would first like to thank the select few of the Jewell faculty that support the Men’s soccer team and the 100 or so students that regularly attend soccer games and provide extra support. Also, the alumni who come to see what they started and what we are attempting to finish in honor of them and the hardships they faced. And finally are the devoted parents who make it to games home or away and occasionally provide more fans than the home team.
Since I have been at Jewell I have tried to be a leader from the beginning because I saw promise in each and every player that I played with. Occasionally I would be hard on them as a player but at the same time I knew that they all had more to offer themselves and the team than they realized. We have had chances to be conferences champions in other seasons but for whatever reason we could not. I was disappointed because we were even better than we gave ourselves credit for. Now that we have essentially won a conference championship I take it as we were supposed to lose those games previously to teach a lesson. The difference between the teams previous to the team this year is how we came together and continue to work for each other. For a majority of the season we have been closer and more dedicated than we have ever been before and I attribute our success to that.
So with all of that, there should be no excuses to come see the Jewell teams send off their seniors on what should be a beautiful night. This may not be your last chance to see us continue our winning streak ,but you can come see more than a soccer game. Wednesday at 7:30, be there.


October 11, 2006

Welcome back to the lounge for the 2nd week of October. We started last Tuesday taking on the Baker Wildcats; we played a very athletic team which was quite a challenge. We went up early when I was fouled about 40 yards from goal and immediately put the ball down and played a ball to the on running John Barber who tucked the ball in the net. We had many scoring opportunities; however, not too many that were great. In the second half it was more of the same story until a ball played into space on the near sidelines was played back into Matt Happy who beat the keeper with his first touch and taken down in the penalty area for him to finish the PK. They scored an ugly goal late to make the final 2-1. A side note to this game was that it was the best officiated game of the season.
Saturday night we played against the Mid-America Nazarene Pioneers who always come ready to play us. The last three times I have been in a game with them it has gone into overtime, including this one. They came with a game plan that they executed to perfection and were up for a good portion of the game. We had much better opportunities in the second half. If we had been playing for posts and crossbar we would have won easily. It was just a matter of time before we found net. With about 7 minutes to go the Pioneers fouled my bro Kevin at mid-field and I took the free kick that hit an on-running Josh Howard who tucked the ball just under the crossbar for the tie. Regulation ended with a tie and we headed to overtime. The first overtime saw us playing the best we had all game and continuing to challenge the Mid-Am back line. Our fitness prevailed and we continued to pound Mid-Am’s tired players. In the second overtime, someone fouled about 40 yards from goal on the opposite side of the stands and Kevin stepped up again to put a perfect shot in the mix that he tucked into the upper corner to give us the golden goal victory.
Monday (yesterday) we took to the road to play Grand View College in Des Moines who were ranked 15th in the nation and most likely higher when we played them (the national rankings come out on Wednesdays at naia.org). They were a good team and had many scoring opportunities but were unable to convert. We had our share of chances in this back and forth game. Again we were fouled about 25 yards from goal and Justin Park finished a brilliant free-kick which proved to be the difference.
We have no home games this week; however, if you feel like watching soccer on Wednesday, we play at UMKC at 4:00p.m. Otherwise, please come support us at our next home game vs. Benedictine College next Tuesday to see more Men’s action as we make our way toward the playoffs.


October 4, 2006

The Lounge this week takes us to places the Jewell men’s soccer team has never been. We start by going through the small town of Fayette Missouri to take on the Central Missouri University Eagles who put together a valiant effort but were no match for Kevin Nekuda and Matt Happy. Both scored two goals and then I have to give some props to fellow captain Dusty Green for his 3 assists on the goals. The first half was scoreless but the second half Kevin and Matt let go for 4 goals in a 5 minute span. It was a good win but pails in comparison to the weekend game.
Coach Cissell tries to motivate us for every conference game by stressing their importance. The CMU game was very important for the conference record but some games just seem to be a little more important. Last Saturday we traveled to the “Lou” to take on the infamous Lindenwood University Lions. Since I have been at Jewell they have been one of the best teams I have seen play and this year was no different. I was in the game that saw us tied with Lindenwood with 8 minutes to go with a free kick opportunity from 20 yards away that was hit perfectly by Jake Wyllie and miraculously saved by the Lion’s goalkeeper, followed by 4 goals in the final minutes to see us have an unbelievably lopsided score. Each year we improved our showing against Lindenwood. However, this year was different; we got a goal mid-way through the first half to take the early lead but Lindenwood struck back just a few minutes later. At the half it was even at 1. Early in the second half I had a run and the ball got caught in a defender’s legs and as it got through I was fouled just feet outside of the penalty area. Justin Park and Kevin Nekuda were setting up to shoot the free kick. Kevin looks to Justin and quietly said he had to score or “I am going to kill you”. Justin stepped to the ball and saved his own life by introducing the ball to the side net beyond the reach of the Lion’s goalkeeper. After we took the lead we committed to defense to prevent any goals and we succeeded. We beat the Lion’s for an historic win for the Jewell Men’s program that everyone who was there will surely remember.
This is my time to give some credit and love to my girlfriend and my dad. Katie had to drive to the Mabee Center to pick up my uniform, which I forgot, and drive it to my dad who drove to St. Louis in record time to get it to me just minutes before game time. I realized I forgot to pick up my uniform for the first time in my many years at Jewell after we had arrived in St. Charles and scrambled to find someone who could get it to me as fast as possible. Needless to say it will not ever happen again…to me.
This week we will be at home to take on the Baker University Wildcats and Mid-America Nazarene University. Baker is on a good streak right now and should be a good game as all of the games against Baker during my Jewell tenure have been decided by 1 goal with 3 of those games going into overtime. That game is tonight at 7:30.
I was informed just minutes ago that MNU is bringing a bus load of students to the game for support on Saturday night. I challenge all of you who are reading this to be at the game and to be louder than the MNU fans. Either way I hope to be writing the Lounge next week from the position that sees Jewell having the highest national ranking in school history as well as being 4-0 in HAAC Conference play. Hope to see you Tonight and Saturday.


September 26, 2006

Welcome back to the Lounge where we take a look back at the previous week of Jewell soccer. Jewell took to the road again and crossed the infamous Interstate 70 to St. Louis to take on the nationally ranked Missouri Baptist squad. We had some early chances we failed to convert and gave up an untimely goal. We then gave up another goal to be down 2-0 at the half. In the second half we stepped up the intensity and had sparks of good play which was capped off by a John Barber goal. However it was too little, too late and we fell 2-1.
Saturday night we saw another nationally ranked opponent but they traveled to Greene Stadium. The Columbia College Cougars came into to Jewell as the number 4 ranked team in Region V. The first half was scoreless but had plenty of quality chances for both sides. The score could have easily been very high had either team finished their chances. The second half started again with no scoring and saw a Jewell red-card that made us play a man short for the final 30 minutes. Then Justin Park (#23) finished a bouncing ball off the near post off of a Kevin Nekuda (my brother) corner kick to put us up one goal down one man. However in the next 5 minutes Columbia came back to equalize. The score ended in a 1-1 tie and we headed into overtime. After a couple of minutes of play a Columbia player fouled about 40 yards from in front of the Jewell bench. This left Kevin again with a chance to play in a quality set piece. Having seen my brother play over the summer in the U19 Kansas State Cup and hit a shot from nearly the exact spot I knew where the ball was headed. When he began to run to hit the free kick, I did simultaneously. I beat my player to the ball and it skimmed my head into the side net for the “golden goal” overtime win. Kevin got another game winning assist to his big brother. Perhaps it was some type of 6th sense that we have to know where the other brother is going to be so we can help Jewell win. On another note that ball was most likely heading in anyway, perfectly tucked away into the side mesh. I thought the keeper was closer to me so I was just trying to create a situation where the goal keeper had to react to the little touch but I had no idea where he went, but I do know where the ball was.
This week we will travel to central Missouri to take on Central Methodist University, followed by a big game in St. Louis again to take on the Lindenwood University Lions. Both should prove to be big challenges as we open up Heart of America conference play. We will be back at Jewell Wednesday October 4 at 7:30 to take on Baker. I hope to see all of our dedicated fans out so see Jewell come out to watch some more exciting Jewell soccer.


September 20, 2006

Welcome back to the lounge where we will be celebrating an exciting week of Jewell soccer. Tuesday night the men took on the 6th ranked Park Pirates in front of one of the largest crowds to attend a Jewell soccer game. We got off to an early lead when my brother Kevin (#13) played a 40 yard ball into the space behind the Park defense and I got to the end of it putting it past the Park goalkeeper. About 10 minutes later we struck again with a long run down the far sideline by Johnny Barber (#11) to Matt Happy who finished putting us up 2 goals in 25 minutes. Park scored on a questionable call outside the penalty area that was put into the far post. The second half proved to be an exciting but scoreless fight. For those who were there they saw the men make a national statement against a very talented Park team.
Saturday night we took to the turf again to play a Morningside College squad that fought us very hard. Again we struck first when I played a through ball for an easy Matt Happy finish. For the second goal we were granted a free kick just outside the penalty area and again my brother Kevin slotted a pass to the center of the penalty box; for that I one touched past the goal keeper. Morningside countered with two goals to tie and led Coach Cissell to give us a “little” pep talk at half time. It worked well because 16 seconds into the second half Johnny Barber stole the ball from a defender and chipped the keeper to put us up 3-2. Then, soon after, Jake Patton (#6) received a through ball on the right side of the field that he slipped past the keeper to top off the goal scoring.
Both games had great goals scored and we looked good at home for the fans. The entire soccer program wants to thank all of those who were there. All of the fans provided an indispensable spark for our players. If you liked what you saw you should definitely come back to watch us again. We will continue to look better each game and start to work even more cohesively than we did Tuesday and Saturday. We will be at home again this Saturday at 7:30 against Columbia College. I challenge all the students, parents, and fans to have more people in the stands each game to provide support for our team as we continue to be successful. Again, thanks for all of the support so far and we look forward to see you this Saturday.


September 12, 2006

Welcome back to another exciting edition of the Lounge. The men’s team was on the road this week at both Ottawa University and The University of Saint Mary’s. Tuesday we played the Ottawa braves to a 9-0 victory with goals coming from too many to name. Thursday was a continuation of a goal explosion. Saint Mary’s had no idea that we would shoot as accurately as we did; we took about 20 shots and scored 14 of them. The final of that game ended 14-1. Many players got their first experiences as college soccer players and performed very well. On Wednesday the Jewell Reserves took on Mid-America Nazarene in Olathe, pulling off a 3-2 victory playing 9 versus 11 at points during the game. Overall it was an impressive outing for the Men’s program.
It has been a good week for us as a team but bad for some individuals. Matt Klose had his car broken into and valuables stolen out of it. The very next day he was rear ended by someone. I was told that he was on his way to get his license. He was then given a ticket for not having a license. If that is not true it should be because it’s pretty funny. Also, Jake Patton found out the hard way where to park for Wizards games. He was towed from the Taco Bell across from Arrowhead Stadium. He paid a hefty ransom for his car which was stored in the backyard of a house by the stadium. That was pretty funny too, but the best part was the three houses on the same street that had car lots in their backyards. It was like someone told them to get a car lot instead of a swing sets. Either way, a lesson was learned about parking.
This is also the time I would like to thank all of the people who serve our communities as police, fire, and rescue workers. They do a great job and may not ever hear how much their work is appreciated. Especially since today was a day when more of those people lost their lives than on any other day in our country’s history. I would also like to thank all of the service men and women who are serving proudly in our country and abroad protecting and serving those in need.
This is a big week for Jewell soccer as we play Park University this Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in our home opener. We also play Morningside College at 7:30 on Saturday night. We hope to see you there. Until next time, God Bless America.


September 4, 2006

Welcome to volume III of the Lounge where we will discuss this week’s game and what the future holds for the Jewells men’s team. We had a fun week full of late night practices in order to prepare for our first game of the year. On Saturday, September 2, the Men’s and Women’s team traveled to Lebanan, Illinois to take on the defending Region V champions and number 8 team in the NAIA national poll the McKendree Bearcats. The Men’s team came out ok at the beginning of the game, but we gave up a goal midway through the first half. Not long after allowing the first goal we gave up another goal to put us down 2-0 at half. After the halftime break we succeeded in tying the score in a span of about 7 minutes with headers from first year forward, Matt Happy #12, after a rocket shot by first year Manny Tovar #17 was saved and a second goal from a header by Austin Williams #9. However, about a minute later some high pressure from the Bearcats created a miscommunication and a pass was intercepted and they finished the breakaway. We only had about 3 minutes left in the game to come back and score the tying goal and that 3 minutes wasn’t enough. The game definitely had some highlights including a remarkable penalty kick save by goalkeeper Andy Shields and the play of the entire midfield. Both goals we scored were also very good and our team showed a promising start to the season. Once we get our kinks out everywhere on the field we will be a very dangerous team. Although we are disappointed with a loss to begin the season, we are optimistic about our future. We will be on the road all this week traveling to Kansas to play Ottawa University on Tuesday and University of St. Mary’s on Thursday. We will spend a lot of our time in the spacious luxury of a charter bus watching movies.
Classes this week started at Jewell, proving to be quite a shock to the first year students. They appeared to be worn out from all the reading they have to do but hopefully they get better adjusted as the season continues on. In other news this week, the Kansas City Wizards found a new ownership group and they plan on keeping the team in Kansas City; it appears the team will be acquiring land in south Overland Park. This is good news for soccer fans and future professional players from this area to have a team to support. It’s good and bad that the team will move further away. While it is an extra 30 minutes to drive to a game, the Wizards could have moved to Toronto or Philadelphia, which would not have been a fun drive for fans driving to support the team. Personally I will try to attend as many games as possible, regardless of where in the Kansas City area the Wizards end up.
We hope to see all of you at the Jewell home opener at 7:30 P.M on September 13! Come see the Northland rivalry and the soccer teams doing their best to recapture the Townsend Trophy, a traveling trophy that puts Jewell and Park University in a competition across all sports. Enjoy the Labor Day holiday, because while a majority of people in this country are off school and work, overachieving students of William Jewell will be hard at work in class. Keep checking back weekly for your update in the Lounge.


August 29, 2006

We are back again after another exciting week which included two preseason scrimmages and the culmination of preseason as a whole. The first scrimmage saw WJC play the Wizards of MLS. We traveled to Arrowhead stadium and played at the practice facility against the 2004 U.S. Open Cup Champions. The game proved to be an excellent opportunity for everyone that played; it is an unbelievable opportunity to be able to play against professional players and be evaluated by a professional coach. (By the way Brian Bliss if you are reading this, congratulations on your new coaching job and your subsequent success; remember me when you start thinking about your draft picks). All in all the experience was great and I hope that after I leave Jewell will continue to enjoy the same experience. During the scrimmage it was interesting to realize how seriously the Wizards treated every minute they were on the field; they play as if it may be their last time on the field.

In our second scrimmage Jewell faced off against the Vikings from North Park University. The starting lineup (which I was apart of) came out flat and did not perform to our standards. However, the team that subbed in for us played unbelievable and kept us in the game. The score at the half was 2-0 Vikings. After a good talk at half time the next group of subs entered and picked up the intensity even more. I must give them all of the credit that coming in during the end of the first half and beginning of the second with the heart they did inspired all of us to play even better. All of the players that came in saw their first college soccer experience and showed very well. In the end the starters returned and dominated the second half tying the game in about 15 minutes and pressuring the goal for the remaining 10 minutes. Two shots hit the post and one was cleared off the line. So essentially we were inches from winning but sometimes that’s how it goes. 

In other news the soccer team had a F.I.F.A. ’06 World Cup tournament on Playstation 2 that involved most of the 32 players of the Men’s Soccer Program representing one of the countries. The first 4 rounds are in the books with the Final putting Junior defender Josh Howard #4 (Brazil), against Freshmen forward Michael Brown #16 (Holland). It should be an exciting final. Lastly, is the name of this journal, I think I am going to name it THE LOUNGE. It gives it a laid back feel to talk about whatever the fans want. You tell me what you want to know about and I will give you my opinion of it.
The Jewell team has a week full of practices to prepare for our first regular season match against the 2005 Region V champion McKendree. The Men’s team will be on the road until September 14. You can still follow the trials and tribulations of the team through THE LOUNGE and come see Jewell play against our Northland neighbors the Park University Pirates September 14 at 7. Until next time support our Kansas City Wizards and come support the Jewell soccer programs.

August 21, 2006

Welcome to the WJC Men’s Soccer team, also known as the “Magic Men”, weekly update. The team has just concluded our first week of preseason and I would like to say that we had the best preseason schedule in my 5 years at Jewell. Let me explain the 5 years part… During preseason 2 years ago I was injured and had to sit out for a miserable 14 weeks. My foot was broken during the opening minutes of a preseason game so I was red-shirted. Now that we’re past that we can talk about the negatives of preseason. Every morning we wake up for breakfast and have to eat the same thing. I mean, I can eat biscuits and gravy once but do I really need it 7 days a week? It is not that our cafeteria workers do not know how to cook anything else because they have no problem making a full breakfast for us…for lunch. Pancakes, sausage, French toast; you just have to wait until noon.
Other campus news involves the completion of the new campus union.   The new union is great looking, from the large glass windows to the big pillars.

Moving back to the soccer team, I referenced the “Magic Men” earlier which, of course is from the movie Talladega Nights, which about 20 of us went to see Friday night. “Now you see us, now you don’t.” If you are unfamiliar with the Men’s team and stumbled across this page you should get yourself to a game to see exciting, fast paced, quality soccer like we’re hopped up on Mountain Dew (except for our goal keeper, he’s not allowed to have Mountain Dew). We are also playing against the Kansas City Wizards in a game next week to provide the ultimate competition and test for our players. If you readers are not busy next Friday, venture to WJC’s Greene Stadium to check out the Men’s team in a scrimmage against North Park University, a nationally ranked NCAA Division III school from Chicago at 5:00 P.M. If you do come look for me, I’ll be wearing the number 10 and trying to lead the team to another successful season. After the game stop me and talk to me let me know what you want to know about from a student athlete at WJC and I’ll do my best to include it sometime this season. Until next week, watch some soccer.