First of all, let me say I am way glad we are done with one day road trips for a while. Five in a row is tough on everyone, but made easier when you win. Our week was full of tense moments and interesting developments for sure.
Tuesday saw us again move up in the Adidas/NSCAA region VII rankings to #7. We also for the first time were mentioned in the ESPNRise Illinois rankings, coming in at #5.
On Tuesday we were also on the road for a conference game at U.T.H.S and it was more of a battle than we expected and then some. It started out bad when Ethan Venvertloh was unable to play because of an injury from Saturday. We adjusted to that pretty well, but 5 minutes into the game, Zach Forbes busted open his lip and had to go to the ER for 10 stitches. Being one person down is bad, but being down 2 really puts you in a tough spot. We got a lot of great minutes from kids on our bench and some of them grew up that night. We battled all night and with 4 minutes left in the game, we saw our life pass before our eyes. UTHS hit one off the crossbar that if it were 2 inches lower, would have been a goal. We managed to get to OT and at that time, here comes Zach Forbes back from the ER. Rather than throw him in on defense, we put him up front. Wouldn't you know it, just 1 minute into OT, Zach got the ball on the wing, took it down the field and crossed it to Matt Burrus who got the golden goal winner and improved our WB6 streak to 22 games.
On Friday, we traveled to Springfield High and for the first time all year, had to have a stern talk at half-time. We have told them time and time again about moving the ball, and for whatever reason, we continue to try and dribble through teams. When we move the ball like we are capable, we are a tough team to beat. The 2nd half was much better. Gavin Schaefer and Bronson Melvin each scored for a 2-0 victory.
Saturday we hosted Rock Island Alleman and had no idea what to expect. On Tuesday, they had lost to Moline in OT and maybe they would be better than we initially thought. It wasn't to be as we scored early and often and won 8-0. Better yet, 8 different players scored goals and four others recorded an assist. The 3 victories moved us to 12-0-1.
This upcoming week we host Macomb on Monday before heading to Collinsville for the Gateway City Soccer Classic. The classic will test us in 3 very competitive games. No team in our bracket has more than 1 loss on the season, and at least four teams will be ranked in the top 50 in the nation. In our bracket, there are teams from Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, and New York. Should be a lot fun.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Another great week for Blue Devil Soccer!!!!
The 2009 soccer season has been a pleasant surprise up to this point. Who would have thought that the combined record of our 3 teams would be 23-1-1? That is impressive I think. Not to mention, for the first time since 1995, the Blue Devil varsity team is being mentioned in the Region rankings. Two weeks ago we were #13 in the Adidas/NSCAA region VII rankings and last week we were up to #11. When the rankings come out next Tuesday, we could see a big jump as several teams above us lost last week, including 3 teams from Illinois that were ahead of us.
Now, if you ask coach Longo, he will say that while these rankings are nice to have, he is more concerned about where we finish the season as opposed to what people think about us during the season. I couldn't agree more! However, I think it is a great accomplishment for these young men who have worked so very hard to get our program where it is today. I can only hope that they continue to work hard to stay in the rankings and prove they are truly worthy of being there. Every team is gunning to beat Quincy High and we will need to bring our A game every time.
As for our games last week, it saw us take to the road twice to play two very good teams at the varsity level who both were state runner-up in their respective state and class in 2008. On Tuesday we traveled to Springfield to play Sacred Heart-Griffin and we were a bit undermanned as we played without our sweeper Zach Forbes. Coach Longo always feels that no 1 player is irreplacable and when your number is called, you need to be ready to step in. That is exactly what Jake Killday did for us on Tuesday. Jake had been coming off the bench to play forward for us and was doing well. However, we needed him at sweeper this game and he played great. We moved the ball well against SHG and should have scored 2 or 3 goals in the first half as we missed some golden chances. In the second half, Matt Burrus made a great play in the middle of the field and found Ethan Venvertloh open on the left and Ethan gave us a 1-0 lead with 15 minutes left. The joy lasted about 10 seconds as that is all it took for SHG to come down and tie things up. It was a comedy of errors on our part starting with our forwards and ending with our GK. At least 6 players blew an opportunity to stop that goal from happening and none were up to the task. Rather than sulk about it, we stepped up the pressure and Taylor Nord put us ahead to stay with a goal with about 5 minutes remaining. It was a good road win and only the 2nd loss of the year for SHG, whose other loss was to nationally ranked and defending state Champion Peoria Notre Dame. Our JV won on this night as well 3-0 and it was good for them as their previous game against Moline was not a real good effort and resulted in our only loss thus far in the season.
On Saturday we traveled to Jefferson City to take on the defending Missouri Class 2 state runner-up Helias Crusaders. We tied them 2-2 last year and they were undefeated coming into the game. It took us quite a while to sort things out in this game. Their field was very hard and very fast and we just didn't adjust real well. We also had a hard time staying onside, and it just was one of those games. We battle through the first half scoreless and worse yet, only had 1 shot the entire half, and it wasn't a good one. We almost had to plead with them at halftime to play with more passion and intensity. The 2nd half was much better and with 15 minutes to go in the game, we finally caught their defense sleeping on a throw in and Matt Burrus crossed the ball to a wide open Bronson Melvin who headed it home. It was a great moment, not only because we finally got on the board, but because it was the first career goal for Bronson, who is a FRESHMAN! Our defense played great throughout as usual and Matt Burrus was able to seal the game with a late goal to give us a 2-0 victory and run our record to 9-0-1.
The JV team won 5-1 getting 2 goals from Patrick Bentzinger and single goals from Joe Bevelheimer, Alan Sieck, and TyReek Scott.
The Freshman also played at Helias and improved their record to 8-0-1 with a 2-0 victory.
The varsity will be on the road twice again next week when we go to UTHS on Tuesday and Springfield High on Friday. We also host Rock Island Alleman on Saturday.
It's homecoming week this week so check out the parade on Thursday and catch the football game on Friday. The football team is 4-0 on the season and we are pretty proud of their efforts too.
Now, if you ask coach Longo, he will say that while these rankings are nice to have, he is more concerned about where we finish the season as opposed to what people think about us during the season. I couldn't agree more! However, I think it is a great accomplishment for these young men who have worked so very hard to get our program where it is today. I can only hope that they continue to work hard to stay in the rankings and prove they are truly worthy of being there. Every team is gunning to beat Quincy High and we will need to bring our A game every time.
As for our games last week, it saw us take to the road twice to play two very good teams at the varsity level who both were state runner-up in their respective state and class in 2008. On Tuesday we traveled to Springfield to play Sacred Heart-Griffin and we were a bit undermanned as we played without our sweeper Zach Forbes. Coach Longo always feels that no 1 player is irreplacable and when your number is called, you need to be ready to step in. That is exactly what Jake Killday did for us on Tuesday. Jake had been coming off the bench to play forward for us and was doing well. However, we needed him at sweeper this game and he played great. We moved the ball well against SHG and should have scored 2 or 3 goals in the first half as we missed some golden chances. In the second half, Matt Burrus made a great play in the middle of the field and found Ethan Venvertloh open on the left and Ethan gave us a 1-0 lead with 15 minutes left. The joy lasted about 10 seconds as that is all it took for SHG to come down and tie things up. It was a comedy of errors on our part starting with our forwards and ending with our GK. At least 6 players blew an opportunity to stop that goal from happening and none were up to the task. Rather than sulk about it, we stepped up the pressure and Taylor Nord put us ahead to stay with a goal with about 5 minutes remaining. It was a good road win and only the 2nd loss of the year for SHG, whose other loss was to nationally ranked and defending state Champion Peoria Notre Dame. Our JV won on this night as well 3-0 and it was good for them as their previous game against Moline was not a real good effort and resulted in our only loss thus far in the season.
On Saturday we traveled to Jefferson City to take on the defending Missouri Class 2 state runner-up Helias Crusaders. We tied them 2-2 last year and they were undefeated coming into the game. It took us quite a while to sort things out in this game. Their field was very hard and very fast and we just didn't adjust real well. We also had a hard time staying onside, and it just was one of those games. We battle through the first half scoreless and worse yet, only had 1 shot the entire half, and it wasn't a good one. We almost had to plead with them at halftime to play with more passion and intensity. The 2nd half was much better and with 15 minutes to go in the game, we finally caught their defense sleeping on a throw in and Matt Burrus crossed the ball to a wide open Bronson Melvin who headed it home. It was a great moment, not only because we finally got on the board, but because it was the first career goal for Bronson, who is a FRESHMAN! Our defense played great throughout as usual and Matt Burrus was able to seal the game with a late goal to give us a 2-0 victory and run our record to 9-0-1.
The JV team won 5-1 getting 2 goals from Patrick Bentzinger and single goals from Joe Bevelheimer, Alan Sieck, and TyReek Scott.
The Freshman also played at Helias and improved their record to 8-0-1 with a 2-0 victory.
The varsity will be on the road twice again next week when we go to UTHS on Tuesday and Springfield High on Friday. We also host Rock Island Alleman on Saturday.
It's homecoming week this week so check out the parade on Thursday and catch the football game on Friday. The football team is 4-0 on the season and we are pretty proud of their efforts too.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
What a week!!!!!
This week of soccer was very successful at all levels for QHS and what a what a week it was. The week started off with the inter city rivalry against QND. Our varsity team came out a bit flat but once we got going, it was evident we were the better team. Ethan Venvertloh got us on the board in the first half with a rocket from about 25 yards out that I don't think the QND keeper ever saw until it was too late. Zach Forbes added a goal in the second half on a header to make for the final score of 2-0. Our defense was again stellar and Logan Miller got his 5th shutout of the season. As always, the game was played with a lot of intensity, and we are just bigger, stronger, and faster in more areas and that was the difference. It was our 7th straight victory over QND at the varsity level. The JV also won 2-0 as freshman Bronson Melvin scored both goals.
While the QND game is always a big game, it ALWAYS is the 2nd most important game of the week in the grand scheme of things as we always have a conference game that week as well. Winning against your cross town rival is always great, but winning the conference is something you really set your sights on and on Saturday night we opened the conference season at Moline.
You never know what to expect from kids on their first road trip, especially one that is long. Our JV showed exactly that, as they scored very early in the game, but from that point on didn't play very well and lost 2-1. It was the first loss in 2 years for the JV program and one that I know our young men will learn from.
We really thought that our varsity kids would see what happened with the JV and not let it happen to them. WISHFUL THINKING is all I can say. Less than 3 minutes into the game, Moline scored on a defensive mistake and already we were in a hole and for the first time, trailing in a game. It was time to see what this team is made of. Do we panic and start doing things we don't practice or do we stay the course and plug away? Coach Rick Sanchez of Moline feels this is one of his better teams and they are very talented in several areas.
Well, we stayed with our game plan and didn't get rattled and were able to get the equalizer on a corner kick header by Zach Forbes and then took the lead ten minutes later when Blake Williams re-directed a shot after a corner was cleared. The second half was very interesting to say the least. The game got a little physical, and we found ourselves in a heck of a predicament when one of our players got a red card and so did one of theirs. However, with the playing field being a little smaller than we are normally use to, it created more space for us to do our thing and we capitalized by getting goals from Mitchell Schrage and Ethan Venvertloh to seal the 4-1 win and start the conference off on a good note.
The bad news is, we have to play without a player next week at Springfield SHG and that will be tough. It's a shame that a linesman makes that poor of a decision to eject two players who were pushing each other in the middle of about 10 kids preparing for a restart. Yellow cards yes, but reds was a little over the top we thought. In any case, we have all the confidence in the world that we will be able to step up and rise to the challenge ahead of us over in Springfield.
I was very proud of our young men when we lost one of our players. They were on the field talking about what they were going to do and how they would adjust our system. Since we were winning 2-1 at the time, they opted to stay strong on defense and we removed a forward from our system. We are now 7-0-1 and have given 6 of our 8 opponents their first blemish on their record.
Next weeks games are both on the road. I already mentioned SHG, but on Saturday, we go to Jefferson City Helias who was the class 2 state runner-up last year. Should be another good week.
Our Sophomore/Freshman team remained undefeated and won the Chatham tournament. They are now 7-0-1 after beating Waterloo Gibault 3-1, Chatham Glenwood 3-0, and Springfield High 3-2 in PK's. They will also travel to Jeff City next weekend to play Helias and Jefferson City High.
Overall, our program is now 18-1-2 on the season. Not too shabby.
While the QND game is always a big game, it ALWAYS is the 2nd most important game of the week in the grand scheme of things as we always have a conference game that week as well. Winning against your cross town rival is always great, but winning the conference is something you really set your sights on and on Saturday night we opened the conference season at Moline.
You never know what to expect from kids on their first road trip, especially one that is long. Our JV showed exactly that, as they scored very early in the game, but from that point on didn't play very well and lost 2-1. It was the first loss in 2 years for the JV program and one that I know our young men will learn from.
We really thought that our varsity kids would see what happened with the JV and not let it happen to them. WISHFUL THINKING is all I can say. Less than 3 minutes into the game, Moline scored on a defensive mistake and already we were in a hole and for the first time, trailing in a game. It was time to see what this team is made of. Do we panic and start doing things we don't practice or do we stay the course and plug away? Coach Rick Sanchez of Moline feels this is one of his better teams and they are very talented in several areas.
Well, we stayed with our game plan and didn't get rattled and were able to get the equalizer on a corner kick header by Zach Forbes and then took the lead ten minutes later when Blake Williams re-directed a shot after a corner was cleared. The second half was very interesting to say the least. The game got a little physical, and we found ourselves in a heck of a predicament when one of our players got a red card and so did one of theirs. However, with the playing field being a little smaller than we are normally use to, it created more space for us to do our thing and we capitalized by getting goals from Mitchell Schrage and Ethan Venvertloh to seal the 4-1 win and start the conference off on a good note.
The bad news is, we have to play without a player next week at Springfield SHG and that will be tough. It's a shame that a linesman makes that poor of a decision to eject two players who were pushing each other in the middle of about 10 kids preparing for a restart. Yellow cards yes, but reds was a little over the top we thought. In any case, we have all the confidence in the world that we will be able to step up and rise to the challenge ahead of us over in Springfield.
I was very proud of our young men when we lost one of our players. They were on the field talking about what they were going to do and how they would adjust our system. Since we were winning 2-1 at the time, they opted to stay strong on defense and we removed a forward from our system. We are now 7-0-1 and have given 6 of our 8 opponents their first blemish on their record.
Next weeks games are both on the road. I already mentioned SHG, but on Saturday, we go to Jefferson City Helias who was the class 2 state runner-up last year. Should be another good week.
Our Sophomore/Freshman team remained undefeated and won the Chatham tournament. They are now 7-0-1 after beating Waterloo Gibault 3-1, Chatham Glenwood 3-0, and Springfield High 3-2 in PK's. They will also travel to Jeff City next weekend to play Helias and Jefferson City High.
Overall, our program is now 18-1-2 on the season. Not too shabby.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Interesting week!!!
After an impressive weekend that saw us capture the Midwest Soccer Classic title, we were back in action quickly on Tuesday against Hannibal. Hannibal has become a bit of a rivaly because our kids have grown up playing against Hannibal kids and also because annually, Hannibal has been a very competitive game for us. However, the 2009 game was not a typical QHS vs Hannibal game. We scored early and often and jumped out to a 9-0 first half lead and with the 2nd half cut to just 20 minutes, we ended up winning 10-0 to remain perfect on the season at 4-0. Junior Mitchell Schrage had a tremendous night for us with 4 goals and 2 assists.
While Hannibal may be a rivalry game, our game Friday night vs Belleville East was our most important. We don't get a lot of opportunity to play teams from the St. Louis area, so when we do, we need to make a good impression as this is where we go for regionals now.
We did not play our best game Friday night, but Belleville East had a lot to do with that as well. Belleville East is extremely fast all over the field and we had a hard time adjusting to their pace of play. We got out of what we do best and started playing their game. Both teams had excellent scoring opportunities, but in the end, the game ended in a 0-0 tie and both teams remained undefeated at 4-0-1. We outshot Belleville East 20-9, but we gave up 9 corners and that just can't happen. Somehow I have a feeling these two teams could cross path's someone else this year and we will be ready for them.
On Saturday we played Columbia, IL. who came up for an overnight trip and the coaches had a lot of reasons for concern. Not necessarily because Columbia was that good, but because we are dealing with 14-17 old kids and you never know what to expect from them. We knew coming off an emotional, physical,and intense game from the night before that we would take a bit to get going. However, we didn't anticipate having the struggles we had. Columbia had been beaten by Belleville East 6-0 earlier in the season and on paper we should have had our way, and it looked like we just might as 10 minutes in we scored. However, they countered with a quick restart and tied it 1-1 and the fight was on. The worst thing you can do to a team who you are better than, is to give them confidence and that is exactly what we did.
We played the final 25 minutes of the first half as individuals rather than as a team. Everything we had worked so hard to accomplish seemed to not matter anymore. We are such a good team when we move the ball and work together, but when we don't, it gets ugly. At half-time we talked about working together as a team and we did just that. However, as the game wore on you could see the frustration settle back in as we were working hard and doing good things, but just couldn't put one in the back of the net. Everyone was busting their tail to be the hero, but in doing that, we at times abandoned what we do best. In the end, with 15 minutes remaining, we capitalized on a nice cross and settle and won 2-1. Soccer is a funny game in that the best team doesn't always win the game. We outshot them 24-2 and had 9 corner kicks, but the scoreboard didn't show that type of domination.
Next week starts a tough stretch for us as we host that team from across town and then head to the road next weekend for our conference opener against Moline. Should make for an interesting week so check back in with us after the game on Tuesday vs QND. Game is at Flinn with JV at 5:00 and varsity at 6:30. Both teams are undefeated and it should be a great match.
Our JV team remained undefeated and unscored on after posting wins over Hannibal, Belleville East, and Columbia.
The Sophomore/Freshman team is also undefeated on the season after picking up 3 wins this past weekend. On Friday night, they defeated the Columbia JV 3-0 on two goals from Noah Spake and one goal from Tyler Cannell. On Saturday, they defeated Columbia Rock Bridge 3-1 and Springfield SHG 2-0. Their record is 4-0-1 and they will play in the Chatham tournament next weekend.
While Hannibal may be a rivalry game, our game Friday night vs Belleville East was our most important. We don't get a lot of opportunity to play teams from the St. Louis area, so when we do, we need to make a good impression as this is where we go for regionals now.
We did not play our best game Friday night, but Belleville East had a lot to do with that as well. Belleville East is extremely fast all over the field and we had a hard time adjusting to their pace of play. We got out of what we do best and started playing their game. Both teams had excellent scoring opportunities, but in the end, the game ended in a 0-0 tie and both teams remained undefeated at 4-0-1. We outshot Belleville East 20-9, but we gave up 9 corners and that just can't happen. Somehow I have a feeling these two teams could cross path's someone else this year and we will be ready for them.
On Saturday we played Columbia, IL. who came up for an overnight trip and the coaches had a lot of reasons for concern. Not necessarily because Columbia was that good, but because we are dealing with 14-17 old kids and you never know what to expect from them. We knew coming off an emotional, physical,and intense game from the night before that we would take a bit to get going. However, we didn't anticipate having the struggles we had. Columbia had been beaten by Belleville East 6-0 earlier in the season and on paper we should have had our way, and it looked like we just might as 10 minutes in we scored. However, they countered with a quick restart and tied it 1-1 and the fight was on. The worst thing you can do to a team who you are better than, is to give them confidence and that is exactly what we did.
We played the final 25 minutes of the first half as individuals rather than as a team. Everything we had worked so hard to accomplish seemed to not matter anymore. We are such a good team when we move the ball and work together, but when we don't, it gets ugly. At half-time we talked about working together as a team and we did just that. However, as the game wore on you could see the frustration settle back in as we were working hard and doing good things, but just couldn't put one in the back of the net. Everyone was busting their tail to be the hero, but in doing that, we at times abandoned what we do best. In the end, with 15 minutes remaining, we capitalized on a nice cross and settle and won 2-1. Soccer is a funny game in that the best team doesn't always win the game. We outshot them 24-2 and had 9 corner kicks, but the scoreboard didn't show that type of domination.
Next week starts a tough stretch for us as we host that team from across town and then head to the road next weekend for our conference opener against Moline. Should make for an interesting week so check back in with us after the game on Tuesday vs QND. Game is at Flinn with JV at 5:00 and varsity at 6:30. Both teams are undefeated and it should be a great match.
Our JV team remained undefeated and unscored on after posting wins over Hannibal, Belleville East, and Columbia.
The Sophomore/Freshman team is also undefeated on the season after picking up 3 wins this past weekend. On Friday night, they defeated the Columbia JV 3-0 on two goals from Noah Spake and one goal from Tyler Cannell. On Saturday, they defeated Columbia Rock Bridge 3-1 and Springfield SHG 2-0. Their record is 4-0-1 and they will play in the Chatham tournament next weekend.
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