The Blue Knight soccer squads opened their 2005 campaign on the road and came away with losses in their most difficult road games of the 2005 schedule.
Starting out on the road against the region’s two strongest programs was going to be difficult, yet the coaching staff hoped to use the opening matches of the year to gauge and measure individuals and team progress through the preseason.
The Iowa Western women came into the game as defending regional champions, and showed it in trashing the young Blue Knights 10-1. Freshman Kasey Dobbs scored the lone Blue Knight goal. The Iowa Western men also frustrated DCTC by scoring three straight goals late in the first half. That was enough to separate the teams in losing 5-2. A bright spot saw the Blue Knights match the Reivers in shots at 14 for each team. Casey Holm scored both Blue Knight goals.
On Sunday, the Blue Knights were looking for improvement when playing in Fort Dodge, Iowa. In this game, the Blue Knight women made some noticeable gains against the regional runner-up squad from Iowa Central. Down 2-0 at halftime against the Tritons, the game opened up with both teams exchanging chances and goals. Kasey Dobbs and Andrea Bolanos each scored for the Blue Knights, who played much better than in the season opener. However, in the end, the Iowa Central squad was too strong for DCTC, winning 7-2.
The road trip wrapped up with a men’s game between the second-year Blue Knights and national power, and defending regional champion, Iowa Central. DCTC came out strong and stayed on course, despite giving up five goals. DCTC came close in the end by threatening Central with a flurry of chances late in the game in a rally effort. DCTC earned five shots at goal in the last two minutes of play, but was still unable to send the game to overtime.
The DCTC men play at home vs North Iowa on Wednesday (5 p.m. at Rich Valley Complex in Inver Grove Heights). Both teams host the DCTC Kickoff this weekend with a number games on Saturday (Men vs. Lake County, Ill. at 12 p.m.) and Sunday (Men vs. Neosho County, Kan. at 12 p.m. and Women vs. Neosho County, Kan. at 2 p.m.).
