Blue Knights play tough, but lose first three games of season
Taking the championship field of the new Ames Soccer Complex on Thursday afternoon, Aug. 27, 2009, the Blue Knights men’s soccer team played the first home game ever on Dakota County Technical College’s Rosemount campus. Squaring off against Marshalltown Community College, the Knights lost 1–2 against the Tigers, who are ranked #7 nationally in the most recent NJCAA Div. I men’s soccer poll. The Tigers have only lost twice against ICCAC teams over the last three years.
The men then traveled to Great Bend, Kan., to face Barton County Community College, ranked #8 nationally in NJCAA Div. I men’s soccer. On Saturday evening, Aug. 29, the Knights lost 0–5 against the Cougars, who went 21–0–2 last season.
On Sunday, Aug. 30, also in Great Bend, the Knights were pitted against another formidable team, the Garden City Community College Broncbusters, who are ranked #4 in the NJCAA poll and posted an 18–3–2 record last year. DCTC came up short 0–1 after a hard-fought game. A free kick from 19 yards out in the 39th minute of the game spelled the difference.
“The weekend proved successful for us in that we know at what level and speed we need to play,” said Head Coach Cam Stoltz. “Anyone watching us knows we can play. We also had a chance to see our whole roster over the stretch of games, which will help us focus on our strongest lineup going into conference play.”
“While we are 0–3 at this point, we know we can play at the level needed to succeed during the season and into the playoffs,” said Stoltz. “Our goal was to get better and field the best soccer team in our six-season history. We have accomplished that so far this preseason and in the early games.”
On Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2009, the men and women’s soccer teams will face the Iowa Western Community College Reivers on the championship field of the brand-new Ames Soccer Complex, which was built through a partnership between DCTC and the city of Rosemount with in-kind service from Ames Construction. The men play at 2 p.m. with the women’s game starting at 4:05 p.m.
Representatives from Rosemount, Ames Construction and the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system will be present for the soccer complex’s official dedication ceremony, which will begin at 3:30 p.m. on game day.
