Rattlers Soccer News Archive
Setting the Trend for Excellence
Otero Junior College, with a student population of about 1600, is the first junior college in the state of Colorado to offer a men’s varsity soccer program. As a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association’s (NJCAA) Region IX, south sub-region, Otero Junior College will compete for a Region IX championship against teams from Wyoming and Nebraska.
Ranked 7th Nationally!
Otero Junior College in La Junta, with a student population of about 1600, has officially become the first junior/community college in the state of Colorado to offer a men’s varsity soccer program.
As a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association’s (NJCAA) Region IX, south sub-region, OJC added varsity soccer to a list of eight other varsity sports programs. The OJC Rattler Soccer team, in their first year, competed for a Region IX championship against teams from Wyoming and Nebraska and took the championship. After that they went on to conquer the West District championship which qualified them to compete in the NJCAA National Tournament.
OJC Soccer Team Captures the 2010 NJCAA West District Championship!
The Cinderella story of the Otero Junior College soccer team continues to unfold as the first-year soccer program at this rural college in southeastern Colorado keeps finding ways to stay at the ‘big dance’. With both NJCAA Region IX and West District championships to their credit, the next stop for the OJC Rattlers is the NJCAA National Tournament in Tyler, Texas, November 18-21.
Two weeks ago, first-year head coach Evan Prybutok and his inaugural team of freshman players and one sophomore, captured the NJCAA Region IX championship, ending their regular season with a 15-1-1 record. This past weekend the Rattlers represented Region IX at the NJCAA West District Championship Tournament in Yuma, Ariz. The Rattlers met North Idaho College in the first round of the tournament, defeating the Cardinals 5-3, thus advancing to the championship game against host Arizona Western College.
On November 6, the Otero Junior College Rattlers met the Arizona Western Matadors (18-4-1), the 6th ranked team in the nation. The Rattlers eventually won the championship, 5-4 on penalty kicks, at the Arizona Western College soccer field, ending the most successful season in AWC’s history.
The national tournament begins Nov. 18 in Tyler, Texas. At the beginning of the year, Prybutok said he had a hard time imagining his Rattlers — who are not just in their first season, but are also the only junior college soccer program in Colorado — making the trip to Tyler.
“To come in your first year and to be able to do this against one of the best teams in the country, it's just unbelievable,” Prybutok said. “A year ago we didn’t have a team let alone a practice field or a game field. This whole season has been a great experience. We’re sort of a flagship for junior college programs in the state of Colorado right now which I hope will create more interest in soccer at the junior college level. Hopefully we can go to nationals in two weeks and represent our state and Region IX well. We have tremendous talent on this team and I just can't say enough about my players and the great heart they have shown this season. They defend well and they play like champions,” said Prybutok.
OJC Soccer Team Wins 2010 Region IX Championship
Rattler goalie, Sean Bogardus, Colorado Springs, is pictured on the right with first-year head coach Evan Prybutok after the team was presented with the Region IX championship plaque in Scottsbluff, Neb. Bogardus is ranked 23 in the nation by the NJCAA for goals against average.
The children’s book about the Little Engine that Could might be the perfect analogy for Otero Junior College’s first-year soccer program. OJC soccer is a new program, in a town that only has a few youth recreational soccer teams. The team is coached by a young coach in his first head coaching position, who powered through his first few months of developing and coaching the program without an assistant. The team has practiced on a field that hasn’t been used since the 1950s when the college had a football team, and the players; 34 out of the 35-man roster are true freshmen, away from home for the first time. The odds were that this would be a “building” year for the inaugural program. If the bets had been on the table; the long shot would have won, as this Cinderella team took charge of Region IX early in the season, eventually capturing the Region IX Championship with a season record of 15-1-1.
Otero went into the Region IX championship tournament in Scottsbluff, Neb. with the regular season title. They met Western Nebraska CC in the first round of play, defeating the Cougars 3-1. Otero's Karamba Janneh scored the first two goals of the game. His first came off an assist from Nolan Gilvar at the 28:46 mark of the opening half. Janneh scored his second goal eight minutes later off a pass from Adrian Carrillo.
After the win against WNCC, the Rattlers expected to meet five-time region champions Laramie County Community College in the championship match; however, a 2-1 overtime win by Northwest College over Laramie CC changed up the opponent for the championship match on Oct. 23.
During the championship match, Otero and Northwest battled a cold drizzle for the first half of the championship with both teams remaining scoreless. As the field and conditions worsened, the Rattlers found the net with just seven minutes remaining with a goal by Nolan Gilvar. Two minutes later Emmanuel Kollie put up a penalty kick and Alex Fernandez, scored the final goal. Northwest was unable to answer, making the final score 2-0, Otero.
The Rattlers are currently ranked in the top 30 teams in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). According to Coach Prybutok, he expects to see the team move into the top 15 after last weekend’s Region IX championship.
Forward player Karamba Janneh, Bronx, N.Y., is ranked 16th by the NJCAA for scoring with 43 points and goalie Sean Bogardus, Colorado Springs is ranked 23 by the NJCAA for goals against average.
“I could not have asked for a better season,” said first-year coach Evan Prybutok. “I knew from the start that we would do well, based on the quality of players that I was able to recruit and the support I was given by the college and the community. I am very proud of this team and proud to be associated with this college. There have been many great people who have helped us achieve this success and I’m so appreciative of their support,” he said.
The Rattlers will now compete in the NJCAA District Championship tournament to be held in Arizona November 5-6. The national championships will be held in mid-November in Tyler, Texas.
Soccer 2010 Inaugural Year
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