December 2018 – Page 63 – Welcome to Wyandotte Daily!

Mexican soccer team to visit Sporting KC in February Champions League

Sporting Kansas City will face Mexican club Deportivo Toluca in the 2019 Scotiabank Concacaf Champion League Round of 16, with the two-legged series set to take place in late February.

Concacaf conducted the official 2019 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League draw on Monday at the Univision Deportes Studios in Miami, determining the eight Round of 16 matchups in a fixed bracket.

Sporting KC will play host to Toluca in the first leg of the aggregate-goal series at Children’s Mercy Park before traveling to Mexico for the return leg.

Exact dates and kickoff times for both Round of 16 games will be announced in the coming days. Tickets for the match in Kansas City are included in 2019 Sporting KC season ticket member packages and will become available to the public soon at SeatGeek.com.

The Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League is the premier club competition in the Concacaf region, involving the best teams from the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.

The 11th edition of the championship will feature a two-legged, home-and-away format with a fixed bracket from the Round of 16 through the finals. The Round of 16 is slated for late February and the quarterfinals for March, while the semifinals and finals will unfold in April.

Sporting KC will make their fourth appearance in the Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League – their first since 2016-2017 and their first since the tournament restructured to the 16-team, two-legged knockout format that made its debut in 2018.

Manager Peter Vermes led his side to its best finish in the competition when Sporting KC reached the 2013-2014 quarterfinals before falling to eventual champion Cruz Azul.

Coming off a record-breaking MLS campaign that saw the club finish atop the 2018 Western Conference regular season standings, Sporting KC qualified for the 2019 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League as winners of the 2017 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Sporting KC earned a 2-1 win over the New York Red Bulls in a thrilling final at Children’s Mercy Park to claim their fourth major championship since 2012.

Toluca was a finalist in the 2013-2014 Concacaf Champions League and qualified for the 2019 competition as runners-up in the 2018 Liga MX Clausura. The Red Devils recently finished seventh in the 2018 Liga MX Apertura with a record of 8-7-2 and last week fell to Club America in the quarterfinals of the Liga MX championship stage. Forward Alexis Vega scored a team-best six goals during the Apertura season, while midfielder Luis Enrique Quinones finished third in Liga MX with five assists.

Founded in 1917, Toluca has won 10 first-division titles and was crowned Concacaf Champions’ Cup winners in 1968 and 2003. The Red Devils are led by Argentine manager Hernan Cristante and play their home matches at the 31,000-seat Estadio Nemesio Diez in Toluca, located less than 40 miles west of Mexico City in south-central Mexico.

Sporting KC is 2-6-2 all time against Mexican opposition, including a 2-2-2 mark on American soil and a 0-4-0 record in Mexico. Next year’s Round of 16 will mark the first time these clubs have met.

– Story from Sporting KC

Annual candlelighting ceremony raises funds for KCKCC students

Student leaders sang “Silent Night” during the 94th annual candlelighting ceremony Wednesday at Kansas City Kansas Community College. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)

Students were urged to “stretch” a little and donate funds to scholarships at Kansas City Kansas Community College’s 94th annual candlelighting ceremony on Wednesday.

The annual candlelighting ceremony is considered to be the longest-standing tradition for the college as well as for Wyandotte County, KCKCC President Greg Mosier told students.

The event started in 1924 as a candle sale to raise funds for the college’s student loan fund, and continues today to raise funds for scholarships for KCKCC students, he said.

Dr. Mosier asked those who were gathered at the candlelighting ceremony to think about those who had helped them in their lives, and to help others in the same way.

More than 100 persons attended the event in the KCKCC Performing Arts Center.

Mary Ricketts, a KCKCC Foundation board member who is a speaker and coach in the financial industry, was the keynote speaker at the event.

“It’s all about leaving a legacy,” Ricketts said. She urged those in attendance to “stretch out and reach the next person,” by giving a donation for student scholarships.

Aliyah Shaw, Student Senate president and a second-year student, said this is one of the highlights of the year for the students. At the ceremony, a candle is passed from one of this year’s student leaders to next year’s student leader.

Shaw said the Student Senate and college plan events to help students, and one of the things she has learned as student president was to meet students where they are. Being the student president has “really made me think about who I am as a student, and it helps me to be a leader,” she said.

Shaw announced a $600 donation from students through the Student Senate to the KCKCC scholarship fund.

Other highlights of the event were performances by the KCKCC Instrumental Ensembles, KCKCC’s The Standard Vocal Jazz Ensemble, Intercultural Center students, KCKCC Chamber Choir and students in the KCKCC Theater Department.

Donations to the KCKCC Foundation scholarships for students are being accepted at www.kckcc.edu/foundation.

The KCKCC Instrumental Ensembles, under the direction of Jim Mair, performed for the annual KCKCC candlelighting ceremony. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)

The KCKCC Instrumental Ensemble performed Wednesday at the annual KCKCC candlelighting ceremony. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)

Dr. Greg Mosier, KCKCC president, asked those attending the event to think about persons who had helped them in the past, and to reach out and help others today. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)

Listening to musical performances at the annual KCKCC candlelighting ceremony. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)

KCKCC theater students performed a short skit for the annual candlelighting ceremony Wednesday. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)

The Standard Vocal Jazz Ensemble, under the direction of John Stafford II, performed for the annual KCKCC candlelighting ceremony Wednesday. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)

Mary Ricketts, KCKCC Foundation board member, asked those attending the candlelighting ceremony to stretch a little and make a donation to the scholarship fund. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)

Students with the KCKCC Intercultural Center sang a holiday tune at the candlelighting ceremony. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)

Aliyah Shaw, KCKCC Student Senate president, announced a $600 Student Senate donation to the scholarship fund. She posed near the candlelight table at the event. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)

Aliyah Shaw, right, Student Senate president, announced a $600 donation from the Student Senate to the KCKCC scholarship fund. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)

Mary Ricketts, right, KCKCC Foundation board member, lit a ceremonial candle on Wednesday at the annual KCKCC candlelighting ceremony. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)

Itzel Almanza, Student Senate vice president, right, lit the candle for Colby Dunbar, representing the freshman class, at the KCKCC candlelighting ceremony Wednesday. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)

Audience members held battery-powered candles as they sang “Silent Night” and “Joy to the World” with the KCKCC Chamber Choir Wednesday at the KCKCC candlelighting ceremony. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)

KCKCC’s Collier KJCCC player of the week for second time

by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC

Kansas City Kansas Community College sophomore Nija Collier is the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference (KJCCC) Division II Player-of-the-Week for the second time this season.

A 6-0 forward from Detroit, Collier earlier was named both NJCAA Division II National Player-of- the-Week and KJCCC Player-of-the-Week.

Collier’s most recent honor came for her performances in a 100-65 win at North Central Missouri and a 97-53 win over William Penn junior varsity.

In the two games, she made 19-of-23 field goal attempts including 2-of-3 3-pointers, was 8-of-8 on free throws, grabbed 16 rebounds, dealt out six assists and had 10 steals.

The six assists came against North Central when she scored 23 points on 9-of-11 shooting and made all four free throws. She also had four steals and followed up with six steals, 10-of-12 shooting and 25 points against William Penn.

Collier started this week with 20 points and 10 rebounds in KCKCC’s 76-74 loss at Washburn junior varsity.