Blue Devils to face No. 2 ranked Schoolcraft (15-0) in tourney opener Monday
by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC
The No. 11 seed in a 12-team field, Kansas City Kansas Community College will go into the NJCAA Division I national tournament as an underdog.
But that’s the way the Blue Devil coaching staff likes it.
“We were underdogs at No. 7 ranked Cloud County and won and probably the underdog in the district playoffs and won,” KCKCC coach Ruben Rodriguez said. “Obviously we’re going up against the best in the country but then we feel we belong among the best.”
While seeded No. 11 in the national tournament, the Blue Devils finished No. 10 in the NCAA Division I rankings – the first time KCKCC has ever finished in the Top 10 let alone the Top 20.
The Blue Devils (12-3-1) will open national tournament play Monday against unbeaten Schoolcraft (15-0) of Livonia, Mich. The No. 2 team in both the national rankings and tournament seedings, Schoolcraft has 11 wins by shutout this season.
On Tuesday, KCKCC will face No. 7 seeded Monroe College (12-1-2) of New Rochelle, N.Y. Both games will kick off at noon (CST) and will be streamed on the NJCAA network.
Ironically, Monroe comes into the national off its first loss of the season. After winning the Region 3 championship, the No. 5 ranked Mustangs lost to Mercer College 1-0 in a battle of regional champions in which both teams qualified for the national tournament – Mercer as the No. 6 seed and Monroe as No. 7.
The Blue Devils will depart from Prescott Saturday morning, hold a practice Sunday and take part in a big pre-tournament Sunday night.
The final 12-team field is made up of four 3-team pools and includes each of the top 10 teams in the final rankings along with No. 18 Waubonsee (Ill.) and No. 20 Illinois Central.
All games will go to a Shootout if tied after regulation play and two 10-minute overtime periods. Each win is worth three points. In case of a tie, the tiebreakers are head-to-head, goal differential, goals scored and goals allowed.
The pairings and seedings for the national tournament:
Pool A – No. 1 St. Louis, No. 8 Pima (Ariz.), No. 12 Illinois Central.
Pool B – No. 2 Schoolcraft (Mich.), No. 7 Monroe (NY), No. 11 KCKCC.
Pool C – No. 3 Vavapai (Ariz/), No. 6 Mercer (NJ), No. 10 Wabonsee (Ill.).
Pool D – No. 4 Tyler (Texas), No. 5 Indian Hills (Iowa), No. 9 Louisburg (NC).