Richland College Green Commons

For her play solid play at helping lead Richland College the 2009 NJCAA Division III National Women’s Soccer Championship, Chelsea Palmer was named Offensive MVP of the tournament while teammates Kaylyn Settle, Lilly Valero and Jessica Martin and Letty Adame all received All-Tournament honors.

Palmer, a freshman forward from Plano, scored a goal and notched an assist in the championship game. For the season, Palmer finished with 10 goals and eight assists.

Settle, who scored one goal in each of the National Championship tournament games, finished the season with a team-high 32 points (12 goals and eight assists).

From the goalie position, Valero saved seven of eight shots in the championship game and finished the season allowing only .60 goals per game.

Adame, who scored a goal and an assist in the semifinal game, was named Defensive MVP. Capping the awards was T-Ducks’ coach Scott Toups, who was named Coach of the Tournament. Toups led Richland College to an 18-3-1 overall record and its third national championship.

The Richland College men’s soccer team’s bid to win another NJCAA Division III National Championship came to an end on Sunday, Nov. 15 when the T-Ducks lost, 1-0, to Union County College in the title game.

The Richland College women’s soccer team won its third NJCAA Division III National Soccer Championship on Sunday with a 2-1 victory over Montgomery College (Rockville).

Both the Richland College men’s and women’s soccer teams will be playing for their respective NJCAA Division III National Soccer Championship on Sunday, Nov. 15 after they were victorious in semifinal matchups.

The men will be vying for their sixth national championship since 2002 after the T-Ducks defeated Herkimer County Community College, 2-0. The T-Ducks will play Union Community College at 4 p.m. (Eastern) for the championship.

The women, who defeated Mohawk Valley Community College, 3-0, in the semifinal round, will play Montgomery College at 1 p.m. (Eastern) for the national championship. A victory will give women three national titles.

Peaking at the right time of the season, both the Richland College men’s and women’s soccer teams are heading to their respective NJCAA Division III National Soccer Championship tournaments after winning huge games over the weekend.

The T-Ducks’ men and women squads will both play for national championships at Herkimer County Community College in Herkimer, NY on Nov. 13-14.

The men (12-5-1), who will be seeking their sixth national championship since 2008, defeated Triton College, 4-0, on Saturday in the Region II title game. Meanwhile, the women won the District D tournament after defeating Rochester Community & Technical College, 6-0, and the College of DuPage, 2-1, in overtime.

The women (16-3-1), who have won 13 of their last 14 games, will be seeking their third championship since 2004.

Richland College’s basketball team, which is the defending NJCAA Division III national champions, will host Southwest Adventist University at 7 p.m. tonight.

Returning this year from last year’s squad are only two players who have game-time experience: Thedford Simmons and Deionta Mitchell. This year’s team also has three red-shirt players from last season.

“So far the biggest challenge is the inexperience that we have. We have 13 new guys and a total of three guys that played college basketball last year,” head coach Jon Felment said. “The level of mental toughness that it takes to play at this level is very high. Right now, these guys are used to playing high school basketball where they might have been the best player on their team or district. Once the season starts, I think our biggest challenge will be handling the adversity that will come with our schedule.”

The T-Ducks will also have the challenge of their opponents playing their best game every outing, considering Richland is the defending national champions.

According to Felment, the T-Ducks’ schedule will be trying at times this season, especially in November when 10 of their 11 games are against NJCAA Division I teams.

“It’s really hard not to compare last year’s team to this year’s team. Nine sophomores last year versus 14 freshmen this year,” Felment said. “I think the biggest thing this group could learn from last year’s group is to be mentally tough, intense and play with passion.”

Last year’s group, Felment added, was not concerned about wins against non-conference schools, but they were ready in January, which is when everything counts. 

“To me, that will be the biggest difference in this year’s team, and if they take anything from last year’s success it will be sticking together when times are bad,” Felment said, adding that this team is very skilled at all positions.  “It really only matters what happens from January to March that makes our season.” 

The T-Ducks enter the season ranked No. 19 among NJCAA Division III teams.

Sophomore Regina Martinez of Garland scored two goals to help lead the NJCAA Division III No. 5-ranked Richland College women’s soccer team to another Metro Athletic Conference Soccer Tournament championship after the T-Ducks defeated Cedar Valley College, 7-0.

Martinez also scored a hat trick, and added an assist, in Richland’s 5-1 victory over Brookhaven College in the semifinal round.

The T-Ducks now advance to the District D Tournament on Nov. 6-7 at the College of DuPage in Illinois.

“We are excited to be the MAC champion,” Scott Toups, the women’s head coach, said. “However, our goal this year is a national championship. We have a great team and our expectations remain high. Winning the MAC is another step toward our final goal.”

Should the T-Ducks win District, they advance to the NJCAA Division III National Women’s Soccer tournament, where they would be playing for their third national championship since 2004.

“The teams we will be playing are some of the top teams in the country. I imagine they will be some of the best we have seen all year,” Toups said about what to expect at the District D tournament. “I do, however, feel that we can play and be successful against anyone. Our team is playing well right now.”

The T-Ducks will enter the District D tournament having won 10 of their last 11 games. Richland is 14-3-1 on the season.

The men’s soccer team defeated Mountain View College, 5-0, to win the Region 5 Men’s Soccer Championship.

According the NJCAA website, the T-Ducks, who defeated Cisco College, 3-2, to advance to the championship game, will host the District 3 tournament on Nov. 6-7.

District 3 tournament information such as participating teams and game times are not currently available. 

Richland, which entered the tournament ranked No. 11 among NJCAA Division III teams, is 11-5-1 on the season.

The volleyball team’s season came to an end on Saturday, Oct. 31 but not before the T-Ducks advanced to the Metro Athletic Conference championship game and gave Brookhaven College everything it could handle in a 25-21, 25-21, 25-19 loss.

Despite the loss, the T-Ducks, who defeated North Lake College, 25-15, 25-22, 25-16, to advance to the district title game, have plenty of reasons to hang their heads high on this season, beginning with a .500 record at 15-15.

Richland also had several players rank in the top 20 statistically among NJCAA Division III players in several categories.    

Nicole Spruille ranked No. 6 in hitting efficiency at 49 percent while Serita Ingram ranked No. 8 at 45 percent.  Ingram also ranked No. 3 in blocks per set at 1.35 while Spruille also ranked No. 13 in kills per set at 3.23.

Joining Ingram in the block category was Jessica Fletcher, who ranked No. 8 at 1.20 while Jennifer Penn ranked No. 4 in digs per set at 5.53 and Rachel Pinson was ranked No. 19 in assists per set at 7.61.

Congratulations are in order for the T-Ducks’ Lilly Valero and Nicole Spruille for recently grabbing NJCAA Division III Player of the Week awards.

Last week, Valero of Dallas didn’t allow a goal in two games while grabbing nine of nine shots. The goalkeeper helped lead the T-Ducks to a 2-0 win over Cedar Valley College and a 4-0 win over Brookhaven College.

On the season, Valero has 79 saves and has allowed only 10 goals, averaging 0.628 goals per game, which ranks No. 7 in the nation.

Valero’s goalkeeping efforts have helped lead the T-Ducks, who are currently ranked No. 5 in the latest NJCAA Division III poll, to a 12-3-1 record.

Meanwhile, Nicole Spruille of Tatum led the T-Ducks to a 2-0 record last week after recording 15 kills and 16 digs in a 3-1 win over Eastfield. The outside hitter followed that stellar performance up with a season high of 20 kills in a 3-0 win over Mountain View.

Overall, the sophomore leads the T-Ducks, who have a 13-13 record, in kills with 235, averaging 3.18 per set. She is also ninth in the nation with a .445 hitting efficiency and No. 13 in kills.

The T-Ducks are scheduled to play their final regular season home match at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 24 against Panola College.