The Cavaliers return a large group of last year’s standout players and are looking to continue their success in Region IV.
“We lost some key players to graduation, but our returning players have worked hard in the off season and have grown tremendously in preparation for the upcoming season” according to Head Coach Mike Barclay. “This is a special group of women who continuously exceed our expectations every game.”
Kankakee Community College was edged out by Kalamazoo Valley Community College Tuesday, giving the Lady Cavaliers their first loss of the young season.
In the first quarter, the duo of Valorie Dagg and Jazmyn Smith powered the Cavaliers to a 9-2 lead. Brianna Sneed hit a 3-pointer to put KCC ahead by 10. The Cougars, led by 6 points from Brynne Johnson, narrowed the Cavaliers’ lead to 14-12. The first quarter ended with KCC ahead 17-15 after the Cavs’ Kayla Jackson hit a 3-pointer, but it was matched by a buzzer-beating trey from the Cougars.
Early in the second quarter, Jackson and Sneed recorded 3-pointers, helping the Cavaliers score 7 consecutive points. The Cougars responded with 12 straight points, to even up the game. Amaria Pender scored 4 points for KCC, but Kalamazoo Valley was able to take a 35-28 lead at the half.
The Cougars extended their lead to 15 points, before Pender recorded 4 points and Jaida Taylor added 2 points to stall the Cougars. The Cavaliers recorded three 3-pointers in quick succession, one from Pender and two from Sneed. Aniyah Moody rounded out the third quarter scoring with a 3-point play to narrow the Cavaliers deficit to seven.
The Cavaliers bounced back in impressive fashion, outscoring the Cougars 23-17 in the fourth quarter. At one point, Smith scored a free throw to put the Cavaliers under by just five points, 54-49. Kalamazoo Valley responded with four points, but a 3-pointer by Jackson and a three-point play from Pender narrowed the Cougars’ lead to 3 points. The Cougars were leading 68-64 with seconds left in the game. Smith scored a three-pointer, but the Cavaliers could not get another bucket.
The final score was KCC, 67, and Kalamazoo Valley, 68.
Pender led the Cavaliers with 15 points, 5 steals and 4 rebounds. Sneed had 12 points (four 3-pointers), 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Smith tacked on 11 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 steals. Dagg had 10 points, 5 rebounds and 1 steal. Jackson added 9 points, 6 assists, and 5 steals.
The Cavaliers are 5-1, and will return home to face Oakton College at 5:30 pm on Thursday, Nov. 30.
The Kankakee Community College Cavaliers bounced back from an early deficit to take an 88-65 win over Lake Michigan College Saturday afternoon at home.
The Red Hawks were ahead 29-22 early. Momentum swung toward the Cavaliers when Noah Mason hit two free throws Lucas Burton scored two from the floor.
The Cavaliers closed out the half with a 47-42 lead.
In the second half, the Cavaliers blew open the lead, outscoring the Red Hawksa41 to 23 margin. The second half started with a 3-pointer from Rashad Smith of KCC. That launched a scoring spree of 12 uninterrupted points for the Cavaliers.
KCC didn’t give up the lead. They outscored the Red Hawks 41 to 23 in the second half on the way to an 88-65 victory.
Desilva led the Cavaliers’ with 18 points. Chavez Woods had 12 points. Jamonte Smith, Mason, and Burton each added 11 points. Khylan McKennie tacked on 9 points.
The Cavaliers improved to 4-0, and travel to Vincennes University at for a 7 p.m. (EST) game on Tuesday, Nov. 14.
The hoops season started with a victory for the Kankakee Community College men on Wednesday.
In the first half, Lincoln Trail College scored an early three-pointer, but KCC’s Jamonte Smith and Joshua Ray responded to put the Cavaliers up 4-3. A successful buzzer-beater 3-point shot from Cavs sophomore Chavez Woods capped off an 8-point run to give KCC the lead at halftime.
KCC also displayed talent among their freshmen, who contributed 21 of the Cavaliers’ 32 points in the half.
The Statesmen had a surge to score 8 points just minutes into the second half and erased KCC’s lead. KCC’s Noah Mason then made a bucket and Woods dropped another trey, effectively stopping the visitors’ momentum. The Cavs were able to extend the lead to 43-33 in the middle of the half. KCC freshman Fabian Desilva contributed late to the second half with eight-of-nine shooting from the free throw line.
The Cavaliers led for the remainder of the game and ended the night with a 73-63 victory.
Freshman Fabian Desilva scored 16 points and had 3 rebounds to lead the Cavaliers. Woods and another freshman, Khylan McKennie, added 14 and 13 points, respectively. Ray recorded 11 points.
The Cavaliers will host Governors State University’s JV team on Friday, Nov. 3 at 6 p.m. That contest follows the KCC women’s basketball season opener against Lansing Community College at 4 p.m.
The Kankakee Community College men’s soccer team ended their season Saturday afternoon with a dominant 4-1 victory over Bryant and Stratton College.
The KCC Cavaliers had five attempts on goal within the first 30 minutes, coming from Mark Griffith, Nathaniel Brown, Matt Guiney, and Marc Robertson. Following a missed shot by the Bobcats, the loose ball was knocked into the goal by Griffith to put the Cavaliers ahead 1-0.
After a breakaway shot by Brown was deflected and the Bobcats took control of the play, Adrian Duncan stepped up defensively, and passed to Brown, who recorded an assist when Jesus Guzman scored for the Cavs.
With one minute remaining in the first half, the Bobcats pushed through KCC’s defense to score their only goal of the match, narrowing the Cavaliers’ lead to 2-1.
Robertson played a key part in the Cavaliers’ defensive in the second half by taking the ball away from the Bobcats every time they neared the goal. Robertson also scored on a pass from Malachai Daniel to extend KCC’s lead to 3-1.
Daniel also scored on a pass from Chris Garcia late in the match to give the Cavaliers their last point and a 4-1 victory.
The Cavaliers ended the season with a record of 6-9.
Kankakee Community College’s men’s soccer team defeated College of DuPage at home Saturday in a close 1-0 victory.
Malachai Daniel from the KCC Cavaliers broke away from a DuPage defender to take an early shot on goal. The Chaparrals goalkeeper was able to make the save.
At the other end, Cavaliers goalkeeper Tariq Singh recorded six saves in the first half.
Just under 10 minutes into the second half, Daniel broke free again and scored the only goal of the game, giving the Cavaliers a 1-0 lead.
KCC’s defense was led by Chris Garcia and Marc Robertson. On offense, additional shots on goals were made by Matt Guiney, Jon Estrada, Danny Sorich, and Robertson.
The Cavaliers will take a 5-8 record and travel to Carl Sandburg College in Galesburg for a 4 p.m. game on Tuesday.
The Kankakee Community College women’s volleyball team powered to an away victory against Prairie State College on Thursday night, Sept. 28.
In the first set, the Pioneers of Prairie State worked their way to an early 6-2 lead, before a pair of kills from Gabrielle Bradley helped the KCC Cavs turn the game around. The Cavs went on to claim the set 25-12.
The Cavaliers were led by Drew Hosselton in the second set, as she recorded two service aces and four kills. KCC won the set 25-7.
A six-point run by Hosselton, Bradley, and Valorie Dagg gave the Cavaliers the lead early in the third set. Midway through, KCC went on a nine-point run before another service ace by Hosselton solidified the win for the Cavaliers, 25-10.
The Cavaliers improved to 8-9 for the season. They travel to Glen Ellyn to take on College of DuPage on Wednesday, Oct. 4.
The Kankakee Community College Women’s soccer team scored five times to shutout Kishwaukee College at home on Thursday night.
Despite early pressure from the Cougars of Kishwaukee, the Cavaliers were able to make several scoring attempts. The Cavs’ Aiyana Lopez scored first at the seven-minute mark.
The Cavaliers kept their momentum, and Mariel Camargo and Tess Wallace made several scoring attempts over the next ten minutes. After Camargo scored to put the Cavaliers up 2-0, Hailey Brady put away another goal for the Cavs, with an assist by Mya Ramdoo.
KCC maintained pressure on the Cougars, with near misses from Samantha Porras and Alayna Valone. Porras went on to score a goal for the Cavs, and the lead was 4-0 at the end of the first half.
In the second half, the Cougars fought back with more intensity both offensively and defensively. The Cavaliers stopped the pressure, and a quick turnaround led to another goal from Camargo.
Camargo, Wallace, Samantha Popek, and Sheleza Mungal all made several attempts to score throughout the half. Despite the offensive effort, a quick second half ended without any more goals.
The Cavaliers are 2-6-1 this season. The team hosts Joliet Junior College at 2 p.m. on Oct. 3.
Mike Barclay is entering his 10th year as men’s head soccer coach and is beginning his fourth year as the women’s head soccer coach. In addition, he was the assistant men’s coach during the 2012 and 2013 seasons.
As a player, Coach Barclay was a three-time All-Region, two-time All-Sectional and two-time All-State goalie for Downers Grove South High School (1983-85). For three seasons, Coach Barclay played NCAA Division I collegiate soccer for Eastern Illinois University in Charleston. As a goalkeeper, he still holds top rankings of No. 1 in saves percentage, No. 2 in goals against average and No. 3 in total saves in EIU history. In 1989, Coach Barclay led the Panthers to the NCAA Division I National Indoor Championship for the first time in school history.
He also played for one season in the semi-pro Chicago Metro League. In addition to coaching at KCC, Barclay was the goalkeeper coach for Olivet Nazarene University (Bourbonnais) women’s team from 2002-12. He has coached numerous recreational teams for Dynamo Soccer and travel teams for Southland Strikers FC for more than 16 years. Barclay has a U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) “E” certification. Along with his wife, Tammie, he resides in Bourbonnais. They have five grown children and two grandchildren.
James Ashby is entering his ninth year as an assistant coach with KCC. In all, Coach Ashby has more than 40 years of soccer experience on multiple levels. As a player at Rich South High School, Ashby received several recognitions as a center back. One notable honor was National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) defensive player of the year.
Coach Ashby has coached with Southland Strikers FC and has trained players of all ages, with many of them continuing on to play at the collegiate level. Coach Ashby is licensed through the NSCAA and U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) with specialties in goalkeeping and agility. He resides in Bourbonnais with his three children.
John Hall returns to the Cavs for his sixth year as an assistant coach. Hall comes to the Cavaliers with a diverse background/history in soccer. He is the former president of Dynamo Soccer in Bourbonnais, which has served more than 1,000 players per year since 2008.
Hall is a former player for Olivet Nazarene University (Bourbonnais). He has coached numerous travel teams for USSA-DUFC soccer club (United Select Soccer Association & Dabrico United Futbol Club), now called Southland FC Strikers; Chicago Magic; Slayers Academy; and numerous independent teams. He is a licensed referee, and currently holds a U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) “E” license.
He resides in Bourbonnais with his wife Cassie, their four children, and two grandchildren.
Peter Sinise is entering his fifth season as an assistant men’s coach, and his third season as an assistant women’s soccer coach. Coach Sinise was a standout player for the Cavaliers during the 2012 & 2013 seasons. He went on to compete with NCAA Div. III Millikin University in Decatur.
Coach Sinise is a well-known player and coach in the area, coaching multiple teams with Southland Strikers FC as well as competing as a player with many teams in the area. Coach Sinise started the Dynamo Slayers Soccer Academy in Bourbonnais in 2021 and is now coaching at Chicagoland United. He resides in Manhattan, IL.