A day before his 30th birthday, Neosho County head coach Elliot Chadderton was kicked out of bed by his wife. He couldn’t stop tossing and turning as he awaited the fate of the Panthers’ hopes for an at-large bid to the NJCAA Division II Men’s Soccer National Championships in Wichita.
On his birthday, after a night on the couch, Chadderton’s unrest was eased as the Panthers got one of the four at-large bids and the No. 6 overall seed.
“It’s been 10 days since we got knocked out, so I was relying on results and watching other teams play,” Chadderton said. “It’s been really stressful. I haven’t had much sleep, especially over the weekend. When it’s in other people’s hands, it’s always an uncomfortable position.”
After Neosho County’s berth was announced, Chadderton was doused by silly string from his players.
“Obviously I’m really happy,” Chadderton said. “We were disappointed with last week’s result against Johnson County. But we’ve played good teams. We’ve beaten nationally ranked teams. We deserved it. Now we’ve got to step up and make sure we can really impress when we get there.”
Neosho County is in Group C, alongside Mercer and Pellissippi State. Mercer and Neosho County were two of the three teams in the country that had unbeaten regular seasons. The Panthers were upset in the region final against Johnson County, while Mercer lost in the district final on penalty kicks.
“I’m happy getting the No. 6 seed without making a district final,” Chadderton said. “We’re still ranked up high, so I’m happy with that. I’ll need to sit down and analyze the opposition. But if we play our game the way I know we can play it, we can beat anybody in front of us.”
Neosho County enters the tournament on a high after Callum Niven and Luke Butcher were named the KJCCC Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year, respectively. The Panthers enter nationals sporting a 14-1-3 overall record with a KJCCC title to boot.
Neosho County’s lone defeat was last week’s loss to Johnson County.
“We were in a little bit of limbo,” Chadderton said. “But since that loss, the training has been the best it’s been all year. The guys are hungry. That hesitation of not knowing we’re in or not, we trained like we were in. Now we’re ready to get back at it and kick on.”
The Panthers’ first match is on Monday against No. 10 Pellissippi State (14-2) at 3 p.m.
“I don’t know much about them, but they’re a strong team that won a district,” Chadderton said. “If we do things right and do things properly, we won’t have any problems.”
Neosho County then faces Mercer on Tuesday, also at 3 p.m.
“I watched their district final and they’ve got a couple of good players that can be dangerous,” Chadderton said. “But there’s areas where we can expose them. We’ve got bigger players. They’re a smaller, technical team. We play a little more direct. I think that’ll suit us well.”
When Neosho County earned a runner-up finish a year ago, the Panthers got a day off between its pool play matches.
“We’ve got to use our depth and use more players,” Chadderton said. “We’ve got quality on the bench, so I’m not afraid to dip into the bench and use them. We’ll be just fine.”
The winners of the four pools advance to the semifinals on Thursday, with the national championship played on Saturday at Stryker Sports Complex in Wichita.
“It’s hard to put an expectation on them and have that pressure,” Chadderton said. “We’ve got to take it one game at a time. We’re focused on Pellissippi. So we’ll prepare properly and be ready as each game comes.”
ABOVE: The Neosho County men’s soccer team celebrates after earning one of four at-large bids to the NJCAA Division II Men’s Soccer National Championships in Wichita. RIGHT: Neosho County head coach Elliot Chadderton is sprayed with silly string by his players in celebration of his 30th birthday, which was on Tuesday, the same day as the selection show for the NJCAA Division II Men’s Soccer National Championships in Wichita. Sean Frye | Tribune photos
