Bears Soccer Season Comes to an End

At the Southwest Region soccer tournament this last weekend in Dallas, Barclay faced a Hillsdale Free Will Baptist (Moore, Okla.) team for a second time this season. Way back in early Sept. the Bears and the Saints played a 1-1 tie under the lights in Haviland. That game ended just minutes before regulation because of a lightning storm. This time around the Saints proved to be both more skilled and determined.

On a cold, windy, rainy day, both teams were forced to fight the elements. Hillsdale, however, still seemed to find a way to craftily move the ball around and create scoring opportunities. The Bears back line was unable to keep the relentless attack at bay as the Saints would advance to the region championship against top-seeded Dallas Christian (Dallas) with a 4-0 victory.

Sophomores Ben Preibe (Rose Hill, Kans.) and Justin Calicchia (Montreal, Cananda), as well as junior Brenton Newby (Wichita, Kans.) were all named to the Southwest Region First Team. The Bears final record was 7-8-2.

With the 2015 season in the books. Head coach Kevin Lee eluded to a well-known saying that “effort can beat talent when talent is not willing to put in the effort.” Lee spoke in great length about how that saying was a hallmark of this years team. “What we collectively lacked in skill and experience, we could make up for with effort. That kept us competitive throughout the season.”