For the second year in a row, the Barclay College soccer program has earned the Midwest Christian College Conference regular season title. Last year’s team finished in a three way tie with Manhattan Christian College (Manhattan, KS) and Ozark Christian College (Joplin, MO). Each team had one loss last year, but this year the Bears cruised through the regular season undefeated.

Late Friday afternoon, while the Bears were in route to Springfield, Illinois to take on NAIA Robert Morris University, St. Louis Christian (Florissant, MO) made the call to cancel the Bears final MCCC regular season match due to excessive rainfall in and around St. Louis. The cancellation this late in the season, with no opportunities to re-schedule, assured the Bears of a 5-0 finish in MCCC play and the outright regular season championship.

“For the last eleven years the MCCC regular season championship title has belonged to Manhattan, so being recognized as the regular season conference champions is a great accomplishment for Barclay. It feels great,” exclaimed Head Coach Kevin Lee. “But our celebrating has been cut short because we know there is so much more to accomplish. Now our focus will turn to the MCCC Tournament and on the NCCAA Southwest Region Tournament as we attempt to qualify for the national tournament.”

Though disappointed that they did not get the chance to finish things on the pitch, the Bears still played Robert Morris Friday evening. Midway through the first half, Freshman Julio Cobo (Katy, TX) used some clever foot skills prior to passing it to fellow Freshman Josh Moore (Houston, TX), who then flicked it over to Sophomore Melvin Lara (Katy, TX) for an easy tap in and the early lead. In the second half, a penalty kick was awarded to the Bears following a foul in the box. Moore was chosen for the kick and he delivered a powerful kick to the corner to put the Bears up 2-0. The 2-0 win improved their record 10-1 overall. It was their second win over NAIA opponents this season.

The Bears will take the next week off in preparation for the MCCC tournament hosted by St. Louis Christian October 23rd-25th.