Tuesday night, the Barclay College Bears were back on the pitch as they traveled to Newton, Kans. to take on Bethel College. Even though the Thrashers are an NAIA Division II school that is over three times as big as Barclay, the Bears held their own.

In an extremely physical game, which included a trip to the emergency room for freshman defender Bryan Godoy (Katy, Texas), the Bears never backed down. In the first half, the Bears limited the Thrashers to less than five shots and a lone goal. That goal came in the 9th minute off of a cross to the back post. The Thrashers wasted no time building their lead in the second half. In the opening minute, they capitalized off of a Bears turnover and volleyed in a shot from 12  yards out to build their lead to 2-0. Then the final score of the game came in the waning minutes of the game off of well-executed set piece following a direct kick. The 0-3 loss for the Bears dropped them to 1-2 on the season with a lot of soccer still to be played.

Head coach Kevin Lee noted, “In terms of our play, we had a couple of mistakes and the other team took full advantage of them, but (our) team was competitive.” Lee was in agreement with all that witnessed the game that the guys showed lots of heart, and that they are showing strength and unity.

Strength and unity is exactly what the Bears will need Thursday night, Sept. 10 at 7 pm when NCCAA Southwest Region opponent Hillsdale Free Will Baptist College (Moore, Okla.) travels to Haviland. This rivalry is always intense and full of excitement and will be yet another great test for this youthful bunch.