With Kansas thunderstorms closing in on Haviland, the Bears soccer team took on Southwest Region rival Hillsdale Free Will Baptist College (Moore, Okla.). The Saints came into the game posting a 3-3 record and hungry for some revenge after the Bears were able to win all three meetings one season ago.

Playing under the lights, game conditions were ideal even though a storm was brewing and the lightning show drew nearer. Hillsdale showed from the get go that they were much improved from a year ago. They out-possessed and out-shot the Bears severely in the first half, but the Bears defense stood strong. Led by freshman goalkeeper Drew McLellan (Park City, Kans.), who recorded double digit saves, and a new look defensive backline led Canadian sophomore Justin Caliccia, sophomore Ben Priebe (Rose Hill, Kans.) and junior Brenton Newby (Wichita, Kans.), the Bears held the Saints scoreless at the half. Offensively, the Bears mustered only one shot on goal, but it was an incredible one-touch volley by freshman Bryan Godoy (Katy, Texas) off of a cross from sophomore David Kearns (Eudora, Kans.) in the 40th minute of the match to put the Bears in the lead.

The score remained 1-0 until midway through the second half, when the Saints found an equalizer. Momentum shifted after the goal in favor of the Saints as the Bears were forced back on their heals. From that juncture on, the Saints narrowly missed on several opportunities to take the lead. As they inched closer and closer to scoring, the Bears defensive hunkered down. Then lightning struck. The storm that had been moving in from the west, finally came close enough to force the officials hand. After a 30 minute delay inside the gym, the game was called with just under five minutes to go.

The 1-1 tie moved the Bears to 1-2-1 on the season. Next they will host St. Louis Christian (Florissant, Mo.) on Saturday at 1 pm. in their first MCCC match of the season.