In front of a sea of red, the Barclay College Bears soccer team gave the home crowd plenty to cheer about Friday night. With a 3-0 win under the lights against visiting Baptist Bible College (Springfield, Mo.), the Bears improved to 1-1 on this young season and proved to be a force on their home turf once again. The Barclay faithful haven’t seen a home loss by the Bears soccer team since their 2013 season.

The Bears seemed in control for most of this match. After missing on several scoring opportunities early on, senior Kingsley Assibey (Accra, Ghana) continued his scoring ways from his first three seasons as a Bear. Shortly after subbing into the game, Assibey put the Bears on the scoreboard first in the 30th minute after out-maneuvering three defenders and scoring from close range. Then eleven minutes into the second half, sophomore David Kearns (Eudora, Kan.) ripped a right-footed power shot behind the Patriot keeper for his first collegiate goal. Finally, in the 75th minute, senior Brandon Palmer (Newton, Kan.) put the finishing touches on the game when Assibey gave him a through ball that he placed in the back of the net.

Following a hard loss at Dallas Christian College (Dallas) last weekend, this youthful team was in search of some offense and a boost of confidence, and they got both. Head Coach Kevin Lee simply put it, “We needed it.”

Next, the Bears will head east to Newton, Kan. to take on NAIA Division II Bethel College at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 8.