Coming into the season, the Roos were ranked fourth in the preseason predictions for the 2024 Men’s Soccer Summit League. The teams ranked above them are Oral Roberts, Omaha and Denver.
Kansas City finished with a 4-8-6 record last season. The team also made an appearance in the tournament title game.
Julien Le Bourdelous, a senior midfielder, led UMKC with 3 goals last season and earned spots on the All-First and All-Newcomer teams. This season, he has been a Summit League Players to watch list.
Another notable player is sophomore midfielder Miguel Fernadez started 16 of the 17 games played last season. In those 16 games, Fernandewz scored one goal in five shots
“This is the environment we need to play in to be prepared for the Summit League,” said head coach Ryan Pore. “The conference has started off very strong. We need to be prepared for them. Kansas City kicked off the season with an undefeated record before dropping its first game to UC Santa Barbara.
Junior forward Elie Kisoka was a big part in the team’s success over the first two games. In the matchup against Saint Mary’s, he scored the game-winning shot from over 25 yards away in the closing stretch.
In the following game, he not only scored in the last minutes of the game, but he had a big assist to junior midfielder Raphael Kistmann.
Due to Kisoka’s major plays over the weekend, he won Peak Performer of the Week, his first award since joining the team. He became the second Kansas City Roo to score in back to back games in school history.
The Roos would suffer their first loss to UC Santa Barbara on Aug. 29, losing 3-0. Coming into the game, UC Santa Barbara was ranked 24th in the nation in the United Soccer Coaches poll.
It was a tough night for the team, as it was their first time ending a game without a point this season, despite having 21 total shots.
“That’s a high level Division I game there,” said Pore. “Santa Barbara’s a great team. For the first 25 to 30 minutes, we were playing from behind. It was disappointing to concede goals so early. We hadn’t played a game at that speed yet.”
On Sept. 2, the Roos played against Missouri State. Historically, the Bears have been a tough match for the Roos. In the 30 games played before this season, the Roos had a record of 4-24-2.
However, an offensive explosion led to Kansas City beating Missouri State 3-2.
Up next, the Roos take on the Northern Illinois Huskies in DeKalb, Illinois. Fans will be able to see Kansas City in action at Durwood on Sept.r 13 against Mercer.
Tickets to all home games can be found here.
