The Kansas City Roos men’s soccer team are Summit League tournament champions.
Winning one of the 22 NCAA Division 1 conferences grants a team an automatic bid to the national tournament. The Roos did just that, qualifying for the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2008.
To get the automatic bid, the Roos had to beat Denver. Going into the match, the Pioneers were ranked fourth in the nation. The match took place last Saturday, Nov. 16.
Kansas City found itself down early in the match after Denver found the net just past the 14-minute mark.
However, this team has shown a level of resilience this season. In similar fashion to the final regular season game against Oral Roberts, the Roos showed no quit. In that match, the Roos won, 2-1, to get to the Summit League championship game.
Just over 13 minutes after Denver scored its goal, redshirt sophomore defender Bryson Gosch scored his first goal of the season. With assists by senior midfielder Julien Le Bourdoulous and sophomore midfielder Guille Munoz, the Roos had tied the game at one.
The game would stay tied until the last 13 seconds. Julien Le Bourdoulous lined up for a corner kick, put the ball perfectly on the foot of junior forward Elie Kisoka and he found the back of the net.
“It was like a movie,” said Le Bourdoulous. “Everyone on the team will remember this day and these memories together.”
With no time left to even the game, the number four team in the nation had lost.
After the game, Le Bourdoulous was named Championship MVP.
“I’m proud of the guys for putting their foot down and going for the win,” said Head Coach Ryan Pore. “That’s what this group has done. They’ve found a way all season.”
Pore also said the win was huge for the program. “We knew this team was capable of playing in the NCAA tournament. They’ve beat good teams all year. But, we didn’t want to put it to the committee.”
On Monday, the team held a watch party in the Student Union. With athletic director Dr. Brandon Martin and men’s basketball head coach Marvin Menzies in attendance, the men’s soccer team waited to see which team it would take on in the NCAA tournament.
The team had to wait until the final group announced to get its answer. The Roos will head to St. Louis to take on Saint Louis University in the first round of the tournament. The game will take placeat 7 p.m. this Thursday, Nov. 21. The game can be streamed on ESPN+ and live stats can be found here.
After the announcement, Pore only had a few words for the team. “It’s all about us,” he said. “We’re the best road team in the country. Let’s go do it again.”
