The Kansas City Roos men’s soccer team had a historic 2024 season.
First, the team won the Summit League championship to advance to the NCAA tournament. Then it won its first tournament game since 2001. Finally, it advanced to the Round of 16, to truly make the season legendary.
Even though Kansas City didn’t win its Round of 16 match against Pitt, the team put up a valiant fight against the second-ranked team in the nation, taking the game to overtime.
Roos head coach Ryan Pore began his fifth year at the helm of the team in 2024. In the prior four seasons, Kansas City had nine more losses than wins with a record of 19-28-17.
The success that the 2024 Roos experienced had not been seen since the 2001 season, where the Roos won 12 games and were Summit League conference champions.
“ We were able to stay grounded just by knowing that every game was going to be a top 25 game,” said redshirt sophomore defender Bryson Gosch. “We were going to have to bring 100% to be able to win. When you know the quality of competition you’re playing, it helps everybody stay humble.”
No team stays the same year-to-year. Whether it be losing top players to graduation or bringing in new recruits, sustained success can be challenging. Pore said he is excited for what the future holds.
“Any time you have this taste, you want to get back to it as quickly as possible,” he said. “But to do that, you have to stay consistent, which is the way we work and come together as a team. We truly believe that we can play at the highest level and win a national championship.”
The Roos will face two new challenges heading into the 2025 season. First, the team lost the fourth-ranked player in assists, Julien Le Bourdoulous to graduation.
“It was time for a new experience for him,” said Pore. “We’re excited for that, but we’re also excited to take the challenge and move forward without Julien. But he’s a special player and helped us tremendously on and off the field.”
The second major challenge next season will be the addition of Delaware and 2024 Quarterfinals team, Massachusetts (UMass).
“Five teams is a pretty small conference,” said Gosch. “It’s nice to play different teams. It improves the conference as a whole and allows more teams from the conference to make the tournament.”
While the 2025 men’s soccer schedule will not be released until June or July, fans have a lot to get excited for.
