Lady Blazers ready to build upon success

If you thought the turnaround for the men’s Metropolitan Community College-Blue River soccer team was something, check out the girls.
After a lone win in their inaugural season, the Trail Blazers went 8-7-2 in their second year and took second in the Region XVI championship.
Not bad, eh?
“We really overachieved last year,” head coach Brad Childers said. “We really unified as a team and fought hard. The improvement was amazing.”
It was almost even more impressive, as the team fell 1-0 in the regional title game.
“Man, we were so close,” Childers remembers of the championship game against St. Louis Community College-Meramec. “We had shut them out in the first half, but they got a late goal against us with 14 minutes left. We had some great opportunities, but they had a great goalkeeper. One went six inches over the bar.”
Maybe this is the year that ball goes six inches the other way.
Childers thinks they can continue to progress.
“I certainly think we can.”
The team will return much of the freshmen class that drove them to the second place finish in the region and bring in another very strong freshmen class this year.
And that’s right up Childers’ alley, as the coach is one for getting freshmen into the action right off the bat.
“I want the freshmen to carry our team,” he said. “This class could take the sophomore spots. I, obviously, want the sophomores to lead the team, but I want the new talent to push the sophomores and the sophomores to push back.
“I’m really wanting to showcase the talent we have on this team, especially the younger ladies. We have a lot of local talent on this team that deserves to keep playing. Hopefully we can pack together as one, solid team.”
The sophomores are just fine with the “you push us, we’ll push you” approach, when it comes to the freshmen.
“We just have to work hard and never give up,” said sophomore Emily Hintermaier, a Fort Osage grad. “The freshmen are really going to push us and make us better and we’re just trying to become a better team.”
The freshmen are fine with the expectations of them, as well.
“We’re here to make this team better,” said freshmen Jennifer DeHart, a Truman alumnus.
One thing that makes this team different is the proximity of the team. All but one of the girls live in the metropolitan area, most playing each other in high school games, even though most didn’t know it at the time.
The roster is full of players from area high schools, including three each from Truman and Lee’s Summit North, two from Blue Springs South, and one each from Fort Osage, Blue Springs and Raytown.
“We’ve all probably played each other once and we didn’t know it,” Hintermaier said. “We have a bunch of Lee’s Summit North girls on the team, and I’ve played them a few times before.
“But that’s all behind us now. It’s more for the game than anything.”
Freshman Rachel Thiel didn’t play any of the girls in high school because she was homeschooled at her Blue Springs home and earned dual credits her “junior and senior” years at Longview Community College.
“I was done with my school work by about noon everyday,” she said. “So I could go out and do a lot of activities.”
One of those activities was soccer. Thiel played with the Kansas City East Lions, a homeschool activities association that features football, soccer, volleyball, baseball, basketball, and track.
Thiel, among others, is happy to be with coaches like Childers, who played through high school and college, and have experience  playing soccer through different levels.
“College is a completely different experience,” she said. “We have a lot of appreciation for our coaches that have that experience. When they’re showing you a drill, they’re showing you exactly how they want it done.
“They’ve researched it, they’ve played it. All of them know what they’re doing, and I think that’s one of the reason we’re going to be good.”
Like the boys team, one of the girls’ regular season matchups will be at Truman High School, part of a deal between the college and the Independence School District to use each other’s facilities when needed and available.
DeHart will be excited to see the Patriot turf again.
“It’ll be a little weird playing there again,” she said, “but in a good way. I’m excited to play there again.”
DeHart, Thiel and Hintermaier and the rest of the Lady Blazers are ready to keep moving in the direction they’ve been.
They’re certainly confident. And so is their coach.
“I want to improve every year,” Childers said. “I’d like to make another appearance in the regional tournament and really build a foundation for this program. I don’t just want to put Band-Aids on it every year. I want to develop kids and make them better soccer players.
“It’s not just about winning. It’s about getting them to a four-year college and helping them out in life.”
The Lady Blazers open the season Aug. 30 at home against Hesston.