Hesston women’s soccer program takes the next step

As the final seconds of the 2011 season melted away, a bittersweet taste rose in the mouths of the Hesston College women’s soccer team. A well-earned sense of accomplishment coupled with a “what could have been” sentiment.

The progress made in Head Coach Bryan Kehr’s second year was unmistakable. The effort, skill and quality of play – and players – had clearly gone up. Folks who follow Hesston women’s soccer saw it coming.

Players noticed too.

“The overall skill level and amount of experience was much greater this year,” said sophomore midfielder and captain Colby Troyer, Waterford, Pa. “There was a much more competitive attitude and outlook on the season among the players. The freshmen came in and did a great job. None of them experienced last year’s tough season, so it sort of gave us a clean slate, and the team was able to start fresh and set our expectations high.”

Consider this: When compared to Kehr’s 2010 squad, the Larks more than doubled their goals scored for the season while allowing fewer than half as many goals as the previous year. The seven wins posted in 2011 is a new record for the five-year-old program. The season started with a bang – a 6-3 record at the halfway point of the schedule. A potential playoff berth – something that may have seemed ambitious just a few weeks earlier – was suddenly a very real possibility.

“Beating Cowley College was an emotional high point for us,” said sophomore midfielder Karli Graybill, a transfer from Goshen, Ind., who played her freshman year at Bluffton (Ohio) University. “Being more competitive with teams on a regular basis was also a highlight.”

“I think we all enjoyed the games where we really had to fight to win,” Troyer said. “It was exciting to have those competitive games where we knew we had to play our best. It felt like such an accomplishment when we showed we were an improved team.”

Enter the grind of the Region VI schedule, which included an 11-day stretch that pitted the Larks against three of the top four region opponents, add a few untimely injuries (top scorer Chihiro Hikita, a freshman from Hokuto, Japan, missed five games) and scatter in several close heart-breaking losses and the Larks were staring at a seven-game losing streak and a 6-10 record.

“Our loss to Independence (1-0) was a very low point in the season,” Troyer said. “We had the opportunity to win that game, and coming up short was very disheartening.”

Despite the late-season struggles, a peek at the final region standing reveals just how close Hesston was to earning a coveted postseason spot. A win over Garden City Community College (a game the Larks led with less than 20 minutes to play before falling in overtime) or Dodge City Community College (a 2-0 loss) and the Larks were playoff-bound. Oh, so close.

To its credit, Hesston fought back and earned a convincing 6-0 win in Denver, Colo., against Johnson & Wales University, which broke the record for wins in a season. Having already been eliminated from postseason play heading into the season finale, the Larks could have easily packed it in against a tough Neosho County Community College squad. But the team displayed a toughness and resolve necessary to compete in Region VI soccer.

The final contest of the year, in many ways, encapsulated the season for Hesston – a physical, hard-fought game that ended in a 1-0 loss. True, the Larks didn’t win, but for fans who came to see a scrappy team fighting through a well-played, competitive college soccer game, they didn’t disappoint either.

“There’s a part of me that’s happy with what we accomplished,” Kehr said. “But we’re all a little disappointed we didn’t qualify for the postseason. When you compete, you always want to close the deal.”

So where does the program go from here?

“I believe this program has so much potential for the future,” Troyer said. “With Coach Kehr’s enthusiasm for this program, I think Hesston could work its way to being competitive with the top teams in this region. I feel like we turned some heads on campus this season. Hopefully, that momentum will continue.”

Graybill agrees. “I think the program will continue to grow,” she said. “I would love to see Hesston have a women’s team ranked in the top five of the region and be able to compete evenly against the very best teams in the area.”

Troyer and Graybill, along with their teammates, take pride in what they’ve achieved this year. Following a 3-14-1 campaign in 2010, the Hesston College women’s soccer program was determined to take a huge stride forward in 2011. Mission accomplished.

“It’s been fun to be a part of something that has such a bright future,” Graybill said. “It gives more meaning to the season if you know you are breaking records and paving the way for a growing program.”

“Playing soccer at Hesston College has shown me how supportive the students, faculty, staff and community are for their athletes,” Troyer said. “It has made me feel so welcomed and proud to be an athlete and student here at Hesston.”