This fall senior Kevin Nekuda will be writing a journal telling you the story of the William Jewell College men’s team’s 2007 season.

September 18, 2007

WE’RE NUMBER ONE
For the first time in William Jewell College history, Men’s soccer is the number one team in the nation. For everyone who is currently in the program, along with those who have ever been in the program, it is truly a great honor. It is also a huge honor for last years NSCAA Coach of the Year, Chris Cissell; congratulations to all.
The season started off with two weeks of pre-season; the hottest pre-season I have been apart of in my 4 years at Jewell. This hot weather put a damper on a few of our practice sessions for the first few weeks, yet our attitude has remained good throughout the practices, a work rate that is nothing short of typical Jewell style.
Our season started off with a trip to Mark Twain’s home in Hannibal, Missouri. The team left Friday night for the games Saturday afternoon. The women got their season started off the right way. When it was time for us to take the field there was a lot of excitement and anticipation. Starting off the 2007 season was key for us in our goal towards a National Championship. We started off a little shaky, however, after the first 25 minutes we were able to control the game and stayed in control for the remainder of the game. In our first game we were able to score some of the most incredible goals I have seen in my life. Justin Park had two header goals that were nothing short of World Class. Austin Williams stole the trophy for the day and set a high standard, for goal of the year, with a 25 yard left footed volley that stunned everyone as it flew into the upper 90 corner of the net. Were his eyes closed, were they open? Who knows, but an amazing goal from Austin. Matt Happy finished off our scoring by finding the back of the net with our first goal from the run of play with a right footed shot to the back post later on in the second half. The game went well with a 4-1 victory with some great goals and, not to mention, some amazing saves by our number one goalkeeper, Andy Shields.
On Labor day, Monday September 3rd, we took the home field for our home opener against Grandview, members of the Elite eight from last years National Championship tournament in Daytona Beach, Florida. A team we beat last year on the road, on a cold and windy day, by a score of 1-0 from a great free-kick from Justin Park. For our home opener we were ready and willing to rock Grandview to make our statement clear to the NAIA world. We won by a score of 3-1 with goals by John Barber, Matt Happy, and Austin Williams.
Winning two games against top 20 teams in the first week of the season was a perfect start for our Cardinals soccer team. The two wins propelled us to being the number one team in the Nation for the very first time in history. With a lot more games still to be played this year, we are all keeping level headed about our achievement; we still have our best soccer yet to be played. If you get a chance, head out to Greene Stadium and watch your number one, William Jewell College Cardinals, when we play at home against Bellevue on Tuesday the 18th of September. See you there.