Thresher soccer splits with Avila to make playoff road clear
The Bethel women ended their season with a 6-1 loss, while the men won 4-3, finishing fourth and earning their first home playoff game in over 20 years.
KANSAS CITY—Bethel soccer traveled to the city to take on Avila. The women lost 6-1, ending their season and missing out on the playoffs. The men had an incredible comeback, scoring three goals in ten minutes, and took a 4-3 win back to North Newton.
Although the season is now over for the women, Head Coach Ignacio Milla had a few words to reflect on the season:
“It was a hard season, and we knew we were going to have a lot of younger players that had to play big roles and we are very proud of seeing as they had a very big impact on our team and playing style this year. There is a sense of frustration as we believe we had a team that could have achieved more this year, especially as we started winning a lot of games. That said, I was very pleased to see that we were very competitive throughout the year, I’m looking forward to seeing this young group and and leadership position that can help us keep improving and hopefully achieve our next season. I’m very thankful for the girls and everything they did throughout the year, now they get a couple of weeks to just focus on the academics, and in the spring, we will get back into work.”
In terms of the men's game, it was a rocky start, however after conceding three early goals, the Threshers came back and scored four. Filip Maksimovic would be the first to start the comeback for the Threshers, in the 61st minute. At 3-1, Bethel then scored three more in under 10 minutes, courtesy of Gabriel Okita, from Braine-L'alleud, Belgium, and Aleksa Oborina, from Belgrade, Serbia. This would make the score 3-3, but with only one minute remaining, Maksimovic would score his second goal of the night and earn his team the winner. This would be the sophomore striker, from Belgrade, Serbia’s 16th goal on his season.
“I feel phenomenal and ecstatic,” Maksimovic added. “We have to focus on some details for playoffs, tactic-wise, but I know we are ready.”
With this win, the Thresher's final placement is 4th in the KCAC. The playoffs are reserved for the top eight teams, and in the first round, the top four teams will host. This means that for the first time in over 20 years, Bethel will host a playoff match. With a win, it will be the first time in program history that Bethel gets a home playoff win.
Head Coach Luka Milicevic said, “I feel excited to host a playoff game. We haven’t done so in a very long time. We actually have no records that indicate we ever hosted a playoff game. Our record indicates the same result as last year. I think we grew together in all areas - on and off the field.”
The Threshers will play 5th place Saint Mary in a rematch, as Bethel overcame the Spires in a 6-4 victory just over a week ago. The winner of this match will take on the winner of Oklahoma Wesylean versus York, which will take place in a neutral field, Stryker Sports Complex.
The Spires will travel to Thresher Stadium this Wednesday, November 6th, to take on Bethel and get a chance at revenge. The game will take place at 6:30 p.m.