After the win from state last year, the boys varsity soccer team had work to do in order to defend their state title against the challengers in the new conference, the Central State Eight (CS8).

This new conference holds bigger schools, with more talented players than the Corn Belt Conference (CB). Where other CS8 schools host tryouts to select the best of the best, at U-High if you show up you’re on the team.

Cayden Red, junior and #23 on the boys varsity team, said that there is definitely harder competition, but that as long as his team stays focused and work hard, they will overcome the challenge.

“I don’t really know where state is, I’m taking it game by game.”

Cayden isn’t the only one who believed that the boys would do well. Andrea Markert and Steve Evans both believe that the boys would succeed this season.

Evans predicted that the boys would do great in the CS8 conference, even with the more intense competition.

This year, the boys will participate in conference points, something the soccer team has never done in the CB conference.

“It gives them something to brag about, ‘We won conference’,” Evans said. Evan’s predictions came true when the boys pulled through the tough competition and won conference.

“I think that they have handled it very well,” Market said. “I think that our kids always rise to the occasion, no matter if it’s athletics or academics.”

After 20 years, the boosters and administrators have decided to upgrade the soccer fields. Evans will lead the new $130,000 project in which they plan to level out the center of the field in order to reduce flooding. They plan to start during the month of November and want to be done in time for the girl’s soccer season.

Unfortunately, the boys did not win state, but they still had an amazing season, winning 20 games out of the 27 that they played.

“I hope that everyone knows how proud we are of our students,” Markert said. “We are proud of how they represent us in the classroom, how they represent us in athletics, and how they represent us in activities.”