Starting a soccer program after not having a full season in eight years is no easy task, and first-year Central Christian College of the Bible head coach Chase Gwynn was up for it.

Central Christian's 2024 season came to an end on Saturday in the consolation final of the Midwest Christian College Conference Tournament in Joplin as the Saints won their first match of the season, a 1-0 victory over Faith Baptist Bible College. That first win evaded the team for much of the way, despite a couple of close calls that ended in losses and three others that resulted in ties.

"Our high point was definitely in the conference tournament," Gwynn said. "Even with a depleted lineup, the team was able to execute and finally put a complete game together against a solid team in Faith Baptist."

To start the rebuild last offseason, only one player returned from a partial season three years ago, the Saints' second attempt at reinstating soccer since it was paused after the 2016 season. Recruiting was a bit shaky early on as Gwynn battled getting some traction.

Then one student-athlete committed in the spring. Some time went by, then another committed. By late spring and early summer the roster started to fill out and it became certain that things were going to work this time. The third time was the charm.

It was never a surprise with starting a new soccer program, but the reality was that the team would be young. Of the 18 players that started the season healthy, 16 of those were true freshmen. Inexperience showed in the early going as the CCCB men competed, but came up short in key situations.

The Saints were on track for their first win four matches into the season before a goal by Union Adventist with two minutes to go resulted in a tie. Then two matches later, the CCCB men lost to the same Union team at home.

Eventually, some of the close losses early in the season turned into more lopsided results later in the schedule as injuries and mental fatigue took it's toll on the young roster. The Saints persevered, however, and kept battling.

They got some help one match into the season when Aaron Douglas, who played soccer for CCCB during the 2021 season, decided to join the team. Then, with two games left in the regular season, junior goalkeeper Noah Linder, a transfer from Southeastern Community College (Iowa), was able to play for the first time after recovering from an offseason injury.

It all came together in the final match of the season as the Saints put together their best performance. 

"That gives a ton of momentum and confidence of what the team can put out," Gwynn said. "It is really needed heading into the offseason."

Two Saints, midfielders Robert Thang and Aaron Douglas, earned all-MCCC honors. Douglas was named as an honorable mention selection and Thang was named second team.

Josh Attiogbe led the scoring for CCCB with three goals scored, while Jackson Ray, Douglas and Thang all had two on the season. Thang led the team in assists with three.

So the Saints begin their offseason now. Two members of the team will graduate, and they may lose a player or two or decide not to return, but the rest who do return won't be freshmen any longer.

"I'm really excited about keeping our core of players together," Gwynn said. "They are starting to gel and get more comfortable with each other, which I only see increasing headed into the rest of the year and next fall.

"Individually, I'm excited to see Noah Linder headed into next season. He's a guy who we didn't see much of due to injury, but came in the last few games and made a huge impact in net for us culminating in a clean sheet to help secure the team's first win."

And Gwynn admitted he learned a lot in year one.

"Scheduling and general style of play are very different from what I had been used to," he said. "Back-to-back games had a huge impact on some outcomes and injuries within the team, which I wasn't prepared for.

"Then the general style of play is much more physical and less technical, which was very difficult to play against. We have to be able to match the physical side which is the strength of many teams we play in the future."

The goals for the offseason are simple: grow spiritually, physically, and technically.

"We have to get more comfortable with each other," Gwynn stated. "Many of these guys got two weeks of knowing each other before starting the season. Having an offseason to play with each other more, grow physically in the gym, and sure up the technical side of their game will have a lot of benefit for our young team."