Oct. 18–Boys’ soccer received No.1 rank in the state today by Missouri State High School Activities Association’s ranking committee. With an 18-3 record, senior Jonas Gassmann said the Bruins have rightfully earned their spot as the best in the state.
Soccer is “a really hard sport especially with the number of teams we play so obviously the ranking is kind of off who we play,” Gassmann said. “Basically the coaches of high school teams get a vote for who they think No. 1,  No. 2 and No. 3 [are], so that also is how [rankings are] determined.”
Although the ranking is not only based off of records, the team takes pride in the teams they have beaten. The CBC game earlier in the season proved as a confidence booster to the Bruins.
“We were ranked eighth before we played CBC,” Gassmann said. “They’re kind of like a powerhouse because they are a team in St. Louis so it wasn’t long after that that we jumped to third.”
According to MSSHA, rankings are based off a secret ballot casted by the ranking committee in which coaches rank the top three teams. A coach is unable to vote for his or her own team. Taking the ballot into account the committee ranks teams based on each team’s wins, losses (varsity only) and results against common opponents. As MSSHA states, the committee reserves the right to ignore coach suggestion followed in accordance with the district manager.
Boys’ soccer members say they try not to pay attention to being ranked No. 1; they know their placing guarantees other teams will be taking them much more seriously.
“We’re only as good as our last result so we’re going to be working harder than ever,” Gassmann said. “We have an even bigger target on our backs now that were ranked first so the teams will want to bring their best against us.”
By Maddie Davis