It was an unlucky 24 hours on RBHS’ Sells Field. After the football team’s heart wrenching 29-27 loss Friday night, the boys’ soccer team [17-6-1] took the field Saturday afternoon in their sectional game against the Lee’s Summit Tigers [21-1].    
Unfortunately, the Bruins’ season ended when the final whistle blew, sending the Tigers to the Final Four with a score of 1-0.
“We knew what they were going to do, and they executed,” Head Coach Scott Wittenborn said. “I thought we played a pretty good game. We just couldn’t find the net.”
Both sides fought hard, producing a handful of goal chances, fouls and set pieces. The defense was a controlling factor from both the Tigers and Bruins, keeping the game exciting, yet frustrating for the cold fans in the bleachers, loudly cheering for their team to come out on top in each excruciatingly close play.
The Tigers capitalized on an unlucky touch from the Bruins’ back line in the eighth minute, scoring off of a slick bicycle kick from a Lee’s Summit offender. From there on, the Bruins battled for every ball but could not generate a goal for the remaining 72 minutes of play.
For the Bruins’ eight seniors, Saturday’s game marked the end of their high school soccer career. Many of them broke down in tears at the sound of Lee’s Summit celebrations at the end of the game.
“[Next year] we’re going to lose a lot of special players,” Wittenborn said. “We’ll lose a lot of our speed and a lot of our heart, but hopefully those younger guys can step up.”

Gallery • 13 Photos

Junior defender Will Linder heads the ball away from a Lee's Summit player during the first half. Linder, a defender, helped the Bruins keep the ball out of the net for most of the game. As a junior, Linder will have to step up next year when the senior leaders leave.