Springfield MO Soccer

Congratulations to the Mizzou Men’s Soccer Club team for their Regional Tournament win last weekend in Oklahoma. The win qualified them for the National Tournament that will be played in Arizona in November. The team includes three players from Springfield. Brian Mattson, Class of 2003, is a Kickapoo Chief. Neil Basecke, Class of 2003 and Jake Basecke, Class of 2005 are former Glendale Falcons. I thought I’d dig into this further and offer it as part of Recruiting Wednesday!

I was able to catch up with Jake and asked him to share his experiences with us. Is this a viable alternative for someone interested in continuing to play soccer at a highly competitive level without the commitment required of being a college athlete?

Hi Steve, thanks for the congrats. We’ve been working really hard lately and the hard work finally paid off. Well lets see, college club soccer is a ton of fun. I still get the competitiveness that I love while I still get to live the college life. I would have to say the competitive level is a lot higher than high school and high school club. I would say were even better than a lot of junior college teams. We actually played William Woods University in a friendly and beat them pretty bad.

We have some really good players on the team. About 90% or so are from St. Louis, a few from KC, one from texas, and me and neil, I would say that’s about it. Most of the guys played on either Busch, Gallagher, or one of the top clubs in St. Louis. I know quite a few of the guys won state in high school because they always talk about it. Our stopper played for Tulsa University for two years. One guy played for Depaul University for a season. A few other guys played on junior college teams. One of the guys who played last year is actually now playing for Columbia College, so that’s pretty cool. There aren’t any foreign guys on the team.

The regional tourney definitely was an experience. It was so a lot of fun. They held it in Stillwater, OK this year. In the first round we beat KU 3-1, and OU 2-1. We should have played Wichita State in the first round but they forfeited. In the semis we beat SLU 3-0. Then in the finals we played OU again and won 2-0. So we defended our title which we won last year also in Topeka, KS. It was really nice to win regionals because that gave us almost $800 to go towards nationals. The school hardly funds us, so it really is going to help us out. Nationals this year are in Tempe, Arizona from November 14-17. So were really excited about the trip.

I also reached out to some area coaches to get their take on the young men and the opportunities they may have considered. Here’s what Coach Davidson at Kickapoo had to say about Brian:

Brian was one of the gutsiest players I’ve ever coached. He was the heart and soul of that team. Great kid. He still comes back in the summer and plays with us. Brian is one of those kids that plays this game the way it’s supposed to be played, with passion and conviction.

And Coach Jeff Rogers at Glendale on Brian:

Tough kid. In the district finals (2002) he was everywhere getting his body in front of shots as a sweeper. Kept them in the match. Busted his head open which required some 10+ stitches but refused to leave. Played rest of match with head dressing and continued to head balls out.

And his comments about Neil and Jake:

Regarding Neil, I said at the banquet in 2002 that the doctors used part of his heart to fix his knee. That is the kind of player he was. He played all post season with torn ligaments in his knee. I discussed with Jake his sophmore year the idea of playing full time JV and swinging on Varsity-only matches. 3 other sophomores took the offer but Jake looked at me and said I’m playing Varsity only. He started that year and had to live up to his older brother and friends expectations which he did very well. His senior year we played a 3-5-2 and there was none better than Jacob & Nick Baltz playing the defensive mids. Jake also scored 10 goals that year.

There’s a video of the Falcon’s PK win in Districts and 78th minute goal against Rolla in Sectionals in 2002.

Here’s what Jeremy Alumbaugh at Springfield Soccer Club had to say about the three boys young men:

“College Club Soccer is a good standard of play. I remember in high school going to watch the University of Illinois club team play and being amazed at the good players on the field. Brian was a solid defender back in his club and hs days and an outstanding competitor. Jake and Neil were the heart and soul of their club and HS teams in Springfield and can flat out play. All three of them could have competed at the intercollegiate level somewhere and chose to play at Mizzou instead. It just shows that if you really want to compete at the next level there are good opportunities for good players out there.”

It sounds like a great way to continue to enjoy the game at a high level without the demands of organized collegiate programs. Did I mention the boys coach themselves Something to consider while you are exploring your school choices. I wonder what those tshirts they are selling are like?

Hat tip to Tammy Collier and mama Basecke!

Update - the Columbia Missourian offers two articles on the Club team. From today and last week.