Michael Brennan's hat trick fires Blazers to first playoff win!
The MCC Blue River Men's Soccer Team defeated STLCC Forest Park 4-1 in a regional quarterfinal game on 10/18/08. The victory was first playoff win for the second year program. Michael Brennan, a freshman from Oak Park H.S., scored three goals. He opened the scoring with two goals in the first half and finished the game with his third goal in the 80th minute. He was assisted by David Sievers (Lee's Summit North) and John Martin (Kakuma High School). David Sievers also scored off an assist from Jon Calfas (Truman H.S.). Michael Brennan has 12 goals and 4 assists for the season. David Sievers has 7 goals and 5 assists for the season.

The Blazers earned the right to play #1 seed Jefferson College in the Region 16 Semifinal on 10/24/08 at 11 am. The game will be held at St. Louis University High School (SLUH) in St. Louis, MO. Jefferson (16-2-0) are currently ranked 7th in the nation.

MCC Trail Blazers earn NJCAA Region 16 Honors
Jonathan Calfas, a sophomore from Truman H.S., was voted to the NJCAA Region 16 First Team for the second straight year. He had the fourth highest number of votes for the 11 player team. Jonathan had 11 goals and 6 assists this year. The assists were an added improvement to his overall play from 2007 to 2008. Against conference opponents, Jonathan scored 4 goals and contributed 4 assists. He had 1 goal against East Central, 1 goal and 2 assists against STLCC Meramec, 2 goals against STLCC Flo Valley, and 2 assist against STLCC Forest Park. His contribution was instrumental to MCC Blue River's
4-3 conference record (4th place) and regional quarterfinal win against STLCC Forest Park.

Michael Brennan, a freshman from Oak Park H.S., was voted to the NJCAA Region 16 Second Team. Michael had an outstanding freshman year. He had 13 goals and 4 assists. Michael terrorized conference opponents and was unlucky not to earn First Team honors. He finished the year with 11 goals and 2 assists against conference opponents. His output was integral to MCC Blue River's 4-3 conference record (4th place). His hat trick against STLCC Forest Park on 10/18/08 earned MCC Blue River its first playoff win in the program's two year history. Michael also had 1 goal in the Trail Blazers regional semifinal loss to Jefferson College.

Trail Blazer Men Lose Regional Semifinal to #8 Ranked Jefferson College
MCC Blue River Trail Blazers lost a Region 16 Semifinal Game 4-1 to Jefferson College. The Blazers gave up 2 goals in each half to the #8 ranked Vikings. Jesus Jimenez, Ivan Bodul, and John Hanney scored for Jefferson College. Michael Brennan scored the lone goal for the Blazers in the 75 minute. This took his goal tally to 13 for the season.

Although disappointed by the loss, the Blazers can take satisfaction in the marked improvement from 2007 to 2008. MCC Blue River concluded its second year with a 9-10 overall record, 4-3 conference record (4th place), and a 4-1 regional quarterfinal win against STLCC Forest Park on 10/18/08. The highlight of the regular season was avenging a 10-1, 2007 loss to STLCC Meramec. The Blazers showed their improvement by defeating then ranked #11 Meramec 5-2 at home. The win was part of a run that saw the Blazers win 5 of 6 games and secure home field advantage for the regional quarterfinal game against Forest Park.

Trailblazer men are the fourth seed!
The Trailblazer men are the fourth seed (out of 8 teams in the region) and will host the first ever post-season contest at Blue River, October 18, 2pm. The gentlemen have improved their record from last year to 7 wins and 7 losses (4-3-0 in the region), with several of the losses coming to nationally-ranked (top 20) teams. Coach Dave Owens has the team playing together and able to compete with any team.

Trail Blazers win four out of five conference games!
The MCC Blue River Trail Blazer Men’s Soccer Team won four out of their last five games and finished conference play with a 4 and 3 record. The Trail Blazers overall record is 7 and 7. On 10/3/08 and 10/4/08 the Blazers bested STLCC Florissant Valley 4-3 and STLCC Forest Park 4-1. The eight goals were scored by Jonathan Calfas (2 goals, 1 assist), Michael Brennan (2 goals, 1 assist), Sean Lindsey (1 goal, 1 assist), David Sievers (1 goal, 1 assist), and John Martin (2 goals). The only blemish in the past five games was a 0-3 loss to local rival MCC Maple Woods. The Blazers went into the Flo Valley and Forest Park games needing important conference away wins.
The wins earned the Trail Blazers fourth place and a probable Region 16 quarterfinal home game against Forest Park on 10/18/08.

Number 11th ranked STLCC Meramec falls 5-2 to the Trail Blazers!
The MCC Blue River Trail Blazers defeated STLCC Meramec for their second conference win. Goals were scored by Michael Brennan (2), David Sievers, Jon Calfas, and Joseph Jallow. Assists were given by Jon Calfas (2), Sean Lindsey, David Sievers, and Mason Bartlett. The 5-2 score line was a stunning reversal from the 10-1 defeat the Trail Blazers experienced at the hands of Meramec in the 2007 season. The Blazers are now 2-2 in conference and have a chance to earn a top four seed in the regional tournament. Their remaining conference games are against MCC Maple Woods (9/30/08), STLCC Florissant Valley (10/3/08), and STLCC Forest Park (10/4/08).

Trail Blazers earn first conference win against Crowder College.
On 9/22/08 the Trail Blazers beat conference opponent Crowder College 1-0 in overtime.
The Trail Blazers dominated the game, but failed to score in regulation. Blazers freshman Michael Brennan (Oak Park H.S.) scored his fourth goal of the season in the last minute of overtime. The goal developed when Jon Calfas dribbled past the goalkeeper and hit the post with a shot. The ball rebounded to Michael Brennan, who calmly put it into the back of the net.

September 13, 2008 Blue River Loses First Conference Game to East Central College
On 9/13/08 the Trailblazers lost an extremely competitive game 3-1 against East Central College. With 35 minutes to play the Blazers tied the score 1-1 through a goal by Jonathan Calfas. The play started with a smart pass from Sean Lindsey to Michael Brennan. Michael beat the outside defender, dribbled 20 yards and passed to Jonathan Calfas for the score. East Central then scored two goals in the last 25 minutes of the game; however, the game was much tighter than the final score indicated. With the hard early season schedule, the Trail Blazers are realizing they have the ability to play against the elite teams and look forward to their Friday, Sept. 19th match-up with #6 ranked Jefferson College.

September 10, 2008 Blue River Tops Hesston College
On 9/10/08 the Trail Blazers defeated Hesston College 4-2. The Blazers started off the scoring in the first half with a goal from Belton H.S. freshman Blake Wahlbrink. Blake steered home a flicked on header from William Chrisman H.S. sophomore Craig Stoll. Hesston replied with two first half goals. The Blazer responded with three goals in the second half. Freshman Michael Brennan equalized with a fantastic solo effort. He took a through ball, headed it past an opponent and then chipped it past the goalkeeper into the far corner. It was Michael's 2nd goal of the season. David Sievers gave the Blazers the lead by knocking in his 3rd goal of the season off a deflected shot from Blake Wahlbrink. Jonathan Calfas sealed the win with a pass from midfielder Sean Lindsey. It was Sean's 2nd assist and Jonathan's 5th goal of the season.

September 3, 2008Blue River Learns Lessons from Top Ranked Teams
Blue River CC has had some tough losses in the early part of the season against nationally ranked community college soccer programs. On 9/3/08 the Trail Blazers lost to #14 ranked Northern Oklahoma 2-1. The Blazers fell behind 2-0 in the first half, but rallied in the second half with a penalty kick from freshman David Sievers. The Blazers almost tied the game in final minutes when Michael Brennan chipped the Northern Oklahoma goalkeeper, but was denied by the crossbar. It was an excellent effort against a perennial NJCAA college power.

On 9/6/08 and 9/7/08 the Trail Blazers traveled to Garden City to take on #10 ranked Garden City Community College and #4 ranked Barton County Community College. The Blazers fell 6-0 and 6-1; however, learned valuable lessons on what it takes to compete with the best community colleges in the country. Jonathan Calfas had the lone goal against Barton County CC. It was his 4th goal of the season.

August 29th VS. Northeastern Oklahomoa A&M
The men's MCC Blue River Trail Blazers soccer team defeated Northeastern Oklahoma A&M on 8/29/08. The Trailblazers dominated the game from start to finish. They out-shot their opponent 22 to 6. Quinten Doyle from Blue Springs H.S. opened the scoring in the 8th minute. He was assisted by Mason Bartlett (Blue Springs South H.S.). Jonathan Calfas, a sophomore from Truman H.S., continued his goals scoring form with an unassisted goal in the 11th minute and a David Sievers (Lee's Summit North) assisted goal in the 80th minute. David Sievers also contributed a goal from the penalty spot in the 58th minute. Sean Lindsey from Lee's Summit North scored in the 73rd minute off a pass from sophomore Kyle Youngstrom (William Chrisman H.S.).

AUGUST 23rd VS. Neosho:
The MCC-Blue River Trailblazers defeated Neosho Community College 2-1 on August 23, 2008. This was the Trailblazers first official regular season win at their new MCC-Blue River Soccer Field. All the goals came in the first half. Jonathan Calfas, a 2007 Region XVI first team selection, scored in the 10th minute. He stole the ball from the opposing team and calmly slotted it into the far left corner. The game was tied twenty minutes later when Neosho scored with a headed ball at the back post. Blue River responded with a goal in the 36th minute. Michael Brennan, a freshman from Oak Park H.S., fired the ball into the upper right corner from the top of the 18 yard box. Including the two goals, the Trailblazers had 5 shots on goal and 15 shots overall.

PRE-SEASON VS. Allen County:
The MCC-Blue River Trailblazers defeated Allen County Community College 7-1 on August 19, 2008 in a pre-season game at the new Blue River C.C. Soccer Field. Six goals were scored by Blue River players and one own goal was scored by the opposing team from a deflection. Single goals were scored by Jonathan Calfas (Sophomore from Truman High School), Mason Bartlett (Freshman from Blue Springs South), and David Sievers (Freshman from Lee's Summit North). A hat trick was scored by Michael Brennan (Freshman from Oak Park).