CHICKASHA, Okla. – Tuesday evening served as a wonderful opportunity for the beginning of a new season, both literally and symbolically, for Bluejay Men's Soccer. The Bluejay Men made the trek down south to meet Science and Arts in what proved to be a memorable affair, which not only marked the opening of the 2024 campaign for Tabor, but also the beginning of Associate Head Coach Rafael Marins' tenure alongside longtime head man, Grant Brubacher.
 
The Bluejays encountered a USAO side that suffered two brutal defeats in Louisiana last week. The Drovers came into the match searching for a foothold and a number in the win column. Both squads waged an uphill battle against the balmy conditions in central Oklahoma and provided quite possibly the most entertaining match of the early season.
 
Both squads jumped onto the attack immediately, as the Drovers took their first shot just over two minutes into the match. The Bluejays went straight for the throat, forcing the USAO keeper to clock in early to snag three saves off two shots from Felipe Rodriguez and a shot by Jude Jones, all within 11 seconds.
 
The match got chippy quickly as Rodriguez was booked for a yellow card at the 16:07 mark and the Drovers' Luka Jekic saw his name written up shortly after, at the 17:10 mark. USAO earned their first goal of the season at the 19:49 mark. The Drovers' goal served as the only excitement for the remainder of the first half, with the Bluejays trailing 0-1 going into the halftime break.
 
Whatever Coach Brubacher and Coach Marins said to their squad during the break seemed to send a surge of energy and urgency into the Bluejay Men, as Liam Morgan etched his name into the scorebook, finding the net on a spectacular assist from Pol Fernandez. 
 
Both squads continued to seek the net and raised the intensity with aggressive play all the way to the final whistle. When all was said and done, the scoreboard read 1-1, sending both the Bluejays and Drovers away with a draw.
 
Tabor heads to Papillion, Neb. for quite possibly their toughest test on the non-conference slate, taking on No. 7 ranked Bellevue in a match that kicks off at 5 PM. The live match broadcast is set to be available on the Bellevue Bruins YouTube page and live stats will also be available.
 
Be sure to stay up to date with all information regarding Bluejay Athletics by following us on X at @gotaborbluejays, on Instagram and Facebook @taborbluejays, and on our official athletic website, taborbluejays.com.
 
Tabor College is a Christ-centered institution located in Hillsboro, Kansas. The Bluejays are members of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and compete in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC).