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No. 2: GCCC soccer makes first ever trip to nationals

Published 12/30/2008 in Top10Sports : GCCC

Editor's Note: The following is the ninth in a series highlighting the Top 10 local and area sports stories of 2008 as chosen by the staff of The Garden City Telegram. Today's story, No. 2, is about the Garden City Community College men's soccer team's run to the program's first trip to the national championship tournament.

By MIKE KESSINGER

mkessinger@gctelegram.com

Well before the 2008 fall season started Garden City Community College men's soccer coach Stephen Gorton knew he had something special in place.

He believed if everything fell into place, if the stars were aligned the Broncbusters had a chance to do something no soccer team at GCCC had done before -- qualify for the national tournament.

"I knew it was a possibility," Gorton said. "Once we were done recruiting, and all the kids were coming in, I was excited."

From the start, the Busters gave the second-year head coach plenty of reasons to keep his hopes high. On Oct. 8, the Busters dream of qualifying for the national tournament became a reality when Garden City knocked off past national champion Jefferson (Mo.) 1-0 in the Great Plains District Championship at Memorial Stadium. The victory came just six days after the Busters upset arch-rival Barton County in the Region VI Championship in a penalty kick shootout at Topeka. It was the first time the Busters had beaten their Jayhawk Conference foe and provided them the Region title in just the fourth year of the program.

By the time the season was finished the Busters had placed fourth in the national tournament in Phoenix. It was a memorable season that ended with a 19-3-1 record, and puts the GCCC men's soccer program as The Telegram's No. 2 top sports story of 2008.

"I'm really grateful for everything that happened with us this year and all the support we got," Gorton said. "It was just an awesome feeling to have."

On a team that had a mixture of new and veteran leadership, the Busters fought their way through the season. They were led in scoring by sophomore forward Steve Shaw, who played on Garden City's first team in 2005, then returned after a two-year hiatus.

Along with All-American forward Mario Ojeda, the Busters utilized their strengths with the help of a group of eight players from Miami. Together the team formed a simple, united phrase -- "We're here to make history."

And make history the Busters did. Even though the Busters fell short of the ultimate goal of a national championship, falling to eventual national champ Yavapai (Ariz.) 4-1 in the semifinals, then Mercer (N.J.), 5-4 in the third-place game, there was little that diminished the Busters' success. Garden City had opened the national tournament with a thrilling 2-1 win in a penalty kick shootout in the first round against perennial national power Georgia Perimeter.

"I think the most memorable thing about this season for me was beating Barton in the penalty kick shootout at the Region VI," Gorton said. "That or beating Jefferson."

Individual accolades rolled in for GCCC at the end of the season. Four Busters were named to the Jayhawk Conference first team, a team record. Ojeda was named second team All-American by the NJCAA and NSCAA. Freshman midfielder Ulises Caba was tabbed as an honorable mention All-American. Another freshman midfielder, Alexis Dominguez, was selected to the national tournament team.

The final touch to the season was a ride no other GCCC soccer team had ever quite been on, and with it the bar is being set high for the 2009 season.

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