Even though his Liberty Christian girls soccer team did not take home the MCSAA (Missouri Christian School Athletic Association) title, they still turned in a strong performance at the state tournament in Joplin.

The Eagles finished second with a 2-1 record at the state event. They beat Westwood Baptist 4-0 in the quarterfinals and Daniel Academy 2-1 in overtime in the semifinals before falling 4-0 to Christian Fellowship in the championship match.

Coach Ken Dildine noted that his team was the only one to not be mercy-ruled by Christian Fellowship. 

“Overall, our girls played a very exceptional game,” Dildine said. “CFS pretty much owned that whole tournament and we had a couple of breakdowns, but for the most part, I’m very proud of the way it turned out.”

Dildine touted senior captain Allie Brazier for her performance over the weekend. Brazier notched three goals and one assist throughout the tournament and earned a spot on the all-state tournament team. 

“She’s been a lights out player for me all season and a great leader,” he said. “I was jokingly telling my son that if she doesn’t make all-state, I might need to go talk to some of these coaches.” 

Dildine added the state tournament was the pinnacle of the season. The Eagles ended with a 8-6 season record. 

“To watch the girls compete at that level, with the harder teams, it was great,” he said. “It was a great weekend and a very relaxing one.” 

Dildine said his team had to deal with weather issues before state tournament play.

“Weather was a major factor for us this year. The last two weeks, we played one game and we had five or six games on the schedule,” he said. 

Additionally, injuries forced several players to step into unfamiliar roles. Despite the setbacks, Dildine praised his players for their adaptability.

“We had six or seven girls that had to learn to play a different role at any point in time,” he said. “Anytime you have a situation like that, you have to be proud of what those girls can do. They stepped up and rose to the occasion every time.” 

The Eagles have consistently performed well under Dildine’s leadership, finishing in the top two at the state tournament for the past three years. He credited the program’s success to his coaching staff.

“I have a great coaching staff. We’ve worked well together and we make decisions together. I rely on them a lot,” he said. 

Dildine said he enjoyed working with his senior class. These seniors were Brazier, Lauren Moss, Raelee Bruno, Jubilee McGowan and Madison Scheer. 

“To watch them grow mentally over the last three years, it’s been a Godly thing,” he said. “To watch their leadership spread throughout the whole team has just been an awesome thing to watch.” 

Dildine said his team has set expectations for the 2026 season.

“We’re already talking about what we’re going to do going into next year and how we’re going to make this team better,” he said.