From start - summer flooding at the 179 Soccer Park - to finish - an odyssey in trying to find a place to start the postseason - the Jefferson City Jays dealt with adversity this season.
And they thrived, capturing their first district title in six years on their way to the Class 4 quarterfinals.
"The theme of this season was resiliency," Jays coach Scott Blake said. "We dealt with a lot this season and we were successful."
Three Jays - senior Sam Allen and juniors Ethan Blake and Breck McGrail - ended the season with all-state honors by the Missouri Soccer Coaches Association. Blake, a midfielder, and McGrail, a forward, were second-team selections, while Allen was honorable mention on defense.
"We just approach it as one group, you made all-state," Scott Blake said.
In addition, Jefferson City finished eighth in the final state rankings.
The run to the quarterfinals wasn't something the Jays had as a goal.
"I don't think we thought about that entering the season," Blake said.
But winning the district, and beating Rock Bridge in the process, definitely was one.
"It's become the unspoken goal, we don't write it on the board or talk about every single day," Blake said. "It's just what we do, try to improve to get past Rock Bridge, which means winning the district."
The Jays defeated the Bruins 2-1 in penalty kicks to advance to the state playoffs for the first time since 2013. Then it was time to attack the task at hand, facing Springfield Central in the sectionals.
"The hard thing is you win the district in emotional fashion and then you have to immediately refocus for the playoffs," Blake said. "Sometimes you can't come back from it."
Jefferson City was the host team in the sectional, scheduled for the 179 Soccer Park. But wet conditions first had the game moved Dwight T. Reed Stadium, then to Westminster in Fulton before finally ending up back at 179 in the space of a few hours on game day. Jefferson City defeated Springfield Central 3-0 to advance to the quarterfinals.
"That was a fiasco, but we were able to stay focused to get the win," Blake said.
That focus on game day was a team strength throughout the season.
"This group was always ready to play, they weren't necessarily always ready to train," Blake said. "But in the situation we were in, dealing with everything we dealt with, the personality of always being ready to play came in very handy."
Jefferson City then headed to Lee's Summit West for the quarterfinal. It was scoreless until the final 10 minutes when the Titans got a goal off a long throw-in to get the 1-0 victory.
"You hate to lose the way we lost it, it just wasn't meant to be evidently," Blake said. "We thought if we could score, we could win, but we didn't score. Goals can be hard to come by when you get to that point of the season.
"I was disappointed we didn't get through, but to get to the quarterfinals was a great accomplishment for us."
Jefferson City ended the season with a record of 18-6.
"We will have a lot coming back," Blake said. "But the positions that are being vacated by our seniors, I don't know that we have automatic replacements. There will probably be some position changing."
The Jays ended the JV/C team season with a record of 21-0-2, with both ties coming against C.B.C.
"It was a big year for them," Blake said. "Now we need to see if they can take it to the next level."