After Sweet 16 run, this Kansas City soccer team enters 2025 with big expectations

The Kansas City Roos men’s soccer team will enter the season with top-25 expectations — for the first time in program history.

Following last year’s run to the Round of 16 — which included wins over nearby St. Louis and Missouri State — the Roos enter 2025 as the No. 18 team in the NCAA DI Men’s Rankings.

Vermont leads the United Soccer Coaches poll at No. 1, followed by No. 2 Marshall, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 Denver and No. 5 SMU. Missouri State landed at No. 24 in the preseason poll, released July 31. Pittsburgh, ranked No. 7, eliminated the Roos from last year’s NCAA Tournament.

The Roos (14-5-3 last season) are coached by Ryan Pore, who took over the job in 2020. Pore is a former Kansas City Wizards player and called the team’s run last year “pretty special” and “very gratifying” in a conversation with The Star’s Maddie Hartley.

“When we took over the program back in 2020, we had a vision of getting Kansas City back to national relevance, and obviously Kansas City is a big soccer community,” Pore said last November. “I always targeted (KC) as a program that could do well in the Division I ranks.”

KC returns nine starters from last year’s team.

The Roos will meet Missouri State in an early season battle of top-25 teams on Monday, August 25, at Durwood Soccer Stadium. The Roos will also play No. 5 SMU on Thursday, August 21, though that match will be on the road in Dallas.