Blue Valley West soccer star Noah Mabry has been chasing down the Beslers

Editor’s note: A previous version of this story contained the wrong year that Nick Besler set BV West’s scoring record.

The news of senior forward Noah Mabry’s impending feat had buzzed around Blue Valley West this fall.

Mabry was just shy of rewriting the Jaguars’ record book. No one had come this close to the single-season scoring record since the youngest Besler brother, Nick, played there in 2010.

On an October evening, with four regular-season games remaining, Mabry watched his curling shot from 25 yards out go into the back of the net. It was the 27th goal of his torrid season.

And it matched the Besler record, set when Besler broke Sporting KC captain and United States national team player Matt Besler’s school record (23) as a senior.

Mabry now ranks first on the single-season scoring list with 40 goals and is first on the career list with 60.

“I had a group text with my older brother Matt and younger brother Nick,” Mike Besler, who is an assistant football and basketball coach at the school, told The Star in an email. “I mentioned he was close to breaking the record, and Nick said, ‘I hope he breaks it tonight. That is awesome. Happy for him and their team. Go Jags.’”

Mike Besler relayed the message. It was the final push Mabry needed.

“I was like, ‘I’m gonna have to do it tonight since Nick told me to,’” Mabry said.

Mabry scored 13 more times as the Jaguars advanced in the state tournament and won the Kansas Class 6A title.

This week, Mabry became the program’s third all-American (both Beslers earned that distinction) when the United Soccer Coaches released its boys team for the fall. He was the only Kansas player on the list.

Rockhurst midfielder Kyle Ruark, The Star’s boys soccer player of the year, also made the list.

Mabry, who has not yet committed to a college soccer program, was named the Eastern Kansas League forward of the year and the Kansas Class 6A offensive player of the year as well.

“We did not play a cupcake schedule where he would score six goals in one game,” BV West coach Alex Aiman said. “He scored against everyone we played this year except Blue Valley Northwest and Blue Valley Southwest. ... He scored our first goal of the season and our last goal of the season in the state final. And in between, he scored 38 more times. A one-man wrecking machine.”

This story was originally published December 7, 2017 at 9:23 PM with the headline "Blue Valley West soccer star Noah Mabry has been chasing down the Beslers."