Print edition: 
If four football teams in the state were ranked in the top 10 regionally, people would be boasting about how good Kansas football is.
So the fact that four Kansas soccer teams have that top-10 distinction should be a big deal, right?
The National Soccer Coaches Association of America ranks high school teams nationally and regionally. Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota make up Region 7. St. Thomas Aquinas (No. 2), Washburn Rural (No. 4.), Olathe East (No. 5), and Maize (No. 9) are all in the region's top 10. The combined records of those schools was 50-0-1 before Thursday's games.
"Kansas has some of the best soccer around, but it's still fighting to gain interest," Northwest coach Bobby Bribiesca said. "There is so much built-up interest in football that it's sometimes hard for soccer to get attention."
While it will never gain the popularity football owns, the sport is making strides. Thousands were in attendance at the recent Aquinas-KC Rockhurst (Mo.) soccer game in Overland Park. After the game, Aquinas coach Craig Ewing told Kansas City Star reporter Candace Buckner, "You don't have a crowd like this in high school. I don't know if the Wizards (Kansas City's pro soccer team) get this many."
I know that was a one-time instance, but it's an instance that wouldn't have happened several years ago. And while Wichita isn't Kansas City, trends often start in bigger cities and work down.
"As the sport continues to grow, so does the fan base," Maize coach Mike Darrah said.
Soccer's biggest deterrent is that the majority of fans look at soccer as kickball with no bases and less scoring. It's hard for many in today's microwave society to sit and watch the sport.
With the success of Maize, Rose Hill, Wichita Trinity and others, soccer can eventually step out of football's shadow. How long soccer takes to free itself from the darkness depends on how long other teams take to build soccer traditions.
