Strength through adversity

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This article was published 11/05/2021 (1620 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A guy from La Salle being a semifinalist for the most prestigious award in NCAA men’s soccer is a pretty good story in itself.

But when you consider the setbacks that Kyle Hiebert faced in his first two years at Missouri State, it’s even better.

Last week, the senior defender was named one of 15 semifinalists for the 2020-21 MAC Hermann Trophy, an award that goes to the top NCAA soccer player. Hiebert, a two-time Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year, captained the Bears to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament this past season which is their best finish in program history.

He’s come a long way from being forced to redshirt his first two years in Springfield, Mo.

In the summer of 2015, Hiebert tore his ACL on a slide tackle while training with WSA Winnipeg, forcing him to be sidelined for his freshman college season. The following spring, Hiebert was back to 100 per cent and got the start in Missouri State’s second last preseason game, but again, he attempted a slide tackle that he wishes he didn’t. This time, it was a torn PCL in his other knee, but the result was the same as the year before: his season was over before it started.

“At the time, I thought that was the most devastating news that I could ever hear that I was missing back-to-back seasons,” Hiebert said during a Zoom interview Tuesday.

“I remember mentally it was tough. The guys are out training and I’m swimming in the pool or I’m biking. I wasn’t back to doing what I wanted to do.”

You’ll never hear an athlete be thankful for an injury, but looking back on it now, Hiebert might have benefited from those ligament tears in the long run. If he remained healthy, his time with the Bears would’ve come to a close in 2018, but those two missed years have given him extra eligibility of which he’s made the most. In 2019, Hiebert led Missouri State to a record-breaking season during which they reached the NCAA tournament for the first time in more than a decade thanks to an incredible 17-0-1 record. This year, they were able to top their 2019 success by winning an NCAA tournament second-round game (a 2-1 victory against Maryland) and capturing their conference tournament title for the first time since 1999.

“It’s something I could not have foresaw all the way back in 2015 and 2016 when all I wanted to do was play and play right now, but it’s something that’s pretty amazing reflecting back on now that I’m older and healthy, too,” Hiebert said.

He’s been able to shed the injury-prone label as the Manitoban has started 67 straight games. A big reason for that is he’s changed his playing style and isn’t as eager to hit the ground to make a tackle.

“There are occasions where you have to, but I think (Paolo) Maldini, a famous Italian defender, said, ‘If you’re sliding and you’ve already left your feet, you’ve already done something wrong,'” said Hiebert.

If you ask Missouri State head coach Jon Leamy, the program’s bench boss since 1992, it’s not often Hiebert does something wrong. Since Hiebert started wearing the armband, the team has risen to new heights. In Leamy’s mind, Hiebert, without question, deserves to be in consideration for the MAC Hermann Trophy. Hiebert is one of three Canadians in contention for the award.

“He has all the credibility of being just a fantastic player, but the other thing that’s so neat with Kyle is he’s not just a player, he’s the real deal on and off the field. He’s a wonderful human being. He comes from a fantastic family, he has tremendous values and morals, he’s patient, he’s giving of his time, he’s well-loved and respected by everybody on the team,” Leamy said.

“He’s the captain hands down. There’s no discussion of anybody else leading this group. He’s just a fantastic person and we’re blessed to have him in our program. But, specifically, probably for those awards, a lot of folks won’t know him off the field like we do. He has separated himself as an elite player and one of the best players in collegiate soccer.”

It’s an incredible journey for someone from a small town on the Prairies to climb the soccer ranks down south and be considered one of the top players in the NCAA, but it’s not something Hiebert has spent much time thinking about. The team is less than a week removed from a 2-0 loss to the Washington Huskies that ended their national championship hopes. Hiebert was rock solid in 2021, starting all 13 contests and helping the team to six clean sheets. He also chipped in on offence with a goal and an assist.

“I think maybe when my college career is over I’ll take a second to reflect and think ‘That was pretty incredible.’ But Washington played Pittsburgh yesterday in the Elite 8 and that’s the game we wanted to be in,” Hiebert said. “Honestly, the only thing running through my head is that the job wasn’t finished. We didn’t accomplish everything that we had set out to accomplish. But I think once my college career is over, I’ll have the time to look back at the special team moments and the special individual moments that happened along the way.”

Luckily for Hiebert, he’ll have another crack at a national title. This spring season didn’t count towards a player’s NCAA eligibility as nobody knew how things would play out in the middle of a pandemic. Hiebert, an Academic All-American who got his master’s degree in accounting last year, has already announced he’ll be taking advantage of the bonus time and will be suiting up with the team this fall.

The 23-year-old has garnered interest from the Canadian Premier League and MLS, but for Hiebert, those opportunities can wait.

“It’s the first time you lose an NCAA tournament game and everyone looks around the room and says ‘OK, we got to lock in and work this summer. We’re expecting to be back here in the fall.’ Usually, you lose that game and there are five or six seniors that are never coming back to the program and it’s going to be a big period of change… I don’t want to look back at the team and say ‘Hey, we left something on the table there.'”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @TaylorAllen31