The U9 Kaw Valley Soccer Assn. Pink Panthers try to defend their goal as Angels players challenge it. The Pink Panthers and Angels played each other on Saturday at Youth Sports Inc.

The Kaw Valley Soccer Assn. opened its Club and Recreation seasons on Saturday at Youth Sports Inc.

The festivities, however, almost did not happen.

Saturday’s forecast called for an 80 percent chance of rain and it seemed the season would have to wait until after Labor Day to get under way.

The rains held off though and most of the games began right on schedule.

The only casualty of the opening weekend came when the U14 games were cancelled due to standing water.

For many players the season’s opening games were a fresh start. They were a chance to get back out on the field and perfect their soccer skills in a their first league games since the spring.

For others it was a chance to be with friends and family. And for a few more still, it was their first venture into a new sport.

For six-year-old Taeghan Sharpe the day was a chance to discover something new. Sharpe played soccer for her first year with KVSA and is breaking ground as the only girl on her team.

So far, Sharpe said her favorite part about the game was the same as a lot of other players on the field: scoring goals.

Ten-year-old Donovan Barr plays for a 13-and-under team and said scoring was also his favorite part of the game.

Barr played in the spring season and signed up for the fall as well. He looks forward to putting the ball in the back of the net as many times as possible over the coming season.

Eight-year-old Macey Sutter, of the U9 Pink Panthers, had a good feeling about her team’s season opening game against the Angels. She is playing with KVSA for the second year in row.

“My favorite part of soccer is scoring goals,” Sutter said. “I feel good about almost scoring a goal.”

This fall ,however, there will something just a little different for Stutter. This year, for the first time, she’ll play with a referee. Sutter moved up to a more competitive age group after playing in the KVSA’s recreational league last spring.

Sutter’s teammate, 8-year-old Aubrey Goscha, said the Pink Panthers’ game against the Angels was a great game to start the season with.

“We had a really hard game,” Gosca said. “But I like playing in all the positions. Soccer is a great sport.”

Evidence of the players’ and fans’ enjoyment and enthusiasm for the all the soccer being played could be heard and seen all around the fields.

Families and friends made the trip out to Youth Sports Inc. to cheer on the nearly 30 teams that got their seasons under way.

The league will take the Labor Day holiday off before resuming its schedule Sept. 9.