Some soccer coaches set their lineup in a 4-4-2 arrangement, with four defenders, four midfielders and two attacking forwards.

Others play a 4-3-3, and some elect to go with a 4-4-1-1.

Regardless of the attack they choose, the number always adds up to 10, giving a complete soccer team 11 players when counting the goalkeeper.

Last weekend, in Lee’s Summit, Mo., Kaw Valley Soccer Association coach Oumar Seck did not have such a luxury.

With a thin roster to begin with and a handful of players absent, Seck and the Kaw Valley Force played two men down during the annual Patriot Cup Tournament, which took place over Memorial Day weekend.

With just eight players in the field and a goalie, the Force played 9-on-11 throughout the weekend and somehow came away with a second-place trophy.

At first, the team’s predicament made little noise. Although known as a solid program throughout the years, many opponents and fans barely gave the Force a second look when word began to spread that they were playing a few men down.

Big mistake.

Instead of feeling sorry for itself and being rattled by the buzz surrounding the squad, the team rallied around its core and rolled to victories in its first two games, a 4-1 victory on Friday night and a 5-1 victory Saturday afternoon.

The two wins guaranteed the Under-19 Force a spot in the tourney’s championship match, but instead of taking the free pass into the final, the Force chose to play its final pool game.

Exhausted, the team fell, 3-2, but had the match tied at 2 late in the second half.

“I have seen, coached and played in many tournaments,” Seck said. “But I have never seen such a strong team play an entire tournament with only nine players. After seeing these boys fight the way they did, I have a huge amount of respect for them. I would call these boys warriors.”

Although the U-19 Force lost in the title game, it came home with a second-place trophy no one thought it would win and something else far more meaningful.

“Sometimes recognition for hard work is more than taking first place in a tournament,” Seck said. “Other coaches and members of the tournament gave them a round of applause, congratulated them and even made speeches for their great effort.”

The Under-14 Force team dropped its first game of the event but bounced back to win the next two via shutouts.

The Under-12 team won its first, tied its second and lost its third. Because of the tiebreaker system, which was based on goal differential, the Under-12 squad reached the championship game and went on to win the Patriot Cup, defeating the team that handed it the only loss of the event.