DES MOINES, Iowa - What began as five boys playing the game they love in the mid-1990's on the soccer fields of Iowa has come full circle for the quintet as Jordan Kadlec (Hiawatha, Iowa/Kennedy), Hunter Kennedy (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Washington), Michael Noonan (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Xavier), Thomas Ostrander (Fort Dodge, Iowa/St. Edmond Catholic) and Charles Schwartz (Bettendorf, Iowa/Bettendorf) are in the midst of their senior campaigns as members of the Drake men's soccer team.

The journey is nearly complete for this group of homegrown seniors that already is tied for the most wins for any class in program history with 46. With their next win they will surpass the class of 2010 that finished with 46 victories over their four years.

Michael Noonan flashes back to his first days playing soccer with Jordan Kadlec on the Heartland Soccer Club in Cedar Rapids and remembers more fashion than he does soccer.

"What I remember most was us wearing these honey bee uniforms," Noonan commented.  "We went over to Heartland Soccer Club after FC Iowa was split into Heartland and Cedar River Soccer Association (CRSA)." 

Soon joining the group was Schwartz, who grew up in Bettendorf, and made the choice to make the drive over to Cedar Rapids several times per week to be able to play with this team.

"I played a lot with these guys in ODP so I got a chance to get to know them and they were going in the right direction," said Schwartz.  "My team wasn't really getting out to some of these tournaments, so they were getting a lot of exposure with college coaches and I ultimately wanted to play college soccer.  I knew then I had to make a commitment to travel to Cedar Rapids and ultimately it paid off."

A year behind was Kennedy, who made the group four when they made the switch from Heartland Soccer Club to CRSA.

"It was one of those things if you can't beat them, join them," Kennedy explained.  "We were all three on Heartland and CRSA always whooped up on us so at 14-15 years of age we all made the switch over to CRSA."

Having known and played with many of these players in Iowa's Olympic Developmental Program (ODP) since he was in sixth grade was Ostrander, a Fort Dodge native.

"I played ODP with them since sixth grade and Noonan and I roomed together all the time at camp," said Ostrander.   "We played club soccer against them every year and got absolutely spanked.  I can remember us going down to Texas for a tournament and playing them in the semifinals and losing 7-0."

When the decision of where to play college soccer came to the forefront it was Schwartz who set the tone, choosing to stay in-state and play at Drake beginning in the fall of 2007.

"I was pretty much set on Drake from the beginning," Schwartz asserted.  "I wanted to stay in Iowa and close to home and Drake is such a great academic school so I was pretty set on that.  After talking with Coach Holmes he sold me on the school.  I'm an Iowa boy and I love it here, so I wanted to stay here and hope to convince my other CRSA boys to follow me and team up and create a nice little team here at Drake."

Noonan soon followed Schwartz west to Drake, while Kadlec choose a different path as he began his collegiate career at Louisville.

"It was nice knowing Charlie had already committed to coming to Drake so that gave me a little re-assurance," Noonan commented.  "Honestly, after talking with Coach Holmes and coming here to visit, I thought he'd be a really great person to play for. It was close to home, but not too close, and having someone familiar here in case we hit some hard times was important."

After redshirting his freshman year at Louisville, Kadlec began to explore the possibility of leaving the Cardinal program and becoming a Bulldog with Schwartz and Noonan.

"When I was thinking about leaving Louisville I talked with Noonan a lot and he said he loved it here, so I thought it'd be an easy transition," Kadlec explained.  "It was actually made a lot easier with these guys here."

When Schwartz and Noonan began their Drake careers in 2007 neither knew what to expect moving into the realm of college soccer.

"When I came in I didn't expect to get to play my freshman year as I was really small and thought I'd be a fringe player," Noonan detailed.  "The very first preseason game one of the guys got hurt and coach told me to warm up out of everyone on the bench and I was like what in the world? So he kind of threw me in the mix and I was really thankful for that opportunity, but I didn't expect it.  Growing up we were all successful teams in high school so we kind of knew what it took to win, so that helped us."

Contribute that season Noonan did as he scored four goals, including the game-winner in a 3-1 win over Wisconsin, en route to collecting All-Missouri Valley Conference All-Freshman team accolades.

While not garnering nearly the amount of playing time as Noonan as a freshman, Schwartz played in 13 games and collected one assist.

During the 2007 campaign the recruiting flames burned bright for Kennedy and Ostrander as they neared decisions on where to attend college and continue their soccer careers.

Ultimately, it proved to be friendship that brought the duo to Des Moines to reunite as Bulldogs.

"I wanted to continue to play with the guys, my friends, we already had some chemistry built up so wanted to keep it going, so that was a big factor in my decision" said Kennedy.

"I talked with Noonan a lot on Instant Messenger and I also talked to Kadlec as well and they told me how much they liked it here." Ostrander explained.  "Another buddy of mine, Michael (Thaden), who I grew up playing with and lived with for a couple summers was coming here so having him coming here along with Hunter and Charlie here made it easier, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.  Having the guys there and always having their back makes it a lot easier instead of coming in not knowing anyone and being scared."

Coming together on the field in the Fall of 2008 was a dream come true, but injuries forced that dream to wait another season as both Noonan and Ostrander would miss that season due to being injured.

"It was disappointing being redshirted in 2008 and not being able to play, but at the same time it was exciting to be a part of it and cheer on these guys who were actually playing," stated Schwartz.

The season started like something out of a fairytale as the Bulldogs began the campaign on a school-record 6-0 start, all by virtue of a shutout, en route to notching a then school record for wins (13) and the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament berth.

Kennedy's career started out with a bang, scoring both goals in a 2-0 home victory over Milwaukee in his collegiate debut.  He went on to register five goals while adding two assists in 19 games, including 13 starts en route to being named to All-MVC Freshman squad.

Ostrander made his contributions known, appearing in all 19 games and contributing his only goal of the season in Drake's 2-0 win over SIU Edwardsville in the Bulldogs' second game of the year.  Kadlec earned playing time in two games and collected eight saves.

Making the NCAA Tournament was something special for this group and made even more interesting by the way the team found out.  The announcement special aired ESPNU but the station wasn't available on campus so the team gathered in head coach Sean Holmes' office to listen to the tournament pairings via the NCAA's conference call.

"I remember being in coaches' office all huddled around trying to figure out if we made it or not and then hearing our name and celebrating," said Schwartz. "It was kind of cool feeling."

When the five finally made the field together in 2009 they were part of what would go down as one of the most magical seasons in college soccer.

The Bulldogs completed a record-setting campaign in 2009 that saw Drake capture its first-ever Missouri Valley Conference Tournament title en route to a run to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament posting a 16-7-2 mark and a school-record best No. 8 national ranking by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.

"That year was just crazy," Noonan explained.  "We had a great group of older guys that year who helped bring everyone together. I thought they did good job making sure everyone felt a part of the team."

Noonan led the group that season with five goals, while Ostrander, Kennedy and Schwartz added four, three and one goals, respectively, while Kadlec in seven games, including four starts, pulled in 21 saves.

In the Bulldogs' tournament run each played a huge role in Drake advancing to the Elite Eight.  In The Bulldogs' 1-0 second-round victory at No. 13 Ohio State it was Ostrander that assisted on the game-winning goal.

A week later at Boston College, in the second-highest scoring game in NCAA Tournament history, Noonan added a goal.  Rising to the occasion off the bench against the Eagles was Kadlec, who entered the game with just over 39 minutes remaining for an injured Michael Drozd with Drake trailing 3-2, and limited the high-powered Boston College attack to just one goal in a 6-4 come-from-behind Bulldog victory.

Kadlec went on to start the Bulldogs' Elite Eight showdown at No 4 North Carolina and registered six saves, none bigger than thwarting a Tar Heel penalty shot with 7:54 left in the first half.

"I know coach always makes fun of me for an article in the Quad City Times about how I was just along for the ride as I didn't get as much playing time as I wanted, but Kadlec jumping in the BC game, I was so happy for him to get just the chance in that caliber of game," said Schwartz. "Seeing Oz, Noonan and Hunter out there and cheering all the guys on was exciting.  To succeed against a team like BC, going up there and winning 6-4, was neat for me to be a part of that. To see my friends do so well was awesome."

Drake head coach Sean Holmes is still amazed at the friendship and collectiveness of this group and what it has meant to the success of the Bulldogs.

"This group was a core part of our NCAA success and whether it was on or off the field you can never underestimate in college athletics the value of camaraderie and team spirit."

After the graduation of so many stars from that 2009 squad, the group had to take on more of a leadership role on a young team in 2010, one that finished with an 8-8-2 mark.

"Over the last two years they've grown into a leadership role with our team," said Holmes.  "People forget that last year when we graduated so many starters from the 2009 team that these guys opened the season in the first month of the year with away games at Michigan, Indiana, Notre Dame and Saint Louis and it was a tough growing-up experience for them."

Ostrander emerged leading the team with five goals, while Schwartz, Noonan and Kennedy added three, two and one goals, respectively.  Kadlec started all 18 games for the Bulldogs and pulled in the second-best single-season mark for saves (98) in school history.

Ostrander earned second team All-MVC honors, while Kadlec and Schwartz each were named honorable mention selections.  Off the field, Ostrander joined teammate Nick Foster who were named to the NSCAA Scholar All-Americans, the first in the program's history.

The group is now seniors and their goals remain the same and that is to compete for both an MVC title and an NCAA Tournament berth. 

"I think we want to surpass what we've done before," Kadlec commented.  "You can still see some people from CRSA come up and know who we are, so that is cool. We don't want to let them down and we want to be role models for them.  Our expectations for the rest of the year are to surpass what we've done before."

The journey is one in which the group looks back on with fond memories and one for which they hope to write new chapters yet this season.

"I have had a really fun time here being a part of a family of guys, a brotherhood, and we just all love working hard together and competing," said Noonan.

"Getting to do everything with these guys and hang out we've grown really close," Ostrander explained.  "I couldn't imagine being anywhere else and not playing with these guys."

"It has been an amazing experience right from the start, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else." Schwartz stated.  "You see everyone else at these other schools having the times of their lives but at same time we're having just as much fun competing, working hard and going to battle with each other, so its been a great five years, but I'm going to miss every moment."

"My time here has been exhilarating, we're a family," said Kadlec.

"Although it seems packed now, I'm going to miss all the free time we really do have with each other," Kennedy explained.  "Even getting to spend time on the bus or the times that really don't seem meaningful, down the road they will." 

What amazes this group is how they've been able to stick together where many of their former teammates who went to school on their own more often than not gave up soccer after one or two seasons.

"I don't think we'd let each other quit," Kadlec commented.  "If someone said they were quitting we'd be like I'll talk you tomorrow, cool off, we're not going to let you."

Prior to their arrival at Drake, the Bulldogs had never played in the NCAA Tournament, something this group has accomplished twice. 

Their arrival in Des Moines began a pipeline of talent that played club soccer in the Cedar Rapids area that included Nick Foster (2007-10), Kenan Malicevic (2007-10), Michael Thaden (2008-10) and Erik Boyer (2010-Present).

"One of the neater parts of this group has been I got to see them play in club and ODP soccer when they were 10, 11 and 12 years old and to see them develop into young men has been very gratifying," Holmes commented. 

"These guys weren't always necessarily the stars when they were 10, 11 and 12, so I think it is a lesson for young players that it takes a long time to mature as a player.  This group in many ways was support players at 14, 15 and 16 years of age and really grew.  Our goal was to see the potential of those guys that put in the right environment would grow and prosper."

This group of homegrown talent hopes they have left a lasting legacy that Division I college soccer is alive and well in Iowa and that for those youngsters playing across the state that one day they too can live their dreams on the highest stage college soccer has to offer.

Story by Sean Palchick - Drake Assistant Athletic Communications Director