Men's Soccer Faces Tough Opponents
Erin Hickle
Spartan soccer season is in full swing at Manchester University this fall with a reserve game and varsity game in the schedule for this week. After an exciting overtime win against Olivet College last Sunday afternoon, the Manchester men’s soccer team was looking ahead to a week of practices before taking on the DePauw Tigers on Saturday at Good Field.
It was a nice warm day as the sun shone down on the players as they warmed up for their home game. The game time was set for noon as Manchester soccer fans gathered around the field to watch the Spartans take on the visiting Tigers.
As the game started, the opponents fought hard as they went back and forth. DePauw was able to strike first, scoring their first goal in the 16th minute. Manchester was able to answer back quickly. Junior striker Josh Gonzalez capitalized on a defensive miscue made by the Tigers to slot home the equalizer. The scoreline was short lived, however, as The Tigers were able to take the lead, going into halftime with a score of 2–1. DePauw enjoyed the majority of possession for the rest of the first half.
The Spartan defense was not able to hold off the Tigers as they went on the score three more goals during the second half of the contest. The Spartans battled but DePauw proved to be a tough competitor as Manchester was not able to rally a comeback. The final score was 5–1 in DePauw’s favor. The Tigers improved to 4–1 on the season while the Spartans slid to 2–3–1.
With DePauw being a non-conference game, this loss does not affect the Spartan’s chances of claiming the conference title, a goal of the team this season. “The game Saturday didn’t go the way we wanted it to, but it was against a very talented team,” said Sig Sagna, sophomore. “Going against these challenging teams in the beginning of the year is getting us prepared for conference games later in the season which is what we are looking forward to.”
The reserve team was supposed to play Los Gallos on Thursday at Manchester, but the game was cancelled due to bad weather. Testing themselves against a quality reserve opposition, the reserve team faced the DePauw reserves following the varsity game on Saturday at 2 p.m. Despite a tough effort displayed by the Spartans, the reserves were unable to claim a victory. The Manchester Spartans will host Elmhurst on Saturday Sept. 21, to take on the Bluejays at 4 p.m.