Men's Soccer Optimistic After Multiple Wins
Lexy Underhill
Manchester men’s soccer kicked off the 2017 season with a 1-0 win against Illinois Tech on Sept. 1. Head Coach Corey Brueggeman named sophomore defender Matt Roop, senior defender/midfielder/forward Tod Oram, and senior goalkeeper Brady Forman as team captains for this year’s season. The JV team had their first scrimmage against Taylor University on Thursday, August 31, at the newly named Good Field.
Manchester was welcomed at Illinois Tech for the season’s first game. First-year Josh Gonzalez and senior goalkeeper Brady Forman worked together to score the win. Gonzalez flipped a shot attempt over the stretched arms of Illinois Tech’s goalkeeper in the 18th minute of the first half, making the first and final shot of the game.
Manchester’s second game took place in Chicago against the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater at Stuart Field. With a lot of fight, Wis.-Whitewater ended up taking the victory, leaving with a score of 5-0.
“Even after this loss, we are very optimistic about what is to come this year,” Brueggemann says. “The soccer team is doing really well. They are all primarily healthy and really hoping to finish in the top four this year.”
Next, the Spartans won against Blackburn College on Sept. 8 with a score of 1-0. “Things got a little messy in the second half of the game, but overall it was great to win on home turf,” states Assistant Coach Isaac Beal.
The annual Raven-Spartan Classic was played against Wittenberg University at Good Field on Sept. 9. Oram scored first in this game: he shot the ball, saw it saved by the goalie, but got a rebound and scored, making the tally 1-1. Josh Gonzalez scored the next two goals, giving the Spartans a 3-1 advantage before ultimately taking home another win.
“This is just what the team needed,” Beal said after the win. MU moves 3-1 on the season, and continued non-conference action on Sept. 13 against the Huntington University Foresters.
The soccer team will play against their one of their biggest rivals next month. “Anderson University is one of our top competitors; the game against Blackburn got us ready for Anderson,” Forman says. Manchester will take on Anderson on Wednesday, Oct. 8.
Forman looks forward to high attendance at future home games. “Having people out in the stands rooting for us makes us want to work harder to get that win," he says. "When people are not as active at games it just feels dull, we really do love the support.”