Men's Soccer Kicks Off, Displays Resilience
Mack Leinweber
The Manchester men’s soccer season is underway. First-year head coach Corey Brueggeman’s squad kicked off the 2016 season on Saturday, Sept. 3, at the newly named Good Field after retired Coach Dave Good.
Manchester welcomed MacMurray College by jumping out of the gate. Sophomore midfielders Ryan Morley and Ben Niederhelman helped Manchester grab a 2-0 lead within the first 20 minutes of the game. MacMurray would come back to score, narrowing the deficit to a first half score of 2-1. Starting the second half, goals by junior forward Tod Oram, senior midfielder Colin Singer and sophomore midfielder Samuel Tetteh-Quarsie increased Manchester’s lead within the first 15 minutes. Senior forward Ola Ladapo also added two second-half goals to secure a 7-2 blowout win and a jumpstart to the season.
Manchester’s second game of the weekend came on Sunday, Sept. 4 against Concordia College. There was no score until the 12th minute, when sophomore midfielder Ben Niederhelman notched the first goal of the game. Minutes later, first-year forward Adrian Mulenga would add to the score, providing Manchester a 2-0 lead going into halftime. It was a tight game all the way through, but junior goalkeeper Brady Forman would end up owning his 3rd career shutout, as Manchester edged out Concordia to win 2-0.
“The team played well,” Forman said about his shutout game. “Our offense took the pressure off early with the two goals. And our defense backed that up with a solid performance.”
Manchester’s third game and continued home stand was on Saturday, Sept. 11 and was played against Blackburn in the annual Raven-Spartan Classic. Manchester struck first, almost right at the beginning of play. Sophomore midfielder Ryan Morley scored within the first five minutes of the game, foreshadowing another Manchester blowout win; however, that would be the only Manchester goal for the entire game.
On the defensive side, Manchester goalkeeper Forman had a clean sheet going into the second half, but Blackburn countered by scoring in the 24th minute, making a 1-1 tie. Goalkeepers on both sides battled, only allowing one goal each in regulation and two overtimes. Manchester had a 25-11 shot advantage, though only one would get past Blackburn’s goalkeeper as he kept the fast moving Manchester offense cold.
The game would end at a draw of 1-1 in a double overtime thriller as both teams fought tenaciously to win. Neither side would prevail, marking Manchester 's first tie of the season.
Wrapping up the weekend and the Raven-Spartan Classic, Manchester matched up against non-conference opponent Moody Bible Institute on Sunday, Sept.12. Manchester grabbed the lead in the 30th minute when senior forward Ola Ladapo scored the first goal for both teams. Going into halftime, the score would stay at 1-0 with the advantage going to Manchester. Moody Bible returned the favor early in the second half, tying the score at 1. Tied 1-1 with two minutes left in regulation, Manchester sophomore midfielder Samuel Tetteh-Quarsie changed the outcome of the game with a strike past Moody Bible’s goalkeeper, scoring the eventual game-winning goal. Manchester had a 28-4 shot advantage going on to a narrow win of 2-1.