MCC Athletics is excited to announce Craig Bender as the next head coach for the men's soccer program. 

Coach Bender began his coaching career in 2012 at the parks and recreation level and has worked up to running his own club Danger FC in Junction City, KS. The club has over 100 athletes and teams at all ages. He currently coaches a U17 and U18 team for Danger FC. Bender is a retired military service member and lives in Milford, KS with his wife, Karen and their three children.

"We are so excited to have Coach Bender on board to lead our men's soccer student-athletes," said Athletic Director Lauren Sanders. "He brings a wealth of soccer knowledge and experience and is looking forward to integrating his faith into soccer. He is excited and motivated to build our soccer program to the back to the national level!" 

Having coached all ages, Bender was looking to coach at the next level and continue investing in soccer athletes. He desires to create a family atmosphere on his teams and the appeal of being able to daily bring Christ in the culture of the team makes him a great fit for Manhattan Christian College. 

The 2024 men's soccer program finished with a record of 5-11-4 finishing third in the Midwest Christian College Conference and fifth in the NCCAA Central Region. Coach Bender will jump right into recruiting and preparing for the fall 2025 season. 

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The Thunder men's soccer team would have two players earn NCCAA Scholar-Athlete honors for the 2024 season. To be a NCCAA Scholar-Athlete the player must be a junior, senior, or graduate student, be a competing student-athlete or a varsity letter winner, and they must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.40. Senior, midfielder, Andrew Davis would be one of the two Thunder soccer players to be named a Scholar-Athlete. Davis is now a two-time Scholar-Athlete for the Thunder as he earned this honor as a junior. Junior, forward, Lucas Kaneko would be the other soccer player to earn the honor of Scholar-Athlete. To see the full list of NCCAA DII men's soccer Scholar-Athletes, click this link.

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The Thunder men's soccer team concluded their season earlier this week with an overall record of 5-11-4, Midwest Christian College Conference record of 2-1-2, and a NCCAA Central Region record of 2-5-2. The Thunder did see a decrease in wins from the 2023 season, but are optimistic heading into next season. There were five Thunder players represented on the MCCC All-Conference teams led by sophomore, Khamani Matallah, and junior, Chris Smith II, who earned first-team honors. Juniors, Lucas Kaneko and Michael Murphy, along with sophomore, Dauntay King, would get a second-team nod for the Thunder. The all-region teams will be announced after the conclusion of the tournament on Friday.

The Thunder would be led offensively, by Smith II who scored nine goals and tallied two assists. Freshman Steven Byrd and Kaneko would each net three goals apiece and each have an assist on the season. Matallah, King, and Josue Silverio would all contribute to the offensive attack with two goals each on the season. Matallah would also have two assists. Senior, Hagan Dyer would start 18 matches in goal and record 60 saves, while freshman, Jacob Bencze would start the other three and make 14 saves.

We want to thank all of the fans, students, faculty and staff for supporting our men's soccer team this season! We look forward to next season. Roll Thunder!

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The Thunder men's soccer team were in a win-or-go home match on a cold, rainy afternoon at Frank Anneberg Park against the visitors from Union Adventist University. The NCCAA Central Region Tournament play-in match between the Thunder and the Warriors was the second meeting between the two where the first and initial match would be postponed and then played on another day to end in a 3-3 tie. The Thunder would fall short this afternoon to the Warriors, 2-1, to finish their season. The lone goal for the Thunder would be scored by junior, Josue Silverio and assisted by fellow junior, Lucas Kaneko. The Thunder finish their season with a record of 5-11-4.

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The Thunder men's soccer team competed in and completed the Midwest Christian College Conference tournament over the weekend where the all-conference teams were selected. The Thunder had five players represented on the MCCC All-Conference teams. Sophomore, defender, Khamani Matallah and junior, forward, Chris Smith II both earned first-team nods, while junior, forward Lucas Kaneko, sophomore, defender, Dauntay King, and junior, defender, Michael Murphy each earned a spot on the second-team.

The Sons of Thunder are currently competing in the NCCAA Central Region Tournament as the #4 seed. They are hosting a play-in game against the #5 seed Union Adventist University Warriors at Frank Anneberg Park.

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The Thunder men's soccer team traveled to Joplin, Missouri to compete in the Midwest Christian College Conference Tournament as the #3 seed. The Thunder would battle with the #2 seed Emmaus University Eagles on Friday and ultimately fall in the semifinal match, 2-1. The Thunder would fall to the consolation bracket and face the host team, the Ozark Christian College Ambassadors on Saturday afternoon. After 120 minutes, the match would be tied at 2-2 between the Thunder and Ambassadors. The Thunder would prevail in penalty kicks, 4-2, to take the match. In going 1-1 on the weekend, the Thunder are now 5-10-4 overall headed into the NCCAA Central Region Tournament.

The Sons of Thunder will host the NCCAA Central Region play-in game on Monday, November 4th against the #5 seed Union Adventist Warriors at 3:00 PM at Frank Anneberg Park.

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The Thunder men's soccer team will enter postseason play on Friday prepared for a push to capture a Midwest Christian College Conference and NCCAA Central Region title. The Thunder will be the #3 seed in the MCCC Tournament. The MCCC Tournament seeds are as follows:

#1 Barclay

#2 Emmaus

#3 Manhattan Christian

#4 Faith Baptist Bible

#5 Central Christian College of the Bible

#6 Ozark Christian

The MCCC Tournament will be hosted on the campus of Ozark Christian College. The Thunder will play the Emmaus University Eagles in the second semi-final on Friday, November 1st at 3:00 PM in Joplin, Missouri. The championship match will be on Saturday, November 2nd at 3:00 PM.

The NCCAA Central Region Tournament will be hosted by Spurgeon College in Kansas City, Missouri. The Central Region Tournament seeds are as follows:

#1 Barclay

#2 Kansas Christian

#3 Spurgeon

#4 Manhattan Christian

#5 Union Adventist

#6 Central Christian College of the Bible (did not qualify)

The Sons of Thunder will host the play-in game against the #5 seed Union Adventist at Frank Anneberg Park on Monday, November 4th at 3:00 PM. A win will put them in the semi-final where they will play the #1 seed Barclay at Central Bank Sporting Complex in Kansas City, Missouri at 1:00 PM on Wednesday, November 6th. The championship match will on Friday, November 8th at 2:00 PM.

Captains Lucas Kaneko, Khamani Matallah, and Chris Smith II had this to say about starting postseason play, "Our record does not reflect who our team really is. Day in day out we see the progress at practice and in the games it’s a glimpse of letting the game slip out of your mind, that’s when we get caught. We are ready to show what this team is really capable of, we are refocused and ready to go.”

Head coach Joe Lopez had similar words to echo his captains, "We’ve learned several lessons this season, it’s been a process. I like our mentality right now and believe we are clicking at the right time. This is a great group of guys and they’re fearless. We are bought in and know the standard we have for ourselves so now it’s just a matter of getting the job done.” 

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The Thunder men's soccer team would travel to Iowa to take on two Midwest Christian College Conference opponents to close out their regular season. On Friday, the Thunder would take on the Emmaus University Eagles and would tie 1-1. The Thunder outshot the Eagles 11-10 and had the advantage with shots on goal 5-4. Junior, Damien Cervantes would score the lone goal for the Thunder, while senior, Hagan Dyer would make three saves in goal.

On Saturday, the Thunder would travel southwest to play the Faith Baptist Bible Eagles in their regular season finale. After 90 minutes, the match would end in another 1-1 tie. The Thunder would outshoot the Eagles 21-13, but only outshoot them on goal 6-4. Junior, Chris Smith II would score the goal for the Thunder and it would be assist by sophomore, Khamani Matallah. With the two ties, the Thunder finish the regular season with a 4-9-4 overall record and a record of 2-1-2 in the MCCC.

The Sons of Thunder will compete in the MCCC Tournament on Friday, November 1st at Ozark Christian College against the #2 seed Emmaus University Eagles at 3:00 PM. More information on this tournament and the NCCAA Central Region Tournament will be released next week. 

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