Womens Soccer
Scott Blake Named Head Men's and Women's Soccer Coach
Mens Soccer
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Womens Soccer
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Scott Blake Named Head Men's and Women's Soccer Coach
Manhattan Christian College Athletics and Athletic Director, Lauren Sanders are excited to announce, introduce, and welcome to our Thunder family, Scott Blake as the head soccer coach. Coach Blake will be the head coach for both the men's and women's programs. Blake brings passion for student-athletes and for the sport of soccer. His character and values align perfectly with our values here at MCC, emphasizing not only athletic excellence, but also personal growth, spiritual growth, and character development. MCC men's soccer played six matches in 2025 before canceling their season due to a limited roster, while women's soccer did not play this season. With Blake at the helm, he plans to fill both rosters next fall.
Blake grew up in Sarasota, Florida and moved to Jefferson City, Missouri in 1989. He attended and graduated from Jefferson City High School in 1993 where he was a four-year varsity letter winner in soccer and baseball. After high school, Blake attended Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Missouri and played soccer and baseball for the Wildcats. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Education from CSC in 1997 and would later go on to earn his Master of Science in Administration from Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Missouri. He also has his physical education certificate and has 29 years of teaching experience in Missouri at the elementary, middle, and high school level. Blake brings years of experience to the Thunder soccer programs as he has coached both boy's and girl's high school soccer for 29 years and club soccer for 25 years. Blake has coached multiple conference, district, regional, and state tournament teams with many players earning those respective awards. Blake would also win conference and district Coach of the Year honors, while earning the chance to coach at the 2020 All-American Games. Also, a long time member of the United States Soccer Coaches and Missouri Soccer Coaches Association.
"We are thrilled to welcome Scott Blake to the Manhattan Christian College Athletics family. With his strong leadership, proven success, and deep commitment to developing young athletes both on and off the field, Coach Blake is the ideal person to lead our men's and women's soccer programs into the next chapter. His passion for excellence and character-driven approach aligns perfectly with our vision, and we look forward to seeing both soccer programs thrive under his guidance." said Sanders.
Blake had this to say about this opportunity, "My family is excited for the opportunities at Manhattan Christian College and in the city of Manhattan. We would like to thank President J. Kevin Ingram, Jordan Strom, Lauren Sanders, Adam Gage, and all the fantastic staff in administration and admissions. I am humbled to be selected to lead the Men's and Women's Soccer programs at MCC. MCC is a special place in faith and vision, leadership, teaching and academics, and pursuit of athletic excellence. Thunder Athletics have both current and historical success in the National Christian College Athletic Association. I look forward to helping to bring Christ-centered and talented young people to campus and our soccer programs. From the start, there will be eight core virtues that will lead us on and off the field: Faith, Character, Passion, Humility, Respect, Unity, Tradition, and Mindset. Go Thunder!"
Please join us in welcoming Head Coach Scott Blake to the Thunder family. Blake is married to Jennifer Blake and they have two kids, Ethan and Abby. Abby is a current, senior volleyball student-athlete at MCC and Ethan is a men's soccer student-athlete at Lindenwood University. Coach Blake is actively recruiting for both men's and women's soccer teams for the 2026 season.
How to Follow the Thunder: For complete information and to stay up-to-date with Manhattan Christian College Men's and Women's Soccer, visit www.mccthunder.com and follow the team's social media pages on the Men's Instagram and the Women's Instagram.
Hepner and Chaon Named Co-Head Coaches
Womens Soccer
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Hepner and Chaon Named Co-Head Coaches
Manhattan Christian College Athletics is excited to announce the hiring of Danika Hepner and Hannah Chaon as co-head coaches for the women's soccer program.
Hepner and Chaon, both 2024 graduates of MCC will work together to recruit, train and invest in the women's soccer student athletes helping to rebuild the program.
Hepner, originally from Derby, KS came to MCC in 2020. She participated in four years of women's volleyball helping lead the team to two Final Four finishes and a Runner-up finish at the NCCAA DII National Volleyball Championships. Coach Hepner currently works in the Admissions Office at MCC.
Chaon, originally from Hastings, NE also came to MCC in 2020. She participated in four years of women's soccer. Coach Chaon currently works at Catholic Charities as an Emergency Assistance Coordinator.
"With both Hepner and Chaon, as co-head coaches, the future is bright for the women's soccer team. Both coaches bring a wealth of knowledge in soccer, team building, spiritual mentorship and service. The opportunity to have two alumni student athletes lead the future women's soccer student athletes is exciting!" said athletic director Lauren Sanders.
Also added to the coaching staff will be Tyler Hepner, as the assistant women's soccer coach. Coach Hepner played at collegiate soccer at both Nebraska Christian College and Manhattan Christian College. "We are thrilled to welcome, Tyler, as well to the women's soccer coaching staff! His soccer experience will be a great addition to the soccer program!" said Sanders.
Both coaches will begin recruiting right away as they plan for the fall 2025 season.
Stay up-to date on all Thunder Athletics and Women's Soccer news on our social media pages!
Facebook: Manhattan Christian College Athletics
Twitter: @mccathletics & @mccwomenssoccer
Instagram: @mccathletics & @mccwsoc
Womens Soccer Coaches: Hannah Chaon
Hannah Chaon
Title
Co-Head Women's Soccer Coach
Email
Hannah Chaon joins the women's soccer coaching staff as the co-head coach alongside Dani Hepner.
Coach Chaon is an recent MCC alum and was on the women's soccer team from 2020-2023. Originally from Hastings, NE, she started playing soccer in elementary school and will bring a wealth of soccer knowledge to the team. Her experience as a student-athlete at MCC will be a great addition to the soccer coaching staff.
Chaon currently works as an Emergency Assistance Coordinator at Catholic Charities in Manhattan.
Womens Soccer Coaches: Tyler Hepner
Tyler Hepner
Title
Assistant Women's Soccer Coach
Tyler Hepner joins the women's soccer coaching staff for the 2025 season as an assistant coach, along side co-head coaches Dani Hepner and Hannah Chaon.
Coach Hepner started playing soccer at a very young age in his hometown of Kearney, NE. He played competitively from 8 years old through college. Hepner started his collegiate career at Nebraska Christian College in 2019. After NCC closed it's doors, Hepner transferred to Manhattan Christian College in 2020. He was a member of the men's soccer team in 2020.
The team will look to Coach Hepner to bring soccer fundamentals and playing experience. Coach Hepner also has a background in youth ministry and will contribute to the growth of the team on and off the field.
Coach Hepner, and his wife Dani reside in Manhattan, KS. Hepner is currently a special education para-educator at Rock Creek Middle School.
Womens Soccer Coaches: Danika Hepner
Danika Hepner
Danika "Dani" Hepner has been named the Co-Head Women's Soccer coach to lead the women's soccer team for the 2025 season.
Hepner is no stranger to MCC as she is a recent alum and currently works in the admissions office. Hepner was on the women's volleyball team from 2020-2023 and helped lead the team to two Final Four finishes and a runner-up finish at the NCCAA DII National Volleyball Championships.
While new to the sport of soccer, Coach Hepner brings a wealth of knowledge in leading others in spiritual growth, building a positive team culture, and thrives while investing and serving others.
Dani will also help sponsor men's and women's cross country, as well as women's golf.
Originally from Derby, KS, Coach Hepner resides in Manhattan with her husband, Tyler Hepner, who will also serve the women's soccer team as an assistant coach.
Logsdon Earns Scholar-Athlete Honors
Womens Soccer
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Logsdon Earns Scholar-Athlete Honors
The Thunder women's soccer team would have one player 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. Junior, defender, Bella Logsdon would earn those honors this season. Logsdon is the first NCCAA Scholar-Athlete for the Thunder women's soccer team since 2020. To see the full list of NCCAA DII women's soccer Scholar-Athletes, click this link.
Stay up-to date on all Thunder Athletics and Women's Soccer news on our social media pages!
Facebook: Manhattan Christian College Athletics
Twitter: @mccathletics & @mccwomenssoccer
Instagram: @mccathletics & @mccwsoc
Thunder See Growth as Season Concludes
Womens Soccer
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Thunder See Growth as Season Concludes
The Thunder women's soccer team concluded their season last week with an overall record of 2-6. The Thunder would win their first match since the 2020 season against Spurgeon in early September and then defeat them again at home in to start October. The Thunder would be led offensively by sophomore, Olivia Van Donge who had two goals and two assists on the season. Junior, Bella Logsdon had one goal on the season, while sophomore, Grace Ryan tallied one assist. Freshman goalkeeper, Alexis Romero would start all eight matches in goal for the Thunder. Head coach, Joe Lopez had this to say about the women's soccer season, "I was proud that we got a couple of wins, it's great for the program. I just wish we could have done more and gone further. We had a great group of girls."
We want to thank all of the fans, students, faculty and staff for supporting our women's soccer team this season! We look forward to next season. Roll Thunder!
Stay up-to date on all Thunder Athletics and Women's Soccer news on our social media pages!
Facebook: Manhattan Christian College Athletics
Twitter: @mccathletics & @mccwomenssoccer
Instagram: @mccathletics & @mccwsoc
Recap: Women's Soccer Come Up Empty on Roadtrip
Womens Soccer
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Recap: Women's Soccer Come Up Empty on Roadtrip
The Thunder women's soccer team traveled to Arlington, Texas to take on the Arlington Baptist University Patriots on Thursday afternoon. The Thunder would fall to the Patriots by a score of 5-0.
On Friday afternoon, the Thunder would travel north to Moore, Oklahoma to take on the Randall University Saints. The Thunder would come up empty against the Saints dropping the match, 9-0. With the two losses, the Thunder are now 2-6 on the season.
The Thunder will head to Iowa for their final match of the regular season to face the Faith Baptist Bible College Eagles on Saturday, October 26th at 12:00 PM at Pyche Field in Ankeny, IA.
Stay up-to date on all Thunder Athletics and Women's Soccer news on our social media pages!
Facebook: Manhattan Christian College Athletics
Twitter: @mccathletics & @mccwomenssoccer
Instagram: @mccathletics & @mccwsoc
Recap: Men's Soccer Tie and Women's Soccer Defeat Spurgeon
Mens Soccer
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Womens Soccer
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Recap: Men's Soccer Tie and Women's Soccer Defeat Spurgeon
It was a double-header afternoon for the Thunder soccer teams as they took on the Spurgeon College Knights at Frank Anneberg Park. The men's soccer team would battle for 90 minutes before their match would end in a 1-1 tie. The Thunder fell to the Knights, 3-2, in Kansas City on September 6th. The #10 ranked Knights would strike first with a penalty kick goal, but the Thunder would respond with a penalty kick goal of their own by junior, Lucas Kaneko. With the tie, the Thunder move to 3-6-1 overall and 1-3-1 in NCCAA Central Region play.
The Sons of Thunder will be back at home on Friday, October 4th where they will host the Dallas Christian College Crusaders for Senior Night at 7:00 PM at Frank Anneberg Park. They will honor seniors, Hagan Dyer and Andrew Davis.
The Thunder women's soccer team would have the second game of the double-header where they would defeat the Knights for the second time this season by the same score of 2-1. Sophomore, Olivia VanDonge would lead the way for the Thunder with one goal and one assist, while junior, Bella Logsdon would score the second goal off the corner kick assist from VanDonge. The Thunder move to 2-4-0 on the season and finish NCCAA Central Region play 2-0-0.
The women's soccer team will have a 16 day gap between games as they will travel to Texas to take on the Arlington Baptist University Patriots on Thursday, October 17th at 3:00 PM at Gateway Park.
Stay up-to date on all Thunder Athletics and Women's and Men's Soccer news on our social media pages!
Facebook: Manhattan Christian College Athletics
Twitter: @mccathletics, @mccwomenssoccer, & @mcc_soccer
Instagram: @mccathletics, @mccwsoc, & @mccthundersoccer
