Both Thunder soccer teams opened up play this past Friday at Spurgeon College, where we saw them split with the home team.

The Manhattan Christian ladies got things started off, a little short handed in their first game of the season MCC fought hard all 90-minutes. Freshman forward, Bella Logsdon got the Thunder on the scoreboard but MCC struggled to keep the Knights from scoring. Manhattan fell 4-1.  

The men were next up in the double header game. With a sluggish start to the game MCC saw themselves down in the first half to the Knights. But what seemed to be first game gitters out of their system, freshman midfielder, Chris Smith got things rolling for the Thunder scoring two goals. Those two goals were just enough to pull ahead and take the game 2-1 over Spurgeon. This win was also the first win for newly appointed head coach Joe Lopez here at Manhattan Christian College. 

Up next for our Thunder soccer, the men will host Arkansas Baptist College at home September 2. While the women's next game will be September 17 at Faith Baptist Bible College. 

Joe Lopez is heading into his first year as the head coach of both the men and women’s soccer teams. Bringing a new energy and excitement to the squads where they look to start the season off strong when they both open play at Spurgeon College August 26. 

After a year off, the women’s soccer team has a new joy and hope for the future. Adding new faces, the ladies will rely on returning leadership from seniors Faith Blecha and Savannah Farney as well as junior Hannah Chaon. Manhattan Christian will play a 10-game season, where they will look to build confidence within each other and as a team.  

“We have such a great group of girls. It’s incredible how close they have gotten in such a short amount of time. Everyone is so selfless and encouraging, it’s a great environment. I’m excited for this group to be on the field together for their first game,” commented coach Lopez.

Coming off a trip to Nationals last season, the men’s soccer team brought back 5 returners. Super senior Dakota Fox comes back in a new role, senior Corey Bates is returning after sitting out most of last year with an injury and junior Jonathan Moon is bringing tons of experience and leadership to the squad. After going undefended in the Midwest Christian College Conference, the Thunder are excited to learn a new system and see what this new era brings to the program. 

“It’s awesome seeing our guys get excited about the new system we’re implementing, everyone has bought in. I’m most impressed with this roster’s attention to detail. We all obsess over getting every detail correct. Our game at Spurgeon will give us the opportunity to finally put our system into play,” stated Lopez.

The men open up at home September 2, while the ladies first home game will be October 4. All home games are played at Frank Anneberg Park and you can purchase home game tickets on our website.