Manhattan High Varsity boys soccer defeated Wichita Northwest 4-1 at home on Oct. 15, dominating play for much of the match.

Though the team goes into every match with a similar mentality, many of the players didn’t expect a challenge from Northwest going into the game.

“I was pretty confident [going in],” senior Brendan Mummert said. “I’m always ready to play any solid team and a good team, but I was feeling pretty confident in our chances to win this one.”

MHS had played the day before against Wichita South, whom they beat 7-1, due to a weather-related postponement earlier in the season; thus, they were playing on spent legs during the match.

“My hope was that we were going to come out strong, come out early and get after it so we could rest some starters get some other guys some opportunities,” head coach Mike Sanchez said. “But … [scoring] goals kind of felt like kryptonite tonight. I think we missed a couple of good chances.”

Manhattan came out slowly, which has been a constant struggle for the boys this season. They got their first goal in the 16th minute after missing a multitude of good chances. Northwest had a hand ball in the box leading to a penalty and senior Hunter French fiented the keeper and rolled it into the left side.

“[We played well in] some parts [of the first half] yes, some parts no,” French said. “I think we fell off at times and then picked it up.”

Manhattan didn’t score again until halfway through the second half with a goal from senior Carter Wiens with the assist made by junior Connor Turner. French made his brace just minutes later via a through pass from junior Cole Schmitt, making it 3-0. Northwest’s defense fell apart as Manhattan scored their fourth and final goal — the third in the space of five minutes — scored by Turner and another assist from Schmitt. As this has been an issue this season, however, MHS gave up a late goal to Northwest ending the match 4-1. 

Though the score was moderate compared to other games, the team thinks they should have had many more goals than those scored.

“In the second half, I thought we came out a lot better and we were moving the ball really well,” Sanchez said. “Sometimes we just have to understand when to slow the game down and when… to switch the tempo up, so we’re still getting there.”

The boys are now eight and five with a four-match winning streak under their belts. However, there’s still a lot to improve on before the postseason. 

“We’re playing pretty well right now,” Sanchez said. “But at the same time we know that the postseason is a totally different ball game … one mistake can be costly.”

MHS plays Highland Park at home Oct. 17 and expects a win. 

“To be honest, no … I’m not expecting much of a challenge,” Mummert said. “They don’t have a history of being a good soccer team.”