Boys soccer ended their regular season with a 2-1 win against Shawnee Heights at home Thursday, finishing 9-1-5. 

“It was definitely a quality game to end the season,” Sanchez said. “Which is good for us, because we want that going into the postseason.”

Shawnee has always been a difficult opponent, and, though Manhattan has come out on top for the past six years, 5 of those wins have been by just one goal.

“Shawnee’s is always good. It’s always a hard matchup,” junior Ibrahim Cifci said. “But we like to come in with the mentality that we’re not gonna lose this game. We want to win.”

Manhattan came out strong, with an opening goal in the second minute from senior Johannes Glymour, off of a corner by senior Cole Schmitt. 

“Yeah, I was [excited about scoring],” Glymour said. “More so just for the team, it’s a big win for us.”

Manhattan kept Shawnee off the score sheet for the rest of the first half, despite both teams having their chances and possession. The match was generally back and forth, though MHS had the better scoring opportunities. 

“We came out like really strong I think, but after a couple minutes the level went down,” Cific said. “If we want to make a run in the postseason, we can’t have that. It has to be top notch all the time.”

Cific scored ten minutes into the second from another Schmitt corner, giving the boys a 2-0 lead to hold until the whistle. Manhattan went on to hold the Thunderbirds in their half for the majority of the rest of the match.

“Second half  was definitely better,” Cific said. “We were connecting the passes we were possessing, building up, I think the second half we saw how they played, so we were able to see and exploit their weaknesses.”

Manhattan conceded their goal to Shawnee from a questionable penalty call on senior Lucas Smith Cauldas, with two minutes left in the match. Shawnee put their penalty into the lower left corner, tightening the game, but too late for Heights to come out with a draw.

“They gave us a good game but in the end we came up with the two goals,” Cific said. “Hopefully we can just continue the level we’re playing at.”

MHS tentatively plays Topeka High at home on Monday. They have already won against the Trojans earlier in the season 2-0, but aren’t taking anything for granted. 

“[I’m approaching the match] win a lot of layers of clothes,” Sanchez said, referring to the potentially snowy forecast. “It’s win or go home. It boils down to that. If we lose, that’s it. And these guys want to keep playing.”