Manchester Soccer Doubles Up On Wabash

The Manchester Boys Varsity Soccer notched another win on Thursday evening against TRC opponent Wabash to push their overall record to 4-1.

In the first half, the Squires had two goal scoring opportunities erased by offsides calls before Wabash scored the first goal of the game with under two minutes left in the half. Manchester quickly countered, however, with a goal by Michael Ortiz with only one minute remaining in the half.

In the second half, the score stayed tied through the first twenty minutes before defender Treavor Heath sent a long pass forward to Tyler McLain who received the ball in stride and scored for a 2-1 Squire lead. Four minutes later, the Squires scored again, as McLain assisted on a goal by Ortiz.

Wabash soon rallied to score a second goal, but with less than ten minutes left in the game, Nathaniel Miller received a pass up the sideline from Tristan Schmid, and from near the end line, curved a shot into the goal to put the game out of reach. Strong defense down the stretch by Heath, Dylan Hernandez, and Riley Shock, among others, secured the 4-2 win for Manchester.

The Manchester Boys Varsity will play another TRC game at home next Tuesday against Tippecanoe Valley.

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The Apaches made the trip to Manchester for a hotly contested rivalry game with the Squires Thursday night. Both teams play a fast, counterattacking style. Manchester came out of the gate strongly generating most of the offense in the first 20 minutes of the match. The Wabash defense led by Will Galley and Kolton Wilson held steady and weathered the storm.

Wilson moved up to midfield and the tenor of the game changed as it was now the Apaches on the front foot. Wilson’s aggressive play created several scoring chances, including one in the waning minutes of the first half that he put past the Manchester goalkeeper. Manchester responded quickly with a quick strike off the Wabash keeper’s hands into the goal just before time expired on the half.

So it was all even at the half and so it would stay for the opening 20 minutes of the second. Manchester netted their second goal in minute 20 and sought to seal the game with a third at minute 16. But the Apaches wouldn’t quit. Jacob France took a ball through the Manchester defense and beat the charging keeper to make it 3-2 Squires with 13 minutes to go in the game. Jacob France now has 3 goals on the season. Wabash kept pressing for an equalizer, but a Manchester counterattack was able to sneak one more past Isaac Byers to make the final score 4-2. Byers finished the game with 11 saves.

Several Wabash players had exceptional games including Spencer Stout, Coleson Kugler, and Jacob Fuchs. The Apaches’ unselfish play kept the game close against a very tough opponent.

Wabash next faces Rochester at home on Tuesday, August 30.