WICHITA — Manhattan High girls’ soccer coach Mike Sanchez took time after Friday’s 5-0 loss to Shawnee Mission East in the state semifinals to share embraces and some personal words with several of his players.
The defeat wasn’t the Indians’ final match of the season — that came Saturday, when they fell to Washburn Rural 5-1 in the third-place game — but it represented the end of their state title contention and of their seven-game unbeaten streak, during which they didn’t allow a goal.
“It’s tough because we all hate losing,” Sanchez said. “We come here expecting and wanting to win. I just let them know I’m proud of them.”
Manhattan knocked off two higher-seeded teams in the postseason to reach the state semifinals, but faced a tall order in the Lancers (19-3), who were the top-seeded team out of the 6A East regional and the eventual state runners-up.
Despite giving up a goal 11 minutes in, the Indians (12-7-2) went toe-to-toe with Shawnee Mission East in the first half and trailed 1-0 at the intermission.
But the Lancers poured it on in the second half, scoring two goals in the first 15 minutes. They then added two in the final 7 1/2 minutes, making the scoreboard look more lopsided than the game actually was.
Sanchez said his squad made a few minor mistakes, of which a team like Shawnee Mission East took full and decisive advantage.
“They’re really good on the counterattack,” he said. “I don’t think we’ve played a team that was that good on the counter. … It was probably us maybe not winning 50/50 balls at certain times of the game and getting caught a little bit anticipating. When they’ve got that much space up top, it’s hard to recover your back.”
In the third-place game, Manhattan worked a 1-1 tie at halftime when freshman Kameron Felice scored the first goal of her high school career with two minutes remaining in the period. However, the Junior Blues (15-5-1) netted four goals in the second half, leaving the Indians with the fourth-place medal.
The state tournament was the last competition in a Manhattan uniform for seniors Emonie Christion, Taylor McHugh, Gabby Ziegler, Crinnia Turner and Katelyn Purdom, as well as for junior Reese Snowden, who will graduate in December, prior to the 2024 season.
Sanchez praised his seniors — who only played three years because their freshman season was nixed by the COVID-19 pandemic — saying that every year they came in well-prepared and ready to work hard. The evidence of their value to the program is that they made it to the state semifinals every season as part of a streak that is now up to five years.
“At this point, I feel like (making it to state) is expected for years to come,” said Purdom, who sat out of the state tournament with an injury that put her on crutches. “I feel like we’ve done a great job of carrying that tradition. Even before these five years, we were always expected to come here and were always expected to show out. I think we’ve done a good job of that.”
Christion agreed. She didn’t have older siblings or friends who played soccer at Manhattan High before her, so when she joined the team, she didn’t immediately realize the culture of success into which she’d stepped.
“When I first came in, (going to state) was a want to me, and as I’ve gone throughout the years, I’ve learned that it’s an expectation for us,” she said. “It’s not like we want to get there. It’s like we have to get there. But we’re not supposed to just think we’re going to get there; we have to work to get to that position.”
For the class of 2023, it’s mission accomplished.
That’s a source of pride for them, too. Teams from the 6A East region — mostly the Kansas City area and Lawrence — tend to dominate the high school soccer scene, as they’re often packed with resources and players with some of the best training opportunities in the region. The Indians understand they may have some systematic disadvantages, but succeeding in spite of them is part of what Manhattan High soccer is all about.
“It just means coming from a small community, where we only have one high school coming together, and even though we don’t have a lot of numbers or the most depth on our roster, we still are able to persevere and come to state and be able to perform,” said goalkeeper McHugh, who, along with the Indians’ defense, shut out 11 of 21 opponents.
But Manhattan’s seniors noted that, even with all the wins on the field during their careers, the lasting memories of their time with the team will be the relationships they formed.
Ziegler — who was set to back up McHugh in goal this season before sustaining an injury — moved to Manhattan her sophomore year, and said the squad became like her “second family,” which helped her adjust to life in a new town.
“The most memorable part was just being part of the team with all the girls,” she said. “We talked about everything together. We would go to each other’s houses for team dinners. There were so many team bonding activities. I’m just going to remember spending time with everyone. … It was just that tight-knight second family.”
“I’ve met some of my closest friends on this team,” Turner added. “I’ve built a lot of memories, a lot of memories from this team. We’re all really close, like the other girls said. I feel like this year, more than other years, we’ve been a lot closer. We’ve been doing a lot more team bonding, we’ve been stuck on a couple buses, so we all got to be close.”
Sanchez said losing this year’s seniors will be tough because of how important they’ve been. McHugh was one of the best keeper’s he’s had, and Christion and Turner were anchors on the Indians’ stringent defense. Purdom was a key contributor on offense with three goals and five assists, and while Ziegler didn’t see much of the field, Sanchez said she was a leader from the sideline.
Snowden, while not a senior, will be difficult to replace as well, as she was second on the team this year with 23 goals scored.
But several key players are coming back, such as Emery Ruliffson, whose 24 goals were best on the team; Jada Dibbini, who scored seven goals to finish third; and Felice, who started at centerback as a freshman.
“There’s a lot of potential that we have still here,” Sanchez said.
