By Mack Olmsted, Asst. Arts and Entertainment editor
Manhattan College’s men’s soccer team wrapped up its season this month in the MAAC championship, with an unfortunate loss against Iona, with the final score being 0-1. The team’s final overall record was 7-8-3, with the conference record being 6-3-1.
This year’s loss marks the second straight year that Manhattan has fallen to Iona in the conference tournament semifinals. On gojaspers.com, head coach Jordan Scott spoke about the season coming to an end.
“We are all devastated by the loss that ends our season,” head coach Jorden Scott said. “We battled through so much this year on and off the field and we stayed true to the values of who we are as a community. We are beyond proud of our seniors who now step into the next phase of their life and we will be there to support them every step of the way. Thank you to everyone who has, and continues to support this amazing program and we will be back next year to compete for a championship again. Go Jaspers!”
Junior, midfielder, Henry Hamilton appreciated all the work the team did this season. He felt the team fought to the very end and reflected on the season with a positive outlook on his team.
“The season was good, we had a few new faces come in,” Hamilton said. “We felt we had a really strong base, little things we had to touch on obviously, as the season went on, but I think the best part about it was how close we all were at the start of the year. We worked really hard on creating relationships that weren’t just as teammates. I think that played a big part in how close we all were as a team and that gave us so much confidence. We all knew what we were capable of and kept pushing each other. So I think how close we were on and off the field had a massive influence on how well we played”
Sophomore, defender Nassim Akki explained his point of view from this year’s season and appreciated all the work coach Scott put into the team. He believes the coaching is a major factor in how the team pushed themselves in the MAAC playoffs.
“He tried to transmit this experience to us,” Akki said. “He gave us such a certain freedom on the field. So he gave us the game plan and then he knew our quality so he gave us a certain freedom to like, to do what we want, and to play how we know how to play. I think that the best thing was our coach, you know, he doesn’t like to give us too many limits. He just gives us his game plan, we try to follow it. And then we just express ourselves on the field.”
Both Akki and Hamilton mentioned they look forward to what’s to come for the future of the next season. They both believe that the Men’s Soccer team will continue to push themselves forward while trying to accomplish their goals.
“Now the question is, how are we going to get to be champions, so mentality we are all completely challenged and I’m very happy about that,” Akki said “The goal is still the same. Now, how are we going to get there? We all have to work on our talents and get united.”