The MU men’s club soccer team at their first practice back in September. @MANHATTAN_MENS_CLUBSOCCER / INSTAGRAM
Maizy Swift, Production Editor/Asst. Social Media Editor
Club soccer at Manhattan University has officially started their season. Club soccer is one of the newest club sports additions at MU, and so far has proven themselves as a success.
When speaking about the season and their recent accomplishments, freshman Shane Diley, an education major and player on the team, wrote to The Quadrangle about the team’s winning record.
“[The season is] Very good so far, with a winning record in our first ever season we passed most expectations of the players and the other teams,” Diley wrote. “We have gone from a school with intramural soccer to a soon to be national contender in club soccer within a year, with more to come.”
Diley also shared how teamwork and community plays a large role in the experience he’s had on the team.
“The team has built such a supportive and good community, with practices most days of the week, most players end up staying 1-2 hours after practice ends just to hangout and socialize as a group,” Diley said. “I think our large group of international students bring a unique feature to our team as we are bonding and learning how to build chemistry with each other. On top of this, the large range of ages from freshman in their first semester, to graduate students approaching their last semester at Manhattan, helps players create good networks and connections within the team.”
Another player, junior Malcolm Naughton, another childhood education major, shared how his experience this season has been.
“The season has been great so far, we started it off with a great win against Iona and set the standard for the type of team we want to be,” Naughton wrote to The Quadrangle. “The players are committed to the team and we’re all excited to be playing fun competitive soccer again. We’ve bonded really quickly as a team and have learned to play together but we still have stuff to learn and a lot of space and talent to grow.”
Naughton has enjoyed connecting with his teammates through their love of soccer and their ambitious attitude.
“The team has built a great community really quickly, we’ve had a lot of practices together and we all share a love of soccer, we all play well together because we want to win,” Naughton wrote. “I’ve wanted a club soccer team on campus since I was a freshman so having this team has had a really positive impact on my time here at Manhattan, being on a team that practices weekly and competes against other schools has been really fulfilling we have a great group of guys and I’m excited to see how the team grows.”
Sophomore Ryan Hayes, a civil engineering major, shared what he’s looking forward to for this upcoming season.
“[The] Season is going pretty good, we’re winning games, got a good squad behind us, like to see us at practice, nice to get some rigidity to the program,” Hayes wrote. “The only thing holding us back is teams to play and funding I think.”