LARWILL — With each game, the Whitko boys soccer program is making history, while each win by the Manchester Squires is setting a new school record. Following Thursday's 5-2 victory at Whitko Middle School, the Manchester Squires improved their season record to 10-0, while Whitko fell to 0-5-1 in their first year of IHSAA-sanctioned soccer. "I knew we'd have a pretty decent team, but I never dreamed we'd be 10-0," Manchester coach Dave McKee. "The best start we've ever had was 2-0." A big reason for the Squires' success has been senior Kegan McNeeley, who netted two goals in the win, and is closing in on the school's single-season record of 19. "He's got speed and he's learning to finish," McKee said about McNeeley. "It's nice to have a Kegan on the team. It really is. Nothing makes up for speed." Against Whitko, the Wildcats came out with the speed, as junior Tyler Sherwin blasted a ball past Manchester senior goalkeeper Dylan Grossnickle just over a minute in the game, giving his squad a 1-0 lead. "I think in the last five games, we've had a lead to start the game," Whitko coach Jason Ehrman. said. "What that says to me is, we're getting better. We're doing well, we're just so young and inexperienced. We have a hard time doing it for 80 minutes." The good times for the Wildcats lasted four minutes until McNeeley scored in the sixth minute, followed by a goal by sophomore Ben Godoy-Forrester, who scored on a header off a pass from sophomore Andrew Hill in the 28th minute. On top 2-1, the Squires then scored one of the most unorthodox goals scored on a soccer field. During a throw-in, Manchester senior Derek Self opted to throw the ball right into the goal, which wouldn't have counted, but Whitko freshman keeper Jacob Helton leaped up to catch it, and it slipped through his fingers for a score. "He keeps us in it," Ehrman said about Helton, who posted 11 saves in the loss. "He was down on himself for letting one easy goal get through, but that's the first easy goal he's let in all year. He's made so many saves that's kept us in games." Playing on the narrow middle school football field, numerous throw-ins found themselves just in front of the net, something that doesn't usually happen on normal-sized soccer fields. "We talked about it before the game, and Derek said he'd get a throw-in goal," McKee said. "If no one touches, it's not a goal, but the goalie touched it." Leading 3-1 at the half, the Squires then tacked on goals from McNeeley and junior Lennart Simon in the 54th and 56th minutes, respectively. Whitko did get another point on the board when senior Jordan Sims tracked down a pass from freshman Thomas Wyman with 27 seconds left and got it into the net, increasing his season total to nine. "The season hasn't even been going on for two months, but it seems like four," Ehrman said of his team, which was outshot 28-7 in the game. "It's been fun, it's great and we're excited for it to be the first year. When we look back, we'll say, 'That was a great year,' but when you're in the middle of it, it's never fun to lose. We're just trying to fight through." For McKee, this season has been that 'great year', and he'll look for the good times to continue Tuesday at Lakeland Christian Academy. "We've beat some good teams," McKee said of defeating such teams as Oak Hill, Columbia City and Huntington North. "It hasn't been a cake walk." Whitko will look to get its first win in the program's history Saturday at North Miami.
MANCHESTER 5, WHITKO 2 W — Tyler Sherwin 2nd min. M — Kegan McNeeley 6th min. M — Ben Godoy-Forrester (Andrew Hill) 28th min. M — Derek Self 36th min. M — McNeeley 54th min. M — Lennart Simon 57th min. W — Jordan Sims (Thomas Wyman) 80th min. Shots — Manchester 28, Whitko 7; Shots on Goal — Manchester 17, Whitko 6; Saves — Manchester (Dylan Grossnickle 3), (Rainer Borgmann 1), Whitko (Jacob Helton 11), (Cody Findley 1); Fouls — Manchester 7, Whitko 9; Offsides — Manchester 0, Whitko 1; Corner Kicks — Manchester 3, Whitko 1; Records — Manchester 10-0, Whitko 0-5-1
