RECAP: MANITOU FC, MAPLEBROOK FURY

Written By: Jenny Ellis

MANTIOU FC, MAPLEBROOK FURY COLLECT A POINT EACH IN SEASON OPENER
 

On Friday evening, May 31, 2024, Manitou FC and MapleBrook Fury faced off in a highly anticipated match at the White Bear Lake South Campus field. With a 8:00pm (CST) kickoff this time around and last year’s match up ending in a goalless draw at MapleBrook Fury’s home field, both teams were determined to claim a victory.
 

MapleBrook’s Head Coach, Jean-Yves Viardin, explained that he and his players were still early in their season, with Friday night's match being their first official game. The hardest part for Viardin at the beginning of the season with players unaccustomed to playing together is to "get everybody on the same page".
 

“We're just kind of figuring out, you know, who's who? How can we kind of stay balanced, we just kind of working on some technical stuff,” Viardin said. “The main thing that we're trying to do is just kind of stay organized defensively with a lot of new players that don't really know each other.”
 

This lack of experience together as a team was apparent in MapleBrook Fury’s newly assembled squad. These challenges potentially contributed to the defensive shortcomings that allowed Manitou FC's Tatum Trettel to capitalize early in the match
 

Manitou F.C., playing on its home turf, took the lead in the 12’ minute, with Trettel finding the back of the net and giving Manitou FC a 1-0 early advantage.
 

The early goal by Trettel set the stage for an uphill battle for MapleBrook as it pushed to equalize. Despite this fight, Manitou F.C. maintained its lead throughout the first half and deep into the second, with its defense holding firm against a determined MapleBrook Fury’s attacking threat. 
 

Reflecting on the match conditions, Viardin noted, "It's a smaller field than the one we play on. So that kind of plays into it a little bit. That always makes it a little bit harder to play in cluttered spaces."
 

As the game progressed, MapleBrook Fury intensified its efforts to find an equalizer. It’s persistence paid off in the final stages of the match when, in the 82’ minute, Kendall Stadden delivered a much needed goal to level the scoreline.
 

This goal could be credited to the players' hard work in training sessions leading up to the kickoff to this season keeping its players strong for 90 minutes.
 

“Everybody works, everyone's super intense, so the work rates have been pretty good,” Viardin said. “We'll do a good rotation and make sure that we don't burn anybody out, so we keep everybody fresh.” 
 

Despite both teams pushing for a winning goal in the dying minutes, the match ended in a 1-1 draw. The result mirrored last year's match up and the almost even capabilities of both sides.
 

With Manitou FC striking early and MapleBrook Fury fighting back to equalize in the final minutes, the draw highlighted the strengths and challenges faced by each side. As the teams continue through the season, both will undoubtedly build on this experience, refining their strategies and enhancing their teamwork to find future victories.