Men’s and Women’s Fall Soccer Overview

Maryville College’s Men’s and Women’s Soccer teams have had great success this season. 

“The women’s record really shows their success with 12 wins, three loses and three ties,” said Coach Jameson Elmore, one of the Assistant Soccer Coaches.

Coach Elmore touched base on a few of the soccer players that stood out this year, including Hailey Cartt, Hannah Smoot, Sierra Lee, Madison McDonald and Sophie Turner. Cartt before this year was an all-conference midfielder, and “She’s kinda been the glue this year, back there, because we weren’t sure with some injuries who we could rely on defensively,” Elmore said. 

“Hannah Smoot was voted conference offensive player of the year, and she’s been great,”                      Elmore said. Smoot has seven goals this year and eight assists for 22 points. 

Winning Rookie of the Year this season, McDonald has been a vital player for the Scots. “She stepped in, coming all the way from Alaska, and has been great,” Elmore said.

Turner is a goalkeeper for the Women’s Soccer team, and has been a four-year starter. She has only given up about seven goals in the regular season, which Elmore explains is pretty good because the average or normal is less than 10 in a regular season. 

On Nov. 4, the Women’s Soccer team finally put both hands on the CCS conference tournament championship trophy. It was a full-circle moment for the Scots after last year’s heartbreak to Piedmont.

This year, the Men’s Soccer team has a big group of first-year players. Elmore says five or six of the first-year players have actually started playing this year. “Usually, you might start two or three,” Elmore said. In most sports, first-year students take on more practice and learning routes for a year before they start playing. 

As far as stand-out players on the men’s team, Coach Elmore highlighted Hyatt MacDonald, Will Brush, Jorge Graniel, Noah Putman, and Mykal Manfred. 

MacDonald finished third in the conference in scoring this year and is the team leader with nine goals scored. Brush is a first-year student playing as a defender this year and has been a great defensive player for the team.

Graniel plays midfield and helps control the game for the team. “He has been working his tail off,” Elmore said. “He really anchors everything for us.”

Putman is a senior who was awarded first team all-conference while playing as a defender. “He has been a really good leader for the team,” Elmore said.

Manfred is a fifth-year senior who plays goalkeeper. “He is probably the best goal keeper in our conference,” Elmore said.

Elmore summed up the men’s soccer team season by saying it has been an unlucky year with some games they should have won or tied, playing against great competition.

“They have really shown a lot of determination in games where it really mattered.” Elmore said.

One of their highlights includes beating Covenant College this year. “It’s funny because they finished first in our conference, but we beat them,” Elmore said. Winning an away game is a big accomplishment when it comes to sports. They won their first conference tournament game, which was the quarterfinals against Piedmont. On Oct. 28, they played against Belhaven University, with a final score of 2-3, putting an end to their season.