It didn’t end in a championship, but Munising Baptist soccer head coach Hunter MacArthur really liked how his team’s season ended last fall. The Bobcats made a bit of an improbable run all the way to the Northern Lights League championship game, before coming up just a bit short to Big Bay de Noc.
“We had a good regular season, capped off by an amazing tournament,” fourth year head coach Hunter MacArthur said. “Mackinac Island had our number for the past few years and we weren’t expected to make it past them in the tournament, but the game was tied until the last 10 seconds when we were able to score to send us to the finals. And then, against Big Bay in the finals, it was a stalemate 0-0 finish that we ended up losing in a shootout. But, we got that far with an injury wrecked team when we weren’t supposed to. I was extremely proud of our season.”
The Bobcats finished 8-4 overall last year, and now in 2024, with a talented cast returning to the field, MacArthur feels pretty good about where his program is.
“This year’s team has grown and played together for quite a few years and should be even better than last year,” he said. “We weren’t expected to make it to the finals last year, let alone take it to a shootout. So, with other teams phasing out multiple seniors and us only losing one senior from last year, I believe we will be real contenders. We have been second or third in every tournament since I took over the team. We as coaches and as a team are hungry to finally win it all.”
Returning from last year’s team are seniors Jonathon MacArthur (stopper, captain), Eileen Veneberg (defense, captain), Tom Norton (defense, captain), junior Gabe Heyrman (midfield), Dylan Swift (striker), sophomores Will Norton (midfield), Isaac Beaverson (midfield), Leighla MacArthur (defense), freshmen Trek (striker), Ethan Swift (goalkeeper, co-league MVP last season), Marshall Norton (midfield) and seventh grader Alex Fredrick (midfield). Sixth grader Hunter Norton (midfield) is the lone new player to the team.
“I expect that our leaders will be the same as last year; Jonny MacArthur and Dylan Swift,” MacArthur said. “Jonny is the glue that holds the midfield and defense together in the stopper position. He cleans up a lot that we might mess up as a team and Dylan leads with a fierce desire to win. He has been the teams’ leading goal scorer for the past three years. Multiple times passing 20 goals and even hitting 30 one year.”
While MacArthur believes his team can compete for a NLL, he knows there will be some quality squads trying to get in their way.
“I think the teams to beat will be Big Bay and Mackinac Island, just like the last few years,” he said. “They are coached well and are always ready to compete. I believe we will be right in line with them this year. Our team goals this year are to always compete to the best of our ability and get better every game. The ultimate goal is to bring a championship home at the end of the season.”
Munising Baptist opens the season with home games against Beaver Island on Monday and Tuesday and the Bobcats also host Mackinac Island on Thursday.
“My hopes for the first few games are to come out fast and compete hard from game one,” MacArthur said. “I want to start the season off strong with some solid wins.”
