During his freshman season for the Minnesota St. Cloud State Huskies, Suttons Bay graduate Finn Mankowski has been shining.
St. Cloud started the season with seven straight wins, the best start in program history. Mankowski is a role player on the St. Cloud back line that is looking for its first NCAA D-II soccer tournament appearance in school history.
For the first time, the Huskies (8-7) were nationally ranked but have since dropped several games to set up a competitive end of the season.
“This past weekend in Chicago, we were able to turn the ship around a little bit and get a W under our belt,” Mankowski said. “The season’s been very fun and kind of eyeopening and made me realize that college sports are pretty awesome and it’s a completely different vibe from high school.”
Mankowski loves the competition level and is ready to make a statement whenever he gets the chance on the field that is full of veteran players. He fills a role wherever needed, which is essential for a freshman seeking playing time.
“It’s just great to get some minutes in the game and help the team come out with a win,” Mankowski said.
Mankowski is expected to play this weekend during one of the last regular-season games against UW-Parkside and Purdue Northwest.
Recently, Mankowski had several family and friends attend games at Grand Valley State University and Saginaw Valley State University earlier this month. The family even traveled to Northern Michigan University and will make many more trips throughout the Midwest during Mankowski career.
“It was awesome to see all those guys and let them see what I’ve been doing these past couple of months, and hopefully it inspired a couple of the younger guys to try and push that next step in soccer in their career,” Mankowski said. “Not only for soccer but for schooling. It’s great, and it was amazing to see everybody and have them be able to come to the game at such a convenient location where they didn’t have to drive super far.”
This weekend is the last regular season conference game before competing in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) tournament on Nov. 13-17.
If St. Cloud wins the tournament, the Huskies automatically qualify for the NCAA tournament. St. Cloud has never been to the NCAA soccer tournament.
St. Cloud currently ranks second in the GLIAC after losing twice to conference leader Saginaw Valley State University earlier this season.
“Hopefully, these games in the next weekend go well ... we’ll have a little bit of a fight to make to get to the end of the tournament,” Mankowski said.
The most crucial thing Mankowski has learned during his freshman season is to not “lose the ball.”
“You are going to work hard, and you are going sometimes to wish that you weren’t doing it, but at the end of the day, that’s what makes it fun. It challenges you and each other to keep working at it, and it’ll come,” Mankowski said.
Besides soccer, Mankowski is focused on hitting the books and developing a good routine and healthy lifestyle.
“I got to meet a bunch of the teammates, and it’s a close-knit group from the seniors all the way down to the freshman, he seems to be blending in, you know, and I felt like for about an hour I was on the team,” Len Mankowski said.
