Wednesday, August 19, 2026

The Frankenmuth Eagles soccer team kicked off its season Wednesday against Lake Fenton, looking to build on last year’s run to the regional final, where the Eagles suffered a heartbreaking overtime loss to Lansing Catholic.

“We were hungry last year, and that overtime loss only made us work harder in the offseason to come back even hungrier this year,” said senior captain Carter Stapleton.

The Eagles graduated only a handful of players from last year’s squad, leaving the core of the team intact with 10 seniors on this season’s roster. Frankenmuth also added senior Brady Mort, a welcome addition to an already experienced group.

“Brady is an athlete, and that’s what he brings to the table,” remarked head coach Marcus Baker. “He played soccer in his younger days, so his fundamental skills are there. He has been impressive in practice so far, and he will definitely contribute to the team’s success this season.”

The Eagles wasted no time making their mark on the scoreboard.

In the fourth minute, senior winger Brayden Karwat gathered the ball on the right side of the field in the attacking third and sent a pass that found the foot of Stapleton, who made light work of the finish to give Frankenmuth an early 1-0 lead.

Just four minutes later, the Eagles struck again off a corner kick. Senior defender Nicklas Parker curled his corner toward the goal in Olimpico fashion, rattling the crossbar. Sophomore striker Nolan Joyce was waiting in the right place and cleaned up the rebound with an easy tap-in to make it 2-0.

“Nick is dialed in with his corner kicks,” remarked Joyce, “so everyone knows that they have a chance to score when he’s sending them in. I was in the right place at the right time.”

Lake Fenton, however, was not about to let the game get out of hand that easily. The Blue Devils took advantage of a counterattack in the 18th minute, driving the ball into open space before cutting inside and finishing with precision to trim the Frankenmuth lead to 2-1.

From there, the two teams battled back and forth in a physical fight for possession and the next goal.

In the 29th minute, sophomore Christian Kuck found a seam up the middle on the counterattack and fired a laser of a pass to Stapleton, who again made light work of a one-on-one opportunity against the goalkeeper for his second goal of the match.

Frankenmuth carried a 3-1 advantage into halftime.

“It was a tight match at halftime, and the guys had ideas about what we needed to do to break the game open,” remarked Baker. “We coaches actually step away from the team to start halftime so the boys can talk among themselves and strategize before we come back and compare notes with them.”

Whatever was discussed at halftime worked.

The second half was where the Eagles truly shined, and it took only two minutes for the halftime adjustments to pay off.

Sophomore Jack Muller found himself open for a pass at the top of the 18-yard box. Wrong-footed and without enough time to switch feet, Muller quickly laid the ball off to Stapleton, who buried a missile into the top corner from outside the box to complete his hat trick and extend Frankenmuth’s lead to 4-1.

“I had the ball, but didn’t have time to switch feet, so I just passed to Carter because he was right there and he can just shoot with either foot from anywhere,” remarked Muller.

The offensive onslaught continued.

Just five minutes later, Karwat picked up his second assist of the match. He battled for possession of a caroming ball, came away with it and quickly spotted Landon Jacobs on the far side of the box. Jacobs needed only a few dribbles before choosing his spot and finishing for his first goal of the season.

In the 15th minute of the half, it was Stapleton’s turn to provide the assist. He flicked a header over a defender and into the path of Jacobs, who clinically finished with a volley past the outstretched hands of the goalkeeper.

Two minutes later, Parker again created danger from a corner kick. He sent the ball toward the top of the box, where Stapleton quickly fired a hard shot into the upper corner for his fourth goal of the match.

By that point, the Eagles had scored four times in the opening 17 minutes of the second half and had completely taken control of the game.

In the 24th minute, Parker collected his third assist of the match. His long-range free kick found an open Jacobs, whose initial shot was stopped by the goalkeeper. Jacobs stayed with the play, collected his own rebound and buried the second opportunity to complete his hat trick and make the score 8-2.

The scoring had become fast and furious, with Lake Fenton struggling to keep pace with the Eagles both physically and mentally.

“Once we scored four goals in the first 17 minutes of the second half, you could see the difference in body language between the two teams,” remarked assistant coach Jason Paetz. “I just hope that we can keep up this level of intensity and work rate for the season—and it’s a long season.”

Still, the Eagles weren’t finished.

In the 30th minute, Karwat collected his third assist of the match, threading a pass from the wing toward the middle of the field to Jacobs. Left unmarked from 30 yards out, Jacobs picked out the top corner and put his shot beyond the reach of the goalkeeper for his fourth goal of the match.

With the game well in hand, Frankenmuth was able to give its reserves significant minutes throughout the second half. But the Eagles’ bench proved to be plenty deep.

Junior Grant Kerns put the finishing touches on the victory, finding the back of the net with a one-time shot off a headed pass from Stapleton to close out the Eagles’ 10-2 season-opening win.

“It was our first match of the season, so I didn’t know what to expect from the boys,” remarked Baker. “They put in a lot of time over the summer doing independent conditioning and practices without us, and it showed today. These boys really are willing to work for it, and I’m looking forward to seeing what they can do this season.”

Stapleton and Jacobs led the offensive explosion with four goals apiece, while Stapleton also added two assists. Karwat and Parker each recorded three assists as the Eagles produced 10 goals from four different players, and had 5 players with at least one assist. 

The victory gives Frankenmuth a convincing start to a season in which an experienced group has its sights set on making another deep postseason run—and, this time, taking it a step further.

The Eagles return to action Saturday at Flint’s Atwood Stadium, where they will face Goodrich in the Vehicle City Classic. The invitational will be followed by a match featuring the Flint City Bucks.

Frankenmuth (1-0 overall, 0-0 conference)