Getting to play in your hometown is a memorable experience for any athlete, but what does it feel like to be named the MVP of your hometown club?
Just ask Marquette men’s soccer senior forward Noah Madrigal.
“It means everything,” Madrigal said.
Madrigal did indeed have a memorable summer with Peoria City Soccer, his hometown USL2 team, tallying seven goals and five assists on his way to being named team MVP.
“When he gets around the goal he just has this knack for finishing,” Peoria City head coach Tim Regan said. “Which, in our sport, is the most difficult thing to do.”
MVP MODE: The Prince of Peoria @noah_magical tallied a team high 7 goals and 5 assists in his 2023 campaign. The @pndsoccer alumni returns to @marquettesoccer this fall for his senior year! 🔥⚽️
(1/2) pic.twitter.com/Nc7zE34kH3— Peoria City Soccer (@PeoriaCityUSL2) August 18, 2023
However, Madrigal is no stranger to success in the Peoria area. During his high school career at Peoria Notre Dame High School, Madrigal recorded a school record 116 goals and was named an All-American twice by the United Soccer Coaches.
Myles Sophanavong, childhood friend and teammate at Peoria City and Peoria Notre Dame, said that Madrigal’s progression has been fun to watch.
“Noah actually started out as a goalie. It’s been crazy to see how much we’ve developed from the time we were in grade school, when we were just starting to take it (soccer) seriously,” Sophanavong said. “Accomplishing more and more each year is really good motivation for the both of us.”
This past summer marked Madrigal’s second summer with Peoria City. Madrigal said that one of the biggest advantages of playing for Peoria City is being able to keep playing in the offseason.
“It’s hard, especially with our short preseason here (at Marquette),” Madrigal said. “We only get a couple of weeks, so it’s not that much time to get match fit. So, with myself playing throughout the summer, I was able to maintain my fitness.”
Marquette graduated seven seniors off of last year’s team. This has created space for new players on the team to step up and assert themselves as leaders.
Head coach Louis Bennett said that he sees Madrigal as an influencer on the current squad.
“The biggest thing is his standard of commitment that he has. It is the standard of commitment that, as a coach, you are hoping that everyone is willing to give,” Bennett said. “We have a series of leaders and a series of influencers. These are people that can influence other people and certainly Noah is one of those people that’s involved in the leaders and influencers.”
Madrigal said that his goal is to be a good role model, especially for the lower-level students.
“I like to lead by example,” Madrigal said. “I don’t like telling guys to do things that I don’t do myself, but sometimes you gotta be a vocal leader and just give the young guys some tips and insights, some things that you wish you knew as a freshman.”
Madrigal’s lone goal from last season came in a match against St John’s late last season, the first of his collegiate career. Madrigal said he is hoping to put more balls into the back of the net this season.
“I’m a forward, so I wanna score as many goals as I can and I think scoring goals would lead to a lot of victories for us,” Madrigal said.
And Madrigal did just that, netting two goals and one assist in Marquette’s 6-0 win over Detroit Mercy last Friday night at Valley Fields.
Regan said Marquette fans should be excited to see Madrigal in a new role this season.
“You can expect just a lot more presence,” Regan said. “They are going to see a guy that is finally going to be able to show his abilities week in and week out and hopefully for the guy that plays an attacking role that’s contributing to goals, whether it’s assists or whether it’s goals itself.”
This story was written by Matthew Baltz. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter/X @MatthewBaltzMU.
