Bobcat boys soccer exceeding expectations in first season under Thielke

BROOKINGS – The Brookings boys’ soccer team looked at the 2026 season as a growth and developmental year. However, the Bobcats have started to hit their stride and find themselves in the middle of the Class AA standings as they head into the final stretch of the season.

Marcel Thielke took over a boys soccer program that has not won over five games for the past five seasons. In three of those seasons, the Bobcats won four games and Brookings has already matched that through the first eight games in 2026.

Heading into this season, the Bobcats had to replace nine seniors and have seven freshmen on the roster. Thielke said he went into the year with no expectations as far as wins or losses and just wanted to focus on getting better.

“We kind of focused on hey, you know, the results will be what they may be, but as long as we show up with effort and try to get better, [that’s will be good]. [Now], the boys are playing out of their mind, I really shouldn’t say that. They’re playing up to their capability and I think we can stretch that out farther,” Thielke said.

Brookings started the season 1-2. The Bobcats beat Rapid City Stevens 2-0 in the season opener but then lost 4-1 to Rapid City Stevens and fell 2-1 to Sioux Falls Roosevelt. That’s when the Bobcats flipped the script and have now won or played to a draw in four of their past five games.

The Bobcats beat Mitchell 9-0 and then played Brandon Valley to a 0-0 draw. Brookings picked up back-to-back victories over O’Gorman (2-1) and Pierre (2-0) and then lost 1-0 to an Aberdeen Central team that is 7-1 on the season.

Thielke said he’s seen his team come together and play as a unit over the past two weeks and it’s been fun for him to see the growth of his players.

“I think hitting our stride is really what it feels like. There’s fewer questions on the field, it seems. Everybody seemingly has an answer for new things that are coming or that are thrown our way. The coaching during the games is really fun, just because I basically see 11 other coaches on the field, trying to solve the problem at the same time as me. It’s been very fun to see how fast they’ve come along and how many young guys are contributing,” Thielke said.

Three of those young guys are freshmen who are starting. They are goalkeeper Miles Hahn, left winger Raul Mendoza Galvan and right winger Josh Deming. Thielke said Hahn has had some mistakes as a young goalkeeper, but they only happen once.

“[Hahn] plays beyond his age when you just watch, but you know he’s very young. You can tell the little mistakes that a goalkeeper makes because they are sadly evident on the scoresheet very quickly. … But the fun thing about the learning opportunities he’s getting, the mistakes are a thing that he shows me in practice and then at the next games they are truly mistakes that happen once in a lifetime,” Thielke said.

Mendoza Galban leads the team in goals and Thielke said he’s very creative, which sometimes they need to hold back.

“The fun thing about him is that he plays as if he’s been on varsity for eight years and he’s only a freshman. He’s very calm under pressure, very creative and he doesn’t shy away from some things. Sometimes we need to rein him in with his creativity,” Thielke said.

The Bobcats have five seniors on the varsity roster in Eli Amiotte, Joseph O’Neil, Griffin Bachman, Kavish Salunke and Eric Anderson. Bachman and Anderson are team captains and Thielke said both have done a great job of being leaders vocally and with their play.

“Griffin Bachman has been a revelation when it comes to [leadership]. … He is every definition of a leader, not only verbally. He will try to drive this team home. … Eric Anderson is another senior captain and he leads mostly through silent strength. I mean, on the field, he’s verbal, but he’s just such a physical presence and him and the other senior, Joseph O’Neil, with those two at center backs, the entire team looks at them and knows we have a really good chance to win,” Thielke said.

Thielke added that Amiotte has done a good job of helping with the younger guys and helps with the Grassroots Soccer Camp with the SoDak Spurs Soccer Club. He also said Salunke has done everything to help the team win, even though he is not a starter and bounces between varsity and junior varsity.

Brookings will begin its final stretch on Tuesday night when the Bobcats play at Yankton. Due to the Beacon’s print deadline, the result of that game is not in this story. The Bobcats will then host Harrisburg on Thursday at 4 p.m.

Brookings then heads to Watertown on Sept. 22 and plays at Tea Area on Sept. 24. The Bobcats final two games will be at Huron on Sept. 29 and home against Sioux Falls Lincoln on Oct. 1.

The Bobcats are in 11th place in the Class AA standings. The top 16 teams make the playoffs and the top eight get to host a game.

Thielke said his expectations have changed throughout the season. He still doesn’t have a goal for the outcome of how the season ends, but he wants to make sure that the Bobcats opponents respect them come playoff time.

“My expectation at the beginning of the season was to make the playoffs,” Thielke said. “Now my expectation is, yes, we have to make the playoffs. But in that first game, I don’t have the expectation for the outcome of it, but I have the expectation to scare whoever we play. … We’re not going to be the favorites on paper, but whoever sees that they’re going to play Brookings, I want them to be frustrated. Even if they know they have a really good chance at winning, if we can make the other team miserable, it usually means we’re doing something right.”