20-03-2025
Doral Academy's Manuel Benen is the Miami Herald's Boys' Soccer 7A-4A Player of the Year
Dutch-born Manuel Benen grew up idolizing former Netherlands star Wesley Sneijder and dreaming of one day making his own mark in the sport of soccer.
This past season in his first season with state powerhouse Doral Academy, Benen had a major impact.
Benen scored 14 goals and dished out three assists to lead Doral to the state semis for the fifth consecutive season.
Benen, the Miami-Dade County Boys' Soccer Player of the Year for Classes 7A-4A, saved his best for last, even though the Firebirds came up short in the Class 7A semifinals. The senior scored two goals in his final game for Doral, helping the Firebirds get to penalty kicks before falling short against Lake Nona in a bid for a third straight state championship.
'Obviously, we wanted to win it all, but we went pretty far and a lot of us didn't really know each other in the beginning,' Benen said. 'We went pretty far and accomplished a lot.'
The Firebirds went to overtime or penalty kicks in each of their final three games this year and kept squeaking by, until the 7A semifinals. Although Doral won just two of its first eight games to start the season, the Firebirds went 7-2-1 in their last 10, with Benen scoring three goals in the final two games.
Benen said one of his biggest improvements this season was on the mental side of the game as he struck when he had scoring opportunities with more confidence.
'Finishing in the final third for sure was an area of improvement,' said Benen, who has yet to sign with a college.
