Young Charger Squad Starting to Gain Momentum

The key for any team is to gain momentum heading into the postseason.  The ACC boys soccer team is working towards that goal as they head toward the last couple of weeks in the regular season.   After a slow start to the season, this young team (half of the 24-man roster is underclassmen) has started to play better with a win and a tie during homecoming week.

The Chargers started off the season with losses to very good Marmion and Timothy Christian squads.  The team then turned it around with a second-place finish at the Somonauk Invitational.  Game one against Reed-Custer resulted in a 0-0 tie as keeper Brian O’Donnell recorded the shutout.  The offense got going in the next game as Hank Exline netted two goals.  Shane Samuels chipped in a goal and an assist along with a Steve Kuk assist as ACC beat Plano 3-1.  The Chargers then dropped the third game to host Somonauk to finish second.

Unfortunately, the Chargers then entered a mid-season funk dropping consecutive contests to an unbeaten Hinckley-Big Rock team, Driscoll Catholic, Elgin Acadamy, and Nazareth Academy.  Shane Samuels had a goal as well as an assist on a Steve Kuk goal in the Driscoll contest.  Steve Kuk scored on a Hank Exline assist against Elgin Academy in a game where the Chargers lost due to a controversial call on a would-be game tying goal in the closing seconds of the game.

The team played three games during Homecoming week and started it off with a 1-1 tie against Indian Creek.  Freshman Kevin Bond scored off of a Hank Exline assist.  The Chargers then defeated Plano for their second win of the season, 1-0.  Brian O’Donnell picked up the shutout and also recorded an assist on an Eric Anaya goal.  A hard-fought 2-0 loss at St. Edward’s closed out the week.

The Chargers dropped their next contest 1-0 to Newark, but came back the very next day with a 2-1 win over Paw Paw.  Shane Samuels recorded a goal and as an assist with Steven Jones picking up an assist and Steven Kuk netting the game-winner.  The Chargers lost 2-1 at IMSA to drop their record to 3-10-2 as Hank Exline recorded the goal on a header off of a cross by Steven Kuk.

With momentum picking up, the Chargers are looking to make a splash come tournament time.