Giving a Kick to the Season: Boy’s Soccer
By Chantal Meacham
The Centennial Boys Soccer Team has a history of ending their season strong. The team has a tendency to peak at just the right time, which has made their last two post seasons exciting and unpredictable. It’s not unreasonable to expect this year’s team to make a run in the post season even with an average record of 7-5-4 after their loss to Urbana on Wednesday night. “We were doing well at the beginning of the season. We had consecutive wins against Normal Community and Normal U-High, but since then it’s been pretty disappointing,” said senior center mid-fielder, Lonnie Barnes, about their season so far. Most of the team isn’t very happy with the way their team is playing during this part of the season. The team still has an opportunity to make it a long way in the post season. “We have a great team this year that we won’t have for a few years. But off right now, we all need to come together and be united. We also have to encourage each other to do well off the field, by that I mean taking care of business at home and school,” said Dennis Freeman, a freshman outside mid-fielder. Player eligibility and injuries have hurt their team throughout the year. Their starting goalkeeper, Andy Drackley, has been out for the entire season due to a surgery on June 23rd on two torn ligaments, a torn tendon, and a broken bone. Thomas Mueller is also out for an injury to his ankle. The player’s return from their injuries and having a fully academically eligible roster will be crucial to the Charger’s success in the post season. In 2009, they ended their season having lost only once in their last thirteen games after having just an average regular season. They went on a post season run that ended in a tough 3-2 loss against Troy Triad. The 2010 soccer team similarly ended their season on another unexpected run. They barely escaped regionals in a penalty kick shootout against Urbana where Drackley saved 3 penalty kicks and had 17 saves on the game. In the sectional final they came back from being down 2-0 at half to beat Chatham Glenwood, a team that was the downstate threat to win state, 3-2. After their remarkable comeback they ended their season in a 1-0 loss to Waterloo in Super Sectionals. They never cease to bring an exciting and nail-biting game to the field. Barnes believes that they should make it “to sectionals at least.” So be sure to support the Centennial Boys Soccer Team as they come into the last month of their season and stick around for regionals, October 18-22 at Urbana High School. The boy’s team has never finished below .500 so there’s a lot more excitement yet to come for this year’s soccer team. Their next home game is Thursday, October 13 vs. Bloomington. The Junior Varsity starts at 4:30 and the Varsity game will follow after. Come out and support the Chargers on their way to victory!
