Looking out onto the soccer field, the setting is a little bit different this year than years before. A mix of winter and spring weather is in the air, patches of snow are all around, and the size of the crowd is cut in half. Fans are spread out six feet apart and everyone is wearing a mask. Although this season is drastically different for the athletes, the boys varsity soccer team came out strong for their game against Dundee Crown. 

“What’s different about this season compared to the last few is that everyone is willing to do whatever it takes to win. We have a lot of seniors on the roster, and they recognize that the only way to extend our already short season is to win games,” junior Ethan Kornas said.

The beginning of the game was extremely fast-paced. Both teams held the skill of speed and used it against each other. Ten minutes into the first half, the Chargers scored their first goal, taking the lead 1-0. However, Huntley stayed at their throats the whole time, fighting hard for the ball and nearly scoring many times. 

Communication was a big piece of this game, with both teams constantly talking and telling each other what to do. There wasn’t a minute where the field was quiet. Along with communication, the game was also very rough physically. There were some extremely hard hits and players were taken out as the result of both teams fighting for the ball. 

“Some good things about our games so far is our energy that we bring day in and day out. Everyone is motivating each other and all it takes is one goal for our team and it feels like our opponent has already lost because once we get our momentum going, we never slow down until the last whistle,” Kornas said.

As the game progressed, Kornas, the goalie, made some great saves, constantly diving for saves and watching the ball’s every move. He helped keep the Chargers down to one goal in the first half, along with the hard work of all the other boys. 

On the other side of the field, the Chargers goalie made some great saves as well, keeping the Huntley boys held to no points at halftime. Towards the end of the first half, there was an extreme fight for the ball, and as it seemed the Chargers would close the half with its possession, a Huntley player came in and stole the ball to end the first 40 minutes. 

In the second half, the game stayed close, with Huntley scoring a goal to tie the game up, 1-1. The game got heated as both teams tried their hardest to break the tie and score the winning goal. Neither team was able to do so, and the game went into overtime. 

“Something that we struggle with is just getting to know how everyone plays on the pitch because it’s a very new team. We only had about seven returning varsity players this past year, and we are all still trying to figure out how to use each other’s talent and find out what’s best for the team,” Kornas said. 

To end the game, the Chargers took the win in overtime with a score of 2-1. Both teams played extremely well and gave it their all despite the odd circumstances. It’s great to see the hard work put in by the boys and to finally see sports and athletes back to this weird sort of reality.