LINDEN — It was inevitable and every North Montgomery fan knew it. Teegan Bacon came into her senior season needing just a single goal to break Sidney Campbell’s career mark of 68 goals scored which is the most in North Montgomery girls soccer history. The Chargers opened up their 2022 season Wednesday night with a 5-1 loss to a talented and skilled Greencastle team. The one goal that the Chargers scored? You guessed it... came from Bacon herself in the final seconds of the first half. There she stood with her 69th goal of her career, alone in the record books as the most skilled player to ever come through the North Montgomery program.
“She’s the most skilled player we’ve ever had and I’ve said that about her countless times,” Charger coach Julie Hodges said. “A lot of times at this level, even as great and talented player, sometimes you don’t see the year-to-year improvement from the beginning to the end. I can legitimately say that Teegan has gotten better every single season. She started off great and she’s gotten even better. It’s a testament to the hard work she puts in all year long.”
The Chargers on the field are a much different looking team than a season ago. While the recognition of having her name at the top of the record books is nice to have, Bacon continually wants to help her entire team get better.
“She wants to leave the legacy of the program not just herself,” Hodges said. “You can see that over the last couple of years she’s began to use her talents to help develop the other girls around her. This year she’s surrounded by so many younger players and wants to help shape those young players. Every record and accolade that she’s earned in her career is more than deserving.”
Bacon has already committed to continue her soccer career at Division III North Central College in Naperville, IL. The fact that she got to experience the record with a new group of teammates in her first game of her senior year is something that Bacon says she’ll hold near and dear for quite sometime. It’s also quite fitting that it was Campbell who held the record as the both her and Bacon spent two years playing together as teammates and relished their friendship as Campbell was seen a role model to Bacon.
“To be able to experience this with a whole new group of people made it more special I think,” Bacon said. “With Sidney I saw her accomplish all of the things that I wanted to. She did so much for this program before and while I was coming up and I want to be able to pass that same thing along to the next generation of players to come through here.”
Bacon obviously has plenty of time to increase her goal record. With her 69 career goals and an entire season left to play there’s no telling where the record might stand whenever the Chargers play their final game of the season.
During their first match you could hear and see Bacon constantly communicating with her younger teammates as she is not only going to be relied on to score, but as a vocal leader as well which is something she’s still getting used to.
“I’ve never liked to be the vocal leader and talk a lot,” Bacon admitted. “I’ve always been the lead by example type but I recognize this year that I have to step and be that vocal leader to help these girls work through things. It feels really good when they really start to understand what I’m telling them because it shows they’re growing as players.”
To really show what a team player Bacon is and what she means to the North Montgomery girls soccer program, Hodges noted how if Bacon could give up the record for the success of the team, she’d do it in a heartbeat.
“It just goes to show how team oriented and how the development of the players around her comes first,” Hodges said. “When she scores she wants to celebrate with her teammates because she knows she didn’t do it alone. You could have someone who could go out there and score 100 goals and be the most selfish player, but that’s not who Teegan is. It’s a lot more fun when you have 30 girls who you love and care about who are there to go along the journey with you.”
Only time will tell how many more goals Bacon will score and where the Chargers team is headed in this young season. But one thing is clear... Bacon hasn’t taken any shortcuts to get to where she is today and as Hodges noted has earned everything she’s worked for.
Congrats Teegan!
