CHS boys soccer is back after injury plagued 2019
An injury-plagued 2019 season didn’t allow the Crawfordsville boys soccer team to reach their real potential. Now fully healthy, the Athenians currently sit at 11-3 and are looking to make a run in the postseason.
“This team still has goals that they want to accomplish,” coach Marcus Hale said. “Each and every game they are out there playing for one another and learning and applying things as the season goes along. I couldn’t be happier with what this team has done compared to last year to this year. A lot of that is a testament to what our players are doing.”
The injuries last season for the Athenians continued to pile up and never really let the team build any momentum as they ended the year 5-11-1. Even though injuries can be unpredictable, coach Hale says his team has been fortunate this season in avoiding the injury bug.
“That’s just one thing you can’t predict going into any season,” he said. “There are some injuries that just come naturally throughout a season and thankfully we haven’t had to deal with too many this season.”
Led by senior captains Kevin Barrera-Chinchilla, Eli Reeves, Dwane Macias and goalie Landon Timmons, the Athenians have plenty of players including Emmett Bowman who are playing a pivotal role.
“A lot of guys are stepping up in their own way and finding ways they can help the team be better. They’re not focused on individual accolades and really playing for one another out there and that’s great to see.”
The Athenians will host the Class 2A sectional starting next week. They will get a rematch against Greencastle which back on August 25, the Athenians picked up a 4-3 win on the road.
Bacon looking to make more history for Chargers soccer
Breaking a school record set by one the greatest players to come through the program is one thing, but to do it as a sophomore makes it that more impressive. Sophomore Teegan Bacon broke the North Montgomery girls soccer single season goal record last week when she scored her 21st and 22nd goals of the season with a hat trick against Crawfordsville. That broke the previous record set by current senior Sidney Campbell who set the record with 20 goals in 2018. Campbell has 17 goals this season.
“The amount of talent we have now has been growing for a few years now,” Chargers coach Julie Hodges said. “Teegan is the best ball-skill player that we have on this team and I told her that she had the chance to do some great things this year and she took that and ran with it.”
Bacon who came into the program not knowing quite what her role would be, has settled into her current role of being a dynamic scorer for the Chargers this season. The bond between both Bacon and Campbell has helped lead the Chargers to where they are today.
“I’ve always looked up to Sidney,” Bacon said. “Knowing that I had a team that cared about my success has really helped me get where I am. We all care about each other as a family and to have her kind have Sidney there as a role model has definitely helped.” Hodges has seen Bacon’s confidence grow from her freshman year and that’s allowed Bacon to excel on the field. Coming into a team with already a ton of talent didn’t deter Bacon from establishing herself on the team.
“She knows that she’s a leader on this team,” Hodges said. “Her confidence has really came from the other players accepting her in that role. It doesn’t matter if she’s only a sophomore, she knows she has the talent and we’ve seen that since day one.”
Athenian Volleyball continuing strong season
A 20-2 record would normally be something to talk about. However, the Crawfordsville Volleyball team isn’t focused on their stellar record, instead they’re taking it one game at a time as the postseason is looming.
“We don’t talk about the record a whole lot,” coach Kelly Johnson said. “We do want to improve on our communication skills and if we do we will be a tough team to beat.”
After both of their losses this season, the Athenians have come back out on the court and picked up a win. The resilience and determination to get re-focused is one of the reasons the Athenians are looking to be a force moving towards the end of the season.
“We’ve just got back into practice and worked on some things,” coach Kelly Johnson said. “We competed hard against Western Boone but came up short. Our girls just come out to win every night and they’ve responded well after both of our losses.”
The Athenians will find out the pos-season bracket (Class 3A Sectional 20) on Sunday. Before that happens the team still has a big time Sagamore conference match with Tri West (15-7) on Saturday and a few more games to close out the regular season.
