Angus Soderburg’18 cannons ball downfield. (Chris Heerman’18/Media)
The atmosphere at Hondros Field on Saturday, September 16 was full of beach attire, loud cheers, and great soccer. The CA boys soccer team faced off against rival Wellington, who bounced the Vikes from the tournament last season. But the boys used their fire as a motivation, and this rematch had a different ending.
The Vikings avenged their loss with a 5-3 win over the Jaguars and played their best game all season. Each player gave maximum effort from the first whistle to the final buzzer.
Wellington struck first, quieting the raucous Academy student section. Then junior Tyler Schlonsky, with an assist from senior Connor Brown, immediately answered with an equalizer, and the teams went to the locker rooms tied at one-one.
Frustrated with how the first half ended, the Jaguars came out of the half with a vengeance. They scored back-to-back goals, and our crowd went silent.
But the Vikes refused to go down quietly. With Wellington on the attack again, sophomore center back Charlie Muller made an outstanding play to prevent another goal.
CA’s offense capitalized on the stop, as senior co-captain Angus Soderberg netted a goal to bring the Vikings within one goal.s
Minutes later, the Jaguars committed a foul in their own box, giving Academy a penalty kick. Senior co-captain Jack Ostrowski showed the ice in his veins and fired a bullet into the back of the net to tie the game and send the student section into a frenzy.
With all of the momentum, the Vikes again gained possession of the ball. This time, it was junior David Barren who fired a shot past the goalkeeper, giving CA a 4-3 lead.
Stunned at the turnaround, a desperate Wellington tried to score a late goal to at least salvage a tie. But Academy’s aggressive defense stood tall against the apprehensive Jaguars.
With under 10 minutes left , Schlonsky put a bow on the historic comeback and drove the nail into the Jaguars’ coffin with his second goal of the night.
With a signature win under its belt, Academy will look to continue its winning streak.
The Vikings have a home game against Whitehall on Monday, September 18, host London on Tuesday, September 19, and travel to Fairbanks on Saturday, September 23.
