Albuquerque Academy soccer wins again in the quarterfinals. The Chargers beat Highland 2 – 0 and are moving on. Academy tops Pius in penalties to win the championship.
Last season, Albuquerque Academy’s boys soccer was unbeatable, but things have changed. The Chargers have a 10-5-3 record this season and are attempting to recover from the fourteen Seniors that left the team.
Albuquerque Academy boys soccer was one of the best teams in the state last year and at the end of the season won the state championship, but over the summer, 14 Seniors of the 22-man roster graduated. This left Albuquerque Academy’s coaching staff with 14 spots to fill, and 14 new players to train and get to work together as a team.
One of the 14 new players to join the team was Sophomore Luke who plays left back. Luke, when interviewed, talked about the difficulty of adjusting to being on the varsity roster saying in regard to practices, “they are intense.” Despite the difficult practices, Luke was quick to say that both him and the team are improving and getting better.
According to Luke, one of the biggest ways the team was adjusting to the loss of so many Seniors was a change in formation. The team from last year was very strong in the midfield, but this year’s team is more powerful upfront and in the backfield. This has caused the Chargers coaching staff to play a formation more suitable to the teams strengths and protect the weaker infield. Despite the challenges of a new formation, Luke says, “we’ve had massive growth since [the] preseason.”
One key player to the Academy both this year and last is the team’s Striker, Cruz. Cruz, a Sophomore, is in his second year on the varsity team and contributed greatly to the Academy’s state championship, scoring 25 goals for the season.
Cruz thinks that, although the team is struggling, starting off the season with a 4-5-3 record, there is hope for the season, saying, “once we hit our stride, we’ll do well.”
Both Cruz and Luke also mentioned a couple of bright spots to the team, and that although it is definitely tough losing so many Seniors and more experienced players to learn from, there are some excellent new players coming in, too.
Some new and exciting players to watch are Davan (striker/midfielder), Harrison (midfielder), and Wyatt (midfielder). These players are really beginning to do well and will play a crucial role as the season draws on.
Although the Chargers are definitely not the unstoppable force of last season, they are still a great team. The adjustments of new players and a new formation is tough, and it takes a couple of times to get everything right, but one common theme that was evident when talking to both Luke and Cruz is steady improvement. According to Luke, “our team is only getting better as we get more experience.”
