Sometimes you have to prepare for the oddest of situations, and Saturday was such the case for the Chargers at Lake Michigan College. During pregame warm-ups, Freshman goalkeeper Tolulope Oluwafemi was unfortunately injured, preventing him to participate in the contest. Freshman Ashton Macedonio stepped up big-time in Oluwafemi's absence, taking his spot in goal. Macedonio, plus team defense, limited the Red Hawks to just one goal on the afternoon, as the Chargers took the win, 3-1.
Lake Michigan actually jumped out in front early with the first goal, initially leading 1-0. However, the Chargers responded quickly when Freshman midfielder Isaiah Hughes crossed a ball to Freshman forward Moises Franco, who buried the shot in the back of the net. The remainder of the half was a stalemate, as neither team could find another scoring opportunity and everyone entered halftime tied 1-1.
Whatever was said at halftime seemed to motivate the Chargers, as they came out with a renewed intensity, dominating much of the time of possession, and constantly playing at the offensive end of the field. Then, midway through the half, Freshman midfielder Jared Garcia connected on a crafty back kick in which the Freshman Franco found and was able to deposit in the goal for his second score of the day. After a little more back & forth, the Chargers were able to polish off the win with a third goal with less than five minutes left, however this time roles were reversed, as it was Franco finding Hughes for the final score, making it 3-1 at game's end.
Charger Head Coach Kirk Weiss was pleased with his team's response to the early adversity and late-season play, expressing "obviously having to change keepers minutes before the game wasn't ideal, but the guys really responded with the 'next-man-up' mentality. We have been playing better towards the end of the season, and now on a 2-game win streak, we need to finish the last two games with the same intensity. We face this same Lake Michigan game Tuesday, and we know they will come ready, so we must be ready to battle."
The men's soccer team finishes their season this week with a pair of home contests. They again face Lake Michigan College on Tuesday, October 17th (4:00 p.m. start), in a makeup game from earlier this season. They cap off their regular season on Saturday, October 21st, against Jackson College, with a 3:00 p.m. kickoff. Please come out and support the Chargers!
