Pirates Use the Second Half to Earn a NWS Conference Victory.
Park Center hosted the Eagles on a steamy night for Northwest Suburban Conference soccer. The Eagles game plan was to slow down the speedy Pirates, be comfortable without the ball, and finish the opportunities they earned with grit and determination.The three points before the game mentioned angles of support, committing to win 50-50 balls, and being energy for each other. The Eagles struggled for a variety of reasons. The Pirates were quicker to the ball and played a fluid game that the Eagles have tasted and worked to implement–but not on this occasion. A slick combination lead to Park Center’s first goal in the 11th minute of the match. The Eagles worked hard to battle back and scored on a nice service from senior captain Fran Serna to senior midfielder Tanner Johnson for the header. Eight minutes later, the Pirates scored on their first of three cornerkick goals. The teams went to half with a 2-1 Pirate advantage. Five minutes into the second half, a great service to a nice run on a cornerkick saw Park Center take a 3-1 lead. The Eagles struggled to deal with the offensive threats of the Pirates but managed six total shots (three on goal). Park Center kept the pressure on and found the net three more times: another cornerkick, a dubious penalty, and a thruball to a far post finish. The heat, the roster size, the 5pm kickoff, the overabundance of recycled rubber on the turf field, the slow start, the multiple visits to the field by Park Center’s Athletic Training staff . . . each of these may or may not have contributed to the performance the team was not proud of this evening. Each member of the team, including the coaching staff, is determined to reflect on the performance, evaluate individually and collectively, and then learn from it and prepare quickly for the next match. Come out and cheer on the Eagles this Thursday: Girls at 5pm and Boys at 7pm vs Champlin Park at Jim Totino Stadium.

Armstrong Corners Eagles into 1-0 Result
Matchday Three saw the Eagles host the Armstrong Falcons on a picturesque evening for Northwest Suburban Conference futbol. The pregame talk by senior, captain Will Junker included a message of memory, challenge, and intensity. The Eagles wanted to be on the front foot and force the Falcons to play under pressure. The game saw both teams work to pass the ball up the field and saw a number of Armstrong passing sequences that demonstrated some quick ball movement. In those instances, the Eagles looked to break out on the counter. In the 10th minute, the Falcons earned a cornerkick. Junior keeper, Everett Schutta made a difficult near post save due to the crowd in front of goal. The Eagles cleared it but the Falcons won the header, aimed it toward goal, and a second Falcon rose up and headed it far post to put Armstrong up 1-0. Moments later, the Eagles worked the ball up the right side. Junker played a ball to sophomore forward, Jabari Kibisu. Kibisu’s effort from the top of the box went just wide of the post. The Eagles and Falcons traveled end to end throughout the match with both teams creating a few more optimal, and some suboptimal, chances to score. On a first-half corner a ball served across the box by Junker found junior captain Vince Jacob, whose right-footed one-timer hit the football crossbar inches above the goal. The pace was high, the tackles were physical, and the Eagles were focused on retaining a strong defensive presence while creating opportunities going forward. The second half featured stout defending and a collection of decent half chances. In professional soccer there is a statistic, xg, which measures the expected goals in a given game. Numerous algorithms are used to give each team a number that represents the likelihood of scoring that number of goals. The xg of this game was somewhere above 1 for each team. The Eagles created multiple shots off of throw-ins and cornerkicks. One nice play happened when the senior, captain Fran Serna responded quickly after an Armstrong foul. He found senior Keenan Friden who served a splendid cross into the box. Senior mid Tanner Johnson made great contact with the volley and struck it just over the cross bar. On the night, Armstrong had four shots on goal to TG’s three. Both teams had double that tally of shots that were off target. The Eagles keeper, junior Everett Schutta made three saves to Armstrong keeper’s four saves on the night. The Eagles are grateful for the friends and family who cheered them on in this exciting NWS matchup.