October 12, 2016

Breaking Out With 6-0 Victory Over Life Center, Hun Boys’ Soccer Aiming for Positive Finish

With the Hun School boys’ soccer team having lost five straight games, getting outscored 23-6 in that stretch, it was looking for a break-out game when it hosted Life Center Academy last week.

Taking out its frustrations, Hun exploded for six goals, cruising to a much-needed 6-0 victory in the October 11 contest.

Junior forward Michael Campbell, who scored two goals in the victory, saw the win as a big step forward for the Raiders.

“It was a good confidence builder, we haven’t been the best so far,” said Campbell.

“We have been more focused lately. Everyone was playing more as a team than we did before.”

In reflecting on his two-goal effort in the win, Campbell credited his teammates with setting him up.

“I thought I had an alright game,” said Campbell. “I give a lot of credit to my teammates, they helped me a lot with that and that goes back to the offense working well together better than we have in the previous games.”

Campbell is dedicated to doing his best for the Raiders this fall. “I have just been focusing more this year and trying to stay less frustrated,” said Campbell.

“I always try to score goals. I am trying to focus on doing whatever the team needs and just help us win.”

Hun head coach Pat Quirk was glad to see his team finally score a bunch of goals.

“It is a game that we needed, we have been struggling a little bit to get some goals in the net,” said Quirk, who also got scores from Jake Keller, Tishe Olaleye, Elijah Smarr, and Dylan Smith in the victory.

“We were leaving a lot of opportunities out there, especially last Saturday against George (a 3-1 loss). Life Center was a game where we were saying we are not going to leave them out there and we put them away. It is the first time we have buried a team in a while, so it was a good confidence booster.”

In Quirk’s view, Campbell has been playing with more confidence this season.

“Michael is a very dangerous player; we do rely on him to do a lot for us and he lives up to that moment,” added Quirk.

“If he is not scoring, he is making an assist usually. His work rate has improved and he is much more consistent than he was last year. He is much more dedicated to the team; he wants to play with these kids and wants to be part of it.”

With senior goalie Logan Leppo being sidelined for four games due to injury, Hun came together more as a team, playing in front of backup goalie J.P. Sinuk.

“They knew they had to rally, J.P. has filled in great,” said Quirk. “I don’t think J.P. ever thought he was going to play. He is another kid who brings high energy. When he does well, the team can rally behind that.”

Senior midfielder/defender Patrick Nally has helped raise the level of play on a daily basis for the Raiders.

“Pat Nally is above and beyond; day in, day out his leadership has been great for our team,” asserted Quirk.

“He is a real positive guy and skilled. I would say yesterday, he probably had an off day but even on his off day, he is still bringing high energy. He brings  positive energy to the kids and the kids rise up when they play next to him.”

Quirk is hoping that Hun can produce some some positive play down the stretch.

“We need to just go in as a team and finish the opportunities that we get,” said Quirk, whose team fell 5-2 to Blair Academy last Saturday in its Mid-Atlantic Prep League (MAPL) opener to drop to 3-7 and will host Princeton Day School on October 13 before playing at the Hill School (Pa.) on October 15.

Campbell, for his part, believes that breaking out against Life Center could lead to a solid finish for the Raiders.

“I think we have a lot more confidence now after that win,” said Campbell.

“We weren’t doing that well but I think that will be a turning point going forward.”