ZACH ATTACK: Hun School boys’ soccer player Zach Vallee dribbles the ball upfield in recent action. Last Thursday, junior Vallee scored the lone goal as Hun edged Lenape High 1-0. The Raiders, who topped Blair Academy 2-1 last Saturday in improving to 5-6, will have a rematch at Blair in the Prep A state quarterfinals on October 15. In addition, Hun will play at the Hill School (Pa.) on October 18 and at Notre Dame on October 21 in regular season action. (Photo by Frank Jacobs III)

By Bill Alden

Zach Vallee came to the Hun School this year looking to focus on ice hockey but he is making a big impact this fall for the Raider boys’ soccer team.

Last Thursday night as Hun hosted Lenape High to kick off Homecoming weekend, Vallee found the back of the net early in the contest to put the Raiders up 1-0.

As a pass from Sasha Mykhalchuk headed to Vallee, he appealed to a higher authority.

“I saw the ball coming, I started to stress out. I prayed and I scored,” said Vallee, who hails from Quebec City, Quebec.

Vallee’s answered prayer turned out to be the lone goal of the game as Hun held on for a 1-0 triumph.

His tally helped set the tone as the Raiders controlled the ball for much of the evening on the way to snapping a four-game losing streak.

“The energy after that was pretty good,” said Vallee. “We did a lot of possession. We did a good job with keeping the ball. We needed this.”

The Raiders drew energy from the raucous throng of students who packed the bleacher behind the Raider bench.

“It was insane,” said Vallee. “It feels nice to win at home with our fans.”

While Vallee came to Hun for ice hockey, he is enjoying a nice run this fall on the pitch.

“Soccer is not my main sport,” said Vallee. “It is going great. I played a bit in Quebec and now it is getting pretty intense.”

Hun head coach Pat Quirk liked the intensity displayed by the Raider supporters.

“When the fans are out, it is a lot of fun,” said Quirk. “It is fun to be under the lights, the guys always enjoy it and it gets them going.”

Quirk has enjoyed watching Vallee show his finishing touch.

“It is nice to jump out to an early lead, we were moving the ball really well,” said Quirk. “Zach is a hockey guy but he puts balls away when they are in the box.”

The Raiders played well to the final whistle against the Indians.

“I feel like it is the best we have played as a complete game this whole season,” said Quirk. “We moved the ball side to side. We were looking to get in behind dangerously.”

The return of senior midfielder Mykhalchuk from injury made a difference for Hun.

“Having Sasha helped, he is a huge help,” said Quirk. “He has been out and nursing a hamstring thing for four games.”

In addition, the Raider back line had a huge game against Lenape.

“Our defense cleaned up things really nicely,” said Quirk. “We have been working on getting up guys’ backs and winning balls out of the air. I thought they did a nice job doing that today.”

A number of players gave Hun some good work in the win.

“Gonzalo’s energy in the field is really nice,” said Quirk, referring to Gonzalo Perez Nunez. “Chad Barrett made some great runs out of the back. Donovan Hayes got pretty dangerous today on the wing. Chris Meehan in the back and Armaan Grewal in the middle are doing well. It is a solid 10 and we have a couple of guys coming off the bench now. We are trying to teach them that it is not just about the results. It is worry about the process and keep getting better each day. We had two good practices leading up to tonight so that was good.”

With the Raiders, who topped Blair Academy 2-1 last Saturday to improve to 5-6, having a rematch at Blair in the Prep A state quarterfinals on October 15, Quirk believes the win over Lenape can be a turning point.

“We were trying to get something going right and everything seemed to go right tonight,” said Quirk, whose team plays at the Hill School (Pa.) on October 18 and at Notre Dame on October 21 in regular season action. “Hopefully we can build off it. If we are playing this well, we are going to be tough to beat.”

Things have certainly been going right for Vallee in his move to Hun.

“I have been here since preseason and everybody here is like family,” said Vallee. “I am really pumped to play.”