Chesterton boys soccer welcomes new faces onto team, but Trojans fall short in home game vs. Crown Point, 3-0

Patrick Mochen
Onwardtrojans.com

Chesterton’s boys soccer team couldn’t take advantage of its few scoring opportunities and lost at home to Crown Point, 3-0, Wednesday.
Several Trojans were making their first career starts. Freshman goalkeeper Daniel Vidt, senior midfielder Daniel Lule, junior outside back Hutch Stuckert, and sophomore midfielder Arnulfo Marquez all had their first start against Crown Point.
“The younger guys need to buy in and take things more seriously and we need to unite more as a team because right now we have 11 individuals out there,” Chesterton coach Lucas Sabedra said.
The game started out looking like it would be an even match, but partway through the first half Chesterton’s level of play started to crumble. The many new faces resulted in a lower amount of chemistry on the field, and teammates were noticeably less connected than in previous games. Although they weren’t able to do much offensively and had several faults defensively, the Trojans have some reason for optimism. When putting together a different starting lineup, it shouldn’t be a big surprise that chemistry was lacking. After the game, Sabedra had a long discussion with his team, and senior goalkeeper Elliott McEvoy also spoke to his teammates.
“Elliott just mentioned that it’s not too late to turn it around,” Sabedra said, “and if anything we need to use this as a tool moving forward and a learning moment, and this needs to be the moment where we realize we need to get back to work and take ourselves more seriously as a group and that it won’t be given to us.”
For players involved in a program that has won so many conference championships, it can be easy for the Trojans to take things for granted. However, Lule plays as though he has earned nothing yet. He and fellow seniors Nate Kitchel and Alex Amaya played well in defeat.
“I’ve seen him play over the years and I knew he was a quality player,” Sabedra said of Lule, “and watching him today just made me respect his game so much more, just him coming onto a new team, taking ownership of the middle of the field and just being such a good piece in the middle, being the glue and the way he was competing, moving the ball, and always on it.”
Kitchel and Amaya have been leaders for the Trojans this season, Kitchel with the defense and Amaya as one of the team’s toughest players on the attack. Although this was his first game of the season, that didn’t make Lule shy away from the ball or from using his voice during the game. Lule might have been the most active player on the field, and perhaps this can best be explained by his background.
“At Portage, we were always the underdogs,” Lule said, “so I’m used to that, the underdog story, and having to grind for the game. I think there just has to be a different kind of hunger. I think we underestimated their team. We came in with big heads. We have a bunch of new faces, and if we stay humble, keep our head down, and just work as a team, then we can make a successful run in the state tournament.”
Lule made an impact in his very first game, although the stat sheet doesn’t explicitly mention him.
“This was the first time he played in about six months, so he got a bit tired,” Sabedra said. “We rotated him out, and then we got scored on, so if that doesn’t tell you the importance of one player already and his impact on our team, then I don’t know what does.”
Another reason that he gives it 100% every opportunity: an injury that set him back for six months. Six months ago, Lule injured his ACL. When he came to Chesterton, he still was recovering.
“They were very welcoming. It’s a great program, gave me hope, gave me something to work for, gave me a grind, looking forward to playing every single day and it was hard not playing every single day,” Lule said. “That has motivated me every day I'm on the field to know that there isn’t any time to slack.”
Junior Hutch Stuckert made his first varsity start against the Bulldogs and provided a spark.
“Hutch brings a lot of energy, which we love,” Kitchel said. “He puts in hard tackles. He’s fast, athletic, and big, so that really helps as an outside back to lock up their wingers. He did well against the wingers and he played well against Goshen on Saturday, so he’s stepping up into a role over there.”