Neighbor News
Men’s soccer peaks in playoffs; several players earn honors
The Moraine Valley men's soccer team played a solid season complete with several honors.
With so much newness surrounding the men’s soccer team, there were a number of unknowns at the start of the season. The Cyclones only improved with every game, peaking at the right time in the playoffs.
In the NJCAA Region IV quarter finals against a tough Waubonsee Community College squad, the Cyclones played their best game on Oct. 26, but came up short in the 3-1 loss to end the season. The players fought through that whole game, and despite losing their top scorer, Daniel Kasaggoma (Uganda), in the second half to an injury, never gave up.
Throughout the season the Cyclones had a scoring tag team of newcomer Kasaggoma and sophomore Elias Leyva (Addison Trail), who led the team with a collective 36 goals. They made up a strong offensive line that defined the Cyclones.
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“We scored a lot of goals this season. Most of our talent was on offense. We had to turn some of our offenders into defenders,” said first-year Cyclone Coach TJ Donahue, who came from coaching stints at Daley College and Saint Xavier University, among others.
As team captain, Leyva provided key leadership on the field to a mostly new starting line-up. Antonio Martinez (Argo) and Togo Narusawa (Japan) were a couple of newcomers who stepped up when needed. As a result, the two received nods to the All-Conference second team. Leyva and Kasaggoma were named to the All-Conference first team.
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With away games comprising nearly three-quarters of the schedule, the Cyclones finished with an overall 11-5-1 record and conference record of 3-3-1. Donahue is happy with the season and his first at Moraine Valley.
“We did well considering what we started with—just one starter from last year’s conference championship team. I thought we played well and had an exciting year,” he said. “It was an adjustment to come in to a new school and go with a different program. But I like coaching soccer, it’s what I do.”
Looking ahead, Donahue is expecting an ever stronger team in 2017. The returners will be that much better and they’ll have an advantage with more home games.
