THROWING IT DOWN: Hun School boys’ soccer goalie Coleman Chiurco chucks the ball upfield in a game earlier this fall. Last Wednesday, senior star Chiurco made 13 saves to help third-seeded Hun defeat sixth-seeded Peddie 2-1 in the opening round of the state Prep A tournament. The Raiders, who improved to 9-8 with a 2-1 win over Peddie in a regular season contest last Saturday, were slated to play at second-seeded Pennington in the Prep A semis on October 30 with the victor advancing to the title game on November 1. In addition, Hun will be hosting Mercersburg Academy (Pa.) in its season finale on November 4. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Coleman Chiurco is saving his best for last in his senior season for the Hun School boys’ soccer team.

After seeing little action as a back-up goalie for Hun in 2017, Chiurco has stepped into the starting role this season.

As the fall has unfolded, Chiurco has emerged as rock for the Raiders. Over the last week, Chiurco has 12 saves in a 2-1 win over Allentown in a Mercer County Tournament consolation game on October 22, 14 saves in a 4-2 victory over Lawrenceville on October 19, and 12 saves in a 2-0 loss to WW/P-South in the opening round of the MCT on October 18.

“It is just being more confident in coming out and collecting balls, diving at people’s feet, and working on communication,” said Chiurco, reflecting on his progress.

Last Wednesday, Chiurco displayed his confidence, making 13 saves to help third-seeded Hun edge sixth-seeded Peddie 2-1 in the opening round of the state Prep A tournament.

Chiurco and the Raiders battled through adversity, keeping their heads after falling behind 1-0 early in the contest.

“Last week we came back from one down to beat Lawrenceville 4-2 so I had confidence in our team,” said Chiurco.

“We have struggled in the past with going down early and coming from behind. We have gotten better at picking up each other up.”

After Elijah Smarr scored for Hun to knot the game at 1-1 with 27 minutes remaining in the first half, the Raiders picked up the defensive intensity.

“They had two really talented strikers and a couple of times, they got through,” said Chiurco. “We talked about it and shut them down.”

Coming up with some key stops down the stretch, Chiurco played a key role in shutting down the Falcons.

“I knew I would have to make a couple of saves,” said Chiurco. “I am just
doing my job; that is why I am here.”

Chiurco was happy see the Raiders get the job done in the Prep A tourney as they advanced to a semifinal matchup at second-seeded Pennington slated for October 30 with the victor heading to the final on November 1.

“In years past we had not done so great in the preps,” said Chiurco. “We are looking really good this year and really excited for the end of the season.”

Hun head coach Pat Quirk was excited to see his team rally for the win over Peddie.

“That is something in the past that we haven’t been able to do,” said Quirk. “We did come back against Lawrenceville, they scored first and we were able to respond. Today we came back. The kids are really buying in; if we keep our heads up we can do it.”

In holding off Peddie, the Raiders kept control of the ball, particularly in the second half

“Our big plan was just to possess the ball and continue to move forward together,” said Quirk. “They were giving us some time and space, we thought we could expose them. We possessed the ball for the majority of the game.”

Senior Ronak Pandya was in the right place at the right time as he headed in the winning goal with 26:44 left in the second half.

“Ronak comes off the bench; he scored one against Lawrenceville and he scored this one,” said Quirk. “He has been working on his finishing in training and he is starting to put them away.”

As usual, senior star midfielder Smarr jump started the offense, assisting on Pandya’s game winner in addition to his own first half tally.

“As a center mid, we ask him to be the motor behind the team and be the leader and bring the energy,” said Quirk. “He has been doing that.”

Quirk is proud of the leadership Chiurco has displayed this year in goal.

“Coleman makes tons of saves, he keeps us in games,” said Quirk. “He was a back up goalie last year, he saw very little time. I credit our goalie coach Nick Savino a lot for his improvement.”

Getting a victory in the Prep A tournament was a credit to the squad’s persistence.

“We haven’t done that in a while; this is the first time we have hosted a state tournament game in eight years, I think,” said Quirk, whose team improved to 9-8 with a 2-1 win over Peddie in a regular season contest last Saturday.

“It is nice to get a state tournament win. We knew we had a pretty good team to start; it took us a little bit of time to find our rhythm. We are starting to score goals and we are responding when bad things are happening.”

Chiurco, for his part, is enjoying the nice finish to his Hun career. “It has been great; I have always loved soccer,” said Chiurco. “I just love being out here with my friends and teammates.”