<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0SBjka_0uyUBnwT00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0SBjka_0uyUBnwT00" width="1280" height="853" >RANTOUL – The fall of 2024 will mark the third year of the soccer coop between Rantoul Township and Paxton-Buckley-Loda High School.“I’m really excited for the season,” Rantoul/PBL head coach Bryant Anderson said. “We’re excited to be out here. It’s nice to see everybody showing up and putting in the work.”The Eagles enter the 2024 season with 25-26 kids on the team.“It looks like we should have enough to hopefully have varsity minutes as well some junior varsity games if we have everybody showing up,” Anderson said.Of those players, eight are freshmen.“It’s nice to see some new faces. We have a lot of new freshmen coming in,” Anderson said. “Hopefully, we should have some more because our kids are recruiting more kids to come out here. A lot of kids from Rantoul and PBL didn’t even know we have a soccer team. We’re trying to reach some of those kids.“It’s just nice to see some freshmen and see some people we can build up the next few years with. There’s some learning. We’re going over some basics while also working with the upperclassmen on some more detailed stuff. It’s nice that we can kind of split up practice a little bit and have a bit of a slower pace for some of the newer kids and a quicker pace for the older kids.”The Eagles also have five seniors, including PBL student Natalie Bunag. Joel Aparacio, Matthew Guhl, Karley Shadix and Aaron Casco will also enter their senior seasons.“We have a few leaders,” Anderson said. “They’ve played for multiple years with our team, so they’re kind of stepping into the leadership role.”The Eagles will start their 2024 campaign at Hoopeston Area on Monday, Aug. 26.Among Rantoul/PBL’s remaining contests will be one at home against St. Joseph-Ogden on Oct. 3.“Last year, we played them really well,” Anderson said. “It’s always exciting. St. Joe normally brings a big crowd, so it’s nice to get that energy.”The Eagles will also host St. Thomas More on Sept. 19, Monticello on Sept. 26.“All those games were kind of close (last year),” Anderson said. “Some could have gone either way. We’re excited to kind of see how well we compete with those teams.”The Rantoul/PBL regular season ends at home against Champaign Central on Oct 8 and at Centennial on Oct. 12. The Eagles will also face Urbana on the road on Sept. 3.“It’s nice to kind of see how we are compared to the best teams in the area and see what we need to improve on and what we work really well with against them because in the postseason, we’re always playing an Urbana, a Central or a Centennial,” Anderson said.</div></body>

Mountain View, CA

NewsBreak

Rantoul/PBL soccer to kick off season Aug. 26

RANTOUL – The fall of 2024 will mark the third year of the soccer coop between Rantoul Township and Paxton-Buckley-Loda High School. “I’m really excited for the season,” Rantoul/PBL head coach Bryant Anderson said. “We’re excited to be out here. It’s nice to see everybody showing up and putting in the work.”