FALL ATHLETES AJ Trobek

A.J. Trobek isn’t the most outspoken player, but his play speaks for itself.

Trobek led the Hubbard boys soccer team that concluded its most successful year in program history in 2018.

The Eagles’ junior center forward finished with 29 goals and 15 assists as the Eagles finished the season 19-1-1 and reached the Division II regional final. Hubbard played in its first district final in 20 years, and Trobek scored the go-ahead goal to capture the Eagles’ first district title.

Trobek was named first-team All-Northeast 8 following the conference’s first season of play.

“It was a great season, personally, it was my best high school season,” Trobek said. “I got injured my freshman year and I didn’t play a lot. My sophomore year wasn’t a great year for me. This year was a big step up for me personally.

“As a team, we knew going into the season that nothing was given to us. But we set goals for ourselves and we definitely exceeded those.”

After his sophomore season, Trobek began working with his club team to improve. He wanted to become better after a loss to Poland in the sectional finals in 2017.

“After we lost to Poland in the playoffs last year, I said, ‘Next year is my year. I’m gonna step up and help us win a district title.’ I think I did that this year,” Trobek said.

While teams could feel more stress playing in the postseason, Trobek and the Eagles were more relaxed. After beating Girard 6-2 in the sectional final, the team overcame a mental hurdle.

Trobek said the team took each game one at a time and focused on winning.

“Once we got over that first game, I feel like we started clicking more,” Trobek said. “We felt more comfortable playing in the postseason because Hubbard teams have never done well in the past in the postseason.”

Trobek knows he’ll have to step up vocally in the future.

“I was a little bit more vocal this year on the field, but I’m still pretty quiet,” Trobek said..

— Dan Hiner, The Vindicator