Jan. 31--Charles Izydorek has gone through a lot of changes during his four-year career at Arrowhead Christian Academy.

The soccer star has put on about 20 pounds and grown a couple inches.

He has gotten wiser and more mature with age, although he is not above the occasional detention.

He's tried a number of different hairstyles, mainly settling on variations of the faux hawk.

And he even sported a wispy beard and mustache combo at the beginning of this year that was met with mixed reaction ... especially after he decided to dye it jet-black.

But one thing that has stayed the same from his freshman year all the way through this senior season, something that has never changed and never faltered, is the smile that splashes across his face when he scores a goal.

"The feeling (of scoring) never gets old," Izydorek said. "It's such a rush of joy and happiness. There's nothing better than scoring, especially in a big game when it's close. You just get that feeling of relief and then extreme happiness. It's the best feeling."

He should know.

With a three-score effort in ACA's 8-0 win over Western Christian on Thursday, Izydorek eclipsed the 100-goal plateau in his time as an Eagle.

What started with a 14-goal performance as a freshman turned into a 29-goal follow up his sophomore year, 33 more goals as a junior and now 26 with still four more games to go his

senior season.

In a sport that is known to be low-scoring, what Izydorek has accomplished is truly amazing, especially when considering that he was not a scorer growing up.

"I always played midfielder or defensive mid when I was younger," Izydorek said. "It was until eighth grade that Coach Will (Roraff) decided to try me at forward because I was pretty fast."

His speed may have gotten him the opportunity but it's just one of a number of traits that have contributed to his sustained scoring success in high school.

"He can do anything on the field," said ACA Head Coach Greg Treur, who took over the Eagles program Izydorek's freshman year.

"He has great pace, he's strong, he can use either foot. And now he can strike the ball from anywhere with power. He's just gotten better and better each year. He can play any position on the field and he has such a great understanding of where to be."

Go watch the Eagles play and it can seem like there are three No. 10's on the field.

There goes Izydorek chasing down an opposing team's forward to stymie a scoring chance. There he is winning a challenge in the midfield and quickly distributing the ball to the outside to start the attack.

And there he is beating two defenders off the dribble before uncoiling a rocket that the defending goalkeeper can only watch explode into the back of the net.

"He's the most important player on our team," said senior midfielder Ryan Reeves, who has been playing with Izydorek for the last four years.

"He's our leader, the key to our success. And he's the hardest worker on the team. He never takes a practice off, never takes a play off. He's always running back and forth, running back to defense to help stop a play, then he's right back leading the offense. There's a passion you have to have to be great and he's got it."

That passion was evident when, even as a wide-eyed freshman on a team of talented seniors that marched all the way to CIF Finals, Izydorek held his own.

Admittedly unsure of whether he could hang with the older kids when he first got to high school, any lingering questions were answered when he scored twice in a 3-2 quarterfinal win over St. Margaret's.

"That was just like, 'Wow,"' Izydorek said.

The goals continued to pour in over the next two years, although he claims he never really had an idea of the total until just before the start of this season.

"I had no idea until I looked at it and realized that I was only 24 away from 100," Izydorek said. "Coming in, I'd just hoped to scored like 12 goals in a season. I never expected to come anywhere near 100."

But not only has he come near it, he has surpassed it.

Izydorek currently sits at 102 goals for his career. And for anybody who might think he is a ball hog, he also has 45 career assists to his name.

He has scored from the left side of the field and he has scored from the right side of the field.

He has scored from inside the box and outside the box, on penalty kicks, free kicks, corner kicks and any other kind of kick there is.

And for a majority of the time, he has done it with a gigantic bull's-eye on his back.

"Everyone knows about him and everyone is out to try and stop him," Reeves said. "Even this year, with us moving into the new league and going up against teams we'd never played before like Calvary Chapel and Linfield, they come in and their coaches are yelling, 'Stop No. 10, mark No. 10.' But he likes the attention, he doesn't shy away from it."

The goals are not just for individual accolades either.

In his four years there, ACA has gone 64-20-15 overall, including a 27-2-4 mark in league that has led to three consecutive league championships.

The current Eagle squad is ranked No. 2 in Division 6 and has high hopes of making a deep playoff run, something that will undoubtedly rely heavily on its star forward's magic feet.

Asked what he thought makes him a great scorer, Izydorek pointed to the mental aspect of the game.

"I guess I'd say I'm not afraid to shoot," he said. "I think some people are afraid to shoot and miss, but if I see the shot, I want to take it. I'm not afraid to try and score."

That way of thinking works in ACA's favor because, if history has taught us anything, when Izydorek shoots, it usually ends up in smiles all around.

E-mail Staff Writer Kevin Trudgeon at ktrudgeon@redlandsdailyfacts.com

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