Local soccer players return for Big Ten Tournament showdown

When he was eight, Elmhurst’s Charlie Heuer tried out for a travel soccer team.

It didn’t go well.

“I actually got cut my first year,” he said. “Being cut from the first travel team…that’s been a chip.”

As in chip on his shoulder.

It’s something he remembers many years later as he is developing into a regular player on one of the top college teams in the country.

The freshman midfielder at Indiana University bided his time waiting for playing time for most of the season but exploded toward the end of the regular season with a goal against Northwestern on Oct. 29 and another against Trine University on Nov. 11.

He was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team as he finished the campaign with four goals and two assists.
It’s not bad for a player with a chip on his shoulder from the slight when he was eight.

Even though Heuer was disappointed with not making his first travel team, he was determined to come back and play the sport.

Quitting soccer or even trying to master another sport was not in the cards.

“I just wanted to double down,” Heuer said. “I got into soccer because my older brother (Will) played. I just wanted to prove to him – honestly, every time I step out there to make him proud – how good that I can be. That was my mindset. Double down and work harder.”

Heuer attended York but didn’t play high school soccer for the Dukes. He played for the Chicago Fire Academy before heading to Bloomington, Indiana, to start his soccer career.

Heuer and the Hoosiers played their first-round game of the Big Ten Tournament close to home on Nov. 7 at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, so he got to play in front of friends and family.

But the result wasn’t to their liking as seventh-seeded Michigan beat the second-seeded Hoosiers, 1-0. Heuer played 63 minutes and had two of the team’s 10 shots.

Despite the upset, the Hoosiers picked up the 14th seed in the 48-team NCAA Tournament.

Heuer said he loves soccer because it takes a lot of work to secure a victory.

“Man, I just love the team aspect for sure,” Heuer said. “It feels so good to get the win. You know, it’s hard. Soccer is hard. You run around for 90 minutes, and it takes the whole team, but it’s a rewarding feeling when you get the job done. It’s a feeling like no other.”

Another player from Elmhurst on the SeatGeek pitch on Nov. 7 was Maryland’s Luke van Heukelum, who got off one of the Terrapins’ nine shots in a shocking 6-0 loss to UCLA.

Van Heukelum is a sophomore forward who was limited to nine games due to injury and scored two goals.

Off the field, Van Heukelum has been making waves with his Team44 charity.
When he was younger, van Heukelum had constant stomach pains, and when he was 13, he went to a hospital. At first, it appeared he had cancer. However, it was found that it was a stomach infection.

He and his family started the Team44 foundation to provide Xboxes and other connecting devices to allow patients to stay connected with their friends and family.

“During my 81-hour stay, there was a lot of uncertainty as I underwent tests to determine my diagnosis,” Van Heukelum wrote on his Team44 website. “What I learned since then is that many kids in hospitals have cancer and must stay much longer than me.”