Warriors beat R-B, win first sectional since 2005

By Curt Herron

 

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In the biggest match ever played on its field, Wheaton Academy quickly saw an encouraging situation turn into one that featured considerably more drama.

A penalty converted by Riverside-Brookfield shortly after the Warriors scored following the break suddenly turned a safe 2-0 lead into a one-goal match.

With the Class 2A sectional title at stake and a trip to Tuesday's Solorio Academy Super-Sectional on the line, which squad would rise to the occasion?

Although the Bulldogs did their best to make things interesting, or nerve-wracking as the case may be, the Warriors were determined to get the job done.

Two Warrior goals ended the suspense and they went on to claim a 4-1 victory in West Chicago to capture their first sectional championship since 2005.

WA (20-6) picked up its ninth straight triumph and improved to 14-1 in its last 15 matches while denying R-B (15-7-2) of its initial sectional title.

The Warriors need to beat Lake View in Tuesday's 4:00 p.m. super-sectional in Chicago in order to advance to next weekend's state finals in Frankfort.

"We had a chance to win a sectional championship and our 20th win because of some of the things we did in the second half of the year and the bumps that we went over at the beginning of the year put us in a position to be well-prepared," Warriors coach Jeff Brooke said.

"We felt confident coming in because of how we've been playing. We spent a lot of time this past week focused on what we do and what got us here. We wanted the guys to play a really high level and I thought they did that and that was obvious throughout the 80 minutes.

"We knew that they had a solid midfield core and that they would come to play since they had a lot of belief in how good their season had been. They earned to right to be in this game and it was a privilege to play against them and they represented their school well."

Casey Zimmerman scored in the seventh minute to put the hosts up for good and a Grant Stoneman goal 49 seconds after the break improved the prospects.

But the Bulldogs made a penalty in the 46th minute and the Warriors had to sweat things out for nearly a quarter hour before they found the net again.

Stoneman converted a penalty in the 61st minute and Gareth Flynn added another goal in the 67th minute to wrap up a satisfying victory for the hosts.

As usual, WA received a strong defensive effort from Andrew Luetkehans, Zeb Lewis, Marshall West and Dan Bergquist as well as from keeper Spencer Graf.

"We got the second goal but then we were back to being up by only a goal," Brooke said. "The ball was kind of popping around and it took us a few minutes to kind of find ourselves and there was a little bit of nerves.

"But I appreciate the guys getting the ball back on the deck and moving it and playing our game again and that obviously led to a couple more goals. So I'm proud of the guys for being able to go back to what we do.

"We knew that there are seven games in the postseason and we're focused on just one at a time. We're trying to play to a standard that we feel is quality and represents our school, our team, our family and our God well."

Although it had plenty of opportunities to add to its lead in the opening half, thanks to 10 corner kicks, WA only enjoyed a 1-0 halftime advantage.

But before the nice crowd settled in for the final half on the sunny but cool afternoon, Stoneman got free and was able to connect from close range.

Suddenly, things looked real good for the Warriors, but R-B changed that a bit later as Santiago Beltran made a penalty following a foul in the box.

"It was a real battle and when they got the PK, I was like 'oh, no, we could lose'," Lewis said. "But I thought we really rallied after the PK and played really well and got the third and fourth goals.

"This match means a lot since it was a sectional final. It also shows that we can beat teams in the postseason even if things go wrong in the game, we're going to rally through, and that's encouraging.

"This is one of the best feelings that I've had in my three years at this school. It's really exciting to win a sectional final, especially after losing last year to St. Francis in the regional final."

While the ball definitely bounced around on few occasions in close proximity to Graf, the Warrior defense did a good job of limiting serious threats.

Meanwhile, WA kept the pressure on R-B keeper Jimmy Rock, beginning with a long free kick from West that went to Ty Seager, whose header was denied.

A short time later, Flynn directed a corner kick to West, who also saw his header get halted and so it went as the Warriors sought an insurance goal.

Flynn provided a thrill in the 54th minute when he got free after a pass from Stoneman, but his subsequent goal was disallowed following a late flag.

Just passed the half's midway mark, Sam Hardy sent a pass inside the box to Reid Culberson, who was fouled on the play, resulting in another penalty.

Following some drama on the issuance of a card, Stoneman connected for his 26th goal of the season and the Warriors once again had a two-goal lead.

"Winning this feels great," Hardy said. "We were unlucky when they got the PK, so we had to come back from adversity. We were still winning but we expected better than 2-1 so we just had to keep working hard in order to get to where we needed to be.

"We have great fans and they keep us going the whole time and you want to play for them and for the school. My favorite thing about this team is that we all work hard and there's no one who takes it easy. We play for each other and not for ourselves.

"All of our guys are working really hard and we play together as a team. We have the 'ST' on the back of our jerseys and that's really what we play for all the time. Everyone does their part and it's not a one-man show, it's all for the glory of God."

WA looked to increase its advantage over the next few minutes but Seager had a shot deflected and Flynn lined a corner kick to the Bulldog keeper.

But a short time later, Flynn was not going to be denied after getting free and then bouncing a try off of an R-B defender to score his 17th goal.

The Bulldogs had some of their best chances during the final dozen minutes, but Graf halted attempts from Eduardo Marentez, Joe Aieta and Beltran.

Things couldn't have started much better for the Warriors, who scored an early goal and then kept applying pressure during the initial 40 minutes.

Flynn set up the score when he sent a free kick from just beyond the box in front and Zimmerman put in a loose ball for his 13th goal of the year.

"We've been putting the ball into the net well, but the first goal is a big momentum thing," Zimmerman said. "Grant sets up the middle and opens up spaces, especially in the box. He yelled to me 'don't give up, go for it' and I just hit the ball.

"Our defense steps up after we get a goal scored on us like we did. Zeb played so well today on the outside and Marshall and Dan were solid in the back, especially in the air, and those guys helped us to defeat a good team in Riverside-Brookfield.

"Coach emphasizes that we can do great things in this program since we play with great guys. We're one of the tightest groups you'll see and we play for the glory of God. We need to realize that we've got something special here and keep it going."

After the WA keeper grabbed an effort by Aieta, the rest of the opening half was dominated by Warrior scoring chances, many of them threatening.

On one occasion, a deflected try by Stoneman resulted in a Flynn corner kick, which then led to a header by Seager which produced another corner.

In the final dozen minutes before the break, Adam Hunt had a free kick deflected away and then Flynn was thwarted on another pair of free kicks.

Following a corner kick by Jacob Kapitaniuk which led to a header by West that was also altered, the hosts settled for a one-goal halftime lead.

That set the table for the drama early in the second half, and eventually, to the Warriors responding to the threat by claiming a memorable win.