Westminster falls short of sectional title
LISLE -- Despite dominating possession, things never quite came together for Westminster Christian in front of the goal on Tuesday night, as the Warriors fell 2-1 to former Private School League rival Timothy Christian in the Lisle Class 1A Sectional final at Benedictine University.
"That's the game," Westminster coach Mike Richardson said. "We can't put away chances and make defensive errors in a game like this. It's going to haunt you."
Just 34 seconds in, Westminster (17-4-1) found itself behind the eight-ball. After a nice run, Timothy Christian forward Corey Phillip maneuvered around in the box and after dribbling around a pair of Westminster defenders, drove a shot into the upper right corner that Warriors goalie Scott Sutarik had no chance to stop.
"Didn't expect it that early in the game," Richardson said of the early strike. "We weren't able to get back in time. Our stopper came to try to get the ball and he just didn't. His timing was off."
After that, Westminster became the aggressor but only managed to put two shots on target the rest of the first half.
In the second half, Phillip and Timothy Christian (13-12) made it 2-0 with 18:28 remaining, when against the run of play, Phillip received a long ball, dribbled around a defender and drilled a shot into the right side of the net from the top of the box.
"We knew Westminster was a strong team, we played them in the past," Phillip said. "I was pumped to play. I knew I had to put in that second goal."
Down but not out, Westminster put itself on the score sheet just minutes later, when Ishmael Yemoh belted a long ball from midfield ahead to Josh Beachler. Beachler pounced on the loose ball and headed it into the goal with 13:54 remaining to cut the lead to 2-1.
"The kids picked it up in the second half and they left everything out on the field," Richardson said. "That's what we expect of them all the time in every game we've played. We threw everything forward (in the second half). Everything's on the line."
In the game's final minutes, Beachler had the Warriors' best chance to tie the game and send it into overtime, when he snatched up a loose ball just six yards out from the goal. Unfortunately, Beachler's shot sailed wide and to the left of the goal with 4:30 left on the clock.
The win sends the Trojans to the state semifinals, where they'll play Friday at 5:30 at North Central College in Naperville.
The Warriors outshot the Trojans 11-9.
"This season was not defined by this game," Richardson said. "Nobody expected us to be where we're at today. A little Christian school out of Elgin, who'd have thought?"
