Warriors hope next step in Class A state bid

The Westminster Christian boys soccer team has had a season full of program firsts and program bests, and with Thursday night's 1-0 win over Hampshire in the Class A Hampshire sectional semifinal, the Warriors added yet another program first, perhaps the best yet, to that list.

Earning a trip to Monday's sectional final marks the first time the Westminster Christian boys soccer program has ever advanced past two rounds of postseason play.

The victory has put the Warriors against the No. 1 sectional seed Winnebago, which will enter the 5 p.m. match Monday night with an overall record of 20-2-3.

Monday's winner advances to the Class A Elite Eight and will play Friday in the second quarterfinal at North Central College in Naperville against either Earlville or Somonauk.

"Being that it is our first time, we are enjoying the moment," said Westminster coach Josh Guge. "As long as these guys continue to give 100 percent, that is all that is important to us."

Westminster Christian finished the regular season with a win over Genoa-Kinston, and will ride a 3-game postseason win streak into Monday's match.

"The guys are feeling great," said Guge. "We had a very exciting game with Hampshire, and we know that we cannot take this next one lightly."

Guge and his roster scouted the upcoming opponent previous to Thursday night's victory, but won't know exactly what to expect until game time.

"It was hard to read them because they were completely dominating the game we saw," Guge said of the Indians' 7-1 win over Rockford Christian Life. "They definitely had a lot of quality players."

Winnebago has made the trip to state the past two years and will be looking for the hat trick Monday night.

One key returnee from last year's roster is junior forward Andy Huftalin, who led the Indians' offense with 30 goals and 25 assists as a sophomore.

"It doesn't matter who you're playing at this point," said Guge. "Everybody wants to win and nobody wants to go home."

Westminster Christian will look to counter with its goal leader Tyler Beachler who has 28 goals this year, and 98 career knocks with the Warriors. Ryan Beachler, Cory Hodge and brothers Jon and Jeff Marshall have each been making key contributions adding to the offensive attack.

Goalkeeper Ethan Flickinger anchors a solid Warrior defense led by Josh Gannon, Dan Graves, Solomon Post and Jon Sanders.

"The past three games, everybody has stepped it up and played to their potential," said Guge. "I don't think we've seen our best game yet which is a good thing.

"We've been building up to this point all year. We are definitely peaking at the right time."