Timothy's quick strike shocks Westminster

It's tough to guess what made Timothy Christian feel better Tuesday night: when Corey Phillip scored against Westminster Christian just 34 seconds into the game, or when goalkeeper Aaron Foster came off his line a few minutes later to stop a Westminster breakaway.

Both plays set the tone for Timothy Christian's 2-1 victory in the Class 1A Lisle sectional championship. The Trojans (13-12), the 2008 state runner-up, will take on Peoria Christian in a 5:30 p.m. Friday state semifinal at North Central College in Naperville.

"That's the game man, that's the game," Warriors coach Mike Richardson said. "You can't put away chances, you make defensive errors in games like this, it's going to come back to haunt you."

Phillip gave Timothy Christian (13-12) that quick lead when he collected the ball at midfield, beat three defenders down the left side to the end line, cut the ball back around another defender and floated in a shot to the far post.

"I was just lucky to finish that ball," Phillip said. "I got past a couple of guys, and I think it actually deflected off one of their guys."

Westminster (19-4-1) came right back aggressively, looking for the equalizer. But one breakaway shot went high, the next one went to Foster.

"Aaron Foster, he's awesome," Phillip said of the senior forward turned goalkeeper. "I love that guy. He's come in under pressure, but he knows what he's doing. I love him. I'm very comfortable with him in the goal."

"It's the save of the year for us," added Timothy Christian coach Rudi Gesch. "If they score that it's a 1-1 game and we're probably talking about a little bit of a different outcome, at least a little different down the stretch."

Westminster looked to take advantage of forward Ishmael Yemoah's speed, trying to send long passes over the top of the Trojans defense. Timothy was ready for it.

"The first half was over the top to Ishmael, but then they started bringing more guys and more guys back and more guys back and there's no place for him to run, so we moved him into the midfield and pushed more guys up forward," Richardson said.

Senior Dae Ho Cho marked Yemoah, with sweeper Mike Pizello providing backup. Pizello had moved back from midfield to protect the lead.

"He's in the top three forwards we faced all year," Gesch said of Yemoah. "A couple of changes in strategy really paid off for us. It makes a coach feel good when a mission is properly executed and is successful."

Phillip made it 2-0 in the 62nd on another counterattack. This one came on a long clearance from Pizello to midfield, catching Westminster Christian pushing forward. Again Phillip beat a defender, then went 1-on-1 with the goalkeeper, scoring from 16 yards.

"Westminster's a really strong team," Phillip said. "I knew they could come back. I knew I had to put in that second goal."

Timothy Christian went into a defensive shell to protect its lead as Westminster threw even more players forward.

"Absolutely. They were throwing the kitchen sink at us," Gesch said. "At one point they had four forwards and I think we were playing with no forwards. That's the way soccer works sometimes."

The Warriors got one goal back in the 67th when Yemoah, playing midfield, sent a long ball to Josh Beachler, whose header from 10 yards out went over Foster's head and into the net. The Timothy defense held firm the rest of the way, earning the Trojans a trip to the state semifinals for a second consecutive season.