Wheaton Academy fills up on goals
Wheaton Academy's goal was to be "hungry around the net."
The Warriors made a couple of trips through the buffet line, downing Antioch 6-0 in the semifinals of the Class 2A Hampshire sectional Tuesday.
Timothy Daniels had 3 goals and an assist, and Brandon VanderVeen and Daniel Zerubabel each had a goal and an assist as the Warriors advanced to Saturday's championship game against the winner of today's Marmion-Lakes game.
"We talked about having a hunger in front of the net, and obviously we were able to do that," said Wheaton Academy coach Jeff Brooke. "I thought we combined for some really nice goals today, which is exciting at this point in the season."
Daniels scored twice and VanderVeen added a goal as Wheaton Academy built a 3-0 halftime lead.
The fast start was key for the Warriors.
"We knew if we didn't come out strong, that this was a team that would be able to come out hard and get a quick goal in," the Warriors' Devin Moore said. "But we came out hard, grabbed a quick goal, followed it up with a second, and things went from there."
"For us to get 3 in the first half was a big part of this match, and I'm really proud of these guys," Brooke said.
The Warriors (17-4-2) put the game away with 2 goals 19 seconds apart early in the second half. Trevor Adams scored off a nice feed from Daniels. Before the dust settled Daniels added his third goal.
Zerubabbel knocked in the rebound of Alex Varga's free kick to complete the scoring.
"It's the sectional semifinal, so we're all ready for it," Zerubabbel said. "Even the younger kids who came off the bench stepped up and played really hard."
Philip Oster started in goal for Wheaton Academy. Jesse Carmody came on with five minutes left and preserved the shutout.
Antioch (16-7) had a couple of chances in the second half but couldn't cash in. Andre Sippy had a free kick from near midfield that was right on the mark, but the Sequoits couldn't convert. Minutes later, Sippy missed just high.
Alex Grimm was in goal for the Sequoits.