Warriors don't worry about details
Wheaton Academy's Lucas Young had a quick answer when asked how many goals he has this year after scoring the lone goal in a Class AA sectional semifinal win over St. Charles North on Tuesday.
"I have no idea, and I don't really care right now," Young said. "It went in, we scored and we won."
The sixth-seeded Warriors (15-3-5) beat the second-seeded North Stars (17-5-2) on Young's diving head shot in the game's 18th minute. It came on a beauty of a free kick sent in by Andrew Knighten.
But it was a collective Warriors effort that advanced them to a Class AA sectional final for the first time since they moved up from Class A two seasons ago.
"Defensively, they outplayed us tonight," said North Stars coach Eric Willson. "They deserved to win the game, there's no doubt about that."
Wheaton Academy got yeoman's efforts from BB Taylor and Brooks VanderVeen in man-marking the North Stars' Austin Andrekus and Mike Picinich, plus a strong effort from the back line of Charles West, Danny Torres and John Clancy.
The Warriors held the North Stars to only 2 shots on net for the game and have now posted consecutive 1-0 wins in the postseason.
"Where the sudden burst of defensive prowess is coming from is beyond me," said Warriors coach Dave Underwood. "This was totally atypical of the way we've been playing all year. I just know our back line has been playing phenomenal."
"We're just finally starting to get it, I think," West said. "We're finally starting to click."
The Warriors capped a strong opening 15 minutes of play with Young's goal, when Knighten sent in his free kick from 30 yards out. Young came around a defender, dove and banged a shot toward the post.
"I was trying to hit it back post to (Justin Potesta), but it went in. Greatest goal I think I've ever had," Young said.
The North Stars nearly tied things up on their lone shot of the first half when Vladamir Schlageter broke in on Warriors goalkeeper Ryan Seager. Seager left his line, slid and booted the offering away.
St. Charles North had 5 corner kicks and numerous free kicks in the game, but struggled to become dangerous during the run of play.
"It was compact in the middle and it was important for us to get it wide and find feet," Willson said. "We didn't do that, and I think that's a major factor to why we lost tonight."
The Warriors will play Geneva in West Chicago at 5 p.m. Thursday with a sectional title on the line, while the North Stars will bid farewell to a core of quality seniors.
"They built the program into something that we feel is a strong tradition now of good quality soccer that can compete with anybody," Willson said. "Their heads should be held up high, because they put this program on the map."