Boys soccer: Finnegan helps Wheaton Academy overcome Timothy Christian

The Finnegan name might not be synonymous with Wheaton Academy soccer, but those kids have certainly made an impact over the years, including Hunter Finnegan helping the Warriors win a Class 2A title five years ago.

This year it's senior Logan Finnegan's turn to star, and he showed how much of a difference maker he can be. He scored a goal and helped send Solomon Pitts off to the races to score the game-winner during Tuesday's 2-1 victory over Timothy Christian in Metro Suburban Conference action.

"He watched his older brother win a state championship and now he's thinking it's his turn," Warriors first-year coach Cody Snouffer said. "We've got some of that cool family history on the team now."

Wheaton Academy (2-1-1, 1-0) might have an illustrious past, but it's thinking about now and the immediate future today, and the Warriors wasted little time jumping on the Trojans.

Finnegan connected with Allen Rodriguez in the first few minutes to jump ahead 1-1 just 2:23 into the action. The two seniors passed the ball back and forth as they sprinted downfield with Finnegan ultimately finishing.

"We've had a few of those in practice, but (Rodriguez) has been in and out with injuries so we're trying to keep him healthy," Finnegan said. "When he's on the field he's a big threat. Winning that ball in the midfield and making that kind of play is all about effort. If he doesn't have that effort that play doesn't happen."

Timothy Christian (1-1-1, 0-1) didn't seem the least bit fazed by surrendering such an early goal, although it certainly was a disappointing start that put it in an early hole.

"That was a bit of a soft goal that really came back to bite us," Timothy Christian coach Joel Zielke said. "But I loved the fight. It's just our third game of the season and if we're starting to play at this level I'm excited for things to come. I'm definitely proud of the guys. The effort was high."

The Trojans eventually scored the equalizer on a penalty kick from senior Josh Wise. That opportunity arrived after Trojans senior Jonathan Stremler was taken down in the box with 22:32 remaining in the first half.

It remained that way until Finnegan saw an opportunity to get the ball to speedy junior Solomon Pitts and a lot of open green turf in front of him.

"He can fly," Snouffer said. "Solomon is a great athlete. He's just very athletic and it's going to be fun to watch his soccer game catch up with his athleticism. As a junior it's good to see him having fun and filling in a role."

Looking equally suited to be sprinter, Pitts saw Finnegan fight and win the ball. Then, he immediately sought it, got it, and then flew down the sideline before burying his shot.

"Logan was on the left side and when I looked up I called for it and he played an amazing ball toward the goal," Pitts said. "I took a couple of touches and just finished."

Opportunities were plenty in the second half for both teams, including a few from the Trojans in the final minutes that had to be thwarted by Warriors goalkeeper Andrew Hoekstra and the back line.

"I've got to give all the credit to my center back Jack Leichty and goalkeeper Andrew Hoekstra," Finnegan said. "That was a beautiful save and clearance to keep them from getting that there. It was a great defensive effort so props to them."

While the Trojans were hoping to pull off a huge road victory to open conference, they didn't depart West Chicago completely crushed.

"It was our first conference game and our back line still has a long way to go and so does our defense," Stremler said. "So we'll continue working on tweaking some little kinks in our game and I have no doubt that we'll be the toughest team on a lot of people's schedule."