Westminster Christian beats Genoa-Kingston 1-2 in semifinal

WEST CHICAGO - Despite allowing a late goal in regulation, the Westminster Christian School boys soccer team knocked off Genoa-Kingston 2-1 Tuesday in a Class 1A Wheaton Academy semifinal.

The Warriors (14-3-1) moved the ball well early, taking a 1-goal lead at the 20:22 mark of the first half when Jaxon Schultze broke through the box and found the back of the net. Warriors coach David Siers said that his team was firing on all cylinders, unlike the last time these teams met just seven days ago, a game which the Cogs won 4-2.

"We weren't fully healthy," Siers said. "Soccer is a funny game sometimes. Sometimes you get the breaks, sometimes you get the bounces. Today some things just fell in our favor.

"[Genoa-Kingston] is a great team, and they fought super hard. We knew we were going to have our hands full."

The Cogs (18-5) made it interesting with just 2:40 left to go in regulation when Max Rodriguez capitalized on a long rebound after a direct free kick and evened the score at 1-1. However, Westminster senior forward Nathaniel Siers scored the go-ahead goal at the 6:40 mark of the first overtime and never looked back.

The game marks a bittersweet end of a career for Cogs head coach Randy Tate, who is retiring after 16 seasons leading the team. Tate attributes the success of the last two seasons to a core that has been together and grew together.

"We have 11 seniors who have been awesome," Tate said. "They enjoy being out here on the field together. We haven't had 11 seniors together on one team for a really long time, so it's been a great group of kids."

Cogs senior midfielder Diego Espinoza said there was still a lot to like about his team's performance despite the loss.

"Everybody gave it everything they had," Espinoza said. "We didn't go down without a fight. Everyone pushed through. At the end of the day, we just didn't get the results we wanted."

As Westminster moves on, it will have to play the host team, Wheaton Academy, for the sectional title. Coach David Siers said his players will be mentally prepared for a hostile environment.

"We have a lot of friends over here," coach David Siers said. "They're the big dogs. We're gonna come back and give it all we can, and, Lord willing, we'll get to continue our season."

Westminster will play next at Wheaton Academy for the Class 1A Wheaton Academy Sectional championship on Saturday.