Cultivating Christian Minds and Character
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Winter 2008 Season
Wildcats Defeat St. Charles 5-0
The varsity soccer team played the second round of the Mehlville Cup Tournament on Tuesday, taking on the Pirates of St. Charles at A-B Soccer Park. The result was much better than Monday’s tie with Eureka as Westminster dominated play throughout the game en route to a 5-0 victory. Westminster played a very strong possession game and controlled the tempo. The Westminster defense allowed the Pirates only a couple of scoring chances, while the Westminster offense created numerous opportunities. The Wildcats opened the scoring in the ninth minute as senior captain Michael Shapleigh worked the ball with sophomore forwards Michael Evetts and Jake Grimes. Shapleigh sent a pass up to Evetts, who in turn, flicked the ball over the St. Charles defenders where Grimes ran onto it. Jake struck a far post shot into the side netting putting Westminster up 1-0. St. Charles had an opportunity to tie in the 12th minute on a free kick from 35 yards out. The Pirate midfielder struck a low shot into the box. The ball caromed off of several bodies before Wildcat goalkeeper Sang-Jin Im pounced on it. In the 17th minute senior left back Jared Camp sent the ball into Grimes, who turned and fired a shot wide of the goal. St. Charles had its best chance in the 20th minute when a Pirate forward broke behind the Wildcat defense. Senior center back Brian Keffer was able to chase down the St. Charles player and touch the ball back to Sang-Jin to break up the play. A minute later Westminster was on the attack once again. Senior Jimmy Munson broke down the wing and lofted a cross into the box to Grimes, whose header went just wide. A few minutes later sophomore striker Connor Hunsicker beat a Pirate defender and sent Grimes down the right wing. Grimes sent a ball into the box, but no Westminster player was able to get a touch on it. Moments later senior midfielder Daniel Miller carried the ball through the midfield and sent a pass to Grimes. Miller continued his run out to the wing where Grimes delivered a pass. Miller’s cross into the box was just out of reach of a Wildcat player. St. Charles nearly scored in the 30th minute on a corner kick. The ball bounced in the box and a Pirate forward hit a shot from in close that forced Sang-Jin to make a great reflex save. With about seven minutes remaining in the half Westminster increased its lead to 2-0 off a corner kick by sophomore Matt Hudnut. Shapleigh headed the corner towards the goal and Munson deflected it in. Hudnut served up another great corner in the final minute of the half. Shapleigh was unmarked and drilled a header just over the crossbar. The half ended with Westminster leading 2-0. Westminster turned up the pressure in the second half. The Wildcats created several more scoring chances while the defense shut down any chance that St. Charles had. The Wildcats possession passing was quite impressive as they completely controlled the pace of the second half. Miller and Munson teamed up several times to create nice chances. The Wildcats added to their lead in the 53rd minute when Grimes sent a ball into the box and Hunsicker one-timed it past the keeper. Just four minutes later the Wildcats struck again. After another excellent Hudnut corner, Shapleigh headed the ball toward the back post where Grimes redirected it into the goal. At this point in the game it was all Westminster as they gave a clinic in possession soccer. The Pirate goalkeeper was tested again in the 59th minute. Junior midfielder Seth Lillenberg sent a ball in from the wing to Evetts, whose shot was tipped wide by the keeper. Ten minutes later, senior Jessiah Chard made a nice run out of the back and fed the ball to Miller, who beat a defender and had his shot deflected to the keeper. The Wildcats closed out the scoring with their fifth goal of the match in the 77th minute. Shapleigh carried the ball down the right wing and dropped a nice little chip into Hunsicker in the box. Connor ripped a one-time half-volley into the back of the net. Westminster plays its next game on Thursday at 4:00 against a strong Oakville team. With a win Westminster is almost sure to move into the next round of the tournament. Anything less than a win, and they will be out of the tournament.