Peoria, IL, October 30, 2021 - The Wheaton Academy boys soccer team entered the state playoffs on a five game winning streak knowing to win it all they'd have to finish the season on a 12 game winning streak. They did just that. On Friday October 29th the boys traveled down to East Side Center in Peoria, IL to take on MSC Conference rival Timothy Christian. In their first meeting of the year Timothy Christian defeated the Warriors in a penalty kick shootout that ultimately handed TC the conference title. Friday's State Semi Final was a different story as WA jumped on them early, taking a 1-0 lead in the first 15 minutes courtesy of a
Robert Platt goal. The Warriors would take the 1-0 lead into the half but the scored wouldn't remain their long. WA struck early and often in the second half as they put a five spot on the scoreboard. Timothy would get a goal with two minutes remaining leading to an eventual final score of 6-1 in favor of the Warriors. Senior
Robert Platt led the way with 3 goals, while Senior
Giovanni Nicoski, Junior
Caleb Mariotti, and Sophomore
Jakob Karlson all scored as well. The win advanced the Warriors to their second ever State Final on Saturday.
Saturday's State Championship game brought yet another rematch for the Warriors as the boys took on Althoff Catholic. In early October the team traveled to Iowa for The Great River Classic. There they opened the tournament in the quarterfinals against Althoff. It was a back and forth match that needed PK's to separate the two teams. WA would walk away victorious that day when Junior
Josiah Pitts knocked home the game winning PK. The State Final brought yet another tightly contested battled between two of the states best teams. Just like Friday, WA would come out of the gates fast as they scored two goals in the first 15 minutes thanks to strikes from twin brother Josh Mariotti and
Caleb Mariotti. Althoff would pull a goal back in the in the 29th minute as WA would take a 2-1 lead into the half. In the second half WA would rely on their strong defense to keep Althoff off the board as the score held up and gave WA the Class 1A State Championship. This is the programs second ever state title, the first since the Warriors lifted the Class 2A title in 2014.
This concludes one of the most successful seasons in program history. The Warriors finish their 2021 Championship campaign on a 12 game win streak for a final record of 19-4-1, Second Place MSC, First Place Great River Classic, 85 goals scored, 55 assists, 9 shut outs, 1.25 GAA, and memories for a lifetime.Â
