A week ago Saturday, Charlie Eaton shut down the Crown Point Bulldogs during the penalty kick shootout, before netting his own PK for the Trojan Boys Soccer program’s fourth consecutive IHSAA Sectional title.  Eaton continued his strong postseason play this past weekend as the Trojans rolled to their second regional title in three years.  Two years ago, the Trojans won the Goshen Regional title on their way to winning the 2018 IHSAA State Championship, and after winning the Goshen Regional Saturday, the boys hope that they can continue to mirror that 2018 success.

     In the morning game, the #3 state ranked Trojans took on the #7 team in the state, and previously undefeated Plymouth Pilgrims.  The Trojans came out looking to score early, and after a couple near misses in the first half, the Trojans struck in the 24th minute.  Senior captain Nick Biel delivered a perfect through ball to his fellow captain and classmate Zack Bowswer for the game’s first goal.  Leading 1-0, Chesterton wanted to expand the lead and gain some breathing room.  Thirteen minutes later, in minute 37, it was again Biel delivering another pass on a dime, this time, to forward Gage Torres.

     “I remember early in the game noticing that the gap to Zack was there and him asking for us to look for him. I told him I would find him if he kept making that run. The ball went into Gage and he is always great about playing simple and playing the way he faces,” Biel stated, “so he laid the ball off to me perfectly, and Zack made the run. I just tried to put the ball out in front of him and he took care of the rest.”

       After losing in the semi-final morning session a year ago, the Trojans wanted to reestablish their prestige as a program not just by winning the morning game against Plymouth, but also to capture the Regional crown in the night game against fellow region school, Munster.  Chesterton has played with a bit of a chip on their shoulder this year, after last year’s regional loss came with 12 seniors on the roster.

     “I think that definitely still is with us this year. Last year’s loss was both heartbreaking and disappointing and this year we wanted to go further again and hopefully win state because we all know what we are capable of. When you have a top program, and especially when you win a State Championship, as a program that becomes the goal every single year and this year is no exception.  So after last year’s result we were all very excited to prove what we are capable of again,” Biel admitted.

     The Trojans had the wind at their backs in the first half, but after quite a few good looks, they couldn’t put a goal home.  Eaton, the savior from the week prior, shined again in the night session at Regionals, and was able to finish the day without allowing a goal in two games.

     “The mindset going into the second half [against the wind] was to just keep the ball because we can pass around them, and if they don’t have the ball they can’t score,” the senior goalie and captain said, “I just think that this past weekend our defense really stepped up and made it difficult for the opposition to even get a shot off and that made my job a lot easier to keep 2 clean sheets.”

    In the 57th minute, it was junior Ryan O’Dell who kept a ball inbounds near the post, feeding sophomore teammate Josh Wadowski, who gave the Trojans the 1-0 lead.  After a couple near misses for the Mustangs, junior Liam Grimes came through for the Trojans, with masterful touch on a shot that gave the boys a 2-0 lead in the 74th minute.  Wadowski’s goal would be all the team really needed, as the final score read 2-0 when the 80th minute eclipsed, putting the Trojans in the state final four for Class 3A soccer.

     Next up for Chesterton is previously unranked, but currently streaking Fishers High School, who according to Eaton, “plays a similar style to Northridge” one of the team’s two losses on the season.  The game will be played at South Bend St. Joseph High School, at 10AM Central Time on Saturday.

     “We know that Fishers didn’t have the best regular season, but has been very hot in the postseason. We will be watching film on them this week so that we can determine how to approach the game. My message to the team is always to take every opponent as seriously as possible and to mentally prepare so that we can play our game,” Biel concluded.