Published: October 09, 2009 10:36 am      

Bruins edge Wawasee

Freshman Andrew Snyder must enjoy playing at the Goshen High School soccer complex.

The youngster netted the only goal as the Bethany Christian Bruins nipped the Wawasee Warriors, 1-0, in a sectional semifinal on a rainy Thursday night.

He scored at 32:08 of the first half, assisted by sophomore Femi Hollinger-Janzen.

Bethany (14-2-2) faces Goshen (12-2-3) in the championship Saturday at 7 p.m.

The Bruins were 1-0 winners over the Redskins on Sept. 15 during the regular season. Snyder had the contest’s only goal on a free kick with 6:40 left to play.

“Andrew likes playing on this field,” Bethany coach Hank Willems said.

The Bruins had a 9-4 edge in shots on goal.

“Early in the game we had a couple of hard shots by Hollinger-Janzen,” Willems said. “After that Wawasee picked up its play like they had nothing to lose.

“We had our chances on a number of headers. Every year when you go deep in the tournament there is a game like this where you have to find a way to win.

“The conditions were a great equalizer. We are a good team when we can pass and control the ball.”

The Warriors had a great chance to tie the score with about 30 minutes left in the game, but a direct kick by junior Austin Benzinger hit the inside of the goal post.

“We were shell shocked to start the game,” Wawasee coach Peter Lucht said. “But this was by far the kids’ best effort of the season.

“We didn’t have that many opportunities. We were unlucky on Benzinger’s kick. He has been our best player in those situations all year. We can’t get down, I’m still proud of him.”

Wawasee finishes 5-8-4.

Bethany had an 8-1 advantage in corner kicks. Sophomore Jeff Yoder made four keeper saves for Bethany and sophomore Andre Champoux six for the Warriors.

The Bruins controlled a lot of the action.

“Bethany has a number of talented players. No. 4 (Hollinger-Janzen), No. 7 (senior Jesse Ramer) and No. 11 (freshman Josh Stoltzfus) are ones that come to mind,” Lucht said.

Willems is familiar with one of the Wawasee assistants.

“Jared Kingery is one of my former players,” the coach said. “He was on three semistate teams for me at Logansport.”