The Chaminade Red Devils shut out the Eureka Wildcats 1-0 in the state sectionals this past Saturday. Chaminade was coming off an impressive two wins that had them fired up, along with a district championship. Eureka was equally as fired up because they had just defied the odds and made it out of their district as the four seed. Both teams equally wanting one thing: to move on.

There really is not much to say about this game other than ‘defense’. Chaminade’s defense was absolutely spectacular, allowing very few opportunities for the Wildcats. The back line of Evan Browne, Jack Olwig, Quinn Braeckel, and Andrew Lane continues to be impressive. Through the last three games, Chaminade has allowed zero goals and has also posted a shutout in four of their last five.

Obviously, you cannot win without scoring goals though. This is something that Chaminade has struggled with all year, and that same narrative continued Saturday. Seniors Cole Ross and Joseph Hipskand were playing exceptionally well on the wings, getting by the defenders and crossing in the ball time and time again. However, no Red Devils were there to clean that ball up.

Finally, in the 70^th minute, Joseph Hipskand decided that it was time for him to take over and put the Red Devils in front. Evan Browne went to grab the ball for a throw in and Joe simply said the words, “give me the ball,” which Evan willingly agreed to. Joe got the ball dribbled between a couple Eureka defenders and ripped one on net. The shot was so hard that the goalie fumbled the ball and sophomore Aidan Houseworth was there to clean it up for his second goal in three games.

With a final score of 1-0, Chaminade advances to the state quarterfinals to take on Jackson this Tuesday. This type of success is something that these players and coaches have been working towards all year, and the satisfaction of advancing makes all the time put in worth it.