SPRINGFIELD - Marquette Catholic, who won the IHSA state Class 1A championship in 2017, looks to take a big step closer to returning to the state finals when the Explorers meet Riverton in the Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin sectional final this evening in a 6 p.m. kickoff.
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The match will be livestreamed on Riverbender.com. also starting at 6 p.m.
The Explorers go into the final 16-3-5, having won their own regional with wins over Staunton (7-0) and Hillsboro (8-0), then defeating the host Cyclones in Tuesday's sectional semifinal 4-0. The Hawks have advanced to tonight's match by winning their own regional, defeating Rosamond Faith Bible Christian 1-0 and Pleasant Plains 2-1, then winning their sectional semifinal over Teutopolis 3-0.
Marquette is taking the one game at a time approach in going up against Riverton.
"I think we are looking at it like we look at every game," said Explorer head coach Tim Gould, "focus on ourselves and what we do well. Still, the emphasis and thinking of what we do well has given us a great opportunity."
The Explorers walked through their strategy in Gould's classroom yesterday, and the players have a good understanding of how the Hawks operate and what they do well.
"They have a kid who's scored 44 goals, and they've won a lot of games," Gould said. "I think they are coming into a mindset they can beat us, and they've given good team's issues to win a lot of games. You're not playing this late in the season if you're not expecting to win."
Marquette will counter with leading scorer Aaron Boulch, who's struck 20 times so far this season, with Noah McClintock adding 17 goals and Nick LaFata scoring 16 times. The defense is anchored by goalie Joe Guehlstorf, who's conceded only 23 goals and has recorded six clean sheets this season.
"We do feel good knowing our guys are confident finishing opportunities," Gould said. "Defensively, we've been sound the last couple of games, playing with a lot of energy, especially defensively when the other teams have possession. It's a great formula to win matches."
The Explorers-Hawks winner will advance to the Breese Mater Dei Catholic Super-Sectional on Tuesday night, where they will face the winner of the Columbia Sectional, either Mt. Carmel or the host Eagles, in a 7 p.m. kickoff for the right to move on to the state finals at Eastside Centre in East Peoria next weekend.Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.
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