‘I’m really happy with the way these guys have come together and developed:’ Argos defense blanks Lakeland Christian, makes it back-to-back sectionals
Next up: vs. No. 1 Fort Wayne Blackhawk, 6 p.m. Thursday
BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS
Sports Editor, RTC
ARGOS — The Argos boys soccer team lost top defender Mekhi Austin to a season-ending ankle injury early in the season.
Though his presence was missed, not even a major injury can deter a successful soccer program from its annual October success story.
Freshman Zac Burns scored twice, and Kenyan Beldon scored on a penalty kick as the No. 7 Dragons beat Lakeland Christian 3-0 in the Class 1A, Sectional 36 final at Eugene Snyder Field Saturday.
Yahir Fajardo and Beldon each had an assist for Argos, who improved to 15-4.
Argos earned a matchup with defending state champion and top-ranked Fort Wayne Blackhawk at 6 p.m. Thursday. Fort Wayne Blackhawk beat No. 5 Westview 3-0 in the Sectional 35 final.
The winner will play in the regional final at Westview at 4 p.m. this Saturday.
“It feels good,” Burns said. “But, you know, there’s always more to come. There are a lot of challenges on the way up here.”
The sectional title is Argos’ 19th in school history, their second straight and their 14th in 16 years since the beginning of class soccer in 2011. For the second straight year, Argos won the sectional without allowing a goal for the tournament.
Lakeland Christian finished 11-6-2. They had scored 62 goals in 18 games coming in but were shut out for the third time this season.
“This is a team that we have that sometimes we lose focus,” Argos coach Todd VanDerWeele said. “For the most part, we stayed focused all night. … The weak side runner, so to speak, I thought we were well aware of that.”
Freshman Luke Clemens came in leading the Cougars with 24 goals, and senior Zaiden Miller had 14, and each scored a goal in Lakeland Christian’s 2-0 win over Winamac Thursday.
But Argos limited Lakeland Christian to just five shots on goal.
“Clemens is a threat, even as a freshman,” VanDerWeele said. “Even as a freshman, he is a very polished forward in terms of his movement and in terms of knowing what to do not just with the ball but without the ball. The older Miller, a heck of a player. It’s the third year we’ve had to go against him in the sectional. He’s hard to deal with. He’s a strong kid and again kinda like with the forwards the last two games (against Manchester and North Miami), we’ve tried to make him go sideways and not let him go downhill and get pace. Because he can shoot. He’s got a really strong shot. Other than that, it’s just winning the ball, and we were very successful tonight getting them on the counter.”
Angelo McMillen Zac Burns Yahir Fajardo Ayden VanDerWeele
Junior goalkeeper Angelo McMillen said the goal was to get a shutout. Also, defenders could not stab at the ball.
“We were just trying to shut them out, not let them get in,” McMillen said. “No through balls. Nothing through our defense.”
Sophomore Carter Bauman moved from midfield to defense to help fill the void after Austin’s injury. He said the goal was to keep Clemens and Miller “under control.”
“It feels great,” Bauman said. “Second year in a row. As a sophomore, it means a lot to come out here and play a lot and play with all my teammates. It became a real family for me and a place to go when I need someone to talk to.”
Ayden VanDerWeele, nephew of the head coach, is another player who adapted after the injury to Austin. VanDerWeele is listed in the program as a forward but played right side back on defense during the sectional.
He said they wanted to play for Austin.
“Pretty awesome,” Ayden VanDerWeele said. “We fought pretty hard, kept a zero throughout the whole sectional for two years in a row. That was pretty nice. … I used to play striker my freshman and a little bit my sophomore year, and then right as my junior year came around, I went over on the wing and scored a couple goals and then moved back for a new position on defense, and ever since I went on defense, I felt like our games went a little bit more calm. We got more shutouts, and I think our team has done really well on that.”
Argos took a 1-0 lead when Yahir Fajardo fed Burns with a pass from his zone. Burns stayed onside and rushed in and beat Lakeland Christian goalkeeper Harry Steger with 8:18 left in the half.
“The pass from Yoyo (Fajardo’s nickname) was really good,” Burns said. “It got right through the defenders. It slipped right through. I felt very good when I tapped it right out to the corner, and it got right past the keeper.”
They extended the lead to 2-0 on Burns’ left-footed finish off an exquisite Beldon feed after a run down the middle.
“A fantastic pass,” VanDerWeele said. “Not knowing that he was there, and Zac just calmly flushed it in the goal. It was a fantastic play. That’s something that we’ve done off and on this year, but when it’s happened, it’s been beautiful, and it’s always been in big moments we’ve been able to do that.”
Beldon was taken down in the box with 12:53 left and connected from the penalty spot to complete the scoring. The goal was the 51st of Beldon’s career. He is one of 10 players in Argos history to get to 50.
After the team accepted the sectional trophy from Argos athletic director Damon Binkley – also the school’s all-time leading goal scorer – they celebrated in the middle of the field before taking photos. The players ran to their fan section with Fajardo doing multiple back flips to celebrate the moment.
“It feels amazing,” Fajardo, a junior, said. “Good movement. There were some mistakes there in the end, but honestly, it just feels amazing that we won the sectional with the seniors. Those guys, I’ve been playing with them for quite awhile honestly. It feels amazing.”
They finished with a joint photo with the Argos girls team, who beat Manchester 3-1 earlier in the day to win their sectional title.
Both teams then took a celebratory ride through town with a fire truck escort.
“When we play as one, we are very strong,” coach VanDerWeele said. “It’s when the guys are not focused or guys have an off night, we really struggle with that, but when we’re all focused on the same page, we are a tough team to beat. We’ve only given up only 13 goals all year and shut out some pretty good teams.
“I’m really happy with the way these guys have come together and developed.”
Meanwhile, the players spoke of what it meant to win for coach VanDerWeele, whose health challenges have been no secret. Players wear blue warmup shirts to promote colon cancer awareness.
“A lot,” McMillen said. “Really big. We all as a team really wanted to win sectionals for him. And it’s every year we all want to win for him.”
Said Fajardo: “I want to do everything for him. He’s an amazing guy. With his struggles, he deserves those wins.”
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