Make no mistake, senior forward Stephen Boldt has been a mainstay for Westminster Christian. But he also realized coming in that this season would be different.
Graduation took away 13 players, which meant an increased role for Boldt. Walking off the field last season, he knew that would be the case — and he prepared for it.
“Since we had such an amazing team, I was definitely good last year, but I didn’t get to show it as much,” Boldt said. “So now everyone is gone and there are different roles to fill.
“You have to take control. I know what I can do.”
Boldt scored four goals Monday in an 8-0 win over St. Edward in the Class 1A Hinckley-Big Rock Regional semifinals. He also had two assists, giving him 33 goals and 11 assists.
Heitor Bannwart, Ben Dunkin, Ethan Nagler and Jaxson Schultze also added goals for Westminster (16-2-1). St. Edward (5-15-2) was limited to three shots on goal.
Boldt has turned into one of the top scorers not only in the Aurora-Elgin area but in all of Class 1A. First-year coach Barry Versaw has enjoyed watching the show.
“It’s that selfless attitude that he’s got,” Versaw said of Boldt. “He’s been with this team for a while, and he’s been developing, and now it’s his time to be the star.
“He’s been taking it and doing it. He’s usually been the best player on the field.”
Boldt wasted little time getting Westminster on the board. He scored his first goal at the 31:49 mark of the first half, a shot the glanced off the Green Wave’s goalkeeper into the net.
Three minutes later, Schultze scored again and the Warriors were off and running.
“That was definitely the goal because you don’t want to go down early,” Boldt said. “You always want to be the first to score. Once you score, you can definitely control the game and play the way you want to play.
“It’s definitely a key aspect to get that first goal.”
The early deficit was too much for the young St. Edward to overcome. The Green Wave started seven freshmen and sophomores.
“The longer we could hold them, the more confidence we would get,” St. Edward coach Tim Brieger said. “When they got the second one, they started to get a bunch, and that’s been the story of our season.
“We needed to shorten the game, and we just couldn’t do it.”
Dealing with Boldt, with his size and strength, also was a challenge for St. Edward.
“He’s a very solid player, very strong player,” Brieger said. “We knew that. We played them before. I just told the guys, it’s going to be a process.”
The Warriors’ solid season in 2022 was stalled in the regional championship game. They have reached that point of the season again, playing at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in the final.
With the graduation of seven starters there was no guarantee Westminster Christian could make it back to this point. But here the Warriors are.
“The expectations of a lot of people, they weren’t expecting a lot out of us,” Versaw said. “We have some guys that have stepped up and made our team go, and they’ve really gelled as a team.
“It’s been a really special year because we had a good team last year and we lost a lot of key players. To get this far is awesome.”
Boldt, meanwhile, is happy to have a starring role in that process. And he’s hoping to finish the job this time around.
“It’s been a big jump up for me personally,” Boldt said. “I’m happy with the success we’ve had. All my friends were on the team last year. For me to say we brought a regional title home would be amazing.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.