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Leading his team to the Metro League Tournament title with a 3-0 victory over host John Burroughs, Stinebaker picked up his second shutout of the young season. And he also picked up a pair of assists with long, driven balls from his penalty area that helped set up the Wildcats' second and third goals of the game.

"Jacob had an absolute dime,'' fellow senior Krew Collison said after scoring seconds into the second half to make it 2-0. "I was calling for it near midfield and when the defender missed on the header, I was able to take a touch and then finish off the play. The ball Jacob played to me was incredible. Scoring right away, just after halftime like we did, it really changed the game and put us in control. We're 3-0 to start the season, and getting wins over Priory, St. Dominic and Burroughs definitely gives us a boost in confidence."

Stinebaker, a returning all-stater, picked up another assist midway through the second half when his long ball out of the back made its way to sophomore Jude Ewing, who converted the breakaway chance to make it 3-0.

Then, with about 5 minutes to play, another long ball from Stinebaker made its way to junior Campbell Nabours, who narrowly missed with a shot past the far post. Nabours splits time between forward and goalkeeper for Westminster.

"I have to be honest," Stinebaker admitted. "On that first assist, I made a mistake. I meant to hit the ball to a guy inside and I hit it too hard. It was low and driven and I think their guy just misread it. But I was definitely looking for it on the second one."

Westminster grabbed the lead midway through the opening half when a Ewing corner kick was misplayed into an own goal by Burroughs.

"We made some mistakes that cost us,'' Bombers coach Alan Trzecki said. "But we also did some things (Friday) that I was encouraged by. We graduated nine seniors who played a lot for us, so we're going through a little bit of a transition now. With a good number of guys new to varsity soccer, really the only way to adjust to the speed of play and the physicality is to play and hopefully to learn."

The Bombers (2-2) created the game's first scoring chance about 10 minutes in when Corbin Riley crossed the ball to fellow senior Ben Zerega. His shot from the edge of the box was pushed wide by Stinebaker for a corner kick.

Not long after going up 2-0, Westminster nearly added to its lead when a Hampton Pfuetze free kick was blocked but not cleared from the Burroughs penalty area. With a volley, the Wildcats' Patrick Jacobs ripped a shot off the cross bar.

With Westminster up 3-0, Burroughs' Kaden Bradley played a dangerous free kick into the box. But Stinebaker punched it from danger. The Wildcats' keeper came up with another key stop late in the match after a turnover. On the play, the Bombers' Evan Apte fed the ball to Arjun Krishnasamy, but his shot was stopped by Stinebaker.

"This team may not have the individual skill that we've had in other seasons,'' said Stinebaker, who started in goal as a sophomore for Westminster's Class 2 state championship squad. "But this group has incredible team chemistry. We have guys who know how to compete and I think that can carry us a long way."

Westminster coach Dan Legters agreed: "Every year, we seem to come out of this tournament 2-1, so I'm really encouraged by the way we've started. We've got a good group of guys who are working hard and working together. We're playing with confidence and we're playing as a team.

"We're off to a good start and hopefully we can continue to build on that as we move forward. Confidence in soccer means a lot. We feel like we're on the right track and we'll celebrate today. But we know it's back to work when we play our next game on Monday."