Sparta Rotterdam - FC Groningen 1-3

Stefan Nijland scores two goals at the Spangen Castle against Sparta

With two Nijland goals and a Lovre goal and assist the FC pulled off the 4th Eredivisie win in a row and with one day to go until the Dutch winterstop, FC Groningen is in 3rd place (moving ahead of Ajax!) and assured of nothing worse then 4th until the competition resumes. For FC Groningen that will be January 12th against Excelsior. With the 1-3 win at Spangen Castle (an actual castle that is part of the stadium as well as the oldest football ground in the Dutch Premier League)FC Groningen also has as many goals scored as goals given up. FC Groningen ended 2007 very strong and look to stay in the top 5 to contend for a spot in UEFA or Champions League competition in 2008.

FC Groningen - PSV 2-1

Berg scores against PSV Eindhoven.

On 2nd Christmas Day/Boxing Day it was FC Groningen who were able to overcome a 0-1 deficit to beat the rich boys from the south. Despite falling behind in the first half, FC Groningen was able to play with inspiring motivation in front of a sold out Euroborg. With 2 goals in the second half the FC won again at home while moving up to 4th place behind the three perennial dutch powers with only one game to go (against Sparta Rotterdam this weekend) before the Dutch soccer winterstop.

Heracles - FC Groningen 1-2

FC Gronigen celebrates the winning goal in Almelo.


Polman Stadium was the backdrop for another away win. After getting behind early on, the FC scored the equalizer in the first half. After the tea, Koen van der laak scored the matchwinner. With the win, the FC moves up to 6th place. The win had consequences for Heracles as well, as their head coach got fired after the game. Next up is the 2nd Christmas Day (yes Holland has two christmas days!) matchup with PSV Eindhoven in the Euroborg Stadium.

Rudy

How about a feel good story to end the year?

Let's go back to 1998, I believe. NorthWood fielded a team that might not have had the greatest record but did have a lethal outside defender with a #4 on his broad back. Known as "the destroyer" and compared by one of the coaches to Theo"the Tank" Laseroms from the 1970's Feyenoord squads. "The destroyer" (just ask Chris Roelandts if he would agree with that nickname and he will probably tell you that "launching pad" might be more apporpriate but "destroyer" will do)had played three years of varsity soccer (his freshman year was an attempt at playing football for the Panthers but he saw the light and switched to the real football) and never scored a goal. Now "the destroyer" will tell you it's because his coaches,he played for 3 different ones, had him focus on defense alone and there is no reason now to dispute that.The opponent of the day was LaVille and NW was expecting a blow out. With the score 6-0, "the Destroyer" still had not scored despite some good opportunities but after all, finishing was not his expertise. By this time quite a few of #4's team mates had sored. With not a lot of time left on the clock, coach Duerksen put the destroyer in at a forward position. Now the entire team was trying to feed him with a great pass in order to put him in position to score. And it finally happened, "Rudy" scored and in the process injured the goalie who had to leave the game!!!!His first and only goal for NorthWood. With a new nickname and the assurance that he would be in the NorthWood soccer records book forever, his soccer life was complete. So, I need to apologize to "Rudy" for not putting him in the soccer records section on this blog. I will correct that and I need everyone to know that there are others obviously who fall in the category between Josh Corwin and "Rudy" but "Rudy" is mentioned as a sort of a book end.

Update on NW soccer records- OG/AC done for 2007

Changes have been made to the NW soccer records to reflect the true school records.

Open Gym in the AC concluded Monday for 2007. The next OG will take place on January 7, 2008 at 7 pm. If the starting time needs to change due to basketball, an announcement will be made that day.

FC Groningen - Willem II 1-0

After losing to SC Heerenveen last weekend (no report on blog) 4-2, the FC got back on track this afternoon by beating Willem II 1-0. A 53rd minute bend it like Bruno Silva (photo left) goal put the Tilburgers away. In attendance at the Euroborg stadium was my brother in law Jan. Coach Ron Jans was extremely pleased considering the club could not field all starters. Seven players were injured at game time. The three points earned today give the FC a total of 24 points. The club moved up to 9th placein the standings.The FC travels to Almelo to face Heracles next weekend. Heracles is currently in 16th place, one spot above Willem II.

NW SOCCER -BOYS Records thru 2007 season

NORTHWOOD MENS SOCCER RECORDS
EST. 1997 (updated 11/15/07)

CAREER GOALS:
Rodrigo Dosal 59 goals 2003-2006
Brody Morningstar 36 goals 1999-2002
Tyler Slagle 25 goals 2003-2006
Jon Cook 25 goals 1997-1998
Jeremy Wise 24 goals 2001-2003
Zac Lechlitner 19 goals 2002-2005
Andrew Myers 19 goals 2001-2003
Nate Davidhizar 17 goals 2002-2005
Edgar Villegas 16 goals 2004-2007
Chris Roelandts 14 goals 1999-2001
Seth Douwsma 14 goals 2005-Present
Josh Corwin 12 goals 1998-2000
Ryan Mattern 1 goal 1996-1998

CAREER ASSISTS:
Rodrigo Dosal 33 asst. 2003-2006
Nate Davidhizar 33 asst. 2002-2005
Zac Lechlitner 22 asst. 2002-2005
Brody Morningstar 15 asst. 1999-2001
Seth Douwsma 12 asst. 2005-Present
Jeremy Wise 12 asst. 2001-2003
Tyler Slagle 11 asst 2003-2006
Andrew Myers 10 asst 2001-2003
Edgar Villegas 10 asst 2004-2007

CAREER POINTS:
Rodrigo Dosal 151 points 2003-2006
Brody Morningstar 89 points 1999-2001
Nate Davidhizar 67 points 2002-2005
Tyler Slagle 61 points 2003-2006
Zac Lechlitner 60 points 2002-2005
Jeremy Wise 60 points 2001-2003
Jon Cook 58 points 1997-1998
Andrew Myers 48 points 2001-2003
Edgar Villegas 44 points 2004-2007
SethDouwsma 40 points 2005-Present



MOST GOALS IN ONE SEASON:
Rodrigo Dosal 21 goals 2004
Brody Morningstar 21 goals 2002

MOST ASSISTS IN ONE SEASON:
Nate Davidhizar 13 assists 2004

MOST WINS IN ONE SEASON:
11 WINS 2004 & 2007

MOST GOALS SCORED IN ONE SEASON:
64 GOALS 2004

FEWEST GOALS ALLOWED:
25 G.A. 2004

MOST SHUTOUTS IN ONE SEASON:
Mike Schmitt (7) 2007

OVERALL RECORD THORUGH 2007 season(EST 1997)
82-94-21

FC Groningen - VVV Venlo 1-0

Marcus Berg scored his 7th goal of the season which proved to be the gamewinner.

Marcus Berg scored the lone goal in the 52nd minute to defeat VVV Venlo in a sold out Euroborg. It had been 14 years since VVV made the trip to Groningen for a Eredivisie matchup. The last game resulted in a 0-3 loss but this time around, FC Groningen was the better team. VVV came to the north with high hopes after collecting 7 points out of the last 3 games and not allowing a single goal in the last two. Defensively VVV is improving but a determined Bruno Silva crossed a ball to Marcus Berg who headed it just inside the far post for the winning goal.The green and white pride did not need anymore then that to secure the victory. Next up is the match with arch rival SC Heerenveen. The game is a sell out already. with this win, FC Groningen moved from 11th to 6th(!) place.

SC Loppersum - VV Grijpskerk 1-0

The first loss of the season against a strong Loppersum team combined with a Lycurgus win means that the VV is still in first place but only 3 points ahead of the Lycurgus blue and whites. At 10-1-1, Grijpskerk has only one game to go with the current coach and will start with their new coach for the first mid season coaching change in its history. Next week's game at home against Mamio should be easy, considering they beat Mamio in the away leg 1-12 in the second game of the season.

OG/AC update

Starting Monday December 3rd, we will have Open Gym from 7:30pm (following basketball practice so the time is approximate) until 9 or 9:15pm. So, new time, same place.

FC Groningen-Feyenoord 3-2

Berg celebrates winning goal with teammates.

Powerhouse and #2 Feyenoord came to the Euroborg expecting to take the full three points but that was not to be. The FC came out to play in front of a sell out crowd. Despite good and aggressive play, the FC fell behind 0-1 (Makaay goal) in the first half but most the action would come in the last 20 minutes of play.In the 72nd minute Lindgren was substituted for Berg, who scored the equaliser one minute later. In the 76th minute, Nevland scored the go ahead goal. Feyenoord, however came back in the next minute to tie the game. The 4th official indicated that 5 minutes would be added as injury time. In the last minute of extra time, Berg scored the winning goal, 3-2!

Happy Thanksgiving

Check out Ryan's blog

Click on "Ryan's blog" on the right and check out Dennis Bergkamp's goal and the commentary. You won't regret it!!

FC Groningen update

No visitors in Euroborg this weekend

Due to all the Euro 2008 qualifications games today (saturday) and this coming wednesday, no professional games will be played in Europe this weekend. FC Groningen GK Leonard Nienhuis and MF Mart Dijkstra have been selected for the Dutch National U-18 team for this wednesday's game against the Czech Republic

De Fivel- VV Grijpskerk 1-6

VV Grijpskerk easily defeated De Fivel 1-6. With this win, Grijpskerk has played all opponents in their division once. The second half of the season starts this Saturday, weather permitting. The regular "winterstop" will be around the Christmas holidays. The season will wrap up before June (Euro 2008 will start June 7th). With the win Grijpskerk remains in 1st place with a 10-0-1 record.

OG/AC November 19, 2007

Coach Duerksen enjoying SWAP DAY


Open Gym for Monday November 19; Same time, same place.

OG/AC

Open Gym will be tonight at 7 pm at the AC and run until about 8:45 pm.

Roda JC-FC Groningen 5-1

Roda JC player celebrates one of the many goals scored against FC Groningen. The pride of the south beats up on the pride of the north.
Another embarrasing 5-1 loss results in a tumble from 9th to 12th place. On the longest road trip of the year, the green and white "Pride of the North" was not able to produce any type of resistance against the men from the far south.

VV Grijpskerk-VV Godlinze 3-0

Two goals from Nico Roorda (his first goals of the season) and one from Jan Peter Steenbergen were the difference in a very well played game by Grijpskerk.Godlinze was the loser in many aspects. Two red cards, a loss and several injuries means the team will be depleted for a while. The VV travels to De Fivel to complete the first half of the season. With a record of 9-0-1, the VV will try to go undefeated thru the first half of the season. Grijpskerk's offense is the most potent in the league and one of the best in the country(3rd best in all of the country's saturday amateur teams) with 53 goals scored in 10 games.

2007 MVP's

Mike Schmitt and Edgar Villegas-Boys Soccer MVP's

2007 Fall Awards

Edgar Villegas and Mike Schmitt are the 2007 co-MVP's for NorthWood Boys Soccer. As Coach Duerksen said in his presentation in front of all Fall athletes, coaches and parents, Edgar was the unanimous offensive selection for MVP and Schmitt was the defensive selection for MVP. Micah Shaw received the Most Improved Player Award and Dustin Eby was the recipient of the Mental Attitude Award. Tonight was the official end of the 2007 soccer season. Obviously it was the school's most succesful season overall. The coaching staff is looking forward to the 2008 season. For as far as the coaches are concerned, that season has already started with the Open Gym's on Monday nights. I would like to thank Coach Duerksen for attempting to promote my blog all night long. On a different note, all announcements regarding the Open Gyms will be posted here as well. I will try to get the MVP picture from the Truth on thiss site after it appears on their newspapers' website.

MSRA names Schmitt GK of the year!!!

The Michiana Soccer Referees Association selected NorthWood goalie Mike Schmitt the Goalkeeper of the year for 2007.Congratulations to Holy Schmitt. This is the first time a NorthWood player received a player of the year award from the MSRA.

NorthWood Boys Soccer Fall Awards

It is a busy week considering it's the off season. Tonight is the usual Open Gym at the AC at 7 - 9 pm. Tomorrow night is the annual Fall Awards night. Letters, patches, captains plaques, ALL NLC, MVP, most improved and mental attitude will all be awarded. Results and pictures will be posted on Wednesday.

FC Groningen- Vitesse Arnhem 0-0

FC Groningen midfielder #6 Lindgren misses another opportunity

Three great chances and none of them ended up in the back of the net pretty much sums up the dismal performance at home by the FC.

Corenos-VV Grijpskerk 1-3

The VV Grijpskerk was good enough to come away with a win but would like to improve the way they have been playing as of late. Despite being 8-0-1 and 6 points ahead of #2, the red & white armada would like to go back to the way they played prior to October 27th. Three of the top four topscorers in the division are from Grijpskerk with Bernard Steenburgen in 1st place with 14 goals so far this season, his brother Jan Peter Steenburgen in third with 9 and Hendrik Jan Smit in 4th with a total of 8 goals.

Feyenoord - FC Groningen 3-1

Erik Nevland trying to defend Makaay (Photo by ProShots).

FC Groningen reached the final 16 of the Dutch Cup but that was it, Feyenoord proved too strong for the green and white. Feyenoord now moves on in the knock out tournament that only has 8 teams left to play for the Cup trophy. Roy Makaay scored a pure hat trick in the first half to put the Rotterdammers on top 3-0. An OG in the 62nd minute made the final score 3-1 in a De Kuip ("the tub") stadium that was only partially filled with 23,500 spectators.

NW Soccer Videos on YouTube

Six sectional championship videos, please click here: YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. With thanks to Cameron's mom.

NW Soccer game field

On Sunday October 21, 2007 I had the opportunity, because of my job, to view the tornado devastation from the air . While flying over Nappanee, I took several pictures of the damage but I also took this picture of our game field. So this is what it looks like when the season is over with and the nets are taken down. With thanks to our helicopter pilot Randy Sharkey from the Goshen Airport.

NEC - FC Groningen 5-1

The FC was humiliated 5-1 by NEC (Nijmegen Eendracht Combinatie) in the McDOS De Goffert Stadium this afternoon. The FC had to deal with NEC while missing five injured starters. The very young Jeroen Veldmate (Henk's son) made his Eredivisie debut.

VV Grijpskerk - HS '88 & VV Grijpskerk- De Pelikanen updates

The seventh straight win came against HS'88 with a 6-2 home win on 10/20/07. On 10/27/07 the redshirts had to travel to Appingedam. A fan tour with fan bus followed the team to the eastern part of the province near the German border. Fifth place De Pelikanen (in the 2nd division last year) was not able to play up to Grijpskerk's level but managed to pull out a 2-2 tie. The draw was dissapointing to the VV even though they were missing three starters. Still undefeated (7-0-1), the VV are now preparing for an away fixture against Corenos Groningen on November 3rd.

FC Groningen-FC Twente 1-0

Goran Lovre being pulled by his shirt by one of FC Twente's players.

Meerdink scored the lone goal in a match that put the FC on the left side of the standings table. Next up for the FC is NEC today (Sunday 10/28) in Nijmegen.

2007 Sectional Champions & Regional Runner-up

2007 Images -part 2

2007 Images -part 1

2007-2008 STATS

NW boys soccer team with the Sectional trophy.

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Record 11-8-2 / 2-4-1(NLC) (11 wins ties NW record)

Goals:
Edgar Villegas -15
Seth Douwsma-10
Rogelio Patino-3
Cesar Salinas-3
Ben St. Germain-3
Brandon German-2
Robby Burns-1
Micah Shaw-1
Josh Stump-1
RyanLincoln-1

Assists:
Edgar Villegas/Seth Douwsma - 9
Robby Burns-4
Brandon German- 3
Rogelio Patino/Micah Shaw-2
Ben St. Germain-1

NLC Stats:
Edgar Villegas- 4 goals/2 assists
Seth Douwsma-1 assist
Rogelio Patino-1 goal
Micah Shaw-1 assist
Josh Stump-1 goal

Total points:
Edgar Villegas-39
Seth Douwsma-29
Rogelio Patino-8
Robby Burns-6
Brandon German-7
Micah Shaw-4
Cesar Salinas-6
Ben St. Germain-7
Josh Stump-2
Ryan Lincoln-2

Shutouts:
Mike Schmitt - 7(* NorthWood record)

NW Boys Photo's

If anyone has some pictures of the team or players that were taken during the season that I could post here, I would ask you to email those to me to egbertdijkstra@yahoo.com. Thanks.
I will also publish the up to date stats here on Wednesday (tomorrow).

NorthWood Boys Soccer - 2007 In review

In July of 2007 the team went to the Summer Soccer Showcase in Anderson,IN. During the two days of the tournament NW won all three games, the last one on pk's. This 3-0 run gave the team a lot of confidence going into the regular season. The theme of passing to feet, talking and running off the ball was implemented and told to the team after the first game.

The team's goal was to try and get to .500 and get more wins then last year's team and try to win back to back sectionals.

After the tournament, the coaching staff thought that the team could do even better then that if it kept developing. The coaches were hoping to get double digit wins, win the sectional and contend for a top three spot in the NLC.

With wins against Wawasee, a draw against Warsaw and a narrow loss against Northridge it looked as if a top three spot was still a possibility. But after a couple of NLC losses and despite beating Memorial for the first time in a while, the best we could do was where we eventually ended up, #6. Mike Schmitt and Edgar Villegas did have quite a few good NLC games.

There were quite a few highlights this year and very few lows. The game against Goshen Concord and Plymouth were disappointing in the fact that they were conference losses. The loss against Angola was not expected and it was the hope of the coaches that after that loss, things would turn around. It had to because it was play off time. The team responded extremely well which showed in the work ethic in the practices leading up to the first game in sectionals. It was good to get a win against LaVille under our belt and give ourselves a shot to win another sectional title. The finals against Bremen was approached in a focused manner and the 3-0 win can be attributed to the entire team; all players got playing time in the finals. The practices after the sectional finals went to a higher level yet. It seemed that ALL players gained confidence from playing and winning the sectional title.

The next game versus South Bend Clay in the Regional Semi Final was one of the best, if not THE best, game ever to be played by a NW soccer team. To come back from a first half deficit, to survive 2OT and to go into the PK shootout with a lot of confidence is something I'll never forget as a coach. We expected to win the shootout and we did! Despite the rainy and cold weather, a lot of fans came out and supported the team and it felt good to give a good performance.

Last saturday the team played Elkhart Central in what would turn out to be the final game of the season. The half time score was 4-0 and we knew it would be nearly impossible to score 4 goals to tie a school that was State runner up last year and ranked 12th during the '07 season. We also felt a little unlucky. The first half was started by us playing a little flat and near the end of the first half we saw a couple of bad calls that cost us 2 goals. We played much better in the second half and despite knowing that the opponent was better then we were, we only gave up one more goal.

All in all, this has been the most succesful soccer season at NorthWood. And that is a testament to this team. They came together as a team, never had any issues within the group and all players got along. I will never forget the weird "things" some of the couples did, "Carry me home", the chanting of "Larry, Larry, Larry" as we got close to the school, the time we spent taking water off the field, hundreds of buckets at a time, the tournaments and I could go on, but this truly was a team that was fun to hang out with. The eight seniors, Edgar, Rogelio, Holy, Dustin, Micah, Robby, Josh and Robbie will be missed. It is my hope that the 13 others who already were on the varsity, complemented by whoever else will make the varsity next year, will be able to make next year's group as much as a cohesive team as these seniors were able to. Good luck to all the seniors and all to all others; it's time to dedicate yourself to next year's team. So, we will see everyone on Monday's at the AC from 7:30 - 9pm!!!!!!!!!

I also want to thank the parents for supporting their sons and the team throughout the season. Thanks for the food , snacks and fruits. Thanks for hosting meals, taking tickets at the game, having your kids run balls and staffing the concession trailer. Thanks for helping with the car wash and thanks for all the little things all of you did but went unnoticed by oblivious coaches. Hope to see you here, on this blog, again next year.

VV Grijpskerk - Westerlee 6-3

HENDRIK JAN SMIT SCORES QUICKEST GOAL IN CLUB HISTORY

After viewing the videos of the games so far this season it seems that it is easy for the VV to score a lot of goals this year. 39 goals have been put in the back of the net so far this year after 6 games. However, 11 goals have been given up as well which leads one to believe that the defense needs to improve. The season is split up in three periods. Each period has a champion who qualifies for the postseason with a chance of promotion to the 2nd division. Grijpskerk is undefeated and has won the first period. This week, Hendrik Jan Smit scored the opening goal after 28(!!) seconds. The club's archives have been researched and it is now official; this is the quickest goal in club history. It was also the first time this season that the VV was able to play at the new game field at Sports Park "De Enk".

#12 Elkhart Central- NorthWood 5-0

Panthers out of State Tournament

After beating Clay on Wednesday, the Panthers were anxious to see how they would measure up against the 2006 State Runner Up and currently ranked 12th Central Blue Blazers.

In a noon contest at Lakeville's Newton Park the two Elkhart County teams kicked off under much better conditions then Wednesday. A good crowd, especially on the NW side was ready for a competetive match.

FIRST HALF
From the kick off it looked as if the Panthers were somewhat intimidated by the Blue Blazers. Elkhart Central was able to play the ball wide fairly easy resulting in a Lucchese shot in the 6th minute. Schmitt made the save as usual. In the 13th minute and Elkhart Central player took a shot from about 22 yards out. The ball was deflected to the left by a NorthWood player and the ball disappeared in the net, out of reach for the NW keeper, 1-0.
In the 24th minute, the Panthers, unable to clear the ball out of the box, gave the ball up to a Central player (#14) who took it at Schmitt and put it to Schmitts left into the net, 2-0.
A minute later, NorthWood had its first shot at the goal. A shot from Edgar was on the frame but stopped by Division 1 New Mexico bound keeper Justin Holmes.
The center referee called a handball in the box in the 37th against the Panthers in their box, resulting in a PK. Despite the fact that it did not look like an intentional handbal and no advantage was gained by the Panthers, the ref called a PK which was "questioned" by the NW coaches. Central, however, did not miss; 3-0. Only minutes later a right wing forward pass from Central looked off side but no flag went up. Central took the ball in the box and executed well, 4-0. Like they say: players win games, coaches loose games and (here is my point) referees ruin games!

HALF TIME
During the tea time, Coach Duerksen was the only speaker. His speech came down to challenging this great group of players to 40 minutes of hard soccer.

SECOND HALF
NorthWood came out and played soccer the second half. It did become obvious that the Cupfighters from Wakarusa and Nappanee had run into a better opponent. Despite good saves by Holy Schmitt, a great run and dribble by Ducky (47th minute) that resulted in a great shot on the frame and a great thrown in by Burns for a Villegas header, it was clear that this game was going Central's way. The final of 5-0 meant that the Panthers' season was over. But let's be clear about one thing, the Panthers had a very succesful season. Eleven (11) wins, a sectional championship and regional runner up is proof of that. 287 schools start the state tournament and we made it to the final 32, quite an accomplishment. This group of players/friends never had their focus on anything but soccer. Our eight seniors, Mike Schmitt, Robbie Balogh, Micah Shaw, Josh Stump, Dustin Eby, Robbie Burns, Edgar Villegas and Rogelio Patino will be sorely missed. They were a great, great group to work with.

2007 NORTHWOOD BOYS SOCCER

11-8-2

LaVille Sectional Champions

LaVille Regional Runner-Up (Final 32 teams)


Sometime Monday morning I will hopefully post some additional pictures. I will also post a "2007 season report" and later in the week a blog with all the record of the 2007 season. Any additional information about NorthWood Boys soccer during the post season will be posted as well, this includes AC Open Gym times and changes, Fall Sports Award Banquet -without food- etc..

ANNOUNCEMENT:
Tuesday October 16 all Varsity players need to meet at the game field to hand in their uniforms and warmups. We will take down the nets and play a pick up game, weather permitting. JV players need to hand in their uniforms and warm ups to coach Bell (go to his classroom) on or before Tuesday.

Open Gym starts Monday October 22 at 7 pm. It will last until about 9 - 9:15.

Elkhart Central - NorthWood update

The Regional Championship Final will take place at NOON on Saturday October 13, 2007 at Newton Park in Lakeville, IN.

South Bend Clay - NorthWood 1-2 (1-1,3-4pk's), Panthers move on to Regional Championship game

Stump, Patino and Douwsma in action during the Clay-NorthWood Regional Semi Final.

What could go right on a 40 some degree night with pouring rain, no balls and no ball boys? Answer: NorthWood. The boys soccer team came back from a one goal deficit to force OT and a PK shootout. The win after the PK shootout puts the Panthers in the Regional Championship game on Saturday October 13 against Elkhart Central at noon at Newton Park.

FIRST HALF
Clay came out with a threatening quick pass to their left corner. After the goal went over the endline, the Colonials would take their first of 17 corners. The NW defense cleared the ball to start their own attack. In the 6th minutes a nice passing combination from Edgar to Seth ended up in front of Rogelio's feet who was unable to convert the opportunity. In the 12th minute, Ducky had a shot that went wide of the goal for the second NW threat of the night. For the first 30 minutes of the game, the game was an even game with opportunities for both teams. In the 32nd minute a Clay counter ended up in the NorthWood box, the ball was not cleared and ended up in front of Clay's Parker Durham. His shot on the frame got by Mike "Holy" Schmitt, 1-0 Clay. After a few minutes, the Panthers regained their composure and kept playing hard for the remainder of the half. 50/50 balls were won in regular fashion and the defense played a very organized first half.

HALF TIME
The half time speech consisted of telling the team to stick with the gameplan and again they were told by Coach Duerksen that we are a 2nd half team who, if they would keep playing hard and stick to our strategy, would come away with a win. A win would make NorthWood soccer history.

SECOND HALF
The second half started much like the first half had ended. Both teams played good soccer despite the awful field conditions. Despite the nice set up at Newton Park, it is painfully obvious that soccer specialists were not consulted when that part of the complex was put together but more about that later.
In the 51st minute Ducky took a great shot that just missed and only minutes later, Micah Shaw had a great cross that went thru the box. The Panthers were starting to take over the game. The very well conditioned men in white and red were slowly but surely keeping the ball on the Clay side of the field. One breakaway in the 57th minute gave Clay #17 a good opportunity just outside the box but his hard shot was saved by Schmitt. The action shifted back to the NW offensive third of the field where a foul was committed, resulting in a NW indirect free kick just outside the 18. The coaches called for the set piece that would look like a confused Seth doing a fake lay off to one side and then passing it to the other. Again the set piece worked to perfection when Edgar took the shot to the left of the wall, hitting the ropes, 1-1! In the 73rd minute a two on two (St. Germain and Rogelio) versus two Clay defenders, resulted in St. Germain lobbing the ball over a Colonial defender, ending up right in front of Rogelio. With only the Clay GK standing between him and the goal, he took a shot then unfortunately missed accuracy. And while both teams played hard on the (yes, German) glistening grass, the score remained 1-1 in regulation time. After the whistle blew, it was time for two 7 minutes halves of OT.

OT
It was a situation the Panthers had wanted to be in all year. Being the better conditioned team, the Panthers figured on getting some opportunities in overtime. If no goals were scored, we sure liked our chances in a PK shooutout. With the temperatures still hovering around the 44 degree mark and the rain still coming down, the loud proud NorthWood crowd was cheering their team on. The first half of OT seemed to go Clay's way. The Panthers were not able to create too many opportunities and gave away numerous corners. NorthWood regained control in the second half of OT. By this time AD Norm Sellers and Principal Maugel were on the sideline cheering on the team as well. Despite some chances for NorthWood, the score would remain 1-1. It was time for a penalty kick shootout.

PK SHOOTOUT
NW won the toss and wanted Clay to take the first penalty. The first PK went wide to the right, 0-0. Edgar took his usual PK, 0-1. Clay's Kastner scored Clay's PK, 1-1. Micah took another one of his solid shots, 1-2. Colonial King scored his PK, 2-2. It was Ducky's turn and with a great shot th score was 2-3. Clay's next PK went over the goal, still 2-3. With a score, NW would win. Robby Burns' pk was a great shot to the right but the Clay keeper made a great diving save, still 2-3. Clay's Alex Grandin took his turn and scored to tie the game 3-3 with one PK left to be taken. It was all up to Rogelio. In the Elkhart Truth he was quoted as saying: " I was nervous, but I was thinking I could do it." The rest is genuine history, Rogelio scores, NorthWood wins and moves on to the Regional Championship game for the first time in school history. The Panthers are hoping for a large crowd on saturday. The weather forecast is for sunny skies with temps around the 64 degree mark.

COMMENTS
Amazing how the Elkhart Truth still was not able to get the team's picture (sectional champs) in todays edition. They did not seem to have any trouble getting pictures(2) of the ELKHART Central game in. I'm sure they have a valid excuse for it. I guess we will just have to win saturday and force them to get our pictures in the "Truth".

How good did those brats taste?

How about the support the team is getting. Not only do we see the loud fans from the football and girls soccer teams but the AD and principal were there and the Superintendent stopped by practice the day before the game. And not to mention former players.

The crowd ran onto the field to celebrate the win after Rogelio's winning PK and how nice would it be to repeat that on Saturday.

I talked about the awful soccer setup at the field. It is amazing to me that the concrete in front of the bleachers and the scoreboard are so close to the field. Especially since this field does not drain well at all. Players are slipping and sliding all the time. Edgar took the worst of it when he slid off the field and hit a steel handrail that is situated about 4 1/2 feet off the field. He had to leave the game late into the second half. Dr. Maugel was able to get him into good enough shape to at least take a PK. Thanks for your help.

Channel 22 said in their sports segment that "NorthWood took care of Clay" while FOX 28 stated that Clay dominated but NW came away with the win. The SB Tribune had a nice article on the game and FOX28 showed some nice shots of the game including the game huddle.

ETruth.com does have pictures of the game on their website. I have posted all three here.

"Carry me home" is becoming the theme song for the team and the customary "Larry, Larry, Larry" could be heard as the bus turned onto Woodview Drive.

Panthers prepare for Regional semi

The Panthers hope to have something to smile about again tonight!

The Panthers wrapped up the last practice before the Regional Semi against South Bend Clay on a sunny Tuesday afternoon. Coaches made the last adjustments for the Wednesday match up. Kick off is slated for 7 pm at Newton Park in Lakeville. Elkhart Central and Mishawaka Marian will open the Regional Semis with a 5 pm start.

The Elkhart Truth will take a team picture (apparently they received several complaints of not printing a picture of the sectional champs) of the NW 2007 Sectional Champions during the half time of the first game. The picture should appear in Thursday's edition.

Consequences for winning the 2007 Sectionals

The facial hair is gone and the wooden shoes came out of the closet for a one time performance.

By the way, for the second year in a row, neither the Elkhart Truth or the Goshen News have made an effort to put a picture in their respective papers of the NorthWood Boys Soccer sectional championship team. Last year, parents called the paper and both showed up during practice and got a picture in days later then the other Elkhart County sectional champions. This year, Goshen and Elkhart Central had their large team pictures in the sunday edition of the Truth, but a picture of the Panthers has yet to be published. My guess is that we won't see that picture. After all, regionals start wednesday.

AZ Alkmaar - FC Groningen 2-2

FC Groningen scored the equalizer minutes into injury time. The final score of 2-2 is a great result against one of the Dutch Premier League's best teams. Next up is the home match against FC Twente on Sunday October 14.

NorthWood -2007 Sectional Champions

BREMEN - NORTHWOOD 0-3

A tale of facial hair, wooden footwear and "Carry me home".


In a true effort to win Hoover over to the real football, the Panthers were determined to take home some hardware as well as play some good possession soccer.

FIRST HALF
The Bremen squad came out to play on a warm and muggy Saturday night. Stealing a play out of the NorthWood book of trickery, the game started with a direct pass to the far right wing. A good defensive move prevented a cross from coming into the box. Bremen was able to come up with two corners within the first 3 minutes of the game and somewhat dictated the game for the first twenty minutes. Slowly but surely, NorthWood settled down and was able to string some passes together and start controlling the tempo of the game. In the 30th minute, Rogelio Patino received the ball in the center about 35 yards out. To his back and left, Ducky made a run. Rogelio "heeled" the ball, taking two defenders out of the play. Seth dribbled straight at goal and put the ball to the goalies' right, 1-0!
About 8 minutes later a straight cross reached Ducky who took a shot and barely missed his second goal. With less then a minute left in the half, Bremen had a counter to our left. Andre Hillson made one move in the box and kicked a low shot to Schmitt's right. Schmitt made a stretched out dive to his right and got his hands on the ball, denying the Lions a goal. The dive and stop got a loud "HOLY SCHMITT" response from the team's officicial fan club (hence their genuine NW soccer uniforms).

HALF TIME
Minor adjustments were discussed at the half but the main topic of discussion (?) was Coach Duerksen's inspiring speech about what was at stake and what needed done to walk off the pitch with the trophy in 40 minutes.

SECOND HALF
The kickoff went straight to Smalls in the left corner who, after one fake, took the ball to goal and took a shot. His shot ended up in the side net, a warning for the Lions. In the 47th minute, the Panthers got a free kick just outside the 18. Coach Duerksen called for the Seth stepover fake set play. The set piece was carried out to perfection with Edgar putting the ball on the frame after the roll from Ducky, 2-0. Ducky was a goal or assist away from avoiding baldness.
Only two minutes after the second goal, the referee pointed to the dot at the 12 after a perceived foul in the Bremen box. Ducky tried to persuade the coaches to have him take the PK but the decision from the sidelines was unanimous; Edgar! Villegas did not dissappoint anyone and put the ball in the net and the game away.
In the 61st minute, Bremen had regained some composure and was able to fire off a shot at Schmitt who was able to push the ball away despite the skip caused by the moisture on the field.

Dustin Eby can be credited with Hillson's yellow card in the 66th minute. Andre Hillson was quite frustrated with having been man marked by Eby the entire game. Hillson lost his composure and after talking back to referee Mr. Nutrisystem, saw a yellow waved in his face. In the 68th minute, the Bremen keeper misjudged a high ball in the box and the ball landed in front of Seth' s feet. This would have been his chance to stay away from the barber but the unexpected opportunity was not converted leaving the scoreboard unchanged. With 10 minutes left in the game, Bremen started their last offensive which started with a long distance shot at Schmitt. Holy had no problems with the shot and was able to keep his goal clean for a second consecutive game. With 7 minutes left to play, Cam, Ben, Daniel, Christian and little Balogh came in the game. All the subs (including Rethlake, St. Germain, German and Big Balogh) did a superb job and were able to defend the shutout and all have been a big part of the succes of the team. This year's team was a true TEAM and deserves this championship. Now it's time to get ready for the Regional matchup with South Bend Clay (15-5) on Wednesday October 10 at 7 pm at Newton Park. The first LaVille Regional will be at 5pm and will be between #12 Elkhart Central and #20 Mishawaka Marian.. The Regional Final will be on Saturday October 13th.

COMMENTS

"Wooden Shoe" like to see Coach Dijkstra on Monday? No cameras, please. Don't forget the orange jersey, Ducky!

Anyone wonder what Coach Duerksen looks like without facial hair? Well, we'll find out this week.

Anyone wonder what Ducky would look like without hair, period?

My guess is that the referee (the big red blob in the middle) is some sort of therapist. What official would walk over to the sideline to discuss any call any coach would disagree with. It's time for the IHSAA to put on a class for soccer referees on how to deal with criticism. In most sports, officials ignore the fans and coaches but it seems that some of the soccer officials we have had the distinct pleasure of dealing with this year, have never heard of that concept. My suggestions for this referee is that he should switch to wheelchair basketball where he will have a chance to be closer to the action without having to run a lot which might result in the loss of his girlish figure.

The above statement should prove that you can win a game and still be upset with the officiating.

There will be a musical surprise for the team on Monday (and it's not what you think).

The bus ride home brought a variety of entertainment for all who were interested. From sucking up helium to being able to take in a song from the NorthWood Boys choir.....uh...uh... soccer team to a police escort with lights and siren from the county line to the High School (thank you Undersheriff!).

Thanks to all the fans who were at the game and to those who were not able to make it but were kept abreast via text messaging.

Also thanks to Nate Davidhizar who helped coach during the two weeks of two-a-days. He had a positive impact on the team and we look forward to having him back next year.

REMINDER: BRING YOUR HOME JERSEYS AND WHITE SOCKS AND WEAR YOUR RED SHORTS TO THE 7 PM PRACTICE IN CASE THE TRUTH AND GOSHEN NEWS SHOW UP FOR PICTURES.

SV Lycurgus Groningen- VV Grijpskerk 2-4

#1 VV Grijpskerk was able to defeat #2 Lycurgus in an away game, with a 4-2 score. The Grijpskerk goals were scored by Jan Peter Steenbergen, Marcel Tillema, Bernard Steenbergen and Laurens Bloem. Grijpskerk is still undefeated and in first place, five points ahead of Loppersum, Lycurgus and Corenos.

NorthWood - LaVille 2-0

FIRST HALF
Right from the kick off, it was obvious that this NW team was focused on the task at hand. The team in black started off on the LaVille side of the field for the first 20 minutes of the game, showing that it had listened to the pre game instructions to pass to feet, run off the ball and communicate. Of course, it does not hurt to get in a quick goal. In the 5th minute of the game, Ducky dribbled thru three defenders in the 18 area. After getting by the third defender, he placed the ball in the lower right, out of reach for the LaVille keeper. LaVille did not get off their defensive third too often in the beginning stages of the game but were able to get a cross in the box in the 15th minute. The cross was however headed over the goal. Edgar went into the box only a minute later, but falling due to some pushing did not result in a call from the referee. In the 19th minute, Edgar passed a perfect ball to Ducky. Ducky's shot had some pace but went just wide to the left. NW kept putting pressure on the Lancers. In the 22nd minute, Seth took a shot when the LaVille keeper was off his line, but the shot missed accuracy. The Panthers played some of their best possession soccer of the season in the first half. Micah Shaw had been served passes on the right side by Rogelio, Seth and Robby during the entire first half and most of his crosses were dangerous each time they reached the 18 yard box.

HALFTIME
The coaches stressed during halftime that the team needed to continue to pass to feet and work hard in order to make it to the finals on Saturday night. Coach Duerksen also emphasized the importance of getting the ball to Micah on the right side. Not only was Micah open all night long, but he had made some great decisions once he possessed the ball. Duerksen told Douwsma and Villegas to dribble more into the box and have others trailing in case they would lose the ball. Some defensive adjustments were made as well.

SECOND HALF
The second half started much like the first, with the Panthers passing the ball. It was LaVille however, who created the first opportunities. The Lancers pushed the ball up, resulting in a couple of corners in the 43rd minute. This was followed by a 45th minute shot at the goal. "Holy" Schmitt made the save. In the 52nd minute, a lost dribble near the 18 was recovered by Micah (who had obviously paid attention to the halftime speech). Micah took it (surely with Josh's permission) to the top left side of the box and took an explosive crack at the goal with his left. The ball hit the top of the woodwork. It was perfect executed strategy by the Panthers. Fourteen minutes into the second half (minute 54), it was freshman Ryan "Smalls" Lincoln who had a nice shot at the LaVille goal. Only two minutes later, it was Seth Douwsma who got the ball outside the LaVille box and took a hard shot that hit the back of the net, 2-0. It was probably one of Seth's hardest shots all year in a game. The goalie had no chance and the momentum was going our way.
It was becoming clear that the Lancers were getting frustrated with being outplayed and in the 67th minute, Micah Shaw tried to bring the ball up the field from the right side and got fouled by one of LaVille's midfielder but did not get the call and ended up with a yellow for commenting on the foul. The coaching staff kept quiet, knowing who the men with the whistles were. This was not the time to have them show off their talent in not knowing anything about the game of soccer. In minute 68, Cesar got tangled up with LaVille's #10 who punched our yellow booted stopper. For that effort, #10 received a yellow caution. With the game winding down, LaVille was able to get off a last offensive against the men in black. In the 73rd minute a very good shot was saved by Mike "Holy" Schmitt with a great dive to his left. With only four minutes to go, the Panthers showed how some of the things we've worked on, really can be effective and attractive at the same time. Micah received a pass on the right side and with a beautiful pass, put Seth in the corner, who, in turn took the ball to the endline and crossed it into the box. By coming around the ball, the cross went into the box toward some of the NW forwards who tried to run into the ball. The GK was alert, came out and dove on the ball. If the LV goalie would not have been so lucky to get some fingers on the ball, it would have been an easy goal for the Panthers.

This solid performance by the entire team put the Panthers in the 2007 Sectional Finals on Saturday October 6th at 7 pm at Newton Park. Hopefully a large black and red crowd will be on hand to support the team in their game against Bremen. With a win, the Panthers would move to 10 wins and back to back Sectional Championships. The weather will be gorgeous on Saturday, so have your grandparents, girlfriends (boyfriends), parents, friends and illegitimate children come to the game and cheer us on.

COMMENTS
The pizza was great! The team will practice from 3:30- 5 today (Friday) and from 9 am - 9:45 on Saturday morning (light training) to be followed by a team breakfast at the Burns mansion around 10 am. Good luck to those who have to take the SAT (Josh, Micah, Schmitt and who am I missing?) on SATurday. The bus for the sectional finals will leave the AC at 5:30 pm. All are to wear team attire only!
I am not sure what time the JV bus will leave (probably around noon so they can have a nice sit down dinner on the way to Lakeville). Their driver Larry "Bud" Melman.........uh.......Jason Bell, will finalize those plans with the JV players.
COME OUT AND SUPPORT YOUR 2007 NORTHWOOD BOYS SOCCER TEAM!!!!!!!!

Fiorentina- FC Groningen 1-1 (4-3 after PK's)

FC Groningen played a "heroic" game according to their website, against Italian side Fiorentina. Nevland had opened the score in the 55th, Fiorentina drew even at minute 59. After regular and extra time, the score was still 1-1. After a series of pk's, the score was tied, 3-3. Fiorentina had missed one, the FC two. It was Fiorentina who did not miss the last pk, sending them into the next round. This is the second year in a row the the FC gets knocked out of the UEFA Cup by means of penalty kicks.

VV Grijpskerk's main game field almost ready

Here you see the first picture of the pitch with the new surface and grass. The lines have been painted and the goals have been put in place, it won't be long before 3rd division action will take place.

Sparta-FC Groningen 0-1

The tea must have hit the spot. The FC scored the one and only goal five minutes into the second half. Goran Lovre scored on a cross that just missed Marcus Berg's head. Lovre shot was hard and unstoppable. Next up is the midweek matchup with Fiorentina in Italy. A 0-0 tie will put the game in OT, any other draw will give the FC a chance to play in the 2nd round, as will an outright win. A loss will send the green and white home empty handed.

It's time to prepare for the 2007 Sectionals

Monday's practice will be from 3:30 - 5:30. In preparation for the Thursday night 7 pm match versus LaVille, the Panthers will practice at 7 pm on Tuesday (under the lights) to get used to the pitch conditions. Wednesday will feature a typical pre-game short practice (3:30 -5). The bus for Thursday's game will leave from the AC at 5:30 pm. The sectional finals will be at 7 pm on Saturday night. All sectional games will be played at Newton Park in Lakeville.

VV Grijpskerk - HS '88

Game postponed due to adverse weather conditions.

NorthWood - Angola 1-3

TOUGH LOSS
The Varsity scored in the 2nd minute on a Ducky Douwsma goal (Villegas assist). And that is all she wrote for as far as the Panthers were concerned. Angola took over the game, scoring three times in the first half. The half time score also turned out to be the final score.

JV LOSES
The JV lost 2-1 and missed a PK. This was another loss by one goal. The final record for the 2007 season is 2-11-1.

NorthWood - Bethany Christian 0-3

VARSITY LOSES, JV GETS ROBBED

VARSITY
The varsity played a good second half but was unable to overcome the two goal deficit that existed at the half. As a matter of fact, Bethany Chrsitian was able to add another goal in the second half to make the final 3-0. The Panthers did show that they are capable of decent soccer as well as creating some opportunities against a good team with some very good players. Unlucky in and out of the box with respective chances from Edgar and Eby, the Panthers were shut out for the third consecutive time. NW will now focus on Angola before starting training specifically for the sectionals. Friday will be a typical short practice. Next week, the Tuesday practice will be at 7 pm and under the lights in anticipation of the matchup on Thursday at 7 pm at Newton Park versus LaVille.

JV
The JV played well and gave up one goal in the second half. The Panthers' JV scored a goal by kicking it over the Bruins goalie but the goalie picked up the ball and the referee never noticed it going over the goal line. So, what should have been a draw, is now another loss and again, the team played well. It would be good for both teams to finish the regular season with wins.

COMMENTS
Meatball sandwiches were pretty tasty!!!!! Thanks to the Eby's.

The Varsity's record is 8-6-2.

Plymouth-NorthWood 3-0

Ever seen a sack of pototoes officiate? Well, you had the opportunity on Tuesday night. The sack even fell once in the cirkle. In the 39th minute the person who played referee wanted to make sure he got all the attention tonight by giving playmaker Douwsma the "hard" red. When a Plymouth player bulldozed Seth and Seth in turn tried to shake the player off of him by using his feet, the referee decided the retaliation was worthy of a red card. It was not the first time that night he missed a call. Let's hope we do not see this referee again, not this season, not any season.

FIRST HALF
The first fifteen minutes of the game went the Panthers' way. A lot of combinations meant that the men in white and red possessed the ball a lot. In the 14th minute an opportunity on the right side of the Plymouth goal had Douwsma toeball in the right lower corner. Only 5 minutes later Ducky had a great move to get by one of the Rockies in the middle third and kicked a nice pass to Rogelio, who took a hard shot at the goal. The shot went right in the upper left corner but the Plymouth GK was able to get his hands on it. In the 32nd minute Robby Burns had a great idea by making a great cross from the left to Edgar who shot and....missed. If only the MacGregors would have been on his feet, it might have done the trick. As a matter of fact, the thirty year old soccer boots should maybe be elevated to actual game action, it might be worth a try!It was pretty much downhill from the 39th minute on; Ducky gets a red, coach D & D both get (very undeserved) yellows and just 4 minutes before that, Plymouth had a breakaway with a pass to an unmarked (?) man. The unmarked #2 dribbled at Holy Schmitt and put the ball away in the right corner, 1-0.

SECOND HALF
Despite an energetic start of the 2nd half, NW was unable to get too dangerous. In the first half the score was 1-0, NW had 4 shots and Plymouth 1! In the second half, the Panthers were not able to create too many chances and after a while it seemed that playing 10 v 11 was starting to take its toll. In the 59th & 78th minute, Plymouth added goals to make the final score 3-0.
The evening started with the introduction of the seniors and their parents. After the game the captain club parents and other parents had organized a very good supper for the players and their families. This blog wants to thank all of those who contributed to senior night. I also want to thank Ryan for running the scoreboard for the varsity game as well as being the "Voice of NorthWood Soccer"for the second year running.

The Panthers are back in action (without Ducky) on Thursday @ Bethany Christian. At this point it looks like all other players are healthy (enough) to take to the (battle)field.

JV
The JV was in the lucky position of being coached by D& D. Despite the good coaching, the JV was unale to translate that into a winning score. The final was 3-0 but the team showed some moments of good soccer and good ideas. Hopefully the JV will be able to finish the season strong with two wins. The JV will have to put up with triathlon guru Bell once again

COMMENTS
The coaches (all of them) want to thank the players for the nice gifts (one of them tickets to a Chicago Fire game).
DYK DYK DYK Did You Know Did You Know Did You Know
Justin Lincoln is the new GK (hockey) for IU Bloomington. The last exhibition game is this coming weekend with the regular season to commence just a few days later. The spot between the woodwork is "his to lose", according to a source close to the Goalie. GOOD LUCK JUSTIN!

NorthWood draws LaVille in sectional 12

NorthWood faces LaVille in the second game of the LaVille sectional on Thursday October 4 at Newton Park. The winner will play in the sectional final on Saturday October 6. The opponent will be the winner of the Bremen-Glenn game (which will be Bremen). After everything that happened in the sectional finals in 2006, it should not be too tough to get "pumped up" for this match.

Excelsior Rotterdam- FC Groningen 1-3

A win, a loss and a draw sums up FC Groningen's last eight days. A loss last sunday in the Dutch Premier League (Eredievisie), a draw in the UEFA Cup (1-1 vs Italian Fiorentina in a sold out Euroborg on wednesday) and today's win against the worst of the three Rotterdam Premier League teams. At the break the score was tied at 1-1 but the FC pulled away in the second half to 1-3. The win puts the "Pride of the North" in 9th position with seven points after five games played. In the Eredivisie the FC plays at home against another Rotterdam team, the occupants of the Spangen Castle, Sparta, on Saturday night. But before that, The green and whites travel to the amateurs of IJsselmeervogels for a midweek matchup in the KNVB Cup.

Concord-NorthWood 2-0

VARSITY
A PK in the 5th (after incidental contact in the box) and a corner cross in the 34th minute put the Minutemen ahead 2-0 at the half. In the second half neither team impressed and with neither team taking charge of the game, the score remained 2-0. The Panthers' record stands at 8-4-2 (2-3-1 NLC). This coming Tuesday Plymouth visits NorthWood for the final home game of the year which makes Tuesday night SENIOR NIGHT!

JV
The JV lost their game versus the Concord JV 3-0. Concord scored three times in a 5 minute span in the second half. Apart from the horrible 5 minute span, the JV actually played a good game. Tuesday's coaching responsibility of the JV falls to coaches Duerksen & Dijkstra. The JV's goal for next week is to double their wins for the season in one week, to start with a win versus the Rockies.

COMMENTS
If you have not paid your $10.00 for the Holy Schmitt shirts, bring your money to practice monday and give your money to Ben Dijkstra (JV practice at the H.S.) or to Coach Dijkstra (at the game field).

Orange Nassau/Roden (ONR) - Grijpskerk 3-6

The VV Grijpskerk continues to score and win. This time ONR was the victim of the Red Devils offense. A 3-6 final score keeps Grijpskerk in first place overall after 4 games. Next up is HS'88 next Saturday.

It's a whole new world.

I have tears rolling down my face, I think I'm touched. I would recommend for everyone who reads this, to get their hands on the new Eby CD. The CD "Love of Love with Love" is a true masterpiece. From "a whole new world" to "Can't you feel the love tonight", it truly spans the entire love song genre. And you thought Elton John was gay, listen to Eby's rendition of "Can't you feel the love tonight". It adds a whole new dimension to this young man's talents. This is a collectors item. From Eby's soothing voice to the masterful piano play by Robby Burns (?) and not to mention the background singing by the Ebyettes, this truly is a "must have" and so I give it 5 thumbs UP!!!

NorthWood - John Glenn 3-0

Report from Sprinklehead Stadium

Strike Harv Humphrey from the LaVille sectionals referee list. After an abonimable performance that included 6 yellow cards, five for chuckling over calls, one red card -later withdrawn- and a few missed pk calls, this referees' name will be taken off the list by coach Duerksen for this year's sectionals. This will give the ref plenty of time to work on his physique to get in shape for the indoor season.

FIRST HALF
On a field that seemed to resemble an inner city vacant lot downtown Walkerton more then a soccer/football field in North Liberty, it was time for NW to take on the fighting Falcons of John Glenn. The Panthers started the game in slow fashion in front of a small and quiet crowd. The crowd stayed mostly quiet for the duration of the game with the exception of one John Glenn mother.

It took the Panthers 20 minutes before the first ball was put into the net. A corner kick from the left side was taken by Ducky who crossed it thru the 6. Ben St. Germain was able to connect the cross at the goal, 1-0. The rest of the first half was characterized by odd calls from a referee who should not even be certified for the Kiwanis 4 & 5 year olds league.

HALF TIME
Coach Duerksen tried to explain to the team that positioning on the opponents half was the most important change that needed to be made by going to the top of the offense and re-distribute the ball by dropping the ball to players running off the forwards in possession of the ball.

SECOND HALF
It was clear soon after the tea, that the team had not paid very close attention to the coach. Maybe it was the condition of the pitch, maybe it was the level of play by the opponent but the goal for the night, scoring a lot of goals early to allow starters some rest and get the bench some playing time, never materialized. It was not until the 46th minute when Brandon German scored off a Robby Burns assist. In the 63rd minute, NW was awarded a PK after a hard foul on Seth Douwsma. Ducky would take the shot. He put the ball on the 12, which at Sprinklehead Stadium means the ball needs to go in a spot that is 6 inches lower then the rest of the field and the center of the spot is an actual sprinkle head. Needless to say, Seth hit the top of the ball and it went wide to the left. In the 76th minute of the game, Brandon German took a shot at the goal after another melee in the 18. The shot was partially stopped by the John Glenn keeper, the ball landed in front of Ben St. Germain who finished to put NW up to 3-0. With minutes left to play, a foul was called on NW which prompted some laughs and chuckles from a few players. The ref pulled out his yellow for Ducky and all of a sudden he showed the same present to Edgar who had only smiled. He then looked at his game form and thought he had given Edgar another yellow, earlier in the match. And so he pulled out a red and showed it to Edgar.This got the entire bench to get up and protest. After one of the AR's came over to settle everyone down it was determined that the red was given in error so it was retracted and NW ended up with only 5 or 6 yellow cards, prompting coach Duerksen to say to the ref :"you're handing out yellow cards like it's free bread in a soup line".
NorthWood left North Liberty with a "W" , outshooting the Falcons 24-3. It was also the first time this year that the Panthers scored off a corner kick. NorthWood ended up with 11 corners versus John Glenn zero. German was credited with an assist on the third goal.

COMMENTS
German, you should be happy!
Eby, I will be listening to the "EBY.....with Love, the 2007 Love Songs Collection " CD tomorrow and will give you a "thumbs up or thumbs down" tomorrow. If it is another one of your extremely entertaining performances, I think we should play the CD during practice.
REMINDER***** The "Holy Schmitt" shirts are in, if you ordered one, bring your $ 10.00 to practice tomorrow so you can get your shirt.****

NorthWood - Goshen pictures added

Go down to the pictures to see the new NW-Goshen picture uploads.

HOLY SCHMITT T-SHIRT

Check out the picture with the design at the bottom of the page.

NorthWood - Memorial 3-1

Villegas hat trick secures NLC win.

NorthWood faced a crucial NLC match at Elkhart Memorial on an 87 degree night. The pregame talk focused on some strategic issues that needed addressed by the team. There was no mention of the Department of Transportation inspired bright yellow neon socks worn by the Chargers.

FIRST HALF
It was NorthWood who started out fast and furious for a change. Some quick passes and good runs off the ball put the ball on the Memorial side of the field in the starting minutes of the game. In the 4th minute, Edgar Villegas received the ball while the Memorial goalkeeper was way off his line. Edgar showed composure and made an accurate shot over the keeper who tried to stop the ball while going backwards to his goal. The ball disappeared in the net and NW led 1-0. In the minutes following the first goal, Memorial took over the tempo of the game and had more possession then NorthWood. Just when it looked like the Chargers would pose a threat, the Panthers took the ball to their offensive third. Micah Shaw delivered the ball to Edgar Villegas who poked the ball behind the goalie (29th min.). The Panthers started to possess the ball more and passed a little better with the hope of reaching the half, staying ahead with a two goal lead. In the 34th minute an opportunistic attack, that involved too many defenders, the ball was lost on the left side of the field. A quick Memorial two on one break away resulted in a one on one between the Memorial forward and goalie Mike "Holy" Schmitt. Schmitt came out to the top of the box but Memorial striker Chrstian Lopez put the ball in the lower corner; 2-1. This score would also be the half time score.

SECOND HALF
The Panthers put their stamp on the second half. A very determined team stepped on the field with an obvious goal of winning the game in mind. About 15 minutes into the half it became apparent that the Chargers were running out of steam. Every 50-50 ball was now won by a NorthWood player. NorthWood was outrunning Memorial and in general just plain working harder then Memorial.
In the 69th minute however, Memorial took an attack right up the middle of the field and after some poor defensive decisions, a Memorial midfielder took a shot that landed on the far post and fortunately bounced back in the field of play.
In minute 75, Seth "Ducky" Douwsma played the ball to Edgar Villegas. Edgar went toward the box, took a shot that was out of reach for the GK, 3-1. This gave Edgar his first hat trick in an NLC game and might be the first hat trick for NorthWood in any NLC game.
NorthWood outshot Memorial 8-7. The panthers are now 7-3-2 (2-2-1NLC) and still contending for a top three finish in the conference. Next up; @ John Glenn -varsity only- Thursday 9/20/07.

JV
The JV gave up a goal with three seconds to go to, to make the final 2-2. The JV played a good game in wich they were ahead twice. Scoring for the JV; Armington and Helms.

NOTES
Welcome to the site, my former college team mate Sjaak Hansink, from the Netherlands. Sjaak currently plays for DOS Kampen (DOSK). Some of you might have heard of Sjaak's brother's best friend, current Ajax defender and former Manchester United, AC Milan, DOSK and Holland defender Jaap Stam.
The "Holy Schmitt" t-shirt design will, hopefully, be posted here today.

South Bend Riley - NorthWood 0-2

NorthWood was determined to proof that the loss against Goshen just two days ago was just an off night for the team. Facing the team that kicked them out of the regionals in 2006 should have been incentive enough but the team was out to proof that this is a good team, maybe even one of NorthWood's best. It was a beautiful day for the beautiful game.

FIRST HALF
It was hard to determine who was controlling the ball in the first 15 minutes. The ball went from box to box and both teams seemed keen on skipping the midfield and playing a counter attack type soccer. Once both teams settled down, the middle third of the field was where most the action took place. NW was able to counter every so often with some shots at or near the goal. The Wildcats were not really able to threaten at all in the first half. In the 32nd minute Edgar Villegas took the ball to the right wing and with a defender coming at him, Edgar was able to cross the ball in the box near the goal line. Sweeper Cesar Salinas had come all the way up and was able to strike the ball hard into the net, 0-1. It would stay 0-1 despite some opportunities.

HALFTIME
Adjustments suggested by the coachng staff had to do with communications improvements, making runs off the ball and making sure to use the right (Micah) side as well as the left side of the field. Overlaps and switching fields would be greatly appreciated in the 2nd half.

SECOND HALF
The crowd ,some from as far away as Montana and Nebraska, was ready for some entertainment and got some. Three planes opening the Apple Festival Parade made an impressive flyover. This got the sparsely populated bench very excited. The Panthers were actually able to top that with a 41st minute (yes, one minute into the 2nd half) goal by Seth "Ducky" Douwsma off a beautiful assist by Robby Burns. The second half exposed a much better NorthWood. Combinations and give and go's were the order of the day, players were making runs and it seems that the Panthers were getting back into the rhythm of the game. Halfway thru the second half, a shot hit the woodwork. With about ten minutes left in the game, the ball ended up in the goalmouth and Ben St. Germain and a few others had an opportunity to score but too many Riley players occupied the goal line and the ball miraculously made it out of the 6 yard box. When the referee, who by the way did an excellent job, blew the final whistle, the Panthers could add another W to their scorebook. The record now stands at 6-3-2 (1-2-1 NLC). Next up for the Panthers is a NLC matchup at Elkhart Memorial on Tuesday.

COMMENTS
This weblog is unable to discuss any flag issues.

After the game, the team had a great lunch at Ducky's house. The water temperature in the pool was set to "tropical" so despite the cool air temperature (in the 50's), the players had an opportunity to take a dip. Thanks to the Douwsma's for organizing the team party.

JV TOURNEY @ GOSHEN
The JV lost the morning session to Northridge, 5-0 but according to Coach Bell, the team played better then they did in their previous matchup. GK Balogh got hurt and Kasey Grendys took the spot between the uprights late in the game. Balogh was treated between the first and second game and was able to take his spot in the goal once more. The afternoon matchup was with Wawasee. NorthWood started out aggressive and tried to string passes together. It was pretty obvious that the three color game and other possession games are starting to pay off. Halfway thru the first half, a cross ended up close to the goal and Martin was in the right spot at the right time. His shot hit the back of the net, 1-0. Wawasee was able to come back before the half to tie the game. The second half started with a very energetic Panther JV. Good defense by the center defenders, great effort by Tripple, Jacobs and Kronk gave the team several opportunities. Arick Armington converted one of those opportunities with about 15 minutes to go. The score would hold up and the JV would win 2-1.
Next up for the JV; Penn (here) on Monday at 5 pm.

VV Grijpskerk - Middelstum 7-0

Grijpskerk continues its amazing streak of wins by defeating Middlestum 7 (!) - 0. The VV Grijpskerk is now the only team in the 3rd Division with three wins. Next up is Orange Nassau Roden (ONR) on 9/22/07.

NorthWood Men's Soccer Records -thru 2006

Career Goals
Rodrigo Dosal 59
Brody Morningstar 36
Tyler Sagle/Jon Cook 25
Jeremy Wise 24
Zac Lechlitner/A. Myers 19
Nate Davidhizar 17


Career Assists
Rodrigo Dosal/Nate Davidhizar 33
Zac Lechlitner 22
Brody Morningstar 15
Jeremy Wise 12
Tyler Slagle 11
Andrew Myers 10


Career Points
Dosal 151
Morningstar 89
Davidhizar 67


Most Goals in one season
Dosal/Morningstar 21


Most assists in one season
Davidhizar 13


Most wins in one season
11 (2004)


Most goals scored in one season
64 (2004)


Fewest goals allowed in one season
25 (2004)

Goshen - NorthWood 5-0

The Panthers held the nil for a while despite a subpar performance. Mike Schmitt was the difference in the first 54 minutes of the contest by making spectacular save after spectacular save.

Defensive disorganization caused the first two goals (the first one rolled in the net in the 55th minute) while an own goal took the score up to 3-0. On a lazy, warm late summer night, with the stands filled to near capacity, the Panthers disappointed in a crucial NLC match up. The final score at the 80 minute mark was 5-0. It is time to regroup and get ready for an early saturday morning (10 o'clock) matchup with South Bend Riley. The Panthers are 5-3-2 (1-2-1 NLC).

The JV was able to withstand the Goshen attacks for the first 15 minutes or so and the damage at the half was 3-0. The Redskins cranked it up a notch for a final score of 9-0. Joe Sabo jr. is the Goshen JV coach. It's nice to see a former NW player run up the score against our JV although knowing Joe jr., he did not do that intentionally. The JV will play in the JV tourney in Goshen tomorrow.

"You've got to be Schmitting me"

So far, seventeen orders have been placed for the "Holy Schmitt" t-shirts. I need three more orders for the minimum of 20 so the shirts (white with black letters, gk gloves with panther paw under the lettering) will cost right around 10 dollars. I will check with the JV before the Goshen game. The order will be placed after tonight's game with Goshen and the shirts shoul be here in 7-10 days.
Ref. comments
Chupp - your order is confirmed.
Ducky: Is it orange or white?

Fierljeppen (ditch jumping) video

Go to: Dagblad van het Noorden, click on :"bekijk video" for a new national record set at the national championships in DT's hometown in August.

Holy Schmitt t-shirts update

This weblog is in the process of getting prices for "Holy Schmitt" t-shirts. Put in your order this afternoon so we know how many t-shirts would need to be ordered.

NorthWood - Warsaw 1-1

The calls for "Holy Schmitt!" shirts are growing louder.

FIRST HALF
The Panthers took the field on a gusty and cool night. The men in black knew that getting a good result against Warsaw would not be an easy task. From the kickoff until the 20th minute or so, the Panthers had trouble controlling the ball and making accurate passes. NorthWood chased the ball more then they possessed it but seemed to settle down about halfway through the first half. A couple of break aways showed that the Panthers are able to transition very quickly from the back to the front without skipping midfield. As a matter of fact, the midfielders did a terrific job supporting the offense as well as the defense. Ducky distributed the ball well, gave the opponents little room to maneuver and Micah seemed to get a foot on most pass attempts by the Tigers.

In the 26th minute a NW counter started in the back on the left side, switched to the right corner on the Warsaw half where Edgar Villegas took the ball close to the endline at the 18. He crossed the ball thru the box where Rogelio took a swing at the ball but was unable to catch up to the cross with his right foot. The bal kept on traveling to the left of the box where Smalls tried to get his left foot on the ball. Smalls was able to get just enough on the ball to get it towards the inside of the left post, out of reach for the diving Warsaw keeper, 1-0.

NorthWood tried to get control of the game but in the 30th minute, Warsaw started an attack on the left side of the NW defense. From about 25 out a Warsaw forward pushed the ball back to MF Matt Franco who took a sunday shot at the goal. The hard shot hit the inside of the side net, 1-1.

HALF TIME
At the half, coach Duerksen made some marking adjustments and explained that NW needed to be patient in the attack.

SECOND HALF
The second half saw a diferent lineup on the Panthers side due to a Salinas leg injury. Robby (!) Burns played the part of sweeper and did a commendable job. Cesar was able to get back inside the lines later in the half and played well as a stopper. He was able to make some offensive runs, which are better suited for a stopper then a sweeper anyhow. NW played a solid second half and did not have to deal with a lot of Warsaw offensive power. Most of the play occured in the middle third of the field.

THE LAST FEW MINUTES
With the clock winding down it seemed inevitable that the game would end up in a tie. NW threatened with about three minutes left on the clock, Warsaw took possession of the ball and took it upfield.With just over a minute left to play, a scrimmage ensued near the penalty box with several players from both teams trying to kick and clear the ball. Near the end of the box, Dustin Eby defended a Warsaw player who was facing the goal with his back. Dustin made contact with the ball but according to the man with the whistle, it was a foul and pointed to the dot on the 12 (in Warsaw, the spot is marked by a 7 1/2 foot crooked line). Robby (!) Burns netted a yellow card due to a lively conversation with the referee.

Despite a lackluster performance by the men in yellow, THE MAN in yellow saved the game for the Panthers. Mike "Holy" Schmitt stopped the PK with a great dive to his right, once again proving religiously that he deserves the nickname. The PK rebound was kicked over the goal and the ensuing goal kick gave the Panthers enough breathing room to finish out the game, earning an NLC 1-1 draw. The Panthers record stands at 5-2-2 (1-1-1 NLC).

Despite the fact that the afternoon started with two of its players involved in crashes, it was the fact that the Panthers crashed the Warsaw dreams of winning the NLC outright, that made the headline. Before the game Warsaw's head coach Bauer made it clear he was looking past the Panthers matchup, a big mistake, it turned out.

COMMENTS
Why is it that grown men are allowed to dress up in yellow shirts, seven sizes too small (or abdominal areas 7 sizes too big), black tight shorts and scoot across a soccer pitch, never getting close enough to the action and make bad calls, A L L N I G H T L O N G?

JV
Despite being "Kronked Up" on defense, the Panthers' JV was unable to hold off the Warsaw JV offense. The first half was a courageous battle with field marshall Balogh (Thumper's brother)playing the main character. A 0-0 half time score gave a glimmer of hope but hope turned to despair after several goals in the second half. The final score was 4-0 but the team is showing improvements despite missing some key players.

COMMENTS part 2
Obersturmbahnfuhrer German crashed his Focus right after school. No fahrvergnugen for you for a while.

Mamio Groningen - VV Grijpskerk 1-12

The score of 1-12 in a Third Division game is unheard of. As a matter of fact, it seems that this might be the most goals scored in a regular season game by Grijpskerk's first team in the history of the club (est. 1946). The game was played on the new artificial turf on Mamio's home field. The VV now leads the division with 6 points after two games.

Crown Point Invite 2007

NorthWood came away with a 1-1 record from the Crown Point Invite. The first challenge of the day was finding the field. The short buses pulled into the parking lot less then 10 minutes before kickoff. In the first game the Panthers played the Wheeler Bearcats (or was it Hub Caps) who came into the tourney with a 2-1-1 record. A slow start by NW resulted in a 0-2 deficit before the half. Ben "Chia" St. Germain scored a great goal off a cross in the box. The referee however needed to show that the bribe given to him from Wheeler needed to be paid off and therefore disallowed the goal. When questioned by coach Dijkstra, the referee said that all calls will even out, apparently referring to himself as a screwup and that he was confident he would screw up again within the same game. And he did, too bad it was another bad call against NorthWood. Edgar Villegas was leveled inside the 18 by a Wheeler midfielder but the ref kept the whistle in his pocket. NorthWood did play an energetic first part of the second half, scoring twice and tying the game only to give up one to Wheeler with just a few minutes left in the game. The end result 3-2, meant that NorthWood went into the looser bracket of the tournament.

The afternoon game was a matchup with Gavit High School from Hammond. The "purple nurples" had lost the morning session with 10-0 to Crown Point. NorthWood scored four (!) quick goals in 19 minutes, all of them involving Edgar Villegas (2 goals and 2 assists). An injured Seth "Ducky" Douwsma scored the other 2 goals. Ryan "Smalls" Lincoln sat this one out due to the fact that his medical release did not accompany him on the trip, Justin "BB" Chupp stayed on the bench due to a lower leg injury. All other players were able to get into the game, with Cam "red mop" Seitz, Daniel "pincher" Villa, Ben "Deuce" Dijkstra and back up GK Michael Balogh getting considerable playing time. Gavit scored once off a cross/shot from the right to make the final 4-1. Robbie "Thumper" Balogh was able to crush one of the men in purple but was unable to convert the tackle into a yellow card. Brandon German had to leave the game after a hospital ball resulted in a Gavit player running his cleats up the inside of Brandon's upper leg. The final game of the tourney would have been a Concord-NorthWood matchup. It was however mutually agreed that with a looming conference game between the two schools coming up, the game would be canceled. After a 12 hour day, a win and a loss, a visit to Quiznos and some excellent driving by the bus drivers, the team pulled into the parking lot at the High School. NorthWood has a busy and very important week ahead; the varsity will play Warsaw, Goshen and Riley while the JV will face Warsaw, Goshen and will finish the week playing in the Goshen NLC JV Tourney.

NorthWood - Wawasee 2-0

The Panthers failed to put away Wawasee early but managed an NLC win with a 2-0 score nonetheless. The shutout victory puts NorthWood in a good position to contend for a top three spot in the NLC. The first ten minutes of the game was dominated by NorthWood who seemed to settle down right after the kick off. What almost looked like a practice possession game resulted in numerous chances for the Duerksen eleven. None was put in the back of the net however until Edgar Villegas' pass in the 15th minute across the box to Josh Stump (!). Josh finished the cross with a routine like touch across the goal line, 1-0!

Surprisingly, it was Wawasee who seemed to take control of the game after the goal. The middle third of the field was controlled by Wawasee and a few break-a-ways put the NW defense on its back heels. Wawasee threatened to score with a few shots on Mike "HOLY" Schmitt. Mike was able to keep his goal clean, at least until the half.

The second half promised to be a lot more physical then the first. Bodies were flying everywhere, the crowd got involved, the referees did not. Wawasee's #5 had to leave the game temporarily due to a bloody gash on the top of his head. After an expert examination by both AD Norm Sellers and JV coach Justin Bell, it was determined that a NW player with buck teeth must have been the culprit. The #5 was wrapped like an early Christmas present and with only a bow missing, returned to the rock hard pitch.

In the 53rd minute NorthWood crossed a ball into the Wawasee box that was -unintentionally-touched by the hand of a Wawasee defender, the referee however pointed at the 12 after issuing a yellow caution to the Wawasee player who committed the foul. In typical NorthWood fashion, the Villegas PK came back into the playing field (save by the GK) only to be put in the net after all, this time by Edgar Villegas. The 2-0 result would stand. The 200 or so in the stands did get a little more vocal towards the men in yellow but they seemed professionally oblivious. Schmitt came up with a few more extraordinary saves in the goalmouth before the result went officially in the books as a NLC win for the Panthers. The Panthers are now 4-1-1 (1-1 in NLC). Tomorrow (Saturday) NorthWood travels to Crown Point to compete in the Crown Point Invite where a match with Wheeler High School is slated for 9:30 (our time).

With a little more luck, the JV could have posted a better result against Wawasee. Coach Bell's former team beat the NW JV 1-2. The NorthWood JV saw several counters that turned into real opportunities but none were converted after the first goal by Tyler Kronk. The team did play well and showed improvement especially when it concerns possessing the ball. Hopefully the trend will continue and consequently, results will improve as well.