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.

Ajax Amsterdam - FC Groningen

For the first time in many years, FC Groningen was able to leave the capital without a loss. And it looked for a long time as if the final result would be a win were it not for an Ajax equalizer with seven minutes left on the clock. The newly signed swede Marcus Berg scored before and after the tea break. His first goal tied the game, after Ajax had gone ahaed on former FC Groningen striker Luis Suarez' goal early on in the first half. Dutch international Huntelaar was lucky enough to score on Goalkeeper van Loo to send the northerners home with just one point. The FC has four points after three games in the Eredivisie (1-1-1).

Grijpskerk - Loppersum 4-2

Bernard Steenbergen's hat trick and Jan Peter Steenbergen's goal accounted for the four Grijpskerk goals needed to defeat SC Loppersum in the home opener of the 2007-2008 season. The final score was 4-2 with the Loppersum Pol brothers each scoring one goal. Grijpskerk's main game field was not ready so the season opener had to be played on one of the other game fields. Judging by the video of the game (www.vvgrijpskerk.nl) a lot of the action took place in the goalmouth of the opponent. A good start in the third division with Grijpskerk fielding three former first division players. The newest acquisition from first division ACV, Marcel Tillema, played his first game for the red shirts. Next up is the away game in Groningen against Mamio.

FC Groningen draws Fiorentina

The Grimaldi Forum in Monte Carlo was the setting for the UEFA Cup first round draw. The team watched from "the Hattrick Pub" inside the homeground Euroborg Stadium and was not unhappy with the opponent, Fiorentina from Florence, Italy. The first leg will be at home on September 20th with the return leg coming on October 4th. Focus for now though, is on Ajax Amsterdam. The Eredivisie away game at the Amsterdam ArenA will be tomorrow at 14:30 local time.