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.

.




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.