One AC/OG to go for 2008

The last Open Gym for the year will be this coming monday. It looks like most players are ready for a break from school & soccer. There is a slight chance that basketball might interfere with soccer on monday so keep your eye on this website in the next few days.

FC Groningen in tailspin

Welcome to blog post #200!!!

FC Groningen lost its third consecutive match last weekend. Despite the losses, the FC is still in 6th place and could go up as high as 4th if they would post a win this weekend against FC Twente.

Broekster Boys - VV Grijpskerk 2-4

Grijpskerk beat Broekster Boys 2-4 in an away game last Saturday. This marks the 5th consecutive win by the VV. The VV is in sole possession of first place with one game to go before the "winterstop". Saturday 12/13/08 the opponent will be the home return versus SV Wykels Hallum. The first meeting this season between the two resulted in a 1-6 win for the red "smallruggen". If the weather permits, competition will resume on February 7, 2009. Being this close to the sea, the weather is always a factor during any season.

NorthWood Men's Soccer records (updated Oct. 2008)

NORTHWOOD MENS SOCCER RECORDS
EST. 1997 (updated 10/16/08)

CAREER GOALS:
Rodrigo Dosal 59 goals 2003-2006
Brody Morningstar 36 goals 1999-2002
Seth Douwsma 32goals 2005-2008
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
Josh Corwin 12 goals 1998-2000

CAREER ASSISTS:
Rodrigo Dosal 33 asst. 2003-2006
Nate Davidhizar 33 asst. 2002-2005
Zac Lechlitner 22 asst. 2002-2005
Seth Douwsma 17asst. 2005-2008
Brody Morningstar 15 asst. 1999-2001
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
SethDouwsma 81 points 2005-2008
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




MOST GOALS IN ONE SEASON:
Rodrigo Dosal 21 goals 2004
Brody Morningstar 21 goals 2002
Seth Douwsma 18 goals 2008

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:
24 G.A. 2008

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

OVERALL RECORD THORUGH 2008 Season (EST 1997)
93-98-27

Willem II - FC Groningen 3-0

FC Groningen neglects to win and move into 1st and instead loses 3-0. On top of the loss, the FC loses topscorer Marcus Berg to a red card.

FC Groningen moves into 3rd place

FC Groningen scored 11(!) goals in the last three games without giving up a single goal. The three game winning streak moves the Pride of the North into 3rd placein the Dutch Premier League. Victims of the offensive minded "green and white farmers" were FC Volendam, Telstar and De Graafschap, respectively. With 26 goals scored and only 6 goals given up so far, the FC has the second best offense and by far the best defensive in the division. On sunday 11/23, The FC travels to Tilburg to play #9Willem II (named after Dutch King William the 2nd).

VV Grijpskerk defeats two #1's, streak at three wins, goes on in the Dutch Cup

November looks to be the month in which the VV is making some moves up the ladder. After beating #1 Leeuwarder Zwaluwen on the 1st, as well as defeating then #1 't Fean 58 (both 2-0 wins)on the 8th of Novemer it was VV Buitenpost's turn to lose to Grijpskerk on the 15th of November(5-2). VV Grijpskerk moved up to 2nd place in the 2nd Division(tied with SJS)with 19 points in 10 games. Next up would have been VV Boyl on November 22nd in the Dutch Cup but the 5th Division team entered a forfeit. This means that VV Grijpskerk moves automatically into the 4th round (3rd round of knock out stage). So far, Grijpskerk has defeated 1st Division CVVB, 3rd Division Haulerwijkse Boys and ONT, 1st Division Eems Boys and a forfeit win over VV Boyl. The draw for the next round will take place next week at the Royal Dutch Soccer Association's Headquarters.

Fall Awards 2008- part I

Co- MVP's for the 2008 season Seth Douwsma and Maliq Taylor.


Seth Douwsma also was selected All NLC, Ryan Lincoln & Cesar Salinas received Honorable Mention.

Ryan Lincoln was awarded the "Mental Attitude Award" and Christian Barahona the "Most Improved Player" award.

Seth Douwsma and Justin Chupp were recognized as team captains.

Fall Awards 2008 - Part II

Justin Chupp received the first Travis K. Hunsberger defensive player of the year award.Shown here are coach Duerksen, the Hunsberger family and Justin.

Full version downloads of pictures from the 2008 season

Lindy, thanks again for all the pictures & links.

For people who are interested in downloading full versions of the pictures from the games;


Angola: http://tinyurl.com/6hqsyl
Sectional- Bremen: http://tinyurl.com/5pcw8h
Concord: http://tinyurl.com/62tffx
Glenn: http://tinyurl.com/5qrcuv
Sectional - LaVille: http://tinyurl.com/6nw63t
Elkhart Memorial: http://tinyurl.com/5kv5pd
Mishawaka: http://tinyurl.com/6eu3jr
Plymouth: http://tinyurl.com/6s5pq9
Riley: http://tinyurl.com/5z5wpe
Bethany (Senior Night): http://tinyurl.com/6hewty
Seniors 2008: http://tinyurl.com/5oadon
Northridge: http://tinyurl.com/6644wf
Goshen: http://tinyurl.com/5jzj8u
Wawasee: http://tinyurl.com/5k7fe6

All NLC selection 2008

Seth "Ducky" Douwsma was named on the All-NLC boys soccer team. Ryan Lincoln and Cesar Salinas were Honorable Mention. Congratulations to all three!!!

from etruth:

ALL-NLC BOYS SOCCER

2008

First Team: Concord -- Jordan Burt, Alex Martin, Jordan Long, Lon Hambrice, Jaron Le. Northridge -- Alex Ball, Lucas Carpenter, Cody Troyer, Seth Virgil, Luke Davis. Warsaw -- Trenton Porter, Jesse Sharp, Tony Franco, Micah Price. Goshen -- Carl Kay, Josh Stiffney, Vicente Aguilar. Memorial -- Brice Anglemyer, Eliel Barrera. Plymouth -- Todd Vervynckt, Chris Spoor. Wawasee -- Ryan Koble, Tyson Searfoss. NorthWood -- Seth Douwsma.

Area honorable mention: Concord -- Michael Granitz, Nick Wysong. Northridge -- Josh Miller, Michael Moses. Goshen -- Gerardo Mejia. Memorial -- Nate Kesslar. Wawasee -- Anthony Reyes. NorthWood -- Cesar Salinas, Ryan Lincoln.

AC/OG update

Due to IHSAA restriction (no open gyms until after the season has concluded)we are not able to have an open gym this coming Monday. Open Gym at the AC will therefore start on Monday November 3rd at 7 pm.

Ajax - FC Groningen 1-0

FC Groningen loses first match of the season and falls to 2nd place. Watch the goal.

Final day, OG/AC next week

This afternoon all players met with the coaches to hand in their uniforms and warm ups. The nets at the game field and practice field were taken down, the benches put away and the banner cut down. Another season comes to an end, fortunately it was another championship season.

Open Gym at the AC will start next Monday ((10/27/08) at 7 pm until about 8:30/9 pm (depending on the turn out).

Fall Awards 2008

The Fall Awards Banquet will take place on the same day we elect a new President, November 4. The Fall Awards Banquet will start at 6:30 pm in the Auditorium. We hope to see all Varsity & JV players there. This will also be the first time that the "Travis K. Hunsberger defensive player of the year Award" will be given out.

Regional Semi Finals - pictures

Again, thanks Lindy!

Mishawaka Marian - NorthWood 2-0 (2-0)- Regional Semi-Finals

On a monsoonal night, the Panthers faced Mishawaka Marian for a spot in the Regional Finals.

NorthWood came out flat and Mishawaka did not. Richie Wass scored on a Garcia assist in the 2nd minute and the same Garcia scored in the 4th to put the Knights up 2-0 with less then 5 minutes into the game.

After that, it took the Panthers about another 15 minutes to settle down and start playing soccer. The rest of the first half was evenly matched without too many chances for the Panthers. As the weather got worse so did the condition of the pitch.

The second half was a much different story. NorthWood took the game to Mishawaka Marian and was able to create quite a few opportunities. In the 62nd minute a ball went across the box and landed in front of Trevor Moseman about 9 yards out. Trevor took a shot and it went over the goal. At least another three good chances missed their marks and the 2-0 score would stand. The wind picked up quite a bit and Maliq's punts ended up near the box the entire second half. Maliq did stop several Marian shots in the second half and played a great game. As a matter of fact, in the second half quite a few players got the opportunity to play in the semi-regional and all played very well.

Looking back at the season I think it's fair to say that we had a great season. A third consecutive sectional championship is proof that the program has made great strides and with a little more luck we could have been in the Regional Finals again. But making it to the last 64 this year, 9 wins, 5 draws and only 5 losses is proof that we had a very competitive team this year. We will miss the seniors, all of whom contributed even more then expected. Our senior captains were leaders and the rest of the team learned a lot from them. In my mind, senior night stands out this year because it was a night where the seniors and Travis were given special recogniztion and on top of that, the team played its best game of the year and beat Bethany in the process.

I also want to thank all the parents for their support and a "thank you" to everyone who helped out last night. The food was great once again.

Also thanks to all the fans who came out last night, including the former players (Nate & his buddies, Edgar, Ben, Arick, Ryan, to name a few) and our AD Norm Sellers as well as other members of the teaching staff.

2008 was a great season and a lot of fun for the coaches as well. The team got along and we are already looking forward and planning for 2009!

NOTES
Thanks also to Coach Bell for bringing the Bell Choir Elite out last night and for warming up the keepers.

All players, JV and Varsity need to meet at the game field on Monday at 3:30 pm to take down the nets and hand in the uniforms and warm ups. This meeting is mandatory.

We will start our indoor Open Gym on October 27. We will inform you of the time at a later date. I will post that information here and will keep doing that during the entire off season.

I also need to thank Lindy Seitz for all the pictures he has send my way. I have tried to post as many of them as possible with as many players in them as possible. Keep checking back for last nights pictures.

Mishawaka Marian - NorthWood tonight

STATE TOURNAMENT DOWN TO 64 TEAMS

The semi-regionals will take place tonight at Newton Park. In the 5 pm game, Concord will face South Bend Clay. In the 7 pm game, the Panthers will take on the Mishawaka Marian Knights. A win will put the Panthers in the Regional Finals on saturday night against the winner of the Clay-Concord game. The Panthers reached the Regional Finals for the first and only time in NorthWood soccer history, last season. The team will meet at the school at 5:15 pm. By getting to the field around 6 pm, the team will be able to watch some of the second half of the first semi-regional game.

Tuesday Practice time change

Tonight's practice will be under the lights and at the game field and will start at 6pm. It should finish up right around 7:30 pm.

Sectional Championship - the pictures

THE PROOF IS IN THE PUDDING!

NorthWood - LaVille 2-0 (1-0)

THIRD CONSECUTIVE SECTIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP FOR THE PANTHERS

NW stepped inside the lines with the idea of scoring early and often. The first they did, the second not so much. The Newton Park stands were nicely filled on a summerlike evening. With baseball, football and basketball coaches in attendance, it was the Panther's goal to bring home some more hardware.

FIRST HALF
Seth Douwsma had no intention of starting his game slowly. Ducky took a hard shot in the very first minute of the match. The shot went over, the Lancers had their first warning. Lincoln had the ball on his right only 60 seconds later and crossed it nicely in the box. Seth made great contact with the ball for a solid shot in the goal, 1-0. It took LaVille another 7 minutes to get into the game after the quick NW goal. In the 9th, NW got to try out their set piece on a free kick but the ball missed accuracy. LaVille took its first shot at the goal in the 10th minute of play.A quick NW counter resulted in a corner in the 19th. The short corner ends up in front of Cesar's 2 inch spikes boots. His shot from inside the box misses the goal. Six minutes later, a Maliq punt lands on Lincoln's head who slips to Seth. Seth takes the hard shot but misses to the right of the LaVille goal.

HALF TIME
Coach Duerksen emphasizes the fact that if the team does not put the game away by working harder and making better passes, LaVille gets an opportunity to get right back into the game.

SECOND HALF
In the first minute of the second half, Cesar clear a ball to Seth, who beats the right defender and goes one on one on the keeper, beating him. The Panthers lead is now 2-0. A goal in the second minute of the first and the first minute of the second half give the Panthers a lead that takes the wind out of LaVille's sails for a good portion of both halfs. The entertainment value of the game is low, the result however is another championship. In the 51st a nice cross from Lincoln gets to Seth. The LaVille keeper gets to the ball, preventing NW from scoring. NorthWood gets plenty of other scoring opportunities. Near the end of regulation, freshmen Roman/Noodle and Conner Beckwith both get scoring opportunities. Conner's effort hits the crossbar. When the clock shows zero seconds left it is time to celebrate. With coach Wolfe wondering why we don't cut down the nets and coach Hoover discussing blown hand calls with coach Davis it has become obvious that Duerksen has some teaching left to do outside the classroom. With the hope that the AR/linesman on the far side will shed some weight by wednesday, the Panthers will prepare for Mishawaka Marian for Wednesday's nightcap at Newton Park.

NOTES
Brandon German sat out the game with a red card but will be eligible again for Wednesday's game.

This was NW's 9th game in the last three seasons at Newton Park.

Pizza was provided to the team after the match. Thanks to all the parents who helped with the food, snacks and drinks after the game.

Seth & German were the game MVP's. Ducky for his 2 goals, German for getting "OFF" for the coaches and the bench.

Northwood - Bremen youtube picture video

NorthWood - Bremen 2-1 (1-1 after regulation & Extra Time, 5-4 after PK shootout)

For the third consecutive year, NorthWood advances to the Sectional Finals.

When the bus pulled up, it looked like LaVille was already in the Finals and all it had to do was let the clock run out. LaVille lead Glenn 6-1 with a little over 30 minutes to go but let the Falcons get back in the game by letting in 4 unanswered goals. With the final score being 9-6 it was obvious that both teams struggle defensively.

Back to the Panthers; nice soccer weather, small crowd, slippery field and some suspect officiating would describe the first evening of the first round of the state tournament.

FIRST HALF
Seth didn't wait to long to remind Bremen that he probably should be double teamed. Ducky got his first opportunity in the third and got the shot on the frame. The Bremen GK made his first save of the night. The next twenty minutes went back and forth and showed two somewhat jittery teams, both a little nervous knowing that too many mistakes could result in elimination.In the 23rd minute of play, Ryan Lincoln took a ball to the left of the box and took a solid hard shot on the frame, 1-0! In the 25th, the Panthers had two opportunities, one by Lincoln and one by Cam Seitz, the last shot was stopped by the Bremen keeper. Four minutes later, Ryan had a nice throw in to Seth who got fouled, the free kick however was wasted. Bremen had its first dangerous opportunity on a ball that bobbled thru the box but it was a Maliq save that prevented a Bremen goal. A 39th minute combination from Seth to Conner -who was playing in the forward position- back to Seth, created danger but Seth's shot missed to the left of the Lion's goal.

SECOND HALF
After a few adjustments at the half, it was NorthWood who dictated the play early on. A Cesar Salinas free kick and a Lincoln shot, both in the 41st, were dangerous but missed their mark. All adjustments, half time speeches and philosophies on how to win this match went out the window in the 44th minute. After German got pushed by a Bremen player and commented to the AR on the bleacher side of the field, the game was stopped and the AR wanted to confer with the Center referee. He told the center ref that Brandon had used foul language (something Brandon denied)and the center ref gave Brandon a red card. A "hard" red means the player who was send off, can not be replaced. The Panthers were down to 10 men for the rest of the game. Despite the send off, it was NW who had the next opportunity to score. Seth had some room to shoot from about 22 out and the shot was barely saved by Bremen's "last defender". Three minutes later, Seth had a nice switch to Lincoln who took a shot at the Bremen goal and it was again the Bremen keeper who saved the day, for now. After that, Bremen started to take more control of the game and pressed a little bit at the NW goal. In the 60th, Bremen got a free kick. This one was awarded for an Andre Hilson's "dive". It became apparent that the ref in the middle was unable to determine the difference between a foul and a flop. A trip to the optical care facility might be in order for him and if he has some extra time, he might as well visit his doctor and get his ears cleaned out as well. Back to the field, though, where Hilson took his own free kick. The hard low shot on frame got deflected and hit the back of the ropes, 1-1. At this point it seemed that NW might encounter a tough last 20 minutes of the game. In the 69th, Maliq had to come to the rescue again, to prevent a Bremen goal. The second half did show an inspired and hard working NorthWood. All players who came in the field (and the one who had to get off) worked hard and played well. Trevor Moseman took the ball on his foot in the 73rd and weaved thru a couple of Bremen players as if he was enjoying a lazy afternoon at the skatepark on his "board"***. Cam Seitz played hard and defended well in the midfield. Lincoln did a nice job of finding Ducky when Ducky was the lone forward after German had been sent off. Seth did a great job of holding on to the ball when he got it and was even able to get off some shots in the second half. It seemed that the well conditioned NW team was able to stay with Bremen and quite often was able to outrun them. And that is not an easy thing to do. If you have ever played the game and were down a man (or two, if you want to count the ref), you know that it is a lot of hard work. At the end of the second half, Bremen started to play more conservative and looked to play in order not to loose. Kasey Grendys played well in the defensive midfield, Chupp was his old self and got tangled up with some Bremen forwards, some of whom might wake up with a few aches and pains this morning. And his shoulder balls almost look better then his headers. At the final whistle - for now- the score was tied, 1-1. Time for Extra Time.

ET -
It was clear from the first minute of the first half of extra time that Bremen did not want to lose. But they also did not want to win. Sticking their best player in the back, it looked like they wanted a PK shootout. In the first minute, Lincoln took a shot at goal, the shot was saved. NW dominated play and rarely, if at all, let Bremen off their half of the field. There was some justice for NW when the "large" center ref pulled something (probably his hamstring)and hobbled thru the game, the rest of the way. In the 14th and final minute of extra time, Seth got off one more shot and almost scored the game winner. Several Bremen players had to leave the game with cramps, another sign that NW was the better conditioned team.

PK's
NW's list, made out by the coaches, put Seth at the #1, Cesar 2nd, followed by Conner, Eddy and Lincoln.

Bremen won the toss and wanted NW to take the first PK.
To make a long story short (too late now),NW scored all of it's PK's. All PK's were solid and it was nice to see the composure by all but especially the two freshmen (Conner & Eddy). And then there was Maliq. Maliq got close to some of the PK's but got ALL of the last one to send the Panther's to their third consecutive sectional finals and the Bremen Lions home.

Next Match: 7 pm @ Newton Park vs. LaVille. The weather forecast is 80's for the day, a low of 60 for the night so a beautiful day for watching and playing soccer. Hopefully we'll have a good size crowd (all indications are that it will be a large crowd from both schools).

So the final official score: NorthWood - Bremen 2-1!!!!

NOTES
Bell's boys were there and we ope to see them again Saturday.

Today's practice is at the game field and will run til about 4:30 - 4:45.

Saturday we will be on the Sectional finals schedule: light morning practice 9 -10 am, followed by a brunch at the Douwsma's (thank you for hosting that). All players will need to be at the AC by 5:45.

German is not eligible to play Saturday due to the red card so let's win one for him so he can kick that round thing again next Wednesday!

This is the second time the Panther's have won a game at Newton Park by way of a PK shooutout. Last year, the Panthers beat Riley in a semi regional game in that fashion.

The NorthWood PK Killers will be back for a 9th game at Newton park in the last three season, making Newton Park their home away from home.

***Ben Dijkstra quote

Sectionals start today

Almost 300 Indiana High Schools will send their squads between the lines today to start the first round of sectional play. NorthWood has been paired with Bremen for the nightcap at 7 pm. LaVille and Glenn meet each other at 5 pm. All sectional games will be played at Newton Park. The winners of these games will meet up in the Sectional Finals on Saturday (Oct. 11th) at 7 pm. The team bus will leave the AC at 5:15 pm. The team will be able to watch part of the scond half of the early game.

NorthWood-Angola, the pictures from youtube

FC Groningen- ADO The Hague 3-0

One of the 3 goals scored by the FC to remain at the top of the Dutch Premier League.

NorthWood vs. Angola 2-1 (1-0)

The game started on time,despite bus problems for Angola and late arriving juniors and seniors from the SAT's.

GAME REPORT
NW did not come out of the starting blocks the way it had hoped it would. Within the first minute of play, it was Angola who had two dangerous opportunities when the purple # 10 got thru the NW defense and was able to lace some shots at Maliq. Fortunately for the Panthers, a counter on the other side in the 3rd saw Seth going in the box where he got fouled. He would take his own PK and connect for a 1-0 lead. A sluggish NW side did not put in much more work the rest of the half and seemed content with Angola bringing the ball to the NW defensive third for the majority of the half. In the 6th, the Angola #9 missed a shot and the only excitement after that was the (soft) red that was handed out to an Angola player in the middle third of the field. He first received a yellow for a foul and an additional yellow for an "unfriendly gesture towards the ref".
A 37th minute free kick for Angola just outside the box was well struck. A Maliq Taylor save of the day prevented the tie.

HALF TIME
Short and unpleasant for the team. The ugly way the Panthers played was recapped (or re-crapped?) and expectations for the second half and monday's practice were revealed.

SECOND HALF
Ears still buzzing from the half time speech gave away to an Angola attack in the 41st minute when the largest player (#7) on the Angola side scored on NorthWood to even the score at 1. The Panthers recovered almost immediately with a Cesar Salinas pass out of the back to Lincoln who fed the ball to Seth. Seth brought the ball to the middle of the field, made a move to his left and hit the ball with authority to the goalie's right. The keeper made an effort but was unable to catch up with the accurate shot that had more then enough pace. This goal would stand as the winning goal of the match. The 2-1 win for the Varsity makes the final regular season record 7-5-5. The Panthers will have to play better and give it more effort next Thursday when they face Bremen in the Sectional nightcap at Newton Park.

As time was about to expire, Justin Chupp came up the right sideline on the Angola defensive half to defend and was struck in the face by the ball. Justin went down and passed out. The diagnosis at the hospital was a slight concussion and he should be able to play on Thursday. Justin was supposed to rest Saturday night which he did by attending the "Panthers on Parade".
Players of the game : Maliq Taylor with numerous saves to keep his team in the game and Seth Douwsma for the 2 goals to give his team the win.

NOTES
It was the first time this season that both the Varsity and JV won on the same gameday.

Both scores were 2-1. Martin and Eduardo scored for the JV after falling behind, 1-0.

The JV started and ended season with a win.

Varsity practice will be at the High School on Monday and will include several JV players who have been brought up for Sectionals.

Senior Night video

THE BLOG REPORT ON THE GAME CAN BE FOUND UNDER "blog archive - Bethany Chr. @ NorthWood"

Senior Night Dinner pictures

Bethany @ NorthWood pictures part 1

Bethany @ NorthWood pictures part 2

Tribute to Travis

Pictures to come this afternoon.

Senior Night pictures part 1

THE SENIORS

Senior Night pictures part 2

THE SENIORS

Bethany Christian @ NorthWood 0-1 (0-1)

Senior night started with the presentation of the seniors and their parents. NW Soccer announcer Ryan Mattern introduced all seniors and their parents as they were congratulated by the coaching staff and Athletic Director Norm Sellers. Former 4 year starting defender and former captain of the NW soccer team, Travis Hunsberger was recognized with a moving tribute. Rhonda, Steve, Kelcy and Kyle Hunsberger were in attendance as were the grandparents and numerous friends and other relatives. Travis' number (#16) was retired. Rhonda and Steve were presented with Travis' actual game jersey and all the family members were given the black and red wristbands with the #16. It was also announced that from now on, each year a player will be selected from the NW squad as the defensive player of the year. The award will be named after Travis. So, this fall, the first Travis Hunsberger best defensive player award will be given out and the Hunsbergers have agreed to present that award.

When the teams were announced, the seniors ran thru the signs that were constructed for them and the rest of the starting lineup ran thru the sign that was made in memory of Travis.

FIRST HALF
All seniors were in the starting lineup tonight. And they were ready to play. With it being senior night and the inspiration that Travis has given the team all year, the team came out to play hard right from the first whistle. St. Germain showed off his dribbling skill in the 2nd minute. The "curly light skinned" brazilian weaved thru three Bethany defenders on the left side of the field and ended up in the middle of the box with no one but the goalie in front of him. Unfortunately, Ben and Nick got a little too close together and the shot (taken by Nick I believe) missed the Bethany goal to the right.
Six minutes later, a Maliq kick (what a punt, is this kid on steroids?)landed right in front of Ducky halfway on the Bethany side. With a couple of smooth moves, Ducky appeared on the left side of the box and took a decent shot that just went over the crossbar.
In the 14th minute, Lincoln passed a ball on the right to Ducky who took it to the endline and then cut back past a Bethany defender. He was now right in front of the Bethany keeper. Ducky had room to shoot it past the goalie's right but instead chose to kick it to the keeper's short and left side. The ball did not have a lot of pace but did not lack accuracy, 1-0!!!!!
The rest of the first half saw a lot of seniors with playing time and deservedly so. Nice, crisp passes in space and to feet, a lot of possession and just plain old hard work. When NW comes out and plays hard, it is hard to beat.....by anyone.

HALF TIME
Similar to the first half,this half time was probably the best half time of the year. Coach Duerksen told the team they had played the best half of the season and wanted to get his point acccross that if the team played hard, good things would happen. Duerksen stated the team almost played "great soccer". When it was time to get back on the field, Ducky decided that there was one more task to complete before the start of the second half. Ducky paid a visit to the fence and adjoining backyard of the house where people had run the chainsaw during the national anthem of the previous game and he must have been thinking about paying them back for that. The best way he knew how was to deposit his stomach contants in their backyard. In the "barfing during the soccer game" category we now have a tie with Seth and Cam in first place.

SECOND HALF
The first minute of the second half began with some beautiful combinations between German (pass), Nick (pass) and Seth (shot). In the following minutes, center ref Bob Gibson's performance started to deteriorate. Chupp received a yellow for asking a question (????????). My soccer rules book must miss a page because I can NOT find anything about not being able to ask a question without getting a yellow card. St. Germain received a yellow for a very soft foul. I was starting to wonder if the thing in the middle was somewhat biased. We got yellows, we did not get too many calls at all but the opponent did. In the 49th a passing sequence involving between some Bethany players ended with a shot at goal but was stopped by Maliq who again had a great night between the woodwork. In the 61st minute, the NW bench got to enjoy a Bethany "double header". A buildup out of the Bethany back resulted in a shot at the Panthers' goal but it was again Maliq who came to the rescue. St. Germain kept playing well and won,as Coach Duerksen said, almost all 50-50 balls. A little consternation with a neighbor's dog caused the 8th graders to cease their soccer game on the side for just a little while but they were able to resume play after they found out that the neighbor's threats were idle ones. A 66th minute Bethany corner came back to the right side of the field for a Bethany cross but the danger was averted again thru the means of another Maliq save. Sixty seconds later, Lincoln took a shot near the box but was stopped by Bethany's last defender.

With just minutes left to play, Seth Douwsma got plowed over by a Bethany defender. Coach Dijkstra started screaming, which was unusual to start with. The screaming continued until it caught "Mr." Gibson's attention at which point he decided to come to the NW bench. Coach Dijkstra positioned himself, ready to receive his first(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) yellow of the season. Not that the yellow was appropriate, after all, the goober in the middle "missed" a call. But now things got interesting; Coach Duerksen asked "Mr." Gibson : "What was the call?". For that question, Duerksen got shown a red! Duerksen asked why he would give him red for asking a question and 'Mr." Gibson said "Just go - with a huge smile on his face-". Coach Duerksen replied with a statement about his analysis of Gibson's character and had to repeat it at least once so "Referee" Gibson was sure not to misunderstand it.
After the game, Mr. Gibson had an explanation about his "mistaken" red card and fortunately for NW, changed it to a yellow.

The end result of the game was more important. Beating the #6 team in the District and playing this well, scoring early and hanging on to the lead, shows that NW is improving in the last 2 - 3 weeks. The seniors played extrememly well and in fact, all players contributed and had a good night (which is more then the Cubs can say).

NOTES
Bell's Boys lost 2-0 but played well. They are in need of some firepower.

Angola is the next opponent. It will be the last home game for both JV and Varsity, in fact, it will be JV's last game of the year.

Thanks to AD Norm Sellers for helping us and getting things done for Travis Hunsberger's family. I know they appreciated it as did the coaches. Thanks again.

The team dinner afterwards was great and thanks to everyone who helped with that (Douwsma's, Beckwith's and quite a few other people I am sure).

All the coaches want to thank you for the very (!) generous gift.

Tomorrow's game times have been changed to 11 am - JV / 1 pm Varsity (due to SAT's).

With a win tomorrow, the Varisty will be assured of a winning season again!

NorthWood @ Plymouth pictures part 1

NorthWood @ Plymouth pictures part 2

NorthWood @ Plymouth 2-3 (1-3)

A second half effort was not enough to overcome a 3-1 deficit.

FIRST HALF
8th min. - Seth Douwsma goal (Nick Rethlake assist)1-0
16th/26th/40th min. - 1-1, 1-2, 1-3 respectively

SECOND HALF
45th min. - Seth Douwsma goal (Eddy Salinas assist)2-3

Actual shots on goal Plymouth 7, NW 5; 4 saves for NW (Balogh).

NOTES
Came away with a loss, bus wouldn't start, it was cold, not a good night overall. Time to start playing 80 minutes (not 40).

Bell Boys - 2-2, goals Trent and Collin.

Next up Senior night tomorrow (4:30 JV, Vars. @ 6 pm) with a special tribute to Travis.

*******Starting Time change******
The JV game vs. Agola has been moved back to 11 am and the Varsity to 1 pm (due to SAT's).

NorthWood @ Concord pictures part 1

NorthWood @ Concord pictures part 2

15th Boys Sectional Draw

NorthWood vs Bremen & LaVille vs John Glenn on October 9th, winners play on October 11th. All games will be played at Newton Park in Lakeville.

FC Groningen - Feyenoord 3-1

MARCUS BERG CELEBRATES 2ND GOAL AGAINST FEYENOORD

FC Groningen moves into first place with a 3-1 win at home against Feyenoord Rotterdam. Marcus Berg scored 2 goals.