What a difference 48 hours make. A motivated NorthWood eleven stepped inside the lines after a speech from coach Duerksen about the meaning of having Travis Hunsberger's jersey on the bench with us this season. On this night, the team played the way Travis played each and every game.
FIRST HALF
In front of a crowd that filled the stands and then some, it was Northridge who won the toss and the right to kick off. The first 10 minutes of the game went back and forth as the teams were getting used to each other. In the 13th minute, Ben St. Germain passed the ball to Ryan Lincoln around the 18. Lincoln took a hard shot at the goal. With the pace he put on the ball combined with the accuracy (going away from the goalie), the ball ended up in the back of the net, 1-0. It was Lincoln's first goal of the season and NorthWood's most important goal so far.
In the 26th minute, Brandon German was able to get his name in the books, after receiving a yellow caution. In the 35th minute, Raider Andy Morrison got an opportunity around the goal box area and a shot at goal. Maliq Taylor was able to stop the ball. In the 37th minute, a NorthWood attack landed the ball in front of Christian Barahona's feet right in front of the Northridge goalie. Christian lofted the ball over the goalie towards the goal. The ball hit the inside of the left post and bounced back out. The 39th minute provided a little entertainment for the bench. After a hard elbow and tackle by the Northridge #15 on Eddie Salinas, both coaches tried to assist the referee by telling him how hard the foul was. The idiot in yellow took offense to the advice by not giving Northridge a yellow and by admonishing both coaches (to quote Grandpa: "One more sound and you're done"). A minute later, with only seconds to go until the intermission, Christian received a yellow card for kicking the ball away after a whistle for a free kick.
During the half, some minor adjustments were made and the defensive adjustments made during the first ten minutes of the game, reitterated.
SECOND HALF
In the 56th minute, NorthWood attacked the Northridge goal when Ben St. Germain got tangled up with a Northridge defender. In our eyes it should have been a NW free kick but Grandpa decided to go with Northridge. His eye sight bothered him even more in the 71st minute when Seth got all ball while a Northridge defender went down in a battle for the ball. Seth ended up with a yellow, his first of the season. Moments later, Cesar Salinas had to leave the game temporarily with a nosebleed after being hit in the face by an opponent. A lot of substitutions occured during the second half, partly due to some minor injuries or cramps and partly due to the way the game was being played. The Raiders kept pressing on and the NW defense kept it together well until the 74th minute when Northridge saw an opportunity for a shot at the goal. The shot hit the inside post but came back out, no goal. In the 78th minute the ball was on our defensive end in the corner. Northridge lost the ball, the AR indicated the ball went over the line and then changed her mind to a free kick for the men in green. I guess that she had not played a prominent role in the game so far and wanted to put her stamp on the game as well. The free kick landed in front of Luke Carpenter who pushed the ball towards the goal, low and hard, to tie the game with 120 second left to play. Despite NorthWood pressing at the Northridge goal no real opportunities came about thus sending both teams home with one point in the conference.
A hard fought game with tough play and good defense ends in a draw. At this time last year, the team was 1-1-1 as well but it looks to me that this years results rank a little better so far then last year's. It was a good comeback after a less then stellar performance against Lakeland Christian.
The man of the match was, without a doubt, Ryan Lincoln. He was strong on the ball, threatened the Northridge defense all night and of course scored a nice goal. All players that entered the game played well and hard, without exception. As coach Duerksen stated after the game, it was good to see players upset about the draw instead of being happy with it. It defines the attitude of the players. With this type of effort, this team could have a very good season.
NOTES
Skyler Titus and other members of the football team were out to support the soccer team again. Dressed in 1990's Germany style NW soccer jerseys, the men were situated in front of the front row.
This was the best attended game in about two years (Northridge - NorthWood in 2006).
Hoosierfutbol.com ranked Northridge #25 in the state before yesterday's game.
The Bell Choir (JV) lost 7-0 and struggled defensively.
Next up: Mishawaka, tomorrow. JV 10 a.m., Varsity at noon. It is essential that the varsity displays the same type of effort on Saturday in order to get a good result.
Today's practice information: JV at the High School, Varsity at the game field.
Ryan Mattern returned to the commentators/announcement booth for another season!
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