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
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