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.