NorthWood @ Memorial 3-1 (2-0)

We had to beg for the lights to be turned on and the national anthem was nowhere to be found. It seemed like nothing else could go wrong. Except for that heavy shower of course. Too bad it lasted 20 minutes (twice).

FIRST HALF
Both teams came out a little flat but as time went by, NorthWood settled down nicely and took the ball to the Memorial half. In the 8th minute, Josh was able to circumvent piles of geese droppings and make a nice pass up the line to lead Lincoln on the left side. Lincoln crossed the ball in the box to Kronk who in turn passed to Conner. Conner challenged the keeper for the ball, won and scored the 1-0!
Exactly 20 minutes later, NorthWood had a corner from the left. Eddie Salinas took the corner, uncharachteristically short, with a nice bend around the first post to the surprise of Memorial keeper Lopez. No one touched the ball and so the 2-0 could be put on the board.
The rain came down fairly heavy (although it did not seem to bother the coaches and players on the bench too much) and the ball started to skip which made keeping the goal clean quite a challenge.
With less then two minutes left, Memorial's "Where is" Waldo missed a shot in front of an open goal.

SECOND HALF
Half time took longer then usual due to a lightning delay. Some minor adjustments were made, partly due to Kasey Grendys' ankle injury. When play finally resumed in front of just a few spectators it was Memorial who took it to NorthWood in the first 6 minutes or so. It was pretty evident they were trying to score a quick goal but the Panthers were finally able to take the ball to the offensive third where a cross landed in front of Kronk by way of Josh. Kronk took a great shot that was stopped only by a great header by one of the Charger defenders. Another Eddie corner in the 49th went, of course, far and was re-directed by Noodle"s noggin where it landed in front of Cesar's feet at about 21 out. A high kick went up and over the Memorial keeper for the 3-0.
Memorial had some good opportunities but all were saved by NW keeper Michael Balogh (who by the way was one of many who heard his name butchered at the beginning of the game).In the 69th minute Memorial took a free kick just outside the box with a shot around the wall but on goal. Balogh stopped the ball initially but two Memorial players charged the loose ball for the only Charger goal of the night. The final score of 3-1 was a good reflection of the game and gave the Panthers their first NLC win of the season (1-3-1). So despite the geese, seagulls, heavy rain and no anthem, we did alright. Next up is the trip to North Liberty (varsity only) on Thursday. The field there rivals Central Noble's for worst field in Northern Indiana. Cesar Salinas will watch from the bench after receiving yellow card number 5 against Memorial. Pretty good timing actually. Kasey Grendys is day to day, but then again, aren't we all. The varsity's overall record is now 5-4-1

JV
The JV improved its record to 6-4-1 by beating Memorial 3-0 (after beating them 1-0 in the JV Tourney only days ago). Two goals came from Taylor Wegmiller, two assists from Justen. An assist from Juan to "2" (Justen) finalized the score. Next up for the JV is the home game versus Concord on Saturday at home (10 am kick off).