d' Olde Veste '54 - VV Grijpskerk; first game of the regular season

In first division action, my old team Grijpskerk will face my college friend and former college teammate Wim Jonker's team, de Olde Veste '54 from Steenwijk, the Netherlands on Saturday September 4th. A capacity filled supporters bus will hopefully encourage the red shirts to a victory for Grijpskerk and bragging rights for me.

JV Game Today

The JV faces off against Westview this afternoon at 5 pm. Last year the JV tied Westview away 2-2. Good Luck to Mattern's Henchmen!

NorthWood Discount Cards

The NorthWood discount cards are due (money and/or cards) this Friday September 3rd. Please get the money and unsold cards to the NorthWood Athletic office.

Soccer Quote of the Week

"The rules of soccer are very simple, basically it is this: If it moves, kick it. If it doesn't move, kick it until it does."

Willem II - FC Groningen 0-3

DOUBLE CLICK TO SEE THE WIDE SCREEN VIEW.

NorthWood JV -Mishawaka JV pictures are up, check the link.

Celebration time!

Sneijder Goal!!! Goed gedaan Jochie!

The Sneijder Goal! Pics are up.

NorthWood-Mishawaka pictures

CHECK OUT "THE ANATOMY OF A PK" ON NW SOCCER PICS.

NorthWood - Mishawaka 7-0 (3-0)

With Shields in tip top shape.....to keep the book (he will be able to practice soon), with blue skies overhead, with one vuvuzela to mimick the World Cup atmosphere, it was time to take in our National Anthem. It did take Coach Mattern's computer skills to get that part of the ceremonies going. It was good to find out that our number one in the program is still number one in our hearts. All that out of the way, it was time to get another win streak started.

FIRST HALF
It didn't take long to see who would dominate the game. In the first minute Eddie took a free kick that required the first GK save of the day. It wouldn't be the last. In the 5th a beautiful Kronk pass on the ground went thru the Cavemen defense and reached Trent who, in turn, took a nice touch and then shot the ball low in the right corner for the 1-0.
A 7 minute Mishawaka throw in (and illegal at that) was so bad that it drew an "Oh my God" from someone on the bench. On the day (incl. the JV game) we saw a record bad throws that went well into the double digits.
In the 20th, Taylor received a pass from Eusebio (a header actually) but shot it over the crossbar. A Tucker pass in the box to Taylor in the 27th resulted in the second goal for the Panthers when Taylor tucked it away in the right corner as well.
In the 32nd minute of play, Taylor started an attack with a well directed header to Eddie, the ball landed in front of Jason who passed it on the ground to Justin who connected by placing the ball in the far corner, 3-0. Justin "Sneijder" followed another shot on the GK and got a foot on the ball but was unlucky when the ball hit the post and then a Caveman.

HALF TIME
Just a few adjustments were necessary such as playing wider and crashing for trash in the box.

SECOND HALF
After the tea, it took NW only a few minutes to get their motor running again. Two minutes into the second half the Panthers were awarded a free kick from about 31 out on the left side of the field. Conner took the free offering all the way near the goal line right in front of an unmarked Trent who put his foot on the ball for the team's 4th and his second goal.According to assistant commentator Coo Williams this goal was the equivalent of an alley oop in basketball. Coach Duerksen took Trent out (there is some positive reinforcement for you)to keep the team fresh and a constant rotation of players continued. The bench however (read Coo) started demanding playing time for Trent so he could complete the "hattie". In the 44th, Jason lost the ball in front of the bench after 27 stepovers and while falling was questioned by Duerksen where the ball went. His response was a full El Salvadorian smile!
With Josh in possession of the ball on the left in the 48th, his pass went to Conner who, after two nice moves, took a shot that hit the ropes, 5-0. It seemed to go so easy you would think a Caveman could do it, but not so much.
The party wasn't over; a nice strong dribble in the box by Lincoln ended in a foul and a yellow caution for Mishawaka and a penalty kick for NorthWood. Ryan connected on the PK for the 6-0. With only four minutes left to play, Taylor found Eddie who went 1 v 1 on the keeper. He kept his cool, as expected and signed for the 7-0.
A nice solid win gives the Panthers a 3-1-0 record. It is nice to see the team score and it is equally as nice to see us play well defensively; this was the third shut out on the season (a very easy clean sheet for Kyle, his 3rd as well). Clayton played just about every defensive position and did it well.

NOTES
Tailgate tickets/money is due. Get it to Coach Duerksen Monday if you have not done so already.

The JV got their first win of the season by beating the Cavemen 1-0 on a nice Tad Chamberlin long distance shot. The JV improves to 1-2-0.

Practices for both teams are at the High School Monday.

Next up is the last home game before we go back on the road. The opponent is Bremen next Thursday.

NorthWood JV - Northridge JV pictures

Pics are up, check the links.

NorthWood - Northridge pictures

Pics are up!

NorthWood - Northridge 0-4 (0-1)

NorthWood's level of play was nearly even with the Raiders until a 23rd minute free kick. The kick hit the ropes for the only score of the first half. The Panthers got a couple of shots off courtesy off Trent and Kronk. A 1v1 confrontation between Kyle and a NR forward ended in Kyle's advantage.

The second half started well with about 7 minutes in, Clay picking a Raiders midfielder's pocket and another 1v1 save by Kyle ("#1 in your program and in your hearts") in the 49th. NW got some opportunities but in the 66th a Northridge forward penetrated the box without a mark, received the ball and finished it for the 2-0. After that the NW coaches went to a 4-4-2 for some more offensive play but at the same time it opened up the defense. This resulted in another score from inside the box. And around the 74th, Jake committed a foul in the box that resulted in a PK and a yellow caution. The PK was converted into the final goal of the game (4-0). The final result does not reflect the way we played against # 19 in the state (an almost all seniors team)and gave some insight into some of the qualities of this years team.

Next up: Mishawaka at home this Saturday (10 am JV, followed by the Varsity contest).

Conner returned to the field after a long absence (due to a quad injury). He played well and also secured his first........yellow of the season.

Josh was asked if he was All State and he might have answered negative but the season ain't over, babyy!

Tomorrow's Varsity practice is at the game field and will be light and shortened.

The JV lost 3-1 with a Barahona goal and a nice performance from Jordan Thompson.

Time to get the first JV win saturday and 3rd for the Varsity.

NorthWood faces #19 Northridge tonight.

The Panthers will take on the 19th ranked Northridge Raiders around 6:45 pm (Game will start appr. 20 minutes after the JV contest ends) at our home field at Nappanee Elementary. Both Conner and Trent are cleared to play. Back up keeper Shields is still receiving daily treatments from Paul. Giovanny is not eligible yet (not enough practices).

Tailgate tickets

The money from the sold tailgate tickets for the September 3rd football game are due today. Please turn the money and/or unsold tickets in to Coach Duerksen.

Lakeland Christian - NorthWood Varsity pictures

The goal & celebration!
Lindy's pictures are up, check out the NW Soccer Pic link.

JV Pictures Lakeland Christian - NorthWood

Rosicky & the stormin' Panthers.
Check out the rest of the pictures on the NW Soccer Pics link!

Lakeland Christian - NorthWood 0-1 (0-0)

MICHELIN MAN

The bus took us on a dirt bike path to the back of Lakeland Christian for a pleasant afternoon of High School soccer. The national anthem was not part of the pre-game ritual, a prayer was.

FIRST HALF
The game started with a NorthWood possession that ended over the sideline for a NW throw in. It looked as if our own Michelin man (more about him later) had to perform the throw in duties until a teammate realized that a man with a cast on each hand probably is not the ideal person to toss the ball in the field of play. The throw in landed near a Lakeland player who passed it towards the NW goal mouth. A very alert keeper came out near the top of the box to avert disaster this early in the game and made a huge save in a one on one in the second minute. The ball did end up in the box but a collective effort from several defenders resulted in the ball being cleared.
After that, NorthWood kept the ball away from Lakeland for quite a while. At the three minute mark, the score was 6-0 for NW,in throw ins that is. The first opportunity came when Jason slipped a ball in the box to Lincoln. Lincoln's shot went wide.
Noodle came out of the game in the 13th to address some footwear problems (someone show this kid how to tie his shoelaces?). Taylor subbed in for Roman. In the 14th, Trent Jacobs had a shot at goal saved by the Lakeland keeper.
NW possessed the ball 75 - 80% of the time and rarely had to contend with Lakeland attacks. Not that we mustered a whole lot of offense. At least not until about the 33rd minute. Clay recovered a ball in the back and placed it upfield where it ended up in the corner where Lincoln took a shot at the keeper.
In the 36th minute of play, NW had its most potent attack of the first half where a nice tight cross landed in front of Taylor who, without hesitation, took a nice bending shot at the goal. The shot barely missed the right post.

HALF TIME
The main focus was to repeat some pre game discussions about making runs and looking for splits. It was clear that we controlled the game and we had a good half, we now had to put one in the net.

SECOND HALF
The players got back on the field against the scenic backdrop of small bleachers and a semi trailer that doubles as a soccer equipment shed. We now got to defend the south or small goal. The south goal was several inches shorter then the goal on the north side. So in theory, it would be tougher to score in the second half. The Panthers did create several opportunities. It started quickly with a pass from Eddie from the right side to left to Trent. Trent's first touch was sublime and the consequent shot was not bad either, it just missed to the left of the goal. In the 50th, Collin did not execute a pass well to Coach Duerksen's chagrin. Duerksen pointed out the mistake to Collin who responded (during play) "I'm trying!" to which Coach responded "Try harder!".
A collective effort in the middle of the second half led to a lot of attacking play on the right side. In the 59th, a Trent Jacobs shot hit the crossbar and came back out. It was a game in which one player needed to step up and take an individual effort to make a difference. That play came in the 73rd when Josh Ailes got the ball on the left side in the offensive third from Eddie. Josh took a look at the Lakeland keeper, noticed he was a little too far to his right and took a shot with the left foot. the shot sailed into the upper right hand corner for the 1-0.
Lakeland tried to counter attack the last few minutes but was not able to create any serious chances.

NOTES
Adding insult to injury; Trent "Michelin" Jacobs dislocated his thumb during one of his signature spills. He will receive treatment and will be evaluated by his doctor this morning. Hopefully he will be cleared for tomorrow's game. UPDATE; Trent is cleared to play but needs to wrap his thumb as well. So the running Mummy with the #3 tomorrow will be Trent.

Collectively, the team played well. The defense kept it compact in the back and showed some nice composure. Jake was back at sweep and Jason seems to settle in nicely at stop. Kronk and Clayton played solid games in the back. In the midfield we were able to switch fields and expose the weak side consistently with nice performances from Josh, Eddie, Noodle, Trent and Taylor. Eusebio did a nice job off the bench.

Conner Beckwith should be back today for his first practice in a while. He might get some playing time in tomorrow against Northridge.

The JV got unlucky in their scrimmage (40 min.) against Lakeland Christian. Their first goal was disallowed (off side -wrong call!). Two defensive miscues (not stepping to the ball and some lunging) gave the Cougars a 2-0 lead. The Panthers did answer with a Brandon Barahona goal with 8 minutes left on the clock for the final score of 2-1.They did however play well with a lot of nice runs and combinations. Next up for the JV is a 5 pm game at home vs. Northridge.

Today's Varsity practice is at the game field at 3:30. The JV practices at the High School.

Funny Soccer Quote of the week

Never go for a 50-50 ball unless you are 80-20 sure of winning it.
Ian Darke (English football commentator)

Practice update

The Varsity Wednesday practice will be at the game field. The JV practice will be at the High School practice field. Thursday's game will be a home game. It is also the Panthers' first NLC matchup. The JV game starts at 5 pm, followed by the Varsity contest which will start around 6:45 pm. Directions to today's game at Lakeland Christian (Winona Lake) are posted several blogs below this one.

FC Groningen - De Graafschap 2-1 (2-0)

Directions to Lakeland Christian

Address to use for GPS users: 1093 South County Road 250 East, Winona Lake

Directions:
Take US 6 East to SR 15, go south on SR 15 to US 30. Take US 30 East for about 4 1/2 miles and turn right on S. County Road 250 E.. After about 1/2 mile you will see Lakeland Christian Academy on your right hand side. The soccer fields are behind the school.

JV schedule change

Added to the JV schedule are the following games;

08/31/10 5 pm Bremen (home)

09/02/10 5 pm Westview (home)

Here is the updated schedule in its entirety;

NorthWood HS
2101 N Main Street Nappanee, IN 46550−9399
School Phone: 574−773−4127 Home Phone: 574−862−2498 Fax: 574−773−3416 nsellers@wanee.org
Superintendent
Joe Sabo
Principal
Dave Maugel
Vice Principal
Jay Olson
Athletic Director
Norm Sellers
JV Soccer (Boys)
2010−2011
Day Date Opponent Place Time
Tuesday Aug. 24 @ Lakeland Christian Lakeland Christian 6:45PM
Thursday Aug. 26 * Northridge NorthWood HS 5:00PM
Saturday Aug. 28 Mishawaka NorthWood HS 10:00AM
Tuesday Aug. 31 Westview NorthWood HS 5:00PM
Thursday Sep. 02 Bremen NorthWood HS 5:00PM
Thursday Sep. 09 @ Wawasee Wawasee 6:00PM
Tuesday Sep. 14 Warsaw NorthWood HS 5:00PM
Thursday Sep. 16 @ Goshen Goshen 5:00PM
Saturday Sep. 18 @ Goshen JV Trny Goshen JV Trny 9:00AM
Monday Sep. 20 @ Penn Penn 5:00PM
Tuesday Sep. 21 Elkhart Memorial NorthWood HS 5:00PM
Saturday Sep. 25 @ Concord Concord 10:00AM
Tuesday Sep. 28 @ Plymouth Plymouth 5:00PM
Thursday Sep. 30 Bethany Christian NorthWood HS 5:00PM
Saturday Oct. 02 Angola NorthWood HS 11:00AM
08/

New Look for 2010

NEW JERSEY (on the right)

The third jersey that will be worn by both the Varsity and JV this year is red in color (the home jerseys are white and current short sleeve away is black for Varsity and red for JV). It is also the team's first long sleeve jersey which will come in handy during sectional time.

Lakeland Christian - NW UPDATE

There are two changes for the 8/28/10 games at Lakeland Christian. The varsity game will be played first and will kick off at 5 pm. The JV game will start at approximately 6:30 pm. Due to the low number of total players in the Lakeland Christian program, the JV game will last a total of only 40 minutes!

CN-NW pictures

Central Noble -NorthWood 0-6 (0-1), Panthers' first win of the season marks Duerksen's win #100!

The season opener can be categorized as "mission accomplished". NorthWood comes away with the win and a decisive one at that but more than that, the team played what they had practiced in the last few weeks. It looked like soccer so it must have been soccer albeit it somewhat one sided; Central Noble was not able to do much in their middle or offensive third of the field. So congratulations to Coach Duerksen who got his 100th win as head coach of the Panthers!

FIRST HALF
The game started off somewhat chaotic with a coin toss at the last minute and a National Anthem sung by what sounded like a whispering choir. The field was in tip top shape, for Central Noble. It was nice and hard, almost cement like but had been recently mowed.

The first ten minutes were dominated by NW thru 80-20 ball possession and some chances at a goal or two. Eddie was able to secure the first yellow of the season handily in the 10th minute. The center ref looked a little emotional in the beginning of the game but fortunately settled down after that. It was a Collin Tucker cross in the 21st that gave NW its first real opportunity to go ahead. Eusebio was in the right spot but was unable to connect.

Seven minutes later, it was 'the Michelin man" Trent Jacobs who despite being weighed down with 7 pound wraps on both arms (broken bones), crossed the ball near the goal line. Eddie Salinas finished for his first goal of the season. The Panthers kept pressing the remainder of the first half, showed some good runs and passing but were unable to add to the score.

HALF TIME
The half time adjustments were minimal and focused mainly on taking some more shots from farther out as well as taking on the Central Noble defense with speed.

SECOND HALF
The second half started off the same way the first half ended. NW playing offense, the Cougars playing defense. With shots from Lincoln in the 46th, Noodle in the 52nd and Trent in the 53rd, it was obvious that we would have plenty of opportunities to score again. In the 53rd, Clay turned to his left and passed the ball up the line to Taylor who moved the ball up to Josh. Josh went up the left side and took the ball into the box. He took a great shot but missed to the left.

In the 55th, Jason was put up top for some offensive pressure, Jake went to sweep and Collin took the stopper's spot.

In the 63rd minute of play an Eddie Salinas shot from the right was touched by the CN Goalkeeper, touched the under side of the crossbar and came back out right in front of Taylor Wegmiller. Taylor used his head to put the ball across the chalk, 2-0.

In the 65th, the ref's ADD flared up when he asked for a NorthWood roster. When it became apparent that that issue had been taken care of before the game, we could once again focus on what was going on between the lines.

A 67th minute throw in was headed by Jason to Josh, who struck the ball well on the frame for a nice goal, 3-0.

Nine minutes later, Eddie assisted from the right corner to Edward "Jason" for the 4-0, the flood gates were open!

In the 79th, Jason dribbled the ball thru the top of the box and got the ball to Eddie who passed to Eusebio. Eusebio finished without hesitation to put the 5-0 on the board (which we were unable to locate).

Sixty seconds later, in the last minute of play, we witnessed the best strike of the game. Ryan Lincoln took a volley shot from about 23 out and cleaned the remaining dust off the ropes with a hard ball that ended up in the right upper corner.

Final score 6-0. Good result but better yet, a well played game.

NOTES
Captains were voted on by the team. Lincoln (most votes; speaking captain) and Kronk will lead the team. By the way, Kronk played like a captain with great passing and runs out of the back.

Eusebio/Benfica got injured during a play where he connected with a CN defender's head. He recovered from that but lost part of his front tooth. "Chip" was able to play the rest of the game.

All players who traveled with the team entered the field of play and did well.

There was no complaining from the team (that's a first!), despite the fact that there were no drinks or sandwiches on the bus.

Next up: Lakeland Christian on Tuesday. Change in times!!!!! Varsity at 5 pm, followed by the JV. Directions to the field in Winona Lakes will be posted later.

Lindy's pictures have been posted -already-.

The new shirts are in. If you are purchasing a game jersey, write a check to "NorthWood Soccer" for $ 40 and get it to Coach Duerksen. For players who raised $50 for the car wash, the price will be $30; for those players who raised $100 or more, the jersey will be free. The jerseys will be given to you AFTER you pay. Those who elect to not buy the jersey, your shirts will be given to you probably by the end of next week.

Kyle recorded his first career Varsity shutout. The clean sheet fact: 2 shots on goal.

AZ - FC Groningen 1-1 (0-0)

FC Groningen draws another Dutch giant!

2010 NW Men's Soccer Car Wash Fundraiser

The 2010 Car Wash was another succes. Thanks to LJ Wagner for letting us use their parking lot and water!

2010 Red Black scrimmage

Pictures from the Red Black game and the alumni game can be viewed on the NW Soccer Pic link.

2010 Alumni Game

Twitter & Facebook

New for 2010! When clicking on the link "NW Soccer Pics 2010" you can read all the information on pictures from every game you can download, NW Soccer pics on facebook and NW soccer on Twitter!

Alumni Game & Red/Black Game

Ninety plus degree temperatures did not stop more then 20 alumni/former players to come out and kick the ball around. After it was all said and done, the scoreboard showed 4-4 which was a pretty fair reflection of what happened on the field. All former and current players who play in college were present as well. It was really nice for the coaches to see everyone again and hopefully everyone will mark the date on their calendar for next year.

Well and then there was the red/black game. I think it was pretty obvious that whatever team would be coached by coach Dijkstra would end up with the trophy so Team White was lucky to draw Dijkstra as their coach. Actually, the game was pretty competetive and it was good to see all players get some playing time in an actual game. It gives the coaches an opportunity to see what the athletes can do in a game situation. I don't think that any player disappointed but some did maybe better then expected. The field itself was not in game shape. The layout of the field was different then it has been in recent years (too narrow) and will need to be corrected.

The red/black game also gives us a chance to check out the scoreboard, nets and lights (one light did not come on). This gives us a chance to correct everything that needs fixed before the season starts.

NOTES
Friday's practice is at the High School practice field and starts at 3:30. Saturday 8/14 we will hold the annual Car Wash at the LJ Wagner parking lot. Players work from either 8:45 - 12 or 12-2:15. All players are asked to raise $40 each.

The Varsity's season opener is in Albion against Central Noble on thursday 8/19 at 5 pm. DIRECTIONS: Take US 6 to SR 9, go south or right on SR 9 into Albion, cross the tracks and take a left on Weber Rd. Then take a right on Hickory Street. Hickory takes you right into the park. The game field (if that is what you want to call it) is in the park (so NOT at the High School). The distance from Nappanee to Albion is about 35 miles.

2010-2011 Schedules

The schedules for the upcoming season have been handed out. After the schedules were printed, a change was made concerning the starting times of the Lakeland Christian game. The varsity will start at 5 pm and the JV game will follow at 6:45 (8/24/10-away).

Car Wash Saturday

The Car Wash will be held Saturday August 14 in the LJ Wagners parking lot on US 6 in Nappanee. The car wash is from 10 am til 2 pm and all players will work two hours (either 10-noon or noon til 2). Attendance is mandatory and all players are expected to get at least $50 in pledges.

Alumni game & Red/Black game

The Annual Alumni game will take place on Thursday August 12th at the game field at 6pm. All former players are invited to play. The Alumni game will last an hour. At 7:30 the annual pre-season Red/Black game will kick off. All JV & Varsity players will be split up and put on two teams and play each other. Afterwards the parents (and friends) will have an opportunity to take pictures with their favorite players (read "their own kid").

FC Groningen - Ajax Amsterdam 2-2 (round 1)

2010 NW Soccer Pictures - New Site! Check "LINKS"

Lindy Seitz has started a new site for the 2010 soccer pictures. Click on the first link on this blog.