Lakeland Christian-NorthWood 0-5 (0-3)

Due to some traffic issues around Warsaw, the team bus arrives with about 15 warm up minutes left on the clock. The clock runs on a car battery which is probably the reason the warm up could not be extended. The warm up wraps up quicklky and the game plan for the day is obvious; tight defense while clearing the ball targeting the midfield. Obviously LCA's #10 is the main threat (having scored 4 times in their first game). At the start of the game, only 18 people had gathered around the trailer (with advertisement) to watch the game. This would swell up to over 50 later on.

FIRST HALF It starts with a bang. It looks like a replay from two years ago when their #10 dribbles/runs fast towards the goal for the first chance of the game. In the 16th, Bennet takes the ball to the end line and serves Taylor. His header misses to the right. One minute later, Taylor takes a corner from the left (NW's 3rd corner already)and a near post run has Tad appearing near the 6. His header with lots of pace hits the ropes for the 1-0 lead. Clayton makes a nice pass to Taylor in the 19th to give him his first opportunity to hit the post which he executes succesfully. Tim Escoto slips a pass to Taylor who pushes the ball low over the goal line for the 2-0 (20"). Sixteen minutes later, Taylor plays a thru ball to Clay who has about 40 yards of badly mowed grass in front of him with only white shirts on his back. With good speed and composure, Clay puts the ball past the keeper and signs for the 3-0. In the last minute before the half, Taylor breaks away but again finds the post. The ricochet lands in front of the other Taylor (Brayton Taylor) whose shot ends up in the LCA goalkeeper's hands.

HALF TIME Minor adjustments dealt with double marking #10 and getting something on the ball when crosses or corners come into the box.

SECOND HALF Early in the second half, Barahona 1.0 tries a heel pass. At that point the failed heel pass puts NW at 0 for 4 for this type of unnecessary trickery. Later in the match we would elevate that to 0 for 5. Probably reason enough to drop that type of magic for now. Eusebio fails to go up for a header challenge which earns him the encouragement "Come on you little yard gnome" from Coach Duerksen. Six minutes into the second act, a crisp pass from Tim to Taylor and then from Taylor to Clay ends up on the left side inside the frame for the 4-0 lead. Clay redeems himself after scoring a nice goal from an offside position late in the first half. All 17 Varsity players get significant playing time. Travis and Brayton both get a couple of scoring opportunities and at certain times, five (!) freshmen crowd the pitch for NorthWood. Halfway thru the second half, Tim challenges the Cougars' # 19 and fakes him out in the right corner which puts the LCA defender on his back like a turtle spinning on his shell. In the 66th minute of play, LCA #10 takes a shot from about 30 yards out and Kyle has to make a tipping save by putting the ball over the crossbar to preserve the shutout. A NorthWood cross from the left, swings in the area where both Eusebio and Bennet Parker have taken up space. Eusebio misses the header, Parker catches the ball(???!!!). I guess the only thing he didn't do was sign the ball. It was probably an attempt to impress coach Duerksen with his back up GK skills........in the wrong box! In the 76th, Taylor receives a ball in the box but lets it get too far outside and misses the shot. He does learn from his mistake because in the same minute Bennet Parker now decides to use his feet and passes a nice ball to Taylor on the other side of the box. Taylor lets the ball come across his body and shoots it between the pipes (without hitting them)for a 5-0 score. Eschelman, Connor Miller, Brayton Taylor, Travis, Isaac and Ethan all played well filling in for the starters and are all getting valuable playing time. Their contribution is beyond expectation already. A free kick by LCA #10 (him again)challenges Kyle but a dive to his left keeps the "0" for the home team on the scoreboard.

NOTES Tay Tay and Clay both scored two goals, Tad got one. Kyle got the second shutout of the season (17th overall in his career). It was good to see another good defensive effort thanks to solid play by Dennyz, Dyksen (excellent game), Beebe and Tad. Efforts like this will give the team a lot of opportunity for wins. Despite scoring 5 goals, we probably failed to connect 12-13 times so there is room for improvement when it comes to scoring efficiency. Part of today's practice will focus on shooting (and hopefully scoring, sorry Kyle). The Varsity's record is 2-1-0 going into Thursday's NLC showdown with Northridge at home. That game has a 5 pm JV kick off, to be followed at 6:45 for the Varsity matchup. Both teams will practice at the game field today from 3:30 - 5:15 (or so). Captain's Club Tailgate tickets need turned in today as well.