NorthWood - Whitko 8-0 (3-0)

After the field was set up, it was time to turn on the 2012 Warm Up CD and start getting ready for the matchup with Whitko. But somehow (Clay & Taylor were the last to "mess" with the sound system the day before)the CD would eject constantly. Fortunately WaNee's IT Director showed up and proved to all of us why he carries that title. He fixed the sound system so part of the Warm Up CD and all of the National Anthemn could be heard by all.

FIRST HALF With plenty of sun and temps in the 70's, it was time for the crowd to sit back and take in the season opener. Within seconds, the ball landed in the Whitko box where dropkick Murphy booted it back in the field of play. A Clayton Seitz pass found its way to Taylor Wegmiller in the third, who had no trouble finding the net, 1-0.

The next great opportunity came at minute 15 when Taylor went around the keeper but missed to the left. Eight minutes later, "crafty" Bennet Parker pushed the ball to Wegmiller who made no mistake this time and changed the scoreboard to 2-0. Kyle Dijkstra finally touched the ball for the first time in the 24th minute of the half. In the 29th minute, Taylor returned an earlier favor to Clay who, in turn, did not disappoint and finalized the half time score at 3-0.

HALF TIME Despite a somewhat decent first half at times, there was enough to be adjusted and corrected but simply put; NW needed to make runs off the ball, work harder and speed up the game because the first half looked like it was played in slow motion. Several players came off the bench including freshmen Brayton Taylor and David Eshelman who both played well. By the end of the night all players got time on the field and contributed. Senior Travis Fleetwood played well as did Craven, Connor and Alex.

SECOND HALF By the time we kicked off for the second half the crowd had grown to over 100 which is pretty good considering the opponent and the fact that school is not in session yet. It did not take long for the Panthers to get back on track. Clay punished a bad pass out of the back with an unassisted goal and signed for the 4-0 (43"). Two minutes later a Taylor Wegmiller shot bounced off dropkick Murphy (who by now probably had about 7 bruises on his chest from all the shots at him from Taylor). Bennet Parker was at the right spot at the right time and passed the ball simply over the goal line, 5-0. In the 50th, a rebound out of the box lands in front of Clayton Seitz who punished this defensive gaffe with a sharp shot to increase the score to 6-0. In the 60th, Eshelman decides he wants on the stat sheet as well and delivers a nice pass to Barahona 1.0 (=Brandon)who has no problem signing for the 7-0! Another freshman gets involved in an attack in the 69th minute. Connor Miller handles the ball and places it into Clay's feet who with a nice shot decides the final score; 8-0. Kyle has to perform his duty for the night in the 85th minute when a Whitko defender (!) comes up the left flank and battles with Tad. The Whitko player does get a shot off which is saved by Kyle with his right foot to preserve the shutout. The defense turned in a pretty good performance with Dyksen, Beebe, Chamberlain and Barahona 2.0 (=Dennyz). Eusebio and Tim got plenty of playing time in the midfield. It will help Tim who has been dealing with a leg injury. Eusebio turned 18 yesterday and celebrated by keeping the ball at his feet a lot. He promised to do less of that Thursday.

NOTES The Varsity will travel to Elkhart to face Elkhart Central. It will be the first time NorthWood will play at Elkhart Central. Central is 0-0-1 after a 1-1 draw Monday against LaPorte. Our JV did not play because Whitko does not field a JV. NorthWood's record is 1-0, Whitko is 0-1 for the season. The JV will play Elkhart Central at 5 pm Thursday, The Varsity will start around 6:45. REMINDER FOR ALL PLAYERS: Make sure to raise the $40 for the Car Wash Saturday (10 am -2 pm @ LJ Wagner's parking lot 8/18/12). Today's practice will be at the High School from 3:30-5:30.