Seven seniors played their last game on their home turf. And all but one (Tim Escoto, concussion) would start. Kyle Dijkstra in goal, Thadeus Chamberlain on defense, Eusebio Pantoja, Clayton Seitz and Travis Fleetwood in the middle and Taylor Wegmiller occupied the striker position. The first half went back and forth with both teams creating opportunities. Kyle kept us in the game with several good saves. In the 14th Brayton Taylor receives the ball on the right side and with a nice strike delivers the ball to Taylor Wegmiller near the penalty box perimeter. The Bethany keeper decides to come out and without hesitation, Taylor hits the ball on the frame over the goalie for a beautiful goal, 1-0! This was also Brayton's 5th assist of the season. In the 20th, the same Taylor (Wegmiller) receives a yellow caution. Whatever the foul was ( we had seen worse before and sure saw a lot worse later) did not warrant a yellow but it wouldn't be the refs last screw up. As a matter of fact, we really did not get a lot of calls going our way, period. The second half had a different feel to it then the first. Bethany seemed to have more energy then the Panthers and even though the seniors worked hard, things didn't seem to gel as well as they did before the tea. Kyle had to step up and make quite a few tough saves to keep us in the game. Fifteen minutes into the second half, Bethany tied the game at 1-1 and in the 58th, Kyle had to dive on a Bruin forwards' foot to prevent another goal. In the 62nd minute, Bethany attacked on the left flenk and a floater made it to one of their forwards who deposited the ball into the net for the final score of 1-2.
Bethany is a good team with a lot (10)of seniors and some very solid players. Unfortunately we were not able to come back and tie or win the game but the fact remains that we are a dangerous team that can strike at any minute, so we have never really been out of any games (with the exception being Central 2nd half) this year. The focus will be on Sectionals now where we will once again face Plymouth at Plymouth for the third time this year (both pre-season and regular season games ended in 1-4 wins). It will be a tough game for NorthWood. Plymouth is a team with little talent but they play very physical and at times we will depend on good and fair calls from referees so it does not get out of hand and in all honesty, I have not been impressed by the level of officiating this year.
All players are healthy for Monday. The bus will leave at 4:45 from the High School. The game will start at 6 pm and will be the only Sectional game played that night. The winner advances to the 7pm contest against Culver Academies on Wednesday night.
On a personal note, I have seen these seniors grow up since all of them are Kyle's friends and so this senior night was a little different for me. To not see Kyle and his friends back on that field in a NorthWood shirt is somewhat sad to me. I remember when they all played for Ryan on the JV and they always got along and had a lot of fun on and off the field. And quite a few of them even played for Ryan and Angie in the Kiwanis League. When I looked at the pictures last night and saw how they even changed a lot since their freshman year, I remember them from way before their freshman year and so I have always felt a close connection to these boys and I will really, really miss them. But before I start to choke myself up, we still have some work to do boys; after all, the exciting part of the season starts with Sectional play on Monday. And I for one, don't want it to end just yet. Practice today is at the game field, and yes we will focus on PK's today for a little bit but let us not get to that on Monday!
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