TWINS

The last regular week of the soccer season starts with a 7 pm away contest tonight (Monday)at Elkhart Christian. ECA comes off a 5-0 loss to the Lakeland Lakers this past Saturday and dropped to 4-7 on the season. Tomorrow night is Senior Night when we play NLC foe Plymouth (Plymouth lost 4-2 to Northridge on Saturday). Thursday will be our last regualr season game when we visit the Bruins of Bethany Christian. Sectionals kick off next week. SInce we drew a bye in the first round, we won't see action until next Wednesday when we will play the winner of the Wawasee-Plymouth game. So realistically, we could play Plymouth twice in 8 days, sounds like last year..............

NorthWood-Concord 0-3 (0-1)

NorthWood stays winless in NLC but will try and get its first victory in NLC on Senior Night. JV loses a close contest 0-1.

Sectional 7 Draw

Game 1 Monday October 7 at 6 pm: Wawasee-Plymouth, Game 2 Wednesday October 9 at 5 pm: Warsaw-Culver Academies, Game 3 at 7 pm: NorthWood vs Game 1 winner. Saturday October 12 at 2 pm winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 3. Couldn't draw it up any better!

2013 IHSAA Sectional Draw

The Sectional Draw will be posted as soon as it has been announced by the IHSAA. Tournament play starts the week after next. Sectional #7 consists of Culver Academies, Plymouth, Wawasee, NorthWood and host Warsaw. Apprently the draws will be posted by late morning. Who said technology hasn't infiltrated the IHSAA yet; they can post an 8 am draw by late morning already?

John Glenn- NorthWood 1-0 (1-0)

The curse of the frog? John Glenn fails to score from the dot when Cody Cripe stops a PK in the 21st minute but in the 26th, Frey scores off a corner for the lone goal of the game.

John Glenn game information

John Glenn High School plays its soccer games at North Liberty Elementary School, 400 School Dr., North Liberty IN 46554. The field is behind the school and is a football field that we refer to as "Sprinklerhead Stadium". The last time we played there it was considered the worst field we would compete on by far. The field is short and narrow and could only be called a soccer field because a goal was placed on each end of the field.

JUNIOR THE SENIOR

PIZZA SLICE #2 STILL ON THE BENCH AND SLICE #1 BEING DEVOURED

Elkhart Memorial- NorthWood 2-1 (1-0)

"Boot" Dyksen picture above..................................... JV Coach Douwsma receives a yellow card at the end of the JV game (4-0 loss)courtesy of Coach Duerksen. Arbiter Rick Fischer seems to blow his top (despite him telling us he is having "a great day") but recovers in time to officiate the Varsity contest. FIRST HALF......On Memorial's senior night, NorthWood is forced to make adjustments due to Carter Dyksen's injury. What is initially a broken toe turns into a broken foot after X-rays which effectively ends Carter's season. Considering he plays a pivotal role as (senior) sweeper, Coach Duerksen is forced to revamp the defense. Connor and David become the central defenders in tonight's matchup against Memorial. The 4-3-3 sees Derek and Pipp on the flank defensive positions. NW starts 7 (!) sophomores and one freshman. It is by far the youngest NW Varsity soccer squad to ever take the field. The first 10 minutes or so go back and forth and in the 13th, Connor Miller takes his first of many good free kicks from half way down the offensive half -by this time Junior is well on his way to digesting his second large slice of pizza- into the box. The ball finds Beebe's head and the header goes over the goal. This offensive threat by NorthWood is followed by a lot of play in the middle of the third when NW has possession. When Memorial gets the ball, they quickly and directly play the ball near our defensive and for the most part, skip the entire Memorial midfield. In the 20th, a Memorial forward goes one on one with Cody. Cody does a great job by stopping the ball from going in. Unfortunately, Memorial scores their first goal in minute 33. Four minutes later, Beebe shoots at the goal from distance. The ball is on the frame and requires a save from the Memorial keeper. HALFTIME...... The break is used to tell the boys that our approach is one of simplicity, look for opportunities to get the ball in the box and create goal scoring chances.......SECOND HALF.......The first half was not a bad performance by NW but the second half starts out much better then the first. A lot of pressure, working for each other results in a lot of offensive NorthWood pressure on the Memorial defense. Numerous shots and crosses are taken and it looks for a long time that it is only a matter of time until we will score the equalizer. But a lot of midfield and offensive pressure does open one up for counter attacks and just such a quick counter attack nets the Chargers their second goal in the 69th. In the 76th, Cody Cripe makes a great save to his right with his right glove and knocks a great strike against the post and averts a 3-0 deficit. NorthWood keeps playing strong and keeps fighting. In the 80th, this tireless effort pays off when the ball keeps bouncing around in the Memorial box and after two missed opportunities the ball lands near Carter Beebe. Carter strikes the ball with decisive pace and the ball flies in the ropes right before time expires, 2-1. A great effort by a very, very young team. If this effort is put forth each time we step on the pitch, who knows what can happen. ..........NOTES....The Panthers return to action on Thursday on the road (again) against John Glenn (and probably another 10 guys)in North Liberty at 5 pm. No JV contest is scheduled. Today (Wednesday) the players have been given the day off after two tough and exhausting games. This rare day off is followed by another day off for the JV. The bus for the Varsity game tomorrow will leave the AC at 3:45 pm. Both teams return to the practice field Friday to prepare for the Concord contests.

NorthWood-Goshen 0-4 (0-2)

A poorly officiated game has a negative result for NorthWood. Goals come in the 10th, 18th (PK), 55th and 80th. The JV fails to score as well and loses 0-5. Next up tonight Memorial (away) and with a good effort and high pressure, the Panthers will try and get their first NLC win of the season. As Coack Duerksen said, 7 games in 11 days makes for a busy soccer schedule and tonight would be a good night to turn the corner.

JV Game vs Penn cancelled

Tonight's scheduled JV game against Penn has been cancelled and will not be made up. Instead, the JV will play Goshen tonight (at home, 5 pm start).

New Date Elkhart Christian Game

NorthWood will play Elkhart Christian at Elkhart Christian (Varsity only) at 7 pm on Monday 9/30/13.

TWINS

A busy week ahead in NorthWood Boys Soccer. Today Goshen will be the opponent (make up game from the cancelled game last Thursday). The JV game kicks off at 5 pm, followed by the Varsity around 6:45 pm. Elkhart Memorial is on the schedule for tomorrow (Tuesday 9/24)as an away game. Wednesday will feature a practice at the High School and will probably run from 3:30 - 5ish. Thursday the Varsity travels to Glenn for a 5 pm match (no JV game). I will post the location of the game when we find out (in the past they played at the Elementary School in New Liberty and as of late they seem to play at Newton Park). Friday will feature a normal 3:30-5ish practice and Saturday Concord pays the Panthers a visit. JV start is slated for 10 am, to be followed by the Varsity (11:45-noon start). On Friday we will also find out who our opponent will be in this year's Sectionals. The IHSAA Sectional draw will be at 8 am and will be posted here as soon as we find out. As soon as the Athletic office informs us of a make up date with Elkhart Christian (originally on the schedule for tonight), it will be posted here as well.

UPDATE!!!!!!! Goshen Game

The game against Goshen will now be played on Monday September 23. The game against Elkhart Christian is therefore cancelled for now and hopefully we can get that game rescheduled.

New date for Game vs Goshen

According to Atheltic Director Norm Sellers, our games versus Goshen will now be played on Monday 9/30/13.

Goshen Game canceled

The game versus Goshen has been canceled due to standing water on the pitch. The game will be rescheduled at a later date. No practice today, practice will resume Friday at 3:30 -5ish at the practice field.

459 photos

Visit pantherpawprints.com for 459 pictures of the NW-Wawasee game.

IHSAA Sectional Draw information

The IHSAA Sectional Draw will be held on Friday September 27 at 8 am. NorthWood plays in Sectional #7 @ Warsaw. Games will be played on October7, 9, 11 and 12. The other schools in our sectional are host Warsaw, Plymouth, Wawasee and Culver Academies.

#6 Warsaw- NorthWood 9-0 (3-0)

Goals fall in the 17th, 30th, 36th, 41st, 42nd, 44th, 47th,70th and 79th minute. Next up, # 18 Goshen at home tomorrow. Practice today at the gamefield from 3:30 - 5 pm.

TWINS

Today NorthWood travels to #6 Warsaw. It won't be the only ranked team we play this week. Goshen is ranked 18th and visits NW Thursday. The bus leaves at 3:45 this afternoon from the AC.Warsaw plays their soccer games at their High School (1 Tiger Lane, Warsaw, IN). The JV has a very busy week ahead. Besides the Tuesday & Thursday games, they will also play another two games in the Goshen Invitational Saturday. These games are slated for 9 am and noon at Goshen High School.

Argos Invitational Herron-NorthWood 2-7, Argos-NorthWood 2-0

NorthWood plays in its third Argos Invitational, the first year the tournament was won and last year Argos beat us 4-3 with a late goal. In the first game of the tournament, Argos easily beats Glenn 5-1.In the second game NorthWood is listed as the away team, Herron (Indianapolis) as the home team. It takes mere seconds (39 to be precise)for Brayton Taylor to find Bennet Parker near the Achaeans woodwork. Bennett doesn't hesitate and quickly puts the first goal on the scoreboard. Beebe plays a ball over the top of the defense in the 5th to Brandon Barahona (or Barone if you want to belive the tournament announcer) who places the ball in the left corner, 2-0. NorthWood plays up tempo pressure which in turn gives them possession of the ball the majority of the time. In the 16th, a very nice Isaac Bowser pass again finds Brandon Barahona who goes one on one at the keeper and with a lot of composure, puts the ball in the net for a very comfortable 3-0 lead. Only one minute later, Brayton shoots at the Herron goal and the keeper misjudges the velocity of the shot and dives over the ball, 4-0. Herron scores its first goal off a free kick (bad weak side marking)in the 29th, 4-1. This score does not change until the second half. NorthWood plays well in the high pressure 4-3-3 and continues to do so in the second act. The coaches get a nice compliment from the very polite Argos ballboy :"nice uniforms coach", exactly the type of comment we have been waiting for. In the 56th, Brandon crosses to Bennett Parker who heads the ball over the Herron GK to put us ahead 5-1. While Herron #23 absorbs a soccer ball in a delicate location, the continuation of play from Beebe goes to Brayton. Brayton's shot hits the ropes for a nice 6-1 lead. All 19 players play in this game. Herron threatens sporadically but in the 65th, a breakthrough turns into their second goal. Coach Duerksen puts Beebe in a forward slot and after a couple of tries, his first and NorthWood's 7th goal determine the final score at 7-2 for a spot in the 8 pm finals versus host Argos. ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................In the 6pm game, Glenn defeats Herron 3-0. ................................................................................................................................................................................Before the start of the night cap, we notice we have the same officiating crew as last year. The entire crew is from Argos, two of them -the Overmeyer brothers- played for Argos. They had a poor performance last year and should have paid their way in since they seemed to be more like supporters of the club as opposed to being independent and fair officials. The hope is that this year would be different. But it becomes evident very, very early on that this is merely a repeat performance from last year. For a full 80 minutes, hardly any Argos foul gets called (deep into the second half we only had 5 calls going our way) and almost anytime an Argos Dragon comes in contact with a NW player, a free kick is awarded. From the start, NW plays a nice high pressure which results in some opportunities. In the 8th, a nice build up and cross to Dennyz gives us our first opportunity but his shot misses the frame. In the 19th, an Argos cross lands in front of #10 Binkley who quickly takes a hard shot on goal from a small right angle. The shot flies by Cody and hits the far side net, 1-0. Josh Overmeyer, the center ref, is calling home to make sure they make room for another trophy on the mantel. In the 35th Dennyz receives a pass in the box but his ensuing shot rolls left of the goal over the endline. In the 39th, Argos scores the second goal of the half. NW keeps playing hard and never stops working hard and still creates plenty of opportunities (3 great ones in the first half alone). Much of the same in half number two. A lot of pressure, never stopping and still able to create several chances. The passing is crisp, decision making is superb most of the time, goalkeeping is timely. All in all, the best overall performance of the year. Argos is a good team (semi state finalist last year)and the match itself is entertaining. The only negative is the pathetic officiating. Right before the second goal, Argos #7 commits a very obvious pushing foul on Bennett but it is not called and the conclusion of the play results in the afforementioned 2-0. Decisions like that are very unfortunate to say the least. All in all, NorthWood has two good performances in two full games in one day. 160 minutes of pressure takes a lot out of a player. Coaches are happy with the way we play both games and if the workrate stay at this level, the results will come.

NorthWood-Wawasee 0-0 (0-0)

0-0

Argos Boys Soccer Invitational 2013

Game 1 features Argos vs. Glenn at 1 pm. Game 2 has Indianpolis Herron hosting NorthWood. Loser of game 1 will play the loser of game 2 at 6pm. The winners of the first two games will play each other at 8pm. Admission is 5 dollars for adults (4 dollars for students) and these are all day passes. The consession stand will have a variety of items and Port-a-Pit chicken is available for supporters as well.

2013 JV Goshen Invitational Saturday Sept 21 draw

NorthWood will play Plymouth at 9am at Goshen H.S. on Saturday Sept 21st. If we win, we will play the winner of Memorial-Goshen at 1:30 pm; if we lose the first game, we will play the loser of Memorial -Goshen at noon.

TWINS

Monday and Tuesday's practices have been adjusted. Today will be a regular practice starting at 3:30 at the practice field and the game film will be watched in Duerksen's room (801) on Tuesday. Since on Tuesday the temperatures will soar into the 90's with a heat index going into the 100's, it makes more sense to study the film tape. Wednesday, the Varsity will practice at the game field. Thursday's game against NLC opponent Wawasee is at home (5 pm JV, followed by Varsity at 6:45pm). Friday will be a normal 3:30 -5ish practice (or shorter). We will conclude the week with the Argos Invitational. Our first game will be against Herron. We will have additional tournament information later this week.

Mishawaka - NorthWood 0-2 (0-1)

FIRST HALF......After an encouraging JV game (1-1 draw), the Varsity contest kicks off right on time. A high energy NorthWood wastes little time to attack the Mishawaka defense. In the second minute, Brayton Taylor sneaks in near the left side of the goal and finishes a bouncer that rolls Brayton's way after Dennyz Barahona's initial shot gets semi blocked. After the 0-1 lead, NW displays a lot of possession soccer with early pressure on the Cavemen's defense and midfield. Play gets choppy at times, mainly due to a barrage of bad calls from the center ref who is obviously having a bad, bad, bad day. At least let's hope he had a bad day becasue if this is a normal performance, he should show the red card to himself. After Coach Duerksen screams at the ref because he wants the ref to allow a substitute, the ref explains it is a free kick, not a throw in and thus a sub is not allowed, Duerksen responds with :my bad".......at least he admits when he makes one which is more then we can say for this official who was assisted by a weak duo of bellybuster twins. In the 17th, a nice Brandon Barahona cross lands in the box with the ensuing scramble resulting in the ball rolling in front of Isaac Bowser who, of course, does not hesitate to take a shot. His volley like take needs a good GK save to prevent a goal. A Mishawaka free kick in minute 37 requires Cody Cripe to make a save. The 39th minute sees more action then any minute in any game should. First, Bennett Parker gets tripped in the circle but when down, Mishawaka's #4 (Stillson, who got a red last year) deems it neccesary to kick Bennett in the face (intentionally). After protests from the NorthWood bench, play goes on and when Mishawaka goes in to our box, Cody has to dive for a save. During his dive he also gets kicked in the face. Cody is bleeding from a cut above the eyebrows and has to leave the game (Tito plays the 52 seconds to take us to the half). After a lot of discussion, screaming, conversations etc., the best the ref can come up with is to give a yellow to the first face kick to #4 (and he got it becasue none of the refs knew which player did it and gave it to their "captain" who also happened to be the perpetrator). It is a good thing it is half time so everyone can calm down. This is an obvious example of referees letting a game get out of hand when all of this could have been prevented. HALF TIME......Some adjustments are made with a focus on checking to teammates and staying wide while Cody is getting medical treatment on the bench from the Mishawaka trainer. He is also checked for a concussion and consequently cleared to play the second half. SECOND HALF...... Right away, Cody is tested by Mishawaka on a shot in the 41st but Cody makes a nice save.In the 44th, a Caveman shot in the upper right, calls for a tip over the bar from Cody. In the 46th, Jesus slices thru three defenders and delivers a nice pass to Brayton. His shot gets saved by Koslowski, the Mishawaka keeper. In the 47th NorthWood gets awarded a corner. The kick bounces near the goal and Dennyz Barahona shoots and misses. Dennyz plays an excellent game, displays high energy and a workrate that seems to inspire everyone around him. In the middle of the second half, Mishawaka earns several corners. Each time their forwards and midfielders go in a huddle before they disperse after the kick is taken. Coach Duerksen tells the team to get in on the huddle when Mishawaka gets corner number three ("they will let you in" he says). None of these corners preceded by huddles have any kind of success and the strategy is lost on me. From about the 55th minute on, Mishawaka looks someone spent and the NW pressure stays high. In the 60th, a free kick for Mishawaka displays some mathematical magic from our superb center ref. From 15 yards away, he can tell that our wall is only 9 1/2 yard off the ball instead of the required 10. Pretty impressive and probably his best moment in the game, or is it. In the 75th, the center ref sees no foul when two NW defenders "squeeze" Mishawaka striker Gallegos into half his size. While tumbling down on the tall grass, the referee decides there is no PK in it for the Cavemen (lucky for us but what a bad call). Seconds later, Jesus gets the ball on our offensive third and takes it to the end line. He then finds Brayton near the 6 who, smoothly places the ball in the net for the final score; 0-2. With a jittery last 5 minutes, NorthWood is able to hold on to the lead (and shutout #3 of the season)to improve to 3-3-0. The result has a lot to do with today's workrate from everyone. Derrick Parker did a nice job shutting down the right side, Pipp the left and Dyksen and David were solid in the center part of the defense. Bennett worked hard and made some nice direct passes. Beebe did a very solid job in the middle and did a lot of work defensively (disturbing the opponent's attacks) and offensively while serving the midfielders and forwards when needed. Isaac, Ethan, Brayton, Jesus, Brandon, Brayton and Jesus interchanged a lot which is an integral part of the total football like 4-3-3 system. Jesus tracked back deep to help defensively. Dennyz worked tirelessly and it was infectuous. A good game with a good result!.........NOTES........ Monday's practice will start in Duerksen's room (801) when we will watch some film tape from todays game for about an hour. We will then go outside for the last hour. JV is now 2-2-2, Varisty 3-3-0. Next up is NLC opponent Wawasee (at home)next Thursday September 12th.

Bremen - NorthWood 3-0 (1-0)

After two very good practices hopes were high but a disappointing performance results in a disappointing loss. Bremen goals come in the 6th, 43rd (OG) and 54th minute. Next on the schedule a Mishawaka team with 9 seniors in the starting lineup. This Saturday fixture now becomes a very important one. The bus leaves tomorrow (Saturday) at 8:45 am. JV kick off at 10 am, Varsity start at noon. Games are played at Ward Baker Park in Mishawaka.

This Week in NorthWood Soccer (TWINS)

Thursday/Saturday games are on the menu this week. Thursday we will travel to Bremen to play the Bremen Lions and on Saturday we visit the Mishawaka Cavemen. Both teams are undefeated so far this season. Bremen is 5-0-0 and Mishawaka is 6-0-0. Thursday's games are at 5 (JV & V), Saturday's games are 10 am (JV) and noon (Varsity). Mishawaka is a team loaded with seniors (9). Neither team plays at their respective High Schools; Bremen plays at Jane's Park while Mishawaka will entertain us at Ward Baker Park. Today's practice will be from 3:30 - 5ish. We will try to be done early since we have a game tomorrow. The bus for Bremen will leave at 3:45 pm Thursday.

Bremen Game @ Jane's park

The games at Bremen will be played at Jane's Park on Woodies Lane in Bremen.

NorthWood JV-Westview JV 1-4

Isaac Bowser scores the lone NW goal late into the second half. The JV's record is 1-3.Next up is the away game versus Bremen. Both the JV and Varsity will play Bremen tomorrow, Thursday September 5, at 5 pm.