NorthWood - Concord 0-6 (0-1)

10" 0-1, 54" 0-2, 71" 0-3, 71" 0-4, 78" 0-5, 79" 0-6.

Game Day #4

NorthWood will host Concord on Saturday August 28 (tomorrow). JV start is at 10 am, Varsity at 11:45. Cody Cripe will be wearing the Honorary Captain band after his heroic performance against Northridge last night. One other reminder for both teams: Team Dinner/Senior Celebration at Brayton's & Corbin's house at 4 pm tomorrow. Bring your swimsuit if you would like to swim. Both Lingle and AC are still out with broken bones in their feet. Today's Varsity practice is at the game field and will be light and short (done by no later than 5 pm), the JV will be at the High School.

Northridge - NorthWood 1-1 (0-0)

Todd Woodworth field is the site of the first NLC matchup of the 2015 season. The legendary former Northridge coach is on hand to cheer on his Raiders along with a large Northridge student section. The Panthers have a large traveling fan contingent in the stands as well. The JV plays a decent game but does not get a result to match it, they lose 2-0 to go 1-2 on the season. The Panthers start the game for the first time in the new 2015 black and red striped kit. FIRST HALF- With Skirts McGhee starting on the bleacher side as the AR, the game gets underway a few minutes late. NorthWood starts off with high pressure and conquers the ball from the Raiders quickly. High energy from the red & black in the early going gives us possession and in the 7th, Pipp takes the first shot at the NR keeper, the ball gets redirected in the box and Eli takes a hard shot that requires a save from the Raiders GK. For the first 15 to 18 minutes or so, the Panthers control the game. The rest of the half the game gets played mostly in the middle third and neither team threatens consistently. HALF TIME - Coach Duerksen talks about the work rate that needs to improve. It seems that when teams are fairly equal, the team with the highest workrate, has the best chance to walk off the pitch with a "W". Organization in the back needs shored up, especially since the bench (read: coaching staff) is not there to assist. SECOND HALF- Our best chance presents itself soon after play resumes when a Tony-Brayton combination sees the older Taylor take the ball thru the defense, in the box and at the goal. At the last second, the ball gets under Brayton's foot and he is unable to execute a shot on the frame. The 45th minute is the start of what would turn out to be the Cody Cripe Show. A long distance shot requires the Panther back stop to dive and make a save. Before the next Cripe intervention, it is Dennyz (or Denny if you are a Northridge announcer) who challenges late for a ball and as a reward, gets a yellow caution. The referee comes to the sideline and explains it was his third foul. Despite protests that it was more of an accidental foul, he insists it was his third. I am still going thru the IHSAA rule book and thus far have been unable to find the line "a third foul will and shall ALWAYS, NO MATTER WHAT, result in a yellow card, even if coaches contest it!!" Northridge takes the majority of the possession at this point in the game and starts to press. In the 50th, a nice cross in the box requires Cody to make another diving save. A free kick is awarded to Northridge in the 55th. Despite some warnings before the game, the NW defense falls asleep, does not pay attention to the quick restart. The entire center of our defense is left open. The gaping hole gets filled by a couple of NR forwards who, after an initial shot, place the redirect in the net, 1-0. In the 70th, the wheels seem to come off when a PK gets awarded to the Raiders after a NW foul inside the 18. But the wheels stay on thanks to Cody. The fairly well taken penalty to the keeper's right gets blocked by Cody and the rebound does not go in either. Jaron comes in the game in the 71st and one of his first encounters with the ball is the one that hits him in the eye. Jaron comes off, unable to open his right eye. With the deficit still at one, NR keeps the pressure on our defense. Cody makes unbelievable stops in the 73rd, 75th and 77th to keep us in the game. Coach Duerksen tells Douwsma that "we need a miracle!". Ask and you shall receive!!! A NW attack in the 80th nets us a corner. Eli, who has been spot on with corners all night, places the ball near post. Dennyz's foot meets up wit the ball and the shot makes the ball go across the goal line but comes back out to the right of the goal. The ball bounces around and several players attempt to strike the ball. The keeper is around the ball as well but the last redirect lands in front of David who decidedly places the ball against the ropes. 1-1 with 28 ticks left on the clock!!!!! A miracle it is!!! Play is not stopped by the center ref until the ball crosses the line the second time. Official scoreline; David goal, double assist to Eli & Dennyz. This is the one time we do not hear Coach Duerksen say that a tie is like kissing your sister. This draw feels much more like a great result. To come back after being down away at Northridge is not a bad way to start the NLC conference schedule! NOTES- The Varsity's record is 1-1-1 (0-0-1). Next up: Concord tomorrow at home. JV kicks off at 10 am, Varsity at 11:45. Referee Rating : B+.

Gameday #3

Today we travel to Middlebury to play our first Northern Lakes Conference opponent, Northridge. The Raiders have played 3 games so far this season. Both home games were victories (Bethany Christian 5-2 and Penn 2-0). Their loss came this past Saturday versus Elkhart Central (1-0). The Raiders play a possession style game and after having scouted their game against Central, it looks like their style of play under the new coach is not much different from how they played under the old coach. The Panthers are dealing with a couple of injuries; the JV lost Luke Lingle for the season with a fracture in his foot and the Varsity still has to do without the services of AC. His broken foot is healing and we are hopeful to see him back on the training ground Monday or Tuesday. Directions to Woodworth Field: Take SR 19 north to the US 20 Bypass and go East. The Northridge soccer field is located right off of US 20 on the north side of the road PAST the new High School and before you get to the Essenhaus. The JV starts at 5 pm, Varsity around 6:45 pm. The bus leaves from the back of the Pit at 3:45 pm, players need to be there by 3:30 pm. Anyone needing treatment before the game, needs to see Paul right after school. GO PANTHERS!

New Away Kit unveiled this morning!

The new Nike NorthWood Away Kit was presented to the Varsity this morning. The black and red vertical striped jersey sports white numbers on front and back. The new kit, which can be worn with both the black and white shorts will see the field for the first time tomorrow when we face the Northridge Raiders in Middlebury. It will be NorthWood's first NLC matchup of the season.

Varsity Reminder

Varsity meets with Coach Duerksen in his room at 7:30 am Wednesday morning. Donuts and orange juice available for consumption!

NorthWood - Angola 5-0 (4-0)

A picture perfect start to the Saturday match, literally!( The Varsity was summoned to show up early for pictures). With nothing but blue skies and the stands filled with a nice size Saturday crowd, it is time to start the winning part of the season. Despite several efforts, the sounds system does not cooperate with our announcer Randy Cripe and so he sees no option but to forego the playing of the Star Spangled Banner even though someone somewhere whistles the anthem until about "O'er the ramparts" and then decides to call it a day. It also needs to be noted that now AC has copied coach Duerksen's hair style. Not sure if anyone else will follow or if this is just one player who accidentally made a bad hair decision. FIRST HALF - As soon as the ball leaves the center circle, it is NorthWood who dictates the flow of the game. High pressure and good fill in gives the Panthers a lot of ball possession right from the start. Already in the 4th, the first opportunity presents itself near the box when Eli gets some room and shoots but misses to the left of the far post. In the 7th, Isaac crosses a ball in the offensive third, Brayton's strike misses the goal as well. In the 11th, Isaac shot misses to the left. In the 12th, Eli delivers a ball to Brayton who takes a nice hard shot at the goal but the ball goes over. In the 14th the Panthers finally get a result. The corner by Eli goes to Isaac. Despite all the practice on the training ground on this particular corner, it seems that Eli's delivery is a little off but it still makes it to the peel off runner Isaac. Isaac attempts to take the ball towards goal but his effort is stopped by a foul, PK! Dennyz takes the PK and rips the ball hard in the upper 90. Asked at the half if that is where he planned on putting it, he responds: "That's my area coach!". A mere 120 seconds later, Brayton picks up where he left off last season by assisting Pipp who decidedly uses his inside step to put the ball in the net for a NorthWood 2-0 lead. Brayton decides to add another assist when he kicks the ball at the keeper in the 25th, the mishandled ball comes off the goalkeepers gloves; trashman Jaron know how to clean up and puts the ball over the goal line, 3-0. In the 34th, Jaron wants to be added to the assist sheet as well when he lays a ball off to Derek in the box, Derek's shot finds the net for the 4-0 half time score. HALF TIME- The focus in the second half needs to be on keeping up the pressure and presenting ourselves in passing lanes. SECOND HALF- In the 46th, Juan tackles a Hornet. The man in purple is not necessarily too charmed by the tackle and keeps Juan down on the ground. As the two enjoy being tangled up, Juan decides that enough is enough and tries to get back up. Johnny Purple holds him down and Juan shoves his face down towards the grass. It is only then that the official gets involved and warns both players without issuing cards. In the 49th, Brayton takes his best shot of the game. After some nice moves, cuts and turns, he rips the ball onto the crossbar. It takes Angola 55 minutes before they get their first corner kick. The Hornets are not really dangerous and it is a struggle to come up with any real saves for Cody. From about 40 plus out, Brayton decides to go solo in minute 75. It is easy for Brayton to get away from the last defender with his great ball control and speed. He goes one on one with the keeper and with composure puts the ball in the back of the net for the final score, 5-0. A complete team effort that saw all field players get significant playing time. Easton held his own on "D" as did Josh who played a lot of minutes. Dylan has been playing strong in the back which gives us options on midfield with the ability to put the regulars there in addition to Juan and Matt. Matt and Jaron are turning into players who can play almost all positions but goalkeeper. Speaking of those two, it was for both of them their first goals scored for NorthWood in a varsity contest. NOTES- Eshelman received a yellow card (probably one of the few errors made by this referee) for a normal tackle. Dennyz Barahona will be our next Honorary Captain after his hard work Saturday. Next up is Northridge on Thursday August 27. This is an away game in Middlebury for both JV and Varisty. The JV kicks off at 5 pm, to be followed around 6:45 by the Varsity. Northridge lost to Central on Saturday (1-0) but looks tough and very organized. Coaches Duerksen and Dijkstra as well as Dennyz, David, Isaac and Brayton scouted that game Saturday. The Varsity's record is 1-1-0, same goes for the JV after they got a forfeit win over Angola Saturday.

>ONE OF THE LAST NORTHWOOD ATTACKS OF THE DAY Referee Rating: B (YC unwarranted).

Game Day #2

Tomorrow is Game Day #2. It is a Varsity only contest. Note the time change. The game has been moved from a Noon kick off to an early morning 10 AM (Saturday) start. Angola has no JV so the JV contest will not be played. Angola comes off a 3-0 loss versus Westview last night. Both teams will be looking for their first win of the year. Cody will be guarding our woodwork and AC is working hard on his countdown to kick off which will hopefully be the LaPorte game. All players will need to be at the field at 8:30 for some picture taking experience. Today's practice will be light and short (as usual on Fridays). The Varsity will continue its tradition to practice at the game field the day before a home game. JV will practice at the High School. We are hoping that a lot of people will wake up early Saturday and decide to enjoy the beautiful weather from the seats of the NW soccer stands.

New Scoreboard and proof that we are in the wrong dug out!

NorthWood - Elkhart Central 1-3 (1-2)

FIRST HALF -Beautiful conditions are in place for game one of the season. Low seventies, low humidity, sunny skies and a big home crowd is the setting for the start of the 2015 season. The national anthem draws a salute from behind the south goal from Logan and the end of the hymn signals the start of the game. Micah does not get much time to get used to stand between the Varsity pipes because in the second minute of the match, the Blue Blazers get to take a corner kick which requires a tip from the NW keeper to prevent a disastrous start. The back and forth long ball type of play ensues for the next several minutes. A Central attack comes close to the NorthWood box but a long (!!!!!) and precise clear from David (he is back!!!!!!) turns into a counter attack that lands in front of Isaac's feet. From about 40 yards out, Isaac takes the ball on his foot, slips by the left defender and enters the box. The Blazer GK steps out some but Isaac slots the ball near post, into the net. NW leads 1-0 in the 7th! Unfortunately the momentum swings quickly when Central attacks right away and puts in the equalizer in the 8th. It is obvious that our midfielders struggle with the fact that Central plays very direct long ball and therefore skip the midfield all together which in turn makes our midfielders run up and down the pitch without being able to support the defense and offense efficiently. In the 16th, Micah comes up big once again after stopping a Central shot from inside the box. In minute 18, another Central attack in our box has our defense mishandling the ball and a Central midfielder takes advantage of the ball not being cleared and finishes it for a 1-2 lead. HALF TIME- Adjustments are made at the half, most pertaining to basic defending and holding on to balls and waiting for support.Another emphasis was placed on matching the physical play of Central. SECOND HALF- Right from the whistle, Central brings the ball up the middle but a somewhat clumsy or late tackle from Juan takes out the Central midfielder. All of a sudden, the referee decides that he will test his whistle........it works! But to everyone's surprise, Juan gets a yellow caution. After all the man in red allowed in the first half, he now for some odd reason decides to disallow. A poor decision, considering it is Juan's first foul and we have seen about 15 similar fouls against us in the first half without even getting a free kick. When minutes later, Central levels one of our players AFTER the ball has been played, Coach Duerksen and Dijkstra protest the foul, the coach (probably Duerksen since he typically is louder)receives a yellow card. In the 45th, Micah has to come up big once again to keep us in the game with a fantastic one handed stop even though the Central coach screams "GOAL!!" while the shot goes at Micah. In the 50', Matt gets tackled from behind. In order to make sure we finally get a free kick, he rolls and rolls and rolls. The final count on the number of rolls was, I believe, seven! Derek keeps working hard all game and pays the price by taking a shot to the jaw. Unable to close his mouth, he comes off the field. Eshelman plays out of his mind the entire game and Jaron and Dylan give us valuable minutes off the bench. Micah keeps us in the game with several other good saves but in the 60th minute of play a Central pass across the goalmouth does not get the proper attention and lands in front of a Central forward who places the ball over the line for the final score, 1-3. NOTES- Our first honorary Captain was Matt Pippinger, after the Central game, Coach Duerksen awards Derek Parker as the honorary Captain for the Saturday game versus Angola for his hard work. Coach Douwsma should have received a yellow for picking the wrong bench. We sat on the visitor's bench and starting Saturday, we will be back on the other bench. The JV lost its first game 2-8. The NW goals came from Jadon Steinmetz and Lukas AUkerman. The JV record is 1-1-0 (the win is the forfeit this Saturday vs. Angola). The Varsity contest on Saturday has been moved to 10 AM due to the fact that Angola does not have a JV. Thanks to the NorthWood student body for coming out in such large numbers!!! When the Central fans were cheering loud for their Blazers, they were soon drowned out by the NW student section!!! NEW THIS SEASON : Coach Dijkstra rates the Center Referee: Tonight's Referee receives a C+. He passed, but barely!

Gameday #1

Tonight's game is the season opener for both NorthWood and Elkhart Central. The Panthers are coming off a 6-10-3 season and are the reigning 2A Plymouth Sectional Champions. Last year's Sectional crown was NorthWood's 5th sectional championship overall. NorthWood returns 15 lettermen. The Blue Blazers of Elkhart Central return 12 lettermen and posted a 16-3 record last year. Both teams have looked solid in the pre-season. NorthWood lost only one game in the 7v7 tournament when playing its varsity (vs. state champion Goshen) and lost only one game in the 4 pre-season games in two tournaments. That loss came against a very good Mississippi squad on a penalty kick. AC won't be able to start as he is still recovering from the broken foot he suffered during Bethel's soccer camp over the summer. We hope to have him back inside the lines for the LaPorte game. Game time temperatures are predicted to be at 73 degrees with no rain in the forecast. It will be windy however. Hopefully a large crowd will support our boys in what promises to be a challenging contest. The JV game starts at 5 pm, the Varsity contest should start around 6:45 pm.

PRACTICE WEDNESDAY 8/19/15

The Varsity will practice at the game field this afternoon while the JV will train at the High School. Typically, the Varsity will train at the game field the day before a home game. The Varsity practice should be done around 5:15 pm.

2015 Car Wash

The annual car wash fundraiser was another succes due to great weather and great washers and dryers!

Dutch Touch Blog 2015

For all of you who are new to the blog, here is what all the fuss is about. This blog is by far the best and funniest NW soccer blog you will read this season. Mainly because it is the only NW soccer blog. Not mainly actually, it is the only reason and then again, it is questionable in itself if it is even funny. Maybe only to the writer himself. I try to inform you about the issues that deal with the team, practice time changes, game time changes etc.. Anything that we think you need to be aware of as it pertains to the Varsity and JV, we try and post it here. After a lot of games, I will write a small synopsis of what the game was about (from my flawed perspective of course). Mostly after wins. I find little or no inspiration to write after a loss. On gamedays, I usually re-state the obvious such as game time and other information about the team.Hopefully you will enjoy the blog and GO PANTHERS!

2015-2016 Season Preview

The Varsity starts the season Thursday with a home contest against the Blue Blazers. And the Blue Blazers are not the only tough team on the Panthers' schedule. A revamped schedule that include new opponents (scrappy) Angola (after a hiatus of about 6 years), LaPorte and Ft. Wayne Concordia. Absent on the schedule this year are Bremen, Lakeland Christian and Mishawaka. Bremen and Mishawaka joined the NIC conference and opted out of their contracts with NorthWood. Also new on the schedule and a first time opponent will be Lakewood Park Christian in the first round of the Argos Invitational. Lakewood Park Christian was 14-2-2 last season and ranked in the top 10. So there will be plenty of challenges in this tough 2015 schedule. All NLC matchups should be a physical and mental challenge. The first NLC opponent is Northridge (away) next Thursday (8/27). Twelve players who consistently started last year, are back with the team. Cody, Pipp, David (until his season ending injury vs Warsaw), Connor, Juan, Dylan, Dennyz, Derek, Brayton, Isaac, AC (out until LaPorte game due to broken foot) and Eli are all returning/starting lettermen. Other players who saw Varsity playing time and who are back as well are Josh, Tony and Micah. Additional seniors on this year's squad are Easton and Mario. We are looking forward to a season with lots of "W's" and hope that all the challenging games will prepare us for a succesful run while we defend our Sectional title. The Panthers will host 7 games this season (5 of the first 6 games will be home games)and be on the road for 8 games (2 of those at the Argos tournament). We hope to see a lot of support for both the JV and Varsity. It will be our largest senior class in a long time and we hope that all parents, friends, girlfriend, grandparents and great grandparents and NW students come out for all home contests!

CHANGE FOR SATURDAY 8/22/15

Angola has forfeited the JV game for this Saturday. The JV game was scheduled for 10 am, followed by the Varsity game around 11:45. The new starting time for Varsity is now 10 am.Congratulations to Coach Douwsma on his first win this season, Easy Peasey Lemon Squeezy!

2015-2016 NorthWood Men's Soccer Varsity schedule

2015-2016 Varsity Schedule

2015-2016 Season underway

Two-a-days have concluded and we are starting our second week of practice. This week we will be at the practice field on Monday and Wednesday from 3:30 pm til 5:30 pm. On Tuesday the Varsity will practice at the game field from 3:30-5:30. We will also get the game field ready. Thursday will feature the Red/Black game which will be preceded by the annual alumni game. The alumni game kicks off around 6 pm, the Red/Black game around 7 pm. The Red/Black scrimmage will be followed by a short parent meeting by the bleachers. Friday will be a regular end of the week practice which starts at 3:30 pm but will conclude between 5-5:30. Saturday is the car wash at LJ Wagner. We still need some supplies (car wash soap) and nozzles. The car wash starts at 10 am and gets over at 1 pm. Players will need to be present around 9:30. All players will work the 3 hour car wash.