Argos Invite Tournament Information

The Argos Tournament will take place on Saturday September 10th, 2016. NorthWood drew Lakewood Park Christian. That game will start at 3 pm. The game before us is between Argos and Glenn. The winner of these two games will play in the final at 8 pm, the losers will face off at 6 pm.

Concord-NorthWood pics

Concord-NorthWood 5-0 (1-0)

The second NLC match up does not yield the result we are hoping for. Four goals in a short period of time early in the second half, nullify a decent first half effort. The Panthers fall to 2-2-0 (0-2-0 in NLC). For the second game in a row, the JV comes up short but plays well. Concord's JV defeats NW 3-2. The NW goals come from Trent Edwards (Corbin Taylor assist from a corner) and Jerson Sanchez-Baires. The JV falls to 0-2-0 but has played well and were in both games until the final whistle. Next up: Thursday September 8 (next week) at Wawasee. The Varsity will play first due to the fact that Wawasee does not have a lighted field. The JV will start at the conclusion of the Varsity contest. NOTES: No injuries to report so a full squad will practice today. Since we played Monday night, the Tuesday practice will conclude at 5 pm.

NorthWood-Northridge 1-2 (1-2)

With the stands about filled to capacity and additional spectators crowding the area around the bleachers with folding chairs, the NorthWood Panthers get ready to measure themselves against their first NLC opponent and not an easy one at that. The Raiders field a Varsity that has 9 seniors starting tonight's contest. Northridge sports a deceiving 1-1-1 record (4-1 win over Bethany Christian, a 0-0 draw vs. Penn and a 3-2 loss to Elkhart Central)coming into tonight's game.FIRST HALF- Both teams try to settle in to the game with Northridge dictating play early on. The Raiders attack over the flanks and bring numbers up the middle. Defensively we struggle in the first minutes of the match. In the 7th minute, a hard NR shot forces Cody to dive to his right and he stops the effort but is unable to corral the ball. The rebound lands in front of Northridge's #13 (Tre Marvel) who makes no mistake and kicks the ball into the net for a 0-1 early lead. It takes the Panthers a while to settle down after the goal and most passes are not very accurate. Play gets a little chippy and the result is a 19th minute foul that results in a yellow caution for Kyle Luster. Two minutes later, the Raiders score their second goal when a midfielder goes thru the NW defense and scores on Cody but another Northridge attacker is deemed off side as he is considered involved in play so the goal is disallowed. The score remain 0-1. Northridge's # 6 (Blyly) complains about everything and everybody which aggravates just about everyone including coach Duerksen who in an effort to help the guy says "I got a Kleenex here for you Buddy!!!". In the 31st NR #20 Zach Yoder goes by Dylan Weldy (the player, not the manager) and at our keeper and puts the ball into the goal for a 0-2 lead. Despite being down two goals, NorthWood starts to play better. In minute 38, a pass to the right wing lands in front of Landon. With a really nice slip pass, he reaches Eli Aukerman. The older Auky goes into the box and at the keeper. With a move to his right, Eli goes around the GK and goes towards the empty goal. He makes no mistake and cuts the NR lead in half, 1-2 9great composure!).HALF TIME- Overall the first half performance is decent but we need to decrease the defensive mistakes, make better passes and play tougher. Coach Duerksen points out the fact that NR goes wide and bring numbers in the middle. Hopefully the adjustment will make it easier to defend NR attacks. SECOND HALF- Despite the fact that neither team scores another goal in the second half, the game turns out be one of the most entertaining ones we have seen at our home field. It certainly was one of our best defensive performances in a long time. Because we defend a lot, our counter attacks are important but unfortunately, we are unable to score another goal. Our midfield and defense play a fantastic second half and do not allow another NR goal. Dylan, Kyle, Josh, Jadon and Mason play, as coach Duerksen put it, like men! Brock comes in to relieve Mason and does a great job. Juan is a box to box workhorse. Eli does a nice job in center midfield and Landon, Lucas and Kyle work hard in the middle and do their job very well. Jaron works his rear end off, gets a couple of little opportunities and gets off a couple of shots (one of them a laser). All our subs do a nice job; Micah -our utility player who can play ALL positions-, Trent, Jerson and Skyler all come in and get minutes. Never does the level of play drop which says a lot for the entire team. Cody keeps a clean sheet in the second half and makes a couple of unbelievable saves. All in all, we play well and we show what we are capable of doing. Now we just need to continue this level of play on a consistent basis. Tonight we put in a great performance (especially in the second half) and if we can do this consistently, we can become a great team. NOTES: The JV plays its first game of the season and gets the same end result as the Varsity be it in a different manner however. The JV ties the score 1-1 (Jerson goal) but then gets scored on again. The play was pretty good especially considering that it was our first JV game of the season. Undoubtedly, we will get some wins soon. The Varsity record stands at 2-1-0, The JV at 0-1-0. During the varsity game, the center ref seemed distracted by some off the field situations such as a photographer not being where he should be and some parked cars having headlights turned on that needed turned off but other then that, the men in blue did a pretty good job overall. Next up: Away game at Concord (tomorrow, Saturday 8/27) with a 10 am JV start and a 11:45 Varsity kick off.

Game Day #3

Matchday 3 features the first NLC game of the 2016 season. Northridge has a 1-1-1 record thus far and comes off a 4-1 win earlier this week against Bethany Christian. The Panthers are 2-0-0 and have faced two weak opponents in the first two weeks of the season. Tonight's game will tell us how far we have come or how far we have to go. With NW's fairly inexperienced lineup, it will be interesting to see how the Panthers respond to a usually physical Raiders team. The JV game starts at 5 pm. It will be our JV's first game of the season. The Varsity contest is slated for 6:45 pm. Hopefully we will draw a good crowd tonight to cheer on both our squads. GO PANTHERS!!!!!

Angola-NorthWood pics

POST GAME SPEECH BY COACH DUERKSEN TOO LONG OF A BUS RIDE FOR SOME.......

Angola - NorthWood 0-10 (0-4)

About 60 fans total show up for a Noon contest on a Saturday afternoon about 13 miles from Ohio. The weather forecast looks ominous so we try to start early. With four flags to pick from, we listen to the National Anthem.The field has some interesting points of interest. With the Varsity field deemed unplayable, we are demoted to play on the (dry) JV field. The field itself has no semi circle by the corner flags, it has cement markers at each corner and it has the same cement square markers at the corners of the 18 yard boxes. To top it all off, the PK spot is an actual round steel plate (it is worth mentioning because it becomes part of the game early on). It is windy as well, which plays a part in the game as well, this time, late in the game. The Hornets' program is obviously struggling with getting enough players to come out. FIRST HALF- This report is mainly a game summary due to the fact that the Panthers score early and often this Saturday afternoon. NW starts out with a bang when in the second minute, Matt Thornton slices a pass thru the defense to Jaron Mullet. Jaron goes at the Hornets GK and decidedly puts it over the line, 0-1. In the very next minute, Landon does the same as Matt but from the opposite side. Again, the recipient is Jaron who, again, scores. The 0-2 is remarkable because the Landon Parker cross lands on the steel PK spot, bounces way up but Jaron stays with the ball and volleys it hard into the net. A one on one in the 6th gives Jaron a shot at a third goal and would have been the fastest hat trick in NW soccer history but the Angola keep comes up with a big save. We have to wait until the 25th minute for the scoreboard to change. Brock Lechlitner crosses a great ball towards the box. The GK punches the ball but the ball ends up in front of Juan who shoots and scores, 0-3. A 27th minute laser from Matt goes over by way of the crossbar. From the middle of the field it is Jaron who pushes a nice ball in the channel to Juan who makes no mistake, 0-4. Right before the half, an Angola player tries to get the ball over Cody who is at about the 6 but a timely save keeps a chance at a shutout intact. HALF TIME Only some minor points are addressed such as dealing with a strong wind and using our outside midfielders. SECOND HALF= With the score at 0-4 this will be a game where all players will get significant playing time with the exception of Corbin Taylor who is on the bench and was placed on the concussion protocol yesterday during practice after he kissed the pitch a little bit on the hard side (courtesy Mason Mast). It is mainly as a precaution and the hope is tat he will be ready to go again next Thursday. Corbin might actually do better now on the concussion test then he did for the baseline test. The second half nets another six goals. Some of these are by first time scorers. Here is the summary; 44"- Dylan Weldy cross (assist), header Juan Pantoja 0-5, 49"- Jaron Mullet pass (assist) to Juan Pantoja 0-6, 50"- Eli Aukerman assist to Landon Parker 0-7, 70"- Eli Aukerman assist (great thru ball) to Jerson (also assist) who finds Trent Edwards (freshman, first NW career Varsity goal), 0-8. 78" Kyle Luster assist (soccer program will let him kick!)to Jason McPherson (Senior, first career NW Varsity goal) and finally in the 79"- Eli gets his first goal of the season off a Juan Pantoja assist. Worth mentioning is the almost goal from GK Cody Cripe. His punt in the 60th minute bounces near the opponents box and requires a save from the opposing goalie to prevent a NW goal. Cody Cripe gets his second sht out of the season and the Panthers move to 2-0-0 with GF 18, GA 0. Next up: Thursday August 25 at home versus the Northridge Raiders. This will be the Panthers' first NLC contest of the season.

NW - TV Pics

NorthWood -Tippy Valley 8-0 (3-0)

A nice crowd (over 130) shows up for an easy season opener against Tippy Valley. The Vikings don't really look the part in the tri-colored shirts. An interesting wardrobe choice that gets (too) many accolades from Coach Douwsma. A large Tippy Valley squad manages more line changes (1) than goals tonight. The tall grass does not bother the Panthers as they get off to a quick start. A Juan Pantoja slalom into the box in the 3rd (!) minute results in what would turn out to be the only goal the Panthers will need tonight. All the rest of the scoring is icing on the cake. Juan actually puts his stamp on the first half with another shot at the goal that touches the far post. The ball gets a nice easy tip in from Jaron for his first but not last goal of the night. The second goal is scored in the 14th minute and 8 minutes later, Juan adds another goal with a low shot to the left of the goal. 3-0 is the half time score. The opponent is not very impressive and it is obvious that they are in the early stages of building their program. The second half starts with a one on one opportunity for Eli but the keeper prevents a quick restart goal. The best team goal comes in the 44th when Juan finds Landon wide on the left who then places the ball just outside the 18 and in front of Jaron. Jaron doesn't hesitate and fires a laser into the ropes for 4-0 lead. Two minutes later, Jaron takes another shot that explodes on the crossbar before it goes out of play. A Jaron Mullet dribble ends in the 6 yard box but gets mishandled by the Vikings defense, the ball pops up and Jaron takes advantage of the defensive indecision and heads the ball over the Tippy Valley goalie for a 5-0 lead. Juan gets the next assist when he passes a ball in the 57th to Jerson who connects for the 6th NW goal. In the 65th, Micah , who has missed some opportunities, assists Lukas Aukerman who signs for goal number 7.One minute later it is #5 Corbin who hits the woodwork. The panthers have one more goal left in their repertoire when Corbin passes a nice ball to Jerson who fnds the ropes for his second goal of the night. The Varsity record stands at 1-0-0. The next game will be an away game this coming Saturday vs. Angola. The bus leaves the High School at 10 am. Fridays practice will be from 3:30-5. The saturday contest is Varsity contest only. Goal scorers : Jaron Mullett -3, Juan Pantoja - 2, Jerson Sanchez - 2, Aukerman, L-1.

Game Day #1

A new season means new opportunities. On the menu tonight is the first game of the season versus Tippy Valley. The Vikings have a soccer program that has not been around for very long. The game kicks off at 5 pm and is a home game. NorthWood's home games are played at the soccer field behind Nappanee ELementary. Game time temps are predicted to be around the 80 degree mark, perfect weather to take in a High School Varsity soccer game. Hope to see everyone tonight. GO PANTHERS!!!!

TWINS

This week in NW Soccer features two games, both Varsity only contests at that. On Thursday August 18, the Panthers host the Vikings of Tippecanoe Valley at 5 pm. Saturday NW will travel to Angola (10 pm departure) for a 11:45 kick off. Hope to see you there. Game report to follow on Friday!

2016 Alumni Game and Red-Black scrimmage

With the three top scorers as well as the GK with the most shutouts in NorthWood history on the field, some entertaining soccer was played in blistering conditions. With 26 former players and coaches attending, it was a nice mix of past players, graduating anywhere from 2000-2016. With five goals in the first game and another 4 in the Red-Black scrimmage, the scoring was not lacking Thursday night. It took a handball in the last minute of the Red-Black game for the home team to record the equalizer. Eli put the ball in the right corner to get the 2-2 draw. With four practices left to go until the first game of the season we have our work cut out for us. Last night answered some questions the coaches had when it comes to positions people will or can play. A good performance overall for sure and with some more hard work ahaed, we are hoping to be ready for game #1 next Thursday.

ALUMNI GAME & RED-BLACK SCRIMMAGE INFORMATION

There will not be a regular practice after school today, August 11. At 5:30, the annual Alumni Game will take place. About 20 former NorthWood soccer players and coaches will play each other at the game field. The game will consist of two 25 minute halves. At 6:30, there will be a short parent meeting. The Red-Black scrimmage will start around 7 pm.

2016 PUGG Tournament

This past Friday, on the last day of two-a-days, the annual PUGG Tournament was held. The 5v5 tournament fielded 6 teams. On paper, teams like Luster City and Sporting Mullett seemed to be able to contest for the title but it was Atletico Juan who demanded the runner up trophy. The coaches and Jaden, playing for Duerksen FC, were however undefeated again and took the PUGG trophy for a second consecutive season.