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

The grass is short(er), the weather is nice and a good size crowd is on hand for the Varsity only contest tonight.FIRST HALF- With the Panthers playing with a better shape centrally, the game is dominated by us right from the start. The passing is probably a little below par mainly due to our first touch being off. The game is uneventful (on and off the field)so kind of boring perhaps until about the 18th Eli Aukerman lays the ball off to Juan Pantoja. His shot with pace is an easy save for the Eagles GK. Eli is again involved in our next opportunity when he passes the ball to Landon to the left side of the field. Landon Parker utilizes his crafty left foot to put us ahead, 1-0. An Eli to Landon combination continues with a cross from the latest (and last) Parker product. The ball lands near Juan who takes a shot but misses. The Panthers consider themselves lucky when the arbiter decides to award ECA a free kick outside the box after a Cody Cripe charge and foul (fortunately Cody only receives a yellow caution). In the last seconds of the first half, the elder Aukerman slices a ball to Juan. Juan shoots the ball hard but the shot is on the frame, literally! It hits the post and rebounds back into play but no white shirt can get to the ball. Half time score is therefore 1-0. HALF TIME - The address from Coach Duerksen mainly deals with a few issues that need cleaned up in the second half; first touch and passing. If we get our first touch under control more consistently as well as passing to feet more, we will posses the ball more. And no team has ever scored a goal while not possessing the ball so possession is crucial. SECOND HALF - Jadon takes the ball up the left flank and delivers a cross with precision in the box to Juan. Juan's header, despite using great technique, misses its mark to the right. Juan works hard all night long, disturbs the defenders, applies pressure and distributes the ball and does all of that well but gets unlucky in the finishing as does, in general, the entire team. With shots on goal in the double digits, we have only been successfull once so far. ECA gets a couple of chances, most from set pieces. Cody has to come up with a save on a few occasions but overall, he has a quiet night. In the 73rd a mini scuffle ensues in front of the main stand and the last person to shove someone (Dylan Weldy, the player) receives his first, the team's second of the night. With 4 minutes left on the clock (operated by Randy Cripe; thank you for doing the announcing and running the clock and scoreboard!!), Jaron takes a shot at the goal, the save and melee afterwards gives Jerson an opportunity to finish the attack. He does and pokes the ball over the line just inside the left post for the final score: 2-0. A solid win and a win the team desperately needed.NOTES- Next up: tonight features home game number two of the season long 4 game homestand against another ranked NLC opponent, Memorial. JV kicks off at 5, followed by a 6:45 Varsity start. The Varsity record improves to 4-7. The JV traveled to Penn last night and lost 4-0 (all goals scored in the first half).