Argos Invitational- Lakewood Park Christian-NorthWood 0-1 (0-0) & SB Washington-NorthWood 1-2 (1-2)

This invitational is more of a Panther Classic then our own considering all teams but Argos use the Panther as their mascot. For once, the weatherman/woman predicts the weather spot on which allows the team and those supporting the team to enjoy some nice sunny conditions. With Argos being bounced out of the tournament early, the chances of having a large night crowd become very slim. Of course, we still have to win game 1 to make it into the championship game. And making it into the late game becomes quite tricky. GAME 1 vs LPC; We start out somewhat sluggish but threaten more then LPC. Despite some chances in the 5th (Landon shot) and 6th (dangerous Sebastian corner), the most important action of the first half occurs when Mason Mast gets caught in a defensive play where he gets somehow stuck between a LPC attacker and Micah and injures his ankle. This play takes play in minute 10th and we have to do without Mason the rest of the tournament (as a matter of fact, Mason did not break anything but sustained enough of an injury that will sideline him for at least 10 days). The Argos John Deere Gator sees more action during this game then we wanted to; it takes Mason off the complex as wel as the LPC keeper who sustains a hip injury later in the second half). The best action of the first round game comes in 58" when a well executed Jerson pass finds the feet of Sebastian. Sebastian executes well by lobbing the ball over the LPC keep who comes out of the goal. The well weighted finish bounces in the goal for what will end up being the only goal of the game. In the 61st, a shot from the left side of the 6 from Landon does get saved on the line by a LPC defender. On a last minute LPC free kick, we hear the LPC coach telling the team to set a pick which is not something you hear on a soccer sideline since it is illegal to do this. The 0-1 win sends us into the 8 pm final against South Bend Washington. CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: With about 30 NW fans and 3 Washington fans, the stands are sparsely populated (and that might be an overstatement). The team is appreciative of our fans traveling with us on a long day of soccer. The appreciation shows in the effort the team gives in the championship game. By the way, what is it with high school soccer that the timing of the playing of the National Anthem and decrepit officiating are challenges that are hard to overcome? We don't have to wait long to see the bald eagle (or blind?) running up and down our line will prove my point in my previous statement. The game starts out well for the Panthers, the NorthWood Panthers that is. A well taken corner by Sebastian finds the golden boot feet of Landon Parker. His effort finds the woodwork (8th min.). After a switch to Kyle Luster on the right side in the 14th minute, Kyle makes a pass to Landon whose shot goes past the keeper for a 1-0 lead. Kyle, who fills the vacuum (but not the spot) created by the absence of Mason, plays extremely well. His first touch is great and he stretches the Washington defense with his chalk line runs. We are combining well, we work hard, make good runs and dominate play. In the 16th, Sebastian passes to Landon in left midfield. Landon takes the ball up the pitch and finishes the shot to the left for a 2-0 lead. The game seems to be in hand and we are just anticipating a third goal to put the game away. And that is when incompetent officiating takes the lead roll. Despite wearing glasses (wrong Rx maybe??????), the bald AR is "convinced" he sees Kyle throw an elbow to a SB Washington player in front of the Washington bench in minute 22. This happens right after Sebastian gets leveled from behind (which does not get called). Kyle goes in hard for the tackle but takes the Washington MF out with his hip. A free kick ? Yes! But a card? Probably not and a red......no sir!! This AR has made very many dubious calls in the past and shows that his performance today shows that "improvement" is not in his vocabulary but "sucking at something I though I might be good at" is. The red card and now effectively being down to 10 men has an impact on the game. NorthWood starts to play on its heels and all we do is defend. In the 33rd, Washington takes advantage of NW being down a man and score the 2-1. At the half, Coach Duerksen talks to the team about the fact that we are still in the same formation but are just down one attacker. Work hard, don't hang back and we will be fine. It is now time to work hard, see it through and show that we can work thru some adversity. The team does just that in the second half. NW creates at least 3 or 4 very dangerous opportunities in which it could have scored. Our defense plays some great soccer. Trent, Jadon and SKyler play absolutely fantastic. Our midfielders play very good and come back to help defend the entire second half. Corbin plays well and when Andre comes in, he does great. Juan and Jerson do well on the ball which gives us minutes to recover. Matt plays very hard and physical and makes great runs. Micah makes some good saves to keep us in it and Sebastian and Landon hold on to the ball when we need some time to regroup. Anyone who subs in makes sure that the level of play does not drop. We have not just 11 starters, we have a team of good players who all work for each other. We are able to keep our lead and when the whistle blows in the 80th minute, we have been able to keep the lead and go home with the trophy!!!!! As we said at the beginning of the year; we want three trophies (Panther Classic, Argos Invitational and Sectionals) and we have the first two in our possession. Keep it up boys!!!! Even though we are a little thin Monday (Mason out with an injury and Kyle with the red card), we will play for another home win Monday (tomorrow) against LaPorte. Note the different then usual start time. JV kicks off at 5:30 and th Varsity at 7:15. Please come out and support your Panthers as they try to go for 4 in a row!!!!!!