Friday, September 28, 2018
NorthWood- #13 (1A) Bethany Christian 5-4 (2-2)
On a nice fall night, NW plays its final game in the 24 history of the program at Nappanee Elementary. A large crowd enjoys the large group of seniors being honored before game time. And then it really starts. What a game! The high tempo game has a high entertainment value and draws the crowd's support throughout the night. A great game to end games at the first and only game field the Panthers have known. Here is the score line; 4" Bethany Chrstian #8 Brenneman 0-1, 12" 0-2 BC #8 Brenneman (yes this is becoming the BC theme for the night), 28" 1-2 Lukas Aukerman's dazzling dribble thru the box and defense to score unassisted), 33" 2-2, Andre de Freitas (Parker shot deflection/assist), 35" almost goal by Duerksen but he SKylers it over, 46" Parker assist to Sebastian goal 3-2, 51" 4-2 Sebastian, 55" BC #8 4-3, 63" Landon Parker assist to Sebastian 5-3, 65" BC #8 5-4. With a thrilling final 15 minutes to go, the Panthers close out this exciting match to go 7-7-2 on the regular season. This great week (one draw and two wins) with very good results keeps the momentum going into the post season. Next up, Monday at Angola vs. Lakeland in the first round of sectionals. The JV wins their match against The Bruins (1-0) to finish the season with 4 wins. Great job by both teams tonight. Our next home game will be on the new field!
Wednesday, September 26, 2018
Plymouth-NorthWood 0-3 (0-2)
The pre gametalk focuses on each player giving their best without worrying about what team mates are or are not doing. Coach Duerksen stresses the fact that a win will give the Panthers a spot over Wawasee and Plymouth in the final NLC standings. The team seems loose and relaxed. After a decent game Monday but without the result we wanted, everyone seems re-energized and ready to go. FIRST HALF- Well, it doesn't take long to change the scoreboard; Sebastian finds Landon on the first attack. His effort gets stopped initially by the Rockies closer but he can't hold on to the ball. The ball rolls and bounces along the goal line and Kyle Luster pushes his body against the ball to place it over the line for a first minute 0-1 lead. Play goes back and forth and the only sub par performance on the field comes from the men in green. The center ref, whose horse was hitched to a post in the parking lot I'm pretty sure, had as much trouble running as he does making the right calls. The AR on the bench side has a tough time (read rarely determines the right team for a throw in) making any good calls. In the 28" a bad Plymouth punt from the GK finds ANdy's feet who takes a blazing shot that gets blocked by the keep. The rebound by Andy Duran does not get close to the frame. Plymouth attacks but our defenders deal with the challenges with strong feet and good communication. In the 31st, Kayden goes into the top right of the box in a 1v1 challenge. He goes around the GK and is now about to head to the goal. But the keeper, knowing he has been beat, grabs Kayden's legs and holds on to them. The arbiter points decisively (kind of) at the 12 and issues the keeper a red card. The Rockies are now down to 10 for the remainder of the match. Andy takes the pk on the back up keeper and once again places into the ropes (Andy thinks he is the PK specialist and so far, he has been pretty good). The 0-2 is also the half time score. HALF TIME- Coach Duerksen stresses the fact that everyone has played the way he wanted to, not dribble out of the back, pass quick and give your best. The proof is in the pudding with the 0-2 lead. Of course, as Coach points out, this is the most dangerous lead in soccer. I don't know what that means but it is a phrase often used to motivate the players to not give up a lead. SECOND HALF- In the 45th, Landon goes around a Rockies defender and crosses the ball thru the box toward C-Bass. Sebastian does not disappoint, he puts it in the net, 0-3. It is his third such chance this season but the difference with the first two is that this one is not on our home field so it does not bounce 29 yards straight into the air. Despite being down to 10 men, the Rockies play hard and are able to attack. Luke Lingle comes up huge on so many occasions to help us keep our 0-3 lead. In the 51st, an indirect free kick on the 18 is the last genuine NW threat to extend the lead. Sebastian lays the ball off to Andre. His shot meets the woodwork. The final score is 0-3, NW finishes 2-5 in NLC (and ahead of Wawasee and Plymouth) and overall we are 6-7-2 going into the Bethany game tomorrow. NOTES- Practice today is at the game field and will be done at 4:40 pm. The JV loses 2-0. They will return to action at 5 pm tomorrow. Senior Night activities are at 6:30 pm to be followed by the very last game ever on the game field at Nappanee ELementary.
Tuesday, September 25, 2018
Match Day 15
NLC opponent Plymouth is on the menu for tonight. Plymouth is 6-6-2 on the season and 0-4-1 in NLC. NW comes in at 5-7-2 and 1-5 in conference. Wawasee is 0-5 in conference so therefore a win against the Rockies tonight will secure 6th place in the NLC, the title of best of the rest with the top 5 in NLC all ranked in the state's 3A top 20. In the common opponent section we see very similar results with Plymouth edging the Panthers at 3-4-1 (NW 2-6-1). Another opportunity tonight but we will have to play better then last night. We won't see a team tonight that will park the bus so our defense is expected to be a bit busier.
NorthWood-John Glenn 0-0 (0-0)
Open chance, bad field bounce, crossbar; none resulted in a goal. A disappointing draw in front of a nice crowd (about 40 Puma players and their families showed up!). Two games left in the regular season and only one left at home. Tuesday we play at Plymouth and Thursday will be Senior Night which will be the final game ever played at the one and only place NW soccer has called home. More energy and effort is expected from the boys in order to get some more wins and momentum going into the play offs. Varsity record is now 5-7-2.
Monday, September 24, 2018
Matchday 14
NorthWood hosts the John Glenn Falcons today. It is a 5:30 pm kick off. The Falcons are 7-7 on the season and have three players who have scored in double digits. Their # 19 & #11 both have scored 14 times so far this season and # 7 has put in 12. The Panthers are 5-7-1, hoping to go 6-7-1. All Pumas players and their parents are invited to come and watch the game; wear your Puma jersey and you and your family will get in for free. GO PANTHERS!!
SECTIONAL DRAW
SECTIONAL 20 - AT ANGOLA - MONDAY OCTOBER 1 - 5 PM /GAME 1 : GARRET-WEST NOBLE, 7 PM/GAME 2 NORTHWOOD-LAKELAND. SEMI FINAL-WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 3, 5 PM/ GAME 3 WINNER GAME 1-WINNER GAME 2, 7 PM/GAME 4 WAWASEE-ANGOLA. FINAL- SATURDAY OCTOBER 6 GAME 5/ WINNER GAME 3 - WINNER GAME 4. This is not the best draw we could have hoped for but it is certainly not the worst. If we win on Monday we will probably end up playing West Noble in the semi final.
NW- Ft. Wayne Concordia PICS
THE TEAM BEFORE THE START OF THE GAME/COOKIES FOR THE TEAM FROM AIDEN'S MOM!
NorthWood- #7 (2A) Ft. Wayne Concordia 1-4 (1-1)
Communication has to be key for today's match. After a close 1-2 loss for the JV, it is now the Varsity's turn to take a shot at another ranked team. The Cadets are the current State Runner Up in class 2A. The first half however belongs to NorthWood. A fifth minute cross from Landon to Sebastian ends with a miss or whiff by C-Bass only because our home field is so so so bad. A minute later, Landon places a ball into Jerson's feet whose shot requires a last second touch by the Concordia Lutheran last man for a corner. The only Concordia threat in the first 20 minutes comes comes off a Concordia corner and subsequent header that has Luke diving for his first save of the day. In the 20th, NW finally gets a result from all the offensive work. Sebastian comes up the middle on the left side and passes the ball to Landon who, in turn, crosses the ball into the box towards Andre and Jerson. Some excellent communications between the two has Jerson take a massive blast on the frame. The Concordia keeper has absolutely no chance and NW takes the lead, 1-0. A shot from Nick turns into a redirect chance for Andy; his decent shot sails just over the woodwork. In the 38th, Concordia goes up the field near the lefts side of the box. A pass from the corner has #11 in an offside position so he stops as, for some reason, does the entire NW defense. Another outside midfielder from Concordia takes advantage of of the situation and dribbles into the box around stopped NW players, delivers the ball in the box where another Cadet places the ball simply into the goal. 1-1 is the half time score. At the half that incident is discussed as is the issue to keep playing the way we have and holding the zero in the second half. We play well thru about the 58th. In the 56th, Jerson passes to Andre who goes into the box and around a Concordia defender and places the ball out of reach for the keeper on the frame but the pall lacks pace and is cleared before it reaches the goal line. Luke makes a great save in minute 57 and tips a upper 90 shot over the bar. In the 58th, Concordia is awarded a corner which somehow ends in the goal after a messy melee. Another mess in the box in the 73rd is not dealt with and results in the 1-3. In the 78th, NW shows a sign of life when Jerson's pass finds Sebastian's feet. His shot connects with the crossbar and goes over. In the 79th, Concordia finds the net one more time on a badly defended ball for the 1-4 final.
Friday, September 21, 2018
Match Day 12
The 13th game of the season is another home game. And the opponent is another ranked team. 2A #7 Ft. Wayne Concordia Lutheran will swing thru Nappanee tomorrow where the JV game is slated for 10 am to be followed by the Varsity contest around 11:45. The Cadets are 9-2-1 with one of the two losses coming against common (the only one) opponent Warsaw. Their loss was 3-0 and ours was a 4-0 loss. Players to watch tomorrow are their #11 Gottschalk (7 goals) and #17 Neuhaus who has 8 goals on the season. The pair is responsible for almost half of their scoring output (15 of 32). Concordia has only given up 9 goals on the season (a third of them in the game vs Warsaw) so they are tough defensively. This game will be a challenge but NW has shown some very positive signs as of late both defensively and offensively. All our losses are against ranked teams but it would be nice to beat one. Game time temps will be in the upper 50's so a little cooler then we have been used to but sunny skies so perfect playing weather. Hope to see everyone there. GO PANTHERS!!!
JV - Westview-NorthWood 0-0 (0-0)
The jV travels to Westview and plays to a scoreless draw. The JV record is 3-7-1. Next up: tomorrow (Saturday) at home vs. Ft. Wayne Concordia Lutheran.
Thursday, September 20, 2018
Update - today's training
After the team meeting we will have a defensive training in Coach Duerksen's room around 3:40. We will be doing that for about 25 minutes before we go outside. NO CLEATS!!!! inside.
Location Update Friday Training session -
The Friday practice will be at the game field from 3:30 pm -5ish.
Wednesday, September 19, 2018
Updated travel and game time information
Coach Duerksen received confirmation from the Athletic Department that the JV bus to Westview tomorrow will leave at 3:45 pm. Saturday games vs Ft. Wayne Concordia will be at 10 am (JV) and 11:45 am (Varsity).
Adjusted Training schedule for the rest of the week
Below are four new blogs to catch up from this week's games. The adjusted training schedule for this week is as follows: Wednesday 9/19/18 3:30-4:30 pm. Thursday 9/20/18 3:30-5pm. Friday 9/21/18 3:30-5 pm. Wednesday & Thursday training is at the High School practice facility. Friday TBD. Our next game is a home game on Saturday vs. Concordia Lutheran. We have it listed at 10 am JV & 11:45 Varsity but the website has it at 11 & 1 pm so we will double check and post the correct time here and push it out on Remind as well.
Images from the NW-Memorial NLC clash
The injured Memorial player gets medical treatment and the pregame preparation on the NW bench.
NorthWood - # 20 Memorial 1-2 (0-1)
After an exciting 2nd half JV game, in which the Panthers JV turn a 0-2 deficit into a 4-2 win, we hope that this sets the tone for the night. The Varsity squad needs to make sure to stay away from an early deficit which has happened too often this season. Things seem to go our way when a thru pass on the ground to Kayden creates a 1 on 1 on the keeper opportunity but the goal scoring chance is taken away by AR 1 who says Landon Parker was offside (a player who is NOT involved in the play). Unfortunately it isn't the first time that a poor arbitration decision goes against us. Four minutes later, Memorial takes advantage of some NW defensive indecision which results in a Charger 0-1 lead. HALF TIME- Coach Duerksen, for the second time this week, stresses the importance of communication on the field, passing to feet and making runs to get open and defensively we need to mark all offensive minded players and step on the ball. SECOND HALF- Two minutes in, we fail to step on the ball when a 20 yard shot disappears over Luke and into the upper right for a 0-2 Memorial lead. But the Panthers get back in the game, battle and combine well. In the 54th, Landon Parker passes a ball to Andy Duran at about 3 yards outside the 18. Andy twists and turns and takes a shot that flies around the keeper to cut the Memorial lead in half, 1-2. In the 72nd minute, Landon gets fouled by a Memorial midfielder (Brandon). The Brandon/Landon foul does not get called and Landon goes in hard to retrieve his lost ball. As he goes in, the Memorial player gets hit and falls awkwardly. His shoulder injury (possibly separated shoulder) delays the game because Memorial Coach Sheely wants to make sure it is okay to move his injured player. As Coach Duerksen shows off his skill as an ambulance driver, NW's Kyle Luster shows some exceptional leadership and class when he asks the opponent to pray with the Panthers (see picture). And so maybe that is the important moment of the night! The game resumes about 20 minutes after the injury occurs. Landon gets a yellow and Brandon a ride to the doctor, unfortunately. Despite some NW pressure and minor opportunities, the clock runs out before NW can tie the game. The Varsity falls to 5-6-1. NOTES- The JV improves to 3-7; today's goals come from Joey, Noah, Angel and Jason.
NorthWood - Elkhart Christian Academy 3-0 (2-0)
A busy week for NW soccer with three games on the schedule for the Varsity and four games for the JV. FIRST HALF- The Panthers start out with pressure early on which results in a second minute opportunity when Landon crosses the ball into the box to Kayden Newcomer. Kayden's shot requires the ECA GK to tip the ball to prevent a very early lead. Fourteen minutes after the first chance, the Panthers are awarded a free kick in the de Freitas range. Andre's well taken free kick finds Sebastian Guillen who heads the ball in the upper right part of the goal for a NW 1-0 lead. Jerson adds to the lead in the 22nd when he exercises his "hot knife thru butter" dribbling skills. He cuts thru 3 defenders into the 6 and decidedly finishes his action, 2-0. HALF TIME- Despite the lead, play is sloppy and it looks like an unmotivated team on the pitch. Simplicity is preached by coach Duerksen, pass, move and talk is the new focus for the next half. SECOND HALF- Landon Parker decides to go solo in the first minute of half number two. In the 41st, Landon blasts a shot around and over the keeper for a pretty goal and a 3-0 lead that puts the game out of reach for a Panthers win. The rest of the half, NW possesses the ball at about a 65-35% rate and the only other noteworthy moments are a 52 minute Andre de Freitas free kick that explodes on the crossbar, comes down (apparently in front of the goal line)and comes back out. The Panthers move to 5-5-1 on the season. The JV loses 2-1 to Penn but plays well.
Monday, September 17, 2018
Sectionals Information
The Sectionals will start two weeks from today. The draw for the tournament will be Sunday September 23rd. NorthWood has been assigned to Sectional 20 which will be played at Angola. Garrett, Lakeland, Wawasee and West Noble are the other teams in our Sectional.
ECA and Memorial game reports will be posted Wednesday morning
Yours truly is out of town tomorrow so game reports will not appear until wednesday morning.
Match Day #10
The eleventh game of the season is the start of the longest home stand of the season. Including tonight's game, we will play around the divots for the next 4 games. Tonight's match up is versus Elkhart Christian Academy and is a Varsity only contest which will kick off at 6:45 pm. The weather at kickoff will be around 81 degrees under sunny skies, summer like in other words. ECA is 7-3-1 on the season. The only common opponent is Argos (ECA 0-6L, NW 4-3L). The Panthers are 4-5-1. ECA's leading top scorer is #27 Klahr who has hit the back of the net 15 times so far this season. The JV plays at Penn today. The bus leaves at 3:30 from the High School. The Varsity needs to be at the game field at 6 pm.
Friday, September 14, 2018
#10 Goshen - NorthWood 5-0 (3-0)
Injuries and a suspension forces the Panthers to play in different formation. A couple of individual mistakes add to the total goals but overall, the second half, the organization is much better; something to build on. Varsity is 4-5-1 and the JV falls to 1-5 (3-0 L to Goshen). The JV plays at 9 am and Noon tomorrow in the NLC JV Tourney at Goshen (first game vs. Wawasee). The bus leaves at 8 am. The Varsity returns to action on Monday at home vs. Elkhart Christian Academy at 7 pm. Players have to be ready at the field by 6:15 pm. NOTES: No practice today. As banged up as we are, a day off will do everyone some good. With about 4 or 5 players with some knocks, three days off will help us for next week when we play three games (Mon/Tue/Sat). All games will be at home so we will get to know each individual divot and hole intimately by the end of the week.
Thursday, September 13, 2018
Match Day 9
We play game 10 on Match Day 9 tonight; one of only two games remaining on the road until Sectionals. We travel the short trek to Goshen to take on Class 3A #10 Redhawks. The majority of our tough schedule consists of large ranked schools so tonight will be a challenge. The Redhawks are 6-3-1 on the season and are on a 2 game winning streak. Goshen has struggled in the NLC where they are 1-2-1. The Panthers are 4-4-1 and 1-3 in the NLC. A win over Goshen would see us go ahead of them in conference. Both Goshen and NW lost to Northridge. The Panthers lost to Concord where Goshen was able to come away with tie. So far, those are the only common opponents we have faced. After tonight, the Redhawks have 2 games left on their regular season schedule. The Panthers have 6 games remaining on their heavily back end loaded schedule. Players to watch tonight are Goshen's senior # 5 Aguilar (9 goals on the season) and sophomore Fernando Quevedo (5 goals and # unknown). It promises once again to be a beautiful night to sit on the sideline with temps to be in the mid to low 70's at gametime. GO PANTHERS!!!
Wednesday, September 12, 2018
NorthWood-#13 Warsaw 0-4 (0-2)
Warsaw scores twice in the first half due to a couple of defensive miscues. The Tigers add two more goals in the second in a game where the Panthers don't play up to their potential, seem to react too slow in midfield marking and tracking back. The officiating is up to this point (60th minute or so) definitely sub par, if that. But that would change when the center decides to take his whistle skills to an entirely never before seen level on the negative side of the officiating spectrum. When Skyler has to come back from the left and into the box to prevent a 1v1 on Luke, he (Skyler) slides to clear the ball. He gets ALL ball (hence the track of where the ball goes after he slide kicks it -towards the scoreboard/corner-). The Warsaw attacker falls and the center "ref" (read "clown") blows his whistle. He is not close to the play but awards the Tigers a PK (which Warsaw would miss) AND NorthWood a red card! A triple punishment!!!!!!!! One that you don't see anymore these days. So Warsaw gets a PK, we are a man short the rest of the game and we will be without our central defender against Goshen. Just because you wear a yellow shirt doesn't mean you are a referee; point proven! The same goes for the AR on the west side. The 4th Warsaw "goal" came in the 61st when a cross goes in front of Luke in the goal mouth and by the far goal post over the end line for what most people would think is a goal kick. The AR however believes he saw the ball come into the box, go past Luke, go over the goal line, come back out, go by the far post and then over the end line. If that would be physically possible, soccer balls should have turn signals! It can NOT take a left, a right and another left. There is no steering wheel on a soccer ball. So if you came to see three guys in yellow and hoping to see two of them wanting to add a large nose and big shoes to their costume, you came to the right place. It needs said that the Panthers did not play their best game and with some earlier mentioned miscues put themselves behind the 8 ball but it surely does not help when you have incompetent officiating. And that is what we got. The Panthers fall to 4-4-1. The JV lost 0-1. Today's practice will be shorter then normal; we will conclude practice by 4:45 pm.
Tuesday, September 11, 2018
Match Day 8
The ninth game of the season is a home game against NLC opponent Warsaw. The Tigers own a 6-2-3 record with the only losses coming in games against Homestead and Northridge. The Panthers are 4-3-1 on the season. NorthWood is in the middle of their season (8 games left to play) and Warsaw near the end (3 games left after tonight's game). Warsaw is ranked 13th in 3A this week and the Panthers would like to get a win and kick them out of the Top 20. So far, we have played three common opponents; Argos (Warsaw 1-1 draw, NW 4-3 OT loss), Concord (Warsaw 1-0 W, NW 2-0 L) and Northridge (both teams lost). The Tigers have only scored 15 goals in 11 matches and seem to be in a lot of close games. Their are strong defensively and have given up only 6 goals so far this season. The JV game starts at 5 pm, followed by a 6:45 kick off for the Varsity match up. Game time temperature will be 73 degrees and sunny skies so a great night to take in an NLC match! Go Panthers!
Monday, September 10, 2018
Today's practice
Today's practice will run until 4:45 pm. Varsity needs to meet in Duerksen's room (but be dressed for practice) at 3:20 for a short meeting. JV will meet on the practice field at 3:30 pm.
Argos Invitational Lakewood Park Chr-NW 1-2 (PK SO), Argos-NW 4-3 (OT)
In Game 1 Argos comes from behind to beat South Bend Washington. Game 2 features Lakewood Park Christian against the NorthWood Panthers.The Panthers play well against the #4 1A Panthers. LPC has a well balanced team that focuses mainly on having a well organized defense. Despite several chances, NW fails to score before the tea. In the 66th, Sebastian assists Landon who slips the ball past the LPC keeper for the 0-1 lead. Six minutes later LPC scores to tie the game. There is no score the rest of regulation and no score either in both half of the OT. So to PK's we go. NW is up first and Kayden's PK is not a goal and LPC does put their PK first in the back the net. Sebastian makes his and the ensuing PK by LPC sails way over the goal (1-1 at that point). Andre scores his as does LPC (2-2). Landon does not miss his PK but Luke comes up big with a stop(3-2)! All Andy has to do is score and we move on to the final. Andy hits the ball with pace and despite the fact that the keeper gets a hand on the ball, the shot is hard enough to hit the net! The referees seem to think they need to have LPC take a PK yet so obviously they either did not track the score or they do not know how a PK shootout works. The 8 o'clock final between #10 (1A) Argos and NorthWood starts out with a bang......for Argos. They score in the first minute. A very energetic Argos faces a flat Panther team. In the 8th minute Landon (who is on his own half) goes at a pass from a teammate. With his speed, he gets away from the defenders but the whistle blows because the AR puts up his flag for off side. Coach Duerksen explains in no uncertain but yet polite terms that the AR is wrong and does not know the rules of the game (a common theme it seems among the 30-55 year old crowd of referees). But the obvious goal scoring opportunity is taken away. Argos retakes control of the game and this results in another goal in the 24th, 2-0. The Panthers get one back in the 30th (Landon Parker) but the Dragons score again three minutes before the half time whistle. A fiery half time speech by coach Duerksen that focuses on workrate and pride has its desired effect. Jerson's pass finds Sebastian's head which leads to the 2-3 header over the GK). Two minutes later, Andy Duran fights to keep a ball in the box and gets the ball to Jerson whose hard and accurate shot finds the back of the net (3-3). With less then 2 minutes left in regulation, we all get ready for another couple of halves of OT. This second consecutive OT game sees a lot of NW players go down with cramps in their legs and understandably so. Two full games is a lot to ask from any player let alone if those games last 94 minutes each. As the coaching staff is about to prepare for another PK shootout, an Argos attack is not cleared properly by the NW defense and consequently, the ball is not dealt with on the second attempt and an Argos forward is able to sneak in and deposit the ball behind Luke with 70 seconds left in the second half of overtime (4-3). Despite another desperation attack by the Panthers, the score remains 4-3 and Argos wins its own tournament.
Friday, September 7, 2018
Argos Boys Invitational
Admission for the tournament is 5 dollars for adults and 4 dollars for students. These are all-day passes. Concessions are available at the field.
Match Day 7
Tomorrow is Match Day 7 (and we will play games 7 & 8). We will play Lakewood Park Christian in the second game of the Argos Invitational. Game 1 features South Bend Washington vs. the host Argos. Game 1 starts at 1 pm, Game 2 at 3 pm. The losers of Game 1 & 2 will meet up at 6 pm and the winners will face each other at 8 pm for the trophy. NW is the defending Champion after defeating South Bend Washington in last year's final. Our first opponent, Lakewood Park Christian (from Auburn) has an undefeated 4-0-2 record going into tomorrow's game. NorthWood is 3-2-1 while Argos is ranked 15th in 1A with a 3-1-4 record. We have incomplete information on South Bend Washington. We only know of three results in which the Panthers from Washington are 1-2-0. The weather is somewhat iffy so bringing rain gear might be smart. The bus leaves at 1 pm so we can catch the second half of the first game. Chicken tacos/tortillas are on the menu for the meal in between games (unanimous decision)!
Wednesday, September 5, 2018
Wawasee-NorthWood 2-4 (2-3)
After a fairly close JV game that gets out of hand late, Marshall Beebe and the NW JV make sure they set the tone for the night. Marshall Beebe collects four goals on the night and Aiden Schrock scores his first NW goal. The game is closer then the score indicates, the last 3 (NW) goals are scored in the last 10 minutes. It is a hot afternoon and it apparently affects the announcer who manages to butcher Skyler and Sebastian's last names (Durkensen and Gillen; a good name for a law firm). The arbiters will prove to us tonight that they look better then they will perform. FIRST HALF- The Panthers start out with lots of energy. A very early attack by Jerson has him weaving thru several midfielders and defenders and the moment he sees some room, Jerson takes a hard shot which he slots behind the beefy Wawasee keeper for a quick 0-1 lead (2"). With moderate pressure, NorthWood seems in control early on. In the 8th, Andre sends a cross towards Luster who, while running in the box and at the goal, heads the ball. The ball misses the frame just to the right. A good effort and a good and promising start. But one defensive let down on the left and the Warrior's #14 speeds by the defense and at the goal and all of a sudden it is a tied ballgame, 1-1 (11"). In minute 17, Jerson's pass to Landon turns into another goal scoring opportunity which gets saved on the line. In the 25th NW is awarded a corner. The training ground corner works to perfection as the Jerson corner to Andre who plays Sebastian who, in turn, takes the hard shot on the frame for the 1-2 lead. Officiating thru the first half is inconsistent and an awful lot of fouls are not even recognized, including one where Landon gets tackled from behind (official's observation "they got tangled up"). In my book, "tangled up but from behind" would be a foul. But no foul is awarded. More about this reference a little later on. In the 35th, Wawasee's #4 Pena goes around our defense. He has extraordinary speed and a very good shot and proofs to us that with those two assets, he is a deadly threat as he scores the 2-2. Four minutes later, Sebastian adds to his goal total when he wins a challenge in the box and heads the ball over the Wawasee keeper and a defender and then passes the ball in the left corner for a 2-3 half time lead. HALF TIME- The discussion at the half has a focus on organization in the back and spacing in the middle. SECOND HALF- It starts out similar to half number 1; Andre places a free kick from the left towards the right to Kyle Luster. Kyle's header requires a save tip by the keeper for another NW corner. In the 50th, Landon finally has enough of some defensive hacking from the Warriors defenders but pays for the retaliation push with a yellow caution. A challenge in front of the main stand does not end well for Sebastian; while going up for a header, he is being shoved in the back and lands awkwardly.He comes off the field under his own power. Wawasee #4 goes around the defense in 5th gear in minute 69 and his shot goes past Luke and hits the post. Luke gets up very quickly and recovers the ball off the woodwork. A very important save indeed. In the same minute, Andy Duran comes on the field. He provides some relief as the lone striker immediately. Andy holds on to the ball, passes it off when possible and in the 70th takes a great shot with pace that barely goes over the crossbar. Andy holds on to the ball in the 72nd and waits for support. Andre makes a terrific run up on the right side. Andy finds Andre's feet. Andre's right side magic ends with a precision pass to Landon. Landon turns with the ball and whacks the ball with good speed into the right upper 90 for a 2-4 lead! Two minutes later a Wawasee midfielder runs into Nick Lechlitner right outside the 18. The center whistles and we all figure it is a NW free kick but the call is that Nick "fouled" him but the term used by the referee is that they got tangled up. Sound familiar. Yes it does, thanks for asking because when this happened to Parker in the first, tangling up equaled "no foul" (for NW) but now, "tangled up" (read: barreling into Nick) means a free kick for Wawasee. The inconsistency is blatant incompetency at best. Fortunately we get to see the Wawasee trick free kick (chip over wall to #4) and the effort misses its mark. Note to self for Sectionals for sure. Kayden Newcomer is the last NW player to get a crack at a goal. He receives the ball outside the box, turns the opposite side from what the Warrior defender expect and hits a nice shot that hits the crossbar. The final score is 2-4. The captains armband for a great effort goes to Andre (played hard and defended well) and Landon. Both played a very good game but that can actually be said about the entire team. Everyone worked hard on the pitch. The defense did well especially considering they have had to adjust to life without Trent and do this in a different formation. Sebastian added two goals to his season total, Landon had a nice goal and Jerson started us off with the nice cracker in the second minute; like he said "I love playing on this field!"). Jerson was asked to defend the middle in the holding MF position in the last 20 or so and matched their #4 for sure.NOTES- The JV is now 1-3, the Varsity is 3-2-1 (1-2 in NLC). Next up for the JV the home game vs. Warsaw while the Varsity plays two games this Saturday in the Argos Invitational). Today's practice will be from 3:30-5ish.
Tuesday, September 4, 2018
Match Day 6
Today we travel to Syracuse to play NLC opponent Wawasee. The Warriors started the season strong with two wins (Westview and SB Riley) but have since been unable to add another "W" to their record. They are currently on a 6 game losing streak. Our common opponents so far this year are Concord (Wawasee lost 4-1, we lost 2-0) and Bremen (Wawasee lost 3-1, we tied 3-3). In the Panther Classic NW and Wawasee faced each other in the final. NW would pull off the win in a PK shootout after the game had ended in a 1-1 draw. This is a chance for the Panthers to get their first NLC win. The JV (0-3) will kick off at 5 pm, followed by the Varsity match. It promises to be a hot and muggy one today enhanced by the artificial turf pitch. During the extra Labor Day practice, Coach Duerksen emphasized to all players the importance of hydration before today's game. Hope to see everyone there! Go Panthers!!!!
Mowing issues......
In case you wonder why the game field isn't always mowed, it probably is because we get too busy mowing other soccer related things such as coach's notebook and the net for the stickdown.
Sunday, September 2, 2018
Guess who the cars belongs to for a NorthWood Soccer prize
The four entries below show a part of a soccer players' car. Guess which one belongs to who (CAR A - "player name") and email it to NWdutchtouch@gmail.com by Wednesday 9/5/18 before practice for a NW soccer prize.
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