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.