Ball holder - Plymouth Style

Plymouth - NorthWood Dutch Touch POTG

Sebastian Guillen - Dutch Touch Player of the Game

Plymouth-NorthWood 3-2 (2-0)

On a typical fall night, the Panthers travel to Plymouth to face the undefeated Rockies in our last NLC contest of the season. Already prepared for a dismal arbitration performance, we start the evening without the National Anthem. Plymouth has an experienced (IHSAA & Mexican League) squad. We have been able to study their game versus Northridge ad nauseum. So, tactically prepared but practically maybe not. From the whistle, Plymouth comes at us with numbers. Marshall gets turned around on an attack in the 7th and is not able to recover goal side on #2 and the first hard shot lands in the net for a very early 1-0 lead. Sixty ticks later a pass at the top of the NW box. The ball gets to meet Plymouth #4's right boot and before we even recover from the first goal, the second already hits the ropes again, 2-0. So, defensively we do the opposite from what we discussed before kick off. We knew that Plymouth loves to shoot from 16-25 yards out and a variety of the Plymouth players have a great shot. In the 10th, Plymouth looks to extend their lead and maybe put the game out of reach with a nice shot to Graber's right but his unbelievable save keeps us in the game. NW finally settles down and Sebastian starts to take over the game by holding the ball, showing composure and starting to distribute the ball to the wings and into the box. In the 14th, Seba gets a high ball into the 18 and a Kayden Newcomer header requires a save by the very good Plymouth keeper. At seventeen minutes into the game, center referee Gamaal Hernandez makes a terrible call (as he would pretty much consistently). Coach Duerksen and Dijkstra (sr.) both scream loud at him which makes him stop the clock, waddle over to the technical area (surprisingly does not tip over) and tells Duerksen "one more word and you're off" to which Duerksen responds "you're terrible". The ref reaches in his pocket as coach Dijkstra utters (almost begging) "just yellow". The ref fumbles around with the cheap plastic holder that contains both a red and yellow plastic card. He shows Duerksen the yellow caution while Dijkstra thanks him to which the horse rider responds "thank you" sarcastically. For the record, it was the only time coach Dijkstra was genuinely nice to the ref tonight. After his little show of power, Hernandez resumes the game with a toss ball (apparently drop balls are not on his repertoire any more). In the 20th NorthWood gets a scoring opportunity when we get awarded a free kick just outside the box. Sebastian seems to strike the ball perfect, it disappears into the left corner and it looks like it will be a goal but somehow, the Plymouth keep gets down super quick and stops the ball. NorthWood gets several opportunities on balls in the box. We do not connect decisively with the ball and are unable to score. HALF TIME - Some defensive issues are discussed such as goal side defending and stepping to the ball outside the box to prevent easy shots by the Plymouth strikers and midfielders. SECOND HALF - Despite discussing the fact that we can not come out flat again like we did in the first half at the half time speech, we neglect to come out strong and give up another goal in the 43rd. But within seconds we strike back. A Nick Lechlitner free kick flies at the Plymouth GK. Andre is right there but does a very savvy thing; he does nothing. He just stands by the keeper as the ball comes down. He does not interfere with the keeper but the pressure of Andre just being present is enough for the keeper to panic, he drops the ball and to Andre's surprise, the ball just sits in front of his feet and just a tab over the line decreases the lead back to 2, 3-1. The Plymouth defense is on the verge of collapse. A lot of NW attacks are dangerous. Various (3 for sure) absolute NW corners are called by the AR and Center ref as Plymouth goal kicks. Before the game we had been warned by several other IHSAA officials that the arbitration at Plymouth games is a lot of home cooking. That prediction would hold true. Before the game the announcer says that these refs are certified by the IHSAA, he did not say what they were certified in but it is not refereeing a soccer game, that much is crystal clear. Back to the game (I finally fell off my soap box, although I am embarrassed to say that I have had the same certification which I will now denounce).In the 50th, Andre presses on the right side, attacks the left defender and crosses the ball between the 6 and 12 to Kayden. A perfect touch by Kayden disappears over the goal line, 3-2. Nick Lechlitner, after discussing this with the coaches during one of the many injury stoppages, will deliver as many high balls into the box as possible in order to put pressure on the Plymouth back line. It might not be the prettiest way to play the game but it has become obvious that the Rockies defense is not very good at defending crosses into the goal mouth. In the 68th, Nick delivers another perfect high cross into the box. Two Plymouth defenders run into their own keeper who has to leave the field. We would get a corner in the same minute which misses just to the left of the frame and Andre is in a good position near the goal when a shot goes wide left and his effort to redirect just misses. All in all, we had our chances and we brought the undefeated and now NLC champs to its knees a couple of times but were unlucky in my opinion to not come away with a result. A draw seemed like it would have been a fair result. Another great effort however by our boys who never stopped fighting and left it all on the field. Sebastian was relentless and nearly unstoppable. Sebastian is the Dutch Touch Player of the Game. The Panthers are 8-3-4 on the season going into Thursday's home game (and last game of the regular season) against Bethany Christian. The JV loses 3-0 to Plymouth and finishes the season at 7-4-3 (second best record ever; congrats to Seth and Brayton's boys!). REFEREE SCORE CARD (Scale 0-10 with 10 being great and 0 being "awful crap quality")

AR1 - "4" - unable to identify corners of any kind.

CENTER REF - 1 (not number 1, just "1"- to quote coach Duerksen "not sure how it is possible but he manages to get worse every year". NOTES - Back at it again today from 3-4:30. We will start with the (Ga)lactic acid run.

Sectional 20 - Draw (@ West Noble)

Information about the draw will be posted later this week but we believe that we play Lakeland on Monday at 5 pm.

#8 NorthWood- John Glenn 7-0 (4-0)) Slow start but no alternator problem

It feels like fall as Wellfield Park hosts a rare Boys & Girls Varsity double header. The boys play Glenn who at 7-5, are having a decent season. FIRST HALF It is Andre's birthday so hopefully there will be something for him to celebrate. The first issue at hand has more to do with a poor performance by the AR on the far side in the first 10-15 minutes. He calls three questionable off sides.

VISION ISSUES ? The Panthers start slow and look to play too direct initially. NorthWood opens the score in the 15th when Sebastian puts in the first goal (1-0) and delivers a present in the form of a pass in the 19th to Andre for the early 2-0 lead. A Joel Guzman header in the box hits a Glenn hand and the referee points at the dot at the 12. Starting to alternate goals, Sebastian chooses to take the penaly and connects easily to the goalie's right, 3-0. Kayden Newcomer adds another assist to his total when he slides the ball to Andre who slots the ball away, 4-0. Kayden almost scores in the 36th but the Glenn keep stops the effort from going in. A nice cross in front of the goal is begging for the 5th goal but Joel puts his cleats on the ball just a little to late and the ball splinters off the woodwork. Halftime score therefore is 4-0. HALF TIME Again, few issues need addressed but one of them is how to defend away from the goal and specifically the issue of just clearing the ball over the line is discussed. SECOND HALF - By the time the game ends tonight, almost every player sees the field (the only exception is our second back up GK Trace and he saw action earlier in the season). Two minutes into the second act, Marshall rolls up the left side and crushes a ball into the 6. An unlucky Glenn touch turns into an own goal for the Falcons, 5-0. Time again to alternate scorers; in the 51st Kayden adds another assist when he finds the feet of Sebastian Guillen. Seba cleans the cobwebs off the nets, 6-0. And our attention turns to Chandler Bontrager in the 60th when he decides to get in on the action with a very nice directed split pass to Andre. Andre scores NorthWood's 7th and final goal of the night; 7-0. Kyle Cripe attracts the bench's attention when he gets nailed in the stomach with a shot that takes the air out of him but he quickly recovers. A decisive NW game with goals from Seba-Dre-Seba-Dre-Seba-Dre who alternate scoring for double hat tricks. An uneventful night moves the Panthers to 8-2-4 on the season. Dutch Touch Co-Players of the Game: Sebastian Guillen and birthday boy Andre DeFreitas. Next up - Our last regular season away game vs. 3A #8 Plymouth (12-0-1). The bus leaves at 3:45. This will be the JV's last game of the season. JV starts at 5 pm, Varsity at 6:45.

Match Day 14

Tonight's game is a Varsity game only. Kick off is at 5 pm. The Panthers are 7-2-4 on the season, Glenn is 7-5. In their last 4 games they lost to Elkhart (0-3, decent result), Bremen and Sb St. Joe (0-2, not too bad either). Players to watch tonight are Glenn's #19 Sam Thomas with 20 goals so far and their #23 who has pushed 11 total over the goal line this season. The JV practices today from 3 - 4:30 at the High School. This will be their last practice of the season because tomorrow night will be the last contest (away at Plymouth). Unless Froggy 102.7 cancels the broadcasts for tonight due to weather, you can follow the game live on the internet at froggy1027.com. The game will be streamed live as well. Our IT Director Ryan Mattern will delievr the color commentary for tonight's game.

Mishawaka Marian- NorthWood Dutch Touch POTG

With two goals in the game against #5 Mishawaka Marian, Kayden Newcomer was selected as the Dutch Touch Player of the Game.

#5 Mishawaka Marian - #8 NorthWood 2-2 (0-1)

The very large stands are sparseley populated on another beautiful fall evening. This season clearly has a different feel to it then the last one. Last season we set records left and right, this season we are no longer chasing records but trying to focus on becoming better for the post season. The schedule was intentionally shored up so we would play tougher opponents in order to have a good showing in conference but more then that, we want to get good results in October. This past week has been the week where it seems we are getting to the point where we are getting close to figuring out how to play our formation better organized and not just defensively but on the attacking side as well. Some players are playing in different positions this week then they did at the beginning of the season and it seems that we are starting to peak. Our practices this week have been focused and everyone is responding very well. Stepping on the field tonight, the hope is that this will transition into a game situation as well. FIRST HALF - It really does not take long to see that the changes that are implemented are working. We have a skilled soccer team that knows how to pass and posses. We just have not done it for 80 minutes. Tonight we do it for a good 65- 70 minutes. That is progress for sure. Kayden seems more comfortable in his 2019 boots and playing as a forward. Andre and Sebastian play extrememly well in their positions, be it at the #10 spot or as a forward. The first sign of good soccer comes in the 4th. After NW has passed the ball in the middle third, Andre launches Kayden for the first time on a long throw in and Kayden gets a chance but the ball goes over. Marian has been warned. A nice pass from Andre in the 17th, finds Kayden at the top of the 18. Kayden takes a touch to his right and takes a great shot at the goal. The keeper has no chance and NW leads 0-1. Two minutes later, Graber turns into Grabber when he gobbels up a ball that ping pongs around in the box initially and then lands in front of the Knights' #3 feet. Graber prevents numerous additional shots from #3 and 11 throughout the rest of the match. A NorthWood attack near the Marian box requires a save from the Marian keeper but he handles the ball with his hands just outside of the 18. The ensuing Andre De Freitas free kick hits the left post. HALF TIME- No adjustments are necessary at the half. The seniors are leading by example and the effort by the entire team is unbelievable. Chan plays very well on his side, Andre played well at the 10 as did Sebastian when he took over at the 10. Kayden has been making great and dangerous runs thru the opponents defense. Our defense was stellar and took care of whatever came into our box. Graber kept us in the game with a great save. Joey seems to be in the right spot every time the Knights come up the field. He interrupts offensive advances time and time again. Our central defenders rule in the sky and Cam and Beebe make some nice threatening runs rolling up the side. Beebe is open the entire first half when coming up the flanks. SECOND HALF- With the hope of being able to keep up the hard work effort, the second half starts off the way the first half ended. We dominate possession and our passing is very good. Seba tries out the Mishawaka Marian keeper twice early on (46" & 47"). In the 48th, NW gets to throw in on the lft side of the field. Andre tosses the ball into the box where Sebastian sdlips a header to Kayden. Kayden's very decisive and quick shot is placed past the keeper for a 0-2 NW lead! In the 54th, Marian threatens again when their #11 takes a shot from close range but again, Graber saves the day. NW plays good possession soccer where Marian plays nothing but long ball soccer. Each time we lose the ball, Marian kicks it up. Not pretty but failry effective for them. A 66th minute counter after ball loss by NW, results in the first Marian goal (1-2). A Marian cross into the box in minute 69, results in another ugly Marian goal, 2-2. It will be the final score of the the night despite some NW offense in the waning minutes of the match. We feel that we have played our best overall game of the season. Our seniors were studs all night long. The effort was enbelievable. Every substitute played as well as the player they replaced, the level never went down. The worst moment of the game comes when Alex, while defending, injures his ankle on the sideline in front of the dug out. It looks bad from our vantage point but the Marian trainer assusres us it is a sprained ankle. Hopefully Mr. Widner can give us some positive feedback on that today as well. Alex leaves the stadium on crutches. Chase played very well especially considering he is nursing a foot injury. Nick and Chase played the best organized central defensive game of the season. Now we need to keep this going!!! Joel put in a great effort as well tonight coming in at various time to give midfielders a breather. A hard fought battle against a good team ends in a draw. The lads are tired and therefore deserve and get Friday off so we can all come back fresh Monday at home against Glenn. The JV loses 2-0. Trace did not wear his shin guards but Coach Duerksen took care of that (see pic below).

Dutch Touch POTG (NW-Mishawaka)

Sebastian Guillen was selected as the Dutch Touch Player of the Game Tuesday with 3 goals and 3 assists. Congratulations Seba!

Match Day 13 features #5 Mishawaka Marian vs. # 8 NorthWood

The two highest ranked 2A teams meet up at Marian tonight at 7 pm. The Knights are 8-2 on the season, the Panthers are 7-2-3. The two common opponents the two have played were Warsaw (Marian - Win/ NW - Draw) and Concord (Marian - Win/ NW - Draw). Marian comes off an OT win Tuesday against South Bend Adams but lost the two games before that. The losses came against Plymouth and Valpo, both very good teams and both losses were by one goal (1-2). Players to watch for on the Marian side are #3 Hundt (8 goals in 6 games) and #11 Baughman (5 goals in 10 games). The Knights have scored 33 times in 10 games and have only given up 9 goals (less than 1 a game). The next time these teams could meet again this season would be in Regionals but that of course is if both teams would win their respective Sectionals. Speaking of Sectionals; the draw is Monday night at 8 pm and it is streaming live on ihsaatv.org. The JV game starts at 5 pm and the Varsity game is scheduled for 7 pm. The bus leaves at 4 pm. Again, there is no food on the bus so bring/pack your own!

ICE ICE BABY

AS VANILLA ICE WOULD SAY

NorthWood-Mishawaka 11-1 (6-0)

THE WARM UP. First Half Very much a one sided game that gives the Coach a chance to insert everyone into the lineup over the course of the game as well as rest some of the starters in lieu of looming battle with Mishawaka Marian Thursday. Therefore the score sheet will take up much of this space: 6" - A Sebastian sneak attack cross to Marshall, 1-0. 17" - Sebastian to Andre, 2-0. 25" Sebastian to Andre (repeat), 3-0. 28" - Kayden to Chan, 4-0. 33" Luis earns or deserves a PK after he gets leveled in the box but again, no PK given. This puts the arbitral trio in a pickle because what do you now call or not call from now on. They try and rectify their blunder a little later on. 33" - Ryne attacks the goal after an Alex Escamilla shot (turning into an assist); the rebound lands near Ryne who decidedly pushes the ball over the goal line, 5-0. 39" - The makeup call: a clumsy handball by the Cavemen now does get called as a PK: Sebastian PK puts the HT score on the board; 6-0.

NICK DELIVERS THE HALF TIME SPEECH AND THIS IS WHAT HE RELAYS TO THE TEAM

Second Half- The Mishawaka GK announces all his goal kicks with a "here it comes!!! Most of them are recovered by the Panthers who continue to attack the Mishawaka goal. 41" Kayden corner - Sebastian header; 7-0. 42" Sebastian returns the favor and crosses to Kayden (for a painful finish that requires icing - see pic at Ice Ice Baby blog), 8-0.

Kayden's 2019s still produce goals!!!! Carlos Alvarez and all others enter the field in the 52". In the same minute, Carlos releases a nice pass to Andre who score the 9th goal of the night. 68" Carlos gets a nice pass from Luis. He takes the ball closer to the box and rips a great upper 90 knuckler for the prettiest goal of the night; 10-0. 71" Carlos assist to Andre; 11-0. Mishawaka recovers the ball off the foot from Trace Roa and scores the consolation goal for the final: 11-1. The Panthers have played two very weak opponents in succession, scoring 22 (!) and giving up one. The Panthers are 7-2-3 on the season and 2-1-3 in NLC. NOTES- Practice is at the High School today. Tomorrow we travel to Mishawaka Marian for a 5pm JV game and a 7 pm Varsity game. The Knights are ranked #5. The Panthers are ranked #8. Also check out Ink Free NEws for a game report by reporter Adam Yoder. Yes, that Adam Yoder.... the one with the State Championship ring!

JV beats Penn

Another win for the JV improves their record to 5-2-3. With the win, the JV can still break the school record wins in a season. Six different players scored; Solomon, Carlos, Landon, Andrew and Grant scored for the Panthers as did a Penn player who put the ball in his own net. The JV gets the day off today after they have played a lot of games in a short period of time. The Varsity plays Mishawaka tonight at home. Mishawaka does not field a JV. This is Mishawaka's first year in the NLC. Kick off is at 6 pm and the temperature will be 75 with nothing but sunny skies so it is hard to imagine that there is anyhting better you can find to do then sit on the sideline at Wellfield Park tonight. Everyone is available and healthy for tonight's game.

Updates

Mishawaka does not have a JV, therefore the Varsity home game tomorrow starts at 6 pm. The JV game at Penn tonight starts at 5 pm. Next Monday's game at home versus Glenn will kick off at 5 pm (instead of 5:30 as advertised). A half JV game will follow that Varsity contest if the refs can be arranged.

This week in NW Soccer

The JV (4-2-3) travel to Penn this afternoon. The Varsity (6-2-3) will practice at the turf field in preparation for their matchup with Mishawaka tomorrow. Wednesday's practice will be on grass and on Thursday we will have an away game at Mishawaka Marian. Friday will be a normal practice and we will have a rare Saturday off. Next week will already be the last week of the regular season with games on Monday, tuesday and Thursday. This coming Sunday will be the IHSAA Sectional Draw.

The Goal and Celebration!

Citizens arrest.....citizens arrest!!!

BARNEY!!!!!!

Jimtown-NorthWood 0-11 (0-2), Kyle Cripe Hero of the day

FIRST HALF -Lousy start in just about everything you can think of. No atmosphere -on the wrong type of football field- that can not even be used by the Jimmies themselves until the Football team is done being talked to by their coaches. Inspirational speech no doubt. The Jimtown GK is clad in an outfit the Indiana Department of Transportation would be proud of.

Sharpe Stadium/Knepp Field is our second turf combo field, this time black lines mark soccer territory. To keep it short, the first half can be summed up in a couple of words; below par in just about every way. The only moments worth mentioning are the 32nd minute Nick Lechlitner cross to Andre who with a side bike scores a very pretty 0-1 and the second goal. A couple of handballs are ignored, something we have become accustomed to. In the 38th, Seba gets leveled from behind and again no whistle. This crew matches the standard of most that we have seen of late. They are simply clueless and when you do not call fouls, the game will eventually be out of control. A pass from Joey Eshelman from the middle of the pitch and about 40 out finds Sebastian Guillen who effortlessly slips the ball past the Jimmies stopper, 0-2. HALF TIME - Not pretty and let's keep it with that. SECOND HALF - More effort is expected and forthcoming. Nothing but scoring in the scond part today, finally. This Jimtown team is in its second year so it will take time to develop a soccer program at a football school (speaking from experience here). 41" - Chan assist, Andre goal , 0-3. 43" - Andre assist, Sebastian goal, 0-4. 50" - Andre assist, Nick goal, 0-5. 57"- Kayden gets pushed, shoving ensues. Jimtown mouthy player sent off (2 yellows/red not sure how it is actually recorded, pretty sure the ref himself had no clue), Andre yellow caution for pushing. 63"- Joel assist, Marshall Beebe goal, 0-6. 64" - Joel wipes out on the track. 65" Greenlee assist, Kayden goal, 0-7. 71" - Sebastian assist (?), GK mishit for an own goal, 0-8. Also 71" - Joel unassisted, 0-9/ Super sub Kyle Cripe finishes out the game on two Seba assists and scores the two final goals of the game. Dutch Touch Player of the Game - Kyle Cripe (pictured below after his brace performance)

NOTES - JV wins first game vs. Plymouth in a PK shootout and loses to Goshen in the finals in a PK shootout, by far the JV's best performance at the JV Invite! Monday we are at the turf field to start our preparation for the two Mishawaka teams we will face next week.

Goshen-NorthWood Images (part 1)

Joey's crew before the game

And the rest of the gang.

Dutch Touch and Max Preps NW Player of the Game; Andrew Graber.

Goshen_NorthWood images (part 2)

The referee in better times.....before the game

This was available on the sideline, maye should've used it; could've helped the ref....

Goshen_#9 NorthWood 0-0 (0-0)

The JV loses a close game 2-1; Soloman scores the lone Panther goal.VARSITY FIRST HALF - Goshen games start late (5:30 JV/ 7:15 pm Varsity kick off). Temps are starting to get a fall like feel and for the first time of the season, the warm ups have to be dug out of the back packs. The Panthers are healthy and start in their by now familiar starting lineup. The game start is familiar at well with Goshen Coach Vi suggesting each and every play right before it is conducted ("swing it, swing it", "one two, one two".....oh for the love of Pete!!!) and at times he is more annoying than my dog at home who barks contantly. The game itself is a "skip the midfield" session in the first part of the first half. The first Redhawks threat comes in the 19th on a hard shot at Graber but as ususal, he makes the save. We have grown accustomed to Graber saves to the point that if a ball rolls over the line, we are all in shock. The first real NW opportunity comes on a free kick just outside and to the right of the Goshen box. The free kick goes at the frame but is deflected by a Goshen defender. NorthWood's next chance is probably the best one we will get all night long. An attack on the right side starts with a nicely weighted Kayden Newcomer pass to Andre De Freitas. Andre dribbles into the box and pulls the ball back between the 6 and 12 where Sebastian Guillen is in a perfect position. No Goshen defenders are close and Seba gets a real crack at this one. He shoots the ball hard but gets under the ball and the ball goes over....over the locker room building for that matter. Half time score therefore stays at 0-0. HALF TIME - The tea time talk stresses the importance of crossing the ball in the box and taking shots at the Goshen freshman keeper. Some other defensive adjustments are suggested and coach Duerksen asks for a little bit more effort from the team; a good result will be rewarded with a short and easy Friday practice! SECOND HALF - The back and forth game continues in the second half. Both teame have small opportunities but neither team takes advantage of them.In the 68th a pass to Andre's right into the box from Seba turns into a hospital ball when Andre and the Goshen GK collide. Both stay down but both are able to continue play. Things get dicey in the 70th. A cross into the Goshen box near the pk spot has the Goshen defense scrambling. A desperation kick misses the ball near Sebastian but does not miss Seba's face. The Goshen defender kicks Sebastian in the head when Seba attempts to head the ball. Sebastian goes down but the "referee" motions to play on. Coaches scream "foul" and want the game stopped but the "referee" is oblivious. He finally allows play to stop and as the assistant coach walks on the field I can tell what is going on in the coaches head. He screams at the ref that Sebastian got kicked in the head. His -ridiculous- response? "A kick in the head is not a foul". I know that when the coach screams at him the way he does and does not get a yellow caution, the ref knows he was wrong. But none of this is a consolation. We do not get the PK we deserve. The expecation was that the AR on the stand side would make "mistakes" tonight but he was nearly invisible. Somehwat remarkable and encouraging so I am sure that his ride home on his horse was a satisfying one. The center ref's performance was fairly weak overall but on a scal from 1-10, gets a 3 for missing the biggest call of the game. In the 73rd, Goshen lasers a shot at Graber and he comes up big with a diving save to his left and punches the ball away from the frame. NW gets a number of chances in the last few minutes of the game, one being a free kick from Andre that doesn't have enough mustard on it. Our defense plays well although our outside defenders struggled with the passing out of the back for a good portion of the night. The same can be said about our midfielders. They battled hard, played well defensively and put in a lot of work against a technically skilled team but again, the passing was off. And then it is hard to get the ball to our two forwars. All in all, we had our chances and did not execute offensively. We did good enough defensively to hold the zero for another shutout.Dutch Touch POTG goes again to Andrew GRaber. NOTES - Today's practice will be light and short. Tomorrow the Varsity has an early game at Jimtown (10 am) and the JV travels to Goshen again for the NLC Invite for an even earlier game versus Plymouth (9 am). The JV's second game will be at noon.

Updates

The Mishawaka game is at home (not away as stated here earlier). Today the bus to Goshen will leave the school at 4:30 pm. Saturday's game at Jimtown is 10 am and Varsity only. The JV plays at the NLC tournament this Saturday at Goshen. NW plays Plymouth at 9 am in Flight A. The second game is at noon.

Goshen News article on Warsaw game

Senior Night Images

Senior Night Images

Senior Night Images

NorthWood- Warsaw 1-1- (0-0)

The JV stays undefeated as they play to a 1-1 draw with a Solomon Yeagon goal in the 34". The Varsity takes the field for the Senior Night activities (see above for images)

Under sunny skies and the heat set at 73 degrees, the field is surrounded by fans in the stands, on the sideline in chairs and in the cheap seats behind the fence. Froggy 102.7 is broadcasting the game live on the radio as well as streaming the game on the internet! Despite 11 seniors being introduced with their parents, the game kicks off at 7 pm. This truly talented side faces a Warsaw team that has seen improving results as of late and fields a solid defense with the exception of the keeper. Technically, Warsaw is always a good side. The Tigers have a new coach, and more about him and his staff later. FIRST HALF- Our offensive threat shows itself to the Tigers and the crowd within the first seconds of the game. A beautiful straight up pass on the sideline from Cam Iwema lands perfectly in front of Sebastian Guillen. Seba goes around the left defender and crosses the ball high into the box where Andre de Freitas receives the ball between two Warsaw defenders. He brings the ball down but unfortunately he is unable to get too much pace on the ball as he falls back while kicking the ball at the goal. Within seconds, Warsaw counters and a hard shot requires a difficult save by Andrew Graber who would end up playing a Kyle Dijkstra like game! Kayden Newcomer takes a nice shot at the Warsaw frame but gets deflected by a Warsaw hand. But tonight, hand balls do not count. None of the three or so obvious hand balls during the game receive a free kick. In the 18th, Warsaw's #12 takes a great shot at the Panthers' goal and again Graber is there to prevent the goal.A new weapon in NorthWood's arsenal (first seen over the weekend in Argos) turns out to be another threat for the opponent; Andre has a long throw. This one finds Sebastian's head at the near post. The flick is saved by the Warsaw's GK. The officiating crew is surely experiencing an off night. The game gets chippy when Andre gets hacked from behind by Warsaw's #5 at the southwest corner flag. This is what happens when you let a lot of things go. The defender receives a yellow and he is lucky because a red would not have been unreasonable. Despite the back and forth attacks, we enter half time without anyone scoring goals. HALF TIME - Focus is on pressuring as a team and how to attack from the back with roll up defenders since Warsaw defends with the help of two of their attackers. SECOND HALF - Warsaw takes the game at NW for a good portion of the second half and threatens more and more offensively. In the 65th, Warsaw's #3 takes a hard crack at the goal and we get lucky, the ball hits the woodwork and goes over. Andre fouls a Warsaw MF near the Warsaw bench. It is a pretty innocent foul but the obvious unexerienced and not so classy Warsaw bench screams that andre is a hack. That is the one thing he is definitely NOT. Coach Duerksen, not appreciative of the name calling, tells the Warsaw coaches to be quiet. Even their "camera man" thinks he should contribute to the discussion.Eight minutes later Warsaw puts Randy Cripe to work when he has to change the scoreboard to 0-1 when a Warsaw attack at the top of the 18 sees a pass go to a Warsaw attacker (in an off side position as we thought and confirmed by watching the game tape). The AR on the west side line has already missed several off sides and doesn't disappoint this time by not raising her flag so the goal counts and the Tigers take a 0-1 lead. The Warsaw coaching staff celebrates in coach's Duerksen's face; a real classy move. The Panthers however do not let anyone get them distracted and the focus is on getting a goal back. We seem to run out of time but end up with a free kick after a unnecessary foul about 40 yards out. Andre de "Hack" Freitas turns into Andre "de Golden Goal" Freitas by putting the ball on the frame. The ball whirls at the goal and a lot of foot traffic prevents the Warsaw keeper with the butterfingers from getting to the ball. He gets a couple of fingers on the ball but the ball rolls into the net in the 80th (!!!!!) minute for the 1-1. Most draws are not exciting or satisfying, this one is. We deserve it and take a point when the clock expires. Both teams applaud each other after this battle. Overall, the entertainment value is high tonight, the officiating crew had an off night and hopefully will do better Thursday when they officiate our game again but expectations are low. the Dutch Touch POTG goes to Andrew Graber with 9 terrific saves on the night! NOTES- Thanks to Randy Cripe for doing the announcing again tonight and to Ryan Mattern who did double duty tonight (and drove to the field catalytic converterless) by announcing Senior Night and announcing the game as the color commentator on Froggy 102.7. Thanks to Froggy for being out at the game (Thanks Craig and Ron!!). Thanks to all the parents of our 11 seniors. Today's practice is at the HS from 3-4:30. Next up is the away game at Goshen tomorrow.

Mishawaka game update

Next Tuesday's game at Mishawaka is a Varsity contest only and will be at 6 pm.

Match Day 9

Warsaw is the opponent tonight. Tonight is also NorthWood's 2020 Senior Night. The game will be on Froggy 102.7 and will be streamed live as well. Warsaw is 3-5-2 on the season. The Panthers are now 5-2-1 and embarking on a busy week (Warsaw tonight, Goshen Thursday -away- and Jimtown Saturday -away as well-). The Panthers are 9th in 2A this week (up from #11). Despite some players dealing with some minor issues, we should have everyone healthy by tonight.

1A #1 Argos - 2A #11 NorthWood 4-1 (2-0)

Andre scores the lone NW goal versus a fresh Argos team (who had beaten very weak Rochester 7-0 in the first round). NW runs out of gas after the tough first round game but can look back at a succesful tournament.

3A # 4 Zionsville- 2A #11 NorthWood (Argos Tourney) 1-2 (0-2)

Fantastic free kick by Andre (1-0) and a nice Andre pass to Sebastian with a beatiful finish to beat the keeper gives NW a 2-0 lead over 2019 State Champion and current #4 in 3a. A PK (foul by Chase) is stopped by Graber who gets beaten on the follow up. Final 1-2 in a hard and physical contested battle.

NorthWood-ECA 5-0 (4-0)

Four Goals from Sebastian Guillen and one from Andre combined with the fact that most players get time on the field equals an easy 5-0 win over ECA.

NorthWood JV - Westview JV 1-0 (1-0)

The JV beats Westview in a hard fought 1-0 win (Abe Martinez goal!). The win improves the undefeated JV to 3-0-2 overall. Next game will be Tuesday against Warsaw. The Varsity will play tonight at home and faces Ekhart Christian around 7:30 (girls have a Varsity game before ours). Saturday the Varsity will face Class 3A #4 (and 2019 State Champion) Zionsville. This game will be a great measuring stick to see how we match up with a soccer powerhouse. The game starts at 3 pm. The 1 pm game is between Class 1A #1 (and also 2019 State Champion) Argos and Rochester. The Zebras are the only unranked team in the tournament. The Pathers are ranked #11 in Class 2A.The winners face off at 8 pm while the losers of the first round play each other at 6 pm.

Wawasee-NorthWood 1-3 (0-2)

Nothing stops us tonight, at least not in trying to get to Syracuse; not a road closing, not two car accidents we have to circumvent, nothing! We roll into town ahead of schedule and a lot of talk is about starting early because of some weather moving in later tonight. After all the talk between an interim AD, refs and coaches we end up starting 120 ticks early in each game. The coaches have to point out that the silver lines are the soccer lines (God forbid we have a paint that is brighter than the white football lines). The field is a football turf or an all sport turf, in any case, it is much flatter and quicker than our own turf. It will take some adjusting to. The JV sets the tone for the night, Douwsma's Boys register a 7-1 victory over the Warriors with goals from Andrew Myers (hat trick; the second andrew Myers who registers a hat trick in program history), Grant Miller with 2 and Camden and Carlos with one each. The JV moves to 2-0-2 (still undefeated and going for a school record in total wins this year according to Coach Douwsma). Then it is time to make room for the big boys. FIRST HALF- Coaching in front the Eshelman Stand, emphasis before the game is on neutralizing the Warriors' #14 Ethan Carey who thus far has tallied 10 goals on the season (albeit 5 against Mishawaka). The Wawasee offense comes alive in the 6th minute when the get a decent shot on goal off a corner but Greenlee is quick to react and saves the ball off the line! Kayden sends a pass on the right side to Sebastian who, with one move to the inside, beats the left back and then with a fairly tight angle, shoots and the ball flies in the net at the far post for an early 0-1 lead(9"). In the 17th, Andre gets the ball to Seba who crosses the ball into the mix. As always,Chase (called Dworkson in Wawasee land) is in the area and gets a head on the ball. The ball gets saved near the line but the rebound lands in front of Chase who doesn't hesitate and puts the ball into the ropes, 0-2! Despite the early lead, we let the control of the game slip away, play sloppy and do not make a lot of consecutive passes. We have trouble with the turf, passes are not to feet and miss their mark quite a bit. The last feat in half number one comes in the 39th when Andre takes a vicious shot at the Wawasee goal. The knuckler seems to go into the upper right 90 but an excellent diving save prevents an 0-3 lead. HALF TIME- The focus shifts to working hard. Coach Duerksen tells the team if they put in the effort, a win will be inevitable. SECOND HALF - In the 48th, Cam Iwema throws in from about 7 yards inside the field which is disallowed. The lines are confusing and if you are color blind, you can not officiate a game here obviously. In the 51st, AR 2 (the linesman on the grandstand side) decides to call a PK by waving his flag like a bow legged mad man. By the way if I get to pick my opponent in a "megnuts game", he is it!!!I will win that competition every time but back to the game..... Marshall and a Wawasee attacker both go into the Panther's box. The shoulder to shoulder battle ends when the Wawasee players topples over. It looks more like a 50/50 situation but our AR sees it different and the center ref reacts by blowing his whistle and pointing at the dot. It is the only goal scoring opportunity #14 would get and he tucks it away in the corner, 1-2. NorthWood decides the game when in the 65", Kayden takes the ball on the right side at a Warriors defender. He crosses the ball into the box and from about 12 out, Sebastian decidedly places the ball in the goal for the final 1-3 score. Not a pretty match but a good final score that reflects the game. The Panthers move to 3-1-1 (1-1-1 in NLC). Next on the schedule is Elkhart Christian Thursday at home. On a personal note; Kyle and I are flying with our families out west for my son's Ben's wedding over the weekend and we will have to miss the ECA game as well as the Argos tournament. Therefore the blog will be on hiatus until next Tuesday, the day of the Warsaw game. Not that you can not live without it but I thought I would explain our absence and you will have time to find something else to do after the games instead of spending three minutes reading this space. I am adding a new feature: the Dutch Touch POTG. The player of the game vs. Wawasee is a shared one: Joey Eshelman (worked hard and was instrumental defensively and re-starting attacks) and Sebastian Guillen (2 goals on the night and had a great first half!).

Match Day 5

The Panthers travel to Syracuse today to take on the Wawasee Warriors. The Warriors are 4-1 on the season with wins versues Westview (4-1), South Bend Riley (2-1), Mishawaka (13-1) and Loganpsort (3-0). The score against Culver Academies was not reported. Their loss came against West Noble (1-9). Wawasee has scored 23 times this year and almost a third of their goals have been scored by senior Carey (#14)with 8 goals so far. The Warriors are the Panthers' third NLC opponent this season. A win would level our record in conference. The Panthers had all players healthy at the beginning of last night's practice. Back up GK Trent Iwema suffered a knock in the last play of the 11v11 scrimmage and left the field under his own power with some bruising. The bus leaves at 3:45 from the pain palace. JV kicks off at 5, Varsity at 6:45. Wawasee plays on the football field (turf).

NorthWood-Bremen 5-2 (0-0)

A nice size crowd occupies the stands and sidelines (and some spots outside the fences) on a windy night. The JV game is a one half 45 minute show featuring Solomon Yegon with a hat trick althought, thruth be told that Carlos Alvarez got the assist on the first goal he could have scored himself. The JV, now 1-0-2, stays undefeated.FIRST HALF - The Varsity takes the field a little late since Bremen managed to show up late due to their long trek to Nappanee. Crossbar, posts seem to be the target in half number one where Seba, Andre (twice) and Kayden come close to scoring. Right before the half, Bremen shoots from about 20 out which requires Graber to make a save but we take a rest with the score at 0-0.HALF TIME - Emphasis is on effort, shots and better passing. We do not seem very crisp and Bremen outworks us in the first despite being a less talented side. SECOND HALF- A better and more energetic start results in a Panther goal in the 46th when Joey passes a nicely weighted ball to Andre (one of the first of the night that had the right pace; until now we had not been able to adjust to the windy conditions). Andre receives the ball and shoots at the goal for a nice solid goal, 1-0. Seven minutes later, Sebastian's corner ends up between the 12 and the 18 and Andre does not hesitate and powers a low shot to the left post. With all the traffic in fornt of him, the Bremen GK is too late to the ball, 2-0! We finally adjust not only to the wind but also to the way the Lions defend (fairly high line which invites thru balls and balls over the top). Chan is the next to take advantage of a Bremen defense that is pulled up too high by placing a ball over the last defender and into Andre's feet. He makes no mistake and places the ball over the line for a hat trick and 3-0 lead. Two minute later (60"), is when a chaotic chapter of the game starts when the referee starts to turn his average decision making performance into a dismal one. As Joel Guzman possseses (kinda because it is more of a mad scramble) a ball in the box and scores, the referee waves off the goal and points at the PK spot. Typically in soccer you would allow the goal to stand and not call the handball but this decision is a reversal of what normally happens. On top of that, the Bremen coach wants no PK (guess he rather just has the goal allowed) so all of a sudden it feels like we are dealing with people who have flunked some if not all soccer tests. After some screaming and muttering from the Lions sideline, a penalty is taken by Sebastian who puts a ripper in the roof of the net, 4-0. This seems like a score that reflects the game although we feel we have missed about as many opportunities as we have scored. A Bremen player trips (apparently on the roughly manicured artificial grass?) outside the box but to everyone's surprise another dubious call is made by the head referee: PK! Bremen scores and now the score is 4-1 (62"). Two minutes later a Sebastian to Andre pass turns into gold again when Andre puts the ball against the ropes for a Panther 5-1 lead. With three minutes left in the game, we lose our concentration defensively. Bremen takes advantage of a miscue and scores their second. With second left in the game, the Bremen coachers are still screaming for pressure and more offense as if four goals an be scored in under 30 seconds. Reality rules when no more goals are scored and time runs out while the Panthers walk off the field with their second win in three days.NOTES- Practice today from 3 - 4:30 at the High School practice Field. Practice Mondayat the turf field (7-8:30) in preparation for the away game Tuesday at Wawasee (NLC opponent). Hopefully everyone gets to enjoy a relaxing Labor Day weekend.

A YELLOW MAN SURELY DISAPPOINTED WITH HIMSELF

Match Day 4

Bremen visits NorthWood today. With low numbers in the program, the Lions field a JV that will only play our JV for a 45 minute half. That game kicks off at 5 pm. The Varsity contest will therefore start around 6 (at the conclusion of the first game). Bremen is 3-1 with a brutal 1-10 loss to Plymouth and easy wins over Oregon-Davis (16-0), Riley (6-0) and Bethany Christian (5-0). They are on a 3 game unbeaten streak. The Panthers are ranked # 13 in 2a while Bremen is unranked.

Images from the NW-Lakeland game

LAKELAND COACH BACKPACK

FORMER KEEPER CODY CRIPE ASSISTS AT THE ANNOUNCING/SCOREBOARD TABLE TONIGHT (CODY IS KYLE CRIPE'S OLDER BROTHER)

SIXTY PERCENT OF THE COACHING STAFF

HERE SHOWN ON THE BENCH BUT ALL WOULD SEE ACTION TONIGHT

PRE-GAME HUDDLE

NorthWood-Lakeland 10-0 (7-0)

FIRST HALF- The sparsely populated stands are proof that this game is not as highly anticipated as the previous two match ups. A total of 89 fans are witness to a multitude of goals and goal scorers. The Lakers have a depleted team with just one sub. Lakeland arrives late to Wellfield Park and the game kicks off about 13 minutes late. The offensive start from the Panthers is promising when Sebastian Guillen whips a nice cross in the box. Andre de Freitas' attempt at a sideways bicycle kick sails to the right of the Lakeland goal. A minute later, another NW attack -there will be plenty of those tonight- Kayden Newcomer gets the ball and crosses it tightly near the 6 where the ball is misHANDled by a Lakeland defender. Center ref Asoera points to the punishment spot and Kayden takes the pk. It was not the best PK but it goes in for the early NW lead, 1-0. We only have to wait another 4 minutes before the scoreboard needs updated again. Chandler Bontrager places a nice thru ball in the box to Dre who gets two chances at scoring; the second one finds the net for NW's second and Andre's first goal of the night. Despite efforts from Lakeland's #5 and #22 to prevent Panther attacks and occassionally trying to threaten themselves, it does turn into a game that is dominated by NW. A beatiful cross from Kayden around the right side of the Lakers defense finds Seba's head near the far post. The quality header finds the net, 3-0. In the 14th, Seba passes a split ball on the ground to Andre for the 4-0 lead. The 15th minute sees a nice "megnuts' from Joey Eshelman on LL's #10. We have to wait another 15 minutes before the score increases again; Kayden's pass to Dre puts the forementioned Mr. de Freitas in a scoring position and he does not disappoint; 5-0. The Panthers hit the post thrice in the first half and the 37th minute has a repeat goal from the 30" goal (Kayden to Andre, Andre goal, 6-0. The only real threat in the entire game occurs in the 38th minute when a NW defensive miscue all of a sudden presents Lakeland with a 1V1 situation on Andrew Graber but the Lakeland scoring effort gets thwarted by Graber's right foot and therefore keeps NW in the running for another shutout. One minute before the break, Joel Guzman finds Kayden who curls the ball into the net for the 7-0 HT score! HALF TIME- The only half time adjustment is the lineup where the entire bench comes on the pitch to start the second half. SECOND HALF- Luis Castillo starts us off with an assist to Aiden Schrock who with great technique, volleys the ball low into the goal for the 8-0 lead. Kyle Cripe has a couple of great offensive actions by way of a corner kick and some nice passing. The first yellow is shown in the 69th when Lakeland's #22 uses his weight and pushes Chan over for no apparent reason in the center circle. In the same minute, Carlos Alvarez decides to occupy a spot on the score sheet after he receives a pass from Andre. With 11 minutes to go, the Panther lead is 9. In the 73rd, Andre and again the feisty Lakeland #22 get into a verbal confrontation which lands both of them a yellow caution. Since it is #22's second yellow, he gets the soft red and has to leave the field; his night is over. A Chan assist with two minutes left on the clock evens out the Aidens scoring match when Aiden Greenlee gets his first of the night. The final is 10-0 and the game is a good practice game for the Panthers, gets everyone but Alex (not eligible yet due to practice rules after coming back) playing time and gets the starters some well deserved rest time. NorthWood's record is 1-1-1 as we now prepare for the home game versus Bremen Thursday. There was no JV game vs. Lakeland. Bremen has a JV but apparently has low numbers in the program so the NW-Bremen JV game will be one half. I will update start times of the games Thursday as they become available. NOTES - Six scorers is a nice distribution for the NW offense tonight. Wednesday's practice will be on the turf field.