2021 Awards Night

Tuesday November 9th (tomorrow!!) we will have our annual Awards Night in the High School cafeteria at 6:30 PM.

NLC All Conference

Even though we feel we deserved more, we received All NLC honors for Joey and Michael and Honorable Mention for Dom!!! Congratulations Gentlemen!!!! Well deserved!!!

Turning in uniform day

Thursday (Oct. 14) we will meet in the LGI room. Bring ALL NW uniforms (jerseys, shorts) in washed/clean condition.The meeting will be from 3:15-3:45. We will discuss plans for the winter and we also need to take the stick down back to the JV baseball field fence area.

West Noble - NorthWood 3-1 (1-0)

FIRST HALF- A well prepared NorthWood squad takes the field knowing that Torres and Macias need contained tonight. With the 3-5-2 (1-3-5-2 if you are LvG)in place for a while, some adjustments were made during the defense walk through portion of Tuesday's practice. The actual defensive execution part of practice worked well with Seth playing the part of Torres. Counters looked good as did the defense so tonight we have to do the same in the actual game. West Noble starts out controlling most of the game from the start but our defenders and wingbacks slide where they have to and encounter little difficulty containing Torres. In the 27th, Torres does get the ball on our right side and we do not double team near the end line where we should and the cross finds WN feet that turns into the only non set piece goal of the match. We play the way we want to for the rest of the half even though WN has more possession than the Panthers but a 1-0 score is manageable for the second half.SECOND HALF - Number 4 Macias flops all night long

as illustrated perfectly by my granddaughter Hannah Mattern. The officiating starts to take center stage in the 53rd. A ball in the box sees Eberle go up for the ball against a WN midfielder.

(drawing copyright Hannah Mattern). When Eberle turns in the air, AR1 raises his flag. The center official stops play and asks AR1 about the raised flag and to our surprise, a hand ball is called and WN is gifted a PK. Not sure how one is supposed to jump in the air and have the ball behind them and get called for a handball when the arms are not raised or extended but we have no choice but to live with this poor decision. WN scores even though Trent (who has a good night in the goal)goes to the right side but is unable to get anything on it. The Panthers start to press more and attacks the West Noble box more frequently. In the 57th a NW cross is defended by West Noble but a defenders hand touches the ball and the ball changes direction. The center ref places the ball on the 12 after loud appeals from the Panthers bench. Michael Hahn's penalty hits the ropes with authority for a NW goal 2-1!

(Illustration by Hannah Mattern). NorthWood keeps up the pressure and in the 67th, a Michael Hahn free kick hits the post. In the 69th a NW corner gets headed onto the frame by Solomon but a last minute reflex by the West Noble keeper prevents the ball from going in. And then it is time for history to repeat itself (just ask Nick Lechlitner). After #4 Macias finally received yellow caution for being the tallest and whiniest player on the field (not sure why you would put up with that behavior for 70 and then all of a sudden you've had enough) a Charger attack has Torres in possession of the ball inside the box. And just like he did two years ago, he then runs into a NW defender (Gifton this time) and falls and to everyone's surprise, the center official points at the PK sport for the third (!!!!!!!!!!) time tonight. Talk about officiating having an impact on a game. Numbers 4 and 9 had been flopping all night long but this time it pays off to play like this and never get punished for it. The penalty finds the net for the 3-1 West Noble win. NorthWood leaves it all on the field tonight. We played hard all night long, we were well prepared (although not prepared for this type of officiating). The coaching staff is extremely proud of this team. Our seniors were leaders and Joey, Michael, Kaleb and Aiden Schrock played very well tonight. We knew it would be a tough contest and with Dom being under the weather all week and unable to get much playing time, we knew we were in for a battle but we were in the game the entire time until the second West Noble PK and even after that we had opportunities. We are going to miss our Seniors next year and would have loved to send them off with a Sectional Championship! We had a young team this season and had to replace 9 starters from the team that went to Semi State last year and overall performed well with very good results against Marian and Plymouth. We end the season at 7-9-2 and had two canceled games (Glenn and Jimtown) that probably would have put us right at 500. We will collect jerseys etc. next week (Kyle will send out a remind). All in all, we will have a good group coming back next year so there is a lot to look forward to. On a personal note, I will miss our seniors. Some of them I have coached for 6 or 7 years. Thanks to our Athletic Director Roman Smith and Dean of Athletics AJ Risedorph for their support and everything they have done for us. Thank you to Sarah and all the parents that helped her with the snacks and meals. Thank you to Jeff Iwema for taping all the games and his general tent/water/propel support. Thanks to Kyle, Seth and Brayton who have not only done a great job this season but have made going to practice fun every day. When Seth asked Kyle on the bus how he would rate this season, Kyle said a B- , so room for improvement which we are eager to get start working on. Speaking of rating; on the 1-10 scale, the center ref gets a 3, AR 1 a 2 and AR2 a 9.

Media attention for tonight's game

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N73A6TTXsfE - copy and paste this link into your browser for streaming coverage. Froggy 102.7 with Craig and Ryan will be present as well for the West Noble-NorthWood game. We believe broadcastsport.net will be there (use the IHSAATV.org app on your smart tv).

Sectional Semi Final Preview

The 13-4 West Noble Chargers will field a strong team with several threats. Macias and especially Torres will be the players to watch tonight. Comparing the common opponents shows that all but one have similar results. The only result that is different is where West Noble defeated Bethany 2-1 and we lost 2-1. Tonight's match outcome will probably determine the Sectional Champion. The West Noble head coach acknowledged in the Goshen News that NW has an organized team but he says his team is confident going into the game tonight. Two years ago, West Noble knocked us out of the tournament at NorthWood and last year we returned the favor when we defeated West Noble 0-2 at their home field. Tonight we are at a neutral site on a very fast surface. We should have everyone available although not all are at 100%. The weather looks to stay dry throughout the game (of course that is what the weather people said for Monday's game as well). Kick off is at 5 pm tonight. The bus leaves the High School at 3:45 and the Panthers will wear their white shirts, black shorts and white socks. We are hoping for a good performance from the Panthers and the arbitral trio tonight. Hopefully we will have good fan support as well. Go Panthers!!!!

WHEN WE SAY BRING RAINGEAR......

CAM STAYS DRY WITH THE UPGRADED NEW JACKET. F1 FANS (AND THERE ARE AT LEAST 5 ON THE TEAM) WILL HAVE TO GET UP EARLY THIS WEEKEND FOR QUALIFYING AND THE RACE!

NorthWood-Garrett 8-0 (5-0)

With the temps in the low 70's, the wind playing a factor and with a threat of rain, it is the kind of night where you're not sure if the game will be impacted by outside influences but fortunately that will turn out not to be the case. The ever prepared Jeff Iwema (last name will give the announcer fits when Trent presents himself to the spectators) has Tent #2 ready to go and actually comes out at half time to set it up and dry out the team. Mestach and Iwema are the chosen names to be butchered tonight, broadcastsport.net and of course the familiar voices of Craig and Ryan on Froggy 102.7 accompany the game again tonight. Sectionals and therefore the one win and move on or loose and go home format is about to kick off statewide. The Railroaders are 8-8 and just come off a 10-1 loss against Columbia City, the Panthers have some defensive restoring to do tonight after the 2-1 loss at Bethany. NW is looking to get back in the groove that they were in against the likes of Marian and Plymouth. The game kicks off about on time on the very unforgiving and fast carpet some call synthetic turf with gray lines to indicate the soccer field. It turns out to be a bit of a jittery start, expected somewhat; it is the play offs after all. In the 10th, Michael finds Solomon for the first time tonight who in turn gets the ball near the goal line to Carlos. Carlos is in the right spot but his effort goes over but it is an indication that the Garrett defense might have a long night ahead of having to deal with NW attacks. Michaels passes are spot on tonight. A very, very high Garrett defensive line (off side trap) is only effective early on when we get caught being in offisde positions but after adjusting to this high line (which at times is told to move up to the middle of the field by their coach)we get plenty of opportunities. The first one that penetrates the defense is a ball from Michael over the top between two defenders in front of Joel Guzman. He takes the shot as soon as it hits the turf and his effort finds the net for a NorthWood 1-0 lead. Dominic turns up the pressure a bit in the 25th when he decides to blast one from about 30 out. His shot disappears in the right corner as the keeper dives over the ball. Now the flood gates are open. Dom assists Sol for the 3-0 in the 28th and 22 seconds later Sol scores again for one of the quickest braces in NW history. A Michael Hahn corner hits a Garrett defender for the OG and 5-0 HT score. The Panthers come out strong in part 2 as well. Carlos makes a nice move and takes a hard shot that hits the post 4 minutes into the second half. A 25 yard shot from Michael hits the ropesin the 53rd for the 6-0 lead. Two minutes later Michael's cross finds a Garrett sub's head. The poor guy just came in and fires a header that he lasers into his own goal; 7-0. Maddox Brown has a couple of opportunities and his second one requires a great save by the Railroaders' back up keeper. Trace replaces Trent in the goal, everyone comes off the bench and gets decent playing time (15 minutes plus). Five minutes before the final whistle, Bryce Knepp puts himself on the scoresheet. Maddox passes to Bryce who scores the Panthers' final goal of the night. Final score 8-0. Solid job by the Panthers who move on to face West Noble (7-1 winners over Wawasee) on Wednesday at 5 pm at the same venue. The Panthers move to 7-8-2 on the season.

Sectional 20 - Rd 1 Preview NorthWood- Garrett

NorthWood is the home team tonight versus the Railroaders who come off of a big loss to close out their 8-8 season. Garrett plays in the NorthEast Corner Conference and finished with a 4-2 record. The only common opponent is Lakeland. Garrett defeated the Lakers 3-1 where the Panthers beat Lakeland 8-0. The Railroaders have scored 43 goals in 16 games and have given up 53. Their leading scorers are #15 with 12 goals and #11 with 10 goals on the season. Today's game starts at 5:30 pm weather permitting. The GPS address for the Sectional Site at Wawasee is 401 S. Syracuse-Webster Rd and the game will be played on the turf at the football stadium. Cost is $ 6 for the two games tonight or $ 10 for the All-Session Ticket. Game 2 tonight will be between Wawasee and West Noble. The winner of today's games will face each other Wednesday at 5 pm (Oct. 6th). At this point we are not sure if we have all players available for tonight's game. If NW wins tonight, the team will stay for the first half of the second game.

ONE OF THE 4 MAX FANS

CAM SUPPORTING MAX!!! SOME OF US WILL BE WATCHING THE GP THIS WEEKEND!!!

IMAGES FROM THE SENIOR DINNER

2021 Senior Dinner

THANK YOU SARAH FOR ORGANIZING THE SENIOR DINNER (AND EVERYONE ELSE WHO HELPED SARAH!)

YOUR 2021 SENIORS!

OUR JUNIORS

OUR SOPHOMORES

OUR FRESHMEN (NOT PICTURED DOMINIC DE FREITAS)

Bethany Christian - NorthWood 2-1 (2-1)

Doesn't start well when three players don't bring their cleats and only two refs show up. And doesn't end well when this is the scoreline; 5" 1-0, 30" 2-0, 39" 2-1 (Carlos header off Dom's free kick).

Final Regular Season Game preview

The Panthers will travel to Goshen College tonight to take on the Bethany Bruins. The starting time is 6 pm and it is a Varsity only night. The 118 x 75 yard soccer field has a capacity of 1,000 according to goleafs.net with the main stand holding 500 plus seating. The GPS address for Goshen College is 1700 S. Main St., Goshen. The Bruins play their home games this season at the college because their own sports campus is undergoing renovations. The Bruins are 4-8 on the season and 2-2 in the Northern Indiana Soccer Conference. Bethany has been blanked six times thus far. They have scored 16 goals and given up 24. In contrast, the Panthers have scored 36 times and have been scored on 33 times. Common opponents are Mishawaka Marian (Bruins 4-0 L/NW 0-0 D),Northridge (Bruins 2-0 L, NW 4-1 L), Bremen (Bruins 3-0 L, NW 1-0 W), Goshen (Bruins 4-1 L, NW 4-0 L) and ECA (Bruins 1-0 L, NW 1-1 D)so our results have been slightly better. Bus leaves at 5 pm from the Pain Palace.

Thank You

THANK YOU TO RANDY AND KYLE CRIPE FOR ANNOUNCING AND RUNNING THE SCOREBOARD AT ALL HOME GAMES THIS SEASON AND THANK YOU TO OUR CERTIFIED ATHLETIC TRAINER MR. PAUL WIDNER FOR ALL HE DOES FOR THE SOCCER PROGRAM. MR. WIDNER TREATS ALL OUR INJURED PLAYERS, DEVELOPS ALL TREATMENT AND REHAB PLANS, MAKES SURE HIS ASSISTANTS SUPPLY US WITH THE MEDKIT, WATER AND ICE FOR ALL HOME AND AWAY GAMES. MR. WIDENER ALSO TREATS ALL VISITING PLAYERS WHEN INJURED AND DOES SO DURING THE PRE-SEASON AND THE REGULAR AND POST-SEASON.

1-0 & 2-0

1-0

2-0

Thank You to all our Seniors and their parents for all your hard work and dedication!!!!

ALL SENIORS WITH THEIR PARENTS

Senior Night 2021

KALEB EBERLE

AIDEN SCHROCK

MICHAEL HAHN

JOEY ESHELMAN

SO HAPPY WITH HIS PERFORMANCE, THE REFEREE DANCES THE MACARENA IN FRONT OF THE SENIOR NIGHT CROWD

NorthWood-Plymouth 2-0 (1-0)

After a pretty exciting JV game that ends in a 1-1 draw (Cam's great goal ties it up with about 6" left), it is time for the seniors to take the field for their last home game. After the 4-3-3 earlier in the season seems to be less productive then it needed to be, the Panthers have worked on some reorganization defensively while offensively switching to a two prong attack. Defensively, we haven't given up a goal in the last two games while at the same time frustrating our opponents. The hope is that that streak continues tonight at Wellfield Park (the Home of NorthWood soccer after all). The change also has some implication on the ball possession in general. A little less possession, a little more counter attacking danger in return. Plymouth is a solid opponent who just comes off a 1-0 win vs. Northridge. The game starts with some minimal Panther threats but after a few jittery oments, the game settles down a bit. In the 18th minute, NW is awarded a free kick on the left side of the pitch on the Rockies half. Michael Hahn, who has come on strong recently with dangerous free kicks, passes and corners, strikes the ball with authority towards the Plymouth box. Just outside the 6, Solomon Yeagon gets behind the ball and with the smoothest of touches, slots the ball in the near corner for an early NorthWood lead; 1-0. Michael strikes again in the 25th when a perfect pass makes it to Luis who in a very nifty way, gets away from a central Rockies defender and goes at the GK. It look like his shot to the keepers left is perfect but the ball misses just right of the far post. Luis does everything well with the exception of the finish. Plymouth gets numerous chances and some efforts get cleared off the line (Alex saves one in the first half) and in the 32nd, Plymouth #14 breaks thru and goes 1 on 1 with Trent but Trent sticks his leg in the way and keeps the 0 on the guest side of the scoreboard. The half time speech focuses on needing another 40 minute effort. We have now played 3 good halves and want to make that 4 and get a result. The second half starts the way the first one ended. The referee has a second half performance that can be best characterized as consistent.....consistently bad. We end up with four yellow cards and Plymouth with one. Carlos gets one for kicking a ball away where Plymouth did the same in the first half and gets nothing. Those are the performances that frustrate coaches; all we want is consistency! Plymouth threatens the Panthers at times in the second half but defensively we deal with it. Aiden Greenlee has the backline playing in a disciplined fashion and Kaleb and Ethan play their position well. Our wingbacks work hard from box to box. Alex has a motor that won't stop and does not mind making runs up the flank to give us additional offensive options. Luis might have missed a great opportunity in the first half but in the 68th he gets revenge. In a ball in the box situation, Luis heads the ball over the keeper. In the ensuing scramble between a Plymouth defender and GK, Luis and Solomon, Solomon ends up near the ball on the far post and puts the ball over the line for a NW 2-0 lead. It needs mentioned that Joey disturbs many Plymouth attacks in the middle and Dom has a nice game with great distribution and with about 15 or so left in the game, takes on a more defensive role -part of the new system we play- and even though it looks like we might invite more attacks from the opponent, it gives us more counter attacking opportunities as well. The game ends in a 2-0 win for the Panthers on Senior Night and the contribution by our four seniors (Michael, Joey, Kaleb and Aiden Schrock)was fantastic all night long. Our final record in NLC is 3-4. Thanks to our Seniors for all these years of dedicating themselves to NW soccer. We are glad the rest of the team could help out with getting them a win on Senior Night! Thanks to Sarah DeFreitas for getting everything ready for Senior Night. Also thanks to Jeff Iwema for replacing the broken canopy tent (which was also donated to us by Jeff). Thanks to all the fans for showing up all season long and being our 12th man! Now you know where to sit as well so thank you Sarah for posting the new signs ("Home Fans- Panthers" and "Away Seats"). Next up is the Varsity only game at Goshen College versus Bethany Christian tomorrow (Thursday 09/29 at 6 pm). The JV finishes the season at 5-6-2 and was unbeaten in their last 3 games.

Preview NorthWood-Plymouth

Plymouth is 7-4-2 on the season and 3-2 in NLC. The Pilgrims/Rockies are 4-2-2 when it comes to common opponents. We have a 3-5-1 record in that column. plymouth has scored 43 goals in 13 games; an average of 3.3 goals per game. The Panthers have scored 34 times in 13 games which comes to an average of 2.6 goals a game. NW is 2-4 in NLC. The Rockies come off a 1-0 win versus Northridge and the Panthers come off a 0-0 draw versus class 2A #5 Mishawaka Marian. Hopefully tonight's game will live up to its billing.

Tonight's game on Froggy 102.7

You can listen to tonight's game versus Plymouth on the radio at 102.7 FM or on the Froggy App. Please tune in if you are unable to make it to the game at Welffield Park in Nappanee.

Quick Update - Sectional game Monday

The Panthers will play the Garrett Railroaders on Monday October 4th at 5:30 pm on the turf field (football/soccer stadium) at Wawasee High School. Cost is $ 6 per session ticket or $ 10 for a All-Session Ticket. All tickets will be sold at the gate. We are listed as the home team Monday and will wear our black/red stripe jerseys. The GPS address for the school is 401 S. Syracuse-Webster Rd, Syracuse IN.

Classic Story

Last Friday after practice I asked the two players who were still standing outside the fence if they had a ride coming. One of them said his ride was there but left. I asked what happened. The player says "well, I opened the back door and put my bags in the back seat. I closed the door to get in the front but my mom took off". I asked him if he had called his mom to make her aware he was separated from his bags. "not yet" was his response. Since it had been a while I told him that he probably should place hte call. He did. I asked her what she said and the player says "well she said that she started talking to me but got no answer and she looked and noticed I wasn't in the car so she is on the way back to get me" hahahahahahahahahahaha

UPDATE - TODAY'S GAME

Due to bussing issues, Plymouth will arrive later than usual pushing back the JV start to 5:30 PM. At the conclusion of the JV game we will have the Senior Night recognition. The Varsity game will start after that.

Called up to Varsity

Fresh off their Teagarden JV Soccer Showcase win in Ft. Wayne, the following players were called up by Head Coack Kyle Dijkstra to the Varsity Squad for Sectionals;

JACK WALTER

BRYCE KNEPP

WES BELL

MADDOX BROWN

THE QUARTET WITH THEIR NEW VARSITY JERSEYS. CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL FOUR.

Senior Night tomorrow

Our four seniors and their parents will be recognized tomorrow night before the start of the Varsity kick off against Plymouth. Michael Hahn, Kaleb Eberle, Aiden Schrock and the man who seems to have been around for 6 years, Joey Eshelman, are this years' seniors. The slightly modified celebration due to Covid should take place around 6:45 pm on the turf field at Wellfield Park. Froggy 102.7 FM will be present as well as our own announcer Randy Cripe to wrap up the home part of the season. The weather will be great so please come out and support your NW Panthers Boys Soccer Team as they wrap up the regular season and prepare for Sectionals.

Article from the Ink Free News

Today's practice

Practice will be at the turf field from 3:30-5:30. Tomorrow's game is at home vs. Plymouth. JV might start around 5 pm (Plymouth buses leaving late) with the Varsity game to follow. It is Senior Night and the senior recognition will take place before the game.

2021 Sectional Draw

In the IHSAA Boys Class 2A Sectional 20, the Panthers draw Garrett in the first round (and match) of the play offs. Wawasee faces West Noble in round 1 (match 2). The winners of match 1 & 2 play each other in the semi final. The other semi final (schools with a bye) will be between Angola and Lakeland. The first round will be played on Monday October 4th. Match 1 should be at 5 pm, match 2 to follow at the conclusion of match 1. Games will be played on the artificial turf at Wawasee. The first semi final game will be Wednesday October 6th at 5 pm. The final will be on Saturday October 9th with the time to be determined.

JV wins both games in Ft. Wayne tourney

The JV defeats Ft. Wayne Snider 6-2 in the first game with a haul from Andrew Myers, one from Jack Walters and Bryce Knepp each. Abe is the difference in game tow as he scores the lone goal to beat Leo off a set piece from Lanon Weldy (assist). NExt up for the JV : last game of the season at home vs. Plymouth tomorrow night.

#5 Mishawaka Marian - NorthWood 0-0 (0-0)

ANOTHER MARIAN ATTACK THWARTED BY THE NW DEFENSE. The Panthers take the field against a very good, class 2A 5th ranked opponent. It is the second time this season we play Marian and we have something to prove believing that we are better than the team that lost earlier in the season in the NW Invitational (1-4). The formation is different, players will be playing different roles and in this formation we seem a little deeper and not as one dimensional. We do need a good effort which is emphasized by our head coach before the game. The rest will then, hopefully, fall into place. We take the field with everyone well aware of their responsibilities against the best opponent we have faced all season. The Knights have not changed up anything as they play quick long balls to their forwards of which #22 (fast) and #23 (skilled) are the main targets most of the time. Where the Knights in the first game would challenge our defenders and beat them regularly, with NW now using wingbacks, the challenges are there but no longer won each time by the men in blue. Shot after shot fly at Trent. But each one is stopped. Some stops (in the 17th, 19th and 21st) are plain old unbelievable ones and keep us in the game. We combine well (I have not received the game stats from Hudl so a possession % is not yet available) and do so throughout the game. It is one of those games where everyone who steps on the pitch contributes to the common effort. Mishawaka Marian is a very good team with numerous weapons. Once they gain possession defensively, they quickly get the ball to their attackers who try to go around defenders and either shoot or cross the ball between the 6 and 12. Our defensive line is fairly high in the first half making each long ball a sprint for their attackers and our defenders, a fact observed by coach Douwsma at the half. We therefore drop the defensive line a bit so those long balls do not become a race each time and it makes the second half a little easier in terms of the flank battles. Carlos gets ahold of a pass in the box before the half and the Marian GK is out of position but his shot gets deflected. The Knights keep battering our goal but either our defenders, wingbacks or keeper deal with it each and every time. In the 56th, the referee misses a foul committed by Marian and the ensuing attack results in a free kick near the NW box. The NW wall with 5 players sets up and for some unknown reason a Marian player puts himself in an offisde position by standing right in front of Trent. The free kick hits the net but the goal is disallowed because obviously the Marian player is in an off side position while involved in play. In the 61st another free kick is saved by Trent on the near side. Greenlee seems very comfortable in the center role by himself and plays a solid game. Kaleb and Ethan did great in their outside defensive roles. Alex and Grant worked their rear ends off playing as wingbacks and help defend all night long. Joey (as usual) puts in all the dirty work and converts a lot of defensive plays into offensive ones. Dom and Michael control the ball so well in the middle and dish out great passes to our forwards. Our forwards work hard all night long. When Luis, Joel and Schrock come in, they not only give others a breather but they play well. It is an overall team effort and if we put this type of effort into every remaining game, this team's season is not going to end for a while. NOTES- Today's practice is at the turf and will be from 3:30-5. A lactic acid run will be the warm up today -a well deserved one-. The JV loses 6-0 to the Knights' JV. They will be back in action tomorrow inthe Ft. Wayne Bishop Luers JV tournament. Tournament information will be dispersed via Remind. The Varsity contest at John Glenn this coming Monday has been canceled by Glenn. Therefore, senior night this coming Tuesday will be our next -home-game.

Mishawaka - NorthWood 0-7 (0-5)

The teams are announced as Eburlee seems to now be the top vote getter in the most butchered names at NW soccer games. To our surprise, Mishawaka's #12 not only gets announced as "Freight train" but his teammates actually call him that. The Mishawaka jerseys must have been designed by Freight train which seem to be rails running from the chin down to the side of the shorts. The Panthers are in no mood to wait with the scoring tonight. 120 seconds in, a Michael Hahn corner finds Dom who whips the ball into the box and to Solomon Yeagin's noggin. The redirect slams into the ropes for a aesthetically pleasing goal. 0-1! Not wanting to be outdone by Michael and Dom, Alex receives a nice long cross from the same Michael and places the ball into the box and also finds Solomon's head. Solomon repeats his first effort and scores his and NorthWood's second goal of the night in minute 11; 0-2! Eventhough we dominate play, we will not score again until the 26th when Dominic DeFreitas delivers a shot that goes to the upper left and then curls in just inside the post for a goal that seems mainly appreciated by himself and the coaches. I am not sure if the nice curl is not detected by the sparse crowd or if it is our position but it is one of the nicest finishes you will see come off the right outside boot of any player. Luis Castillo finds Carlos Alvarez in the 32nd who shoots NW to a 0-4 lead. Carlos is involved in the next goal as well when he assists Solomon on the last goal before the half; NW has 5, Sol a hat trick!. HT speech is short and with the weather going south (from drizzle to a regular rain), we are all hoping for a mercy ruled ending. The second half looks promising. In the 51st, Sol picks out Grant for a pass (after Sol brings down a ball near the box smoothly). Grant goes in the box and takes a nice shot that finds the back of the net (0-6). Luis gets taken down in the box 11 minutes later and gets to take his own PK. The self proclaimed specialist scores albeit not convincingly (keeper gets a hand on the ball) but a goal is a goal. The 0-7 lead would also be the final and we are forced to play all 80. Andrew has a great chance in front of the goal but his effort goes well over and Luis hits the post hard in the 64th. Several other chances do not go in, but with a revised formation, it is a solid result and hopefully enough practice before we take the field again in the same city but a different field and opponent Thursday night, weather permitting.

JV vs Penn 2-1 (0-1)

Cam and Landon score with 3 and 2 minutes left in the game respectively to beat the Penn JV 2-1.

JV hosts Penn today

After two close losses on Saturday against Plymouth (0-1) and Northridge (0-1), the JV returns to action at 5 pm this afternoon at home. Penn is the opponent.

NorthWood - Goshen 0-4 (0-2)

Goshen scores in 2nd minute and again in 38". In between decent soccer from the Panthers. Again a slow start in second act (42"), kills all plans for a comeback and to add insult to injury, a 4th goal goes in in the 44th. Defensively we play fairly organized but individually some lazy and slow marking cost us the game. A very good Goshen keeper and the buzzer prevent efforts from Dom (2x) and Michael whose shot makes it into the goal but a fraction of a second after time expires at the end of the half. Nothing to complain about, just time for some reorganization to get ready for Sectionals. We just need to execute much better defensively and offensively. If you can do it in practice, we should be able to do it during the game. Today's practice from 3:30-5:15. GK training starts at 3:15. JV puts in a great grinding defensive effort and gets a 0-0 draw against a very skilled but slow operating Goshen JV. Trace stops a Goshen PK as well. Dugout was clean and all balls are accounted for so no planks on the menu today.

Game Day 11

The 3-6-1 Panthers take on the 3-6-2 Redhawks at Wellfield Park tonight. The temporary entrance is on the west side of the field behind the stands. The JV starts at 5:30, Varsity at 7:15pm. We have no injuries to report. Game time temperature will be 75 degrees before it falls to about 66 at game's end. Pretty good soccer weather. Hope to see everyone out there. Go Panthers!!! The game will be broadcast live on Froggy 102.7 FM. The video live stream on michianapromitons.com and IHSAATV.org has been canceled. Craig and Ryan will do the game on the radio and the 102.7 app!

This is what goes on during a weather delay

THANKS TO WARSAW HIGH SCHOOL FOR LETTING US STAY IN THEIR FIELDHOUSE DURING THE WEATHER DELAY

MICAHEL SINGS LUIS TO SLEEP.

F1 DISCUSSION WHTHER LANDO OR MAX IS THE BETTER DRIVER; ANSWER - MAX...OBVIOUSLY

SCHROCK AND IWEMA BOTH HAVE ONLY RIGHT FEET

HANGING OUT

Warsaw - NorthWood 4-1 (2-1)

Senior Night in Warsaw typically means a late start of the Varsity game. With 12 seniors and their parents to be announced and having to listen to their life stories, it seems these activities will take some time. The weather worsens the situation when after the first senior is announced, the game is thrown into a weather delay due to thunderbolts and lightning (very very frightening me, Galileo, Galileo, Galileo, Galileo, Galileo, Figaro, magnificoo ....if you are a Freddy Mercury or Queen fan). The 6:45 start is pushed back to about 7:30. By the time we do get cleared to play, we still have to finish up listening to 11 seniors being announced by the British announcer -which does add to the experience-. Finally we can prepare and actually kick off for the game around 8 pm. The announcer throws in a couple of commentaries to the starting lineup (The NorthWood keeper, "he's a big one" and "Joel Gooooooseman") but all of this does come to an end so we can start what we came here for. The Panthers start out well and combine quick and effectively. It culminates into a couple of great opportunities. The first one is a Michael Hahn pass to Luis who nearly finds the net, the second one actually does when Dom slots the ball past the falling Warsaw keeper for the early lead in the 4th minute. NW plays well thru the first half despite giving up a goal in the 27th and 33rd. HT score is 2-1 Warsaw. The second half lowlights are a red card for the Warsaw coach in the 50th, who just happens to make one comment to a very irritable center ref, who then flips out the red caution to show the coach the door. In the 52nd, the center official points at the 12 and awards Warsaw a PK. Trent goes the right way but the shot is too hard, 3-1. In minute 54, Warsaw scores again. Showing off his inconsistency skills, referee Sixtos awards free kicks for some fouls and not for others. On the 1-10 scale, he recieves a 6 for the night. Seen worse, seen better. The red card was uncalled for. Speaking of cards, I am frankly disgusted by a lack of understanding of the game by arbitral trios when it comes to certain types of players. The Joey Eshelmans of the world are your hard nosed, hard working players who do NOT shy away from playing physical. It surprises me that a majority of officials confuse this type of playing style with that of someone who fouls all the time. Numerous times do we see Joey called for a foul when in fact he is the one being fouled. Overall it is fair to say that Warsaw is a good team and we held our own for a long time but not long enough. These large schools are fortunately not the the opponents we will face in our class in Sectionals but these type of games certainly prepare us for Sectionals. Trent Iwema has his best game of the season. He is quick of his line, is engaged all night long, his punts are good to very good. Daily GK training is starting to pay off. Overall, the team performance is good, the result just isn't yet. Next up is Goshen at home tomorrow night for both. The JV loses 4-0.

Game Day # 10 - @ Warsaw

Warsaw is the opponent today (weather permitting). This game is an away game witha 5 pm JV start to be followed by a Varsity kick off around 6:45 pm. The Tigers are 8-3-1 on the season and are on a one game losing "streak" after having gone undefeated for 4 games prior to that. The Tigers are 2-0-1 in Conference. The Panthers are 3-5-1 on the season and 1-2 in Conference. We have played three common opponents (Argos, Concord & Northridge). Warsaw is 2-1 and the Panthers are 0-3 against those opponents. The weather forecast is not very promising so we will see what tonight brings.

2021 Argos Invitational

Zionsville - NorthWood 5-1 (Solomon goal) Argos - NorthWood 2-1 (Carlos goal) Tough first game, couple of defensive miscues in second game and unable to slot away some good opportunities. Played well in second game but for a couple of moments. Time to tidy that up and we will be back in action Tuesday at Warsaw (JV 5/V 6:45) for the next NLC match up.

Elkhart Christian-NorthWood 1-1 (1-1)

ANOTHER ARBITRAL TRIO PREPARES FOR A SUB PAR PERFORMANCE. First Half We start the game on a wing and a prayer. But divine luck would not be on our side. Even though it looks like it might be at least for the first minute when we open the score with a Luis cross assist to Carlos who scores the first and only NW goal. Elkhart Christian's first action of the game is when the keeper collects the ball out of the net. And then we have to watch the Eagles defend with 9 or 10 the rest of the game. This negative and destructive type of soccer is seldom seen on a high school soccer field but tonight it is on full display. Only a 13th minute break away that is dealt with poorly gives the ECA "offense" its one opportunity and they execute it about as good as they can and put the ball past Trent for the 1-1. Sixtyseven minutes of pounding the ECA goal doesn't get the needed result. Micahel Hahn hits the crossbar twice in the second half, we stay patient, combine very well but 9 average defenders and one good goalkeeper do not allow another NW goal. Officiating has been awful for at least three games this season (one a loss, one a win and one a tie so results have little to do with the low level of enforcing the rules of the game). The center ref -who at one point went a little crazy when he came over to tell the NW coaches to hush when they literally had said nothing- deserves about a 4 on the 1-10 scale. The JV game at Westview was canceled. It seems that a lot of referees are having to cancel games due to illness/Covid and JV only games then see refs being pulled and redirected to Varsity games. The Varsity is back at it tomorrow when we play Zionsville at 3 pm at the Argos Invitational. Argos plays undefeated South Bend Adams at 1 pm. Losers of G1-G2 face each other at 6 pm while the winners play at 8 pm for the trophy. The NW bus leaves at 1:15 pm.

UPDATE - **** JV Game canceled****

The game for the JV tonight has been canceled due to Westview being unable to get referees assigned. JV practice will be for "JV only" players from 3:30-5:30 at the High School. Everyone else will travel from the High School to ECA at 6:30 when the bus leaves from door 7.

NorthWood-Wawasee 6-1 (3-0)

The weather is absoslutely perfect for this postponed match which sees the crowds rolling in as if they were Dodger fans. The early start is mostly to blame since it is an unusual 5:30 kick off. FIRST HALF It is clear early on that the majority of the possession will be for NorthWood. It is also very clear early on that Referee Mr. Potatoe Head has a bout of the "clueless flu" tonight. He will end up calling 90% of "fouls" against the Panthers and in reviewing the first foul of the game, I am not sure who this guy's eye doctor is but he needs to either get a refund for those lenses or get a new doctor. A pass to Dom is shielded by Dom in a way that every player would shield a ball but the normal soccer move gets called for the first ridiculous foul of the night. It will only get worse from here on out and it is a good thing that this game is not close so arbitrary calls will not make the difference in the outcome. I will get the scoring on the 1-10 scale for this center clown out of the way here: a solid 3.5! Back to the actual game we see a nice NW build upwith a Joel pass to Luis in the 7th who crosses from the right side of the box on the ground around the Wawasee left defender right in front of Carlos. Carlos hits the ball outside the 6 but goes over. Clearly attacks from either flank will be dangerous all night. In the 13th, Joey Eshelman loses the ball in the middle only to win it back himself starting a Panther attack. He slices thru several Wawasee midfielders and defenders and at the end his pass he find Dom who takes a wicked shot from inside the box. The keeper has no chance, NW leds 1-0.Eight minutes later, Joey starts another attack. His pass finds Carlos, Carlos passes to Sol who in turn find the feet of Mr. Guzman who connects for his first and NW's second goal of the night. Only a minute later Joey starts another NW attack and delivers the ball to Grant. Grant passes to Sol who in turn sends the ball to Michael. Michael crosses from the left to Schrock. Schrock finishes without a problem to make the HT score 3-0. HT talk focuses on quick(er) passing and some general things that need clened up but this is a game that should not give us any problems. SECOND HALF Just like half number one, this one also starts with a goal in the 13th minute (53 overall) when Carlos breaks away into the box but gets leveled. Our Dean of Athletics shared the ensuing PK by Michael Hahn on Twitter and it is one out the rocket category; 4-0. In the 55th, poor Grant gets booed when he tosses a ball that went over the sideline towards the spot it went out behind his back and inadvertently hits a baby carriage. He has no intent obviously of hurting a baby especially since we don't even know who the baby was supporting. A miracle at Wellfield Park takes place in the 57th when Michael Hahn scores with his right foot (!!!) when he slices thru a couple of defenders like a hot knife thru butter into the box; 5-0. The same Michael Hahn improves his shot to goal ratio when he executes a nice shot off a Dominic DeFreitas pass for NorthWood's sixth goal. It is Michael's first hat trick of the season. In the 73rd, the Panthers play some sloppy defense giving the Warriors their only goal of the night, 6-1. Trent tips a sure upper 90 goal from Wawasee's #10 out of the goal to prevent the second Warriors goal. Overall a well played game with lots of good passing. Greenlee and Kaleb kept the defense organized, Joey interrupted many Wawasee attempts at attacks, our forwards were lively, delivered good crosses and were dangerous. Our midfielders distributed well and our outside defenders went up the flank to help with some of the attacking. Trent made the saves when he had to. A good night, a good result. The Varsity moves to 3-3-0 (1-2 in NLC). Next up is tonight's match up at Elkhart Christian Academy at 7:30 pm; the bus leaves at 6:30 pm. The JV beat Wawasee 2-0 with Andrew Meyers' first half goal (nicely slotted in the near corner) and Weley Bell's second half perfetly delivered header into the far corner. The JV travels to Westview tonight where they will face the another set of Warriors for the JV Amish Cup. JV starts at 5 pm, bus leaves at 3:40.

UPDATE - Wawasee Game

The rescheduled game vs Wawasee will start with the Varsity game at 5:30 followed by a half JV game. The game will be played at Wellfield Park. The weather will be great. There will not be any concessions sold and the only "facilities" at the field are two port a potties.

TODAY'S GAME POSTPONED

Due to the expected bad weather tonight, the game has been rescheduled for Wednesday Sept. 8th.

Labor Day Practice spectators

THE TOP ROW OF THE BLEACHERS HOUSED 18 BUZZARDS (I BELIEVE BUT CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG)WHEN WE ARRIVED AT YESTERDAY'S PRACTICE. TODAY WE WILL PLAY WAWASEE IN A NLC MATCHUP AT HOME. JV KICKS OFF AT 5 PM (AS LONG AS THE WEATHER HOLDS OUT) AND THE VARSITY IS SCHEDULED FOR A 6:45 PM START.

Team Dinner

THANK YOU TO THE WALTERS, ROAS, MAXWELLS AND BELLS FOR PROVIDING AND HELPING WITH THE TEAM DINNER. IT WAS A GOOD TIME AND GOOD FOOD!!!!!