Dutch Touch: 2022

Tuesday, November 1, 2022

Awards Night Thursday November 4 at the High School

The Awards will be in the cafeteria at 6 pm. For the carry in dinner seniors need to bring a Main Dish, juniors dessert, sophomores drinks and freshmen sides.

Wednesday, October 19, 2022

NLC announces All Conference Team

The NLC announced the following players on the All Conference Team - Aiden Greenlee, Luis Castillo and Dominic De Freitas. Honorable Mention - Ethan Mestach

Tuesday, October 18, 2022

Important Future Dates

NOVEMBER 3RD WILL BE AWARDS NIGHT AND THE WEEK OF DECEMBER 5TH WILL BE THE START OF THE OPEN FIELDS IN THE AC.

Turn in gear day signals end of the season, Awards Night set for November 3rd!

On a snowy (!!!!) Monday afternoon, the team gathers one more time to hand in gear at Wellfield Park. The Seniors have had a very succesfull soccer career at NorthWood ending their tenure with a Sectional Championship, for some their second (and NW's 7th overall).

Friday, October 14, 2022

Turn in jerseys day set for Monday 10/17/22

A Remind will be sent out with the time when players need to turn in their jerseys etc.. We will do this in our locker room at Wellfield Park. we will also clean out the locker room and get our equipment out. We have about 10-12 shirts, hoodies, socks etc. that have been left behind. Whatever people do not take home, will be donated.

Successful season ends after 0-1 loss to Marian

THE BANNER WELCOMES FANS TO THE REGIONALS AT WELLFIELD PARK.

The stands are at capacity and then some as many fans resort to seating on the cement pad. The west side of the field is packed with fans for tonight's Regional games. It is a bit cool but the main challenge in the first half is the wind. It blows hard from west to east and these conditions do not lend themselves to passing soccer which has been NorthWood's strong point all season long. Most possession strings are less than 6 for the Panthers and the Knights play their typical long ball, look for forwards to run onto the ball and shoot type of soccer. In the 7th, Solomon breaks thru and only has the GK to contend with. The Marian stopper takes Solomon out and gets a yellow caution. The case can be made that the keeper is the last defender on a goalscoring opportunity and should therefore receive a red but my hunch is that the referee is reluctant to send off a player this early (time into the game should not matter). A golden opportunity disappears with the free kick. In the 19th a floating ball into the box has the Marian keeper come out and while making half a save, lands on his head in the box. He has the presence of mind to make an additional two stops after that in ensuing play. In the 31st, a Marian attack in the box is not dealt with in first or second chance and somehow the ball gets poked over the line for a Marian 0-1 lead. This is also the HT score. At the half we talk about how our energy needs to be up, that we need to go hard for the balls in the box and that we need to do better on second balls. We come out to play and since the wind died down quite a bit, are we now able to play more of our possession style soccer. Dom and Sol both have chances that both look to go in but miss by the slimmest of margins. We get close several times but are unable to get the ball into the goal. Trent Iwema has a lights out second half performance when he stops several Marian attacks, some from very close range. In the last 7 or so minutes of the game, Gifton gets pulled as a defender in exchange for another forward; we are now playing a 2-5-4 and basically attempt to attack with 9 while leaving Aiden and Ethan back by themselves. MF's have to come back and help defend but that is not always possible when we lose the ball attacking. Despite the overload on offense, we are unable to score and the season ends with a 0-1 loss to Mishawaka Marian. Our final record is 12-6-2 with a Sectional Championship.Of the 6 losses, four are one goal losses. We ended up with 10 shut outs (a NW season record). Counting our pre season tournament and Jamboree, we played 25 matches, losing only 6. A lot of our players were on the semi state roster and with two Sectional Championships, one Regional Champsionship and Final Four appearance have been part of the most succesful four years in NorthWood Boys Soccer history. Trent Iwema kept us in the game all night long. Aiden, Ethan and Gifton played not only well tonight but were solid all season long, frustrating opponents to no end. Landon, Luis, Dom, Alex, Carlos, Solomon, Joel, Grant, Maddox, Andrew Myers and Wes all had a good game tonight and had great seasons. Alan and Allessandro who only came out this year contributed to the team as well. Our younger guys like Bryce, Jack,Mark, Drew got minutes this year that will help them in the coming years. This entire group was a very talented one and deserved the success they got this season. And the future looks bright as we bring back 11 guys from this season's roster but at the same time having to bring up about as many from this year's JV which means that there are a lot of opportunities for the younger guys. A special mention and shout out to Trace Roa who has been in the unfortunate role of having been the back up keeper. Trace played every minute on JV and on top of that played in several Varsity matches. He is very talented and athletic and will be counted on next season to defend our goal all season long. His patience and hard work will pay off and he has shown us already that he is very capable at the varsity level. Carlos was on the sideline tonight after having had surgery Wednesday. The future looks bright and we are looking forward to next season but I have to say that it is sad to see our seniors having played their last game. I am glad they could do it in front of a capacity crowd (thanks to our athletic office for postponing the game one day) and in a Regional game at that! They have lived up to our expectation. A lot of the seniors have been coached by Kyle and myself for 6-7 years so it is hard to let them go. Thanks as well to Randy Cripe and Kyle Cripe for announcing and running the scoreboard. Thanks to the Greenlee's and all the parents who helped in one way or another by supporting the teams with food or whatever was asked for by the coaches. It is very much appreciated. A special thank you to Jeff Iwema who through all Cam's and Trent's playing days has supported our teams with tents, water, Propel and was our film man as well. the game film is a very important part of our game prep and we thank him for doing that for all these years (because you do not get to sit back and enjoy the games). I am sure I am forgetting people and I apologize for that. It is not intentional. Thanks to our Atheltic Department; Roman and AJ are the best supporters a coaching staff could have. Thanks to Chris Davis and his staff to work with us on being able to use the facilities at Wellfield Park. What a facility that is! And with a new press box and dug outs anticipated for nextyear, it will be even better. Thanks to Michiana Promotions for broadcasting so many of our games over the years! Thank you Ron, Craig and Ryan! My final shout is to my co-coaches: Our head coach Kyle, who has done a great job and prepares the team for each game in a way that leaves very few questions on how the players need to play, Seth and Brayton who had a very successful JV season and Andrew who was able to work with our keepers this season. It has been a fun season! I will leave you here with some images of the semi final Regional game.......

THE TOUGH PART...THANKING THE TEAM AND ESPECIALLY OUR SENIORS, ONE MORE TIME

CARLOS KEEPING HIS SPIRITS UP. CARLOS SCORED THE SECOND GOAL IN THE SECTIONAL SEMI FINAL AND HAD TO HAVE SURGERY A WEEK LATER; HE WILL BE BACK STRONGER NEXT YEAR!

CARLY MAST, THE GIRLS GK, SANG THE NATIONAL ANTHEM BEFORE THE GAME AND DID A GREAT JOB!

THE FROGGY/MICHIANA PROMOTIONS CREW AND THE CRIPES HARD AT WORK

Thursday, October 13, 2022

Game Day 20 NorthWood- Mishawaka Marian update

The Panthers will take on the Knights times two today. The boys game, rescheduled from yesterday, will start at 5:30 pm at Wellfield Park. The girls game will follow the boys game. All Pumas players who wear their Pumas jerseys will get in free tonight! Both games will be broadcast on Froggy 102.7 (radio & app) as well as streaming live on the broadcastsport.net site. Hopefully with a good weather forecast, we will be able to have a good size crowd tonight. Carlos had his surgery yesterday which went well bu he has been ruled out for the rest of the season.He will join us on the bench tonight! Hopefully everyone else will be match fit for tonight's game. The winner will play West Lafayette who came from behind with less han two minutes left to defeat Hammond Bishop Noll. The Regional Final will be at 4:30 pm at Mishawaka this coming Saturday.

Wednesday, October 12, 2022

BREAKING NEWS- GAME POSTPONED UNTIL THURSDAY 5:30 PM

The Regional Semi Final between NorthWood and Mishawaka Marian has been postponed until 5:30 tomorrow due to potential threatening weather between 6-8 pm tonight.

Game Day 20 - # 18 NorthWood- # 4 Mishawaka Marian - Regional Semi Final

Another historic day for NorthWood soccer where the first ever Boys Regional Semi Final will take place at beautiful Wellfield Park. The Panthers (ranked 18th in the Indiana Soccer Coaches association poll and 10th in MaxPreps rankings) face Mishawaka Marian (#4 in the ISCA poll and 1st in MaxPreps rankings) for the second time this season. The first meeting was at Wellfield as well and finished in a 1-2 Marian win. The Knights only loss comes against Warsaw, an opponent who was defeated by the Panthers this season. We will need to keep an eye on the weather to see if it will impact the game or game time. Hopefully we will still be able to welcome a good size crowd to cheer on our boys tonight in what will be their final appearance of the season at Wellfield Park. The winner of tonight's match will travel to Marian on Saturday to play the winner of the Bishop Noll-West Lafayette winner. The Regional winner will play at Kokomo or Chesterton the next week to play the Norwell Regional winner. Mishawaka Marian is 15-1-2 on the season and has scored 81 times and given up 12 goals. #3 Hundt is their leading scorer with 25 goals on the season. The Panthers are 12-5-2 on the season and have scored 54 times and let in 15 goals. Solomon Yegon has 12 goals on the year.

THE TEAM WATCHES GAME TAPE TUESDAY IN PREPARATION FOR TONIGHT'S GAME

Monday, October 10, 2022

Schedule for Mon/Tue/Wed

MONDAY - Practice on the turf 3:30-5:30 pm TUESDAY - Practice on the turf 5-7 pm WEDNESDAY - Game at 6 pm - at home vs Mishawaka Marian

Sunday, October 9, 2022

IMAGES OF A CHAMPIONSHIP DAY

PARENTS HELPING WITH THE TEAM BRUNCH

THE RECIPIENTS OF THE BRUNCH AT WELLFIELD PARK

BEFORE KICK OFF

CARLOS ON CRUTCHES AND MENTAL SUPPORT FROM ANDREW

SCOREBOARD WITH FINAL RESULTS AND STATS

GATORADE COOLER EMPTIED ON OUR HEAD COACH

AIDEN HOISTS THE TROPHY

SCREENSHOT OF THE VIDEO LUIS PROVIDED: THE TROPHY PUT TO BED WHILE PLAYING TWINKLE TWINKLE LITTLE STAR. LUIS NEGOTIATED WITH ATHLETIC DIRECTOR ROMAN SMITH TO TAKE TROPHY HOME SO HE COULD SLEEP WITH IT

2022 Sectionals Final Angola-NorthWood 0-4 (0-2)

THE 2022 NORTHWOOD BOYS SECTIONAL CHAMPIONS After a light morning practice and walk through followed by a delicious brunch provided by a large group of parents, the players seem focused and given plenty of nutrients to get us started on a positive and energic note come 6pm. Goodie bags are handed out to each player and coaches as we board the bus right around 4 to head to the Ohio border for the third time this week. It will all be worth it if we bring home the trophy. Here are some things that we already know; it will be sunny but chilly and the Angola bench will be irritating with their odd cheerleading type chatter that will last the entire game. Since Angola only subs when they have no other choice, those boys on the bench can waste their entire energy on screaming their teammates on for 80 minutes. The game starts out the way we expected and it soon becomes clear that our opponent, whom we do not play during the regular season, is not of the same caliber as our squad. Skill wise we are better and tactically we are as well as they do not seem to have much of a game plan unless it is that just kicking the ball up by skipping the midfield is it. Two very opposing playing teams are on the field tonight. Angola is unable to possess the ball much and gives up the ball frequently when pressured by the Panthers. NorthWood passes, switches and crosses at will. It already starts with an attack in the first minute when Grant crosses a perfect pass into the box to Sol. Sol is unfortunate to have the ball get stuck under his foot or he could have scored this early in the match. We do not have to wait too long for the first goal however. Joel, who replaces Carlos who is dealing with a toe injury, finds Dom. Dom crushes a shot with the outside of his right foot. The result is a curling ball that seems to not find the net but bending enough to stay on the frame out of the keeper's reach, 0-1 NorthWood! Sixty seconds later it is Solomon who delivers a crack at the goal but his effort explodes off the cross bar. Despite the fact that the Panthers control the play, we do not score again until the 33rd when a ball in the box hits about 72 players before Joel slams the ball home for the 2-0 lead. The only thing the Hornets seem to be able to do is to try and throw the Panthers off their game by playing physical or whatever the next level of that would be. Our center ref, who on Wednesday called every stinking soft foul, now allows just about anything resulting in very inconsistent refereeing. In the second half he would double the confusion by all of a sudden, midway through half number two, going back to calling each soft foul. The good news for the Panthers is that we dominate the Hornets in every aspect that it will have an impact on the eventual result. The Half Time talk focuses on making sure to pressure early and keep finding our wing backs. When Grant puts in goal number three from the right side (0-3 NW), it is clear that the only ones still quasi believing in a Angoal miracle is the Angola bench. The 0-3 feels like a score that is too much for Angola to overcome. Despite Luis missing a PK (that he got after he cut thru the Angola defense into the before getting leveled-61"), it doesn't feel like that has an impact on the game at all. Dom, Luis and Aiden all go thru the Angola defense numerous times like hot knives thru butter. Aiden's second effort to start a solo from the back to the opponent's goal looks to end in a very nice goal but somehow an Angola defender karate kid kicks the ball high off the line. Aiden, however, is determined tonight to get on the scoresheet. In the 76th, Aiden receives the ball from Jack Walter. Aiden's shot finds the net for the final score; 0-4! All field players get to enter the game and if Trace would not have had to go thru a wardrobe change, we probably would have been able to get everyone in. NorthWood's 7th (and Kyle's first as a head coach) Sectional Championship is a fact!!! After 21 shots on goal, NorthWood takes home the Sectional Trophy on a very succesful sports day for NorthWood as girls soccer already beat Angola to win their Sectionals and Mr. Bell's and Coach Mikel's boys and girls X-country teams respectively making it out of Sectionals today. Next up for the 12-5-2 Panthers is a rematch versus Mishawaka Marian this coming Wednesday at 6pm at Wellfield Park!!! It will be the first time in school history that NorthWood has hosted a Boys Soccer Regional Semi Final! Images of the Championship Saturday will be posted later and the schedule for the upcoming week will be posted Monday morning.

Friday, October 7, 2022

SECTIONALS FINAL Saturday 10/8/22 feat. #18 Northwood vs Angola GAME DAY 19

The 11-5-2 Panthers take another (long) bus ride East as they travel to Angola for the Sectionals Final on Saturday to face the Angola Hornets. Angola defeated the Railroaders from Garrett in a extra time extravaganza Wednesday night by a score of 2-1. Angola had a bye in the first round. The Panthers sent the West Noble Chargers home after a 2-0 win in regular time on Wednesday.On Monday the Panthers had already ended Lakeland's season. Angola is 8-7-2 on the season and they have scored 53 goals and given up a whopping 56. Their # 10 (Steury) has scored 23 and #3 (McGee) has scored 12; more than half the team's total between the two. The only common opponents are Lakeland (both NW and Angola beat them handily) and West Noble (NW 2-0 W/Angola 4-1 L). The extremely irritating Hornets bench will hopefully be quieted down by some NorthWood goals early on. Today's practice will focus on tomorrow's game and will be from 3:30-5pm at the Wellfield Park grass fields. Saturday we will convene at the same place from 11-noon for a warm up/light game prep followed by a lunch at Wellfield Park. Players will have time to rest up and relax after that and the bus will leave the school at 3:45. The game kicks off at 6 pm! It will be cool and windy so warm gear is essential for all who attend. The Panthers will try and win their 7th Sectional with the last one coming in 2020. Information on whether Angola has ever won a Sectionals are unknown. We hope to see a good size fan support tomorrow night in Angola!! GO PANTHERS!!!!

Thursday, October 6, 2022

Sectional Semi Final #18 NorthWood - West Noble 2-0 (1-0)

This is the 6th consecutive year that we ended up playing West Noble in Sectionals. Results have been going back and forth with the Chargers leading the series 3-2 going into tonight's match. Our preparation has been thorough and we are well aware of their strenghts and weaknesses. On Tuesday we viewed some film and did the tactical walk thru to get ready. Now it is time to put it all into practice. If we start out strong, we should do well and we know we have the better team.

PRIOR TO PICK OFF; GOOSE EGGS STILL ON THE BOARD. THE WEST NOBLE COACHING STAFF STILL COMPOSED AND QUIET. The quick NW start that gets a ball in the box from kick off almost pays off again, Sol is just on the wrong side of the last defender. We keep playing good possession and when we have the ball in the back, the Chargers midfielders drop off fairly quickly giving us room to play the ball around in the middle third. The first real threat occurs in the 13th when Sol has the ball in the box but gets pushed from behind. The center referee decidedly points at the 12 yard spot. After some on field discussion about who will take it, Alex is the one who emerges from the huddle. His pk is a laser that clears the dust off the net when the shot flies past the West Noble keeper's left. The 1-0 lead is just what we need.It clearly gives us confidence. The WN bench literally cries foul at every Panthers tackle and challenge. At times the ref falls for it and at other times he does not. I have never been a fan of coaches calling for specific cards each time a foul (in their eyes) has been committed but the Chargers staff brings the card requests to a whole new "whining" level. We end up the night with yellows for Ethan Mestach and Gifton "Gibberd" Yegon. Late in the second half, a West Noble forward goes in the box while being chased by Gifton. The West Noble player takes a shot as he collides with Trent and Gifton. The shot goes over but three players are banged up. The WN coaching staff complains but ends up with a yellow for not knowing when to stop complaining. At the half we talk mainly about keeping our composure in the second half and again emphasize that we need to maintain possession in the middle third to establish runners going up. A second goal will surely take the air out of West Noble. West Noble starts out the second half with a lot of energy. NorthWood gives up a lot of unnecessary free kicks. In the 43rd one suck free kick not far out of the box requires Trent to make a save that prevents the ball from crossing the line. Finally in the 72nd, after the Panthers have threatened the West Noble goal numerous times, are we succesful. Dom gets the ball at the top of the 18 and feeds Carlos to his right with a perfectly weighted pass. Carlos takes a few touches and then aims for the far post. The shot goes by the Charger GK and crosses the chalk right by the left post; 2-0!!!! This goal silences both the West Noble bench and the most annoying screeching fan from West Noble for the remainder of the night. West Noble knows how hard it has been to penetrate the NW defense and it is obvious that despite some desperate attacks, they know the game is over. Some intelligent play by the Panthers sees the game end in a 2-0 victory that will have us make another trip to Angola this weekend when we play the home team Angola on Saturday at 6 pm. This game will be a battle. What the Hornets lack in quality, they will make up in physical hard working play while at the same time having a bench that will be the most annoying bench in Northern Indiana. Hopefully NorthWood fans will come out in numbers as well as support from the sideline is important as always. The entire season we have been preparing for the play offs and Saturday we get to play for some hardware! We have some players banged up from the physical play last night but we are counting on them to be healthy again by Saturday. The Panthers move to 11-5-2 on the season. Carlos has 10 goals so far (Sol has 12), and we recorded our 9th shutout of the season. The series with the Chargers is now tied up at 3-3 after this well deserved win.

THE WALK OUT

NORTHWOOD FANS BUNDLED UP

Wednesday, October 5, 2022

FROGGY 102.7 FM (Michiana Promotions) will Broadcast the game

Michiana Promotions will broadcast the game tonight on Froggy 102.7 with your familiar voices of Ron, Craig and Ryan. Turn the dial to 102.7 or go to Froggy's app and stay up to date with your boys soccer team!

Game Day 18 - Sectional Semi Final -West Noble (10-8) - #18 NorthWood (10-5-2)

The early game today features the other semi final contenders who drew a bye: Garrett and Angola. The winner of that game will face off on Saturday at 6 pm vs the winner of the West Noble - NorthWood matchup. West Noble is 10-8 on the season and has scored 51 goals and given up 41 in 18 matches. NorthWood in comparison is 10-5-2 and has scored 48 times and given up only 15 goals in 17 games. We have 5 common opponents: Mishawaka Marian (WN 7-0 L/ NW 2-1L, Wawasee (WN 3-0 & 4-0 W/ NW 1-1 Draw), Northridge (WN 1-0L/ NW 2-0L), Lakeland (WN 4-0 & 10-1 W/NW 7-0 & 6-1 W) and Bethany Christian (WN 3-2L/ NW 1-0 W). All these results are very similar which will probably mean that it should be a very even game. A lot will depend on how hard we play and if we execute the gameplan. The Panthers are ranked 18th in the state, West Noble is unranked. The game starts at 7:30 pm and the bus leaves at 4:45 pm so we can catch part of the seond half of the game between the Railroaders and Hornets. Go Panthers and let's get us a win!!!

Tuesday, October 4, 2022

#18 NorthWood- Lakeland 6-1 (6-0)

IT IS 6 O'CLOCK ON A MONDAY, REGUALR CROWD SHUFFLES IN..... The early fans see it, the ones who are a little late are not witness to NorthWood soccer history as the NorthWood kick off goes from Dom to Sol to Carlos for the 1-0 lead in the 10th SECOND!!! This blazing start sets the tone very early on. Especially after Grant receives the ball on the left and then crosses it into the danger area with his left to the left footed Solomon. Sol's challenge finds the back of the net and it is 2-0 in the fourth; half of our fans haven't even settled in yet. The Lakers are clearly struggling after these two early goals and try to not give up more goals this early on into the match. They are only succesful for about 11 minutes before Luis slings a pass over to Carlos on the right flank. Carlos, always super motivated when facing Lakeland, takes the ball directly into the box for a 1v1 challenge against the Lakers keeper. Carlos comes out on top as he slots the ball by the GK for NW's 3rd and Carlos' second goal of the night. Having a brace after 16 minutes clearly isn't enough for Carlos. In the 20th he decides to put himself on the other column of the stat sheet by assisting Alex on the next goal. Alex's speed is something the Lakers clearly are unable to deal with. But then again, a lot of teams have had problems with that. Alex's shot is hard and finds the net in a hurry; the Panthers are cruising! Alex also becomes the second NW player to record a brace tonight when he takes another shot at the goal in the 22nd. The shot at the frame gets deflected but goes in nonetheless, 5-0. Maybe the prettiest goal of the night comes in minute 33 when Luis bends a free kick from the left flank onto Joel's head near the six. The ball explodes off of Joel's head and into the ropes for the Panthers' 6th goal. The game is over obviously and Lakeland, with a lack of talent, is not coming back in this game. The second half sees a different lineup for the Panthers. Everyone on the roster gets significant playing time which is very beneficial in may ways. It gives the starters some time off before what is expected to be a tough game on Wednesday. It gives our younger up and coming talent minutes on the field at the Varsity level and at a Sectional game. They do well and even early on in the second half, threaten offensively. Jack Walter gets fouled about 7 minutes in and takes the PK but it is not a good one (despite doing very well on PK's in practice) and gets stopped easily by the Lakeland keep. We do end up with numerous opportunities and take a lot of shots but all but one (shot from Mark Santos headed for the side net) are easy ones for the Lakeland GK. Eight minutes before the final whistle, our shot at another shutout fades away as a free kick from the right (described by an unnamed announcer as not being in a dangerous spot) finds the back of the net when a Lakeland forward, a NW defender and keeper all go up for the high flying ball. None touch it and the ball lands in the back of the net. 6-1 is the final score and we can start preparing for our match up with West Noble Wednesday night.

LINING UP BEFORE THE GAME

POSTGAME MEAL WHILE WATCHING THE NEXT OPPONENT

Monday, October 3, 2022

ISCA Final Rankings has NorthWood up to #18

The final ISCA rankings were just released and the NorthWood boys moved from #20 to #18. These are the final rankings of the year! If we win tonight, the current senior class will be the only NW class to win 10 games in a season 3 times!!!! A lot to play for tonight!!!!

Game Day 17/ Post Season starts vs Lakeland

The start of the post season always comes with a mix of anxiety and excitement. The Panthers and Lakers will face each other for the second time this season. NW was the winner the first time with a 7-0 score. That game was played at home. This game is at the neutral Sectional site at Angola. Reports about the pitch have been very negative and it sounds like we will be kicking the ball around on a very bumpy pitch. Due to the travel time for NW to Angola, the game start has been pushed back to 6 pm tonight. The Panthers are 9-5-2 on the season with 42 goals scored and 14 given up. The Lakeland Lakers own a 6-9-1 record and have put 23 in the back of the net and went fishing 60 times. Our only common opponents were Elkhart Christian (Lakeland 3-2 W/Panthers 1-1 Draw) and Wawasee (Lakeland 1-0 L/ Panthers 1-1 Draw). These two results have probably been NorthWood's most frustrating ones of the season. But all that aside, the only thing that matters is a win tonight in order to move on in Sectionals. The winner of our game faces the winner of the Wawasee-West Noble game which will be played after our match. The semi final game will be the second game Wednesday night, also at Angola. Additional information about the Angola Sectionals can be found on gonwpanthers.com. The Panthers bus will leave the High Scool at 4 pm. It looks like all players are available for tonight's game.

Friday, September 30, 2022

NorthWood - Bethany Christian 1-0 (1-0)

A NICE HOME CROWD CAME OUT FOR SENIOR NIGHT Senior Night goes off without a hitch (the proof is in the pudding in the pictures below). It is a sunny and for a while, comfortable evening. All seniors and Gifton start the game for us versus a Bethany squad that resembles NW in many ways. For the first 15 minutes or so, play goes back and forth and not many chances are created. The Bruins dictate most of the play. After about 20 minutes, the run of play seems to switch NW's way. Dominic has barely entered the game when one of his first passes is a perfect one and finds Solomon in the box. Solomon is able to keep a Bethany defender on his right side and uses his lethal left foot to slot the ball past the Bruins stopper for a 20" 1-0 NorthWood lead. The rest of the first half sees most of the action play itself out in the middle third of the field. Our defense hangs back a little too much, forcing our MF and forwards to fall back a little too far. Few opportunites arise in the remaining minutes of half number one. At halftime we talk about how the defenders need to get their marks to allow wingbacks to go up and be able to transition offensively a little better. We also need to find a way to get the balls in the opponents' box; their keeper is somewhat unsure of himself and we need to try and get a second goal. As it normally does in close games, it is the anxiety that kicks up a notch but in this case some of it is artificially produced by AR2 who, might I say, is just having a BAD SEASON! On his earlier trip to beautiful Nappanee, he was able to take the limelight in a negative manner by officiating so poorly that would have looked bad in a U3 game! Tonight he again is oblivious to his role. AN AR is what the name implies.... an ASSISTANT Referee. So in his mind this translates to DEMANDING something from the Center official and not merely assisting him. On a 61st minute "foul" by Grant Miller, does he not only wave his flag as if he is giving signals from a Navy Destroyer, he also motions his hand over his shirt pocket to indicate it is a foul worthy of a yellow caution. As much as the center ref ignores him initially, he eventually caves and "awards" Grant the yellow card. The ensuing free kick almost costs us a goal. It is utterly ridiculous to officate from the sideline in this manner and clearly indicates a lack of understanding of the game. So, the most disappointing performance tonight comes from officials but that has been the case numerous times already this season. With some of the better officials not even making themselves available for Sectionals (reffing club soccer is more lucrative), we end up with poor officiating in some cases. Let's just hope we do better in the post season in that category this year. Dom does end up with a yellow in the 72nd but this one is justified; it is a cynical but "good" foul to stop play. So we end up with two yellows, one win and some momentum going into Sectionals on Senior Night. All yellows reset now. It is a good night overall for the Panthers who record another shut out win (8 for the season) and travel to Angola with a 9-5-2 record. Practice today is Varsity only and from 3:30 - 5 pm and in preparation for our game vs Lakeland Monday, a practice has been added for Saturday morning from 10-11:30 am. Both will take place on the grass at Wellfield. From reports we have received, the grass field at Angola has taken a beating from the recent rain and is in very poor condition. It sounds like it might look a lot like the "field" we played on at Plymouth; bumpy and crappy. The JV defeated Bethany's JV on a Kyler Fike goal, 1-0. The JV's final record is 6-6-4 and was in almost every game. It is also one of the better JV records in school history so Congratulations on a good season to the JV players and Coaches. A lot of these JV players will transition to Varsity players by next August.