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.

2022 Senior Night - Thank you to Brogan's mom and Aiden and Jackson's parents and everyone else who helped making Senior Night a success

Thank you to the Greenlee's for making and decorating the "NW" for Senior Night!!!!

2022 Senior Night

The 2022 Seniors (not pictured Ale Longo)

Trent Iwema with his parents

Anxiously waiting to present the seniors with their gifts

Aiden Greenlee and parents

Andrew Myers and parents

Landon Weldy and parents

Joel Guzman with his father

Luis Castillo with his father

Alex Ascamilla with his parents

Ethan Mestach with his parents

Alan Castro-Castillo with his parents

Allessandro Longo with his host-mother

Brought up for Sectionals

Mark Santos received Varsity jerseys and shorts as he was brought up to Varsity for the post season. Congratulations to Mark!!!

2022 Senior Night

And here are your 2022 NorthWood Boys Soccer Seniors

ETHAN MESTACH

AIDEN GREENLEE

TRENT IWEMA

JOEL GUZMAN

LUIS CASTILLO

ALAN CASTRO-CASTILLO

ANDREW MEYERS

LANDON WELDY

ALEX ESCAMILLA

ALLESSANDRO LONGO

Game Day 16 - Final Home Game of the Season/Senior Night

The 8-5-2 Panthers will take on the 7-7 Bruins. The Bruins have had trouble scoring this season and have only ammassed 22 goals while giving up 29. Their two leading scorers are #8 Jordan Ross Richer with 7 goals to go along with 4 assists and #11 Thomas who has scored 6 times and assisted on 5 goals. The Panthers, who at times have had problems finding the net, have scored 41 times and still have a chance of setting the school defensive record (19) wince they have only given up 14 goals in 15 games. It is that same defense that has given us a chance in almost all games this season (maybe with the exception of the Goshen game). It is senior night tonight so parents will need to meet their sons on the dugout side of the field no later then 5:45 pm. Due to numbers, or a lack thereof, Bethany's JV will only play one half. That game will start at 5 pm. The Varsity contest kicks off at 6 pm (after Senior player and parents introductions. Temps will be in the 60's and it will still be sunny so we are hoping for a great crowd for our 10 seniors tonight. GO PANTHERS!!!

Plymouth- #20 North Wood 2-0 (1-0)

JV loses 3-1 and a ball, Varsity loses 2-0 and misses a PK. Next up Bethany Christian Thursday. This will be senior night for NorthWood. The JV will play a half game vs the Bethany JV (due to lack of numbers) at 5 pm, Varsity starts at 6 pm. Today's practice is at Wellfield Park; film to start for Varsity, JV starts on the grass. Both will transition to turf later on.

Game Day 15 @ Plymouth

Plymouth is not ranked and 7-5-2 on the season and has very similar results to ours. NorthWood is ranked 20th in Class 2A and 8-4-2 on the season. There will be a lot of red and white on the field tonight. Plymouth is 1-4 in NLC while the Panthers are 2-3-1. A win assures the Panthers of finishing above Mishawaka, Wawasee and Plymouth in Conference.

NorthWood-Glenn 3-0 (0-0)

The first half is not a good one when it comes to scoring. An Andrew Meyers goal late in the half gets taken away by way of an offside call and a few minutes before the half, Dom's PK gets stopped by a keeper who has a set of two by fours for hands. We do not capitalize on any opportunity in the first 40 minutes despite passing nicely, spreading the play across the field and doing a very good job overall in the defensive and middle third of the field. We are just plainly lacking the killer instinct when it comes to the final third or offensive third of the field. The half time "conversation" clearly is about doing better in or near the John Glenn 18 yard box. And at least, the second half starts out much better than half number one. Eight minutes in, Dom feeds Carlos who places the ball past the Glenn keeper, 1-0. Another three minutes later, Grant crosses from the right side to Carlos, who again finds the back of the net. Joel returns to the field late in the second half but makes his presence count by scoring NorthWood's third goal of the night. The final score is 3-0. This is NorthWood's 8th win of the season and its 7th shutout. The JV loses 1-2 to Mishawaka Marian very late in the second half. The Varsity is 8-4-2 on the season. Both teams return to action again tonight when we travel to Plymouth. JV starts at 5 pm, Varsity kicks off at 6:45. Bus leaves at 3:45.

JV Tournament results

Saturday was a good day for our JV; 1-0 win over Luers (Isaac Bell goal)and a 1-1 draw vs Northrop (Bryce Knepp goal).

2022 Sectional Draw

NorthWood drew Lakeland in the first game of the Sectional. The game will be played next Monday night at Angola. If we win, we will face the winner of the West Noble-Wawasee game on Wednesday. The winner of that game will square of vs the winner of the Angola-Garrett game a week from Saturday for the Sectional Finals. A Sectional preview will be posted next Monday.

Game Day 14 vs Glenn

John Glenn has a 9-5 record coming into tonight's game. Tha Panthers are 7-4-2 on the season. The Falcons have scored 82 (!) times this season and given up 35 in 14 games so far. We have two common opponents; Rocherster (Glenn 7-2 W/ NW 9-0 W & Brmen- Glenn 1-9 L/NW 1-0 W). The game starts at 6:45 pm following the JV game vs. Mishawaka Marian.

#20 NorthWood - #5 Mishawaka Marian 1-2 (1-1)

A great effort by the Panthers tonight as they face a good Marian squad. NW plays very organized in the back and goes ahead in the 13th on a Solomom goal who deals very well with a long punt from Trent Iwema (assist). As Sol controls the ball in the box, he is able to get away from the defender and slot the ball past the Mishawaka goalie. Unfortunately, three minutes later a free kick just outside our 18, ties up the game as the shot goes thru a NW wall that parts like the Red Sea. NW gets quite a few chances inside the box throughout the game but is unable to capitalize on them. The ball doesn't bounce our way. Trent has a fantastic stop right before the half to keep us in the game. Trace takes the spot between the uprights in the second half. In the 46th, a shot outside the box finds the back of the net even though Trace is quick to go down and reaches as far as he can to his right. Despite some good opportunities for both teams, the score remains 1-2 in an entertaining game that shows we can play with anyone. Our midfield and defensive organization in the second half lags a little when it comes to preventing a gap in transition but that is something we can work on. Next week is a busy one; with games on Monday (Glenn-home), Tuesday (Plymouth- away) and Thursday (Bethany - home/senior night). Sunday Night is the IHSAA Sectional Draw and tomorrow is the JV Teagarden Soccer Showcase in Ft. Wayne.

Game Day 13- #20 NorthWood- #5 Mishawaka Marian

The Knights are 9-1-2 on the season and they are ranked #5 in 2A. The Panthers are 7-3-2 and ranked 20th in 2A. The results for common opponents is as follows: Concord - 3-0 W Marian, 1-0 L NW, Warsaw - 0-1 L Marian, 1-0 W NW, Northridge - 3-3 D Marian, 0-2 L NW. The Knights have only conceded 6 goals all season and have found the back of the net 53 times. The Panthers have given up 10 goals and scored 37 times. Both teams have shown good defense throughout the season. Marian will be one of if not the best team we will face all season. Conditions will be cool and windy at Wellfield Park tonight. Players are to arrive by 6:30 pm. Game starts at 7:15. We will wear black shirts, red shorts and black socks. The JV will practice 3:30-5:30 at Wellfield (grass). The girls play before us (5 pm start). Marshall & Braden are the ball boys tonight.

#20 NorthWood- Mishawaka 9-0 (5-0)

A day late but hopefully not a dollar short. The weather cooperates as we take the field. The new windscreens are up and welcome the spectators to NW Soccer and at the same time forcing all those watching games to do so from the west side of the pitch. The Cavemen have a keeper who seems sponsored by Pepto Bismol. The Panthers start attacking right from the kick off and end up with three quick corners. The second one from Luis sees Carlos' header bounce off the crossbar. Soloman gets his first assist of the night when he serves Grant who in turn, finishes a shot to the right side of the Mishawaka goal for a very early (4") NW lead. In the 8th, Grant is part of the action again when he gets tripped in the box. The arbiter points to the 12 and Gifton is selected to take the PK. He makes no mistake and has Randy Cripe put the "2" on the scoreboard. Two minutes later we score again when Alex heads the ball to Sol who smoothly passes the keeper, 3-0! When it rains, it pours. The 13th minute is a very unlucky one for the Cavemen. Solomon gets ahold of the ball in the box, takes a shot on the frame but it gets saved by the pink high lighter but he doesn't hold on to the ball. Maddox slots the loose ball into the goal, 4-0. In the same minute, Andrew Myers crosses from the right flank and finds Sol who one touches it into the ropes, 5-0. We get everyone in the game tonight and everyone gets significant minutes. We realize this might be a a shortened game if we put 9 on the board but the scoring gets stuck at 5 from minute 13 until minute 60. We start the second half with color coordinated ball boys. In the 48th, Gifton fouls a Mishawaka attacker. Gif gets a yellow caution and the free kick is a good one, by far Mishawaka's best offensive effort of the night. It requires Trace (who came in for Trent in the second act) to make a save, and a good one it is. He tips the ball over the goal. We finally get our rear ends back in gear when Wes Bell threatens from outside the box and takes a nice curling away dipping shot that has the Mishawaka keeper make his best save of the night. 120 ticks later, Andrew Myers gets back into the action with a nice assist to Luis inside the 18. Luis slots the ball decisively into the left corner and signs for the 6-0 lead. In the 63rd, Landon passes to Sol whose shot finds the net, 7-0. Dom, who had come in the game around the 59th, worked well defensively and sped up tha game offensively, delivers a ball to Andrew Myers who scores his first goal and 4th point of the night. With 11 minutes left, Dom's free kick from the left side gets touched by Jack for our 9th goal which also automatically signifies the end of the game (IHSAA mercy rule) so we can all go home early and rest up for the next game which kicks off in less than 24 hours after the conclusion of this one.

SECOND HALF "ACTION" - GIFTON FINALLY PUTS HIS CLEATS BACK ON AFTER PLAYING FOR SEVERAL MINUTES WITH WITH ONE SHOE.

2022 Teagarden JV Soccer Showcase - JV Tourney Information for 9/25

The Tournament will be at the Fort Wayne Sport Club complex at 3102 Ardmore Ave, Ft. Wayne. The bus will leave at 9 am. The first game is on field #3 vs. Bishop Luers. The second game will be at 3 pm vs. Northrop also on field #3. Admission is $10 per vehicle with a 3 dollar concession voucher. The Fort Wayne Sports Club will be selling hamburgers, hot dogs, brats, fries and drinks. Bring lawn chairs because there are no bleachers at field #3.

#20 NorthWood - Mishawaka rescheduled for tonight/ Team meal now at Wellfield Park

Last night's game vs. Mishawaka was postponed due to possible threatening weather, a threat that never materialized. The game has been rescheduled for tonight at 6 pm. The JV will practice from 3:30-5:30. The Team Meal will now be at the game field (concourse is my guess). Varsity players need to be there at 4:45 pm to eat. JV players eat after their practice.

Game Day 12: #20 NorthWood- Mishawaka

Little is known about the Cavemen but we know they are 0-5 in NLC. They did however only lose 2-1 to Wawasee so we need to make sure we finish tonight. The Panthers are 6-3-2 going into tonight's game. There is no JV game tonight. The Varsity game kicks off at 6 pm. Players are to be at Wellfield Park by 5:15 pm. The JV defeated Penn last night on a Jack Walter goal. They are 3-5-3 on the season. There is NO JV practice today and Casin and Brogan are the ball boys for tonight.

NorthWood ranked in Class 2 A top 20

The NorthWood Boys Soccer team are ranked 20th in Indiana in class 2A by the Indiana Soccer Coaches Association (ISCA). This the first time that we are back in the top 20 since early last season.

JV @ Penn / Varsity training information

JV @ Penn - Monday 09/19/22. The bus leaves at 3:45 pm. The game starts at 5 pm. Wear all white. The Varsity will practice on the turf from 3:30-5:30 pm.

#17 Goshen - NorthWood 4-1 (3-0)

PRE-GAME GRANT //// Goshen attacks from the start and scores with a header in the 5th. Goshen scores again in the 33rd and 36th. Not a great first half. Discussion at the half focuses on effort and getting ball in the Goshen box as their back line is shaky. Second half has us giving a better effort but the Red Hawks add another in the 59th. Five minutes before the final whistle, Luis delivers a free kick into the box and Wes Bell heads it over the Goshen GK for the final 4-1 score. Not our best game of the year so we need to do better next week! JV plays to a commendable 0-0 draw even though it wasn't the prettiest match to watch. Today's practice is at Wellfield on grass and will run from 3:30-4:30. JV is at Goshen tomorrow for the NLC tourney 9 am and noon games. The varsity does not have a game this weekend. Practice Monday is at the turf from 3:30-5:30.

OBSTACLE COURSE ON THE WAY HOME

Game Day 11 #17 Goshen- NorthWood

Another day, another game, another ranked team. The Red Hawks are 7-1-3 on the season and have scored 33 goals and allowed 15. Northridge and Concord have been the common opponents so far. Goshen defeated Northridge 4-3 and drew Concord 1-1 (NW lost 0-2 to the Raiders and 1-0 to Concord). Goshen is ranked 17th in Class 3A. The Panthers are not ranked and are 6-2-2 on the season. Goshen has not lost in its last 9 matches and NorthWood has not lost in its last 6 matches so something has to give tonight. Tonight is also another apportunity to beat another ranked team. The JV will play their next three games at Goshen with tonight's match vs. Goshen and Saturday at 9 am vs. Plymouth JV and again at Noon vs. either Concord JV or Goshen's JV.

After the dust settles, the fog rolls in after an entertaining game that sees the Panthers defeat #9 Warsaw 1-0!

SEE GAME REPORT BELOW

NorthWood- #9 Warsaw 1-0 (0-0)

A bus full of undefeated players rolls into town (both Warsaw team sported no losses on the season)but a deflated one leaves town after a hard fought NLC battle tonight. The JV gives Warsaw all they can handle and the Tigers are lucky to escape with a 0-1 win after a great Trace Roa performance.

Ron Bedward is out tonight in honor of his daughter Shaylee Bedward-Downs who lost her battle with ovarian cancer at age 27 this past November. September is ovarian awareness month and both the JV and Varsity are wearing teal socks (teal is the ribbon color assigned to ovarian cancer awareness) to support this cause. Ron explains the promise he made to his daughter to spread awareness of this awful decease. The weather tonight starts out rainy and cool but once the rain clears out, it turns sunny, bright and warm. By the start of the main attaraction the sun is about to set and temps dip once again so weather wise, a perfect evening for some good old NLC soccer. After the players sat thru the "History of NorthWood soccer" which showed them their connection to the program's past (very close and personal for some), we now hope they take that connection to the program onto the field and turn it into some energy. It looks like that is the case from the whistle. Warsaw, ranked 9th in 3A and undefeated at 10-0-1, dictates the tempo and play early on but the Panthers do not look one bit intimidated. The referees syndrome of calling fouls for the "big soccer schools" continues in the early stages in this game as well. A subconscious syndrome, I'm sure, but irritating nonetheless. The first time the verbal protest from the NW bench comes in the 21st when the center official gets hit by the ball coming off a NW foot. For some reason, the ref gives the drop ball to Warsaw. An evenly played somewhat physical first half ends in 0-0 and we certainly feel that we are in this game. Our line of engagement for pressure has worked well and it seems that the short tactical reminder drill the day before was absorbed very well. We look organized and if we continue to do that, we will have a shot at a result. Some very minor adjustments are made at the half and we are ready to start the second half. The play goes back and forth. After Kyle loudly complains about a call on the field, the tide seems to turn a little into our favor. I did say seems because in the 50th, play is stopped and Carlos has to remove his headband which is now deemed unsafe and the consequence is a Kyle yellow card because of a "improperly equipped player". Another yellow is issued a mere 180 seconds later when Ethan gets fouled and he retaliates with a kick at the opponent. We can live with his yellow but the decision to give the free kick to the Tigers makes no sense at all. You call the first foul, give us the free kick and Ethan a yellow for retaliation. But what do we know; apperently he only calls second fouls for free kicks. Three minutes later NorthWood attacks up the middle. Some nifty Dom moves cause the Warsaw defense to commit a foul just outside the box. Free kick specialist Luis Castillo sets up the ball and Dom takes the fake followed by Luis. His shot seems well taken and headed towards the frame. The keeper dives to his left, the ball gets deflected and disappears into the Warsaw net to the keeper's right, 0-1 NorthWood! For the next 24 minutes, NW has to park the bus in order to keep the zero on the scoreboard. With a defense that keeps battling, a midfield that slows attacks and our forwards helping where they can, we see the clock ticking down ever so slowly! An occassional attack relieves the defense for a bit but the attacks come in waves. Trent Iwema plays a huge role in tonight's win. He literally stops every ball directed on to the frame. The game stays physical until the end. Even Aiden takes a hard tackle up the middle of the field but is able to continue. The clock runs out and the Panthers can head to the locker room to celebrate one of the biggest wins ever during a regular season in program history.

THE TEAM CELEBRATES THEIR WIN OVER # 9 WARSAW!!

Match Day 10 NorthWood-#9 Warsaw

We will face three ranked teams in our next four games, for sure a tough stretch of the season. Warsaw is ranked 9th in 3A and 10-0-1 on the season and has defeated NLC opponents Concord (2-1), Plymouth (2-0) and Mishawaka to go 3-0 in NLC. The Panthers will hopefully play the role of spoiler tonight. Warsaw is a well organized team that has only given up 5 goals on the season. As amazing as that seems, the Panthers have only given up 6! The NLC match up kicks off at 6:45 pm at Wellfield Park. The JV game is slated for 5 pm.

Team Meal

A very big THANK YOU to the Dosal's for putting on the delicious team meal yesterday!!!! The food was great and despite the weather, the turn out was fantastic!!!

Trinity Greenlawn- North Wood 0-5 (0-4)

Maybe a better name for the school is Trinity not at Greenlawn but south of the Toll Rd by the tent. A detour driven excursion gets us to Greenlawn's athletic

facilities (the school only plays three sports: soccer, basketball and girls golf)only to find out that due to the referee shortage, we will have two referees for the Varsity game. Kick off starts right on time after an abbreviated warm up. The field is comparable to our old game field which means the ball will do unpredictable things. It takes us 12 minutes to find the back of the net for the first time; Aiden passes a nice ball right up the middle to Carlos who finishes nicely for a 0-1 lead. Dominic gets in on the action while private jets for the Notre Dame game whiz by to the south of us. Dom's thru ball to Alex is perfect and Alex has little trouble banging the ball into the ropes, 0-2. We have to wait until the 34th to see more scoring action when Andrew Meyers finds Soloman near the box. Sol has no problem slotting the ball by the very average Trinity keeper, 0-3. Three minutes later, Sol turns his scoring efforts into a brace after Grant gets the ball to him, 0-4. This comfortable lead means everyone gets playing time in the second half and some of our starters with minor injuries get to rest. Andrew Meyers finishes up the score in the 72nd after a Bryce assist. Andrew's quick poke is just what the doctor ordered. The final score is 0-5 and the Panthers move to 5-2-2 on the season. Due to Trinity injuries, only one half of JV is played. The final is 0-0. Monday practice on the turf; the Varsity meets in the lockerroom to start. JV on the field. Next opponent is Warsaw at home Tuesday.

Wrong Seat?

Alessandro notices he should have set one row up......

Match Day 9 @ Trinity Greenlawn - new kick off time for Varsity!!!!

Trinity plays its games at 53666 North Ironwood Dr, South Bend. This is just south of the Toll Road. From the looks, you need to take Turners Dr. east off of Ironwood, south of the Indiana Toll Road. At the end of the drive is the Trinity Athletic Center and to the south of that facility is the soccer field. Driving time is about 50 minutes from the Hogh School. Trinity is 0-4-1 on the season and we would love to add to their Loss total. Varsity starts at noon and JV at 1:30 (flipped from the original schedules)

NorthWood-Elkhart Christian 1-1 (0-0)

It doesn't take long to see where the game is headed. Possession favors the Panthers and the Eagles have not deviated much from last year's tactics. They park the bus with almost all players and launch #9 at every opportunity as their only threat. NW starts early when Alex crosses a ball into the danger area and Carlos heads the ball on the frame. The keeper makes the save and he would do that for most of the night. The pressure on the ECA defense remains constant throughout the first act but even when it looks like Andrew gets the ball past the keep after a Soloman pass, a Eagles defender clears the ball before it goes over the line. The half time score of 0-0 does not reflect what is happening on the field. The locker room talk focuses on how well we have played specifically when it comes to the hard work of our forwards and midfielders portrayed in attempting to get the ball back after possession is lost. Our switch passes are good, our runs are great and our work rate is fantastic. The focus now has to be on attacking the ball in the box. As the second half starts, the NW possession advantage continues. Two minutes in, it is Dom who finds Alex whose shot lands on the post. Luis commits a foul in the 47th that gets him a deserved yellow caution but apparently these cards are on sale tonight and for NW players only. In the 49th it is again Dom who slides a smart pass to Sol who in turn slots the ball to Alex. Alex finds Carlos in the box near the left side of the goal. Carlos, without hesitation, finishes the cross into the ropes for a 1-0 NW lead. ECA is forced to come out but does not threaten much until a breakaway in the 70th that gets stopped by Ethan. He gets all ball in the tackle but the clown in the middle calls it a foul (yellow for Ethan). The free kick from far out is the only real threat in the second half. The shot, which is decent, disappears in the NW right upper 90. This ties the game. Kyle asks for an explanation and apperently the answer is a) yellow and b) another word means red. If you are unable to explain the call and your skin is that thin that you can not handle a coach raising his voice, you probably shoud not sign up for this well paid gig. It only gets worse after this. A cross into the 75th goes into the direction of Joel who attempts to go up for a header near the right side of the goal. He gets pushed in the back hard by two Eagles defenders but neither AR1 or the center ref react. AR1 "didn't see it" and who knows what the center refs excuse is. Not that the arbiters are to blame for the tie but the facts speak for themselves. 60 percent of the fouls go in ECA's favor, we get three yellows, ECA zero and it was not a physical game. Arbitration has been pretty atrocious this season and we expect the trend that really started a while back, to continue. Despite the fact that we wanted to obviously win yesterday and Tuesday, our play has been very good and from a soccer perspective, we play "real" soccer with good and crisp passing and possession. We are organized and obviously been in every game this season. Our game just needs to improve near and in the attacking box. Our first attempt at that will be tomorrow at Trinity Greenlawn in South Bend. The JV traveled (in a delayed fashion) to Westview and wins 1-3 on Jack, Jager and Mark goals. Today's practice is at 3:30 and will run until 5pm and will be on grass at Wellfield Park.

Gameday 8 NorthWood- ECA

The JV travels to Westview (5:30 start, bus leaves at 4 pm) while the Varsity squad will take on Elkhart Christian in a Varsity doubleheader at home (girls at 5:30 pm) at 7:30 pm (players need to be at the field by 6:45 pm). ECA comes off a tough OT loss after taking Bethany Christian to a 1-1 draw in regulation. The Eagles have a 6-2 record. The Panthers are 4-2-1 and hungry for a win. The weather will be perfect and it will be nice to play a full game under the lights tonight.

Wawasee-NorthWood 1-1 (0-0)

52"Luis Castillo 0-1. 79" 1-1. Andrew Meyers goal disallowed (video shows he was on side and AR out of position). Frustrating and disappointing night on and off the field. JV wins 0-2 on a Jager PK and a Jack finish off a cross. Film for Varsity today, JV starts practice on the grass at Wellfield.

Gameday 7 at Wawasee ****NOTE the Start Times have changed with JV first and Varsity to play second.****

NLC opponent Wawasee is 5-2 on the season and like the Panthers, are on a two game win streak. Wawasee is 1-0 in conference after besting Mishawaka. On paper, the Warriors have improved and have wins versus Sectional opponent West Noble, Mishawaka, Kankakee Valley, the Berries from Logansport and South Bend Riley while losing to Culver Academies and Westview. Note the game times for tonight as they have changed. The JV game will be only a half game and will start at 5 pm while the Varsity kicks off at 6 pm!

Rochester-NorthWood 0-9 (0-7)

We encounter a bit of a rough start when the alarm on the back door of the bus refuses to stop buzzing but after attempting to reset it several times, the alarm finally gives in and the bus is able to start. Time to head to Fulton County. We still have plenty of time to spare and end up having a full 30 minutes on the field. After the names are announced, or more so while the names are announced, the national anthem is played while we all try and find the stars and stripes which seems a long way off in the distance.

Jeff Iwema engages in some wall climbing as he makes his way up to the video deck to film the game.

Time for the game to start. The quality of the opponent or lack thereof is evident from the kick off. Less than 120 seconds into the game, Sol literally juggles the ball thru the defense like a hot knife thru butter and finishes his circus tricks with a goal, 0-1. Dom, not wanting to be outdone by his teammate, slices a ball to Alex who signs for the second goal (0-2) in the 8th. A lot of combinations, give and goes and switches occur until Luis pushes a ball nicely into the corner to Alex in the 18th. Instead of the expected cross, Alex slaloms around a Rochester defender and beats the keeper for a 0-3 lead.Three minutes later, Andrew finds Sol in the box who high chips the Goalie, 0-4. Dom again gets in on the action in the 25th when he delivers a nicely weighted cross to Andrew who in turn, slots the cross to the left side of the goal for a 0-5 NW lead. Joel gets the ball in the 28th when he finds the smooth feet of Alan Castro-Castillo who scores his first ever NW goal (0-6!). And it is not even HT yet! Joel, starting to enjoy assists, does just that two minutes before the Tea and finds Andrew who puts the half time score of 0-7 on the board. There is little to say at the half. A 9 goal difference will mean that the game will last 60 minutes under IHSAA rules (mercy rule) and it seems we are headed that way. The second half therefore consists of just three things worth mentioning. First off the goals; in the 44th Dom gets the ball from Alan, and dribbles thru about 3 Rochester players and ends up scoring our 8th goal. Active Alan can again be found at the beginning of our last goal when he serves Carlos in the 51st for the final score: 0-9. A high Zebras pass is cushioned brazilian style by Aiden Greenlee who makes sure that everyone in the dugout has noticed his exemplary ball handling skills (which we did). The Panthers move to 4-2 on the season. Next up is our NLC match at Wawasee on Tuesday. The JV loses to Warsaw 0-1 despite having some scoring opportunities. Today's practice is at Wellfield on turf from 3:30-5 and Monday's training will be at Welffield Park on turf from 3:30-5:30.

Game Location information **** Brent Blacketor Spors Complex****

Tonight's Varsity game versus Rochester will be played at the Brent Blacketor Sports Complex, located at 201 Blacketor Dr., Rochester IN.. The complex is just north of the Fulton County Airport and West of SR 25. You will need to take E. 4th off of SR 25 to Blacketor to get to the complex.

Gameday 6 - @ Rochester

The Zebras play in the Three Rivers Conference and tonight's match will be the first ever between NW and Rochester. Rochester's record is 2-4-1 and they have scored 22 times (#10 Mitchell Shafer has more than half of those with 12 goals) while having been scored on 25 times in 7 games. The Panthers are 3-2 and have had 8 different players score so far this season. The bus leaves at 3:45 pm (if it shows up on time) and the game starts at 5:30 pm. This is a Varsity game only; the JV plays Warsaw's C-team at 5:30 pm at Wellfield Park. All swing players are with the JV tonight.