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