End of Season Announcements

Kyle will send out a Remind with the information on uniform turn in and helping to get the equipment out of the Locker Room Wednesday. Attendance is mandatory.

#20 NorthWood - # 16 West Noble 1-2 (1-0/1-2 after ET) - Sectional Championship

In what turns out to be the final team huddle of the season, the Panthers take the field on a cool and blustery Saturday afternoon in the 2023 Sectional Final. The Panthers go ahead on a 6" goal from Dominic DeFreitas. This score stand until a defensive miscue with 10 minutes left in the game. The ensuing free kick is deflected and therefore out of reach for Trace Roja. This then sends the game into Extra Time (2x 7 minutes). Another defensive mistake gets the Chargers their second goal in de the first half of extra time. Despite a barrage of attacks by the Panthers, the ball doesn't roll our way. The season ends despite great play in the play offs in which we were the better team in both games. A large and engaged crowd saw an entertaining game. The season comes to an end and the Panthers finish with a 9-8-1 record. A great effort was put in by all and the Seniors played their hearts out! Unfortunately this is where it ends for them. Thank you Seniors for four years of hard work!!!!

A large crowd sees the Panthers lose to West Noble in a Sectional Finals thriller.

Game Day 18 Sectional Championship Saturday 10/7/23 @ 2 pm - # 20 NorthWood - # 16 West Noble

NorthWood tries to make it back to back Sectionals as they play in their first home Final ever. This is the second Sectionals hosted by NorthWood; the last one -4 years ago- was won by West Noble. The Chargers have a 11-4-3 record, the Panthers are 9-7-1. The teams have 5 common opponents, both of them going 3-1-1. West Noble is 53-12 in the Goals Scored and Given Up categories and obviously has a very good defense.The Panthers have scored 49 but given up 33. But none of it matters because it now all comes down to how this Final will be played by either team. Sol has been ruled out for the rest of the season sustaining an ACL and Meniscal tear in the last play of Monday's practice while Goalkeeper Trace Roja is expected back tomorrow. The weather will feel much different from the last game; it will be 51 and cloudy but it will feel colder with NW winds expected to be around 17 mph at kick off.

#20 NorthWood - Garrett 3-0 (2-0)

After # 16 West Noble finishes off Lakeland (8-0), it is time for the other remaining ranked team to take care of business. The warm up still seems a little lackluster but the hope is that the energy will change come kick off time.

The pre game talk contains references to our injured and sick team mates Trace and Sol and that we want to give them a chance to play Saturday.

It is one of the best nights weatherwise for soccer this season and as Billy Joel would say or sing rather, the regular crowd shuffles in. By kick off time the stands and apron are filling up nicely.

The Panthers start with energy and conviction although the first ten minutes are a little jittery from both sides. Understandable obviously with what is at stake. NorthWood's Head Coach Kyle Dijkstra has to make quite a few changes with the starting keeper trace Roja being under the weather and Solomon having to sit off with a knee injury. Maddox Brown takes the spot between the woodwork just as he did in the first game of the season. Hopefully this won't be our last. Michele Calderone and Jager Bute fill the spots on the field vacated by Sol and Maddox. After things settle down a bit, NW begins to threaten more. Aware of the fact that the Garrett keeper is one of the best we will see all season, scoring will be a challenge. A ball that seems to go out of play over the end line gets crossed by Dom from the right straight to Carlos who taps it over for what seemed to be a chance for an early lead. Three minutes later, the Railroaders get their first chance but their effort is saved by Maddox.The 23rd minute sees a lot of action in front of the Garrett goal; Grant shoots a high ball that requires a tip from the GK and Dom's shot in the same minute has the man in pink make another save to prevent the first goal of the game. NW keeps threatening and in the 24th produces a very nice goal that involves half of the field players. Wes Bell finds Dom who crosses for a switch with authority to Grant who controls it with one touch and finds Carlos who redirects it to Jager. Jager makes a move and takes a shot that finds the back of the net for the 1-0 lead.Only 5 minutes later, the Panthers threaten once again when a ball on the left flank has Carlos aggressively attacking at speed. As he tries to pass the defender, the defender seems to get the ball, kicks it but it ricochets off of Carlos' head. He goes into the box and places the ball at the goal. It rebounds off the GK back to Carlos who shoots the dust off the ropes for a 2-0 lead. The Railroaders coaching staff call for a handball (referring to the ball that hit Carlos' head) but after the referee confers with the AR, it is determined to be a goal. The people who had the worst angle (or no angle) on that play were the Garrett coaches. Therefore any protests after that (and there were plenty of them) were mostly unbelievable. The complaining might have helped when Dom shoots the ball so hard into the goal with no chance for the Railroaders stopper to even get close but the goal is disallowed for offside. Probably a result of all the complaining from the visitors bench. The half time talk focuses on keeping composure and closing out the game. Garrett, a team not known for scoring a lot, will be done, is the thinking, if we put in one more. In the 51st, Garrett gets a great opportunity and their forward takes a hard well placed shot in the right corner but an amazing dive and save by Maddox keeps the ball out of the net. The final nail in the proverbial coffin comes in the 54th when Jager scores after a throw in from the right side for his second (brace) and the Panthers' third and final goal of the night. By the time there are 15 minutes left on the clock, both teams get to put all the bench players in to get some minutes on the field at Sectionals. A very hard working energetic NW team that saw Michele start and Sebastian get a lot of minutes (with lots of energy and threatening offensive soccer) get the well deserved victory and if we continue this type of performance, Saturday will be an interesting match up with West Noble at 2 pm. NorthWood moves to 9-7-1 on the season and tries to get back to back setional Championships Saturday! The overall team performance was the best it has been all season and we could name all players individually for their performance because the passing was without a fault as crisp and accurate as we have seen all season and the urgency was clear to everyone off the pitch!! A job well done !

Maddox Brown, back up keeper, starting for the second time this season, gets a clean sheet!!

Game Day 17 Garret - #20 NorthWood

NorthWood will don the away kit since the draw placed us there. The Panthers are 8-7-1 and the Railroaders are 7-8-1. The Panthers have scored 46 goals on the season and allowed 33 where Garrett has scored 22 (6 by #15 Leech) and given up only 18 in 16 games. NorthWood looks to be without keeper Trace Roja and Solomon Yegon tonight and therefore battle a bit of adversity. It looks to be one of the last nice warm fall nights for the foreseeable future so we are hoping for a nice crowd tonight. Lakeland (with only two wins all season) will take on West noble in the early game. First game at 5 pm, NW kicks off at 7 pm.

NorthWood Sectional Update

#16 West Noble beats Wawasee 2-0 and Lakeland upsets Angola 2-0 which sets up the 5 pm Wednesday Semi Final West Noble - Lakeland. #20 NorthWood faces Garrett at 7 pm tomorrow.

Final ISCA Poll of the season

NorthWood drops to #20 in the final poll of the season. The Panthers were as high as #15 this season but have been ranked all year for the first time in school history. West Noble is the only other ranked team in our Sectional at #16.

NorthWood-Plymouth 2-3 (0-1)

13" 0-1, 60" 0-2, 61"1-2 PK (Carlos), 73" 1-3 (PK), 78" 2-3 (Dom). A sparse crowd on Senior Night witnessses a 2-0 JV win. One of the best seasons for our JV finishes at 7-8-1. The Varsity ends the regular season at 8-7-1 and now starts to prepare for a Garrett team that has had a good season and all reports indicate they will be a tough opponent. A loss to Plymouth puts us only ahead of Mishawaka and Wawasee in the NLC meaning that we will end up with very few All NLC awards. A very disappointing result. Seniors Trace Roa, Mark Santos, Solomon Yegon, Grant Miller, Carlos Alvarez-Ramirez, Wesley Bell, Gifton Yegon as well as Foreign Exchange Students Michele Calderone (Italy), Sebastian Lindstrom (Sweden), Bruno Castrillo and Aimar Legaz Pagan (both Spain) played their last regular season game.

Game Day 16 - Final game of the regular season

#18 NorthWood will host its Senior Night tonight at Wellfield Park. The opponent is Plymouth who beat us 1-4 in the pre-season. The Pilgrim/Rockies are 5-8-1 on the season with wins over Argos (2x), Mishawaka, LaPorte and Logansport. Their 6'2" Forwards Zalaya (#11) has scored 13 times and will be the topscorer on the pitch tonight. The Panthers fell two spots in the rankings last week to #18. They were surpassed by West Noble who could be a Finals opponent in Sectionals if the Panthers were to beat Garrett. But tonight the focus is on two other things; the Seniors who have helped the program for the last four years (with Carlos being the lone player who also appeared on the Varsity Roster during our Semi State game in his freshman year) and of course the result of tonight's game. A win will guarantee a winning season. Jager is out for tonight, everyone else seems to be healthy enought to play. JV plays at 5:30; Varsity at 7:15 pm. Bring an umbrella!

2023 Sectional Draw

A good draw for the Panthers who will play the late game in the semi final round versus the Garrett Railroaders.

#16 NorthWood - New Prairie 6-2 (2-0)

New Prairie visits the Panthers on a picture perfect Fall day. The JV starts out with a win on a Kyler Fike goal. The Varsity takes the field with the knowledge that only three more (home) games are guaranteed for the season and for the seniors, their careers at NW. The back and forth flow of th game is interrupted by stoppage in the 16th when a hand ball in the New Prairie box turns into a PK for the Panthers. Carlos takes the penalty and decidedly puts it away for the 1-0 lead. The prettiest combination of the day starts with a Dominic DeFreitas rabona to the left side where Grant receives it and then then crosses it perfectly into the box to Carlos. His header is directed downward and hits the right post and bounces back out. In the 32nd, NW boys soccer history is made again when Michele Calderone scores (Maddox free kick) the first Italian goal in program history.2-0 is the HT score. At the half some minor adjustments are discussed. The second half does not start out the way anyone would like. A total lack of focus causes the Panthers to give up an own goal in the 44th, 2-1 now. Fortunately, Carlos attacks the box aggressively in the 46th. The only one going with in the box is Maddox (Jack is trailing, no one else is around). Carlos' shot/cross hits the crossbar and the very alert Maddox Brown picks up the rebound and shoots the ball into the ropes for a 3-1 lead. Another 180 seconds later, Maddox gets involved again and assists Dom when the latter puts in #4 (4-1). The nicest goal of the day goes to Jager Bute. In the 51st, Grant Miller passes a nice ball just around the box. Jager's first touch is great, the second touch gets rid of the defender and the third one is the shot in the corner that makes the score 5-1. The Cougars try to get back into the game when they score in the 56th (5-2) but a Michele Calderone pass to Grant in the 76th puts the game out of reach when Grant scores to make the final score 6-2. The Varsity moves to 8-6-1 on the season with one game to go in the regular season. That game will be Tuesday when we host NLC opponent Plymouth on our 2023 Senior Night.

Game Day 15

The New Prairie Cougars are 8-4-1 on the season. Common opponents are Mishawaka (W/W), Trinity (NP - L, NW - W), ECA (NP L, NW W), Marion L/L). JV starts at 10, Varsity at 11:45. Team Dinner at the Dosal compound at 3 pm.

#16 NorthWood - Penn 0-4 (0-1)

Game Day 14

The Penn Kingsmen come to town tonight with a 6-5-2 record. Penn plays a tough schedule each year and this season is no exception. So far, the Kingsmen are 0-3-1 against common opponents where NW is 0-4. Northridge ( Penn 2-1 L, NW 2-0 L), Concord (Penn 2-1 L, NW 2-0L), Marian (Penn 3-1 L, NW 5-1 L), Warsaw (Penn 1-1 D, NW 5-0 L)all were games with very similar results although Penn's look to be a little bit better. Therefore, tonight's match up between # 16 NorthWood and Penn will be a tough one for the Panthers. NorthWood is 7-5-1 on the season. JV kicks off at 5, Varsity at 6:45 pm. Temperature will be in the low 70's at kick off; a perfect night to take in some NW soccer.

Mishawaka - #16 NorthWood 0-12 (0-9)

The goal for the night is to score enough to get out of town in 60 minutes. We are well ahead of shedule after ten seconds when right from the kickoff a Dom pass lands in front of Grant who puts it into the gaol. It is 0-1 before the Cavemen even touch the ball and the second quickest goal in NorthWood Boys Soccer history. A second goal follows when Solomon Yegon shoots and scores in the 6th (unassisted). The tally looks as follows: 14" Wes from the back to Dom to Carlos, 0-3. 21" Sol goal (assist Sebastian Lindstrom)0-4. 31" Madddox goal, Jack assist 0-5. 32" Dom 0-6 unassisted0-6. 36" a party ensues in Sweden as Sebastian Lindstrom becomes the first Swede to score a goal for NorthWood 0-7! 37" Drew Davis goal (nice finish) on a Dom assist 0-8. 38" 0-9 and to quote my notes Dom Ass (Dominic assist) off Jack Ass (Jack Assist) for the Half Time score which also means the end of the starters being on the field for tonight with the exception of Bryce and Trace. A complete new line up takes the field in the second act. Five minutes into the second half, Sebastian gets his second assist of the night when the Cavemen OG for a double digit score (0-10). 66" Another Sebastian assist to Jager makes it 0-11. We now go full tilt on the international side of the lineup when Italian Michele Calderone assists Kyler for the last goal of the night 0-12. Not the last exciting moment though because with mere seconds left in the game, Jager threatens when ge goes into the box but gets fouled. The referee points at the dot and Trace gets a chance to again make NW Boys Soccer history. If he scores, he will be the first GK to score a goal. But he skies the ball into the ball catcher. No more chances at a PK for Trace...case closed. No coach will have to listen to Trace begging to take a PK again. Time to pick up our wet gear and head to the bus for some Subway!

FOR THE NATIONAL ANTHEM WE HAD TO USE THE FLAG IN THE BACKYARD OF THE HOUSE NEXT TO WARD BAKER PARK BECAUSE THE CAVEMEN DID NOT WANT THEIR NEW FLAG TO GET WET. Next up for NW- Thursday at home vs Penn. Varsity improves their record to 7-5-1. The rest of the regular season games and Sectionals will be at home!

Game Day 13

The # 16 Patners travel to Mishawaka to face the Cavemen at Ward Baker Park. A varsity only contest today that has a kick off time of 6 pm. The bus leaves at 4:30 pm. The JV has the day off. That same JV lost 1-2 to Penn's C team (Isaac bell goal). The 6-5-1 Panthers will face a Mishawaka team that is 1-7 on the season. Their only win (3-1) came against Oregan Davis oe week ago today.

Busy week ahead .....

MONDAY JV at home vs Penn C-team 5 pm. TUESDAY Varsity at Mishawaka 6 pm. THURSDAY at home vs Penn JV at 5 pm, Varsity at 6:45 pm. SATURDAY at home vs New Prarie. JV at 10 am, Varsity at 11:45 am.

2A #15 NorthWood - 3A #16 Goshen 1-2 (1-1)

Goshen carries a 7-1-3 record into this match with their only loss being to Northridge. They have only been scored on thrice in 11 matches and therefore a momentous task to breakdown the Red Hawks defense. Wellfield Park looks in good shape, the Parks Department groomed the field earlier this week and surely raked some valuables off the pitch. The pressbox is a crowded place tonight with Michiana Promotions doing the broadcast on Froggy. Tecia, Ryan and Ron are taking care of the radio side, Randy has the mic for the announcments and Kyle is in charge of the scoreboard. The game kicks off and from the start it is a back and forth type of game. NW does a decent job at some possession and passing. Our defense and midfeld look organized and it looks like the walk thru offensive and defensive refreshers have done their job (it is a comment we also got from the Goshen Coach that we are very organized defensively). With few opportunities, we have to wait until the 13th when a ball played back to the Goshen keeper is pressured by Sol. He almost gets to the ball but if nothing else, he makes it awkward for the Goshen final defender. Play continues to go up and down with a lot of box to box play. Goshen does start to take a little bit more control of the game and starts to camp out at our box more than we do at their end. In the 32nd, an innocent looking shot gets deflected by one of the NW defenders. Trace was already going to his right and can not change that halfway thru the movement to go the other way. The balls goes across the line for the unfortunate 0-1 Goshen lead. A good change from Tuesday is noticeable when the Panthers go right at the Goshen goal after the kick off. Dom looks comfortable in his new spot and plays the role well distributing balls deep and square.Four minutes after the Red Hawks goal we experience a very nice NW attack that starts in the middle third. When Dom gets the ball, he holds and then passes a accurate ball to Carlos who in turn finds Sol. Sol races at the box with a Goshen defender in hot pursuit on his shoulder but he stays away and is now one on one with the Goshen keeper. But Sol has no problems finishing to tie the game and surpass Brayton on the all time scoring list. Dom and Trace highlight the second half with their efforts. In the 52nd, Dom's free kick requires a tip by the GK onto the crossbar. The ball comes back into play but unfortunately, no NW player is close to put the ball away. Twenty minutes later NW has a corner that is taken by Sol. His corner finds Dom's head. The hard header is saved off the line by a Goshen defender. Two good opportunities that do not go our way. Goshen does control the last part of the second half and even though we defend very well, we do depend on Trace saving our rear ends several times with great saves. When Goshen's #10 does not get shut down near the box, he goes parallel with the 18 and takes a hard shot that is out of Trace's reach, 1-2. All this with just 6 minutes left on the clock. In the 76th, Trace has another great save to prevent a larger Goshen lead. The final is 1-2. We see good performances from all who step inside the lines. It looks like Sebastian has played with us for 4 years instead of 4 weeks. It gives us extra depth in the exhausting wingback positions. Not the result we wanted or were looking for but nonetheless a good demonstration of what we are capable of and surely gives us an idea that with the right work attitude and sticking to our set up and organizational plan, the best is yet to come. The JV loses 0-2 tonight and will prepare for their NLC tournament tomorrow at Goshen (10:30 and 1:30 pm). Friday's practice is on the grass at Wellfield from 3:30-5 pm. Varsity has the weekend off. Varsity is 6-5-1 on the season.

Game Day 12 - 3A # 16 Goshen - 2A # 15 NorthWood

It does not get any easier. After facing 3A #17 Tuesday, we now play 3A #16. The Red Hawks are 7-1-3 on the season and have given up only 3 goals. The Panthers are 6-4-1. JV kicks off at 5:30 pm and the Varsity has a 7:15 pm start. It will be a perfect night for soccer.

3A #17 Warsaw - 2A # 15 NorthWood 5-0 (2-0)

Decent first half until the last minute, had a couple of good chances when behind 3-0 but then literally gave up to make it easy on the opponent to score two more. Overall a frustrating performance. Not much time to get ready for Goshen on Thursday.

Game Day 11 - 3A #17 Warsaw - 2A #15 NorthWood

Warsaw is the second 7-1-1 team we face so far this season. The Tigers are ranked 17th in 3A and their only loss was against Concord (2-1). The Panthers moved up to 15th in 2A yesterday after a good week in which we won three games. #9 van Puffelen seems to be their biggest threat having scored 10 goals (plus whatever total he scored in the 14-0 win over Mishawaka). The Panthers are 6-3-1 on the season. JV kick off is at 5 pm, Varsity start is at 6:45 pm.

Sunday Team Dinner hosted by the Beer family

A big Thank You to the Beers for hosting a great team dinner!!! Some impressions below......

#18 NorthWood - Trinity 6-3 (3-1)

The National Anthem causes incoming vehicles behind the dugout to stop but the traffic jam clears up once the music stops. In the booth we hear an unfamiliar voice. Randy Cripe has a previous commitment and Nick Davis is nice enough to take over and flies solo. But all goes smooth on the west side of the field. NorthWood is aware that Trinity's number 9 has found the back of the net 22 times so far this season. A tall, skilled and strong player who needs a little bit of extra attention. Dom makes sure he does just that in the first minute of the game when he takes the ball off of the #9 and starts a NW attack. In the 5th minute, Carlos applies pressure to the Titans defense that results in a NW throw in. The throw goes to Dom who finds Sol who takes the ball in the box. His pass across the 6 gets to Jack who simply taps the ball into the goal for an early lead. In the 14th, Sol starts a run on the right into the box. His cross goes to Carlos who tries to aim at the goal but has to drop it back to Grant. Grant takes a shot and scores, 2-0. In the 19th the referee awards the panthers a free kick taken by Dom. Sol ends up with the ball in the box, turns and shoots the ball into the low left for a 3-0 lead. Where most teams would have a tough time getting back in the game, you can tell that this team feels they always have a chance of getting back into it. Sebastian Lindstrom makes his debut in the 20th. His first action for the Panthers is a steal when he takes the ball off a Trinity player. In the 30th, a Trinity midfielder challenges Carlos for a header and pushes him in the shoulder which results in Carlos' dislocating his shoulder. With the help of AT Mr. Widner, he is able to get his shoulder back in place but will not see action the rest of the day. After the restart, Trinity scores when #9 goes by a couple of NW defenders and shoots the ball low into the right corner; 3-1 which is also the HT score. After the break, play goes back and forth until Dom delivers the ball to Sol on the left flank near the Titans dugout. Sol delivers the cross into the box to Jack who leaves the ball for Dom who crushes the ball into the roof of the net for a 4-1 lead. Despite it being a three goal lead, it does not feel like that. It has more of a 1 goal lead vibe. And soon after the Trinity kick off, they score with a shot outside the box over Trace; 4-2. In the 58th, Drew Davis delivers a very accurate cross into the box. Sol's header off the cross goes into the net; 5-2! Dom sits on a yellow card and when he challenges a Titan where he gets the ball, the Trinity Greenlawners Coaching staff scream foul and ask for a yellow. The entire coaching staff chirps the entire game and acts as if they never get a call. That in itself is irritating enough but to ask for a second yellow just because you are unable to contain someone is not very classy. An inadvertent hand ball in the NW box gives the Titans what they hope for, some help from the opponent. The PK goes to the right and Trace gets a hand on it but just not enough to push it out of the goal. And with 8 goals scored on the day, the scoring is still not over. When Dom gets possession of the ball near the middle circle, he drives the ball up the field almost losing control of it but in order not to, he crushes the ball from over 20 yards out to the left of the Trinity back up keeper to paint the final score on the board: 6-3! A good win against a 7-1-1 team and a game with a high entertainment value that shows we know how to execute in the final third. The Varsity moves to 6-3-1 on the season. The JV wins 4-0 where Kyler's second goal is his 10th of the season. Tueday's game will be a tough one against and at Class 3A #17 Warsaw.

Game Day 10

A Saturday matchup features the Trinity Titans from South Bend and #18 NorthWood. Trinity is 7-1-1 on the season and their only loss came to South Bend St. Joe.They are on a 6 game winning streak that includes a goal fest with Bremen that saw the Titans win 5-3. Bremen is also the only common opponent thus far. The game times tomorrow are a little different from what we are used to for Saturday games. The JV takes the field at noon while the Varsity will try and extend their winning streak at 1:30 pm. Varsity kick off temperature will be around 70 degrees with partly sunny skies, absolutely a great day to listen to the voice of Nick Davis as our weekend announcer.

Elkhart Christian - #18 NorthWood 1-3 (1-2)

As expected and only at Elkhart Christian did a referee officiate the JV match resembling Jesus. The JV felt blessed to rout the Eagles 0-8 with a four goal performance by Kyler Fike. The JV moves to 3-3-1 on the season! The Varsity takes the field after the JV takes care of business on a windy and cool night. The national anthem follows the prayer so quickly that the flag doesnt even make it to the top of the pole. For years now, it seems, the ECA game has ended in a stalemate and hopefully that will change tonight. The Eagles are a very good opponent who have only lost one game on the season and that one only by way of a PK shoot out versus highly ranked Bethany Christian two nights ago. The first ten minutes of the game are somewhat sloppy and ECA takes the ball into our box in the first 20 seconds of the game. We answer quickly when we counter and Carlos serves Dom with a defense split that puts Dom eye to eye with the ECA keeper. The shot is saved by the Eagles backstop. Play goes back and forth and at times we look good in passing and combining but at times we get ourselves in trouble in the back near our own box when we do not decidedly clear a ball but instead hold on to it too long. Up until the 20th, we do not pay a price. But in the 20th we give away a corner. Despite having four players plus the keeper near where the ball ends up, it is a EA midfielder who gets to the ball and heads it into the net for a 1-0 lead. This however seems to wake us up. We start to play better, pass better and show some determination right from the kick off. In the 27th, Grant passes a ball to Sol who puts the ball past the Elkhart Christian keeper for the 1-1 tie. The ECA keeper is a reincarnation of every ECA keeper before him; quick, athletic and a good bal stopper. But that does not stop Grant Miller. In minute 31, he takes a long distance shot Grant Miller style (the one we have been waiting on all season) that goes from the left of the field into the upper right, unreachable for the keeper. The 1-2 lead is also the half time score. The second twenty minutes of the first half shows a very good team effort with good combination play. Dom is open on the right the entire first half and serves ball after ball at will to anyone who is open. Our Head Coach makes a couple of adjustments at the half and points out a few things that need improvements. The second half has a different feel than the first. Trace barely has to come into action. If he gets the ball, it is to pick it up at the end of the box. Dom has shifted to the right and even though he is playing on the opposite site from the first half, he is unexplainably unmarked there as well. Dom's passing is as good in this half if not better than they were in the first. Ball after ball goes diagonally into or near the box for people to run onto. Our defense has, after listening to Kyle at the half, a much better second act and cleans up the passing and clearing out of the back. In the 59th, Grant gets the ball near the midline. After almost losing possession, he gets a foot on the ball before the opponent and keeps dribbling towards the Eagles box. Momentarily he gives the ball up to Sol who passes it back. Grant then dribbles along the top of the box and takes a shot. The great take goes to the keepers left and hits the right side net for a comfortable 1-3 lead. The Panthers get numerous other opportunities and ECA is lucky to not get scored on more. Carlos gets unlucky a couple of times in the last ten minutes after some good combination play. The chance in the 71st seems to be our fourth goal but Carlos' shot gets stopped on the line. Overall it is a very good performance that comes after a solid win Tuesday and a good performance against Northridge last week. It is good to see that we are playing good soccer in a formation that the team is doing well in and at the same time we play physical as well which is a requisite for succes in the post season. The Varsity moves to 5-3-1 on the season with all losses coming against ranked teams. The boys won't get a lot of rest with another match coming up Saturday at home versus Trinity at Greenlawn. JV will start at noon followed by the Varsity game that will kick off around 1:30 pm.

The very original Eagles Nest Sky Deck.

Game Day 9 Elkhart Christian - #18 NorthWood

The Eagles are 6-1 on the season with their only loss coming to Bethany Christian after a penalty kick shoot out (customary in their conference after regulation ends in a draw). It broke their 6 game winning streak in which they defeated Lakeland Christian, Prairie Heights, South Bend Riley, Argos, Central Noble and New Prairie.

#18 NorthWood - Wawasee 2-1 (1-0)

NorthWood has trouble in the final third all night. The Panthers score in the 19th on a Dom goal (Jager assist). Trace has a great save in the first and second half to make sure we stay ahead. At the half the emphasis is on playing more direct and quicker while balls need to go into the Warriors' box. We get numerous chances throughout the game (close to a dozen or so). Wawasee ties the game 6 minutes into the second half when we give up a PK (our 6th on the season) when Grant fouls a Wawasee attacker in or near the box. It takes a Wawasee coaches "request" to have the center ref check with the AR to see if the foul was actually inside the box. It either is or it is not but a long conversation between the two results in a PK as opposed to the earlier call of a free kick.Afer reviewing the "foul" on Hudl, you can see that Grant heads the ball, the Wawasee player does not go for the ball but instead intentionally nudges Grant. Another officiating blunder of the highest degree. Wawasee puts the ball into the ropes for the 1-1 draw. In the 50th a Dom to Jager to Sol ball ends up in the net for Sol's first and NorthWood's second and what would turn out to be final goal of the night. In the 61st, Sol enters the Wawasee box and gets tackled. The ensuing PK is not bad but stopped by a great effort by the Wawasee backstop. The Wawasee keeper had a very good night and prevented efforts from Sol, Dom and Carlos and keeps the total tally at 2 for the night. We play well but not quick enough and struggle all night to finish.In the latter part of the game Sol and the Wawasee keeper collide. The keeper needs attention from the trainer. The IHSAA rules state: "ANY player who is injured and requires the coach/medical staff -and both went out- to come onto the field must be substituted. Goalkeepers can be substituted by someone on field or bench". Let's just say that if you do not keep up on the rules, you have NO business being on the field. We come away with an NLC win but we should never have let it get this close. Wawasee has several chances throughout the night but manages only to level two corner flags and put a PK into the Panthers goal. NorthWood moves to 4-3-1 (1-2-0 in NLC). The JV defeats Wawasee 6-0 (!) in one half of soccer. Next up for both teams is a Thursday away game at Elkhart Christian.

#18 NorthWood - Wawasee on Froggy 102.7

Tonight's game will be broadcast on Froggy 102.7

Busy Week ahead.... updated start times for tonight's games

This week is a busy week on the calendar. After yesterday's practice to get ready for tonight's game vs. Wawasee, we have a regular practice tomorrow followed by an away game for both teams at Elkhart Christian. Friday features a 3:30-5:15 practice and on Saturday we round off the week at home against Trinity Greenlawn. Tonight's match up vs. the Warriors has a 5:30 JV start (half game of 40 minutes) and a 6:30 pm Varsity start. The #18 Panthers will visit Elkhart Christian Academy Thursday where the JV kicks off at 5:30 pm with Varsity starting at 7:30 pm. Saturday's home game versus Trinity School at Greenlawn will have a Noon JV start ena a 1:30 pm Varsity start.

2023 NorthWood Boys Soccer Compete Week

From Top to Bottom: JV Head Coach Seth Douwsma with the JV Compete Week winner - Tyler Frye. Varsity Head Coach Kyle Dijkstra with 3rd place winner of the Varsity Compete Week - Grant Miller. Next down, Varsity Head Coach Kyle Dijkstra with 2nd place winner of the 2023 Varsity Compete week, Gifton Yegon and the winner of the 2023 NorhWood Boys Soccer Compete Week is Isaac Bell (pictured with Head Coach Kyle Dijkstra). Congratulations to the winners!!!!!

UPDATE *** Practice times Friday & Monday

Today's practice is on grass (Wellfield) and on turf Monday. Today's practice is from 3:30-5 pm and Monday from 10am-11:30 am. Monday's practice is for Varsity only.

3A #11 Northridge - 2A #18 NorthWood 2-0 (1-0)

Two mistakes, one a defensive NW miscue and the other a arbitration blunder lead to two Northridge goals. The Panthers deserved more. We played our best game of the season had some opportunities but were unable to put those away. A defensive mistake in the box leads to un unearned Northridge chance and the subsequent goal. With minutes left in the game, NorthWood adds more offensive and therefore less defense in order to create some mor chances. A Raiders counter ends up in our box. Gifton slides in backwards to try and regain possession, the Northridge player stumbles, stays on his feet, takes a shot and when the shot does not go in, the referee points at the PK spot. So if the foul (if it was one, I've watched it 5 times and can not really determine if it was even a foul)is committed, you point at the spot. When the play is over and then you decide retroactively to award the penalty, that is not only dubious but probably just plain horrendous officiating. Not that that goal mattered but the fact remains that it was the wrong call. Despite the PK, the overall team performance was terrific. We showed a great workrate with a lot of good play, switch play, combination play. The only thing we did not do was to get the ball over the line when we had opportunities. The best chance came off a Dom pass on the six to Carlos whose shot got saved by the -annoying- Northridge keeper. Panthers drop to 3-3-1. The JV loses 1-0. Thursday is a normal practice on the grass at Wellfield and there will be a team dinner afterwards at Wellfield. Players can bring a chair or blanket to sit on.

Game Day 7 - 3A #11 Northridge - 2A #18 NorthWood

Northridge is 3-0-2 on the season beating Goshen, Penn and Chesterton and tying Elkhart and Adams. The Panthers are 3-2-1. This game was postponed last week due to the weather. JV start - 5:30 pm, Varsity kicks off at 7:15 pm.

Lakeland - #18 NorthWood 0-8 (0-4)

After about an hour on the bus and some rain on the way, skies clear as soon as we set foot on the pitch. The officiating trio resembles a basket of soup sandwiches and their performance comes close to matching that. The national anthem is played but so softly that it is hard to determine when it is over. A large "L" logo on the middle of the field surely set the Lakeland School Corporation back a few bucks in spray paint. FIRST HALF - The Lakers, in their sky blues, have had a rough start of the season and had already given up 30 goals in 4 matches. The Panthers add another 8 to that total tonight. After a correction by the NW bench to change the first half playing time to 40 minutes (from 45), it is time for what we came here for. Dom makes his first appearance of the season and puts his stamp on the game and the score card early. The first goal at about twenty minutes in is an own goal but comes off a Dom shot. The second goal around the 27th is a Dom goal (Grant Miller assist). The third one is a pretty one. A nicely Grant Miller placed corner reaches Carlos who heads the ball towards Maddox who heads the ball into the ropes with no chance for the Lakers keeper to get to it; 0-3! A solid shot at the goal by Jager Bute gets stopped initially by the Lakeland stopper but comes of his 2x4 hands. Carlos is quick to jump on the rebound and crushes the ball into the goal for his first and the Panthers' 4th goal of the night. HALF TIME - Some minor adjustments are made. Mark only played 14 minutes due to his injury and hopefully we can get the starters some rest for the remainder of the game with the Northridge contest looming about 23 hours out. SECOND HALF- Five minutes into the second act it is Drew Davis who finds the net for his third NW career goal (second vs Lakeland with the previous Lakeland goal coming in 2022). The pass from Dom to Grant ends up in front of Drew for the 0-5. In the same minute, Solomon Yegon assists Carlos who places a hard shot thru the keepers hands for the 0-6! Speaking of Yegon; Shifty Gifty is sick and did not travel with the team; Marshall Sell takes his spot on the defensive line (Bryce shifted to the middle). Hopefully Gif as well as Gusy and Casin are all feeling better tonight. All of them were sick yesterday. But back to the game. The center ref makes some dubious decisions with the help of his AR's but when you are up by a large margin it clearly will not impact the end result. A nice thru ball into the box sees Isaac Bell going 1v1 at the keeper and a miraculous save prevents the score from increasing. Jager scores number 7 for NorthWood (Jager Boot according to the Lakeland announcer) with a well placed ball in the left corner of the goal, well out of reach for the Lakers GK. Maddox splits two defenders inside the box to reach Sol who lifts the ball past the keeper in a very Sol way for the final score 0-8. All in all a fairly easy win for the Panthers who has all players get playing time. Trace records his first shut out of the season. NorthWood improves to 3-2-1 on the season. NOTES- Next up: Today at Northridge. Bus leaves Wellfield at 4:15pm, JV starts at 5:30 pm, Varsity is at 7:15 pm. JV will be in all white, Varsity white top and socks with black shorts.

Game Day 6 Lakeland - # 18 NorthWood

The Panthers travel to LaGrange to take on the the Lakers. The Panthers are 2-2-1 on the season, Lakeland is 0-4. NW has not played in over a week while the Lakers played Westview this past Saturday. This is a Varsity game only with a 5:30 pm start. The bus leaves Wellfield at 3:45 pm. The JV will have a regular practice on the grass at Wellfield from 3:30-5:30 pm.

Changes to Training and Games this week

MONDAY: Practice3:30-5:30 (Wellfield/Grass). TUESDAY Varsity game at Lakeland 5:30 pm start/JV 3:30-5:30 (Wellfield/Grass). WEDNESDAY at Northridge 5:30 JV/V 7:15. THURSDAY 3:30-5:30 (Welfield)Team Dinner afterwards. FRIDAY 3:30-5 (Wellfield).

PRACTICE SCHEDULE CHANGE FOR REMAINDER OF THIS WEEK

AMENDED TRAINING SCHEDULE: -** Wednesday 3:30-5 pm Wellfield/Grass, -**Thursday NO PRACTICE, -**Friday 3:30-5:15 Wellfield/Grass (start of 2023 Compete Week).

****UPDATE***** Schedule Change - Northridge Game

The away game versus Northridge for this Thursday has been canceled due to predicted severe heat. It has been officially rescheduled for Next Wednesday, August 30th.

#2 Mishawaka Marian - #15 NorthWood 5-1 (4-0)

The Knights play in your face fast paced soccer defeating the Panthers; 3" 1-0 5" PK -Saved by Trace (second PK stop of the year) 25" 2-0 26" 3-0 30" 4-0 PK (5th PK against NW this season) 47" 5-0 51" 5-1 - Sol. JV loses 4-1. Varsity record : 2-2-1 Next Up : 3A #15 Northridge away.Below a sparse crowd witnesses a NW loss to Marian. Groundhog day at Marian; a groundhog crosses the feld from sideline to sideline before second half kick off.

Game Day 5 - #2 Mishawaka Marian - #15 NorthWood

Both teams move up in the State rankings. Marian moves up a notch from 3 to 2 while the Panthers move from 19th to 15th. Both teams have had a good start of the season. Marian, State Runner Up last year, fields a team with mainly seniors. Like NorthWood, they lost 6 starters from last year's squad. The JV game squares off at 5 pm, the Varsity at 7 pm. The bus leaves at 4 pm from Wellfield. Players need to park in the west part of the car park. Wes Bell received stitches Saturday night after colliding with a Manchester player and we are awaiting clearance from NW Sports Medicine. Dom is not available until Thursday. Marian knocked the Panthers out of Regionals last season (1-0) and ended up losing in the State Final. Marian is 2-0 on the season, beating west Noble (2-0) and Concord (2-1). The top 20 2A teams are a majority private schools like Marian (15) while private schools account for just 5 (with NW being the 3rd highest ranking public school in 2A). A case could be made to have private schools just having their own class but so far the IHSAA has not shown signs of even entertaining that idea.

NorthWood wins own Invitational

The morning game features #19 NorthWood and #13 Bremen. An early season measuring stick of where we are. It is evident from the start that this is another typical NW-Bremen match. Initial pressure comes from the Lions who are able to score early in the 11th. It is now time to see what the Panthers have mentality wise to start and get back into this game. Kyle makes an adjustment and puts Carlos on the right side for a better match up. It pays off in the 16th when Carlos slices thru two defenders and lays the ball off to Sol near the left top of the 18. His right low shot goes past the keeper to put the 1-1 on the board. NW and Bremen play a pretty even game with NW having a little bit of an advantage with some offensive opportunities. One of those comes in the 28th when from about 25 out, Drew Davis shoots a ball at the goal and over the Bremen keeper for a 2-1 lead. Drew has now recorded a goal as a freshman and sophomore! A couple of minutes later a disputable call by the ref results in a PK for Bremen. The explanation of "the NW player cleared the ball but after he did made contact with the opponent resulting in a trip" does not constitute a penalty in my book, FIFA's book or IHSAA book but the half center ref (we again only have two refs) has the last word. Bremen's best player, #10 takes the penalty. He shoots low and left but an amazing save by Trace Rojas keeps the ball out of the net and the Pathers conserve the lead. It takes some more magic from Trace (fantastic diving save in the 56th from #12 and forcing #10 to shoot outside the frame in the 59th) in the second half to make sure NW keeps the lead. A great result against another ranked and solid team puts us in the Final at 5 pm. A Bremen "fan" gets ejected by the referee for the rest of the tournament. Manchester defeats Western quite easily in the noon match up. Bremen defeats Western in the match for 3rd and 4th. At 5 pm it is time for the Final. Manchester has a couple of good players and #12 is by far their biggest threat as he has speed and a good shot. NW starts somewhat slow while Manchester brings the energy. A breakaway counter in the 10th at the NorthWood goal requires Trace to not just come off his line but actually make a daring save outside (1) the 18 yard box to preserve the 0-0. In the 24th minute, Carlos plays to Sol who lets the ball dummy thru his legs. The ball gets to Jager, who is enjoying a day where his name is not butchered, and takes a shot at the Manchester goal. The ball hits the cross bar while dipping back down. Solomon has three great opportunities after making great runs but the lanky Manchester backstop is able to stop all three. With 60 seconds left on the clock, Manchester breaks the stalemate and puts the Squires up 0-1. A blunt half time talk is focused on a couple of minor tactical issues but more so on our workrate that needs to improve if we want to take the trophy home tonight. An energized NorthWood takes the field and plays with a higher tempo. We end up with 12 corners in the game and each one is dangerous. In the 53rd one of these corners ends up inside the 6 and a Maddox Brown hip puts the ball over the line to tie the game. NW plays with more pressure on the Manchester defense resulting in numerous balls in the box. On the 63rd, one of these attacks in the box turns into a PK after a Suire handball. Carlos sends the keeper the wrong way. NorthWood leads 2-1. The score stays this way until the final whistle. The Panthers win the 2023 NorthWood Invitational. They get results against two ranked opponents in the first week of the season. This coming week will be another challenging week. For one, the weather will be a challenge with the high temps and humidity and for another, we face somevery tough opponents. We again face two ranked opponents and both of them away from home. Mishawaka Marian is ranked 3rd in 2A while Northridge is ranked 18th in 3A. The bus for Marian leaves at 4 pm Monday from Wellfield Park. JV starts at 5 pm, Varsity kicks off at 7 pm.

(1A) # 6 Bethany Christian - (2A) # 19 NorthWood 1-1 (0-0)

Weather delays the start of the JV game and therefore the Varsity game as well. Both teams entertain themselves in the Bethany gym until game time.

FIRST HALF- Once we get the announcements out of the way (Jager is now Beaut - "It's a beaut Clark, it's a beaut") we get to play under three of the four lights. We have as many refs as lights tonight! The game starts slow when both teams are trying to feel their way on a soggy pitch with thick and tall grass. Not very conducive to conducting soccer business. The team's benches are situated on the track in front of the bleachers which makes little sense as well. As we settle in, it is the man who can play all positions, Maddox, who does a nice job of turning away from his opponent. He takes a shot which curls to the left and hits the left post. A lot of back and forth play ensues the rest of the half with NW displaying a very organized defense. Our main problem offensively is that we do not play to the strength of our attackers. Jager needs played to feet so he can control the ball and instigate give and go's, Sol needs balls played in front of him to feet so he can start making runs away from defenders to shoot but we play too many balls over the top. Since none are diagonally, they typically end up going straight to the Bethany keeper. A nice combination in the 26th has Jack serving Carlos who passes to Sol. Sol's shot requires a save by the BC GK. HALF TIME 0-0. SECOND HALF- After making some adjustments in how to make better passes and crosses to our offensive minded players we look pretty solid early on. Although things get a little dicy in the 50th when after sloppy play, we lose the ball that results in Bethany's #14 taking a shot which fortunately misses to the goal's left. Fourteen minutes later a Jager throw to Maddox's head, ends up in front of Sol who slides the ball into the goal (sidenet!) out of the keeper's reach for the 0-1 NW lead. After the goal, Bethany increases their presure on our defense.In the 65th a Bethany shot off a right cross requires Trace to make a diving save. Trace is on top of his game all night. His stops are solid, his distribution is very good. Eleven minutes before the final whistle Wes commits a foul just outside our box. Despite a five man wall, Bethany connects on the free kick for a 1-1 score. With two minutes left on the clock we depend on Bryce to defend a Bethany counter. Gifton fouls an opponent in front of the Bethany bench with 9 ticks left on the clock. As the Bruin goes down he moves his feet at Gif and makes contact with his face. An understandable upset Gifton ends up with a yellow, the Bethany player gets nothing....no yellow, no red. Retaliation normally carries an automatic yellow but not tonight. The final free kick of the night gets headed out of the box as time runs out. The result is probably a fair one but we feel as if we deserved more. In the first two games of the season, two dead moments in or near the box result in opponent's goals, something we need to work on. Overall, we played an organized game, saw good combinations in all thirds of the field and in general, every player who saw the field, played well. NOTES - The Varsity is 0-1-1, JV is 1-1-1 after a 0-0 tie vs Bethany. The Varsity will be playing two games Saturday in the 2023 NorthWood Invitational. Game 1 - 10 am NorthWood - Bremen, Game 2 Noon Manchester-Western, Game 3 3pm Losers G1/2, Game 4 5pm Winners G1/2. Today's practice at Wellfield on the turf from 3:30pm-5 pm. ADDITIONAL NOTE: After watching the game tape, the Gifton "foul" was a flop and the kick in his face should have been a definite red!

Game Day 2 - (1A) #6 Bethany Christian - (2A) #19 NorthWood

#6 Bethany Christian comes off a 7-0 season opener win versus the Lakewood Park Christian Panthers. Jayden Schlabach scored a hat trick in the game. Panther week continues for the Bruins as the NorthWood Panthers travel to Bethany with everyone healthy and Trace Rojas back between the woodwork. JV start at 5 (half game), Varsity start at 6 pm. The Panthers are looking to get their first goals and win of the young season. The Bethany field has been "renovated" with a new pitch surrounded by a track and new bleachers. Weather looks to be perfect for an evening of Panther soccer.

#19 NorthWood- Concord 0-2 (0-1)

The new pressbox gets its first match and our back up announcer has no problems with the Concord roster but trips over Jager Bute's first name pronounciation (it is not like Jagermeister) but Jager does not seem affected.FIRST HALF- The first 15 minutes are sloppy and do not contain a lot of consecutive passes by either team. The Panthers do not have all players available as they have to leave Trace and Dom on the bench. Maddox takes over the temporary keeping duties (and does very well). The first time he sees any action that needs his attention is in the 17th minute. A Concord shot on the frame requires Maddox to make his first save. A challenge in the NorthWood 18 in the 26th between a Concord attacker and Gifton results in a tackle near the end line. Fifty percent of the officiating crew blows the whistle for a PK. The PK lands in the net for a 0-1 Concord advantage. Five minutes later the Panthers show up near the Minutemen box and as Drew Davis collects a ball and goes at the box. When he notices that no one is shutting him down, he takes a shot that barely goes over. HALF TIME - The adjustments at the half deal with our midfield and that our MF's need to have options when they have the ball. Concord attackers need to be shut down near the box and our verbal communication needs to improve. Clearly, even after not a great first half, we are in this game. SECOND HALF- Our passing was not fantastic in the first half and that seems to improve early on.The first four minutes we play better combination soccer compared to the first half. As we seem to settle in and get more comfortable we lose the ball in the middle and Concord swings the ball to the right and a long shot from outside of the box is taken on the volley by a Concord midfielder. Despite Maddox getting a hand on the ball, it disappears in the upper left, 0-2. We are contending with Concord the rest of the game and get two great opportunities; Sol in the 61st that has him go for placement from the 6 but the keeper saves it and Carlos in the 69th with a one on one run into the box. His great take is saved miraculously by the Concord keeper's foot. A disappointing result where we had our chances but could not get them past the Concord keepers. NOTES- The JV falls 1-4 to Concord. JV record is 1-1-0, Varsity starts the season at 0-1. Next up is Bethany away tomorrow. JV plays a half game at 5, Varsity kicks off at 6 pm. Trace will be available again which will give us Maddox back on the field.

Game Day 1 #19 NorthWood - Concord

NW hosts the Minutemen with a 5 pm (JV) and 6:45 pm (Varsity) match. The JV comes off a 0-3 win vs Warsaw's C-team and the Varsity went 4-1 in the pre-season. But tonight is different! A tough start vs an always good opponent.

SCHEDULE CHANGE - STARTING TIME CHANGE ***** BETHANY-NORTHWOOD

The JV game at Bethany August 17 will start at 5 pm (one half only). The Varsity game will have a 6 pm start.

NorthWood - Manchester 4-0/NorthWood - Wawasee 2-0

The Wawasee Jamboree consists of two halves of soccer. NorthWood is in attacking mood early all day long. Solomon Yegon scores 34 seconds in to game 1 vs Manchester. Mark connects with his head (a pretty goal) by moving backwards, flicking theb all over the keeper for an early (4") 2-0 lead (Grant assist). Sol scores agin in the 16" (unassisted). The Panthers finish the game with a nice Wes Bell strike (assist Dom) for the final 4-0 score. The second game against Wawasee on the turf has Sol stealing a ball and scoring with only about 12 ticks gone on the clock. A slower paced game sees the Panthers settle in and rarely being put under pressure. Trace keeps the shut out intact for the game and a half he plays. Maddox takes the spot on the most important line for half number two and does a good job, extending the shutout until the end of the game. In the 30th, Goosy scores on an assist from Sol to record the final; 2-0. Now it all starts for real; Concord is up next. Game time is 6:45 pm Tuesday at Wellfield Park when we kick off the season vs Concord. The JV starts at 5 pm. Concord will be our first NLC opponent. The season schedule has some changes this year with Rochester and Glenn having been replaced with Penn and Homestead. This will be one of our toughest (if not the toughest) schedules in NW boys soccer history but it should be one that will prepare us for Sectionals. Sectionals by the way that will be hosten by NorthWood. The pressbox should be ready by game time tomorrow as well so announcement will come from the booth atop the west side stand. We will also be able to film the game from the video deck situated on top of the press box.

Warsaw C team - NorthWood JV 0-3

The JV starts the season out strong with a Kyler Fike hat trick!!!. The JV will be back in action on Tuesday at home vs. Concord at 5 pm.

Jamboree Saturday, first regular game Tuesday

Saturday August 12, the Varsity will travel to Wawasee for the Annual Jamboree. Manchester and Wawasee will be the opponents. The JV travels to Warsaw to open the season versus the Warsaw C-team. Varsity bus leaves Wellfield at 9:30, JV hits the road from Wellfield at 8:30. Concord is the Varsity's first opponent. This game will be played Tuesday at Wellfield Park. JV kicks off at 5 pm, followed by a 6:45 Varsity start. The first game of the season will be a NLC match.

2023 Pugg Tournament

The Coaches team went into the Final undefeated. Maddox and Ben Bodach were the additions to the team with Brayton being out. Despite beating the team consisting of Eli, Bryce, Caleb,Jager, Dom, Trace and Jackson in the Group stage,the Coaches team was unable to win the Final. A hard hit was taken by the team when Coach Kyle had to be stretchered off the pitch with a nasty ankle injury. The final score of 2-1 clearly indicates that it was a battle between the two best teams in the tournament.