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.