The season opener can be categorized as "mission accomplished". NorthWood comes away with the win and a decisive one at that but more than that, the team played what they had practiced in the last few weeks. It looked like soccer so it must have been soccer albeit it somewhat one sided; Central Noble was not able to do much in their middle or offensive third of the field. So congratulations to Coach Duerksen who got his 100th win as head coach of the Panthers!
FIRST HALF
The game started off somewhat chaotic with a coin toss at the last minute and a National Anthem sung by what sounded like a whispering choir. The field was in tip top shape, for Central Noble. It was nice and hard, almost cement like but had been recently mowed.
The first ten minutes were dominated by NW thru 80-20 ball possession and some chances at a goal or two. Eddie was able to secure the first yellow of the season handily in the 10th minute. The center ref looked a little emotional in the beginning of the game but fortunately settled down after that. It was a Collin Tucker cross in the 21st that gave NW its first real opportunity to go ahead. Eusebio was in the right spot but was unable to connect.
Seven minutes later, it was 'the Michelin man" Trent Jacobs who despite being weighed down with 7 pound wraps on both arms (broken bones), crossed the ball near the goal line. Eddie Salinas finished for his first goal of the season. The Panthers kept pressing the remainder of the first half, showed some good runs and passing but were unable to add to the score.
HALF TIME
The half time adjustments were minimal and focused mainly on taking some more shots from farther out as well as taking on the Central Noble defense with speed.
SECOND HALF
The second half started off the same way the first half ended. NW playing offense, the Cougars playing defense. With shots from Lincoln in the 46th, Noodle in the 52nd and Trent in the 53rd, it was obvious that we would have plenty of opportunities to score again. In the 53rd, Clay turned to his left and passed the ball up the line to Taylor who moved the ball up to Josh. Josh went up the left side and took the ball into the box. He took a great shot but missed to the left.
In the 55th, Jason was put up top for some offensive pressure, Jake went to sweep and Collin took the stopper's spot.
In the 63rd minute of play an Eddie Salinas shot from the right was touched by the CN Goalkeeper, touched the under side of the crossbar and came back out right in front of Taylor Wegmiller. Taylor used his head to put the ball across the chalk, 2-0.
In the 65th, the ref's ADD flared up when he asked for a NorthWood roster. When it became apparent that that issue had been taken care of before the game, we could once again focus on what was going on between the lines.
A 67th minute throw in was headed by Jason to Josh, who struck the ball well on the frame for a nice goal, 3-0.
Nine minutes later, Eddie assisted from the right corner to Edward "Jason" for the 4-0, the flood gates were open!
In the 79th, Jason dribbled the ball thru the top of the box and got the ball to Eddie who passed to Eusebio. Eusebio finished without hesitation to put the 5-0 on the board (which we were unable to locate).
Sixty seconds later, in the last minute of play, we witnessed the best strike of the game. Ryan Lincoln took a volley shot from about 23 out and cleaned the remaining dust off the ropes with a hard ball that ended up in the right upper corner.
Final score 6-0. Good result but better yet, a well played game.
NOTES
Captains were voted on by the team. Lincoln (most votes; speaking captain) and Kronk will lead the team. By the way, Kronk played like a captain with great passing and runs out of the back.
Eusebio/Benfica got injured during a play where he connected with a CN defender's head. He recovered from that but lost part of his front tooth. "Chip" was able to play the rest of the game.
All players who traveled with the team entered the field of play and did well.
There was no complaining from the team (that's a first!), despite the fact that there were no drinks or sandwiches on the bus.
Next up: Lakeland Christian on Tuesday. Change in times!!!!! Varsity at 5 pm, followed by the JV. Directions to the field in Winona Lakes will be posted later.
Lindy's pictures have been posted -already-.
The new shirts are in. If you are purchasing a game jersey, write a check to "NorthWood Soccer" for $ 40 and get it to Coach Duerksen. For players who raised $50 for the car wash, the price will be $30; for those players who raised $100 or more, the jersey will be free. The jerseys will be given to you AFTER you pay. Those who elect to not buy the jersey, your shirts will be given to you probably by the end of next week.
Kyle recorded his first career Varsity shutout. The clean sheet fact: 2 shots on goal.
