NorthWood-Goshen 0-6 (0-5)

Goshen defeats NorthWood 6-0, Panthers fall to 6-4. JV loses 1-6 (NW goal Marshal Beebe). Focus shifts to next opponent, Elkhart Christian on Monday.

Match day 10

NorthWood (6-3) hosts the top 10 ranked Goshen Red Hawks (9-2) tonight in the next to last home game at the Game field at Nappanee Elementary ever. JV start at 5 pm, Varsity at 6:45.

Warsaw-NorthWood 2-0 (2-0)

It is Senior Night at Warsaw but fortunately that does not disrupt the start of the game too much. The pitch looks and plays great. This is what a natural grass soccer pitch should look like. It will be the best natural surface we play on this season. Compare this to our field, especially the way it looked Monday, and this field begs for soccer to be played on while ours begs for corn to be planted. The introduction are interesting, we now have a Skyler Durkenson, Micah Pipe-and-ger and a Brad Durkenson. New signings, I guess. On loan maybe because you probably won't hear those names again the rest of the season. FIRST HALF- Warsaw shows right off the bat that their senior # 12 Ocock has speed. He runs in behind our defense and threatens early on. He is the leading scorer for Warsaw with 9 goals. Play goes back and forth initially. But in the 9th, Trent has to come off with a soccer cleat malfunction (the top half of the shoe is separated from the bottom half). It takes time to find cleats close to his size on the bench. During all this, we have to shuffle people around in the back and middle and while we are moving players around, Warsaw gets in the box and ends up scoring the first goal of the game in the 10th. Ocock adds to it in the 18th with the second goal of the night. NW threatens lightly at times and has its most dangerous moment in the 33rd when a Jerson free kick goes in the box diagonally. Sebastian attacks the ball and heads it at goal but it finds the crossbar. HALF TIME- It is obvious to the coaches that we are not out of this game and only need a goal to turn things around. Some adjustments are discussed; one of them being to look for flank passing to create opportunities from the sides not just thru the middle of the field. SECOND HALF- Play is no longer dominated by Warsaw, it is a back and forth type of possession game. Our play in the back is more consistent and we are looking to target from the back. A nice thru ball to Juan in the 52nd minute near the box is the kind of opportunity that can change the game. Juan gets a couple of good touches on the ball, is by the last defender and goes at the keeper. Juan takes a great paced shot at the frame. The ball goes to the keepers right but he makes an excellent save. The second half shows us that we can play with very good teams like Warsaw and were it not for the fact that they executed twice early on in the match, this game could have had a different outcome. We learn from it, we will be better because of it. One note here about the officiating. It was refreshing to see some good referees out there. The center arbiter was on top of all plays and was very consistent and in my eyes the best official we have seen all season. Any official who goes unnoticed for the most part, is a good one. There was flow to the game, he let the players play. NOTES- The JV lost 3-1. Andy Duran had the lone Panther goal. The JV was down 3-0 after 10 minutes so it looked like it could be a long night but we have to give credit to the boys for hanging in there and getting a goal back. The JV is now 4-3. The Varsity's record stands at 6-3. The loss against Warsaw ends a nice winning streak (4 games). Next up: the next to last ever home game at our field tomorrow against Goshen. 5 pm (JV) and 6:45 pm (V) starts. Today's practice will be very light (warmup/stretch/no contact possession) and short. We should be done around 4:15-4:30. There is a team dinner at Randy Kauffman's house tonight at 5:30. The address is 13633 N. Ashbury Court, Nappanee.

Match Day 9

The ninth game is an NLC away game. Today we travel to Warsaw (the fields are behind the High School on SR 15). The JV starts at 5 pm. Varsity will kick off at 6:45. The Panthers are 6-2 (1-2 NLC) while the Tigers are 7-3-2 (2-2 NLC). The in conference losses are against Concord and Plymouth while the wins came against Northridg and Memorial. So no doubt that this is one of the tougher opponents on our schedule, especially away from home. Number 12 Ocock is their go to player with 9 goals on the season. Ocock is a senior. Another beautiful sunny day is in the offing with temps around 77 at game time. It doesn't get much better then this. We hope to see you there!

Panthers' 12th Man

NorthWood-LaPorte 2-1 (1-0)

Another beautiful night for soccer and for once the National Anthem rendition does not encounter issues. Actually quite the opposite; our own (injured) Mason Mast sings it and does so quite well. As a matter of fact, Mason will be back singing the Star Spangled Banner at Senior Night as well! With the student council sponsoring a tailgate and the U14 Pumas and their parents getting in free, attendance is the highest for the season. The stands are full and the "front row" is full with folding chairs. It is the highest attendance since last year's Northridge game. And the student section will constantly rear its pretty head to support the Panthers! FIRST HALF- It starts with a bang and almost a goal. A pass to Landon Parker ends with his shot that requires the first of many saves by the Slicers keeper. In the 9th Juan Pantoja finds Sebastian Guillen who also takes a crack at goal also finding the LaPorte GK in his way. The save results in a corner. The corner also gets to Sebastian who heads the ball towards the goal. His effort requires a LaPorte defender to save the ball off the line with his head. We dominate play, combine easily and keep pressing. In the 15th, the Panthers take another corner. The lower ball in comes off Sebastian near Brock who pokes the ball over the line for the 1-0 lead. Four minutes later, Andre serves Jerson who, in turn, delivers the ball to Juan. Juan is now one on one with the keeper. Juan's shot gets saved once again by the LaPorte keep, who singlehandedly, keeps the Slicers in the game. In the 36th, Marius Ley takes a long distance shot which also requires some magic from the keeper. HALF TIME- Only some minor adjustments are discussed that deal with having to work harder when we lose the ball and making a delay on free kicks to see what opens up. SECOND HALF- After getting many chances in the first, the feel of the start of the second is different. We are losing a bit of the control of the game. Especially after about four minutes into the second act, LaPorte attacks and when Micah Pippinger comes out to get the ball, he just can't get to it enough. The ball comes free and gets passed to the middle of the box. With Micah being played out to the side, an easy pass at the goal from a LaPorte midfielder changes the score to 1-1. In the 49th, a long range hard shot from LaPorte finds the crossbar after Micah gets a hand on it. LaPorte takes more control of the game and we play a bit on our heels. As we regain our composure, the battle goes back and forth. At times it feels that the game is being played without any officials as hardly anything gets called. Pushes in the back are allowed, challenges from behind are no issue either. In the 62nd, Trent Edwards takes an unexpected shot at the LaPorte frame from about 24 out. The keeper needs to tip the ball over the bar to deny Trent a goal. Things get interesting in the 78th minute. A shot at the Slicers goal gets caught by the keeper. Sebastian runs by the keeper (in case he would the drop the ball as he had numerous times during the match). As Sebastian goes by the keeper, he gets pushed by a defender while the Keep raises his elbow. Sebastian goes down in the goal. The center ref stops play and the clock and confers with his AR's. The AR by the stands has the best angle on the play and advises the center ref that this foul in the box should result in a PK. Landon picks the ball up and puts it on the spot. He blasts the ball to the keepers right with all the confidence in the world, for the 2-1 lead. The Panthers are able to keep LaPorte off their half in the last 95 ticks. NorthWood is able to entertain a large crowd and come away with a win despite some controversy at the end. We have been on the other end of these calls way too many times that it feels good to finally see things break our way. The Panthers are 6-2 on the season. NOTES- The JV defeats LaPorte 2-0 (Marius and Kaden goals) and they are 4-2. Both teams travel to Warsaw tonight. JV has 5 pm kick off, the Varsity starts at 6:45 pm. We are in the middle of a tough couple of weeks with many tough games in a short period of time. Mason is day to day and Kyle Luster returns tonight after having to sit out last nights game with a one game suspension (undeserved red from Saturday's game). SOme other players picked up some knocks last night but are hopefully close to a hundred percent tonight. Thanks again to all Panther soccer fans and a big sout out to the NW student section for being our 12th player last night!

Looking at the week ahead........

Today (Monday) is the start of a very busy week. The LaPorte Slicers pay us a visit but due to the fact that LaPorte is in a different time zone, the starting games have been adjusted. The JV starts at 5:30 pm and the Varsity starts at 7:15 pm. According to MaxPreps, the Slicers are 4-5 on the season but their Saturday result against Lake Central has not been reported and there fore not included in their stats. Thru the first 9 games they have given up 41 goals while scoring 22. We sure would like to keep our winning streak going and extend it to 4 tonight. The Panthers own a 5-2 record and have scored 22 goals and have given up 10 goals. The JV starts tonight with a 3-2 record. Less then 24 hours later both our teams will play again when they take the field in Warsaw to play the Tigers (match day preview will be posted tomorrow). Starting time tomorrow is 5 pm (JV) and 6:45 (Varsity). Wednesday will be a practice day (practice ground at the High School) from 3:30 til probably around 5 at the latest. On Thursday we will play what might be the next to last home game ever at the game field at Nappanee Elementary. The Red Hawks of Goshen will swing by (JV at 5pm, Varsity at 6:45 pm). Friday we practice at the High School practice ground for a normal short Friday practice. The Varsity gets Saturday off but the JV travels to Goshen for the JV NLC/Goshen Invitational Tournament. NorthWood plays in Flight A at 9 am versus Goshen (the same team they will have played two days earlier) at Field 1. NorthWood will play their second game at noon. Winners of game 1 and 2 will play at game 1, losers of game 1 and 2 will play at field 2. All games are played on the two soccer fields behind Goshen High School.

We are the Champions of the ...........

2017 ARGOS INVITATIONAL

Argos Invitational- Lakewood Park Christian-NorthWood 0-1 (0-0) & SB Washington-NorthWood 1-2 (1-2)

This invitational is more of a Panther Classic then our own considering all teams but Argos use the Panther as their mascot. For once, the weatherman/woman predicts the weather spot on which allows the team and those supporting the team to enjoy some nice sunny conditions. With Argos being bounced out of the tournament early, the chances of having a large night crowd become very slim. Of course, we still have to win game 1 to make it into the championship game. And making it into the late game becomes quite tricky. GAME 1 vs LPC; We start out somewhat sluggish but threaten more then LPC. Despite some chances in the 5th (Landon shot) and 6th (dangerous Sebastian corner), the most important action of the first half occurs when Mason Mast gets caught in a defensive play where he gets somehow stuck between a LPC attacker and Micah and injures his ankle. This play takes play in minute 10th and we have to do without Mason the rest of the tournament (as a matter of fact, Mason did not break anything but sustained enough of an injury that will sideline him for at least 10 days). The Argos John Deere Gator sees more action during this game then we wanted to; it takes Mason off the complex as wel as the LPC keeper who sustains a hip injury later in the second half). The best action of the first round game comes in 58" when a well executed Jerson pass finds the feet of Sebastian. Sebastian executes well by lobbing the ball over the LPC keep who comes out of the goal. The well weighted finish bounces in the goal for what will end up being the only goal of the game. In the 61st, a shot from the left side of the 6 from Landon does get saved on the line by a LPC defender. On a last minute LPC free kick, we hear the LPC coach telling the team to set a pick which is not something you hear on a soccer sideline since it is illegal to do this. The 0-1 win sends us into the 8 pm final against South Bend Washington. CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: With about 30 NW fans and 3 Washington fans, the stands are sparsely populated (and that might be an overstatement). The team is appreciative of our fans traveling with us on a long day of soccer. The appreciation shows in the effort the team gives in the championship game. By the way, what is it with high school soccer that the timing of the playing of the National Anthem and decrepit officiating are challenges that are hard to overcome? We don't have to wait long to see the bald eagle (or blind?) running up and down our line will prove my point in my previous statement. The game starts out well for the Panthers, the NorthWood Panthers that is. A well taken corner by Sebastian finds the golden boot feet of Landon Parker. His effort finds the woodwork (8th min.). After a switch to Kyle Luster on the right side in the 14th minute, Kyle makes a pass to Landon whose shot goes past the keeper for a 1-0 lead. Kyle, who fills the vacuum (but not the spot) created by the absence of Mason, plays extremely well. His first touch is great and he stretches the Washington defense with his chalk line runs. We are combining well, we work hard, make good runs and dominate play. In the 16th, Sebastian passes to Landon in left midfield. Landon takes the ball up the pitch and finishes the shot to the left for a 2-0 lead. The game seems to be in hand and we are just anticipating a third goal to put the game away. And that is when incompetent officiating takes the lead roll. Despite wearing glasses (wrong Rx maybe??????), the bald AR is "convinced" he sees Kyle throw an elbow to a SB Washington player in front of the Washington bench in minute 22. This happens right after Sebastian gets leveled from behind (which does not get called). Kyle goes in hard for the tackle but takes the Washington MF out with his hip. A free kick ? Yes! But a card? Probably not and a red......no sir!! This AR has made very many dubious calls in the past and shows that his performance today shows that "improvement" is not in his vocabulary but "sucking at something I though I might be good at" is. The red card and now effectively being down to 10 men has an impact on the game. NorthWood starts to play on its heels and all we do is defend. In the 33rd, Washington takes advantage of NW being down a man and score the 2-1. At the half, Coach Duerksen talks to the team about the fact that we are still in the same formation but are just down one attacker. Work hard, don't hang back and we will be fine. It is now time to work hard, see it through and show that we can work thru some adversity. The team does just that in the second half. NW creates at least 3 or 4 very dangerous opportunities in which it could have scored. Our defense plays some great soccer. Trent, Jadon and SKyler play absolutely fantastic. Our midfielders play very good and come back to help defend the entire second half. Corbin plays well and when Andre comes in, he does great. Juan and Jerson do well on the ball which gives us minutes to recover. Matt plays very hard and physical and makes great runs. Micah makes some good saves to keep us in it and Sebastian and Landon hold on to the ball when we need some time to regroup. Anyone who subs in makes sure that the level of play does not drop. We have not just 11 starters, we have a team of good players who all work for each other. We are able to keep our lead and when the whistle blows in the 80th minute, we have been able to keep the lead and go home with the trophy!!!!! As we said at the beginning of the year; we want three trophies (Panther Classic, Argos Invitational and Sectionals) and we have the first two in our possession. Keep it up boys!!!! Even though we are a little thin Monday (Mason out with an injury and Kyle with the red card), we will play for another home win Monday (tomorrow) against LaPorte. Note the different then usual start time. JV kicks off at 5:30 and th Varsity at 7:15. Please come out and support your Panthers as they try to go for 4 in a row!!!!!!

Match Day 6 ....preview

At 3 pm tomorrow (Saturday), the Panthers will face Lakewood Park Christian (LPC). LPC has a 4-3 record. They have scored 12 times and given up 17. They are ranked 12th in the Indiana Soccer Coaches Association polls this week in Class 1A. In our second game of the day we will either face Class 1A # 15 Argos or South Bend Washington. Argos has a 3-2-3 record and has scored 10 goals and have allowed 13 goals so far this season. South Bend Washington does not directly report to MaxPreps so we have incomplete results. Only three opponents have reported scores, all of whom defeated Washington with a combined score of 9-1. The weather is as good as it can get with a high of 70 and nothing but sunny skies. With all of this in mind, we hope to see you all there tomorrow. Go Panthers! Speaking of that..... Lakewood Park Christian, NorthWood and Washington all have the same mascot while Argos has to be the killjoy here and be different then the rest of us since they opted to go with the Dragons as their mascot.

NorthWood -Wawasee 5-3 (2-2)

The JV sets the tone for the night with a nice solid overall performance. The defense does not give up a goal and on the offensive side, Marshall Beebe scores in the first and Andy Duran and Kaden Newcomer in the second for a 3-0 win. Between the JV and Varsity game, it rains hard during the warm up but fortunately that is all the rain we have to deal with tonight. The lights take effect early on with the cloudy and dark conditions. The pregame talk is fairly simple; Wawasee has had good results but they only have one very dangerous player, #4 Pena. He scores about half of their goals and is quick.FIRST HALF To prove our point, Pena scores in the second minute which does not go over well on the NW bench. We get our first opportunity in the 11th when a pass back to the hefty Wawasee keep gets mishandled. Landon has a great chance but puts it over the goal. Three minutes later, Sebastian receives a pass and scores but the goal is called offside. In minute 17, Sebastian plays a thru ball in the middle to Landon. Landon does not miss this time and hits the ropes; 1-1! 60 ticks later, a quick NW restart on a free kick lands in front of Sebastian Guillen but his effort is blocked. A Juan Pantoja cross in the 30th is not dealt with by the Warriors' defense and Sebastian takes advantage of it and finishes the ball into the net; 2-1 NW. Wawasee's #4 takes a close shot in the box from a flank cross but the shot gets saved by Micah with a miraculous left foot kick. Unfortunately, the ensuing corner goes into the right side of the goal by way of a Wawasee shoulder. The 2-2 is also the half time score. HALF TIME- Minor problems are addressed but the main one is that we need to defend set pieces better and mark better. Overall, we have played decent. It seems the first 15 minutes or so were rusty but we have not played in a competitive game in almost two weeks. Coach Duerksen asks his players to work hard and to just find a way to win this crucial NLC match. Our defense needs to improve and our offense needs to execute. SECOND HALF- We start off well. We possess the ball. With Jerson, Juan and Sebastian in the center of the midfield, we are able to transition well from defense to offense. Besides possession, we also start to make better passes and better runs but more importantly, our effort is absolutely fantastic. In the 46th, Trent -who plays a great game on both sides of the ball ALL night long- passes a ball perfectly to Landon. Landon slots the ball right for a 3-2 NorthWood lead. In the 49th, Wawasee exposes a NW weakness. A runner is not picked up on a corner. The player who is not marked goes up for a header and draws the Warriors even with the Panthers; 3-3. Some good physical battles are fought out in the middle third, some to the chagrin of the Wawasee coaches. When the AR in front of the NW bench tells them it is enough over and over again, the center ref comes running over to the NW (what?) and appears to pull a card out of his shorts. Coach Duerksen uses his best defense -which in this case is more like playing offense- by telling the ref that "it wasn't me, I didn't say anything" while pointing at the Warriors bench. As hard as it was to believe for the official that Coach Duerksen had no comment on his officiating, he does then make his way to the Wawasee bench and issues a verbal warning. The AR in front of our bench, who at times runs up and down the line making guppy faces and sounds (must be the weather) keeps an eye on their bench the rest of the game. In the 58th, Jerson gets the ball on our own half. The next play is indicative of his efforts throughout the game. Jerson dribbles the ball all the way to the Warriors box and passes the ball to his right and in front of Juan. With his -Juan's- hardest shot of the season, NW takes the lead after the ball careens off the inside of the left post; 4-3! Jerson slices thru the Wawasee midfield all night long like a hot knife thru butter and it is entertaining to watch. But, not to be outdone by his team mate, it is now Landon who decides to take the ball for a ride. In the 63rd, Landon goes by about seven Wawasee players and ends up on the left side of the pitch near the box. From there, Landon takes a nice controlled shot that disappears between the woodwork and into the net for the final score 5-3! The excitement isn't over yet, courtesy of the arbiters, however. In the 78th, Marius Ley has the ball for a throw in. With less then 120 seconds left on the game clock, he has nowhere to throw the ball since none of his teammates are unmarked. The center ref stops the clock and the game and issues Marius a yellow caution. He would deserve a yellow IF he was actually stalling but he simply took an extra three seconds to find a teammate. A poor decision by the ref. Of all the fouls that were committed during this game that were not called, the center ref decides to call this issue worth of a yellow. Other then that poor decision, the officiating was pretty good tonight. NLC battles are always heated ones. The crowd was great tonight. Despite the weather, we had a great number of fans and a good enthusiastic student section! The final score of 5-3 (with a Landon Parker hat trick!) evens the Panthers' NLC record at 1-2 and the overall record goes to 3-2. We are now ranked (!!) 25th in Class 2; well done boys! Now on to the Argos tournament.....let's get us some hardware! NOTES- Today's practice is from 3:30-4:30. The keepers will have their own separate training today with Kyle. The bus leaves at 1 pm tomorrow.

Matchday 5

Today we host the Wawasee Warriors. This NLC opponent rolls into town with a 4-1-2 record. Our common opponent so far this season is Concord. Concord defeated us 0-3 and Wawasee 9-0. The player to watch for the Warriors is their # 4 Pena who has scored 12 of their 21 goals so far this season and in addition to that also has 4 assists. The Panthers have not played since August 26th when we hosted Concord. We are healthy for the most part but do have some people who are dealing with some minor issues. According to weather.com, the rain should be done by about 4-5 pm so hopefully in time before the JV game starts (5pm). The Varsity kick off is slated for 6:45. The temperatures will be in the low 60's. The keepers might have the toughest job today with the field being wet and slippery.

Argos Tournament information

The Argos tournament will be played this coming Saturday, September 9th, 2017 at Argos High School, 500 Yearick Street in Argos (for your GPS). Argos, Lakewood Park Christian and Washington and NorthWood are the four schools competing in the tournament. Argos plays Washington at 1 pm followed by the Lakewood Park Christian - NorthWood match at 3 pm. Losers from game 1 & 2 face off at 6 pm while the winners battle for the trophy at 8 pm. Temperatures during the day will be 70 and sunny! A great day to sit on the sideline and take in some soccer. There is a concession stand at the field. Admission is 5 bucks for adults and 4 dollars for students and these are all-day passes. There is plenty of parking right by the field (between the High School and the main stand at the field). Since we are designated as the second named team in each contest, we will wear our black & reds but players are to bring their home whites as well. Water for players will be provided but they should bring their own bottle since cups are not available. Since the weather will be perfect, we are hoping for a great traveling fan base! See you there!

JV defeats Westview

The JV scored once in each half to get their second win of the season against Westview. The first half goal came from Kaden Newcomer while Sebastian Guillen added another in the second half by way of a laser free kick. The JV's record is now the same as the Varsity record; 2-2. Next up for both teams is NLC opponent Wawasee. The preview for that game will be posted tomorrow. The Argos tournament information will be posted later today. NOTES: Both teams fielded an Andre and a Kael. Both NW keepers saw action last night and both will be credited with a clean sheet. Neither team has any injuries so we will start healthy now that we begin the meat and potato part of the season. Tomorrow's NLC game is a home game.

Practice venue change

Today's practice will be at the game field and will run from 3:30 til about 5- 5:15pm.

ISCA State soccer rankings from September 4

The Indiana Soccer Coaches Association released its rankings for this week. Our own Head Coach Duerksen is one of the pollsters! In Class 3 we have three (3) NLC teams who are in the top 20; Concord (7th), Goshen (14th) and Plymouth (20th). In our class (Class 2) we find only one opponent; Ft. Wayne Concordia at spot number 15. In Class 1 we have three (potential) adversaries show up in the top 20; Lakewood Park Christian is number 12 (our opponent in the first round of the Argos Tournament Saturday) and Argos is at number 15 (potential opponent in the same tournament) while our opponent for the last game of the regular season, Bethany Christian, can be found at number 19.

Looking at the week ahead

Today, Tuesday, the Varsity has a regular practice at the High School. The JV hostst Westview at 5 pm at home. Players are to report at 4:15. Tomorrow is a regular practice for both the JV and Varsity. On Thursday 9/7/17, both teams will play Wawasee in a NLC match up; JV game start 5 pm followed by the Varsity contest at 6:45. Game temps for Thursday will be in the low 60's. Friday's practice will run from 3:30 -5 pm. Saturday we play in the Argos Soccer Invitational at Eugene Snyder Field in Argos. Our first game will be at 3 pm versus Lakewood Park Christian. I will post additional tournament information later in the week. The forecast for Saturday is perfect with a high of 71 and nothing but sunshine!

Inaugural NWCBTT Tourney champs!

Coach Duerksen's Red Team won the NorthWood Coaches Blind Draw Tournament Trophy on Friday. The tournament was inserted into the training schedule to allow for some competetive matches in a week where no games were scheduled. Duerksen's red team defeated Coach Douwsma's team on a Kourtevius goal inside the box. Both the Dijkstra coaches' teams were left empty handed........

And so it begins......

September is here! The month in which NW Soccer has more engagements then any other month. Twelve games are on the menu between next Thursday (September 7th) and September 28th; 12 games in 22 days! We ease into the month with a fun 9v9 tournament at practice today followed by three entire days off. On Tuesday, the JV will host Westview at 5pm. The Varsity returns to action on Thursday September 7 when Wawasee pays us a visit (Varsity & JV/NLC matchups). A week from tomorrow we play in the Argos Invitational (3pm and either 6 or 8 pm) and after that we play Mon/Tue/Thu followed by Mon/Tue/Sat which is followed by Mon/Tue/Thu games. In other words, three games a week for the next four weeks. Proper nutrition, rest and hydration will be key for our athletes!!!!! But first, let's have some fun today in practice and enjoy a rare weekend off!