Wednesday, October 31, 2018
Friday, October 5, 2018
Season over
The 2018-2019 did not end the way we wanted to. If nothing else, you want to play your last game giving everything you got and it seemed that we were not hungry, not energetic enough. A win and a spot in a championship game is not a given every year but it was not to be! We need to do and need to be better next year. But the coaching staff wants to thank the Seniors for all the years they have given to the NorthWood Boys soccer program. We want to thank the school and specifically the Athletic Department and our Athletic Trainer Mr. Widner for all their help and support. We want to thank all the parents for all the help with the food, the snacks, for washing the pinnies and most of all for supporting your student athletes during a hectic and busy soccer season. The soccer program has been around for 24 years and Coach Duerksen and myself have been around for 22 of those years. A lot of changes have happened over the years but none more then the upcoming changes. It is exciting to see that we are finally moving to a new facility which is taking shape as I write this. To play on artificial turf at the Well Fields might not be the most ideal situation (who does not want to play on a pristine grass surface) but it is pretty much the second best situation we can find ourselves in. Our grass field at the game field has been awful for a majority of the years we have played our matches there. Too many games were canceled, once we even played a Senior Night game against Plymouth on the "soccer field" at the Middle School. Those days are now behind us and now we go from the worst field in Northern Indiana in 2018, to the best field in 2019. Great lights, great field; what an exciting time to be part of the program! So the focus shifts to the next season and we hope that with a new environment comes a new dedication from the players as well. I know our coaching staff is ready for August 5th, 2019. I will make an announcement here about Awards Night soon. Go PANTHERS!!!!!!
Monday October 8th - Turn in Uniform Day
Meet in Coach Duerksen's room at 3:30 Mondya to turn in all uniforms and warm ups. Make sure everything is clean!!!!!!!
NorthWood- West Noble 0-5 (0-3)
NorthWood never recovers from a slow start and never executes on good opportunities to end the season at 8-8-2. West Noble scores in the 14", 26", 29", 43" and 62" to move on to the Sectional Final (vs Wawasee).
Wednesday, October 3, 2018
Sectional Semi Final Match Day
The Panthers face the West Noble Chargers this afternoon at 5 pm at Angola. West Noble is 14-3 on the season and ranked 15th in Class 2A. West Noble plays a considerably weaker schedule then the Panthers. Even though the Chargers were undefeated in their conference NECC) at 7-0, it is hard to compare their competition to that to of the NLC. West Noble and NW (8-7-2) have 6 common opponents with the results being the same for both schools; both defeated Wawasee, Lakeland, Bethany and Angola and both lost to Goshen and Northridge. So two of their 3 losses come against NLC opponents. West Noble's #12 is their topscorer with 18 goals on the season. It looks to be a very competitive match up.Last year this match up went down to the wire (4-3 NW win). The bus leaves (!) at 2:40 from the High School. Hope to see everyone there! The weather is supposed to be great for spectators (80). Let's get us a win so we can play for a Championship on Saturday -a win tonight will also guarantee a winning record-; GO PANTHERS!!!!
Tuesday, October 2, 2018
NorthWood-Lakeland 3-2 (2-0)
Not the best game of the year but at this point, only results count. Off to a 1-0 start in the post season. Goals by Jerson, Sebastian and Landon Parker (gamewinner)> Up next is Class 2A #15 West Noble. The Chargers are 14-3 on the season and haven't lost since August 22nd so it is time to change that. 5 pm start at Angola tomorrow. Today's practice will be an hour long or short and the bus leaves at 2:40 tomorrow. GO PANTHERS!
Friday, September 28, 2018
NorthWood- #13 (1A) Bethany Christian 5-4 (2-2)
On a nice fall night, NW plays its final game in the 24 history of the program at Nappanee Elementary. A large crowd enjoys the large group of seniors being honored before game time. And then it really starts. What a game! The high tempo game has a high entertainment value and draws the crowd's support throughout the night. A great game to end games at the first and only game field the Panthers have known. Here is the score line; 4" Bethany Chrstian #8 Brenneman 0-1, 12" 0-2 BC #8 Brenneman (yes this is becoming the BC theme for the night), 28" 1-2 Lukas Aukerman's dazzling dribble thru the box and defense to score unassisted), 33" 2-2, Andre de Freitas (Parker shot deflection/assist), 35" almost goal by Duerksen but he SKylers it over, 46" Parker assist to Sebastian goal 3-2, 51" 4-2 Sebastian, 55" BC #8 4-3, 63" Landon Parker assist to Sebastian 5-3, 65" BC #8 5-4. With a thrilling final 15 minutes to go, the Panthers close out this exciting match to go 7-7-2 on the regular season. This great week (one draw and two wins) with very good results keeps the momentum going into the post season. Next up, Monday at Angola vs. Lakeland in the first round of sectionals. The JV wins their match against The Bruins (1-0) to finish the season with 4 wins. Great job by both teams tonight. Our next home game will be on the new field!
Wednesday, September 26, 2018
Plymouth-NorthWood 0-3 (0-2)
The pre gametalk focuses on each player giving their best without worrying about what team mates are or are not doing. Coach Duerksen stresses the fact that a win will give the Panthers a spot over Wawasee and Plymouth in the final NLC standings. The team seems loose and relaxed. After a decent game Monday but without the result we wanted, everyone seems re-energized and ready to go. FIRST HALF- Well, it doesn't take long to change the scoreboard; Sebastian finds Landon on the first attack. His effort gets stopped initially by the Rockies closer but he can't hold on to the ball. The ball rolls and bounces along the goal line and Kyle Luster pushes his body against the ball to place it over the line for a first minute 0-1 lead. Play goes back and forth and the only sub par performance on the field comes from the men in green. The center ref, whose horse was hitched to a post in the parking lot I'm pretty sure, had as much trouble running as he does making the right calls. The AR on the bench side has a tough time (read rarely determines the right team for a throw in) making any good calls. In the 28" a bad Plymouth punt from the GK finds ANdy's feet who takes a blazing shot that gets blocked by the keep. The rebound by Andy Duran does not get close to the frame. Plymouth attacks but our defenders deal with the challenges with strong feet and good communication. In the 31st, Kayden goes into the top right of the box in a 1v1 challenge. He goes around the GK and is now about to head to the goal. But the keeper, knowing he has been beat, grabs Kayden's legs and holds on to them. The arbiter points decisively (kind of) at the 12 and issues the keeper a red card. The Rockies are now down to 10 for the remainder of the match. Andy takes the pk on the back up keeper and once again places into the ropes (Andy thinks he is the PK specialist and so far, he has been pretty good). The 0-2 is also the half time score. HALF TIME- Coach Duerksen stresses the fact that everyone has played the way he wanted to, not dribble out of the back, pass quick and give your best. The proof is in the pudding with the 0-2 lead. Of course, as Coach points out, this is the most dangerous lead in soccer. I don't know what that means but it is a phrase often used to motivate the players to not give up a lead. SECOND HALF- In the 45th, Landon goes around a Rockies defender and crosses the ball thru the box toward C-Bass. Sebastian does not disappoint, he puts it in the net, 0-3. It is his third such chance this season but the difference with the first two is that this one is not on our home field so it does not bounce 29 yards straight into the air. Despite being down to 10 men, the Rockies play hard and are able to attack. Luke Lingle comes up huge on so many occasions to help us keep our 0-3 lead. In the 51st, an indirect free kick on the 18 is the last genuine NW threat to extend the lead. Sebastian lays the ball off to Andre. His shot meets the woodwork. The final score is 0-3, NW finishes 2-5 in NLC (and ahead of Wawasee and Plymouth) and overall we are 6-7-2 going into the Bethany game tomorrow. NOTES- Practice today is at the game field and will be done at 4:40 pm. The JV loses 2-0. They will return to action at 5 pm tomorrow. Senior Night activities are at 6:30 pm to be followed by the very last game ever on the game field at Nappanee ELementary.
Tuesday, September 25, 2018
Match Day 15
NLC opponent Plymouth is on the menu for tonight. Plymouth is 6-6-2 on the season and 0-4-1 in NLC. NW comes in at 5-7-2 and 1-5 in conference. Wawasee is 0-5 in conference so therefore a win against the Rockies tonight will secure 6th place in the NLC, the title of best of the rest with the top 5 in NLC all ranked in the state's 3A top 20. In the common opponent section we see very similar results with Plymouth edging the Panthers at 3-4-1 (NW 2-6-1). Another opportunity tonight but we will have to play better then last night. We won't see a team tonight that will park the bus so our defense is expected to be a bit busier.
NorthWood-John Glenn 0-0 (0-0)
Open chance, bad field bounce, crossbar; none resulted in a goal. A disappointing draw in front of a nice crowd (about 40 Puma players and their families showed up!). Two games left in the regular season and only one left at home. Tuesday we play at Plymouth and Thursday will be Senior Night which will be the final game ever played at the one and only place NW soccer has called home. More energy and effort is expected from the boys in order to get some more wins and momentum going into the play offs. Varsity record is now 5-7-2.
Monday, September 24, 2018
Matchday 14
NorthWood hosts the John Glenn Falcons today. It is a 5:30 pm kick off. The Falcons are 7-7 on the season and have three players who have scored in double digits. Their # 19 & #11 both have scored 14 times so far this season and # 7 has put in 12. The Panthers are 5-7-1, hoping to go 6-7-1. All Pumas players and their parents are invited to come and watch the game; wear your Puma jersey and you and your family will get in for free. GO PANTHERS!!
SECTIONAL DRAW
SECTIONAL 20 - AT ANGOLA - MONDAY OCTOBER 1 - 5 PM /GAME 1 : GARRET-WEST NOBLE, 7 PM/GAME 2 NORTHWOOD-LAKELAND. SEMI FINAL-WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 3, 5 PM/ GAME 3 WINNER GAME 1-WINNER GAME 2, 7 PM/GAME 4 WAWASEE-ANGOLA. FINAL- SATURDAY OCTOBER 6 GAME 5/ WINNER GAME 3 - WINNER GAME 4. This is not the best draw we could have hoped for but it is certainly not the worst. If we win on Monday we will probably end up playing West Noble in the semi final.
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