Season ends in PK Shootout at Semi State

The pictures above illustrate the last game of our historic season. The clock shows 0-0 with the time indicating 7 minutes of Extra Time. After regular and overtimes, the game is still tied at 0-0 and we go to the PK Shootout. Coach Duerksen paces the sideline as the season comes to an end.We end up losing the Penalty Kick Shootout in dramatic fashion 2-3. But what a season it was. A historic and record setting one. NorthWood is the only public school left in Class 2A Final Four action. The seniors showed great leadership, determination and sportsmanship. No doubt that the underclassmen will have learned from that. The final record is 15-4-3. We had our chances and twice or maybe even thrice, it looked like we would score only to be surprised by some last minute stuntwork by the Canterbury defense. The private school had a solid defense, a little bit of an overrated keeper (thanks for crashing our after game huddle) and a very unsportsmanlike midfielder (thanks for flipping of our crowd). We in return showed more class with also a very good defense, good sportsmanship and a lot of fight. We are very proud of our young men. Officiating was below par tonight and mistakes were made that disadvantaged both teams. Some non decisions surely impacted the outcome of the game when both Luis and Joey were taken down inside the box in the second half and neither time did the ref blow the whistle. I understand not wanting to be the one who determines the outcome of a game but a PK is a PK and the reason you have arbiters. A 3 on the scale from 1-10. And then we are not even talking about not noticing one of our PK's being taken from the wrong spot.

Not wanting to sound like a sore loser and blaming others, the Panthers executed the game plan well and just did not get the ball over the line. The bottom line is that we had a great team, great succes, and great times. We are proud of this team and we thank our Seniors for four years of hard work with so much succes!!!!!

Practice Update

Today's practice will be in the AC due to the weather. Bring indoor shoes.

Friday Practice Information

Today's practice will be at Wellfield Park ("the Home of NorthWood Soccer") but in case it storms, we have reserved the AC so we can go thru the last preparations for tomorrow's game.

And more media attention; check out the SB Tribune for this article

#19 Fort Wayne Canterbury -# 8 NorthWood Semi State preview

Fort Wayne Canterbury (12-4-5) comes into tomorrow's game riding an eight game winning streak. Canterbury is a defensive oriented team, similar to South Bend St. Joe. They give up few goals (23) but also not scoring a lot (36,just 4 more than Andre by himself). They do not have a prolific goal scorer (#23 Wojewuczki with 7 is the topscorer on the team). Canterbury has the most State Championships of any school in the state (7)with their most recent ones coming in 2017 and 2018 (both in Class 1A). The Panthers are 15-3-3 on the season and have not lost in their last 5 games. The Panthers have won 6 total Sectionals and one Regional. This is our program's first trip to Semi State. The game kicks off at South Bend St. Joe at 3 pm. Fans are allowed in the stadium at 2:30 pm. The bus will leave the school at 1:15 pm and parents are invited to follow the bus Hoosiers style. The coaching staff has been pouring over Canterbury game tape over the last 6 days and have been preparing the team for tomorrow's match all week. Even though yesterday's practice was partly done in a downpour followed by summerlike sunny and 70's weather, tomorrow's forecast for game time is mostly cloudy and 48 degrees. Great soccer playing weather. The boys are ready and would like to make some more Panther soccer history tomorrow. The game can be seen on the IHSAA Champions Netowrk for 14.99 and Craig Lewallen and our own Ryan Mattern will have the game for you on Froggy 102.7 on the radio and the internet. GO PANTHERS!!!!!

And another article in the Goshen News

Jack Douwsma gets to spend a night with the Regional Trophy

He then thanked the coaches; here is my thank you drawing. The gray haired coach on the right is me, Jack is on the left, Duerksen in the middle.

Semi State site - Father Bly Field at Leighton Stadium in South Bend

THE STADIUM SITS ON THE CAMPUS OF SOUTH BEND SAINT JOSEPH HIGH SCHOOL. THE ADDRESS FOR THE FIELD IS 453 N. NOTRE DAME AVE., SOUTH BEND. THE FIELD WAS BUILT IN 2012 FOR FOOTBALL, SOCCER AND LACROSSE. TICKETS FOR THE GAME HAVE TO BE BOUGHT ONLINE. NO PAPER TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE.

Saturday's schedule

At 1 pm all Soccer players and coaches arrive at NWHS. Make sure to have all equipment and white uniforms etc.. At 1:15 pm the Team Bus will leave NorthWood with a police escort via Panther Drive and proceeed to SR 19 and head north. Parents are welcome to follow the bus (Hoosiers Version 2.0). At 2:30 pm NW Fans are allowed to enter the stadium. At 3 pm the NorthWood (white) - Ft. Wayne Canterbury (blue) game will kick off.

Even more attention

Regional Champs getting some (well deserved) media attention

Regional Final .....Images of a night we won't forget

History made by NW Boys Soccer - 2020 Regional Champions

NorthWood- - SB St. Joe Dutch Touch POTG

Chase Duerksen (winning goal) and Andrew Graber are the Dutch Touch Co Players of the Game!

NorthWood-South Bend St. Joe - Regional Final 2-1 (1-0)

It is a decent night weather wise, considering it is the middle of October. It is a bit windy but not as impactful as we anticipated. We find out that playing the National Anthem seems to be one of the toughest challenges for Public Address announcers; today we get to hear the second half of it. Announcing players' names is the other challenge. Again so today. Today it is Kayden's turn to have his name altered to Newcoooommmeeerrr.

With the scoreboard at 0-0 and ability to record shots and corners, it is time for the kick off. It was clear after we scouted the morning match, that St. Joe is a team that likes to defend and combine from the back. They are not a dirty or physical team and with our own ability to move the ball around, it is clear early on that this should be an entertaining and intriguing soccer game. The first chance in the game comes off a tightly directed Andre De Freitas cross from the right flank. An agressive Sebastian Guillen attacks the ball with his head and it goes on the frame. The (very good) St Joe keep makes his first but not last save of the night. Headers are one of the themes of the night as a 9th minute corner again is headed by Sebastian, this time the ball slips just to the right of the goal. A lot of back and forth soccer with considerable skill takes place in the middle of the first half. We look comfortable on the ball and play with confidence even though our opponent threatens at times but not to the point where St. Joe is dominating until about the 26th when a St. Joe corner needs Graber to stretch and tip the ball over the cross bar. We give up numerous corners in the first half, fortunately none have disastrous consequences. Two minutes before the half Andre gets fouled in the St Joe box and the ref calls for the PK. Sebastian sends the keeper the wrong way and NW leads 1-0 going into the half. The second half starts with the Indians pressing. Seven minutes into the second half, the Panthers foul outside our box. The free kick goes thru the Panthers' wall and gets slighlty deflected and Graber is unable to keep it out of the net; 1-1. In the next minutes we give up several free kicks in the same area. The free kick in the 48th is initially tapped out by Graber and the ensuing header from Sebastian (who either tries to head it over the goal or head it back to Graber) needs a Stretch Armstrong type save from Andrew Graber to prevent the ball from going in. Graber keeps us in the game and in contention for a night where NW Boys history can be made. In the 50th, NW gets a corner on the left side. The near post curler is tight and is attacked in a Ronaldo style fashion by Chase Duerksen. The header/shoulder connection with the ball lasers into the net and the St. Joe keeper is not even close to getting to it; 2-1 Panthers! Thirty minutes is a long time to have to hold on to a one goal lead. NorthWood battles and defends well. The switch up top is made where Kayden comes back in Andre's spot and Andre stays up top where he remains a threat. This means that St. Joe is unable to send more defenders forward to attack. Both teams have minor chances and despite a very nervous last 7 minutes, the Panthers hold on to the 2-1 lead and get to lift their first ever Regional trophy and earn their way to the program's first ever Semi State. There are now only four (!!) teams remaining in Class 2A in the race for the State Championship. We find out hours later that we will face Ft. Wayne Canterbury (another private school) at 3 pm at South Bend St. Joe. That game will be played on turf which means that we will prepare this week on our own turf field.Our defense does a remarkable job. Nick took a hard shot to the head off a Indians free kick but was checked out by the Marian trainer. Our midfield worked hard all night. Chandler had a great move around the St. Joe left defender in the second half that we replayed several times on tv after the game and we were unlucky to not get a goal scoring chance off of that. Our forwards battled hard all night. Graber was outstanding once again and made sure we stayed in the game. Joel had a chance for a goal late in the game but despite a great run in the box, ended up "colliding" with the keeper. All in all a good game. We played well and certainly deserved this win. The officiating was good to very good tonight. That doesn't happen a lot. Maybe as the level of play goes up as we go along in the tournament, so will the level of arbitration. NOTES: Practice today at Wellfield Park ("the Home of NorthWood Soccer") from 3-4:30. The coaches have started their research on Canterbury and we will begin working on the game plan this afternoon.

Message from Athletic Director Norm Sellers

The IHSAA has informed NorthWood High School that Hammond Clark has placed their boys team in quarantine due to Covid-19 issues. In accordance with IHSAA protocol any team that cannot compete in the scheduled tournament game due to Covid-19 shall forfeit and the other team will move on. NorthWood will now play in the championship game tomorrow night at Mishawaka Marian vs. the winner of game #1. Gates will open at 6:00 p.m. and all tickets will be purchased at the gate for $7.00 each. We are heartbroken for the young men from Hammond and wish them all the best as they deal with the sudden end to their season. None of this is fair to anyone. Norm Sellers Athletic Director NorthWood High School

NW moves to Regional Final

According to Athletic Director Norm Sellers, the IHSAA has informed us that Hammond Clark is in full quarantine. We therefore automatically move to the Finals tomorrow night. We will play at 7 pm at Mishawaka Marian where we will face the winner between South Bend St. Joe and West Lafayette. Not the way we wanted to make it into the Finals and we feel bad for Hammond Clark but we now have to focus on the game tomorrow night.

NorthWood - Hammond Clark Regional Semi Final preview

Hammond Clark comes in to the Marian Sectional with a 3-2 record. Due to Covid, all Hammond City schools were not allowed to start their season until Sepetmeber 15th. They lost their two remaining regular season games to Hammond Morton 3-2 (who also have only played 5 games) and Bishop Noll (regular season record 12-2) by a score of 5-2. Since the first two losses, they have won every game in Sectionals. They defeated a very weak River Forest 12-0 (making River Forest winless for the season at zero wins and 12 losses), won 4-1 to Hammond High School and in the Sectional Finals defeated Griffith (10-3-1 overall) by the slimmest of margins, 2-1. The Hammond Clark MF #10 received a red card during the Sectional Final and should not be eligible tomorrow. It is hard to analyze a team after their entire season consists of 5 games or even by just watching the Sectional Final game (especially when the camera was focused too much on players with the ball and the entire field was not visible) but we did see enough to make sure certain NW players should be able to take advantage of the opponent's type of play and individual inabilities. Game time is 1 pm tomorrow at Mishawaka Marian. It will be very, very windy again tomorrow (20-30 mph and gusts to 40 !) so the wind might actually play a part in the game. The winner plays at 7 pm versus the South Bend St. Joe-West Lafayette winner. That game kicks off at 11 am. Our bus will leave at 11 am so we can catch part of the second half (hopefully they go in to triple OT). We will leave Marian after our first game and return home. With Covid in mind, we need everyone to take showers between games before we return to the school to go back to Marion for the Finals (all this with winning the first one in mind of course). It might be good to have a good snack between games. Make sure to dress warm for the game. By the way, it looks like the Chicago Bears might have stolen Hammond Clark's idea for their logo!!!

Just a few years ago.......