NorthWood - Bethany Christian 1-0 (1-0)

A NICE HOME CROWD CAME OUT FOR SENIOR NIGHT Senior Night goes off without a hitch (the proof is in the pudding in the pictures below). It is a sunny and for a while, comfortable evening. All seniors and Gifton start the game for us versus a Bethany squad that resembles NW in many ways. For the first 15 minutes or so, play goes back and forth and not many chances are created. The Bruins dictate most of the play. After about 20 minutes, the run of play seems to switch NW's way. Dominic has barely entered the game when one of his first passes is a perfect one and finds Solomon in the box. Solomon is able to keep a Bethany defender on his right side and uses his lethal left foot to slot the ball past the Bruins stopper for a 20" 1-0 NorthWood lead. The rest of the first half sees most of the action play itself out in the middle third of the field. Our defense hangs back a little too much, forcing our MF and forwards to fall back a little too far. Few opportunites arise in the remaining minutes of half number one. At halftime we talk about how the defenders need to get their marks to allow wingbacks to go up and be able to transition offensively a little better. We also need to find a way to get the balls in the opponents' box; their keeper is somewhat unsure of himself and we need to try and get a second goal. As it normally does in close games, it is the anxiety that kicks up a notch but in this case some of it is artificially produced by AR2 who, might I say, is just having a BAD SEASON! On his earlier trip to beautiful Nappanee, he was able to take the limelight in a negative manner by officiating so poorly that would have looked bad in a U3 game! Tonight he again is oblivious to his role. AN AR is what the name implies.... an ASSISTANT Referee. So in his mind this translates to DEMANDING something from the Center official and not merely assisting him. On a 61st minute "foul" by Grant Miller, does he not only wave his flag as if he is giving signals from a Navy Destroyer, he also motions his hand over his shirt pocket to indicate it is a foul worthy of a yellow caution. As much as the center ref ignores him initially, he eventually caves and "awards" Grant the yellow card. The ensuing free kick almost costs us a goal. It is utterly ridiculous to officate from the sideline in this manner and clearly indicates a lack of understanding of the game. So, the most disappointing performance tonight comes from officials but that has been the case numerous times already this season. With some of the better officials not even making themselves available for Sectionals (reffing club soccer is more lucrative), we end up with poor officiating in some cases. Let's just hope we do better in the post season in that category this year. Dom does end up with a yellow in the 72nd but this one is justified; it is a cynical but "good" foul to stop play. So we end up with two yellows, one win and some momentum going into Sectionals on Senior Night. All yellows reset now. It is a good night overall for the Panthers who record another shut out win (8 for the season) and travel to Angola with a 9-5-2 record. Practice today is Varsity only and from 3:30 - 5 pm and in preparation for our game vs Lakeland Monday, a practice has been added for Saturday morning from 10-11:30 am. Both will take place on the grass at Wellfield. From reports we have received, the grass field at Angola has taken a beating from the recent rain and is in very poor condition. It sounds like it might look a lot like the "field" we played on at Plymouth; bumpy and crappy. The JV defeated Bethany's JV on a Kyler Fike goal, 1-0. The JV's final record is 6-6-4 and was in almost every game. It is also one of the better JV records in school history so Congratulations on a good season to the JV players and Coaches. A lot of these JV players will transition to Varsity players by next August.

2022 Senior Night - Thank you to Brogan's mom and Aiden and Jackson's parents and everyone else who helped making Senior Night a success

Thank you to the Greenlee's for making and decorating the "NW" for Senior Night!!!!

2022 Senior Night

The 2022 Seniors (not pictured Ale Longo)

Trent Iwema with his parents

Anxiously waiting to present the seniors with their gifts

Aiden Greenlee and parents

Andrew Myers and parents

Landon Weldy and parents

Joel Guzman with his father

Luis Castillo with his father

Alex Ascamilla with his parents

Ethan Mestach with his parents

Alan Castro-Castillo with his parents

Allessandro Longo with his host-mother

Brought up for Sectionals

Mark Santos received Varsity jerseys and shorts as he was brought up to Varsity for the post season. Congratulations to Mark!!!

2022 Senior Night

And here are your 2022 NorthWood Boys Soccer Seniors

ETHAN MESTACH

AIDEN GREENLEE

TRENT IWEMA

JOEL GUZMAN

LUIS CASTILLO

ALAN CASTRO-CASTILLO

ANDREW MEYERS

LANDON WELDY

ALEX ESCAMILLA

ALLESSANDRO LONGO

Game Day 16 - Final Home Game of the Season/Senior Night

The 8-5-2 Panthers will take on the 7-7 Bruins. The Bruins have had trouble scoring this season and have only ammassed 22 goals while giving up 29. Their two leading scorers are #8 Jordan Ross Richer with 7 goals to go along with 4 assists and #11 Thomas who has scored 6 times and assisted on 5 goals. The Panthers, who at times have had problems finding the net, have scored 41 times and still have a chance of setting the school defensive record (19) wince they have only given up 14 goals in 15 games. It is that same defense that has given us a chance in almost all games this season (maybe with the exception of the Goshen game). It is senior night tonight so parents will need to meet their sons on the dugout side of the field no later then 5:45 pm. Due to numbers, or a lack thereof, Bethany's JV will only play one half. That game will start at 5 pm. The Varsity contest kicks off at 6 pm (after Senior player and parents introductions. Temps will be in the 60's and it will still be sunny so we are hoping for a great crowd for our 10 seniors tonight. GO PANTHERS!!!

Plymouth- #20 North Wood 2-0 (1-0)

JV loses 3-1 and a ball, Varsity loses 2-0 and misses a PK. Next up Bethany Christian Thursday. This will be senior night for NorthWood. The JV will play a half game vs the Bethany JV (due to lack of numbers) at 5 pm, Varsity starts at 6 pm. Today's practice is at Wellfield Park; film to start for Varsity, JV starts on the grass. Both will transition to turf later on.

Game Day 15 @ Plymouth

Plymouth is not ranked and 7-5-2 on the season and has very similar results to ours. NorthWood is ranked 20th in Class 2A and 8-4-2 on the season. There will be a lot of red and white on the field tonight. Plymouth is 1-4 in NLC while the Panthers are 2-3-1. A win assures the Panthers of finishing above Mishawaka, Wawasee and Plymouth in Conference.

NorthWood-Glenn 3-0 (0-0)

The first half is not a good one when it comes to scoring. An Andrew Meyers goal late in the half gets taken away by way of an offside call and a few minutes before the half, Dom's PK gets stopped by a keeper who has a set of two by fours for hands. We do not capitalize on any opportunity in the first 40 minutes despite passing nicely, spreading the play across the field and doing a very good job overall in the defensive and middle third of the field. We are just plainly lacking the killer instinct when it comes to the final third or offensive third of the field. The half time "conversation" clearly is about doing better in or near the John Glenn 18 yard box. And at least, the second half starts out much better than half number one. Eight minutes in, Dom feeds Carlos who places the ball past the Glenn keeper, 1-0. Another three minutes later, Grant crosses from the right side to Carlos, who again finds the back of the net. Joel returns to the field late in the second half but makes his presence count by scoring NorthWood's third goal of the night. The final score is 3-0. This is NorthWood's 8th win of the season and its 7th shutout. The JV loses 1-2 to Mishawaka Marian very late in the second half. The Varsity is 8-4-2 on the season. Both teams return to action again tonight when we travel to Plymouth. JV starts at 5 pm, Varsity kicks off at 6:45. Bus leaves at 3:45.

JV Tournament results

Saturday was a good day for our JV; 1-0 win over Luers (Isaac Bell goal)and a 1-1 draw vs Northrop (Bryce Knepp goal).

2022 Sectional Draw

NorthWood drew Lakeland in the first game of the Sectional. The game will be played next Monday night at Angola. If we win, we will face the winner of the West Noble-Wawasee game on Wednesday. The winner of that game will square of vs the winner of the Angola-Garrett game a week from Saturday for the Sectional Finals. A Sectional preview will be posted next Monday.

Game Day 14 vs Glenn

John Glenn has a 9-5 record coming into tonight's game. Tha Panthers are 7-4-2 on the season. The Falcons have scored 82 (!) times this season and given up 35 in 14 games so far. We have two common opponents; Rocherster (Glenn 7-2 W/ NW 9-0 W & Brmen- Glenn 1-9 L/NW 1-0 W). The game starts at 6:45 pm following the JV game vs. Mishawaka Marian.

#20 NorthWood - #5 Mishawaka Marian 1-2 (1-1)

A great effort by the Panthers tonight as they face a good Marian squad. NW plays very organized in the back and goes ahead in the 13th on a Solomom goal who deals very well with a long punt from Trent Iwema (assist). As Sol controls the ball in the box, he is able to get away from the defender and slot the ball past the Mishawaka goalie. Unfortunately, three minutes later a free kick just outside our 18, ties up the game as the shot goes thru a NW wall that parts like the Red Sea. NW gets quite a few chances inside the box throughout the game but is unable to capitalize on them. The ball doesn't bounce our way. Trent has a fantastic stop right before the half to keep us in the game. Trace takes the spot between the uprights in the second half. In the 46th, a shot outside the box finds the back of the net even though Trace is quick to go down and reaches as far as he can to his right. Despite some good opportunities for both teams, the score remains 1-2 in an entertaining game that shows we can play with anyone. Our midfield and defensive organization in the second half lags a little when it comes to preventing a gap in transition but that is something we can work on. Next week is a busy one; with games on Monday (Glenn-home), Tuesday (Plymouth- away) and Thursday (Bethany - home/senior night). Sunday Night is the IHSAA Sectional Draw and tomorrow is the JV Teagarden Soccer Showcase in Ft. Wayne.

Game Day 13- #20 NorthWood- #5 Mishawaka Marian

The Knights are 9-1-2 on the season and they are ranked #5 in 2A. The Panthers are 7-3-2 and ranked 20th in 2A. The results for common opponents is as follows: Concord - 3-0 W Marian, 1-0 L NW, Warsaw - 0-1 L Marian, 1-0 W NW, Northridge - 3-3 D Marian, 0-2 L NW. The Knights have only conceded 6 goals all season and have found the back of the net 53 times. The Panthers have given up 10 goals and scored 37 times. Both teams have shown good defense throughout the season. Marian will be one of if not the best team we will face all season. Conditions will be cool and windy at Wellfield Park tonight. Players are to arrive by 6:30 pm. Game starts at 7:15. We will wear black shirts, red shorts and black socks. The JV will practice 3:30-5:30 at Wellfield (grass). The girls play before us (5 pm start). Marshall & Braden are the ball boys tonight.

#20 NorthWood- Mishawaka 9-0 (5-0)

A day late but hopefully not a dollar short. The weather cooperates as we take the field. The new windscreens are up and welcome the spectators to NW Soccer and at the same time forcing all those watching games to do so from the west side of the pitch. The Cavemen have a keeper who seems sponsored by Pepto Bismol. The Panthers start attacking right from the kick off and end up with three quick corners. The second one from Luis sees Carlos' header bounce off the crossbar. Soloman gets his first assist of the night when he serves Grant who in turn, finishes a shot to the right side of the Mishawaka goal for a very early (4") NW lead. In the 8th, Grant is part of the action again when he gets tripped in the box. The arbiter points to the 12 and Gifton is selected to take the PK. He makes no mistake and has Randy Cripe put the "2" on the scoreboard. Two minutes later we score again when Alex heads the ball to Sol who smoothly passes the keeper, 3-0! When it rains, it pours. The 13th minute is a very unlucky one for the Cavemen. Solomon gets ahold of the ball in the box, takes a shot on the frame but it gets saved by the pink high lighter but he doesn't hold on to the ball. Maddox slots the loose ball into the goal, 4-0. In the same minute, Andrew Myers crosses from the right flank and finds Sol who one touches it into the ropes, 5-0. We get everyone in the game tonight and everyone gets significant minutes. We realize this might be a a shortened game if we put 9 on the board but the scoring gets stuck at 5 from minute 13 until minute 60. We start the second half with color coordinated ball boys. In the 48th, Gifton fouls a Mishawaka attacker. Gif gets a yellow caution and the free kick is a good one, by far Mishawaka's best offensive effort of the night. It requires Trace (who came in for Trent in the second act) to make a save, and a good one it is. He tips the ball over the goal. We finally get our rear ends back in gear when Wes Bell threatens from outside the box and takes a nice curling away dipping shot that has the Mishawaka keeper make his best save of the night. 120 ticks later, Andrew Myers gets back into the action with a nice assist to Luis inside the 18. Luis slots the ball decisively into the left corner and signs for the 6-0 lead. In the 63rd, Landon passes to Sol whose shot finds the net, 7-0. Dom, who had come in the game around the 59th, worked well defensively and sped up tha game offensively, delivers a ball to Andrew Myers who scores his first goal and 4th point of the night. With 11 minutes left, Dom's free kick from the left side gets touched by Jack for our 9th goal which also automatically signifies the end of the game (IHSAA mercy rule) so we can all go home early and rest up for the next game which kicks off in less than 24 hours after the conclusion of this one.

SECOND HALF "ACTION" - GIFTON FINALLY PUTS HIS CLEATS BACK ON AFTER PLAYING FOR SEVERAL MINUTES WITH WITH ONE SHOE.

2022 Teagarden JV Soccer Showcase - JV Tourney Information for 9/25

The Tournament will be at the Fort Wayne Sport Club complex at 3102 Ardmore Ave, Ft. Wayne. The bus will leave at 9 am. The first game is on field #3 vs. Bishop Luers. The second game will be at 3 pm vs. Northrop also on field #3. Admission is $10 per vehicle with a 3 dollar concession voucher. The Fort Wayne Sports Club will be selling hamburgers, hot dogs, brats, fries and drinks. Bring lawn chairs because there are no bleachers at field #3.

#20 NorthWood - Mishawaka rescheduled for tonight/ Team meal now at Wellfield Park

Last night's game vs. Mishawaka was postponed due to possible threatening weather, a threat that never materialized. The game has been rescheduled for tonight at 6 pm. The JV will practice from 3:30-5:30. The Team Meal will now be at the game field (concourse is my guess). Varsity players need to be there at 4:45 pm to eat. JV players eat after their practice.

Game Day 12: #20 NorthWood- Mishawaka

Little is known about the Cavemen but we know they are 0-5 in NLC. They did however only lose 2-1 to Wawasee so we need to make sure we finish tonight. The Panthers are 6-3-2 going into tonight's game. There is no JV game tonight. The Varsity game kicks off at 6 pm. Players are to be at Wellfield Park by 5:15 pm. The JV defeated Penn last night on a Jack Walter goal. They are 3-5-3 on the season. There is NO JV practice today and Casin and Brogan are the ball boys for tonight.

NorthWood ranked in Class 2 A top 20

The NorthWood Boys Soccer team are ranked 20th in Indiana in class 2A by the Indiana Soccer Coaches Association (ISCA). This the first time that we are back in the top 20 since early last season.