FORT WAYNE—Behind a brace from junior midfielder Corissa Koontz, and three first-half goals, the Warsaw Lady Tiger soccer squad cruised their way to a 4-1 sectional semifinal victory over Fort Wayne Wayne Thursday night at Homestead High School.

“We started a little slow, but everybody got to play,” said Warsaw head girls soccer coach Jon Hoover. “Everybody played significant minutes today. We are healthy, and I am pleased with how we moved the ball.”

The Lady Tigers got going early on. At the 32:16 mark, Koontz netted her first goal unassisted. Koontz later earned an assist as she was able to find sophomore Rylee Burns to net their second goal at 14:29 mark. A few minutes later, senior Elizabeth Stone got on the board for the Lady Tigers, as they found themselves in the driver’s seat at halftime.

Warsaw was dominant in the first half, and they kept Wayne out of their half of the pitch for most of it, leaving the Lady Generals without a single shot attempt on goal.

The one blemish for Warsaw came late in the second half, as handball was called in the box—setting up a penalty kick and score for Wayne’s Gladys Donis at the 4:48 mark.

The Lady Tigers finished with 11 shots on goal to Wayne’s six shots. Neither side were issued a yellow or red card.

Next up for the Lady Tigers are the hosts of the sectionals, Homestead. The Lady Spartans earned their place in the championship match with a 9-0 victory over Fort Wayne South Side in the second semifinal matchup.

For Hoover and his squad, he is grateful that they managed to walk away injury-free and also notes that it will be key in the challenge that awaits them in Homestead.

“We got through without any injury—and that is the biggest part,” said Hoover. “We have played Homestead twice now, and it is always an absolute physical battle, so tonight we wanted to get through tonight without any injuries and trying to move the ball with pace and possess the ball.”

History has not been kind for the Lady Tigers. In the two previous meetings this season, Homestead won both matches by scores of 6-0 and 5-0.

“They are a very physical team, so for us to be able to get into that game full-steam especially during the ‘Corona season’, we are extremely happy just to be playing, so we are very blessed for that,” said Hoover.

Kick-off for the sectional championship is set for 2 p.m. Saturday.