Lady Tigers Tie Northridge, Win NLC Title
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Dale [email protected]
After playing the Lady Raiders to a 1-1 draw in very cool, fall-like conditions, the Lady Tigers celebrated a Northern Lakes Conference championship.
Despite giving up a Northridge goal just 12 seconds after senior Elizabeth VanWormer broke the scoreless tie with a breakaway netter off an assist from freshman Anna Grill in the 70th minute, the Lady Tigers high-fived, hugged and posed for pictures.
And they had every right to do so.
Warsaw finished the regular season with a sparkling 13-1-1 record and a 6-0-1 mark in the NLC.
Northridge, which also tied Concord 1-1, finished second in the league standings at 5-0-2.
Sure, coach Peter Lucht and the Lady Tigers wanted to win Thursday’s game. But given the success they’ve had so far this season, and the adversity they’ve overcome with injuries, they’re definitely going into next week’s state tournament on a high note.
“At the end, with about two minutes to go, I went over to the corner and I said ‘a tie is a win here at this moment’ because of what it meant for the conference championship,” said Lucht, whose team has outscored its opponents this season 64-14. “Grateful to God for that. The girls just fought so hard, and we would have loved to have won, obviously, and we would’ve loved for the game to be the way it was, except for those 12 seconds, but they fought so hard and I’m proud of them.”
Both sides had opportunities to score before they did Thursday evening, especially the host Lady Tigers, but just couldn’t finish.
Given that, and the fact only two NLC schools had been able to score on Warsaw, VanWormer’s goal seemed like the game-winner at the time.
She took the pass from Grill, turned on her speed and beat Northridge keeper Meghan Cawood in a 1-on-1 situation.
The Lady Raiders, however, had other ideas and weren’t going down without a fight.
Twelve seconds of game-time later, senior Brey Baltazar put the ball past Warsaw sophomore keeper Chloe Snow.
“I wanna talk about our girls’ ability to bounce back from it,” Lucht said of Northridge’s quick response to VanWormer’s goal. “Northridge got it, congrats to them for getting it, and that quick, my goodness. They did the same thing almost against Carroll a couple nights ago. They scored within 30 seconds of getting scored on themselves. Carroll tied it 1-1, and then Northridge went up 2-1 just that fast.
“Credit to Northridge, tough mentality for that, and credit to our girls for bouncing back. They didn’t just sit there, I mean, it had to be a shock, right? But they didn’t just sit there and let the emotion drain. They picked it up and still finished most of the game on Northridge’s half. So, credit the girls for bouncing back, showing strong resolve, showing strong character. God blessed us.”
If Lucht and his team have their way, Thursday’s NLC title may be just the beginning of Warsaw’s championship celebrations.
The Lady Tigers open state tournament play Thursday against Wawasee at 5 p.m. in the Plymouth Sectional, as they look for their sixth consecutive sectional title.
“These girls have worked hard all season,” said Lucht. “God’s blessed us with talent, but they have tremendous character. So, just very grateful to God for all of that.”
WARSAW 1, NORTHRIDGE 1
(Second Half)
W – Elizabeth VanWormer (Anna Grill assist), 70th min
NR – Brey Baltazar, 70th min
Records: Warsaw 13-1-1 (6-0-1 NLC), Northridge 5-0-2 NLC[[In-content Ad]]
After playing the Lady Raiders to a 1-1 draw in very cool, fall-like conditions, the Lady Tigers celebrated a Northern Lakes Conference championship.
Despite giving up a Northridge goal just 12 seconds after senior Elizabeth VanWormer broke the scoreless tie with a breakaway netter off an assist from freshman Anna Grill in the 70th minute, the Lady Tigers high-fived, hugged and posed for pictures.
And they had every right to do so.
Warsaw finished the regular season with a sparkling 13-1-1 record and a 6-0-1 mark in the NLC.
Northridge, which also tied Concord 1-1, finished second in the league standings at 5-0-2.
Sure, coach Peter Lucht and the Lady Tigers wanted to win Thursday’s game. But given the success they’ve had so far this season, and the adversity they’ve overcome with injuries, they’re definitely going into next week’s state tournament on a high note.
“At the end, with about two minutes to go, I went over to the corner and I said ‘a tie is a win here at this moment’ because of what it meant for the conference championship,” said Lucht, whose team has outscored its opponents this season 64-14. “Grateful to God for that. The girls just fought so hard, and we would have loved to have won, obviously, and we would’ve loved for the game to be the way it was, except for those 12 seconds, but they fought so hard and I’m proud of them.”
Both sides had opportunities to score before they did Thursday evening, especially the host Lady Tigers, but just couldn’t finish.
Given that, and the fact only two NLC schools had been able to score on Warsaw, VanWormer’s goal seemed like the game-winner at the time.
She took the pass from Grill, turned on her speed and beat Northridge keeper Meghan Cawood in a 1-on-1 situation.
The Lady Raiders, however, had other ideas and weren’t going down without a fight.
Twelve seconds of game-time later, senior Brey Baltazar put the ball past Warsaw sophomore keeper Chloe Snow.
“I wanna talk about our girls’ ability to bounce back from it,” Lucht said of Northridge’s quick response to VanWormer’s goal. “Northridge got it, congrats to them for getting it, and that quick, my goodness. They did the same thing almost against Carroll a couple nights ago. They scored within 30 seconds of getting scored on themselves. Carroll tied it 1-1, and then Northridge went up 2-1 just that fast.
“Credit to Northridge, tough mentality for that, and credit to our girls for bouncing back. They didn’t just sit there, I mean, it had to be a shock, right? But they didn’t just sit there and let the emotion drain. They picked it up and still finished most of the game on Northridge’s half. So, credit the girls for bouncing back, showing strong resolve, showing strong character. God blessed us.”
If Lucht and his team have their way, Thursday’s NLC title may be just the beginning of Warsaw’s championship celebrations.
The Lady Tigers open state tournament play Thursday against Wawasee at 5 p.m. in the Plymouth Sectional, as they look for their sixth consecutive sectional title.
“These girls have worked hard all season,” said Lucht. “God’s blessed us with talent, but they have tremendous character. So, just very grateful to God for all of that.”
WARSAW 1, NORTHRIDGE 1
(Second Half)
W – Elizabeth VanWormer (Anna Grill assist), 70th min
NR – Brey Baltazar, 70th min
Records: Warsaw 13-1-1 (6-0-1 NLC), Northridge 5-0-2 NLC[[In-content Ad]]
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