NAPPANEE -ÊLast week, the NorthWood boys soccer team made school history by defeating the Wawasee Warriors for the first time, and Tuesday the Panthers were looking to add to their legacy by defeating the Warsaw Tigers.

The Panthers succeeded in their quest and added another page to the record book by defeating the Tigers 1-0 in a soggy match in Nappanee.

The Panthers had to cancel a Monday game because of storms that raged through the area, and the after-effects of the Monday's storms and Tuesday morning's showers were still present Tuesday evening.

"About 45 minutes before the game," said NorthWood coach Brad Duerksen, "our guys were out here with buckets trying to get the water out if the puddles in the holes on the field."

And the water did have an effect on everyone who stepped on the field. Players were slipping and sliding around, and coaches had wet feet after just walking across the flooded tundra.

However, the players persevered and the game went on.

"Obviously with the water and the field conditions, we had to adjust our game," said Duerksen. "We knew we had to keep pressuring them and not let them get by us. We tried to keep of pressure on the ball."

"They counter-attacked and were successful one time," said Warsaw coach Scott Bauer.

The Panthers and Tigers battled for nearly 37 scoreless minutes in the first half before the first goal was scored. With 3:18 left on the first-period clock, NorthWood scored the first - and only - goal of the game. Junior forward Brody Morningstar passed the ball to junior midfielder Casey Yerger who slipped the ball past the Warsaw goalkeeper to put the Panthers up 1-0.

From that point on, the game was a highly physical defensive battle that saw a red card and several yellow cards handed out by officials.

Although the Tigers and Panthers both had chances at the goal throughout the game, niether side scored in the remainder of the match.

"We played hard and we played with intensity, " said Bauer. "Our defense played well. There was just one break and they (NorthWood) took advantage of it.

"I felt like we dictated play most of the game. It's my sense we probably outshot them 2-1. We had three or four cross bars we had a hard time finishing. The last four games we've probably shot 75-85 times and come away with three goals. You can't win games that way. My feeling is we're in a scoring slump. It's like basketball teams shooting a bad percentage, and you can't explain why."

"This is a big win for us," said Duerksen. "It's the first time in school history we have beaten Warsaw. The guys are really happy about it."

NorthWood goalkeeper Casey Lehman also got his name in the NorthWood history book by recording his 13th career shutout.

"Coming from last year, I would not have expected to do this well this year," said Duerksen. "I thought it would take longer to come together. But the second week of practice I started to realize that we had a really strong young team. These guys would run through a brick wall if you told them to. Their work ethic is outstanding."

NorthWood is 3-0-1 overall and 2-0-0 in the Northern Lakes Conference and will play at Goshen Thursday at 6:30 p.m. Warsaw falls to 5-1-3 overall and 0-0-2 in NLC play, and the Tigers will host Wawasee Saturday at 10 a.m. at the CCAC.

NORTHWOOD 1, WARSAW 0

NorthWood goal -ÊCasey Yerger

NorthWood assist -ÊBrody Morningstar

Corner kicks -ÊWarsaw 2, NorthWood 2

JV - WARSAW 3, NORTHWOOD 0

Warsaw goals -ÊKirk Burnett, Kyle Burnett, Dru Dalton

*Dru Dalton recorded his fourth consecutive shutout and had four saves in the game.

Record -ÊWarsaw 3-0

Next -ÊSaturday vs. Wawasee at the CCAC [[In-content Ad]]