Tigers Win Sectional In Shootout
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
ARGOS - Culver Military, the perpetual bridesmaid in the boys soccer sectional at Argos, almost became the bride Saturday night against Warsaw. CMA has appeared in seven of the last eight sectional finals at Argos and one just once.
The Eagles were trashed earlier in the season by the Tigers, 5-0, and looked to spoil the sectional three-peat bid for Warsaw before falling in penalty kicks 3-2.
Cold weather and swirling winds helped to play equalizer. The south end of Eugene Snyder Field at Argos High School saw three of the four goals in regulation scored.
The first of the evening came off the foot of CMA's Eduardo Sanchez on an assist by Luis Phillip Tosi on the south end to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead in the 33rd minute of the match.
The goal put Warsaw in an unfamiliar position. While the Tigers have trailed, a 17-0-1 record doesn't indicate continually playing from behind.
Instead of panicking, the Tigers regained their composure.
"We've been down before this year and at halftime the guys just reminded themselves that we've been down," said Warsaw head coach Scott Bauer. "I think our play improved in the second half. I just wanted to make sure they didn't tighten up. I told them to just go out there and play loose. You've got to have fun to play this game."
And fun is what Warsaw drew three corner kicks in the first eight minutes of the second half and put pressure on CMA goalie Lucas Larson the entire evening.
Warsaw's persistence finally paid off when Austin Evans sailed a shot from 45 yards out that seemed to get caught in a wind stream and wasn't stopped until it hit the back of the net in the 56th minute to tie the match at 1-1.
As Warsaw has done all year, the Tigers came right back and put more pressure on the opponent's defense. Four minutes after Evans goal, Warsaw's Nate Salsgiver was given a free kick after a Culver foul. Salsgiver stood just outside the box and put his foot into a ball that, with the aid of a powerful wind, bent a shot Beckham-style that froze Larson in his place.
Just eight minutes away from its third straight sectional crown, Warsaw looked to play keep-away from the Eagles.
Culver seemed to be resigned to its runner-up fate until Tosi, who had the assist on Culver's first goal of the game, put a shot past Warsaw keeper Adam Churchill after Churchill deflected a shot by Sanchez in the 76th minute to tie the contest at 2-2.
Warsaw dominated both seven-minute overtime periods but was unsuccessful in putting the ball in the net. Late in the second overtime session, Evans nailed a shot off the right crossbar and Jake Rogers had an errant header that would have sent the frozen Warsaw faithful home happy.
Instead, the Tigers and Eagles choose the dramatics of a penalty kick shootout to decide the 2004 Argos sectional champion.
Warsaw's strength all season has been the number of players who can score. That and the goalkeeping acumen of Churchill boded well for the Tigers, and with the first kick of the shootout, Drew Miles sailed one past Larson to give Warsaw a 1-0 edge.
Earlier in the week Miles was able to get a kick past Bauer in goal at practice. The Tigers have worked all year in shootout scenarios and it showed.
Salsgiver, Rogers and Bryan Kolbe all made good on their penalty shots while Churchill allowed just two goals past as the two errant shots were mishit.
"These five kids who took the kicks are pretty solid. All five kicks they took are what they looked like in practice, same pace, same placement," said Bauer of his team's ability in a shootout. "I'm just really pleased that they stepped up under that kind of pressure, and Churchill did a good job because he's active and they think they have to place it better than they really do."
The win gives Warsaw its third straight sectional title in as many years despite a less than stellar performance.
"Sometimes you have to be lucky when you're not playing well. These kids believed something good was going to happen even though we weren't on our best game. We've got to step up and play a much better game on Wednesday," said Bauer.
The Tigers, 18-0-1, are in action at the Argos Regional Wednesday against Elkhart Central. [[In-content Ad]]
Latest News
E-Editions
ARGOS - Culver Military, the perpetual bridesmaid in the boys soccer sectional at Argos, almost became the bride Saturday night against Warsaw. CMA has appeared in seven of the last eight sectional finals at Argos and one just once.
The Eagles were trashed earlier in the season by the Tigers, 5-0, and looked to spoil the sectional three-peat bid for Warsaw before falling in penalty kicks 3-2.
Cold weather and swirling winds helped to play equalizer. The south end of Eugene Snyder Field at Argos High School saw three of the four goals in regulation scored.
The first of the evening came off the foot of CMA's Eduardo Sanchez on an assist by Luis Phillip Tosi on the south end to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead in the 33rd minute of the match.
The goal put Warsaw in an unfamiliar position. While the Tigers have trailed, a 17-0-1 record doesn't indicate continually playing from behind.
Instead of panicking, the Tigers regained their composure.
"We've been down before this year and at halftime the guys just reminded themselves that we've been down," said Warsaw head coach Scott Bauer. "I think our play improved in the second half. I just wanted to make sure they didn't tighten up. I told them to just go out there and play loose. You've got to have fun to play this game."
And fun is what Warsaw drew three corner kicks in the first eight minutes of the second half and put pressure on CMA goalie Lucas Larson the entire evening.
Warsaw's persistence finally paid off when Austin Evans sailed a shot from 45 yards out that seemed to get caught in a wind stream and wasn't stopped until it hit the back of the net in the 56th minute to tie the match at 1-1.
As Warsaw has done all year, the Tigers came right back and put more pressure on the opponent's defense. Four minutes after Evans goal, Warsaw's Nate Salsgiver was given a free kick after a Culver foul. Salsgiver stood just outside the box and put his foot into a ball that, with the aid of a powerful wind, bent a shot Beckham-style that froze Larson in his place.
Just eight minutes away from its third straight sectional crown, Warsaw looked to play keep-away from the Eagles.
Culver seemed to be resigned to its runner-up fate until Tosi, who had the assist on Culver's first goal of the game, put a shot past Warsaw keeper Adam Churchill after Churchill deflected a shot by Sanchez in the 76th minute to tie the contest at 2-2.
Warsaw dominated both seven-minute overtime periods but was unsuccessful in putting the ball in the net. Late in the second overtime session, Evans nailed a shot off the right crossbar and Jake Rogers had an errant header that would have sent the frozen Warsaw faithful home happy.
Instead, the Tigers and Eagles choose the dramatics of a penalty kick shootout to decide the 2004 Argos sectional champion.
Warsaw's strength all season has been the number of players who can score. That and the goalkeeping acumen of Churchill boded well for the Tigers, and with the first kick of the shootout, Drew Miles sailed one past Larson to give Warsaw a 1-0 edge.
Earlier in the week Miles was able to get a kick past Bauer in goal at practice. The Tigers have worked all year in shootout scenarios and it showed.
Salsgiver, Rogers and Bryan Kolbe all made good on their penalty shots while Churchill allowed just two goals past as the two errant shots were mishit.
"These five kids who took the kicks are pretty solid. All five kicks they took are what they looked like in practice, same pace, same placement," said Bauer of his team's ability in a shootout. "I'm just really pleased that they stepped up under that kind of pressure, and Churchill did a good job because he's active and they think they have to place it better than they really do."
The win gives Warsaw its third straight sectional title in as many years despite a less than stellar performance.
"Sometimes you have to be lucky when you're not playing well. These kids believed something good was going to happen even though we weren't on our best game. We've got to step up and play a much better game on Wednesday," said Bauer.
The Tigers, 18-0-1, are in action at the Argos Regional Wednesday against Elkhart Central. [[In-content Ad]]