Warriors Score First Win
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Anthony [email protected]
Although the Warriors hadn't gotten a win, they also hadn't racked up too may losses, entering Wednesday's home game against Columbia City with an 0-4-5 record.[[In-content Ad]]After 80 minutes against the Eagles (4-5), the Warriors (1-4-5) now have that victory, a 1-0 win over their opponent from Whitley County.
"It feels great to get over that hump," Wawasee senior Josh Matti said. "We've had several games this year that we could have won, but let slip away. Finally getting it just feels great."
And senior Cody Blunk thinks he knows how they finally got over that hump.
"Today, we played as a team," Blunk said. "We moved the ball really well and stepped our intensity up in the second half."
An example of the ball movement came in the 53rd minute, when Blunk passed the ball to Matti, who kicked it toward the goal, where it bounced straight down off the cross-bar for a goal.
"Cody played the ball to me in the center and I had five yards of space, so I chipped it over the goalie," Matti said of his goal from just outside the 18.
After chipping it just over Columbia City junior goalkeeper Nate Hatfield, the ball bounced straight down, just over the goal line.
"Our keeper was in the right position, but the ball just went over his hands," Columbia City coach Chris Bechtold said. "It was a good shot and a lucky bounce."
The goal was all Wawasee needed to get the win against a short-handed Eagles squad that was playing without junior outside midfielder Luke Wallace, who was in the hospital with an illness.
"The kids were concerned about that," Bechtold said about his team's mindset with a teammate in the hospital. "We were focused, we were ready to go, but we had to change the lineup this afternoon when we found out he wasn't going to be able to play. That, then, took our emphasis off offense and put it on defense. Unfortunately, they ended up playing on our defensive side."
Without Wallace, Columbia City had to rely even more on senior midfielder Devin Rice, which made defending the Eagles a little easier.
"He was our leading scorer last year and every team we've played has known he's an outstanding athlete and a heck of a goal scorer," Bechtold said of Rice. "We haven't had a team yet that hasn't had at least two men marking him the entire game."
The Warriors will look to build on their win total Saturday at home against East Noble.
WAWASEE 1, COLUMBIA CITY 0
W - Josh Matti (Cody Blunk) 53rd minute
Shots - Wawasee 16, CC 11; Shots on Goal - Wawasee 6, CC 7; Saves - Wawasee (Andre Champoux) 7, CC (Nick Hatfield) 5; Corner Kicks - Wawasee 6, CC 4; Penalties (Yellow Card) - Wawasee 8, CC 8 (Devin Rice); Offsides - Wawasee 3, CC 0; Records: Wawasee 4-5-1, CC 4-5
JV - Wawasee 2, Columbia City 1
Wawasee JV Stats: Goals - Fernando Camargo 2; Assist - Corey Kennedy; Record - 3-6
Although the Warriors hadn't gotten a win, they also hadn't racked up too may losses, entering Wednesday's home game against Columbia City with an 0-4-5 record.[[In-content Ad]]After 80 minutes against the Eagles (4-5), the Warriors (1-4-5) now have that victory, a 1-0 win over their opponent from Whitley County.
"It feels great to get over that hump," Wawasee senior Josh Matti said. "We've had several games this year that we could have won, but let slip away. Finally getting it just feels great."
And senior Cody Blunk thinks he knows how they finally got over that hump.
"Today, we played as a team," Blunk said. "We moved the ball really well and stepped our intensity up in the second half."
An example of the ball movement came in the 53rd minute, when Blunk passed the ball to Matti, who kicked it toward the goal, where it bounced straight down off the cross-bar for a goal.
"Cody played the ball to me in the center and I had five yards of space, so I chipped it over the goalie," Matti said of his goal from just outside the 18.
After chipping it just over Columbia City junior goalkeeper Nate Hatfield, the ball bounced straight down, just over the goal line.
"Our keeper was in the right position, but the ball just went over his hands," Columbia City coach Chris Bechtold said. "It was a good shot and a lucky bounce."
The goal was all Wawasee needed to get the win against a short-handed Eagles squad that was playing without junior outside midfielder Luke Wallace, who was in the hospital with an illness.
"The kids were concerned about that," Bechtold said about his team's mindset with a teammate in the hospital. "We were focused, we were ready to go, but we had to change the lineup this afternoon when we found out he wasn't going to be able to play. That, then, took our emphasis off offense and put it on defense. Unfortunately, they ended up playing on our defensive side."
Without Wallace, Columbia City had to rely even more on senior midfielder Devin Rice, which made defending the Eagles a little easier.
"He was our leading scorer last year and every team we've played has known he's an outstanding athlete and a heck of a goal scorer," Bechtold said of Rice. "We haven't had a team yet that hasn't had at least two men marking him the entire game."
The Warriors will look to build on their win total Saturday at home against East Noble.
WAWASEE 1, COLUMBIA CITY 0
W - Josh Matti (Cody Blunk) 53rd minute
Shots - Wawasee 16, CC 11; Shots on Goal - Wawasee 6, CC 7; Saves - Wawasee (Andre Champoux) 7, CC (Nick Hatfield) 5; Corner Kicks - Wawasee 6, CC 4; Penalties (Yellow Card) - Wawasee 8, CC 8 (Devin Rice); Offsides - Wawasee 3, CC 0; Records: Wawasee 4-5-1, CC 4-5
JV - Wawasee 2, Columbia City 1
Wawasee JV Stats: Goals - Fernando Camargo 2; Assist - Corey Kennedy; Record - 3-6
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