Warsaw Girls Win Argos Regional In Dramatic Fashion
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
ARGOS - The old coaching adage is true, Warsaw's Mike Getz said, defense wins championships.
It certainly did Tuesday evening for the first-year coach and his Tiger girls soccer team, as Warsaw downed Argos 3-2, outscoring the host Dragons in a penalty kick shootout to advance to Saturday's South Bend Adams Semistate.
A team that had outscored its opponents 79-10 coming into last night, including 17-0 in the three sectional contests, Warsaw lined up in the penalty kick shootout with four defenders and a midfielder.
In a rotating style (Argos-Warsaw-Argos), Argos made the first three of its five shootout attempts with Alyssa Bailey, Ashton Kendall and Melissa VanDuyne. The Tigers countered with successful attempts from Emma Bean, Katie Sudhoff and Trista Wadkins.
Warsaw gained momentum when Chantal Gordon sent Argos' fourth attempt sailing over the goal, and then Claire Beckett cashed in on the Tigers' next attempt.
Four straight successful attempts by Warsaw upperclassmen, it was Tiger freshman goalie Brittany Burgess left to finish off the Dragons, and she did as Argos sophomore Lacy DeWitt's kick fell right into her hands. The save sent Warsaw's bench and fans into a frenzied celebration of high-fives and hugs.
"We had 12 shutouts this year, that wasn't a fluke," Getz said. "Four of them (shootout kickers) were defenders, the other was a midfielder. Our defense is what got us here. Defense wins championships."
The dramatic win puts Warsaw at 17-1-2 on the season, while Argos finishes its season at 15-4-1.
The regional championship was the second straight for the Tigers. Warsaw won its first ever sectional a year ago, and then went on to win the regional in a shootout.
"When you look at this team, we lost six or seven people from a good team last year," Getz said. "Only a couple of the girls had experience. To come out and go this far, I can't say how proud I am of these girls. John Alcorn has a fine program here at Argos. Nobody wants to have to win in a shootout, but we'll take this one."
Warsaw scored the game's first goal, lighting up the scoreboard with 9 minutes, 40 seconds gone by when junior Kati Leasure assisted classmate Tracy Stump.
"If you look at the way we play, we almost always score a goal in the first 15 minutes," Getz said. "For us the goal was good to get us settled in. Not that I thought it would hold up, but it got us settled in."
The lead didn't hold up, as Argos took a 2-1 lead after sophomore Krista Null scored with 19:12 remaining in the first half, and senior Alyssa Bailey with 26:40 left in the second half.
Playing with their backs against the wall, the Tigers knotted the game at two when junior forward Ashley Kitchens nailed a direct kick with 15:28 left in regulation.
"We were down and the girls responded," Getz said. "Ashley Kitchens, our leading scorer, hadn't done much on the field scoring wise. But she came in and nailed that direct kick."
Of the 12 goals Warsaw has now given up this season, six have been scored by Argos, a team the Tigers tied 4-4 early in the season.
Through two games and two overtime sessions, the Tigers and Dragons played 174 minutes of even soccer this year before the shootout decided the regional winner.
Warsaw plays South Bend Adams at 10 a.m. Saturday, with the winner advancing to the 7 p.m. championship. Adams, now 10-6-1 on the year, won its regional championship 3-1 over Elkhart Central, the only team to beat Warsaw.
Lake Central, a 2-0 winner over Hammond Morton, plays Chesterton in the second seminfal game. Chesterton improved to 20-2-1 with a 4-2 regional win over Valparaiso.
WARSAW 3, ARGOS 2
Warsaw goals - Tracy Stump 1, Ashley Kitchens 1
Warsaw assists - Kati Leasure 1
Argos goals - Krista Null 1, Alyssa Bailey 1
Argos assists - Melissa VanDuyne 1
Warsaw shootout goals - Emma Bean, Katie Sudhoff, Trista Wadkins, Claire Beckett
Argos shootout goals - Bailey, Ashton Kendall, VanDuyne
Saves - Brittany Burgess (Warsaw) 8, Kayla Davis (Argos) 5
Shots - Warsaw 12, Argos 15
Shots on goal - Warsaw 7, Argos 10
Records: Warsaw 17-1-2, Argos 15-4-1 [[In-content Ad]]
ARGOS - The old coaching adage is true, Warsaw's Mike Getz said, defense wins championships.
It certainly did Tuesday evening for the first-year coach and his Tiger girls soccer team, as Warsaw downed Argos 3-2, outscoring the host Dragons in a penalty kick shootout to advance to Saturday's South Bend Adams Semistate.
A team that had outscored its opponents 79-10 coming into last night, including 17-0 in the three sectional contests, Warsaw lined up in the penalty kick shootout with four defenders and a midfielder.
In a rotating style (Argos-Warsaw-Argos), Argos made the first three of its five shootout attempts with Alyssa Bailey, Ashton Kendall and Melissa VanDuyne. The Tigers countered with successful attempts from Emma Bean, Katie Sudhoff and Trista Wadkins.
Warsaw gained momentum when Chantal Gordon sent Argos' fourth attempt sailing over the goal, and then Claire Beckett cashed in on the Tigers' next attempt.
Four straight successful attempts by Warsaw upperclassmen, it was Tiger freshman goalie Brittany Burgess left to finish off the Dragons, and she did as Argos sophomore Lacy DeWitt's kick fell right into her hands. The save sent Warsaw's bench and fans into a frenzied celebration of high-fives and hugs.
"We had 12 shutouts this year, that wasn't a fluke," Getz said. "Four of them (shootout kickers) were defenders, the other was a midfielder. Our defense is what got us here. Defense wins championships."
The dramatic win puts Warsaw at 17-1-2 on the season, while Argos finishes its season at 15-4-1.
The regional championship was the second straight for the Tigers. Warsaw won its first ever sectional a year ago, and then went on to win the regional in a shootout.
"When you look at this team, we lost six or seven people from a good team last year," Getz said. "Only a couple of the girls had experience. To come out and go this far, I can't say how proud I am of these girls. John Alcorn has a fine program here at Argos. Nobody wants to have to win in a shootout, but we'll take this one."
Warsaw scored the game's first goal, lighting up the scoreboard with 9 minutes, 40 seconds gone by when junior Kati Leasure assisted classmate Tracy Stump.
"If you look at the way we play, we almost always score a goal in the first 15 minutes," Getz said. "For us the goal was good to get us settled in. Not that I thought it would hold up, but it got us settled in."
The lead didn't hold up, as Argos took a 2-1 lead after sophomore Krista Null scored with 19:12 remaining in the first half, and senior Alyssa Bailey with 26:40 left in the second half.
Playing with their backs against the wall, the Tigers knotted the game at two when junior forward Ashley Kitchens nailed a direct kick with 15:28 left in regulation.
"We were down and the girls responded," Getz said. "Ashley Kitchens, our leading scorer, hadn't done much on the field scoring wise. But she came in and nailed that direct kick."
Of the 12 goals Warsaw has now given up this season, six have been scored by Argos, a team the Tigers tied 4-4 early in the season.
Through two games and two overtime sessions, the Tigers and Dragons played 174 minutes of even soccer this year before the shootout decided the regional winner.
Warsaw plays South Bend Adams at 10 a.m. Saturday, with the winner advancing to the 7 p.m. championship. Adams, now 10-6-1 on the year, won its regional championship 3-1 over Elkhart Central, the only team to beat Warsaw.
Lake Central, a 2-0 winner over Hammond Morton, plays Chesterton in the second seminfal game. Chesterton improved to 20-2-1 with a 4-2 regional win over Valparaiso.
WARSAW 3, ARGOS 2
Warsaw goals - Tracy Stump 1, Ashley Kitchens 1
Warsaw assists - Kati Leasure 1
Argos goals - Krista Null 1, Alyssa Bailey 1
Argos assists - Melissa VanDuyne 1
Warsaw shootout goals - Emma Bean, Katie Sudhoff, Trista Wadkins, Claire Beckett
Argos shootout goals - Bailey, Ashton Kendall, VanDuyne
Saves - Brittany Burgess (Warsaw) 8, Kayla Davis (Argos) 5
Shots - Warsaw 12, Argos 15
Shots on goal - Warsaw 7, Argos 10
Records: Warsaw 17-1-2, Argos 15-4-1 [[In-content Ad]]