"Somebody had to win."

Wawasee head soccer coach Paul Boyd summed it up pretty well with those four words.

In a game that lasted through two 40-minute regulation periods, two seven-minute overtime periods, and a shootout, Warsaw came out on top 1-0.

"We knew this would be a good game because we won in the regular season," said Warsaw head coach Corey Rose. "That made (Wawasee) want this game even more."

"It was lovely," said Boyd. "What a game."

More yellow cards were given than goals were scored in this matchup of area rivals.

With 24:37 left in the first half, Wawasee's Chad Wortinger was given a yellow card for initiating a dangerous play.

Later, Warsaw's Brad Waggoner was given a yellow card of his own for language.

At halftime, the score was tied 0-0.

"We knew this would be a battle," said Rose.

The second half began as the first had, with both teams playing intense soccer.

Less than two minutes into the half, Warsaw's Juan Garcia left the field with an injury. He recovered and returned later in the game.

Wawasee was not without injuries of its own. With 12:34 left in the half, John Glon went to the sidelines with an injury.

After the seconds ticked away and the buzzer sounded to signal the end of regulation play, the score still stood at 0-0.

The game then went into overtime with two seven minute halves. At the end of the overtime period, the score was still tied at 0.

"This was 94 minutes of back and forth down the field soccer," said Boyd. "The intensity was great."

The teams then took two minutes to regroup and choose the five players that would represent them and hold the outcome of the game in their feet.

Ten players lined up at the 50-yard line to wait for their turn to kick for the game. The goal keepers, Justin Bell (Wawasee) and Rudy Ramirez (Warsaw) then took their spots near the goal line and prepared to defend their team's honor.

Waggoner led off for the Tigers, but the ball flew wide left of the goal.

Wawasee's Pete Wamsley then took a chance, but the kick soared over the top of the goal. After two penalty kicks, the team were still deadlocked.

Aaron Sawyer then stepped up for Warsaw and nailed the penalty kick to put the Tigers ahead in the penalty kick race 1-0.

Wawasee's next kicker, Rafael Candelot, attempted a straight-on kick, but it was blocked by Ramirez. However, a rekick was awarded when the official called Ramirez for early movement.

The rekick was blocked as well, and Warsaw still held the 1-0 penalty kick lead.

Gabe Koser nailed the next penalty kick for the Tigers, and put them up 2-0.

John Sysnal then stepped in for Wawasee and kicked the first successful goal for the Warriors.

With Warsaw up 2-1 in the penalty kick race, Brian Watson stepped in and kicked another successful goal for the Tigers.

Behind 3-1, Wawasee's Sam Shipley kept the Warriors alive by kicking a screamer past the Warsaw goal keeper.

Warsaw had one more chance to claim the win before going into another set of penalty kicks as Juan Garcia stepped in to kick.

After the ball sailed past Bell, the Tigers ran to the field and made a pile to celebrate their victory. The final score stood at 1-0 in Warsaw's favor.

"Like I said, somebody had to win," said Boyd. "And unfortunately it wasn't us. Our team left their hearts on that field. That was the best game I have seen us play in my four years at Wawasee."

Warsaw moves on to face Carroll in the sectional final game Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Columbia City.

"We lost 2-0 to Carroll earlier in the season," said Rose. "They're a good team."

"We have four seniors who playe din last year's sectional when we won," said Rose. "They know what it feels like to win, and they want to feel it again." [[In-content Ad]]