The Warsaw girls soccer team has been no stranger to big wins this season. The team is currently unbeaten in Northern Lakes Conference play and has already racked up wins against some top teams in the state such as Homestead. On Thursday night, Warsaw picked up perhaps its most impressive win yet, defeating the No. 4 ranked Penn Kingsmen 2-1 at the Tiger Soccer Complex.
The visitors looked worthy of their top ten ranking in the opening stages of the match, controlling possession and making the Lady Tigers work hard on defense. Despite the early pressure from the Kingsmen, Warsaw’s defense held strong, with a variety of players coming up big in different moments to keep the pressure off of goalkeeper Claire German.
That’s not to say German wasn’t busy in the first half of action. The senior keeper has plenty of opportunities to make saves with Penn constantly finding new angles to attack the goal from. Facing the onslaught of early shots, German stood tall, making a variety of saves. The most impressive coming 15 minutes into the match. A Penn free kick from near midfield would line up perfectly, but German was there to leap up and push it out of goal.
In the early going, the few Lady Tiger scoring opportunities came from the counterattack. Always ready to run, Warsaw was able to flip the switch from defending to pushing the pace on their own terms in the blink of an eye. However, each time it appeared the home side had something brewing, the final pass or shot would leave something to be desired, leaving the game scoreless.
23 minutes into the game, the Kingsmen would open up the scoring. A corner kick would lead to a mad scramble in front of the net and while German was able to make one save, the rebound shot by Penn’s Kacey Odell was just out of reach.
Just two minutes later, the Lady Tigers had their best chance yet to equalize. Lola Pepper, who has been no stranger to scoring miraculous goals this season, almost added another to her tally on a long shot from well outside the box. Pepper’s long attempt would scale just over the crossbar.
While the chance didn’t lead to a score, it did lead to a massive shift in momentum as afterwards, the status quo changed completely. Now it was Warsaw winning midfield battles and dominating possession. What followed was the Lady Tigers’ best form in the first 40 minutes, as the Lady Tigers were able to give Penn some of their own medicine.
The pressure would pay off with just under four minutes to go in the first half. Midfielder Rachel Koorey would send a perfect lead pass forward to Pepper. The Penn goalkeeper took the chance of beating the striker to the ball, but was unable too. Pepper raced past the keeper and booted the ball into a wide open net to even the game up just before halftime.

    Sophomore Lola Pepper moves the ball towards the goal during the first half as Rowan Moore of Penn defends. Photo by Gary Nieter.
  

Each team had their fair share of control in the first ten minutes of half number two. This portion of the game was played primarily in the midfield, with both sides doing enough to limit any serious chances by the other.
Both teams began to get it going in the following minutes, with each side winning a pair of corner kicks. The chances wouldn’t lead to anything, as defenders for each side continued to dominate the game.
With less than half of the second set of 40 minutes remaining, the visitors began to start piling up the chances once more. As was the case in the first half, German was a stone wall in net, preventing the Kingsmen from taking the lead with a series of saves.
This would not deter the home side. With less than 14 minutes to go, Warsaw would take the lead for the first time. After winning a corner kick, freshman Haidyn Elliott would play a perfect ball. It was hard to tell if the ball clipped an attacker or defender on its way, but the end result was the ball finding the back of the net and Elliott being credited with the go-ahead goal.
Now holding a lead with less than 10 minutes to go, Warsaw’s defense became even more intense, with the Lady Tigers doing everything in their power to stay in front.
As the game winded down, the home side never did. Even with the lead, Warsaw continued to look for its chances, even winning an all-important corner in the final three minutes. The final push by the Kingsmen was not enough to equalize, and the game ended with the Lady Tiger players jumping up and down after pulling off the upset.
Warsaw (7-2-3) plays its next game Saturday against Mishawaka Marian.