Getting the bye in the seven-team boys soccer sectional at Huntington North, Warsaw began its playoff journey Wednesday evening against Columbia City. The Tigers got an early goal, added a few more along the way, looking dominant in a 3-0 win.
Despite Warsaw controlling the pace of play as well as possession during the early stages of the match, the first real chance of the game belonged to the Eagles. A counterattack that turned into a two on one ended with Tiger keeper Finn Bailey making a diving save to keep things level seven minutes in.
A few minutes later, Warsaw would get its first big opportunity, and they would not waste it. A long throw in by Mydin Burgher acted as a pseudo corner kick. The ball was deflected in the box and found the foot of Logan Lennox, who extended and buried the ball in the back of the net for the game’s opening goal.
At the midway point of the first half, the scoreline still read 1-0. Both teams had created opportunities for themselves over the previous 13 minutes, with Burgher putting a shot on goal for the Tigers, as well as more than a few chances in the box for Columbia City. The Eagles seemed to be lacking the final ball that would set up the shot, leading to a plethora of chances that went by the wayside.

    Warsaw senior goalie Finley Baily makes a leaping save during Wednesday evening's sectional game against Columbia City...Nieter
Things slowed down for a bit for the Tigers after scoring that opening goal, as if the team took its foot off the gas a tad. Outside of a few nice runs by Andy Vass and Jamie Haynes-Bright, Warsaw struggled to get much going. Most of the errors were easy fixes, such as more than a few chances being stopped dead due to offsides, but the defensive back line was doing more than enough to keep them in front. The Eagles were getting stifled at every turn.
With eight minutes left in the half, the Tigers were able to double their lead. It was on a play extraordinarily similar to the first goal of the game, as it once again came off of a long throw by Burgher. Once again, it was deflected in the middle of the box, this time finding the foot ofTanner Reynolds, who shot a rocket that bounced off the turf a couple of times and into the back of the net to make it 2-0.
Warsaw scored a third goal just before halftime off of a deflected free kick, but it was taken off of the board due to an offsides call. Nevertheless, the Tigers still held a 2-0 edge.
It took almost no time into the second half for Warsaw to pick up that third goal once again, as just 37 seconds into the second set of 40 minutes, a perfectly executed Tiger attack led to Callen O’Brien being wide open in front of the net. His teammates found him, and he made the most of his chance to extend the lead.
Now holding onto a three-goal advantage, Warsaw was firmly in control. Despite this, the defense remained stout, not wanting to give up an inch to the Eagles who now had a lot of ground to make up.
Even though it was Columbia City that now needed to do all of the scoring, it was the Tigers tha often had possession of the ball. After taking their foot off the gas for a short period during the first half, that did not happen here, as the home team on the scoreboard continued to dictate the action while looking to extend the lead.
The team had plenty of chances to score that fourth goal, with shots going just wide or being stopped by the Eagle keeper as Warsaw continued to pepper him with shots. Firmly in control for the entirety of the match, the Tigers seemed to get into a groove and play better and better as the contest moved along.
While that extra insurance goal never came, Warsaw had no problem running out the rest of the clock and cruising to victory. Columbia City came on strong in the final stretch of play with many of the Tiger starters sitting on the bench, but the back line held strong and prevented any goals from finding their way past Bailey. The keeper had to make a save or two, but nothing too serious.
Warsaw (12-2-3) will play in the sectional championship game at Huntington North Saturday at 7 p.m.