HUNTINGTON – The Warsaw Tigers boys’ soccer side streaked to a convincing 4-nil victory over the Homestead Spartans for their third straight IHSAA Class 3A Sectional 5 title Saturday night on the synthetic turf at Huntington North High School.
The two perennially solid IHSAA Class 3A boys’ soccer sides fought to a regular season scoreless draw, but this time Warsaw’s defense, dominant throughout the tournament shutting out each sectional foe, was complemented by an aggressive, streaking offensive attack in a dominant win showcasing their depth.
Warsaw goalkeeper Finn Bailey posted each of the three tournament match shutouts, but he was quick to give credit to his defenders rather than extol the excellence of his own play throughout the tourney.
“I didn’t want (Homestead) to score because the shutout streak in sectionals is pretty cool. I was chasing the ball, and scrambling. My defenders played really well. Luke (Barbosa), the Lennox brothers (Cam, Logan) getting after it, and Stevie (Saldivar) with the long balls… they’re more than I could wish for.”
Bailey and company successfully dodged three close calls almost jeopardizing the string of Tiger shutouts. The Spartans’ side played aggressively, determined to break their scoring schneid in regular and post-season play versus Warsaw.
Tiger senior, Grady Williman, stopped Homestead’s free kick from 20 meters at the 63rd minute when the Spartans’ side believed they would be able to reverse their fortunes from the previous six-minute non-stop offensive attack by the 2024 sectional champions’ side.
Finn Bailey stretched horizontally to his left for a save in the ensuing minute landing him prone on the ground for two full seconds, and his Tiger defenders stepped in to close the window quickly on what was a frighteningly wide-open net.
“The Lennox boys (Cam, Logan) in the back, Stevie (Saldivar) in the back, Luke (Barbosa), Grady Williman… these guys are athletic, but they’re also tough players,” Warsaw skipper Ryan Burgher remarked.
Homestead’s Alexander Brown caught Cam Lennox off guard for a fracture of a second with a steal and dribble appearing to be headed for a one-on-one challenge versus Bailey at the 69th minute, but Lennox reacted executing a slide tackle to immediately reverse his fortune, and to avert another late game Spartan attack.
“…got the ball, had a plan in mind… never should do that without looking first. I said, ‘I’m gonna’ go left here’ and (Brown) cuts me off, and I’m thinking ‘I’m gonna give up a goal in sectional!’ You never wanna’ do that! I knew it was so risky to go for a slide, too, but I had to do it right away, and it worked out for me.”
Fans among other sports often say the best offense is a good defense, and the evening’s defensive effort lent a hand in Warsaw’s aggressive offensive strategy to prove the same goes for soccer on Huntington’s pitch Saturday night.

    Warsaw junior Andres Rosas leaps over Homestead goalie Jude Rouamba during the first half...Nieter

Early in the match, the Tigers used long balls from Bailey and Saldivar, well-timed in their landing ahead of streaking forwards Miguel Cacahua (7’) and Mydin Burgher (17’). One of Bailey’s kicks traveled 70 meters.
Cacahua’s goal was perfectly angled from right to left hitting the back left corner of the Spartans’ net far from Homestead goalkeeper Jude Rouamba’s diving reach.
Warsaw, in fact, spent the first 24 minutes of the match intentionally executing an offensive attack based on exposing the Homestead defensive formation.
“We talked about doin’ high pressure with the formation Homestead plays. We knew we could pressure their backs,” Coach Burgher noted. “Our outside backs and mid(fielder)s forced (Homestead) to immediately go from their goal to our goal. They couldn’t take that kind of pressure.”
The evening was filled with greater than one-half dozen additional breakaway shots the Tigers didn’t put in the back of the Spartans’ net. Senior forward Callen O’Brien, injured in the regular season scoreless draw versus the Spartans, did not score, but his return to good health Saturday evening gave the runners-up plenty of agita defending his speed as well, further thinning out the Homestead defense.
“Our guys were determined,” Burgher said. “When we finish our chances that helps a lot too. In our first game we missed one from the six (meter line) and put two more off the crossbar.
“(Mydin is) a dangerous player, and most people we play put three men on him. (Homestead) actually takes their outside defenders and puts them up more… I’ll take Mydin ‘one v two’ because he’ll finish those.”
The Tiger side was more gassed than usual in the later part of the first half because they substituted less than their usual frequency in regular season first half action.
Warsaw’s 2-nil lead, a precarious state of play in soccer culture, continued through the second half.
Warsaw began sprinkling set pieces in among their more aggressive attacks to start the second half, particularly exploiting the height advantage the Lennox twins afforded the championship side. The lanky seniors caught air on headers that didn’t hit the net.
A throw-in exceeding 25 meters from Burgher to Logan Lennox was well-executed at the 43rd minute and did not find the net. Logan’s brother, Cam, however, found his way past the Spartan goalkeeper in slightly different form at the 52nd minute.
Senior Ashton Ault’s corner kick to Cam for a header goal was perfectly executed, and the excitement from the Tiger bench spilling onto the pitch to celebrate resulted in a yellow card shown to the bench.
The officiating crew had been keen on scoring celebrations throughout the tournament, so the card was no surprise among the fans in attendance, nor the coaching staff.
“We worked on it all season,” Ault said of his assist. “My big guy (Cam Lennox) got out there and headed it home; great feeling!”
Cam Lennox added, “That third goal felt so good. You’re never comfortable with a 2-goal lead.”
Andres Rosas added another corner kick assist (his second of the evening) to another tall athlete, senior midfielder Tanner Reynolds at the 73rd minute for the final Tiger score.
Most soccer sides would be thankful for a header goal from a corner kick once every few weeks, but the Tigers put together two of them in the same match.
Coach Burgher began substituting seniors immediately following Warsaw’s final goal, and the upperclassmen took preserving the shutout throughout the tournament for the final seven minutes seriously.
Darvin Ramirez and Isaac Enciso effectively kept a persistent Spartan offense scoreless while seniors Juan Ramirez, and Noah Caughell stabilized the Tiger offense to run out the clock.
Such a lead typically softens the crowd noise, but senior Diego Cuahuizo revved up the crowd drilling a shot on goal at the 79th minute and renewed the collective energy until the final buzzer sounded and Warsaw hoisted their title trophy.
“Our team is really solid from the starters to the guys coming off the bench,” Coach Burgher said in his final remarks. “There isn’t a drop off. Our team looked really good today. This is a great group of kids, and we are having an incredible year; back-to-back-to-back sectional championships.”
Warsaw will travel to Huntertown to take on the Carroll Chargers in a regional semifinal match Thursday at 6 p.m.