FORT WAYNE — A week after winning the program's first sectional title, the Whitko girls soccer team took a leap up in competition Saturday in Fort Wayne. The Whitko Lady Wildcats (9-3-1) ended its inaugural season as an IHSAA team Saturday with a 6-0 loss to Class 1A No. 4 Fort Wayne Concordia (14-5-1) at Fort Wayne Canterbury's Hancock Field. "We're just happy to be here," Whitko coach Gary Sims said. "We're very pleased to be here. We knew coming it, it was going to get tougher. We knew to get here, Concordia had beaten some tough teams. We knew this." Along with this being Whitko's first year as an IHSAA program, another change has been the class system. Instead of all the schools competing in the same tournament, there is now a Class 2A for large schools and Class 1A for smaller. Despite the change in format, Concordia coach Glenn Harkenrider said he was just as excited with his team's first regional title. "Our sectional was a tough sectional," he said. "We still had (No. 7) Bishop Luers, Canterbury and (No. 15)Blackhawk Christian — three ranked teams in one sectional. Next week we play a really good West Lafayette team. They play a very similar type of schedule that we do, so it should be a competitive game." Concordia travels west to Argos Saturday to take on No. 2 West Lafayette at 10 a.m., with the winner taking on either fifth-ranked Mishawaka Marian or 14th-ranked Argos in the 7 p.m. championship. In the one-game regional, Concordia played with a stiff wind in the opening-half to grab a 5-0 lead, while Whitko struggled to get the ball past midfield as the wind was blowing in their faces. "We gambled, and I wasn't too comfortable," Sims said about allowing Concordia to play with the wind in the opening half. "Our captains — they wanted the wind in the second half. I was afraid we'd get behind. I was afraid of that, but you never know. I'm not saying it would have made a difference, but you never know." With the wind, Concordia received its first goal from senior Jaclyn Berning in the 12th minute, then the Concordia Lady Cadets got another goal two minutes later when a corner kick bounced off the head of the Wildcat defender, then got blown into the net." Before the buzzer sounded for the half sounded, Concordia senior Annalissa Meyer, sophomore Cayla Fagg and senior Alexandra Hazzelet each scored, building an insurmountable lead. "It really helped to get that 5-0 lead and I think the wind helped, because we only scored one in the second half," Harkenrider said. "It was a pretty even game in the second half. I think we controlled it for the most part, but that wind did help in the first half." In the first half, Concordia attempted 15 corner kicks and outshot Whitko 22-0. With the field reversed for the second 40 minutes of the game, Concordia's lone goal came from sophomore Breanne Smith in the 45th minute, while the Lady Cadets only outshot the Lady Wildcats 5-2. Despite the loss, Sims was pleased with how Whitko's first season as an IHSAA-sanctioned team went. "It was a very good experience for everybody," he said about playing in the regional game. "Even for the fans. We have a lot of fans who have never seen soccer before. They've never come to a soccer game before. It mens a lot to all these girls, who've been working for 12 years and the parents who have been working for 12 years, to get this program moving for us."
FW CONCORDIA 6, WHITKO 0 C — Jaclyn Berning 12th min. C — Own Goal 14th min. C — Annalissa Kammeyer 17th min. C — Cayla Fagg (Allison Kanning) 36th min. C — Alexandra Hazzelet 38th min. C — Breanne Smith (Hanna Davis) 45th min. Shots — Concordia 27, Whitko 2; Shots on Goal — Concordia 13, Whitko 1; Saves — Concordia (Madison Biddle) 1, Whitko (Chloe Nestel) 6; Fouls (Yellow Card) — Concordia 11, Whitko 8 (Stephanie Barker); Corner Kicks — Concordia 18, Whitko 0; Records — Concordia 14-5-1, Whitko 9-3-1
