Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Traveling to South Side High School to begin sectional play on Monday night, the Warsaw girls soccer team began its second season in a very business-like fashion, as they jumped out to an early lead against Huntington North and never looked back on their way to a 4-0 victory.
Warsaw seized momentum from the first whistle and carried it for quite some time, beginning to wear their opponent out from the jump with a ton of possession time in the Huntington North end. The Lady Vikings were doing a good job for the most part of preventing those long possessions from turning into shots, but it was clear that the constant pressure from the Lady Tiger offense was making a difference early.
Twelve minutes into the game, that pressure turned into diamonds. After forcing a turnover deep in Huntington North territory, Lylah Williman turned her eyes upfield and made her way towards the net. She timed her centering pass perfectly, finding a crossing Amy Escutia, who put one touch on it and found the back of the net for an early 1-0 lead.
Upon scoring the opener, the Lady Tigers smelled blood in the water and only amplified their attack. After spending the next few minutes peppering the Lady Viking keeper with shots, Warsaw was eventually able to turn another impressive run into a goal. It was Williman once again, this time keeping the ball herself as she made a charge towards the net. She made a very nice move to create some separation from her defender and then laced a strike into the twine to make it 2-0 18 minutes into the match.
Less than a minute later, Williaman added a second goal to make it a 3-0 game. This one was a result of a poor clearance by the Huntington North defense, as the team failed to get the ball out of the box after a failed attack. The ball landed right at the feet of the senior, who chipped it in for one of the easier goals scored this season.
Now facing a deep hole to dig out of, Huntington North began showing a bit more urgency offensively after giving up the third goal. The home team on the scoreboard upped its possession time substantially over the final 20 minutes of the first half, but often found itself stifled by the Lady Tiger defense, which was doing a great job of preventing any real threats from getting through.
Warsaw ended the first half the same way they started it, by holding the ball and preventing their opponent from getting anything going at all. Holding a three-goal advantage at the break, the first 40 minutes had been a best-case scenario for the visitors.
Warsaw senior Maya Bodiker (L) stays a step ahead of Huntington North's Delaney Molitor during the first half...Nieter
Just six minutes into the second half, the Lady Tigers had a prime opportunity to add on to their lead as they were awarded a penalty kick on a foul inside the box. For what felt like the first time in the game, the Lady Vikings were able to get some momentum back on their side as goal keeper Kendal DeHaven made the save on a shot by Evie Pepper, as well as an additional stop on the follow up attempt to keep it a three-goal game.
It only stayed that way for a handful of minutes though, as outside of one corner kick and shot on goal for Huntington North, the home side was unable to do anything with the momentum generated by their keeper. Instead, the Lady Tigers got right back to business, and Escutia ended a long stretch of possession with her second goal of the game to make it 4-0 and really put things out of reach.
Even with the contest feeling decided midway through the second half, Warsaw did not stop attacking and pushing to put more goals on the scoreboard. To give DeHaven credit, she was doing her best to keep the game as close as possible, coming up with save after save as the visitors showed no signs of slowing down.
The Lady Tiger offense did not slow down until the final whistle sounded, and despite not scoring a fifth goal, the team’s performance for the duration of the 80 minutes was nothing short of complete dominance.
Warsaw (10-4-2) will take on Columbia City on Wednesday in the semifinals.
