PLYMOUTH – Using motivation from a loss to Concord last year, Warsaw’s varsity girls soccer team opened the Northern Lakes Conference season with a convincing win at Plymouth Tuesday night.
With four different players scoring goals, the Class 3A No. 10 Lady Tigers beat the host Plymouth Rockies 4-0 at Kindt Field.
Both teams are 3-1 overall this season, with Warsaw’s loss coming Saturday to defending state champion Evansville Memorial.
The Lady Tigers, said second-year coach Jon Hoover, feel like they let a win against NLC?rival Concord get away last year.
As they chase their goal of a conference title, the focus is to finish games. That’s exactly what the Lady Tigers did against Plymouth, turning a 1-0 halftime lead into a convincing win over a team that had outscored its three previous opponents 20-1.
“We still look back at last year and think we let a team take us out of the conference race when we lost to Concord in a game we probably shouldn’t have lost,” said Hoover. “We’re trying to attack every game as if we remember that, realizing that every game we play in the conference is a conference championship. We can’t let any team by.
“Coming out tonight I felt like they understood that. The girls moved the ball well. We didn’t finish like we should, but their keeper had a great game, and on another night we’ll probably put a few more goals in.”
The Lady Tigers outshot Plymouth 18-8.
Warsaw goalie Kaylee Patton made eight saves in the win, while Plymouth’s CeCe Robinson stopped 14 shots.
Juniors Abby Steffensmeier and Delaney Taylor, sophomore Audrey Grimm and freshman Carissa Koontz all scored a goal for Warsaw.
Taylor, who last week broke the program’s career record for assists, added two more Tuesday night, while freshman Kierstin Parker and Grimm had one assist each.
“We had four different players score, which has been great for us,” said Hoover. “We’ve had at least five players score this season, if not more. That’s a testament to them ... they trust each other, they move the ball, they don’t lean on one person.
“Abby scores a lot of goals, but it’s not because we shove it to her every time. She works, and people work off her. It’s exciting to see that anyone on the field can score.”
The Lady Tigers are in action again Thursday when they host NLC foe NorthWood.
