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It wasn't the prettiest boys soccer game ever seen. As a matter of fact, Warsaw boys soccer coach Corey Rose was so frustrated that he said he didn't know who he coached Thursday at the CCAC.
Despite that, Warsaw found a way to score a single goal and pick up a 1-1 tie with Concord in the Northern Lakes Conference opener for the Tigers.
"I look at this as a loss," Rose said. "The team that was out here playing I didn't even recognize it. From the last three games that we played to this game, we've taken 10 giant steps backwards."
For most of the game, Concord was the aggressor and was much more physical than Warsaw. The Minutemen had several good scoring opportunities throughout the game, but Tigers' goalie Rudy Ramirez made numerous saves.
In the first half, Warsaw got just four shots compared to nine from Concord. Although the Minutemen had the majority of the chances to put the ball in the net, the score was knotted at 0-0 at the half.
In half No. 2, Concord struck first on a bouncing ball in the Warsaw goal mouth that Ryan Peterson finally got control of and directed into the net with 32:29 to play in the game.
From that point on, Concord was content to stick by the phrase, "The best offense is a good defense." The Minutemen packed it in defensively to keep the Tigers from getting any good shots on goal. Concord, however, rarely had any scoring opportunities, and the Warsaw offense began to wear out the Minutemen defense.
Just six minutes after Concord's goal, junior Gabe Koser thought he had tied the game, but his goal was called off because of an offsides call.
The Tigers continued to get shots and sophomore Brian Watson finally tied the game on an assist from Cocoy Santillana with just over six minutes left to play.
Both Warsaw and Concord had a few more opportunities, but neither team could put anything in the net.
"Concord is one of the top teams in the conference," Rose said. "But we have to win every game in the conference. If we don't win every game left, we won't win conference. It's going to be that tough. There are some up-and-coming teams and someone's going to go undefeated."
After the Tigers started 0-4-1 last year, Rose said that if this team could get off to a better start then there could be some good things from this team. Warsaw has begun 2-1-1 and Rose continues to think that this team has great potential.
"The moment right now is real depressing and a real down note for me because they were playing so well," Rose said. "I don't know if Concord was as strong as teams that we've been playing, but we got a wake-up call today in this game."
For the game, Rudy Ramirez made 11 saves on 16 Concord shots, while Minutemen goalie Brian Kaminskis stopped 12 of 14 Warsaw shots.
Warsaw (2-1-1, 0-0-1) will host Bishop Luers Saturday at the CCAC beginning at 10 a.m.
WARSAW 1, CONCORD 1
Concord 0 1 - 1
Warsaw 0 1 - 1
Scoring - Second half: 32:29, Ryan Peterson (Concord), 1-0 Concord. 6:05, Brian Watson (Warsaw), Cocoy Santillana assist, 1-1 tie.
Shots on goal - Concord 16, Warsaw 14. Saves - Brian Kaminskis 12, Rudy Ramirez 11.
