The Plymouth boys soccer team may only have one win over the 16th-ranked Warsaw Tigers in the past nine years, but that doesn't result in a lack of intensity.
In the latest episode of the Plymouth/Warsaw rivalry, the two squads battled through 35 fouls and two yellow cards for a 1-1 Northern Lakes Conference tie at Warsaw Community High School Thursday."We always count on this being a real physical game," Plymouth coach Josh Martin said. "I was pretty pleased there weren't cheap shots. There was just a lot of physical play with elbows, guys shouldering each other off the ball and a lot of physical contact when we were in the air going up for 50/50 balls. We knew it was going to be physical like that."
The physical play resulted in even distribution of fouls, with 18 going Plymouth's way and 17 going to Warsaw. The yellow cards were also handed out as evenly as the score, with Warsaw sophomore Corey Lopez and Plymouth junior Milton Castellano each getting whistled after a first-half shoving match.
In the end, Warsaw coach Scott Bauer was pleased with the effort his young Tigers (1-0-2) put forth in the first NLC game of the season.
"They're a senior-laden club," he said about the 3-0-1 Rockies. "They started eight seniors and three juniors, and we start one senior and a lot of underclassmen. I was really proud of the way the boys responded mentally and physically to kids that are older than them."
Warsaw's youngest player netted their lone goal, with freshman Diego Lopez knotting the score at 1-1 with 8:49 remaining in the first half off a direct kick from sophomore Lake Price from 10 yards past midfield.
The goal is Lopez's third in three games, offering Bauer the second Lopez in as many years with dazzling moves who can score at anytime.
"Diego's slightly different from his brother (Corey)," Bauer said. "His brother can be more of a slasher, and he's got more speed, but Diego has a sleight of hand in his game. He has an ability to unbalance defenders and do some dangerous things. We're really pleased with his progress."
Diego's goal came just two minutes after Plymouth senior Todd Vervynckt scored off a deflection with 10:52 remaining in the opening half.
With 23:25 left in the game, Vervynckt almost gave his team the lead once again, but a shot from just inside the 18, ricocheted off the crossbar, going straight down, inches outside the goal line.
"He's got some kind of curse I think," Martin said, referencing a Vervynckt shot in last season's sectional against Warsaw that did the same thing. "The crossbar curse against Warsaw. We always count on him to create some space for himself and get some good scoring opportunities. He's actually suffering a stomach flu tonight, and he wasn't feeling so hot. But he got a little space for that shot, took it, and we didn't get the bounce we wanted."
Luckily for the Tigers, the shot didn't break the goal line, preserving the tie as the team continues to gel on offense.
With a speedy offense featuring the Lopez brothers, sophomore José Rodriguez and junior Noah Price, Warsaw looks to have a bevy of talent. It's just getting time with each other on the field to make it all come together.
"We've got some very nice players," Bauer said. "Noah Price and José Rodriguez have a nice partnership at midfield. Corey Lopez and his brother Diego also have a nice partnership up front. We're just a few steps away from making some more connections and finding the back of the net."
The Lopez brothers nearly found that connection with 7:17 remaining when Corey was able to put a header on Diego cross. The only problem is, the ball hit the right goal post, helping leave the game in a tie.
The result leaves both squads with 0-0-1 records in the NLC, leaving both very much in the race for a conference title.
"I think Plymouth is going to be one of the top teams in the conference," Bauer said. "That means we should be shooting for that as well. We're in the conference race. This doesn't hurt us at all. We've still got to go out and take on six more and we're looking forward to it."
