ARGOS - For the seventh time in eight years, the Warsaw Tigers and Plymouth Rockies will meet up at the Argos Sectional.
After dispatching the Manchester Squires 11-1 Thursday in the first round of the Argos Sectional, the 20th-ranked Tigers boys soccer team is set to meet a familiar foe in the Rockies, who defeated Argos 4-0 in the night's first game."There's some confidence going into the Plymouth game," Warsaw coach Scott Bauer said about the sectional championship Saturday at 7 p.m. in Argos. "At the same time, we know Plymouth's a dangerous squad as well, and they're capable of taking it to us. So, we need to bring our best effort."
The two Northern Lakes Conference teams met up at Warsaw Community High School on Aug. 27, when the two teams played to a 1-1 tie. Since then, Bauer believes his team has improved.
"When we played Plymouth earlier in the year, we were still trying to find our identity," Bauer said. "I'm not sure these guys knew how good they could be, and I think they've turned into a better futbol team than they thought they might this year."
The championship match is familiar territory for the Tigers, who have won six sectional titles since joining the Argos Sectional in 2000. During that span, Warsaw has met Plymouth six times, including three matchups in the finals, with Warsaw winning all of the title bouts. The only time Warsaw fell to Plymouth was in 2007, when the Rockies prevailed 2-1 on penalty kicks in the first round.
Prior to getting another shot at the 15-1-2 Rockies, the Tigers (10-4-4) first had to deal with the Squires (7-9-1) on a cold, wet Eugene Snyder Field.
Just 20 seconds into the game, Warsaw's Brody Reinholt had a shot right in front of the goal, but Manchester's Dylan Grossnickle was able to post one of his seven saves on the night.
However, when Joey Hickerson scored at the 34:24 mark, it was only the beginning of the offensive outburst, as Warsaw netted five first-half goals from five different players.
On the night, only Xavier Arellaes scored multiple goals, with two.
"Corey (Lopez) only had one, Diego (Lopez) didn't have any, so there must have been nine or 10 that did score," Bauer said.
Corey Lopez's one goal was his 18th on the season, placing him third in the Warsaw record books for goals in a season, trailing Jesse Sharp's 19 in 2006 and Jake Rogers' 20 in 2003. The goal, coupled with his two assists in the game, also drew Corey Lopez into a tie with Rogers' 2003 mark of 45 points in a season. The only person to score more than 45 points in a season for the Tigers was Sharp, who posted 46 in 2008 and 48 in 2006.
While Corey Lopez was making his way through the record books, the rest of the Tigers were maneuvering through the Squires defense.
On top of the scores from Hickerson, Corey Lopez and Arellaes, Warsaw received goals from Ian Crines, Andros Gonzales, Reinholt, Noah Price, Isaiah Garza, Eli Price and Grant Allbritten.
"It's just really hard to tell some of these guys that you bring up from (junior varsity), for sectionals, not to take the (scoring) opportunity when they have it," Bauer said about the goal total reaching 11.
"I'm happy for the guys, but at the same time, we had to pull the starters for the second half," he added. "Manchester kept working and didn't give up."
Manchester did get its first, and only, shot on goal with 21:44 remaining in the game, and Kegan McNeeley made it count, scoring on the play.
Manchester ended its season with a 7-9-1 record.
WARSAW 11, MANCHESTER 1
W - Joey Hickerson (Corey Lopez) 6th min.
W - Ian Crines (Jose Rodriguez) 22nd min.
W - Andros Gonzales (Lopez) 28th min.
W - Brody Reinholt 35th min.
W - Lopez 40th min.
W - Noah Price 42nd min.
W - Xavier Arellaes (Gonzales) 53rd min.
W - Arellaes 58th min.
M - Kegan McNeeley 59th min.
W - Isaiah Garza (Gonzales) 65th min.
W - Eli Price 66th min.
W - Grant Allbritten 77th min.
Shots on Goal - Warsaw 19, Manchester 1; Saves - Warsaw (David Johnson, Michael Yantz) 0, Manchester (Dylan Grossnickle) 7; Corner Kicks - Warsaw 13, Manchester 1; Fouls - Warsaw 6, Manchester 2; Offsides - Warsaw 0, Manchester 0; Records: Warsaw 10-4-4, Manchester 7-9-1
