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Generally, Warsaw boys soccer coach Scott Bauer said Saturday evening, rival Wawasee gives his Tigers fits.
Mishaps against the Warriors have taken Warsaw out of contention for the Northern Lakes Conference championship and left the Tigers downright frustrated, like last year's 1-0 setback in Syracuse.
Not this year. Not on Warsaw's senior night and first home night game at the City-County Athletic Complex. And certainly not after the way the Tigers came out firing in the first half.
A night after Wawasee's football team drubbed Warsaw by scoring 28 points in the first quarter, the Tigers came out and took control early in the other kind of football game, scoring six first-half goals en route to an 8-1 win over the Warriors.
"This was one of those years where we were technically a better team," said Bauer, whose 20th-ranked Tigers improved to 14-0-1 overall and 6-0 in the NLC. "We played hard and had a better feel for the game. It was senior night and we came out with a lot of energy. We also played a lot of our bench. We weren't going to be tired because they (the bench players) came out with a lot of energy, too."
The win set up a showdown at Plymouth Tuesday for the NLC championship. The game is slated to start at 5 p.m. Plymouth enters the highly anticipated conference clash with a 5-0-1 mark in NLC action, the draw coming to Northridge.
Warsaw, which seemed to be able to do what it wanted because of its team speed, scored its first goal in the seventh minute when Jake Rogers sent a corner kick to David Dominguez.
The Tigers scored just under four minutes later, and then again five minutes later.
Warsaw scored its fourth goal with 10:38 remaining in the first half and then added two more over the next five minutes.
"We had no pressure on them in the first half," said Wawasee coach Paul Boyd. "We laid off. They were able to do whatever they wanted."
The loss kept Wawasee winless in the NLC, dropping them to 6-8 overall and 0-6 in conference action.
The Warriors host Concord Tuesday.
"Wawasee generally gives us fits," said Bauer. "They've cost us a share of the conference championship before. They always play with a lot of energy and passion. This was just one of those years where he had the sounder side."
The Warriors cut the lead to 6-1 when Austin Kaiser made good on penalty kick.
Warsaw scored 38 seconds later when junior Austin Evans assisted classmate Adam Wishart.
The Tigers scored the final goal of the game with just over five minutes to play.
WARSAW 8, WAWASEE 1
Records: Warsaw 14-0-1, 6-0 NLC; Wawasee 6-8, 0-6 NLC
