Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Warsaw head boys soccer coach Scott Bauer believes his team is close to putting points on the scoreboard.
The Tigers came close in two games of their own Warsaw Invite falling to Andrean 4-1 in the semifinal and beating Lakeland Christian Academy 1-0 in the consolation match Saturday at the City-County Athletic Complex.
The four-team event also saw Fort Wayne Carroll, who won the event with a 3-0 win over Andrean in the championship.
The Chargers opened up the day with a 2-1 win over LCA. Luke Stichter scored the Cougars' lone goal on an assist from Kenny Fawley.
Brian Blocker had six saves in goal for LCA.
Warsaw got behind the eight ball early in its opening contest with Andrean.
The 59ers got goals from Andy Masteller, Cameron Vance, Johnathan Trzupek and Cameron Panther leaving the Tigers shell shocked.
Warsaw got its lone goal on the foot of Austin Evans while Justin Evans had nine saves in goal for the Tigers.
In the consolation match between the two county rivals, Warsaw overcame Lakeland's packed in defense and took the lead late in the first half when senior Jake Rogers booted a rocket toward the Cougars' Brian Blocher with the ball squirting through LCA goalie's wickets.
LCA was content to pack in its defense and keep the Tigers out of any offensive continuity. Warsaw was unfazed by the Cougars defensive tactics and got 14 shots on goal and earned four corner kicks.
Warsaw freshman Jesse Sharp showed some skill and had several shots on goal but came up empty.
Blocher needed to make several diving saves to keep the Tigers from extending their lead. Blocher finished with five saves in the contest while his counterpart Warsaw's Aaron Hammond didn't have to defend a shot on goal.
The Tiger faithful held its collective breath late in the second half as midfielder Tony Perales went down after getting tangled up with a Cougar defender.
Perales fell victim to cramps in both his legs due to the muggy late-summer afternoon.
It's the Tiger offense however, that has cramped up a bit as of late.
Warsaw managed just two goals Saturday despite having plenty of upperclassmen and talented younger players such as Sharp.
"Today is pretty consistent with how we've been playing this year," said Bauer. "I've got four or five attacking seniors. We're just a little snake-bit right now."
The Tigers came into the weekend's matches after two ties against strong Concord and Elkhart Memorial squads including a scoreless tie against the Minutemen.
In recent years LCA has played the Tigers quite tough by using an aggressive, defensive attack while mixing in times of offensive aggression.
The Cougars, who graduated several players including the dynamic Bemba Sylla, off of last year's squad, seemed to lack a scoring threat against Warsaw.
Along with failing to get a shot on goal against the Tigers, LCA spent precious little time on Warsaw half of the field.
"We put together our play pretty well," said Bauer. "LCA did what they had to do to contend."
Warsaw moves to 3-2-2 on the season and is in action Tuesday at the CCAC against Northern Lakes Conference combatant NorthWood before taking part in the South Bend Clay Invite Saturday.
The Cougars are in action Tuesday when they travel to Culver at 4:30 p.m.
WARSAW BOYS SOCCER INVITE
FW CARROLL 2, LCA 1
ANDREAN 4, WARSAW 1
WARSAW 1, LCA 0 (consolation)
Warsaw scoring - Jake Rogers (unassisted)
Saves - Brian Blocher (LCA) 5, Aaron Hammon (Warsaw) 0
Shots/Corners - LCA 4/0, Warsaw 14/4
Championship - Carroll 3, Andrean 0
