HUNTERTOWN – Saturday’s varsity boys soccer game at Carroll High School may have left the Warsaw Tigers questioning what might have been. In a battle of top 20 teams in the Class 2A state rankings, No. 7 Warsaw dominated the majority of the game, while the host and 16th-ranked Chargers controlled the latter stages of the contest. The end result was a 1-1 draw, leaving the Tigers with a season record of 6-0-5, while Carroll is now 10-0-3. If Carroll senior goalkeeper Michael Didion hadn’t made a save on Warsaw senior Matt Williams’ penalty kick in the 30th minute, the game may have been very different. The Tigers were already leading 1-0 at that point, having scored in the eighth minute when junior Tito Cuellar took an assist from Williams and headed it into the goal, and the PK goal would have given Warsaw even more control. “I thought we had a good first half, we created possession and we had some opportunities,” said Warsaw coach Scott Bauer. “Carroll picked it up in the second half. And if they don’t stop the penalty kick, that would have changed the dynamics of the game.” Carroll coach Rollie Clements, whom Bauer said he looks up to as a mentor, called Didion’s save the play of the game. “That was the play of the game,” said Clements. “Warsaw is a quality program and we have a lot of respect for them. We didn’t want to be down to 2-0.” The Chargers trailed the majority of the game as it was. Despite a number of chances, Carroll couldn’t put a shot past Warsaw junior keeper Peyton Long. The Chargers finally got on the board when junior Jacob Till scored on an assist from classmate Zach Tom in the 70th minute of the 80-minute match. “I thought we had some good possession,” said Clements. “We were finally able to get one past them. Their keeper did a great job.” Carroll took 11 shots in the game, seven of them on goal, and had three corner kicks. Warsaw took five shots, two of them on goal, and also had three corners. Just as Clements spoke highly of the Tigers, Bauer was respectful of the Chargers and their coach. “They’re a quality program year in and year out,” said Bauer, whose team has played the Chargers multiple times in the semistate round of the state tournament. “I’ve known Rollie for 13 years. I think of him as a mentor. They’re a very well-coached team.” The Tigers are in action again Tuesday when they host Northern Lakes Conference opponent NorthWood.
WARSAW 1, CARROLL 1 W – Tito Cuellar (Matt Williams assist) 8th min C – Jacob Till (Zach Tom assist) 70th min Shots – Warsaw 5, Carroll 11; Shots on goal – Warsaw 2, Carroll 7; Corners – Warsaw 3, Carroll 3 Records: Warsaw 6-0-5, Carroll 10-0-3 JV – Warsaw 2, Carroll 1 Warsaw goals – Zach Lewis, Pedro Monsivais Warsaw assists – Brady Yeiter 2 Warsaw JV record: 4-2-1
