Kolbe's late goal pushes Warsaw to 1-1 draw with Concord
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Dale Hubler-dhubler@timesuniononline.com
It wasn’t a win, but it wasn’t a loss either. Despite being outplayed the majority of Wednesday night’s high school boys soccer game by Northern Lakes Conference rival Concord, the host Warsaw Tigers got a goal from junior Stephen Kolbe with just over a minute remaining and escaped with a 1-1 tie. Both teams are now 5-0-1 overall. The Minutemen, ranked 16th in the latest state poll, are 2-0-1 in NLC play, while the second-ranked Tigers are 1-0-1. “We are very fortunate to get a tie,” said assistant coach Frank Courtois, still guiding the Tigers while head coach Scott Bauer serves a suspension. “We were not prepared mentally, and Concord came to play. They came to take us out. We had a couple of opportunities, but we did not play Warsaw soccer.” The Tigers have won the last three NLC titles in boys soccer. They beat Concord twice last year – in Dunlap during the regular season, and with PKs in the regional semifinal at Mishawaka. Wednesday night, the Minutemen beat Warsaw on the field, just not on the scoreboard. “I’m proud of how my boys played tonight,” said Concord coach Shawn McCuen. “We talked and talked about how Warsaw knocked us out of the conference and the regional last year. If we want respect in the conference and around the state, this is a team we have to beat.” Concord took 10 shots, nine of which were stopped by Warsaw senior goalie Michael Yantz. The Tigers got off five shots, four of which turned into saves by Minutemen senior Sergio Ortiz. Concord took a 1-0 lead in the 58th minute of the 80-minute game when senior J.J. Milnamow scored on an assist from classmate Jadon Chupp. The way Warsaw was being outhustled and outplayed, it appeared the Minutemen were gonna leave town after upsetting the No. 2 team in the state. That is until Kolbe scored in the 79th minute, sending the Tigers’ cheering section into a frenzy. “Their redhead made a hell of a shot,” McCuen said of Kolbe. “It was a physical, hard-fought game. Soccer is a fickle game. It’s why you play for 80 minutes. The last 15 minutes we played not to lose, instead of playing to win. If Warsaw wins their sectional, and we win our sectional, we could see them again in the regional. Hopefully we learned something tonight.”
