Warsaw’s boys soccer team should feel right at home Saturday. Not only do the Class 2A No. 9 Tigers have the luxory of playing the semistate on their home pitch, they’re also playing at this level of the state tournament for the sixth-straight year. Both are advantages that could lead Warsaw to its third state finals trip in four seasons. “I think our experience as a team will benefit us,” said veteran coach Scott Bauer, whose team lost 1-0 in a thrilling state finals match last year with current No. 1 Columbus North. “Getting to play at home is a big motivator. We want to play well in front of our home crowd.” Marion (16-3) and Fort Wayne Canterbury (13-7-1) will play in Saturday’s first semifinal at 10 a.m., followed by Warsaw (14-2-5) and fourth-ranked Crown Point (18-0-1) at approximately noon. The winners will square off at 7 p.m. for a berth in next week’s state championship game in Indianapolis. “I really don’t know much about them,” Bauer said of Crown Point. “I know they’ve got a decent striker who might be going (NCAA) Division I. They come from the Duneland Conference, which is a strong conference. There’s pretty good soccer in northwest Indiana.” Crown Point and Warsaw squared off in the semistate final two years ago, with the Bulldogs beating the Tigers 5-3 in a penalty kick shootout after the teams were scoreless at the end of regulation and two overtimes. When asked if he would use the rematch factor as motivation for his players, Bauer said “I don’t coach that way. Playing the game of soccer should be motivation enough.” Warsaw’s path to the semistate has been exciting, to say the least. In the sectional opener, the Tigers trailed Culver Academies 3-0 before they scored four goals in the final 21 minutes to escape with a 4-3 win. After a 7-0 win over rival Plymouth in the sectional final, Warsaw used a save by junior keeper Peyton Long in a PK shootout to propel it to a regional semifinal win over South Bend St. Joe. The Tigers then beat conference foe Nortridge 1-0 in the regional final, avenging a 1-0 loss to the Raiders in the regular season. “We need to take advantage of our opportunities Saturday,” said Bauer. “We need to create possession and finish our opportunities.” In four postseason games, Crown Point has outscored its opponents 19-1. En route to their sectional championship, the Bulldogs beat Merrillville 5-0 and Kankakee Valley 6-0. In the regional, Crown Point topped Lake Central 5-1 and No. 14 Chesterton 3-0. So far this season, 11 different players have scored at least one goal for the Tigers. Senior Zack Tucker leads the way with 11, followed by junior Tito Cuellar (10), junior Sam Allbritten (9), senior Matt Williams (5), senior Miguel Rivera (4) and junior Manuel Rodriguez (3). Senior Stephen Kolbe has scored twice for the Tigers. Bauer said Kolbe could be the key to winning another semistate title. “It’s an advantage in that we haven’t faced a team that has a faster player,” Bauer said of Kolbe’s speed. “If he plays focused, we should be able to keep everyone in front of us.” In a loaded southern semistate, No. 3 Evansville Memorial plays No. 10 Center Grove in one semifinal, while top-ranked Columbus North and No. 2 Avon square off in the other. “I would imagine whoever wins the barn-burner between Columbus North and Avon would be favored to win that semistate,” said Bauer.
