ARGOS - For the second year in a row, the 20th-ranked Warsaw boys soccer team ended the Marion Giants' season at the regional.
However, following the 2-1 victory over the Giants (14-6) on Eugene Snyder Field in Argos, it was the Tigers (12-4-4) who were bitter, sitting on the bench before shaking hands after the game.The hurt feelings undoubtedly stemmed from officials awarding Marion senior Keaton Whitehead a goal with 30:19 remaining that tied the game at 1-1.
"My players still tell me that wasn't a goal," Warsaw coach Scott Bauer said.
The called-goal occurred after a free kick, which caused Warsaw junior goalkeeper David Johnson to leave the box, and get tripped up. As Johnson was on the ground, Whitehead shot from the right post, and appeared to shoot just right of the goal.
Following a discussion with the line judge, the head official awarded Marion the goal, causing a bit of hysteria on the field, which included the Warsaw bench receiving a yellow card.
"I was just asking them to explain how the ball got outside the net, and there's no holes in the net," Bauer said. "'Tell me what your logic is for making that a goal.'"
The goal did appear to be right of the post, as even Whitehead walked away with his head in his hands following the shot. Regardless, the goal counted to the only people that mattered - the officials.
Following the score, Warsaw played impassioned, and eventually retook the lead when Joey Hickerson crossed a header in front of the Marion goal, which freshman Nate Kolbe put a foot on for the score with 21:26 to play.
"We let the foot off the pedal there in the beginning of the second half, but then we got remotivated when they were given that goal," Bauer said.
Coupled with a Noah Price score at the 38:11 mark in the first half, the Kolbe score advanced Warsaw into the regional finals for the second straight year.
"I'm happy for the boys," said Bauer. "They played with a lot of passion when they needed to. I wish for 80 minutes of that, rather than 30."
The Tigers now face the 18-0 Logansport Berries Saturday in the 4 p.m. Argos Regional championship.
Logansport reached the finals by defeating the North Miami Warriors 1-0 in Wednesday's first semifinal, and was beaten 10-2 by Warsaw in last year's regional in Logansport.
"Logansport plays a bit more technically and with more possession than Marion," Bauer said. "That fits us a little bit better. Marion has a lot of speed up top, so we had to make adjustments. I think the Logansport game will be a good match for us."
Just as they ended Logansport's season a year ago, Warsaw also defeated Marion 3-0 in that regional, so Bauer's boys knew what to expect from the Giants.
"Their style of play hasn't changed," Bauer said. "They have some quick players and we knew they'd try to play those players through. I just encouraged my guys to concede early and take up that space behind us, at least until we could find out how fast they were."
While Marion was fast, Warsaw was also without two of its quickest players, with starting sophomore midfielder Jose Rodriguez and forward Diego Lopez out with the flu.
"I told the guys before the match, 'If you lose this, I'm not going to use an excuse about us not having two players. You can dig deep. You can beat this team with what we've got.'" Bauer said.
Warsaw did dig down, and now have a chance to return to the Fort Wayne Snider Semistate with a win Saturday.
"Our confidence level is pretty high," Bauer said. "The guys have won a lot of close matches. We've been up and down, and came from behind against teams that were diligent and tried to put us away. The guys feel like they have a good rhythm and we can handle the pressure."
WARSAW 2, MARION 1
(Argos Regional Semifinal)
W - Noah Price 11th min.
M - Keaton Whitehead 49th min.
W - Nate Kolbe (Joey Hickerson) 58th min.
Shots on Goal - Warsaw 8, Marion 5; Saves - Warsaw (David Johnson) 4, Marion (Davron Williams) 6; Corner Kicks - Warsaw 2, Marion 3; Fouls (Yellow Cards) - Warsaw 11 (bench, Tony Climaco), Marion 13 (Cortland Weatherspoon, Kyle Arenas); Offsides - Warsaw 2, Marion 1; Records: Warsaw 12-4-4, Marion 14-6
