FORT WAYNE - The 20th-ranked Warsaw boys soccer team must have a vendetta against the North Central Conference, because the Tigers keep plucking them off one-by-one.
In the three-consecutive matches, the Tigers ended the seasons of the Marion Giants, Logansport Berries and Muncie Central Bearcats, the latest coming Monday in a semistate semifinal match.Playing in the Fort Wayne Snider Semistate on Hefner Fields at The Plex, the Tigers (14-4-4) ended the Bearcats' (15-4) season, beating them 3-1.
The win pits Warsaw against defending semistate champion Homestead today at 4 p.m. at The Plex, a rematch of last year's semistate final, which Homestead won 1-0.
"We're a lot younger than we were last year," Warsaw head coach Scott Bauer said. "We were a seasoned squad last year and I think we were able to handle the ups and downs of the season with a little bit more composure than these guys. Every player's going to have to sell out for his mates for us to have a chance against Homestead. They're a quality side and we need to step up from the start of the game and play 80 games of intense and purposeful soccer."
The 13th-ranked Homestead Spartans (16-4-1) reached the finals by defeating Northridge 2-1 in goal kicks Monday, and defeated Warsaw 3-1 on Sept. 5 at the Carroll Tournament.
"They have Kegan Harkenrider, and he's up for player of the year," Bauer said of the Spartans. "He's a very talented individual. They've got some nice wide players and they like to spread the field. It's a matchup that causes problems for us, because we play 3-flat. We're going to have to make some adjustments to prevent them from flanking us."
If the Tigers can get past the Spartans, they'll be among the final four teams in the state, who will play at Kuntz Memorial Stadium in Indianapolis in the state finals.
Prior to thinking of any of that, Warsaw first had to deal with Muncie Central, which wasn't too difficult.
"They're a good team," Muncie Central coach Shea Hill said about Warsaw. "This is the first time for our school to get past regionals. Every dynasty has to start with building blocks to get the program somewhere it's never been before."
In the eighth minute of the match, sophomore Corey Lopez found his freshman brother Diego Lopez for a goal, giving Corey the Warsaw single-season record for points in a season with 49.
Diego struck 17 minutes later, this time off an assist from sophomore José Rodriguez, giving the Tigers a 2-0 lead with 14:50 remaining in the half.
"It's nice having those kind of the players up front with Corey and Diego, and having the midfield attackers behind them in Ian (Crines), José and Noah Price. When the guys get opportunities, and they can create for us, they're good finishers."
Crines rounded out the scoring for the Tigers, netting a goal with 12:08 to play in the half, putting Warsaw out of reach at 3-0.
"We came out a little bit - as much as I hate to say it, because it's the one thing we talked to them about was coming out in awe," Hill said. "We talked about not coming out thinking, 'Oh my gosh, we're at semistate. Let's just have fun.'
Even though they did get a 3-0 halftime lead, Bauer also felt his guys came out a bit flat.
"I didn't think we came out all that strong in the first half," he said. "I didn't think we had the sense of urgency we needed for playing in the semistate. I think that was across the board, at all positions."
After getting seven shots on goal in the opening half, the Warsaw attack subdued in the second, getting three shots, the first not coming until 21:02 remained in the match.
While Warsaw wasn't getting as many chances, Muncie Central wasn't either, only getting two shots on the goal the entire match. One did get through, that coming off the foot of junior Spenser Smith with 33:06 to play.
WARSAW 3, MUNCIE CENTRAL 1
(FW Snider Semistate Semifinal)
W - Diego Lopez (Corey Lopez) 8th min.
W - D. Lopez (José Rodriguez) 25th min.
W - Ian Crines 27th min.
M - Spenser Smith (Neil Chalupa) 46th min.
Shots on Goal - Warsaw 10, Muncie Central 2; Saves - Warsaw (David Johnson) 1, Muncie Central (Samuel Parker) 7; Corner Kicks - Warsaw 11, Muncie Central 2; Fouls (Yellow Card) - Warsaw 21, Muncie Central 10 (Chalupa); Offsides - Warsaw 0, Muncie Central 0; Records: Warsaw 14-4-4, Muncie Central 15-4
