No. 2 Warsaw scores three goals in second half of victory
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Dale Hubler-dhubler@timesuniononline.com
There was no threat of rain Thursday evening. Warsaw Community High School's varsity boys soccer team, however, did open the flood gates. Playing on their home pitch for the first time this season, the Class 2A No. 2 Tigers poured it on in the second half and opened Northern Lakes Conference play with a 3-0 win over the Plymouth Rockies. The Tigers, who dominated play in the first half but didn't score until the 53rd minute of action, improved to 3-0-1 on the season. “We've had a run of play like that lately where we've had opportunities but not cashed in for long periods of time,” said veteran Warsaw coach Scott Bauer. “I liked the stuff we were doing (in the first half), we just didn't finish. I told the guys at halftime to keep doing what they were doing and we'd get a goal or two in the second half.” Junior Tito Cuellar scored what turned out to be the game-winning goal in the 53rd minute off an assist from junior Manuel Rodriguez, while senior Zach Tucker scored seven minutes later and senior Miguel Rivera rounded out the scoring with a free kick in the 69th minute of the 80-minute contest. “What happens with this team is we come out and play patiently for 20 minutes or whatever,” said Bauer. “If we don't get a goal to fall, we play with a little more desire, and that's what happened tonight.” The loss was Plymouth’s first of the season, as the Rockies fell to 2-1-0 overall and 0-1-0 in NLC action. “It’s big,” Bauer said of opening conference play with a win. “Plymouth is an improved team from last year. They’re athletic and they play hard, they’re just not as technical.” The Tigers took 12 shots in the game, six of them on goal, and had nine corner kicks. Plymouth, on the other hand, took one shot and one corner. Warsaw opened its season with three matches in Fort Wayne, where they defeated Concord and Northrop and tied DeWitt, a team from Michigan. Bauer, whose team hits the road again Saturday to play the Penn Kingsmen, said his players were excited to play a home match Thursday evening. “The guys were excited about playing in front of their home crowd,” said Bauer. “We came out with a lot more gusto. We have a great crowd. We always have great support.”
WARSAW 3, PLYMOUTH 0 W – Tito Cuellar 53rd min W – Zach Tucker 60th min W – Miguel Rivera 69th min Shots – Warsaw 12, Plymouth 1; Shots on goal – Warsaw 6; Corners – Warsaw 9, Plymouth 1 Records: Warsaw 3-0-1 (1-0-0 NLC), Plymouth 2-1-0 (0-1-0 NLC) JV – Warsaw 1, Plymouth 1
