HUNTERTOWN — Unable to capitalize on early chances against Class 1A No. 2 Blackhawk Christian, the Class 2A No. 13 Warsaw boys soccer team lost in penalty kicks in the opening round of the Carroll Tournament Thursday. Failing to score in regulation, the outcome was decided in penalty kicks, with Blackhawk coming out on top for the second-straight season against the Tigers. “It’s kind of a bitter feeling,” Warsaw coach Scott Bauer said. Warsaw entered the match with a bitter taste in its mouth as well, trying to put Wednesday night’s 3-0 Northern Lakes Conference home loss to Concord behind it. Early on, the Tigers were clearly the better team, and had great chances in the opening 10 minutes, as Warsaw strikers got good looks at the net, but couldn’t convert. Among the chances was a shot by senior Romeo Rosales that sailed just high in the third minute, then senior Tito Cuellar had his attempt sail just high as well, hitting the cross bar in the sixth minute. Cuellar had another great opportunity to give his team the lead with a penalty kick in the 26th minute, but his shot hit the post. “We felt a little snake bit,” Bauer said. “We felt like we had done enough and had enough chances that we should have put something in.” Blackhawk didn’t attempt its first shot until late in the first half, and only had three the entire match, none of which were on goal. Play continued to stay on Warsaw’s side of the field in the second half, but the chances weren’t as great as they were in the first half. Warsaw had nine shots in the match, although just one was on goal, coming off the foot of Cuellar in the 62nd minute, but Blackhawk senior goalkeeper Camden Wild was able to save it. In penalty kicks, both sides converted four of their first five attempts, leading to another five to take the field. Going deeper into the lineup to get shooters, Warsaw and Blackhawk each converted in the opening round, but both missed the second. On the eighth shooters of the shootout, Wild punched out senior Brian Jaimes shot, then his team got the win on a made attempt by senior Matt Neff. With the loss, Warsaw faces Fort Wayne Luers Saturday at 9 a.m. back at Carroll High School. Getting shut out for the second-straight night, Bauer was crediting Thursday’s as one of bad luck, although he did make some lineup changes. “We made some adjustments, trying some kids that hadn’t started like (junior) Christian Laughlin and (junior) Manuel Malagon found time for the first time this year at central defense,” he said. “I thought some of those things seemed to work out and gave us a different look.” The match will go down as a draw in the record book, but whatever it was, Bauer was pleased with the effort. “I feel like they played better than they did (Wednesday),” he said. “Even though they were tired, they rose to the challenge. I felt like we deserved to be the winner of this one, based on the amount of chances we had, but Blackhawk’s a good team.”
