PLYMOUTH – Warsaw girls soccer coach Dan Miller described Abby Schue as a "presence in goal." The Lady Tigers' sophomore goal-stopper certainly made her presence felt Thursday when her team's sectional semifinal game with the host Plymouth Rockies went to a penalty-kick shootout. After the two Northern Lakes Conference teams battled to a 1-1 tie through 80 minutes of regulation and two seven-minute overtime periods, Schue certainly had a hand – or actually two hands – in the Lady Tigers' 2-1 win as they beat Plymouth 3-2 in penalty kicks. "Abby Schue is a presence in goal," said Miller. "She made that first save (in the penalty kick shootout), and that was huge. We've only given up six goals all year. Abby Schue has done a great job all season." Plymouth kicked first during the shootout, and Schue stopped senior Maggie Morrow's attempt. Warsaw's Emily Williamson then put the ball past Plymouth senior keeper Alayna Holmquest with the Lady Tigers' first attempt, giving them the advantage. In all, Schue stopped three of Plymouth's five shots during the shootout, while Warsaw put three of its four attempts past Holmquest. "We worked on it a lot this week," Miller said when asked how much time his team has spent on penalty kicks in practice. "Honestly, I thought this could happen, and the girls were prepared." Warsaw's only goal in regulation came via a penalty kick in the 74th minute. Trailing 1-0 and desperately needing to put something together, the Lady Tigers benefited from a foul in the box. Junior Erica Gauger made good on the PK and momentum's gate took a huge swing Warsaw's way. "I think Erica Gauger earned that PK," said Miller. "They were either gonna have to foul her, or she was gonna get through. I'd like to think it had to do with the pressure we were putting on them. Erica did a great job knocking it in." Plymouth's lone goal in regulation came in the 33rd minute when Allie Wright scored on an assist from Krista Vanlue. With that goal, Plymouth, which fell 1-0 at Warsaw on Aug. 23, had momentum on its side. Holmquest made save after save as the Lady Tigers outshot them. Gauger's PK, however, not only tied the game, but seemed to take the wind out of Plymouth's sail. And after 14 scoreless minutes of overtime, it was Schue's time to shine. Now the Lady Tigers will play conference foe NorthWood Saturday at 7 p.m. for the sectional championship, while Plymouth ended its season with a 4-6-6 record. NorthWood (9-4-4) advanced by beating Culver Girls Academy (4-10-2) by a 4-1 score in Thursday's second semifinal game. Warsaw, now 12-2-2 on the season, beat NorthWood 2-0 Aug. 25 in Nappanee.
