FORT WAYNE – Officially, Warsaw’s boys soccer game at Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian Thursday evening will go down as a scoreless tie. In terms of bracketing for the Carroll Classic, however, the Class 2A No. 4 Tigers lost 5-3 in a penalty kick shootout with the 1A No. 8 Braves. One night after the Tigers were involved in a physical, emotional 1-1 game at Northern Lakes Conference rival Concord, they created chances to score at Blackhawk but didn’t finish. As a result, Warsaw now stands at 3-0-4 on the season and will not repeat as champions of the Carroll Classic. The Tigers will play again Saturday at 9 a.m. at Carroll High School, where they will face the loser of tonight’s game between Homestead and South Side. “I’m proud of the guys,” said Warsaw coach Scott Bauer, whose team was without the services of Zack Tucker after the senior midfielder was red-carded in the draw at Concord. “They played with heart,” continued Bauer. “They didn’t let the fatigue from the game at Concord become a factor. We created some chances. Both teams had chances. It was a fun game to watch.” But not a fun result for the Tigers, who have never had to play in the loser’s bracket of the annual tournament. “It’s disappointing being on the losing side of the bracket now,” said Bauer. “We haven’t been on that side, that’s a first for us. It’ll be a difficult task getting them ready to play Saturday.” Warsaw took three shots in the 80 minutes of regulation, one of them on goal, and had two corner kicks. Blackhawk, which is now 4-1-1 on the season, took five shots, one on goal, and had six corner kicks. Though the game officially goes down as a draw, the Braves and their fans certainly treated it like a victory. After Blackhawk put five PKs past Warsaw junior keeper Peyton Long, its student section created a tunnel for the Braves to walk through. They celebrated as if they had just won a sectional championship, rather than advancing to Saturday’s 11 a.m. game at Carroll against either Homestead or South Side. “Those were five very good PKs,” Bauer said of the Braves, who got successful penalty kicks from five seniors – Aaron Jones, James Freeborn, Brooks Smith, Grant Cayot and Caleb Weaver. After the Blackhaks opened the PK round with a make by Jones, senior Miguel Rivera sent Warsaw’s first attempt over the goal. “Miguel’s kick over the bar was a fatigue issue,” said Bauer. “He didn’t focus like he should have. I don’t fault him.” The Tigers got successful PKs from junior Manuel Rodriguez and seniors Sam Allbritten and Matt Williams.
WARSAW 0, BLACKHAWK 0 Note – Officially the game was a draw, but because the game was part of the Carroll Classic it went to a round of PKs, which Blackhawk won 5-3. Shots – Warsaw 3, Blackhawk 5; Shots on goal – Warsaw 1, Blackhawk 1; Corner kicks – Warsaw 2, Blackhawk 6 Records: Warsaw 3-0-4, Blackhawk 4-1-1
