In more ways than one, Warsaw’s boys soccer team will be in very familiar territory Saturday. Not only will the Class 2A No. 2 Tigers be playing in the semistate for the fifth-straight year, they will be playing on their home turf. Warsaw, 18-1-2 on the field this season (12-8-1 with forfeits because of a clerical error), will host the 14th-ranked DeKalb Barons (18-2) at noon Saturday. Hamilton Southeastern (11-7-3) and No. 7 Valparaiso (18-2) square off in the first semifinal game at 10 a.m. The winners will play in the championship game at 7 p.m., vying for a berth in the Oct. 27 state finals in Indianapolis. “I think it’s an advantage,” Warsaw coach Scott Bauer said of playing at home. “The kids are excited about playing at home, playing in front of a lot of our fans. Not only are we playing on our field, we’ve been here before.” Only the players wearing orange, black and white uniforms Saturday can say they’ve been on this stage of the state tournament before. Prior to last weekend, DeKalb and Hamilton Southeastern had never won a regional championship. Valparaiso won the state championship in 2004, but is playing in the semistate for the first time since 2005. “We’re experienced in the tournament, and I think that’s an advantage,” said Bauer. “I think it was an advantage in the regional. Elkhart Central came out a little timid, and my guys knew what to do, we’d been there before.” The Tigers have lost just one game on the field this season – a 1-0 setback to Carroll on Sept. 8. Warsaw also beat Carroll 1-0 a week earlier. The Tigers have outscored their opponents 62-9 this season, including 13-2 in their four games of postseason play. Bauer said he expects to see a physical DeKalb team in the semifinal round Satuday. “We know DeKalb is a physical team, probably one of the biggest teams we’ve seen this year,” said Bauer. “They play very direct, and they build a lot off of that. They try and put a lot of pressure on you.” The Barons enter the semistate on a 10-game winning streak. They have outscored their opponents 82-16. DeKalb lost 2-0 to Bishop Luers on Aug. 29 and 3-0 to Carroll on Sept. 6. Sophomore Brennan Cochran leads the Barons in goals scored with 36, while senior Austin Sibery has scored 14 goals. Seniors Nate Kolbe and Diego Lopez lead the Tigers in goals scored with 17 and 16, respetively. “I like our chances,” said Bauer. “Soccer is a funny game, anything can happen with the bounce of a ball, but I like our chances.”
