The chances were there for the Wawasee Lady Warriors to get a Northern Lakes Conference soccer win at Warsaw Saturday.
Knotted at 2-2 at the half, Wawasee (7-5-3, 3-2-1 NLC) had golden opportunities in the second half, but junior Mallory Rondeau hit the cross bar once and the side bar on two other occasions in a 2-2 draw."We had every chance to win it and took those chances away from ourselves," Wawasee coach Dodd Cunningham said.
On top of missing opportunities, Wawasee gave Warsaw (8-5-2, 3-2-1 NLC) golden ones too.
The game's first goal came from Warsaw sophomore Meredith Hollar, who converted a penalty kick in the 19th minute after Wawasee was whistled for a hand-ball in the box.
Rondeau answered the score with two nifty goals, the last coming with just 1:41 remaining in the first half.
However, Warsaw sophomore Erica Gauger scored on a lob goal after Wawasee senior goalkeeper Amy Walker came out of the box to clear the ball. Instead of clearing it, the ball went right to Gauger, who softly laid it over the head of Walker, tying the score at 2-2 with 32 seconds remaining in the half.
"She stayed very composed," Warsaw coach Dan Miller said of the Gauger score. "Wawasee had just scored and had a lot of momentum. To go into halftime down a goal changes the aspect of the game. That goal was huge."
The goal did turn out to be huge, as neither team could find the back of the net in the second half.
"It's just unfortunate," Cunningham said. "We had every chance to win this game, but couldn't come out with it."
Despite the misplay in the first half, Walker did finish the game with 11 saves, with two coming at the 12:45 in the second half and Warsaw barraging her with shots.
"She did a good job," Cunningham said about Walker's play. "She had a solid day. The problems weren't anything on her part today."
Rondeau's two goals were her 25th and 26th of the year, and let it be known that even the slightest bit of space was too much when defending her.
"She's always dangerous," Miller said about Rondeau. "It seemed like she was a little more dangerous in the first half. In part because, I think we were playing a little back on our heels. Not that you can give a player of that caliber too much respect, but you don't ever want to play a game where you allow her to dictate play. As a defender, you want to establish how you're going to play that day. She's a supremely talented player who can win a game or tie a game by herself."
Both teams are back in NLC action Tuesday, as Warsaw hosts Goshen and Wawasee travels to NorthWood.
