Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
SYRACUSE - Four-hundred and eighty minutes. Exactly eight hours. That's how much soccer action the Wawasee varsity boys team has played so far this year. That's also how much time Warrior goalie Justin Bell has gone without allowing a goal this year.
That streak went over 500 minutes Thursday as Wawasee opened Northern Lakes Conference action with a 2-0 victory over NorthWood.
"It's amazing isn't it," Wawasee head coach Paul Boyd said. "I never thought that no one would score against us for seven matches. I told Justin's parents at the beginning of the season that I felt he ought to consider playing at the next level. He's got the height, he's fairly quick, and he's only going to fill out and get stronger. He's got all the tools, it's kind of neat."
Bell didn't have to contend with a lot of good scoring opportunities because of the defenders in front of him. They kept the Panthers from getting the ball too close to the net most of the time.
"We don't have a lot of real good foot skills like a South Bend Riley or a Huntington North," Boyd said. "But we've got speed and sometimes speed kills on defense. We can make a mistake, and we react quickly to our mistakes."
That lack of foot skills that Boyd talks about is made up for by a short passing game and a team concept. Wawasee won't beat you with one-on-one moves and fancy dribbling skills, but the Warriors will beat you by consistently putting the ball in the right spot with a deft kick, a quick header or whatever else is necessary.
"This team is playing better as a team at this point of the season than any of the three previous teams I've had," Boyd said. "They're communicating and they've been together for four years now. With nine seniors, it's fun now."
Thursday evening, Wawasee battled NorthWood tooth-and-nail for the first 40 minutes, but neither team could put any shots in the net.
Wawasee came out in the second half and quickly changed the complexion of the match. The Warriors thought they had scored a goal, but it was waved off because of a penalty on NorthWood just seconds before the shot. However, Wawasee got a direct kick, and Shawn McMahan gave the Warriors a 1-0 lead on the opportunity just 30 seconds into the half.
Wawasee put the match away with 19:32 left in the second half when Tomir Denton scored on a pass from McMahan that finished the scoring for the game.
"It was a shame (that the goal was waved off), because Kyle Swihart put a lovely shot right in the corner," Boyd said. "That was fun 30 seconds into the half. I thought we were a little lethargic in the first half. We were letting them beat us to the ball."
Boyd had an interesting theory to improving the first half troubles and it paid off. It's a theory often used in a sport like basketball, but rarely talked about much in soccer because at the higher levels, substitutions are often minimized.
"If you're going to rest, come over here (to the bench) and rest," Boyd said. "Let's die on the field, come over to the sidelines, get a two-minute break and die again. We've got subs and everybody wants to play just as bad as you do. In the second half our intensity picked up."
Wawasee (5-0-2, 1-0 NLC) will host Columbia City Wednesday at 5 p.m. NorthWood will compete in the Warsaw Classic Saturday at 10 a.m.
