Football is to western Pennsylvania as basketball is to Indiana, and as a kid I only had eyes for the pigskin. I was one of many in my area who foolishly viewed futbol as a “soft” sport (as if there is such a thing).
When I began to cover high school athletics full-time, my opinion changed on the nature and complexity of soccer. I always respected the players’ endurance, but I hadn’t known just how physical and strategic the game is.
Still, I didn’t have a lot of affection for the sport. I learned it, and respected the student-athletes and coaches whom I covered, but as for the sport itself?
Let’s just say I was one of the guys who didn’t even get pumped up for World Cup Soccer.
Part of that was probably because, while I appreciated the efforts of the teams I covered, there wasn’t much success to be had on the pitch. Covering losing teams is never as fun as writing about winners.
So far, I’ve had no such issue here. Kosciusko and Wabash counties combine for three state-ranked teams, and all the talent is causing soccer to grow on me.
You’ve got the Warsaw girls soccer team, which is ranked 10th in the current Indiana Soccer Coaches Association Class 3A poll.
The Lady Tigers are 6-2, 3-0 Northern Lakes Conference, and they have to be incredibly frustrating to play against. They have quick feet and even quicker ball movement, so they control the tempo and keep the ball on the opposition’s half of the field.
The Lady Tigers have six – count ‘em, six – shutouts this season, and allowed one total shot on goal in the two matches I covered.
I feel for Warsaw goalie Kaylee Patton. She’s got a lot of lonely evenings in the Warsaw net.
Maybe she sings to herself to keep busy? That’s what I would do.
Then there’s the Warsaw boys team, which is ranked No. 15 in this week’s ISCA Class 3A poll.
The Tigers showcased impressive endurance during an intense match against Class 3A No. 13 Concord last week.
Despite several opportunites, neither team scored in the first 79 minutes of the match.
The difference was that, while the Minutemen ran out of energy, the Tigers stayed focused on Concord’s goal.
Warsaw’s persistence paid off when Gustav Dannevig received a pass from Blake Burns and found the back of the net with 15 seconds remaining. The Tigers won the match 1-0.
They were missing players due to injury and personal reasons Saturday, and lost two matches to bring their record to 4-2-2 overall and 2-0 in the NLC. However, the kind of true grit – word to Jeff Bridges – they showed against Concord will carry them far into the postseason.
I haven’t seen the Manchester boys soccer team play, but the Squires’ record (5-0, 2-0 Three Rivers Conference) speaks for itself. Manchester is ranked 18th in the ISCA Class 2A poll, and has outscored its opponents 38-1 this year.
Granted, none of the Squires’ victories were against currently ranked teams, so it will be interesting to see how they fare when truly tested.
Regardless, there’s no denying the excellence of area high school soccer. If you haven’t yet, take a week night and catch a match.
I’ll be there yelling “nice ball!” to pretend I’m an expert.
