Lady Tigers Open Sectional With Dominating WinIt’s not often junior varsity players get to play in a sectional match.
However, that’s exactly what happened in the Warsaw girls soccer team’s 10-0 rout of Fort Wayne South Side Tuesday in the first round of the Class 3A Warsaw Sectional.
The Lady Tigers took a 7-0 lead into halftime, which allowed coach Jon Hoover to send a lineup of reserves and JV players onto the pitch in the second half.
“To have our (starters) be able to sit for a half and watch the future group come through and do such a great job of moving the ball, it was really encouraging for me as a coach,” Hoover said. “It was encouraging for our team as they all trained together.”
The match started an hour behind schedule, as South Side (2-14) was late because of bussing issues.
Warsaw (11-4-1) was without starters Delaney Taylor and Anna Grill. Both players were cleared to play following injuries, but were held out as a precaution.
Neither the late start nor the lineup changes deterred the Lady Tigers from a fast and furious beginning.
Junior Abby Steffensmeier filled the void with a hand in Warsaw’s first four goals; she netted three and assisted on another by Tes Berelsman to spur the Lady Tigers to a 4-0 lead by the 24th minute.
Warsaw tallied three more goals for the 7-0 halftime advantage before scoring three more times in the second half.
Junior Jacie Nier and sophomores Rilee Groninger and Brielle Fehlmann scored goals in the last 40 minutes.
Hoover credited sophomore Valeria Martinez, who assisted on Nier’s goal, with setting up shots in the second half.
South Side coach Henry Beasley credited Warsaw’s caliber of play.
“This team is very technical,” he said. “They swing balls and they make runs, and they do all of the things you try to teach your kids to do.”
Warsaw allowed no shots on goal while firing off 26 of its own.
The Lady Tigers will host Huntington North Thursday at 7:15 p.m. in a sectional semifinal.
“It’s always a battle when you play Huntington North,” Hoover said. “They’re well coached, they’re well put together, so for us we just want to take it in segments at a time. If we can win the first 30 minutes, we’ll be in good shape for the rest of the game.”
WARSAW 10, SOUTH SIDE 0
(Scoring)
W – Abby Steffensmeier (unassisted) 4th minute
W – Steffensmeier (Audrey Grimm) 7th minute
W – Steffensmeier (Tes Berelsman) 15th minute
W – Steffensmeier (Gracie Scholl) 24th minute
W – Scholl (unassisted) 31st minute
W – Brenna Buhrt (unassisted) 34th minute
W – Elizabeth Stone (unassisted) 37th minute
W – Jacie Nier (Valeria Martinez) 59th minute
W – Riley Groninger (unassisted) 74th minute
W – Brielle Fehlmann (75th minute)
Records: Warsaw 11-4-1, Fort Wayne South Side 2-14
