Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Honoring nine different players for Senior Night on Tuesday, the Warsaw boys soccer team welcomed their rival NorthWood Panthers to the Tiger Soccer Complex for a Northern Lakes Conference clash. The home side honored their seniors in the best way possible: with a massive win. Warsaw took down the visitors 5-0.
Just three minutes into the game, an incredible effort by senior Mydin Burgher very nearly led to the first goal. The forward received the ball at midfield, evaded three different Panthers on the way to the net, and even made it past the keeper before his final shot was deflected wide by a defender.
That early chance would be the only one for a while, as a good chunk of the first half was played at the midfield. Both teams excelled defensively during this stretch, preventing offenses from setting anything up and keeping opportunities at a minimum.
The few scoring chances that did arise mostly belonged to the Tigers. Midway through the first half, the home side was finally able to break through. A poor clearance by a NorthWood defender allowed senior Nery Moyotl to operate with some space in the box. Offered a choice, he made the correct one by passing it off to a wide open Burgher about 10 feet to his left. Burgher’s first touch was the only one he needed, as he buried it past the goalie for a 1-0 lead.
Following the opener, the game went back to being played mostly at the midfield, although from this point on, the Tigers were dictating just about every aspect of the game. The team was able to come up with a couple more chances, but were held back.
That was until the seven-minute mark. Just minutes after subbing into the game, Diego Rodriguez made a terrific run at the goal, finishing it off with a shot that skipped off of the keeper’s leg and into the back of the net for a 2-0 advantage.
That seemed to open up the floodgates, as it was followed up by unrelenting pressure by the home side. It would be too much to handle for the visitors, and just minutes later, Sam Lara scored Warsaw’s third goal of the first half. They’d add one more, as in the final minute before the break Burgher added his second of the night.
Coming off of a tough first half, the Panthers showed some fight to begin the second, stringing together their first real chances of the game. The Warsaw defense was stout though, and was able to deny their opponents before goalie Isaac Summers had to get involved.
Instead, it would be the Tigers that scored next. Launching a counterattack after the failed attempt by the visitors, the ball made its way to senior Ricardo Anacleto-Melendez, who unleashed a rocket into the upper right corner of the net to make it a 5-0 game.
Warsaw senior Ricardo Anacleto-Melendez gets well above Jager Bute of NorthWood to head the ball upfield...Nieter
Even with the game well out of reach of the visitors, Warsaw continued to apply pressure to NorthWood and kept trying to add more goals to their total. With 20 minutes to go in the game the score hadn’t changed, but it felt like it had the chance to at any moment.
As time continued to tick away towards the final buzzer, the Tigers elected to ease up with their shots on goal. The team continued to dominate possession and keep the ball away from their opponent, but the job was done and there was no need to add insult to injury.
Warsaw (6-3-1, 3-1 NLC) is on the road at Homestead Wednesday.
