WARSAW — In a game that came close to going into overtime, the Warsaw Lady Tigers continued to roll as they beat the NorthWood Panthers, 2-1, to claim the Warsaw Girls Soccer Sectional championship. The Lady Panthers traveled to Warsaw only to be be beaten for the Sectional title. This is Warsaw’s third sectional win in a row. This year’s seniors played in a sectional championship all four years, and won three.

The action started early, as Meredith Hollar dominated as usual. Hollar scored the first and only goal of the first half in the second minute. “I feel like our energy was really good at the beginning of the game,” said Warsaw head coach Dan Miller. “Obviously I don’t have to say much to  get them excited for a sectional championship.”

From that point on, the game seemed evenly matched. Though NorthWood could not find the goal until the second half, they came very close several times and held off the Tiger offense.

For the most part, the second half matched the first and the energy was high for both teams. NorthWood claimed their first goal in the 65th minute when Val Ostrowski found the back of the net, the first goal Warsaw goalie Abby Schue had given up in the sectional. With only 15 minutes left in the game, both teams felt the pressure.

The ball moved all across the field from this point on. That is, until Hollar managed to put it away in the 75th minute. NorthWood never recovered, and the Lady Tigers won it all. Miller was quoted saying, “I think it shows the true leadership of this team with nine seniors to be able to have the will to bounce back.” Hollar, a Grace College recruit, now has 66 career goals, despite missing last year due to injury.

Warsaw (12-4-2) will play in second game of the Goshen Regional against Penn (11-4-4) on Wednesday. South Bend St. Joseph (17-2) will face Goshen Sectional champion Concord (15-1-2) in the first game at 5 p.m. Winners from the two games will meet in the regional final Saturday at 7 p.m.