Romeo Rosales of Warsaw holds off Canterbury’s Logan Scheiber Tuesday night. The No. 6 Tigers topped the No. 15 Cavaliers 3-2 (Photos by Amanda Farrell)

WARSAW – In a clash of boys soccer heavyweights, it was Warsaw that delivered the knockout punch Tuesday night.

The host Tigers got a pair of goals from Manuel Rodriguez to edge past Fort Wayne Canterbury 3-2 in a showdown of Class 2-A powers.

Warsaw, ranked No. 6 in Class 2-A, improves to 8-0-5 overall.  Canterbury, which is ranked No. 15 in Class 2-A, drops to 7-5.

Rodriguez, a junior midfielder, scored the final two goals of the contest for the Tigers. The hosts led 2-0 at halftime and Rodriguez made it 3-1 by tallying on a penalty kick in the second half.

Tito Cuellar,  also a junior midfielder, scored the first goal of the match for Warsaw in just the second minute of the contest.

Matt Williams, one of nine seniors, collected two assists in the victory.

Warsaw and Canterbury ended up almost dead even on the final stat sheet. The Tigers had eight shots, including four on goal, and so did Canterbury. Warsaw had two corners in the contest and Canterbury had three.

Coach Scott Bauer’s team, which was state runner-up in 2012 in its’ third straight trip to the State Finals, has been on a roll. The Tigers have won five straight matches, outscoring their opponents 19-4 in the stretch. Warsaw, prior to the winning streak, had three straight ties versus Penn, Concord and Fort Wayne Carroll.

Canterbury lost to the Tigers 1-0 in 2012. The Cavaliers went on to win their second straight Class 1-A state championship, defeating Covenant Christian 5-0 in the title tilt. Canterbury has won five state championships overall, tied with North Central (Indianapolis) for most in state history.

Canterbury won the junior varsity match 1-0. The Warsaw JV squad drops to 6-3-2 on the season.

Warsaw hosts No. 17 Goshen in a huge Northern Lakes Conference match Thursday. The Tigers sit at 3-0-1 in NLC action with a 1-1 tie at Concord. The Redskins improved to 10-1 overall and 5-0 in NLC play with a 4-0 win over Wawasee Tuesday night.

Warsaw and Goshen played to a 1-1 tie at Goshen last season.

The Tigers still have NLC contests at Wawasee (Sept. 28) and at Northridge (Oct. 3)   Goshen hosts Elkhart Memorial Oct. 3 in its final league game.

The Goshen at Warsaw match Thursday at WCHS begins with the JV action at 5 p.m.

Miguel Rivera of Warsaw and Cruz Garcia of Canterbury work for possession Tuesday night.