Soccer Pairs Set For State Tourney
The road to another appearance in the State Finals is now set for the Warsaw boys’ soccer team.
The IHSAA made the pairings this morning in Indianapolis for both the boys and girls state tournament series which begins in October.
The Class 2-A No. 6 Tigers are bidding for a fourth straight trip to State. Coach Scott Bauer’s perennial powerhouse program was state runner-up last season, losing 1-0 to Columbus North in the final match of the 2012 campaign.
Warsaw, which suffered its first loss of the season in a 2-0 home NLC setback to Goshen Thursday night, begins sectional play at home versus Culver Academies. The Tigers, who are 8-1-5 on the season, have won five consecutive sectional titles.
The Warsaw Sectional opens with Wawasee (5-5-4) versus NLC foe Plymouth. NorthWood drew the bye game and face the Wawasee-Plymouth winner in a sectional semifinal.
Whitko will compete in the Class 1-A Fort Wayne Blackhawk Sectional. The Wildcats, who are 1-11-1, face Fort Wayne Concordia in the four-team sectional.
Lakeland Christian Academy drew the bye in the five-team Class 1-A Culver Sectional. The Cougars will play either Culver or Argos in a semifinal match on Oct. 9.
Boys’ sectional dates are Oct. 7, 9, 11 and 12 with the dates and starting times to be determined by the host schools.
The Warsaw girls team, which has had an outstanding fall under first-year coach Peter Lucht, will compete in the Class 2-A Plymouth Sectional. The Tigers, who have won six straight games to improve to 8-2-2, meet Wawasee in a first-round matchup. Warsaw plays at Wawasee (0-12) on Saturday in an NLC contest.
The Tigers, who have won three straight sectional championships, lost to South Bend St. Joseph in a regional title game in 2012.
The host Pilgrims face Culver Academies in the opener. The winner of that match then faces NorthWood, which like its’ boys team drew the bye.
The Whitko girls team will play in the eight-team Class 1-A Fort Wayne Luers Sectional. The Wildcats, who are 5-3-5, face Fort Wayne Concordia in the first round.
Sectional dates for the ladies are Oct. 7, 8, 10 and 12.
The two-game regionals for boys are Oct. 17 and 19 at Mishawaka and Garrett. Warsaw will host the boys four-team semi state on Oct. 26.
The two-game regionals for girls are Oct. 16 and 19 with Goshen serving as the Class 2-A host. With the limited number of teams in Class 1-A, the winner of the Blackford Sectional will play at the winner of the Luers Sectional in a one-game regional. South Bend St. Joseph will host the area semi state in Class 2-A.
The State Finals are set for Nov. 2 in Indianapolis at IUPUI. The finals begin at 10:30 a.m. with the Girls’ Class 1-A finale, followed by the Boys’ 1-A at 1 p.m. the Girls’ Class 2-A at 3:30 and the Boys’ Class 2-A at 6.
Boys Soccer Sectional Pairings
Class 2-A
At Warsaw
Oct. 7: 6 p.m.: Wawasee vs. Plymouth
Oct. 9: 5 p.m.: Warsaw vs. Culver Academies; 7 p.m.: NorthWood vs. Wawasee-Plymouth winner
Oct. 12: 2 p.m.: Championship Game
Class 1-A
At Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian
Oct. 10: 5 p.m.: FW Blackhawk vs. Manchester; 7 p.m.: Whitko vs. Fort Wayne Concordia
Oct. 12: 7 p.m.: Championship Game
Girls Soccer Sectional Pairings
Class 2-A
At Plymouth
Oct. 8: 6 p.m.: Plymouth vs. Culver Academies
Oct. 10: 5 p.m.: Warsaw vs. Wawasee’ 7 p.m.: NorthWood vs. Plymouth-Culver Academies winner
Oct. 12: 7 p.m.: Championship Game
Class 1-A
At Fort Wayne Luers
Oct. 7: 5 p.m.: Woodlan vs. Heritage; 7 p.m.: Fort Wayne Concordia vs. Whitko
Oct. 8: 5 p.m.: South Adams vs. Blackford; 7 p.m.: Fort Wayne Luers vs. Fort Wayne Canterbury
Oct. 10: 5 p.m.: Monday winners; 7 p.m.: Tuesday winners
Oct. 12: 1 p.m.: Championship Game