It was a beautiful site at Warrior Field Monday as the Wawasee Boys Soccer Sectional opened play. (Photos by Mike Deak)

SYRACUSE – Rhythm wasn’t high on the flow charts for either NorthWood or Wawasee, but both teams just needed a ‘W’ and got it to open play at the Wawasee Boys Soccer Sectional Monday evening. NorthWood used a penalty kick in the 79th minute to eliminate West Noble, 4-3, while Wawasee used three second-half goals to knock out Lakeland, 3-0.

Anything You Can Do…

A true game of cat and mouse broke out in the matchup between the Panthers and Chargers to open play in the sectional.

Juan Pantoja points upstairs after converting the game-winning penalty kick.

NorthWood led the game four times, but no lead lasted more than 10 minutes. Jerson Sanchez rocketed home the first goal in the 20th minute, a sharp pass from Landon Parker to tee it up. West Noble then answered just four minutes later, Cruz Belmares finding a blazing Fernando Romo right down broadway for the first equalizer.

Sanchez scored just a minute into the second half, but West Noble was able to tie it up four minutes later when Ty Barnes’ shot was blocked by Panther keeper Micah Pippenger, but the ball rolled off his fingers into the back netting. A set piece by NorthWood in the 51st saw Andre DeFreitas push a free kick into the box, Juan Pantoja able to bury the ball for yet another lead.

West Noble pulled even in the 60th when Arturo Macias was pulled down in the box, Romo converting the penalty for a three-all tie.

All was quiet until the 78th when West Noble’s Juan Calvo sent in a free kick that was saved by Pippenger. The outlet eventually worked into the West Noble penalty area where an unattended ball was touched by a West Noble defender. The penalty call had Pantoja stand over the try, convert, and punch NorthWood’s ticket into the semi-finals.

“West Noble is such a technically sound club,” said NorthWood head coach Brad Duerksen. “They are so good away from the ball. It was just a wide open, counter-attacking game. Other than a couple of their breakaways, our defense was solid. We knew they had a ton of talent on the ball, we just had to stay in front of them and not let them fire away.”

West Noble’s insistence to play its pace was evident through about 80 percent of the match, maybe more. Their 20 total shots were largely based off creative buildups, coming from the wing, the middle, a long two-touch clearance from the back, or just taking a ball and immediately distributing it. Pippenger staying on his toes was mandatory for the Panthers to survive, the senior keep making 13 saves, a handful point-blank. His smother of Belmares’ breakaway chance early in the first half set a tone, and another Belmares run was covered by Pippenger late in the first half.

Angel Calvo made three saves for the 2-A No. 19 Chargers, which conclude at 12-5.

NorthWood (9-8) will get a rematch with Wawasee, a 5 p.m. semi-final start on Wednesday.

“We just have to be more sound,” Duerksen noted, mentioning the turf added to the speed of play his team didn’t immediately address. “We have to play to feet. Playing to space, you have to play a perfectly weighted ball otherwise it’s a wasted pass. We know we need to be better on the ball and our defense just needs to tighten up a little further than it did.”

No Penalty For Trying

Wawasee was doing everything but finding the back of the net. In fair control of the second match of the evening against Lakeland, the Warriors had outshot Lakeland 5-1 midway through the second half, had hit a post and skimmed a shot inches from an open net.

Chris Pena reacts after making a PK against Lakeland.

On what was an innocent loft into the penalty area by Eric Yankosky off a free kick over 40 yards from goal, the 65th-minute service just kept going, and going, and going right under the crossbar and over Laker keeper Dakota Millers outstretched glove.

At 1-0, it just felt right.

“We were getting really anxious and impatient, and of all people, Eric Yankosky drops one in,” said Wawasee head coach Jordan Sharp. “That was the one we needed. I told our guys to not worry, we always score. We just had to get one. And who knew it would come on a forty-yard bomb.”

Within eight minutes, the score had ballooned to 3-0 on a pair of penalty calls and conversions. Camden Cox made his way into the penalty area and was nudged enough to draw a whistle. Chris Pena made the penalty kick, and five minutes later, Ryan Edington was standing over a penalty try after he was pulled down on a breakaway by a desperate Laker defense.

At 3-0, Sharp and the boys will take it.

“I actually commented that I think sometimes we score too early, and then teams come back on us and bury us after we start to feel good about ourselves,” Sharp said. “I was a little discouraged that it took a goal from Eric like we did, and that we had to draw penalties to get our others, but we’ll take it and move on.”

Wawasee would end up outshooting Lakeland 10-3, Edington clanking a ball off the post in the first half on what looked like a sure thing. Dillon Drake would make good on all three of his goalkeeping chances to earn his first career postseason shutout.

Wawasee’s unique season continues at 6-7-3, still undefeated out of conference at 6-0-3, yet 0-7 this season in the Northern Lakes Conference. Judgment Day for Wawasee will come Wednesday in the first semi-final against the Panthers, where NorthWood beat Wawasee, 5-3, on Sept. 7, NorthWood’s lone NLC win.

“We are really looking forward to that rematch with NorthWood,” Sharp said. “Our defense was not very good the first time around, but we have played much better in that month since we last saw them.”