Warsaw seniors Kyle Hayward (at left) and Elian Mejia hoist the hardware Saturday. The host Tigers beat Homestead 3-0 to win the sectional championship.

WARSAW – Pride in its postseason performances has been the calling card of the Warsaw boys soccer program for a long time.

The current edition of the Tigers put some of that pride back into that equation in the form of more hardware for the trophy case.

Warsaw put on a championship effort to claim another trophy in October by blanking Homestead 3-0 Saturday afternoon in the title match of the Class 3-A Warsaw Sectional.

The Tigers improve to 13-5-2 and advance to the Kokomo Regional Oct. 14 to face No. 3 Harrison (West Lafayette) at 10 a.m. in the first semifinal matchup.

Harrison beat McCutcheon 2-0 to win the Logansport Sectional championship Saturday. Harrison sports a 16-1-2 record.

Warsaw, which won its first sectional title since 2013 and the program’s 13th overall, wasted no time in taking the wind out of Homestead’s sails in the title tilt.

The Tigers, though playing into the gael-force winds on an incredibly warm day, found the back of the net twice in the opening half.

Warsaw, which beat Homestead on penalty kicks after playing to a 0-0 stalemate in a semifinal contest in the Carroll Classic on Sept. 2, dominated this one.

Sophomore Luis Cleto put the Tigers on the scoreboard in the 18th minute with a gorgeous goal for the 1-0 lead. Warsaw made it 2-0 as senior Eric Ocock drilled home a penalty kick with 4:25 to play in the opening half.

It was a big first for Warsaw coach Frank Courtois, in his third season as the head coach of the Tigers. Courtois was the JV coach for more than a decade as the Tigers were a postseason force before taking over the program following the 2014 season.

Warsaw won six straight sectional and regional titles from 2008-13. The Tigers were Class 2-A state runner-up in 2012 and were also a State Finalist in 2010.

Garrett Reinholt controls the ball for Warsaw.

“It’s always sweet to win a sectional championhip,” said Courtois, who served as interim coach for the final three matches and the sectional in 2014 before being hired to take over as head coach. “A championship is always good, Our guys have worked hard to get where we are at now. We’ve always been about coming to play in the postseason. That’s what we always are working for each season.

“Our guys did step up today. If you would have told me we would beat Homestead 3-0 after watching them play Wednesday night (in a 5-1 semifinal win over Fort Wayne North) I would not have believed it.

“To get that first goal was very important. It broke the ice for us and I think that it broke their back. It was a nice shot by Luis. I think that he surprised their goalie with it. Even though we were up 2-0, I told  the boys we were down 2-0 when we talked at halftime. They came out and kept playing in that second half.”

Sophomore Jorge Rico put the icing on the cake for the champions with the final goal of the match. The sophomore dribbled in and worked one right past the Homestead keeper with 14:46 left in the match for the 3-0 final.

Ocock, one of six seniors for the Tigers, was happy to finally get his chance to hoist the hardware in October.

“This means everything to me,” said the senior forward. “We’ve worked hard and come together as a team this season. It’s amazing. I’ve really never won anything in my four years, other than the Carroll tourney this year.

Jorge Rico prepares to connect for a goal.

“I think that we are more focused and more of a team this season,” added Ocock, one of three senior starters (along with Kyle Hayward and Cole Voss) for Warsaw in Saturday’s title tilt. “At 2-0 after my PK, I was confident. At 3-0, I knew we sent them home.”

The Spartans, who finishes at 10-6-3, had won three sectional championships in a row in Class 2-A before the third class was added to the state tournament series for this year.

Homestead, which had six seniors start in Saturday’s match, did not pose much of an offensive threat. The speedy Tigers controlled possession most of the match and Tiger sophomore keeper Harrison Mevis turned away only a handful of dangerous Spartan scoring chances in the shutout.

Warsaw, which has won its last five matches, outscored its three sectional foes 9-1 this past week.

“We do have speed and we able to take advantage of it this week,” said Courtois. “Our guys did a real good job distributing the ball. Eric was able to create for us.

“Like I said, this is sweet. but we are not done yet. We will go to Kokomo next Saturday and take it a game at a time and see what happens.”

The Kokomo Regional next Saturday will open with the Tigers facing No. 3 Harrison (West Lafayette) at 10 a.m. The second semifinal pits Fort Wayne Northrop versus No. 2 Hamilton Southeastern. The semifinal winners face off Saturday night for a spot in the North Semistate on Oct. 21 at either South Bend St. Joseph or Kokomo.

Fort Wayne Northrop beat Carroll 1-0 to win the East Noble Sectional title and Hamilton Southeastern blanked Muncie Central 2-0 to win the Hamilton Southeastern Sectional championship on Saturday.

The Warsaw boys soccer team beat Homestead 3-0 Saturday to win the Warsaw Sectional title. The Tigers advance to the Kokomo Regional on Oct. 14.