Chris Pena had two goals and an assist to lift Wawasee to a 3-2 win at Angola Wednesday in the Angola Boys Soccer Sectional semi-finals. (Photos by Mike Deak)

ANGOLA – West Noble made a bold statement while Wawasee pulled a mild upset to set up the finals of the Class 2-A Angola Boys Soccer Sectional.

WEST NOBLE 5, NORTHWOOD 0

West Noble was pretty well established in its plan from the start Wednesday in the first game of the sectional semi-finals. A pair of near misses in the first 10 minutes turned into goals later in the first half for the Chargers. After Adrian Pizana ripped a shot off the post in the ninth minute, it took just five minutes for the ball to find the netting. Henry Torres took a pass from the left wing and did the rest, chipping a nice attempt into the corner to give the No. 15-ranked Chargers a 1-0 lead.

West Noble celebrates Cruz Belmares goal in the first half of the 5-0 win over NorthWood.

Cruz Belmares would then get into the act, taking a throw in and weaving around Panther defenders to finish off a nice play for a 2-0 lead. Ricardo Flores then made a nice crossing pass to Torres, who did the rest. With 11 minutes to go in the first half, it was 3-0 in dominating fashion.

“Same ol’, same ol’ as we’ve had all year,” uttered NorthWood head coach Brad Duerksen. “Communication in the midfield was flat, guys weren’t working hard in the midfield and getting beat to the ball, and we addressed it at the half and nothing changed. It’s frustrating but it’s the theme we’ve had all year. Not surprising.”

Belmares would get his second and third goals of the match in the second half, his second a thing of beauty. With the ball bouncing around the Panther penalty area, Belmares flicked the ball into space and lifted it, then hit a one-timer that goalkeeper Luke Lingle had no shot on.

West Noble took 13 shots on net to just three for NorthWood, the Panthers not getting a look after the 52nd minute. Angel Calvo made all three stops for his clean sheet.

NorthWood concludes its 2018 campaign 8-8-2 overall.

The Chargers move to 15-3 overall and have won 12 matches in a row, the last five via shutout to where they are plus-30 in goal differential.

“We were put under the gun early and never really adapted well,” Duerksen said. “It’s frustrating when you have a formation set that should deal with it, but unfortunately our individual defending wasn’t good. We had our marks that we couldn’t keep track of.”

WAWASEE 3, ANGOLA 2

It must be something in the mustard.

Whatever is in the French’s, Chris Pena might want to share some with his teammates. The junior midfielder had a bottle of the condiment on hand before the second half, and whatever it did for him, allowed him to score one of the more flashy goals of the season.

Ethan Carey sends a cross inward against Angola.

Pena took an errant Angola pass and sped nearly 70 yards – yes, more than half the pitch – weaving around defenders like he was Lionel Messi, and finally baiting Colby Hankey off his line and around and in for a 2-0 Wawasee lead. Pena finished off the first goal of the match in a somewhat similar fashion when Ethan Carey made a long run on the ball and found Pena streaking into the penalty area, where Pena’s finish left Hankey with no shot.

“He kept getting faster as he kept going and just passing people,” Wawasee head coach Jordan Sharp noted of Pena’s scoring run. “That’s a backbreaker as a defender when someone just runs it right down the line like that and no one stops him. He’s obviously a very talented player and he’s been doing stuff like that all season.”

The 2-0 lead in the 42nd minute looked pretty secure as Angola started pointing the finger at one another in the defensive third. But a chance by Seth Nickel just six minutes later from 30 yards out dipped and curved at the net, catching Wawasee netminder Dillon Drake napping for a goal.

After Wawasee took a shot a few moments later, Angola countered and found Leonel Lozano-Vargas open in space. The concept of the long shot worked again, as Lozano-Vargas’ shot went on frame but to Drake. However, the keeper’s usually sure hands allowed the ball to slip through and shockingly the score was level at two.

Shades of 2017 bestowed the sectional semi-final in the 70th minute. On a Wawasee corner, Pena took the short touch and made a move to the end line and chipped a ball into the penalty area. Making a diving run to the middle was Cam Gillum, whose 6-0 frame headed home the easy go-ahead stunner.

Angola’s (7-8-1) late exploits went without alarm, sending Wawasee (6-11) to the sectional final for the second straight season for a season rematch with the Chargers.

Wawasee held a 2-0 lead on West Noble in its Aug. 25 contest, but the second half saw the Chargers score four unanswered goals for a 4-2 final.

“Silly errors the first time we saw them is what got us,” Sharp said of the first matchup with the Chargers. “Those allowed them to get back in it and their pace and the errors were too much. We’re definitely playing the best team in the final and we couldn’t be more excited for the challenge.”

NorthWood’s Landon Parker takes a shot while West Noble’s Jose Resendiz defends.