NorthWood sophomore Joel Guzman was one of several Panther reserves who saw extended minutes on Tuesday night’s 10-0 blanking of Lakeland. InkFreeNews photo by Keith Knepp.

NorthWood Boys 10, Lakeland 0

In a potential preview of a Sectional 20 game, NorthWood played a very unkind host to their guests from LaGrange. The Panthers amassed an 7-0 lead by halftime and never let the Lakers into the game. Panther head coach Brad Duerksen allowed his bench to take most of the second half minutes, but the reserves kept the proverbial foot on the gas pedal, adding three more goals in the second stanza.

NorthWood’s tri-captain seniors led the way with Andre DeFreitas knocking in four first half goals. Classmates Kayden Newcomer chipped in two plus an assist while Sebastian Guillen added one. The other Panther scores were recorded by underclassmen Aiden Schrock, Carlos Alvarez and Aiden Greenlee, all in the second half.

Panther Senior Andrew Graber and sophomore Trent Iwema shared credit for the shutout between the pipes. NorthWood upped their record to 1-1-1 and will face another non-conference foe when they host Bremen at 6:45 p.m. on Thursday.

Lakeland Christian Academy Boys 2, Winamac 1 

Coach Dan Miller took his LCA team on a long road to Winamac on Tuesday evening. The team made sure the ride home was a jovial one, doubling up the host Warriors 2-1.

All three of the match’s goals were scored in the last 15 minutes of the second half. Winamac buried an unassisted goal past Cougar goalie Peter Koller in the 65th minute which seemingly put the Warriors in the proverbial driver’s seat.

However, a goal by LCA sharpshooter Brayden Lane in the 72nd minute tied the match and another by Garrett McKeever six minutes later, with just two minutes left in the contest, sealed the deal for the boys from Winona Lake. Andrew Bosch was credited assists on both Cougar scores.

Statistically, the match was evenly played with the hosts outshooting LCA 9-8. The win elevated the Cougars’ record to 4-1.

“Tonight we showed great resilience,” said Miller. “We could have packed it in and took the loss, however the heart of this team wouldn’t allow us to quit. Freshman Andrew Bosch played two beautiful passes that allowed Brayden and Garrett to finish on goal to give us the comeback win. We got better from this game, and I’m proud of this team.”

Manchester Boys 4, Tippecanoe Valley 0

Tippecanoe Valley took to the road Tuesday evening to play conference powerhouse Manchester. For 60 minutes, the Vikings battled toe to toe with the soccer giant, trailing only 1-0 for much of the contest. Unfortunately for Valley, the constant pressure the Squires applied throughout the game finally caught up with the Vikings as Manchester added three goals in the last 20 minutes to come out on top 4-0.

Just like last week against Caston, Valley failed to cash in on three excellent chances to score in the first half. The defense was able to keep it close as Alexis Hernandez played another excellent game as the keeper and defender Arturo Dominguez was all over the field making plays. However, the difference in the game proved to be the depth Manchester displayed. Valley simply ran out of gas. Starters Caleb Petgen, Carson Craft, Jessica Brito and Christian Ramirez all suffered minor injuries and finished the game on the sidelines watching.

Next up for Valley is a home match against Maconaquah at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday.

Warsaw Girls 6, Goshen 2

The Tigers (3-2, 3-0 NLC) hosted Goshen (1-3, 1-2 NLC) in an conference matchup Tuesday evening. Stats were not provided.