By Keith Knepp
InkFreeNews

Solve this riddle: When does (2-0) + (2-0) = 2-0? For the answer, keep reading.

It truly has been a great weekend to be a NorthWood Panther. The party started with the football team’s big 22-21 upset over a tough Warsaw crew under the Friday night lights at Andrews Field. Saturday morning, both the boys and girls cross country teams qualified for regionals. Then, as the day progressed, history was made in the NorthWood soccer program.

For the first time ever, NorthWood’s girls and boys soccer programs won sectional titles in the same year. For the ladies, it was their third overall title while the boys were crowned for the sixth time in their 26-year history.

NorthWood Girls 2, DeKalb 0

SYRACUSE — First up were the Lady Panthers. For the third time in nine days, the team travelled to Syracuse to lace up their cleats on Warrior Field. This time, however, their opponent wasn’t Wawasee, who they eliminated from the IHSAA tournament on Thursday and who they beat in the final game of the regular season the week prior. This time, the task they faced was much more difficult.

For the fourth time in four years, NorthWood was facing off with the DeKalb Barons with the sectional trophy on the line. In 2017 and 2018, the Panthers left the pitch with a trip to regionals next on their agenda. Last year it was DeKalb that hoisted the hardware and continued its season for another week.

On paper, this year’s version of the fourth annual match seemingly favored the No. 10 (2A) Barons. They came into the sectional final sporting a sparkling 16-2 regular season record. In fact, they had outscored their opponents 86-10 over the course of their schedule. NorthWood entered the final with a deceivingly pedestrian 7-5-3 mark. Deceiving because the Panthers have been on the cusp in all but one game, a 6-1 mid-season hammering by Glenn, with the other four losses coming by only one goal in each. They too had a strong season goal differential, outscoring their opponents by a combined 59-13. Coming into Saturday’s clash, neither team had given up a goal in this year’s sectional play.

The match opened fairly evenly with both teams trading possessions and having limited shots on goal. Late in the first period however, junior sharpshooter Emma Martz took a clean pass from Yareli Castro and found the bottom right corner of the goal. The score seemed to stun the Lady Barons who clearly didn’t expect to find themselves on the short side of the scoreboard.

Two things happened before the halftime whistle blew that dramatically changed the way each team had to approach the remainder of the game. First, NorthWood’s leading scorer, Caitlin Knepp, who has 17 goals to her name in her sophomore season, fell victim to a kick from a DeKalb player that left her with a large contusion just above her left knee. The injury took her out of the last several minutes of the first half, although she could be seen on the Panther bench working with the athletic trainer trying to stretch out her muscle to facilitate a return to action.

The second incident happened shortly afterward when DeKalb keeper Sydney Mansfield twisted awkwardly after making a routine save. The sophomore went down in a heap, clutching her lower leg. She too left the pitch with assistance from team staff and did not return for the remainder of the game.

Knepp attempted a return to the match a few minutes into the second half but clearly was at less than 100%. Her trademark breakaway speed was nowhere to be found and was taken out of the match for good after another collision sent her to the turf. It is anticipated that she will be ready to return to action for next week’s regional schedule.

The loss of Knepp made it difficult for the Panthers to put much pressure on the Barons’ reserve goalkeeper. Instead, it was the NorthWood defense and stellar netminder Lili Lomeli that took over the game. Most of the second half was played on Panthers’ defensive half.

DeKalb had numerous opportunities and shots on goal that the Panther back line and Lomeli were able to turn away. Lizzie Hilderbrant, Joslyn Miller, Brenin Knight and Callie Johnson were among the defenders that helped chip away repeated Baron threats. The defensive stand was even more impressive for NorthWood since one of their senior defensive starters, Brooke Roa, has been out of action for the past three games. It is anticipated that she will be able to return for regionals next weekend.

Every DeKalb thrust was met with a NorthWood parry that left fans of both squads holding their collective breath. The Barons kept constant pressure on NorthWood as it sought the equalizer that might send the game to overtime. It wasn’t until the 76th minute of the match that the Panthers were able to take advantage of DeKalb’s frantic push to score when Martz was able to break through the defense and find junior Morgan Jenkins on the right side of the 18. Jenkins took a few touches to move the ball into the 6 and ricochet the ball of the Baron keeper’s shin and into the net.

With the second goal, the die was cast for the match. The last few minutes continued to prove futile for the Barons as they remained frustrated by the Panther defense.

“The girls played an amazing game,” said second-year NorthWood head coach Tom Shields. “I’m proud of the way they played. DeKalb came out strong and aggressive and we had to adjust to their play. When Cait Knepp was taken out of the game due to an injury we again had to adjust our front line.

“After half we made more adjustments to our attacking formation to keep the Barons at bay. The last goal was played amazingly well to Morgan Jenkins who put the final nail in the coffin. As for next week, I have so much confidence in my girls knowing that they will bring home the regional hardware.”

NorthWood is now assigned to the Plymouth Regional where they will face off with Culver Academy at 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 17. The Eagles scored a huge upset themselves on Saturday afternoon when they knocked No. 1 (2A) Mishawaka Marian out of title contention with a 3-0 whitewash. The second game of the regional will feature No. 9 Wheeler and West Lafayette. The winners of the semifinal matches will return to the pitch for a 7 p.m. championship game with the winner earning a trip to semi-state the following weekend.

NorthWood Boys 2, Angola 0

LIGONIER — A few hours later, the focus of Panther Soccer Nation shifted 12 miles to the east for the sectional championship showdown between No. 8 (2A) NorthWood’s boys and Angola. The Hornets entered the match with an 11-5-1 mark after a 3-1 sectional semi-final win over Garrett.

Emotions and adrenaline were running high on both sides while a nervous energy also spread throughout the faithful from both schools. NorthWood set the tone early, one which would dictate the way the rest of the match would be played. In the fifth minute of the contest, senior captains Sebastian Guillen and Kayden Newcomer perpetuated the scouting report by doing what they’ve been doing all season. Guillen found Newcomer streaking toward the Hornet goal box and put the ball exactly where it needed to be for the first goal of the match to be pushed across the line past the keeper. The early score set Angola on their heels, knowing they would have to at least find an equalizer sometime during regulation time to have a chance to move forward in the tournament.

The game remained scoreless for the rest of the first half and well into the next. Late in the second half, the third of NorthWood’s senior captains, Andre DeFreitas, would score again late in the second half to put the match out of reach. Throughout the evening, The goal was DeFreitas’s 32nd of the season, which increased both his Panther career and single-season records.

Angola would have no answers for the stellar keeper play of NorthWood’s Andrew Graber, who turned away every ball that was sent his way in earning the shutout between the pipes.

The Hornets’ frustration was manifested shortly after DeFreitas’s second tally when senior Angola defenseman Jayden Nafziger, who was trailing a Panther through ball down the field, gave DeFreitas a seemingly intentional hard shove in the back that sent the Panther star tumbling onto to the ground just outside of the goal box. While DeFreitas lay motionless, face down on the turf, the referee pulled out the infamous red card and showed it in the direction of Nafziger. Eventually, the Panther sniper would get up and return to play before exiting for good with a few minutes left on the clock.

The penalty left the Hornets having to play one man down for the remainder of the match, which at that point seemed academic as the two-goal deficit felt insurmountable given the tenor of the moment.

Playing 11 v. 10, the Panthers easily ran out the remainder of the clock to take home the second sectional trophy for NorthWood soccer on the day. The win moved the team’s overall record to 13-3-3 and left them with a Saturday regional date with the Hammond Clark Pioneers, who defeated Griffith 2-1 in the Sectional 17 championship match. The regional will be staged at Mishawaka Marian.

The NorthWood victory was a milestone for Panther head coach Brad Duerksen and his always-been-there assistant Egbert Dijkstra, as it was the 200th career victory for Nappanee’s version of Batman and Robin.

The boys played hard all evening,” said Duerksen. “I thought we followed our game plan well for the first 25 minutes, but then became too direct. I’m happy for these seniors. This is one of the first groups to come through Pumas (the local club soccer program) together. I’m very proud of these young men tonight. What a special day to win both the boys and girls sectionals on the same day. It’s a great day to be a Panther!”