Warsaw junior midfielder Corrissa Koontz advances the ball toward the NorthWood goal as Panther defender Callie Johnson runs interference. The Tigers won the NLC matchup 1-0. InkFreeNews photo by Keith Knepp.

Warsaw Girls 1, NorthWood 0

The host Tigers tamed the Panthers in a NLC battle of the cats. The match was closely contested, remaining a scoreless affair until the 52′ when Warsaw sophomore midfielder Macy Wayne was able to sneak one into the bottom left corner of the net. The ball found Wayne’s foot after a few moments of chaos in front of Panther goalie Lili Lomeli, which followed a free kick after a NorthWood handball that occurred just outside the 18′..

The goal would stand as the only one of the match as the Tiger defense kept the ball out of their half of the field for much of the remainder of the game. NorthWood’s best chance to score came on a breakaway late in the second period. Panther sophomore forward Caitlin Knepp was taken down just as a shot left her foot by Tiger defender Megan DeBoest and goalie Emelyn Aca. All three went down in a pile as the ball trickled toward the Warsaw goal, rolling just inches from the goal line before another Tiger back could get to it and clear the play.

The win was the second conference tally for the Tigers, who improved their record to 2-2 (2-0 NLC). Because of return to play restrictions in Elkhart County which were just rescinded this week, the match was the first of the season for NorthWood.

“I thought our team played really well, especially moving off the ball,” said Tiger coach Jon Hoover. “We possessed really well. I think we could have done a better job finishing but at the end of the day we got a conference win.”

“We played a very good game for our first one of the season,” reflected Tom Shields, NorthWood’s head coach. “I think we played (Warsaw) the best we’ve ever played them in the recent history of our girls soccer team. Our girls did not give up the whole game. They dug down deep and kept playing hard.”

Warsaw returns to their home pitch next Tuesday night in another NLC matchup with Goshen. NorthWood will open their home season on Saturday morning, hosting Bremen.

Bethany Christian Girls 3, Wawasee 1

The Lady Warriors dropped a non-conference tilt to Bethany Christian in Syracuse on Thursday night. Wawasee scored its only goal off the foot of Nadia Whalen, at a point late in the match when the hosts were trailing 3-0.

The loss drops the Warriors to 0-3-2. Wawasee will open NLC play at 11:45 a.m. Saturday when the host Concord.

Tippecanoe Valley Boys 0, Caston 0

The Vikings and the Comets fought to a 0-0 draw in a non-conference matchup played in Akron. Both teams had a handful of chances to break the deadlock, but stellar defense was on display tonight for both teams as the heat index rose well into the 90s.

Arturo Dominguez was again the standout defender for the Vikings, according to coach Andy Luce. “He covered a tremendous amount of space and frustrated the Comets multiple times as he broke up potential scoring chances,” Luce continued. ” Jessica Brito, David Reyes and Jesus Baca all were brilliant tonight as they turned away anything Caston attempted. Also, coming up big with his first clean sheet of the year, was junior Alexis Hernandez, who played his best game of his career as Viking keeper. He not only made save after save, he punted well and got the ball out to teammates up the field.”

Offensively, Valley had difficulty cracking Caston’s keeper along with their massive back line. The Vikings did have one great look, as Carson Craft was close to pushing in a shot off a pass from Caleb Petgen, but an alert Caston field player knocked the ball away at the last second.

The Vikings (0-2) will return to action next Tuesday when they travel to North Manchester to take on the Squires in a battle of TRC foes.

Bethany Christian Boys 2, Lakeland Christian Academy 0

The boys of Bethany travelled to  Winona Lake and pitched a shutout against their hosts from Lakeland Christian Academy. Colin Ward scored both Bruin goals, one in each half. Bethany dominated possession, outshooting the Cougars 13-3.

“We were playing the 12th  ranked team in the state and a traditional power in Bethany Christian tonight,” said LCA coach Dan Miller ” I thought we played hard and executed our game plan, however I give credit to Bethany for two outstanding goals. I thought Trey Avey played well in midfield, and Garrett McKeever was unfortunate not to score. I continue to be excited about the progress of this team and our season.”

The loss was the first for LCA on the season, dropping their record to 2-1. Bethany evened their season’s mark at 1-1. LCA will travel to Oregon-Davis for a noon tilt on Saturday,

Northridge Boys 3, NorthWood 0

The Raiders (2-0, 1-0 NLC) came to Nappanee on Thursday evening and defeated their conference rivals 3-0. No stats were provided. The game was the first for the Panthers due to the return-to-play restrictions in Elkhart County.