Warsaw’s girls soccer team celebrates its first goal in Thursday’s 6-1 win over Huntington North. (Photos by James Costello)

WARSAW — Warsaw coach Jon Hoover’s strategy for Thursday’s soccer sectional semifinal with Huntington North was pretty straightforward — win the first 30 minutes, and you’ll win the game.

The Lady Tigers answered their coach’s challenge and then some, and Hoover’s plan proved prescient as the home team netted four goals in the first 22 minutes on the way to a 6-1 win over Huntington North. Homestead beat Fort Wayne Wayne by a similar, 7-1 margin in Thursday’s early semifinal to set up a rematch between the No. 7-ranked Spartans and No. 15 Tigers in the sectional final Saturday at 2 p.m.

“I told our team before the game when we played up at Northridge last week we started kind of slow, but the second half I thought we played phenomenal. I just encouraged our team to open this game like the second half at Northridge, and they really came out hard,” said Hoover. “I’m very pleased and impressed with their ability to do that. They took it upon themselves to take that first 30 minutes like I challenged them, and because of that we were able to do what we did tonight.”

Brenna Buhrt dribbles across the field while Huntington North’s Elizabeth Bercik pursues Thursday.

The Tigers scored their first goal in the fourth minute when Audrey Grimm one-touched a beautiful volley into the top of the net on a Brenna Buhrt cross to the opposite side of the box to take an early lead. Abby Steffensmeier added an insurance goal on a chip shot from just outside the 18-yard box in the 14th minute, and the hosts struck again a little over three minutes later when a hard Steffensmeier shot caromed off the post, and Buhrt cleaned it up to push her team’s cushion to three goals in the 17th minute.

Delaney Taylor drove a hard shot through Huntington North keeper Kodi Douglass’ hands in the 22nd minute to swell that advantage to 4-0, but Vikings freshman Addison Wiley put her team on the board in the 33rd minute with a long chip shot just over Warsaw goalie Kaylee Patton’s outstretched hands. But that was as close as Huntington would ever get as Buhrt squeezed a shot from the wing just inside the near post for her second goal in the 43rd minute, then threatened again in the 49th minute with a hard shot that Douglass stopped but couldn’t contain, and Grimm scored her second goal off the rebound to bring the score to its final margin.

“We worked a lot on finishing this week and on top of that looking to see where the ball was, looking to see where we could capitalize. A lot of the rebounds I think came off really solid shots,” explained Hoover. “Audrey Grimm and Brenna Buhrt and Abby were hitting the ball hard. Even if they were right at the keeper, they were hitting with enough pace that it would be difficult to catch cleanly. A lot of it was the work they put in this week. They did a really solid job of finishing in practice, and it turned out the same way tonight.”

The semifinal was a rematch of last year’s championship in Fort Wayne, which Warsaw won by a much closer 3-2 margin. The Tigers controlled Thursday’s semifinal from the outset, with 16 shots on frame to only one by the Vikings. As in Tuesday’s 10-0 pasting of Fort Wayne South Side, Hoover was able to rest his starters for most of the second half to keep their legs fresh for Saturday’s rematch with Homestead. And it should be a doozy.

Corissa Koontz and Adalyn Harvey battle for the ball at Thursday’s late semifinal.

The Tigers lost 2-0 to the Spartans on the road back on Aug. 30. Homestead freshman striker Amelia White, one of the leading scorers for the U15 US Girls National Team, didn’t play in that game, either. But Hoover thinks his players have more to give in the rematch between ranked opponents Saturday, when Warsaw will play for a third straight sectional title.

“We know that we didn’t play our best at Homestead,” he said. “We played OK. We played a good first half, but we weren’t very disciplined in the second half when we played there. I watched a lot of video this week at Homestead just to see where we can get better, and we definitely can get better across the field so we’re excited. We’re really pleased with our play tonight, but we know that we have one more practice to get ready for a sectional championship and our upperclassmen are really ready to play that game. We’re excited. Homestead is a great team. They’re well-coached. It’s just going to be a great game to be a part of.”