Published: October 10, 2008 10:13 am         

Redskins, Chargers survive sizzling soccer semifinal contests

The Goshen Redskins and West Noble Chargers advanced Thursday night in the first round of the IHSAA boys soccer sectional at GHS Field.

Goshen nipped the Wawasee Warriors 1-0 in the second semifinal after West Noble edged the Bethany Christian Bruins 1-0 in the opener.

Goshen (11-4-1) and West Noble (14-3-2) meet Saturday at 7 p.m. for the championship.

The Redskins advanced on an own goal by the Warriors at 6:38 of the first half.

“We survived this one,” Goshen coach Viratham Mounsithiraj said. “Our kids seemed to be out of sync. During the flow of the game we missed some simple passes. We need to be patient and knock the ball around.

“You have to give credit to Wawasee. They came at us hard and were very physical.

“We had our chances. I told the kids we can’t expect to keep going on in the state tournament scoring only one goal.”

A year ago, the Redskins advanced to the state finals for the first time in school history.

West Noble made some history of its own Thursday.

“This is the first time we have ever defeated Bethany,” Charger coach Randy Miller said. “Bethany has put us out of the tournament the last three years.”

Based on statistics Goshen should have dominated the game with the Warriors. The Redskins led 17-0 in shots on goal and 7-1 in corner kicks.

Part of the reason Goshen might have been out of sync was the absence of senior forward Jake Heiliger who, after being injured during school hours Thursday afternoon, missed the game.

“Jake was in the emergency room until it was almost time for the game,” Mounsithiraj said. “I don’t know all the details, but he didn’t have any feeling in an arm.

“Being without him changes our game plan. We can’t run down the field like we do and put more pressure on the other team. We also missed his leadership. The guys are used to the way he plays.”

Junior Humberto Romo and sophomore Charly Ruvalcaba filled in for Heiliger.

“Both of them played well,” Mounsithiraj added.

Senior goalie Jason Lauver recorded the shutout for the Redskins. Senior Drew Johnson made six keeper saves for the Warriors.

“Tonight showed how much these kids have improved,” Wawasee coach Peter Lucht said. “They showed they can play with any team.

“At halftime we told the kids it was win or go home so we went to a 3-3-4 alignment to keep high pressure on Goshen. It the same formation we used during the season after Goshen had us down 3-0 at halftime.”

Senior midfielder Josh Stiffney controlled much of the Goshen offense.

“He’s like our quarterback or point guard,” Mounsithiraj said. “He is not going to dribble by anyone with his speed, but he reads the game well.”

Lucht said, “He (Stiffney) distributes the ball well and he makes good decisions. We gave him too much time and space, allowing him to distribute the ball at will.”

Wawasee finishes 6-10-1.

Sophomore Edgar Mejia scored West Noble’s goal at 17:13 of the second half.

“It was a free kick from the middle and I think we got a fortunate bounce off a Bethany player,” Miller said. “It was not a hard shot, but a well-placed one.”

Bethany coach Hank Willems said, “We didn’t clear the ball out after the free kick. It was a great play by him (Mejia).”

Bethany led 14-13 in shots on goal and 11-3 in corner kicks. Junior Rafael Correa made 10 keeper saves for West Noble and Seth Kauffman eight for Bethany.

“I’m very proud of the effort my kids gave,” Willems said. “We are obviously disappointed, but we had plenty of chances. We just could not convert.

“Coach Miller and I have become friends. As sad as I feel for our kids I’m happy for Randy.”

Miller feels the same about Willems saying, “Hank is an awesome guy. Bethany is a top program and for us to get a win over a program like that is something.”

Bethany finishes 11-5-2.