PLYMOUTH – On paper, the girls soccer matchup between defending sectional champion Warsaw and winless Wawasee looked none too promising for high drama. But with a Warsaw side well aware of what happened with its boys soccer program just 24 hours before, the Lady Tigers were taking no chances.

Elizabeth VanWormer notched a hat trick and the Warsaw defense was air tight in a 5-0 win over Wawasee in the semi-finals of the Plymouth Girls Soccer Sectional Thursday night.

VanWormer needed just 10 minutes to get her team on the board, taking a feed from Danielle Hutcherson and carving up the middle of the Wawasee defense for an easy goal. Hutcherson did the work herself five minutes later taking a pair of touches on the ball and sending an offering past keeper Marte Tverra.

Van Wormer notched her second goal just a minute before half, then made her hat trick look easy in the 57th minute with a simple touch. Hutcherson grabbed her second goal of the night on a well-executed header off a corner kick from Brooklyn Jackson in the 49th minute.

“The first time we played Wawasee it was 1-0 in the first half,” Warsaw head coach Peter Lucht said of his motivating tactics prior to the match. “The second example was the Warsaw boys last night. They went down 3-0 and I said, let’s not go down 3-0 with 20 minutes left before we start playing.

“I thought we showed a good amount of control in the midfield, and we were able to move some girls around at times to get some better looks on offense.”

Warsaw controlled most of the pace in the game, and would have a decided edge in the offense, firing off 15 shots while Wawasee had nary a shot on target. The Lady Warriors, dealing with a historic season for the wrong reasons, were shut out for the 16th time in 17 contests, and recorded just one goal the entire season. The offseason, according to Lady Warrior head coach Doug Heinisch, will be paramount to how the team progresses moving forward.

“It is going to take some time,” Heinisch said, whose team closes at 0-17. “I’m pleased with the effort we gave all season. It’s a great group of kids. The key to us going forward – if we work hard in the offseason – the results will be different. We did make up ground this year, but the story is out on how we move forward.”

Warsaw (10-3-2) advances to Saturday night’s 7 p.m. final versus NorthWood (13-3-1) in Plymouth. The Lady Tigers have won three consecutive sectional titles, and are seeking its seventh title overall. Lucht is hoping the lopsided match in his club’s favor doesn’t translate in lazy play for the final.

“I didn’t want to overlook Wawasee one bit, full respect to their team and their efforts,” Lucht said. “Our ladies were able to possess the ball well and make good decisions. Hats off to them for that. We look forward to the challenge Saturday.”

NorthWood defeated Plymouth 4-0 in the second semifinal match Thursday night. The Panthers edged Warsaw 2-1 in their regular-season meeting Aug. 29 in Nappanee.