SYRACUSE — A three-game losing streak came to a screeching halt Thursday evening for the Wawasee boys soccer team. The Warriors welcomed in Northern Lakes Conference foe NorthWood, a team on a two-game skid of its own, and shutout the Panthers en route to a 1-0 victory.

“It feels great to get a conference win and even better to get a shutout,” expressed Wawasee coach Jordan Sharp.

The Warriors had to protect the lead for most of the game as freshman Chris Pena scored the decisive goal in the first half of Thursday’s contest. A goal kick from Dillon Drake was the unofficial assist for Pena’s score. The freshman has been making a name for himself with his speed and soccer acumen this season. The goal against the Panthers was just another feather in his cap to start his career.

While Pena was able to make some noise on offense, it was Drake that kept the Panthers at bay for the majority of the game. The sophomore keeper was able to protect the goal against several promising looks from NorthWood, especially in the last 20 minutes of the game. Drake showed plenty of skill at times, but it did not hurt for the underclassman to have just a touch of luck on his side as well.

Around the 67-minute mark in the contest, Drake was drawn out of goal just a little too far which allowed for NorthWood’s Jaron Mullet to loft a shot over the Warrior goalie and straight at a wide-open goal. The lofted shot seemingly hung in the air forever before hitting off the crossbar and bouncing in favor of the Warriors, leading to clearance by a Wawasee defender.

The Warriors were able to dodge another potential bullet later on as Brady Wickersham found himself on the wrong end of an issued yellow card following a confrontation with NorthWood keeper Cody Cripe with just 57 seconds remaining. Cripe booted the ensuing free kick down to Wawasee’s end which set up a goal kick. Despite a valiant effort from NorthWood’s offense, Wawasee would scrape by to secure the win.

It was the best the Warriors had looked in several games and the effort paid off, but Sharp knows his team has to fight for more than just one win in conference.

“We’re excited about this win,” Sharp said, “but these boys are capable of more and now it’s about going out there and proving that. We’re looking forward to playing Memorial this Saturday.”

Wawasee improves to 2-5-1 overall and 1-1 in the NLC. The Warriors travel to Memorial Saturday for an 11:45 a.m. varsity start. NorthWood falls to 2-3 overall and 0-3 in the NLC. The Panthers play at the Argos Invitational Saturday.

NorthWood’s JV defeated Wawasee 2-0.