WARSAW – Wednesday night’s game against Concord did not go quite like the Warsaw soccer team had expected. The visiting Minutemen frustrated the No. 13 ranked Tigers early and used physical play to claim an impressive 3-0 win at Warsaw High School.

“It’s been an up and down season for us,” stated Concord head coach Shawn McCuen. “We took a few things for granted this season during games against (Elkhart) Memorial and Wawasee, especially on defense. We’ve worked a lot on our high pressure and that showed tonight and I think it took Warsaw out of its rhythm. We just won balls and were able to capitalize.”

Concord’s defense was stout for the majority of the night. The back line for the Minutemen, anchored by seniors Ryan Tepe and Trent Snyder, was very effective against an aggressive Warsaw front. Both Tepe and Snyder gave Warsaw’s star Tito Cuellar fits all night, preventing the Tiger senior from getting any clear looks.

The solid defense in the first half allowed for the Concord offense to get comfortable and eventually score. Juan Aguilar netted a goal in the eleventh minute to give the visiting team an early 1-0 lead. Concord would hold that lead going into the half.

Before the start of the second half, McCuen reminded his team to not be satisfied with the small lead. The Minutemen responded by netting two goals in the half. The difference in the two halves is that, while Concord was more physical throughout the entire game, Warsaw actually seemed to control more of the tempo in the second half. The Tigers just never could find the back of the net.

“We are just not coming out with a lot of energy,” said Scott Bauer, Warsaw’s head coach. “We are letting teams take away our time and space, and we’re not taking away their time and space. The second half we played with much more energy and I think we controlled most of the game that half, we just couldn’t get a goal out of it.

“Our guys have to realize that it’s going to be a long season unless they step up and match the energy of the other team. It’s going to be up to them, just because we’re Warsaw doesn’t mean things will automatically happen for us.”

Despite the final score, Warsaw’s defense did do a nice job at times on Wednesday. Peyton Long did an excellent job in goal, stopping quite a few attempts by Concord. A mental error on the defense led to Concord’s second goal in the 53′, scored by Jared Long. That goal was described by Bauer as the “icing on the cake” for Concord.

Christian Saleh added Concord’s third and final goal with just 50 seconds remaining in the contest to cap the upset win for the Minutemen.

Warsaw (2-1-2, 0-1-1) will play in the opening round of the Carroll Tournament on Thursday at 5 p.m. Concord (2-2-1, 1-1-1) will host undefeated Goshen on Tuesday night.

Warsaw won the junior varsity match 2-0.