Tigers lose cool and contest, 4-1, to Panthers

This article is brought to you by Jeff Lipinski for Howard County Commissioner District 1.

Sports in early September tend to be hot in Howard County. Summer is still lingering, and the temperatures stay high. Unfortunately for the Northwestern High School’s boys’ soccer team, that heat didn’t limit itself to the temperature gauge.

The Tigers traveled to Russiaville on Sept. 1 for a match but found themselves on the losing end of tempers and the game, dropping the contest, 4-1, to the host Panthers.

The Tigers struck first, with freshman Clayton Bowser scoring to give Northwestern a 1-0 lead. It would be the only time the Tigers found the back of the net. Yet their defense held until the final moments of the first half, when Western’s Brett Kallio hit paydirt with a penalty kick.

Unfortunately, tempers on the Northwestern squad ran as hot as the thermometer that night. Freshman Jensen Tarrh picked up a red card for hip-tossing a Western player after hard contact. The incident forced a stoppage as it took both referees to intervene, avoiding further escalation.

With the score knotted at one entering the second half, the Panthers picked up the pace and began finding the net. Kallio scored his second goal of the night, and junior Kendall Krause tallied a pair of goals.

The unanswered scores brought out the ire from Northwestern. In the second half, Gabriel Kistler, Ty Kidwell, and Conall Miller found themselves on the receiving end of yellow cards as frustrations and fervent complaints on the Northwestern side continued to rise.

The loss dropped the Tigers to 2-2-1 at that point in the season, and things got no better over the next week, as Northwestern dropped matches to Tipton and Argos before righting the ship on Sept. 10 with a win at home against Rochester. Now at 3-4-1, the Tigers host Faith Christian (8-1) on Sept. 14.

Western improved to 4-1 with the win and reeled off two more victories to continue its streak. The Panthers bested Twin Lakes and Mississinewa to put their record at 6-1. The Panthers travel to Maconaquah (5-1-1) on Sept. 14.

See additional photos from this match, including galleries for Western and Northwestern, courtesy of Adam Hartsough, on the Lantern’s Facebook page.