MISHAWAKA - After 94 minutes of soccer two familiar foes - Concord and Warsaw - faced a 1-goal deadlock and headed to penalty kicks with 10 simple kicks to send the teams in opposite directions - one heading to the regional championship and one ending the season.

After a miss and a stop by Tiger keeper David Johnson, Gustavo Rodriguez' fourth PK score gave he Tigers a 4-3 advantage, sending Warsaw to the regional championship. Warsaw will meet Penn in the title match on Saturday at 7pm at Baker Park in Mishawaka. Penn captured a 2-0 victory over St. Joseph's in the other semifinal. Saturday's winner will advance to the Warsaw semistate the following Saturday.

Warsaw took the lead early in the first half when Corey Lopez scored unassisted and the two teams went to halftime with the Tigers on top 1-0. In the second half, Concord picked up the pace and pressured Tiger Keeper David Johnson, forcing the senior into several tough saves. The Minutemen tied the match midway in the second half when a shot by Drew Vergonet-Jenkins was redirected and went into the net.

Warsaw once again regained the momentum the remainder of regulation and in the two scoreless overtime periods, but a handful of shots sailed just beyond the goal.

Concord shot first in the penalty kick session, and the two teams were knotted at 2 apiece. Lopez and Xavier Arellanes nailed the first two for the Tigers. Both teams' third shooters missed high, and Johnson denied Concord's fourth shooter, to once again give Warsaw the edge. After Jose Rodriguez PK attempt was good, and the fifth Concord shooter's attempt tied it at 4-4...The final kick belonged to Gustavo Rodriguez, and the sophomore calmly and blasted the shot past the diving Minutement keeper, sending the Warsaw fans and its teammates into a wild celebration.

It was the second victory of the season for Warsaw (16-3-1) over Concord. The Tigers also squared off with Penn earlier this year as well with Warsaw winning that battle at Penn.

Posted In: Boy's Sports > Soccer