Warren claims NSC championship

Updated: March 22, 2011 5:24PM

Round Lake had visions of becoming the first NSC Prairie team to claim the NSC Championship game.

But a 1-0 Panther lead vanished when Warren scored three goals in just 6:16. The host Blue Devils cruised from there to take the NSC title game 3-1.

"I was a little worried after they scored the first one," said Warren coach Jason Ahonen. "We were pretty stagnant offensively."

Mauricio Salgado gave Round Lake the lead by blasting a left-footed shot into the net with 28:58 remaining in the second half.

But Warren's Danny Szczepanek answered with a pair of goals. First, his crossing effort was deflected into the goal by the Round Lake defense at the 26:31 mark.

"I just wanted to cross it," Szczepanek said. "Luckily, it went off the defense and we scored. A goal's a goal."

Luck played no role in the second goal, however. After picking up a loose ball, Szczepanek used his left foot to blast a 25-yard shot into the upper 90 at the 21:58 mark.

"When I hit it, I knew it was going in," Szczepanek said. "I hit a beauty, that's for sure."

"Danny scored two of the biggest goals of his life," Ahonen said. "That second goal was ridiculous."

Warren (12-5-5) added a third goal when Sean Kirwan ripped a shot off the crossbar. Auner Solis quickly slammed in the rebound to seal the outcome. The loss dropped Round Lake to 13-3-5.

The other standout for Warren was goalkeeper Brady Walsh. He made several leaping saves early in the contest to keep the Devils within striking distance.

"I made the saves when I needed to," Walsh said. "Our defense did a good job of shutting them (Panthers) down."

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