Bishop Noll eyes postseason roll

Updated: May 9, 2012 9:51AM

It’s been a month since Bishop Noll’s soccer team reached a new level.

At least that’s what Warriors midfielder Angel Zamudio believes.

“We had never beaten Munster in my four years here,” he said. “We either lost to them or tied them. To me, that game was a challenge to see where we stand. We beat them at their place. Our fans were going crazy that game.”

Zamudio scored the team’s first goal in the game as the Warriors upset Munster 2-1.

Warriors coach Armando Garza agreed.

“When we beat Munster, we started to think we can play with anybody,” he said. “The kids believed in themselves. We knew we had a pretty good team, but winning that game gave us a lot more confidence.”

Less than two weeks ago, the team rallied with a late goal by Gonzalo Romo to tie Chesterton. Three days ago, the Warriors played rival Andrean tough but lost 1-0.

The Warriors (11-2-1) also suffered a 3-2 upset loss to Boone Grove last week, which Garza believes was good for his team heading into the sectional.

“We needed that loss, because I wanted to prove to them they were beatable,” Garza said. “They weren’t cocky. They’re a pretty good, unselfish group of kids who work and play well with each other.”

The two close losses should take a lot of pressure off Noll as it prepares for postseason play in the Class 1A format.

“I think the 1A really helps, because when we play the other teams, we’ll feel like we have a better team than everyone else does,” sophomore midfielder Aaron Garza said.

“It gives us a lot of confidence. We feel like we’re good enough to keep up with anybody. I feel really excited. I think we have a chance to go pretty far.”

The Warriors are explosive, very quick, unselfish and extremely well balanced. They’re also a close-knit bunch.

“We do have good chemistry,” Zamudio said. “We all know how to play together and we feed off each other. We have quite a few kids who’ve played on traveling teams. We’re a very close team. We hang out with each other on and off the field.”

The Warriors hope to be better in the postseason than they were a year ago, when they reached the championship game of the Merrillville Regional and lost to eventual state champion Lake Central, 5-0.

How far can they go?

“We’ll see,” Armando Garza said. “We’ll just worry about the sectional first. We really haven’t done anything yet. Our goal right now is win the conference title (Northwest Indiana Soccer Conference). If we can beat Covenant Christian (today) we’ll share the conference title with Wheeler.”

Zamudio and his teammates are looking for another shot at Andrean.

“We’re anxious and we’re looking forward to that game again,” he said. “We’re very capable of going far. It all depends on how much heart we put into it and how much (effort) we’re willing to give for each game.”

Garza will have his players ready.

“Playing against Lake Central was always our goal,” he said. “Maybe with the new class system, it might give us and several other teams a chance to go a little bit further.”

Regarding a possible rematch with the 59ers?

“If we play them again, may the best team win,” he said.

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