The Dragons have endured a brutal schedule so far in 2012, and Saturday's game was no exception.
Despite battling through another hard-fought game, Warren came out on the losing end of a tight 1-0 non-region contest against Fairview at War Memorial Field.
"Fairview is another tough team," said Warren coach Tom Harrington, whose Dragons are 3-2 overall. "I thought our defense looked pretty good, but our passing needs to be quicker. Sometimes we had too many dribbles, and we didn't shoot enough."
Article Photos
Times Observer photo by Jonathan McAfoos
Hustle play
Warren’s Joseph Bell tries to block a clearing attempt from a Fairview player during Saturday’s match at War Memorial Field. The Dragons fell 1-0 and look to rebound at home against Bradford on Monday.
The teams traded chances in the first half, with both the Tigers and Dragons hitting the post. Both goalkeepers made saves to keep the game level.
The second half looked similar to the first, with both teams having opportunities but failing to find the back of the net. With the game seemingly headed to a 0-0 draw, the Tigers struck a ball into the side netting with just 8:40 to play. Although the Dragons pressured for the remainder of the match by pushing everybody into the box, they failed to score.
Harrington praised the play of Matt Sandberg, saying "he was all over the place.
"I think at one point he had about eight tackles in 30 seconds," said Harrington. "I told him if he plays like that he's a Division I player."
The loss was the first time Warren has been shut out on the season, and it's their second straight home loss. The Dragons have had better results on the road so far, defeating North East and Mercyhurst Prep.
"We've just had a really tough schedule," Harrington said. "On Wednesday, we played a really tough team in Mercyhurst Prep and were fortunate to come out with a win. Today, we played tough again and it just happened to go the other way."
Warren opens its Region 4 schedule at 4 p.m. Monday at War Memorial Field, but it doesn't get easier. It's against region-for Bradford.