WATTSBURG — After a hard-fought 3-2 overtime win over Seneca on Sept. 7 in Warren, Warren’s boys soccer team battled to a 2-0 shutout victory Tuesday at the host Bobcats.

The second-place Dragons move a game up in the Region 4 standings at 8-2 with Seneca falling to 7-3.

“We played with a lot of heart,” said Warren coach Steffen Blair, whose Dragons are 8-4-1 overall. “We dictated the pace of the game for all 80 minutes and that starts with effort. Quinn (Norris) and Brody (Alexander) set the tone early. They covered a lot of ground in the midfield, which allowed our wingers to be aggressive in the attacking third.”

Norris finished with 25 steals in the match. Chase Sitler, Gavin Rex, Casey Rich and Dakota Sliter each had double-digit steals and took back possession all match.

“We had been challenging the boys all week to find another level of physicality and they all stepped up,” said Blair. “Jack (Chapman), Trey (Carrington) and Gavin were the epitome of that. They were relentless at the top of the field and created a lot of good chances with pressing.”

Despite controlling the majority of the match, Warren and Seneca were scoreless at halftime.

Chapman broke through in the 44th minute, assisted by Rex, and then Rex added an insurance goal nine minutes later in the second half. Adon Maier was the shutout goalie, and he did have a couple close calls.

“We played the majority of the game in their end, but that was made possible by our defense,” said Blair. “Dakota, Jack (Napolitan), Chase and Casey were fantastic tonight. We’ve come to expect that from them.”