Nansemond River High School’s boys’ soccer team advanced to the PenSouth tournament semifinals after defeating Warwick High School Thursday.

The No. 2-seeded Warriors defeated the Raiders 5-1. In two games against Warwick, Nansemond River has outscored them 9-1.

“I love the way we played out there,” Warriors coach Dustin Tordoff said. “They executed well and had been doing things they’ve been practicing. They had that little bit of fire you needed going into the playoffs. You can tell they really wanted it.”

It was a total team effort for the Warriors, as five players scored. Warwick was the No. 7 seed in the tournament. It could have been easy for the Warriors to take their opponent for granted, but they didn’t. The game was tied 1-1 before the Warriors started to pile on more goals and run away with the win.

“After Warwick had tied the game up, their response was the biggest thing I took away from the game,” Tordoff said. “They immediately jumped right back in it and scored a goal, and then it started to go on from there.”

Nansemond River will take on No. 3 Menchville High School in the semifinals. In their last meeting, the Warriors won 1-0 in a tough back-and-forth matchup.

“We happened to come out on top last game, but it was a tough game,” Tordoff said. “We’re expecting another close, hard-fought game. We are going to have to make sure we are paying attention to details and not losing focus.”

The Warriors believe heading into this tournament that they have played as well as they’ve ever played under Tordoff. They currently have the best record in school history and have gone 4-1-1 in conference play. The goal was to peak at the right time, which is playoff time. So far, Nansemond River has been successful in doing so.

The semifinals will be played Monday evening at Gloucester High School. In the Warriors’ quest to clinch a regional berth, Tordoff believes the team will have to continue playing defense collectively. Also, the Warriors know they will have to take advantage of opportunities when they get them. The remaining four teams all are very competitive.

Nansemond River 5, Warwick 1

NR goals—McGee, Green, Heyman, Sa. Karlov, Se. Karlov