By RICHIE HALL
ARCADIA – Sometimes it takes a little bit of time for a sports team to get past a tough defeat.
The Hamilton Heights boys soccer team is in the midst of trying to recover from being dealt a difficult loss in last Saturday’s Hoosier Conference championship game. The Class 2A No. 12 Huskies were playing very well against 2A No. 7 West Lafayette, but the game ended in a 0-0 tie. As a result, the championship was decided by penalty kicks, and the Red Devils won the PK round 4-1.
“They were really pulled down from the championship, because we outplayed West Lafayette pretty heavily, and so it felt like we were going to win,” said Heights coach Drew Colvin.
It was the first loss of the year for the Huskies, who came into the title game with a 7-0-2 record. This week, Heights has played two games already, which both finished in 1-1 draws.
“Emotionally, it’s been up and down,” said Colvin. “We’ve had good days and bad days.”
The Huskies tied with Bishop Chatard on Tuesday, then hosted Northwestern on Thursday. After a scoreless first half, the Tigers put in their goal in the 43rd minute. But Heights rebounded after sophomore Bryce Hutcherson scored in the 60th minute. It was his first-ever varsity goal.
Hutcherson
So, that means the Huskies now have a 7-1-4 record, which is still pretty good. Heights achieved those seven wins against a decent slate of opponents, including a team that is presently ranked in Class 1A: No. 7 Park Tudor. The Huskies beat the Panthers 4-2 on Aug. 22.
One of Heights’ draws came against 1A No. 17 Muncie Burris, a 2-2 tie on Aug. 19. The Huskies have also held their own against 3A teams, with wins over Yorktown 3-2, Kokomo 4-2 and Anderson 6-2, and a 1-1 tie with Pendleton Heights. The Huskies also claimed a 2-0 win over 2A New Castle, then beat Benton Central 5-0 and Twin Lakes 3-1 in the conference tournament.
“It’s still not bad,” said Colvin. “We’ve got one loss, and technically no one has beat us on the field of play. We got beaten in a shootout, but it was a tie game on the field of play, so no one’s been able to beat us on the soccer field of play during regulation. Just keep trying to tell them that, keep the positivity up.”
Heights will get a chance to right the ship on Saturday when it hosts its Husky Invitational. The Huskies play Lapel in a 9 a.m. semifinal, with Tippecanoe Valley and Scecina playing the other semifinal. The winners meet at 3 p.m. for the championship.
“I think if we can pull out a win in our invitational, get our own trophy, then I think it could turn the season back towards where we were before.”
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Noblesville’s boys team skipped to the front of the Hoosier Crossroads Conference this week with two wins over league opponents.
On Wednesday, the 3A No. 2 Millers beat 3A No. 5 Zionsville 1-0 at the Eagles’ new soccer facility. The game was scoreless at halftime, but Noblesville got on the board six minutes into the second half when Ben Hewitt volleyed home the winning goal. The Millers’ defense then held off Zionsville, which got one last chance with 10 seconds left, but goalkeeper Cole Thompson stopped it.
Noblesville returned home to Hallmark Orthodontics Soccer Complex on Thursday and beat county rival and 3A No. 11 Hamilton Southeastern 2-1. Ben Hewitt scored both of the Millers’ goals in the first half. He kicked in the first goal during the 13th minute, then added the second goal with 2:45 left before the break.
The Royals got their goal in the second half. Owen Wilkins kicked a cross that Drew MacDonald headed into the net during the 48th minute.
After those two victories, the Millers lead the HCC standings with a 4-0-2 record. They are one point ahead of Fishers, which is 4-1-1 in the conference. Noblesville’s final conference game of the season is also its regular-season finale, on Sept. 26 when the Millers host Franklin Central. Noblesville is 8-0-5 overall and hosts Castle on Saturday.
Southeastern is 1-3-2 in the conference and 6-4-2 overall. The Royals play at Perry Meridian Saturday.
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Carmel, ranked No. 1 in 3A, beat Westfield 2-0 Thursday in another all-county game and the Greyhounds’ Cancer Awareness game.
Carmel scored its first goal with six and a half minutes left in the first half, with Tyler Schilt putting the ball in the net. Jackson Jones added a second-half goal, with Johnny Gourley making the assist.
Carmel is 7-1-1 for the season and plays tonight at Homestead. Westfield is 5-5 and plays a Tuesday HCC game at Brownsburg.
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The Sheridan boys team tied with Shortridge 3-3 on Thursday.
The Blue Devils led 2-0 at halftime. The Blackhawks came back determined in the second half and got their first goal 17 minutes into the half when Carsen Aleman headed in a corner kick by Evan Krakora.
Shortridge answered the goal two minutes later, going up 3-1. Sheridan scored again minutes later, when Aleman headed in another goal, this one off a throw-in by Tyler Garner. The Blackhawks then scored the tying goal with 44 seconds left, with Krakora putting in a ball after a breakaway.
Sheridan is 2-4-2 and plays Monday at Tipton.