The REPORTER
In 2022, the Noblesville soccer teams made school history by winning both the boys and girls state championships on the same day.
The Millers are hoping history repeats itself this year. Both teams will play for a place in the Class 3A state finals on Saturday at the Kokomo semi-state. Noblesville’s No. 1-ranked boys take on No. 9 Lake Central at 3:30 p.m., with the No. 3 Noblesville girls playing No. 9 Crown Point at 6 p.m.
The Millers boys are 16-0-5 for the season and are fresh off winning a hair-raising regional. Noblesville needed penalty kicks to win both games of the regional, winning a semifinal at No. 19 Warsaw, then edging out No. 14 Fort Wayne Carroll in the championship at Kokomo. The Millers are 16-0-5 for the season.
The Lake Central Indians are 17-3 for the season. Lake Central easily won the Highland sectional, defeating Hammond 12-1, No. 13 Munster 3-1 and Hammond Central 5-0. The Indians hosted Hobart in the regional semifinal, beating the Brickies 3-1, then defeated Concord 1-0 at Penn for the regional title.
Noblesville’s offensive leader is senior Sam Holland, who tops the Millers’ list in both goals scored (16) and assists (seven). Freshman Ben Hewitt has put in 13 goals, while senior Ashton Craig has eight goals and five assists to his credit. Senior goalkeeper Cole Thompson has 53 saves and a 0.638 goals against average. (Lake Central stats are not available).
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The Noblesville girls also had a dramatic regional final at Kokomo. The Millers edged out No. 7 Fort Wayne Carroll in the championship game, also by penalty kicks. Noblesville traveled to Fort Wayne Northrop for the regional semifinal and cruised past the Bruins 7-2. The Millers are 15-1-3.
Crown Point is 18-2-1 for the season. The Bulldogs got past No. 14 Chesterton 1-0 in the semifinals and Valparaiso 3-2 in the championship to win the Hobart sectional. Crown Point played at Lake Central for the regional semifinals and got a 2-1 victory, then traveled to Penn for the championship, where the Bulldogs took care of No. 16 Northridge 2-0 in the final.
Sophomore Hannah Pesich leads Crown Point with 12 goals, followed by senior Emma Charles and junior Izzy Sainato with 10 goals each. Charles also has 12 assists. Goalkeeper Sam Quick has 33 saves on the season with a 1.556 goals against average.
Junior Meredith Tippner has been dominant for Noblesville, with 22 goals scored. Juniors Atley Pittman and Lily Ault both have five assists. Junior goalkeeper Bella Wyatt has made 56 saves for the season with a 0.731 GAA.
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The Guerin Catholic girls team is traveling to Evansville North on Saturday to play in the Class 2A south semi-state. The No. 3 Golden Eagles will play No. 8 Evansville Memorial in a game that starts at 7 p.m. (6 p.m. Central Time).
The Tigers are one of the premier soccer teams in Indiana, as they won a state-record 19th regional title last week. Memorial traveled to No. 18 Silver Creek for the semifinal and defeated the Dragons 5-1. The Tigers then headed north to Washington for the regional title game and beat No. 20 Jasper 2-0 to claim title No. 19.
Memorial played at the Heritage Hills sectional, where it beat the host school 2-1 in the first round, No. 11 Gibson Southern 1-0 in the semifinals and Boonville 5-0 in the championship.
Junior Myla Browning is the offensive leader for the Tigers, with 18 goals and eight assists. Sophomore Emma Teague has been a force as goalkeeper, with 161 saves.
Guerin Catholic won its first regional since 2020 last week. The Golden Eagles won 3-0 at No. 19 Tri-West in the semifinals, then beat No. 10 Lawrenceburg 2-0 in the championship at Bishop Chatard.
Two seniors are on top of the goal-scoring list. Alex Soucie has 12 goals and 11 assists to her credit, with Annabel Wright adding 11 goals. Junior Olivia Eaton and senior Taylor Beard have been sharing goalkeeper duties, with Eaton getting 54 saves and a 0.922 GAA, and Beard totaling 40 saves and a 0.979 GAA.