Boys win another PK shootout, girls run past Crown Point
By RICHIE HALL
KOKOMO – The Noblesville soccer teams are going back to the state finals.
The paths they took were a little different.
Both teams competed in the Class 3A north semi-state at Kokomo’s Walter Cross Field last Saturday. The Millers boys were pushed to another consecutive penalty-kick shootout in three games, but Noblesville pulled through again, edging out Lake Central 3-2 in PKs to make it to state for the third consecutive year.
After that, Noblesville’s girls team took to the field against Crown Point. The Bulldogs led 1-0 at halftime, but a flurry of goals within a three-minute span sent the Millers past Crown Point 3-1 and into the state finals for the fourth time in five years.
Noblesville will play both state championship games on Saturday. The boys will go first, taking on Cathedral at 4 p.m. The girls will follow, playing Bloomington South at 6:30 p.m. All state championship games will be played at IUPUI’s Carroll Stadium.
Penalty kicks again
Noblesville’s boys, sponsored by Tom Wood Volkswagen, should be used to penalty kicks by now. The semi-state game was the third consecutive contest where the Millers needed a shootout to claim victory – both of Noblesville’s regional games had been decided with PKs.
It didn’t look like it would be that way at first. The Millers put in a goal just three and a half minutes into the game, as Sam Holland found the back of the net. But Lake Central tied the game during the 25th minute on a goal from Michael Miljevic.
The score was 1-1 at halftime, and stayed that way throughout the second half and during the two overtime periods, so it was on to penalty kicks. Both teams made their first kick, with Holland putting one in for the Millers.
But the Indians missed their second attempt, then Noblesville goalkeeper Cole Thompson blocked LC’s third and fourth kicks. Meanwhile, Caden Rice put a kick in, giving the Millers a 2-1 lead through four rounds. Lake Central made their fifth and final kick to tie the shootout at 2-2, but Alex Pursch clinched the semi-state by making his kick at the end of the game.
Pursch said he and the team are “always confident” in Thompson, calling the “best keeper in the nation.”
“I know he’s going to get a couple saves, and we just got to do the rest,” said Pursch.
Thompson was pumping himself up – not to mention his teammates and the hundreds of Noblesville fans – after each block.
“Ideally we would win in regular time,” said Thompson. But when PKs do happen, Thompson said he calms himself, gets ready for “my moment and I’m very confident in myself that we’ll get it done.”
“Cole is phenomenal,” said Noblesville coach Ken Dollaske. “It’s not just the PK shootout, but his entire overall play, but it’s been accentuated the past three weeks because we’ve gone to PKs each time.”
The Millers improved to 17-0-5 with the win, claimed its fourth semi-state title in program history and became only the third team in IHSAA soccer history to reach the state championship match three years in a row. North Central did so in 1994-95-96 (the first three years of IHSAA soccer), with Fort Wayne Canterbury making it to the final match in 1996-97-98.
Dollaske said that the first two Noblesville teams to make state were special groups, “and this is a very special group, too,” he said. “And every group has been special for different reasons. I like being a part of it.”
Sudden scoring
The Millers’ girls team found itself in an even more precarious situation during its semi-state game. Crown Point scored a goal with 7:17 left in the first half, putting the Bulldogs ahead 1-0 at halftime.
How would Noblesville respond? By scoring three goals in three minutes. Lily Ault tied the game during the 46th minute with a header, then put in another goal with 32:54 left. Just like that, the Millers led 2-1.
“It was definitely a wake-up call,” said Ault. “We had to recollect as a group and just get our minds in the right spot.”
But just to be sure, Noblesville’s Kaydence Fleck blasted another goal into the net 90 seconds after Ault’s second goal. All of a sudden, the Millers were in the driver’s seat and they would stay there until the game was done.
“We knew we had it in us,” said Ault. “We just had to keep pushing and keep finding those areas where we could penetrate. The momentum had to keep going and we had to find our moments where we could finish.”
Millers coach Mike Brady said that he had never seen goals scored that quickly, “and certainly not in a game as important as this one. But you could tell that we were going to come out and battle.”
Noblesville won its sixth semi-state championship and improved to 16-1-3 with the victory. The Millers have certainly come a long way since the beginning of the season.
“We graduated seven starters from last year,” said Brady. “We only start one senior this year. So we were young. We took bumps early on. I still think we’re improving as a team and I really think we still need another week of practice to prepare for next weekend.”
The Guerin Catholic girls soccer team scored a late goal to beat Evansville Memorial 1-0 last Saturday to win the Evansville North semi-state and advance to the Class 2A state championship. (Mike Navarro)
Golden Eagles reach 2A final
The Guerin Catholic girls soccer team will be back in the state finals for the first time since 2020 after winning the Class 2A south semi-state last Saturday at Evansville North.
The Golden Eagles beat Evansville Memorial 1-0 in the championship game. Guerin Catholic scored its goal with four minutes left in the second half, with Alex Soucie finding the back of the net.
The victory was the fourth semi-state championship for the Golden Eagles, who will play Leo in the 2A state finals at 6 p.m. Friday.