By RICHIE HALL
NOBLESVILLE – When the Indiana Soccer Coaches Association’s pre-season boys soccer rankings came out, Guerin Catholic was not on the Class 2A list.
Rather than get upset about any slight, the Golden Eagles earned attention the best way: by playing well.
Guerin Catholic won its first three games of the season, cruising past 3A Pendleton Heights 4-1 to open the season on Aug. 16. The Golden Eagles then stunned 2A No. 2 Park Tudor 5-0 on Aug. 19, then took care of Heritage Christian 5-1 on Aug. 21.
The voters on the coaches poll took notice. When this week’s rankings were released, Guerin was ranked No. 2 in Class 2A. The Golden Eagles were also coming off a solid effort against Hamilton Southeastern, then ranked No. 2 in Class 3A. The Royals beat GC 1-0 on Aug. 23.
Guerin Catholic hosted Center Grove, the No. 13 teams in 3A, on Wednesday. Again, the Golden Eagles held their own before the Trojans got going in the second half and won 3-1.
“The last two games we played, both against HSE and tonight against Center Grove, two top 3A schools, we had our opportunities,” said GC coach Jim Alvarez. “Sometimes the opportunities bounce your way, sometimes they don’t.”
Senior Will Scheu is leading the way for the Golden Eagles. He has seven goals so far, including three goals in Guerin Catholic’s win over Pendleton Heights. Junior Gus Allen has four goals, with senior Christian Zermeno scoring twice this season.
Scheu and Zermeno both have five assists for the season. Zermeno assisted Adam Jurewicz on the Golden Eagles’ goal against Center Grove.
Guerin Catholic is now 3-2 and hosts Westfield at 7 p.m. tonight, taking on its fourth 3A opponent of the season.
“We play the most difficult 2A schedule in the state by far,” said Alvarez. “The goal of doing that is to get ready for the tournament, right? And that’s what we’re still trying to work to do.”
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Hamilton Southeastern, now ranked No. 3 in 3A, is also challenging itself to begin the season.
The Royals, sectional champions last season, played to a 1-1 tie with 3A No. 12 Cathedral on Aug. 19. The Irish scored their goal in the first half, but Jack Barnes scored the equalizer in the second half.
Southeastern followed that with its win over Guerin Catholic on Aug. 23. The Royals then played their Hoosier Crossroads Conference opener on Tuesday, falling to 3A No. 10 Brownsburg 2-1.
The Bulldogs led 1-0 at halftime. Jonathan Ramos-Perez scored HSE’s goal in the second half.
The Royals are 2-1-1 for the season. They play tonight at Pendleton Heights, then continue HCC play Saturday at Franklin Central.
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Westfield has won its last two games, recovering from a 0-2 start to the season.
The Shamrocks picked up their first victory on Aug. 21 by beating Pike 2-1. Brock Lingerfeldt and Bassel Khazal both scored goals.
Lingerfeldt stepped up for Westfield again Tuesday in its 1-0 HCC win over Franklin Central. Lingerfeldt scored the winning goal off a corner kick from Ian Lam.
The Rocks are 1-1 in conference play and 2-2 overall.