With all of the success that Fishers High School has had in athletics over the past 14 years, it’s easy to forget that the school is still young and has quite a bit of history to make.
The Tigers made some history on Saturday. The Fishers boys soccer team triumphed at the Class 3A Kokomo regional, beating Homestead 4-0 in the semi-finals and Fort Wayne Carroll 1-0 in the championship game. It’s the first time the Tigers had won a regional in boys soccer.
“We are very excited and very proud of our post-season run,” said Fishers coach Phil Schmidt. “We faced a lot of adversity, injuries and tough close losses throughout the season. I’m proud of these boys for staying together, working hard, and getting into a position to make a state run.”
The Tigers went into the regional with a record of 10-6-1, which means they are now 12-6-1 after their big victory.
“The goal of the regular season is not to win every game,” said Schmidt. “The goal is to keep getting better every single day, learn from each and every game and play your best come tournament time. I believe we did that and the lessons we learned along the way made us better, tougher, and stronger for the post-season. The run we have made, thus far, is something these boys and these families will value and treasure for their entire lives. We have beaten quality teams and put ourselves in the 3A Final Four! I couldn’t be prouder of our players, coaches, and program.”
The Fishers roster is full of seniors, and they have been mixing in well with a group of talented younger players as well. The Tigers’ leading goal scorer is a sophomore, Noah Reinhart. He has nine goals for the season and has assisted on five others.
Senior Angel Roque has the most assists with six and also has four goals to his credit. Two more seniors, Ian Bowron and Moneeb Sayed-Elawad, each have scored seven goals, while sophomore Keiji Nakamae has five goals and four assists.
Senior Nick Rambo and junior Tyler March have held firm as the Fishers goalkeepers. March has eight saves on the season and a 0.883 goals against average (GAA), with Rambo making six saves on a 0.632 GAA.
The Tigers are doing all of this against one of the toughest schedules in the state. MaxPreps ranks Fishers’ schedule as one of the top 10 in all of Indiana. During their post-season run, the Tigers have beaten teams such as No. 4 Hamilton Southeastern in the sectional championship, in addition to No. 8-ranked Carroll.
“We play one of the toughest schedules in the state and have faced most of the top teams over the course of the season,” said Schmidt. “We lost a few close games to top teams, but have found ways to beat top ranked teams in the post-season. We know we can play with anyone because we play great team defense, play really hard and with a ton of heart. Our guys do not want the season to end! We have a great group of boys and I know win or lose they are going to give it their all.”
Fishers will travel to South Bend St. Joseph on Saturday to compete in the 3A north semi-state. The Tigers will take on another ranked team, No. 3 Chesterton, in the first game of the day at 11 a.m.
The Trojans are 19-2 for the season, including an undefeated 7-0 on their way to a Duneland Athletic Conference championship. Chesterton barreled through their DAC schedule, scoring 39 goals while giving up only three.
The Trojans won the Crown Point sectional with victories over Kankakee Valley 7-3, Valparaiso 3-2, and Crown Point in a 4-3 penalty-kick shootout. Chesterton then triumphed at the Goshen regional, scoring 2-0 victories over Plymouth in the semi-finals and Munster in the championship.
Senior Zack Bowser has been a dominant force for the Trojans, scoring 36 goals for the season. He has more than three times the number of goals of Chesterton’s second-leading scorer, junior Ryan O’Dell with 11. Senior goalkeeper Charlie Eaton has 52 saves for the year.
“Chesterton is a great program with a strong history” said Schmidt. “They won state two years ago and have been highly-ranked every year for a long stretch. We know we have our hands full against a talented, well-coached and well-organized team. They have very talented attackers and get numbers back defensively. They are an impressive team. My belief is that our tough schedule has prepared us to play a team like Chesterton. I believe it will be a great game that will come down to who can finish the key plays in the key moments of the game. I know we will play our hearts out and I can’t wait to compete together as a team at semi-state.”
NOBLESVILLE GIRLS PLAY ST. JOSEPH
After the Fishers boys take on Chesterton, the Noblesville girls will play their 3A north semi-state game. The defending state champion and No. 1-ranked Millers will take on the host, St. Joseph, with kickoff around 1 p.m.
The Indians are 16-2 for the season. St. Joseph started the tournament by breezing through the South Bend Adams sectional, taking care of Mishawaka 9-0 and Adams 3-0. The Indians returned to Adams for the regional, beating Penn 1-0 in the semi-finals and Chesterton 2-0 in the championship.
Senior Georgia Place is the leading scorer for St. Joseph, with 24 goals, while senior Natalie Moore has 14 goals and 11 assists to her credit. Senior Hannah O’Connell is the Indians’ top goalkeeper, with 47 saves and a 0.365 GAA.
Noblesville will enter the game with a 15-0-1 record, having won its fourth regional title in five years. The Millers beat Homestead 2-1 and Fort Wayne Carroll 4-0 to triumph at the Logansport regional.
Senior Jenna Chatterton leads the Noblesville scoring with 10 goals, followed by two sophomores: Ava Bramblett has eight goals and Meskerem James has seven goals.
BOTH GUERIN CATHOLIC TEAMS AT SEYMOUR
Guerin Catholic will send both of its soccer teams down to Seymour on Saturday, and the Golden Eagles will attempt to make it a semi-state sweep.
The Guerin girls play first, taking on Columbus North at 1 p.m. for the 3A south semi-state championship. The Bull Dogs are 18-1-1 for the season and swept the Conference Indiana title with a 5-0 record.
Columbus North started its tournament run at the Whiteland sectional, where it beat city rival Columbus East 7-0 and Center Grove 2-0. That sent the Bull Dogs to the Bloomington South regional, where they edged out No. 2-ranked Evansville Memorial in a 3-2 shootout in the semi-finals, then beat Bloomington South 2-1 in the championship.
Junior Jenna Lang has been a force for Columbus North, scoring 43 goals, while senior Lauryn Whitley has 22 assists for the season. Sophomore Mallory Gilley has been solid as the Bull Dogs’ goalkeeper, with 59 saves.
The Golden Eagles are 15-1-2 for the season. Guerin Catholic played at the East Central regional, where it cruised past Brownsburg 5-0 in the semi-finals, then came from way back to beat Mount Vernon 3-2 in the championship game.
Senior Quincy McMahon is GC’s leading scorer with 19 goals, and also tops the assist list with 17. Junior Katie Koger has 10 goals for the season. The Golden Eagles have two solid goalkeepers: Senior Olivia Labus has 28 saves and a 0.279 GAA, while junior Bailey Cappella has 11 saves and a 0.381 GAA.
After the girls game, the Guerin Catholic boys will take on Evansville Memorial in the 2A south semi-state championship. This game will start around 3 p.m.
The Tigers are 17-3 for the season and cruised to an undefeated Southern Indiana Conference championship at 9-0. Memorial won the Heritage Hills sectional with victories over the host school 7-0 and Mount Vernon Posey 2-0.
The Tigers returned to Heritage Hills for the regional, which they won easily by defeating Gibson Southern 4-0 in the semi-finals and Scottsburg 4-1 in the championship. Senior Isaac Bennett is Memorial’s leading goal scorer with over 20 goals for the season, while three more seniors also have double-digit goals: Garland Hall, Stevenson Jean and Max Brasseale.
Guerin Catholic will enter this game with a 14-1-2 record. The Golden Eagles took care of business at the Greensburg regional, beating Bishop Chatard 3-0 in the semi-finals and Tri-West 4-0 in the championship.
Senior Lukas Pinon has 12 goals to his credit for Guerin Catholic, followed by junior Tommy Hartman with nine and senior Joseph Lafiosca with eight.