The three Hamilton County teams that are playing in the IHSAA’s Class 3A state soccer state championship games on Saturday are schools that have been quite successful in the post-season over the years.
The Noblesville girls team is going for its third state title in the past four years. The Millers will play Carmel, a team that has qualified for state for the fourth time in five years. Those two teams will face off in the 3A girls game at 4 p.m. at IUPUI’s Michael Carroll Stadium.
Before the 3A girls take to the field, Noblesville’s boys team will be trying to defend its 3A state title. The Millers will play Columbus North, with that game beginning at 1:30 p.m. Noblesville is the sixth school in the history of the IHSAA state soccer tournament to have both its girls and boys teams reach the state championship game. (The IHSAA tournament began in 1994.)
Noblesville’s boys team won its first-ever state championship last season by beating old rival Carmel 3-1 in the title game. The Millers did so with a very talented group of seniors, but the players on this year’s team have been making their mark as well.
GROWING CLOSER
“Over the course of the season, we have grown closer,” said Noblesville coach Ken Dollaske. “We trust one another more. At the beginning of the season, we had a lot of new faces playing roles they weren’t used to and trying to find that chemistry was hard, especially when you graduate 10 out of your 11 starters from the previous season. Now, everyone understands their roles and how they can push each other to be the best teammates possible.”
There are two seniors on this year’s team that started for the Millers in last year’s state championship game as juniors: Jake Johns and Jackson Montgomery, both midfielders. Seven of the 11 probable starters on the team are seniors.
The offensive leader is a junior, Sam Holland. The forward has scored 13 goals for Noblesville and handed out eight assists. Right behind Holland is senior forward Sam Divis, who has scored 11 goals and leads the assists with nine. Starting goalkeeper, junior Cole Thompson, has made 67 saves and compiled a goals against average of 0.873 and six shutouts. Senior Owen Mejia and junior Miles Tucker both have scored five goals, while senior Pavlos Michaeloff has four goals and two assists.
The Millers are 15-3-3 for the season. Noblesville began its tournament march with two wins at the Fishers sectional, beating Pendleton Heights 5-0 and Hamilton Southeastern 3-0. The Millers hosted Warsaw in the regional semi-final, and won that game 2-1.
Noblesville played the regional championship at Kokomo, and made a big comeback against Fort Wayne Carroll. The Millers were down 3-1 before tying the game by the end of regulation, then won the eventual penalty kick shootout for a 4-3 regional title victory. Noblesville went back to Kokomo for the semi-state and beat Penn 3-2 to punch its ticket back to state.
The Bull Dogs come into the state title game at 19-1-1. The lone loss was a 1-0 decision to Carmel, while Columbus North played to a scoreless tie with Columbus East on Aug. 25.
The Bull Dogs faced Columbus East again in the opener of the Roncalli sectional, winning that game 1-0. Columbus North the beat the host Royals 2-1 and Franklin Community 3-1 for its first sectional title since 2016. The Bull Dogs hosted Center Grove in the regional semi-final and beat the Trojans 3-1, then cruised past Floyd Central 5-0 in the final at Floyd Central.
That sent Columbus North to the semi-state, and it defeated Cathedral 2-1 to win that championship. The Bull Dogs were now back at state for the first time since 2012.
Junior Christian Gomez Cardoso is CN’s overall leader on offense with nine goals and 16 assists. Senior Nathan Imlay has the most goals scored with 11, while senior Flynn Keele also has nine goals to his credit. Another senior, Anthony Johnson, has handed out 11 assists.
“CN has some nice players in key positions,” said Dollaske. He noted that Gomez Cardoso “is very strong on the ball and has great field vision.” Dollaske said that the Bull Dogs have a right-wing player, junior Raul Oliveria, that is left-footed, “so he is able to cut inside and provide dangerous crosses or shots on goal.”
So, the Millers have put their focus on the above two players, “as well as putting pressure on CN’s center backs,” said Dollaske. “If we can do that, we should be successful.”
FEEDING OFF EACH OTHER
Once their game is done, the Noblesville boys will be cheering on the girls team as it takes on the Greyhounds.
“Our teams feed off one another,” said Dollaske. “Having the girls right there with us makes it more special for our boys team and the Noblesville community. It also pushes our competitive drive. We see the girls having tremendous success on the pitch and it makes us want to equal their production.”
Millers girls coach Mike Brady said pretty much the same thing.
“The programs feed off of one another, and our players are the boys’ biggest fans, and we know they support us as well,” said Brady. “It’s really special when both teams can play for a state title. We want them to win, as they want us to win. It’s certainly a great time to be a Miller.”
In order to win its third state title, Noblesville will have to beat a team that’s won more state soccer championships than any other: Carmel. The Greyhounds girls have won 10 IHSAA state titles, plus a pre-IHSAA championship in 1991.
The Millers hosted Carmel in a regular season game on Sept. 19, with Noblesville winning 3-1. Neither team has lost since then. The Millers have won all their games, while the Greyhounds’ only setback was a scoreless tie against Zionsville on Sept. 24. The Eagles also handed Noblesville its only loss of the year, a 1-0 result on Sept. 14.
Other than that, the Millers have won every game, and hold a 19-1 record coming into the state championship game. Noblesville hosted Sectional 8 this season, and won it by beating Fishers 3-1, Hamilton Southeastern 1-0 and Pendleton Heights 3-0.
The Millers then welcomed Homestead for the regional semi-final, and beat the defending 3A state champion 3-0. In the regional final at Kokomo, the Millers took care of Fort Wayne Carroll 5-0, then sailed past Crown Point 7-0 seven days later for the Kokomo semi-state title.
Carmel coach Frank Dixon said that Noblesville “has had an incredible run with three state finals appearances, including this year,” over the past four years. Dixon noted his team’s run with four appearances in the 3A title game over the past five years.
“It is a tribute to the strength of competition in IHSAA Sectionals 8 and 10 that the winners of those competitions match up well with the other 3A schools around the state,” said Dixon. “You know the old saying, you have to beat the best to be the best. This definitely applies to the Noblesville/Carmel rivalry.”
“To win Saturday, both teams will have to avoid mistakes and play with composure,” said Dixon. “I think goals will not be easy to score. We will have to take full advantage of the few chances that will be available.”
The Millers have had two outstanding leaders on their team all season. Senior Ava Bramblett and sophomore Meredith Tippner have both scored 14 goals this season. Tippner has handed out 10 assists, while Bramblett has dished out seven assists.
Two other Noblesville players have added seven goals: Senior Meskerem James and junior Sydney Elliott. Sophomore Bella Wyatt is the starting goalkeeper, she has made 30 saves and compiled six shutouts, with a GAA of 0.361.
Another senior, Lauren Adam, has six assists and two goals to her credit. The Millers have six senior starters, part of a group that has delivered remarkable success over the years.
“Our senior class has been special, while some of the have played varsity for four years, others have worked hard and made the most of their opportunities,” said Brady. “We always talk about how W.A.T. (we are together), and this class has made it about the team, not our past accomplishments, not about our senior class, but about the team. They’ve not only bought into our culture, but they in many ways define it.”
Carmel will enter the state championship game with an 18-2-2 mark. The Greyhounds started their tournament path at the Westfield sectional, beating Crispus Attucks 7-0, Zionsville 3-1 and North Central 2-0. Carmel hosted both games of the regional, getting wins against Brownsburg 3-0 and Cathedral 4-2, then traveled to Seymour for the semi-state, where it beat Center Grove 1-0.
“I believe our difficult schedule and path through the tournament have helped make us a more resilient and composed team,” said Dixon. “Mentally, we are tougher because of the competition we faced in every game.”
“Carmel is playing well right now, and we know that it will be a different team than when we played them earlier in the season, but we’re also a different and better team than we were a month ago, so we’ll just have to play our game, and play it better than we have all season if we are to be successful,” said Brady.
Junior Megan Hamm is the leader for the ‘Hounds in both goals scored (12) and assists (nine) this season. Sophomore Olivia Cebalo is close behind with 10 goals, while senior Sophia Shepherd has dished out eight assists.
Carmel’s Sophia Shepherd has eight assists and four goals for the Greyhounds this season. The Greyhounds play Noblesville for the Class 3A state championship on Saturday. (Kirk Green/File photo)
Senior Greta Heyl is another consistent player, with five assists and four goals. Senior goalkeeper Aubrie Empie has 58 saves, nine shutouts and a .446 GAA.
“While I can certainly lose games for my team with coaching decisions and influence the outcome with preparation and mid-game decisions, players win games,” said Dixon. “We have advanced in tournaments and won championships because my players have performed at a high level. They are capable of this because they work hard at their individual game throughout the year. The girls love the sport, want to be successful and know they have to put in the work to win games.”
Dixon also had this to say, and in doing so he could easily be speaking for any of the other coaches:
“Winning or reaching this game is the goal of every high school player so it never gets old. Everyone in the program wants to be on the field Saturday. My former assistant coach, DeWayne Akin, was fond of asking us at the start of each state finals game, ‘Is there any other place you would rather be than right here, right now.’ The answer was always obvious.”