The Hamilton Heights boys soccer team won a hard-fought Hoosier Conference game with Northwestern 3-2 on Thursday.
The Huskies got on the board with 16 seconds left in the first half. Gerson Martinez got the ball in the net off a cross from Ben Pavy. That put Heights up 1-0 at halftime.
The Tigers tied the game up just 40 seconds into the second half, but Heights quickly got the lead back, as Ethan Aspy put the ball in off an assist by Martinez. Aspy scored again with 11:30 left in the game, kicking the ball in from about 20 to 25 yards out for his second goal of the night. That gave the Huskies a 3-1 lead.
Northwestern got back within one goal when it scored off a deflection after a penalty kick block. But Heights would hold on and get the win.
“For the last two weeks I’ve had six starters on the bench for injury,” said Heights coach Derrick Dean. “We got one of them back tonight. He played maybe 20 minutes. So I’m just hoping the rest of these guys get healed up and come back, because we got some great potential and we’ve been close in all of our games we’ve lost.”
Freshman goalkeeper Jackson McCullough made eight saves. Aspy and Tyler Andis were the players of the game. Dean said Andis played “really well” in the game.
The Huskies are 1-1 in conference play and 3-8-1 for the season. Heights will host its own Invitational on Saturday, taking on Class 1A No. 4 Scecina in its first game of the event at 9 a.m.
Guerin Catholic clinched an undefeated Circle City Conference championship on Thursday by beating Covenant Christian 4-1.
Four different players scored goals for the 2A No. 3 Golden Eagles: Bryce Dolenc, Ethan Cabotage, Daniel Cloran and Aiden Soucie. Guerin Catholic finished 5-0 in conference play and is 7-2-2 overall.
The Golden Eagles will play at the Zionsville Classic next Saturday.
University scored a tight victory over Liberty Christian on Thursday, and that qualified the 1A No. 2 Trailblazers for the Pioneer Conference championship game.
The two teams played to a 3-3 tie, and the game went to penalty kicks, where University won 4-2. That gave the Trailblazers the top seed in the PAAC North division.
University will play at 1A No. 1 Park Tudor at 11 a.m. Saturday for the conference championship. The Trailblazers are 7-1-4 for the season.
Fishers scored an upset over 3A No. 2 North Central on Thursday, beating the Panthers 3-0.
Senior Lay Day and junior Angel Roque Granados both scored a goal and made an assist in the 3A No. 13 Tigers’ victory. Junior Kevin Natzel also got one goal, with freshman Noah Reinhart making one assist.
Fishers is 8-3 for the season and plays Tuesday at Avon in its final Hoosier Crossroads Conference game of the season. The Tigers are 5-1 in HCC play, behind leader Zionsville’s 4-0 league record.
Noblesville also cruised to a Thursday victory, beating Cathedral 3-0 at the Lawrence Soccer Complex.
Drew Barnes and Palmer Ault scored goals for the 3A No. 9 Millers in the first half, giving them a 2-0 halftime lead. Garrett Poynter added a second-half goal on a cross from the left flank. Goalkeeper Adam Carter made three saves and led the defense in playing well.
Noblesville is 7-2-1 and plays at Pike on Saturday morning.
Carmel sailed to a 6-0 win over Warren Central in a Thursday Metropolitan Conference game.
Three players scored goals for the Greyhounds: Seniors Noah Green and Matt Andrews, and junior Santiago Vazquez. Senior Drew Finkam made two assists, with seniors Vincent Lam, Monish Pahndy and Sebasian Penix and junior Jackson Karl each getting one assist. At goal, seniors Gabe Moorman and Griffin Seitz and junior Henry Geisler combined for the shutout.
“I’m proud of how the guys came out right from the start of the game,” said Carmel coach Shane Schmidt. “Scoring two goals in the first five minutes really put them on their heels. We continued to work hard the entire game.”
The ‘Hounds are 3-2-1 in MIC play and 6-3-2 overall. They will play tonight at Homestead.
Sheridan dropped a hard-fought game to Crawfordsville 3-2 on Thursday.
Blackhawks junior Kyle Eden scored the game’s first goal with 24:27 left in the first half. The Athenians answered with two goals, giving them a 2-1 halftime lead. Crawfordsville then added a goal midway through the second half before senior Will Zachery converted a penalty kick to cut the lead to 3-2.
The Blackhawks are 3-4-2 and will play Tuesday at Carroll in a Hoosier Heartland Conference game.
The Hamilton Heights boys soccer team was in celebration mode on Thursday after its Hoosier Conference win over Northwestern. The Huskies beat the Tigers 3-2. (Richie Hall)
The Sheridan boys soccer team honored its seniors at the Blackhawks’ game with Crawfordsville on Thursday. (Kirk Green)