The Carmel boys soccer team played in its second dramatic showdown in two days on Wednesday, as the No. 1-ranked Greyhounds hosted No. 20 North Central in Class 3A Sectional 10 semi-final action at Murray Stadium.
Rankings, of course, go out the window in rivalry games, and the Panthers pushed Carmel to the limit, all the way to penalty kicks. But the Greyhounds stepped up in the shootout, nailing all five of their PKs to get past North Central 2-1 (5-4 PK) and advance to Saturday’s championship game.
The ‘Hounds scored the game’s first goal with 14 minutes left in the first half when Exode Minga put in a ball off an assist by Davis Dilling. Carmel held the lead well into the second half until the Panthers tied the game with 10 minutes left in the contest.
The score was still 1-1 at the end of regulation, so overtime followed. Neither team scored after the two seven-minute periods, which sent the game into the shootout.
North Central went first, but Greyhounds goalkeeper Adam Keleher stopped the Panthers’ first attempt, which turned out to be the pivotal moment of the PKs. Connor Dora then put in Carmel’s first kick, and the ‘Hounds were in control of the shootout.
North Central made all four of their other attempts, but so did Carmel. Arjun Gupta, Alex Kaczmarek and Hayden Warneke all kicked in their attempts, and Will Latham made the fifth kick to clinch the victory.
“Tonight’s game was one hard fought state tournament game,” said Greyhounds coach Shane Schmidt. “It was difficult for us to find a rhythm in our passing game. Sometimes a team just has to gut it out and I couldn’t be more proud that the guys found a way to stick with it and come out on top.”
Carmel is 13-2-3 and will host Herron in the Sectional 10 championship at 6 p.m. Saturday. The Achaeans beat Crispus Attucks 3-0 in the other semi-final.
***
Royals, Millers reach Sectional 8 final
Fifth-ranked Hamilton Southeastern and No. 7 Noblesville advanced to the championship game at Class 3A Sectional 8 by winning semi-final games at Fishers on Wednesday.
The Royals played the first semi-final, where they beat district rival and No. 3-ranked Fishers 4-2. The first five minutes of the game were crazy, as the two teams combined for three goals right out of the gate.
“We had a game plan we thought could work against them,” said HSE coach Chris White. “The biggest thing was that, last time we played, they were just more aggressive than us. They were more physical. They won the mental battle. And that was our big goal coming in was making sure we match that toughness.”
Southeastern scored first, with Andrew McDonald putting one into the net. The Tigers answered quickly with a score from Kyle Clayton, but Logan Puls got the Royals right back in front with his first goal of the night.
Puls was just getting started. He scored again midway through the first half to give Southeastern a 3-1 lead. That would be the halftime score.
“I thought the first 15, 20 minutes we really came out with an aggressiveness that they weren’t ready to match,” said White.
Fishers made a push in the second half and closed the gap in the 66th minute when Noah Reinhart scored, cutting HSE’s lead to 3-2.
But the Royals put the game away when Puls got his third goal of the game with 1:55 left. Noah Link provided the assist.
“I call for the ball, and obviously, if I’m there, I make the run,” said Puls. “I trust them to make the pass.”
Southeastern improved to 13-2-3 with the victory. The Tigers finished their season 11-3-4 and were also co-champions of the Hoosier Crossroads Conference.
“I’m proud of the guys,” said Fishers coach Phil Schmidt. “We came out just a little sluggish and that’s credit to HSE. They came out fired up, played hard, played tough and really set the tone for the game.”
In the second semi-final, Noblesville cruised past Pendleton Heights 5-0. The Arabians held firm for most of the first half, but the Millers broke through in the 29th minute when Sam Divis made a penalty kick. That would be the only goal of the half.
Noblesville got going in the second half, putting in four more goals. Jake Johns scored off an assist from Divis, then Johns returned the favor minutes later, assisting Divis in his second goal of the game and the team’s third.
Noah Bernot scored the Millers’ fourth goal. Pavlos Michaeloff completed Noblesville’s scoring in the 76th minute, with Gavin Vogelgesang making the assist. The victory moved the Millers to 11-3-3 for the season.
Southeastern and Noblesville will face off at 6 p.m. Saturday for the sectional championship.
***
GC wins all-county battle
Guerin Catholic advanced to the championship of Class 2A Sectional 26 at Tri-West by beating Hamilton Heights 3-0 in an all-county semi-final.
The Golden Eagles improved to 4-9-1 with the victory, while the Huskies finished their season 10-7-1.
Guerin Catholic will play No. 3-ranked Brebeuf Jesuit in the Sectional 26 championship, which is set for 7 p.m. Saturday. The Braves beat Cardinal Ritter 4-0 to win their semi-final.
***
‘Blazers get re-match with Park Tudor
University sailed to a 5-0 semi-final victory at Class 1A Sectional 40 at Park Tudor, moving the No. 3-ranked Trailblazers into a championship re-match with the host and second-ranked Panthers.
Jake Malinzak scored two goals for University. Sam Ricketts, Holden McCulloch and Padric Hatton all added one goal. The ‘Blazers are now 14-2-2 for the season.
University and Park Tudor will play for the sectional title at 7 p.m. Saturday. The two teams met earlier in the season in the Pioneer Conference championship game, which the Trailblazers won 1-0.
***
‘Hawks fall to Burris
Sheridan dropped a 12-0 semi-final to Muncie Burris Wednesday at Class 1A Sectional 39 at Anderson Prep Academy.
The Blackhawks finished their season 6-11-1.