By RICHIE HALL
BROWNSBURG – In a way, Saliyah Brady took the Carmel girls soccer team on her shoulder during the Greyhounds’ Class 3A regional semi-final match at Brownsburg on Wednesday.
Carmel had just put a corner kick into play, and the ball wound up bouncing off of Brady’s shoulder and into the net. That got the No. 4-ranked Greyhounds on the board, and they would cruise from there, going on to beat the Bulldogs 3-0 and advance to Saturday’s regional championship match.
Carmel scored all three of its goals in the second half. The Greyhounds were playing aggressively and got several chances in the first half, but were held off each time. It took until the 46th minute for Carmel to break through with Brady’s goal.
“It kind of hit between me and the player next to me,” said Brady. “I just got in front of her a little bit and it just went in.”
“I told them, ‘We could practice that a million times, we’d never make that shot,'” said Carmel coach Frank Dixon.
With that, the Greyhounds had the lead.
“It was exciting because we were having a lot of shots on goal, and it was good to get one in to get the momentum and continue getting some more,” said Brady.
The Greyhounds, indeed, got more goals during the game. Ava Cabellon scored Carmel’s second goal in the 61st minute, with Emily Roper making the assist. The Greyhounds’ Lila Simmons then added a third goal with eight seconds left in the game.
Carmel improved to 16-2-2 with the win and returns to Murray Stadium at 3:30 p.m. for the regional final. The Greyhounds will play No. 18-ranked East Central, which beat Roncalli 4-0 in its semi-final match.
“It’ll be at home, and that’s always a good thing,” said Dixon. “Although both teams had a great crowd out here tonight.”
HUSKIES WIN
Hamilton Heights traveled to Bellmont for a Class 2A regional semi-final match on Wednesday. The No. 15-ranked Huskies beat the Braves 2-1.
Heights scored the game’s first goal during the 31st minute, with Keri Townsend putting a 25-yard shot into the net. The Huskies added their second goal during the 66th minute on Ella Hickok’s free kick. Bellmont scored during the 79th minute, but that would be as close as it would get.
Heights improved to 17-3 with its win and will play the regional championship at Norwell at 4 p.m. Saturday. The Huskies will play No. 10 Leo, which defeated No. 13 Western 4-1 to advance to the final.
MILLERS FALL TO HOMESTEAD
Noblesville’s state championship run came to an end Wednesday night, as the 3A No. 1 Millers fell to No. 2 Homestead 4-2 in a regional semi-final at the Spartans’ field.
Ava Bramblett scored the game’s first goal in the 10th minute to get Noblesville on the board, but Homestead quickly scored to tie the game at 1-1. Bramblett put in her second goal in the 32nd minute, and the Spartans answered that one just before halftime, making the score 2-2. Homestead added two more goals in the second half, handing the Millers their first loss since 2018, a run that included back-to-back state championships.
Noblesville finished its season with a 16-1-1 record, and won the Hoosier Crossroads Conference championship as well as the Millers’ fifth sectional title in the past six years.
REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP PAIRINGS
CLASS 3A
At Kokomo
Homestead vs. Harrison
At Goshen
South Bend St. Joseph vs. Valparaiso
At Seymour
Castle vs. Bloomington South
At Carmel
East Central vs. Carmel
CLASS 2A
At Norwell
Hamilton Heights vs. Leo
At Mishawaka Marian
Mishawaka Marian vs. West Lafayette
At Washington
Evansville Memorial vs. Jasper
At Bishop Chatard
Cathedral vs. Brebeuf Jesuit
CLASS 1A
At Taylor
Blackhawk Christian vs. Tipton
At Westview
Westview vs. Andrean
At Providence
Forest Park vs. Providence
At Knightstown
Heritage Christian vs. Cascade