It took more than overtime to decide the winner of the Hamilton Southeastern-Fishers girls soccer sectional semi-final game Thursday.
The two teams played to a 1-1 draw after regulation and the extra period, so the No. 5 Royals and the No. 16 Tigers had to go to penalty kicks to determine who would advance to the championship at Class 3A Sectional 8 at Noblesville. After seven rounds, Southeastern finally prevailed, edging out Fishers 5-4.
“You always expect a battle against Fishers,” said HSE coach Greg Davidson. “Incredibly well-coached team. Some of these girls play club together, know each other from around the block. I think my girls did a good job of taking the emotion part out. But you always expect a good game against Fishers.”
The Royals will play the host Millers at 2 p.m. Saturday in the title game. Noblesville, the top-ranked team and defending 3A state champion, beat Pendleton Heights 3-0 in Thursday’s first semi-final.
Both goals in the second semi-final game were scored late in the first half. Southeastern got on the board first when Maddy Bellaver scored with 3:43 left on the clock. But the Tigers answered quickly: Lillianna Touhey put the ball into the net with 59 seconds left in the half.
After that, neither team scored again, sending the game into PKs. The Royals went up 2-0 after Lydia Self and Morgan Castiglione made their kicks. Aubrey Robertson got Fishers on the board, but Bellaver converted her kick to give HSE a 3-1 lead.
The Tigers came back to tie things up at 3-3. Allison Macbeth made a kick, then goalkeeper Jordan Imes blocked a Royals attempt before coming back to make her own shot.
Fishers’ Isabelle Streeter and Southeastern’s Kiley Jones both converted kicks to make the score 4-4. Finally, in the seventh round, Royals goalkeeper Makenna Nickens blocked a Tigers’ shot, then Molly Harris made her kick to give Southeastern the win.
Nickens was one of three goalkeepers that played for HSE. Abby Jenkins played the first half, but got injured towards the end of the half and eventually had to leave the game. Nickens and Hailey Wade both came in to the game and played well.
“Hailey came in and did fantastic,” said Davidson, who credited Wade with making two “great, great saves.”
“Nickens is so athletic,” said Davidson. “She’s such a great leader, she’s so positive that you just know she’s going to make some stops.”
The Royals are 9-3-4 for the season, while Fishers finished its year 6-4-3.
Noblesville had an easier time advancing to the championship game. The Millers got their first goal in the fifth minute, when Meskerem James scored off an assist by Ava Bramblett.
Near the end of the first half, James would assist Noblesville’s second goal, which was scored by Jenna Chatterton. The Millers thus went into halftime with a 2-0 lead. Paige Landers added Noblesville’s third goal in the 63rd minute by converting a penalty kick.
With the win, the Millers improved to 12-0-1 for the season.
GUERIN CATHOLIC REACHES FINAL
Over at Class 3A Sectional 10, host Guerin Catholic advanced to the championship match with a 2-1 win over Zionsville.
The No. 3-ranked Golden Eagles played to a scoreless tie with No. 14 Zionsville in the first half. But Guerin Catholic used a sudden burst in the beginning of the second half to take a 2-0 lead.
Emersen Jennings scored GC’s first goal three minutes into the half, then Quincy McMahon added the second goal just two minutes later. Zionsville scored late in the second half, but the Golden Eagles were able to hang on for the win.
Guerin will play No. 13 North Central in the championship game, which is set for 2 p.m. Saturday. The Panthers beat Westfield 3-1 to advance.
North Central scored its first goal early, but the Shamrocks answered with 15 minutes left in the first half, as Kate Eichenauer found the back of the net. The game would stay at 1-1 until the second half, when the Panthers added their other two goals, which came in the 63rd and 67th minutes.
HUSKIES CRUISE AT YORKTOWN
Hamilton Heights cruised into the championship game at Class 2A Sectional 24 at Yorktown, beating Jay County 5-0 in a Thursday semi-final contest.
The No. 6 Huskies scored their first goal in the 24th minute. Jayla Logan received the ball from Jenna Peterson and turned and placed it into the net. Heights scored its next goal three minutes later: Cassidy Felger won a ball and drew defenders when she attacked the goal. She found Kyndall Ferguson, who put it in the net.
As a result, the Huskies led 2-0 at halftime. Heights then poured it on in the second half, with Ferguson, Jenna Peterson and Paige Doucette all scoring one goal. Felger, Ferguson and Logan each had one assist. Heights goalkeeper Jenn Houser made three saves.
The Huskies will play the host, No. 13-ranked Yorktown in Saturday’s championship game, which kicks off at 2 p.m. The Tigers beat New Castle 16-0 in the other semi-final.
BLACKHAWKS FALL TO TRI-CENTRAL
Sheridan fell to Tri-Central 3-1 Thursday in the first semi-final at Class 1A Sectional 37 at Tipton.
The Blackhawks scored first, with Isabel Nunez getting Sheridan on the board with 20:20 left in the first half. The Trojans tied the game late in the first half, then added two goals in the second half to get the win.
“The Lady Blackhawks played one of their best games of the season but fell short,” said Sheridan coach Brian Prange. “The coaches are very proud of the girls tonight.”