By RICHIE HALL
INDIANAPOLIS – And the beat goes on…
It’s become a winning beat for the Noblesville girls soccer team, a team which simply can’t be beat in the IHSAA state tournament.
Bella Wyatt had two saves as the Millers’ goalkeeper. (Matt Wright)
The No. 2-ranked Millers added another Class 3A state championship to their already packed trophy case last Saturday, defeating No. 14 Center Grove 3-1 at IU Indianapolis’ Michael A. Carroll Stadium. Noblesville scored a lightning-quick goal to begin the game, then responded to a Trojans score with two more fast goals late in the first half.
The victory gave the Millers their third consecutive state title and their fifth in the past six years. During these past six years, Noblesville has compiled an incredible 106-3-10 record.
“I can’t even put my mind around three in a row, five in six years,” said Noblesville coach Mike Brady. “Any of those type of numbers just seem absurd at this point.”
Here’s something else incredible: the speed in which the Millers got their first goal. In the third minute, Atley Pittman sent a corner kick to the middle of the 18, where Meredith Tippner headed it toward the net.
Noblesville’s Atley Pittman scored one goal for the Millers. (Matt Wright)
The ball deflected off a Center Grove defender, but Kaydence Fleck took the rebound and convincingly booted it into the net. The goal was scored 2 minutes, 36 seconds into the game, which makes it the fastest goal ever scored in a 3A state championship game.
The Trojans tied the game in the 12th minute after Jessie Jasek put in a goal, with Mia Marlin making the assist. Anything can happen in the post-season, but Brady had confidence in his team that it would respond.
“I knew that they were going to bounce back, and they did fairly quickly, and then just played so much better from that point on,” said Brady.
“I definitely think it took a deep breath,” said Pittman. “Hey, let’s get it together. Let’s work together. Let’s see what we can do to get on the right foot again. And I think once we took that deep breath, we calmed down, we started playing the ball. We connected. It opened up for us and I think that helped us get those next two goals.”
Sure enough, the Millers put in the go-ahead goal at the start of the 31st minute, when Pittman booted in a 10-yard kick, with Tippner making the assist. About two and a half minutes later, Tippner assisted another goal: Delaney Stone made a six-yard strike off her right foot.
That gave Noblesville a 3-1 lead, and the score would remain so until the end. Both teams had several chances throughout the second half, with Stone taking seven shots in the game, five of those on goal. The Millers outshot Center Grove 20-5 for the entire contest, keeping the pressure on for the entire 80 minutes.
Meredith Tippner assisted on all three of Noblesville’s goals. (Matt Wright)
Noblesville goalkeeper Bella Wyatt made two saves. This was her third year playing in goal at state for the Millers.
“I couldn’t have imagined it any other way,” said Wyatt. “I’m very proud of this team and proud of what we have accomplished. We worked hard for it and we proved ourselves to be the best in the state and to have the best back line.”
Noblesville becomes the third girls soccer team to win three state titles in a row. Evansville Mater Dei claimed three straight 1A championships in 2017-18-19, while Carmel claimed five consecutive state titles during the one-class era, from 2000 to 2004.
“They were as much as fun as any group can be,” Brady said of this year’s team. “But when it was time to work, it was everything they had.”
Brady made a point to acknowledge his assistant coaches after the game.
“Kristin Hetzel and Jake Hart are two of the best coaches, and they would be tremendous varsity coaches, and I’m so happy to have them on my staff,” said Brady, who finished his 22nd season as Noblesville head coach.
The Millers finished their season 19-0-2. Pittman said the team created a bond this year that was “like no other. We are so close and just love each other so much that I think that was the driving force to the state championship.”
“This is a place you want to play,” said Tippner. “This is where everyone wants to be at the end of the year. Again, to be a part of a program that’s allowed us to play at this field three times, and end as the winners at the end of the day. It’s the group, it’s the community, it’s the people that get us here.”