By RICHIE HALL
INDIANAPOLIS – Frank Dixon has been the girls soccer head coach at Carmel since 1991, mentoring the Greyhounds to and through many state championship games.
Carmel made yet another appearance – a record 14th – in an IHSAA state final game Saturday when it played No. 2-ranked Homestead at IUPUI’s Michael A. Carroll Stadium in the Class 3A girls soccer state finals. The No. 4-ranked Greyhounds gave it their all, but the Spartans, led by their star and U.S. National player Amelia White, came out on top over Carmel 2-1.
Despite the loss, Dixon praised his team’s effort. Noting that some of the girls on the team were near tears at the end of the game, Dixon told the team, “You have nothing to cry about. You guys played one of the best games I’ve ever seen a Carmel team play. The ball just didn’t go in the net. That’s soccer. It was a great game.”
White put Homestead on the board during the 11th minute, and the Spartans never trailed after that. Sydney Couch provided the assist.
“It was a team effort,” said Dixon. “Whenever Amelia got loose, we had to concentrate some troops around here and see what she could do. Unfortunately, we lost track of her right there in the beginning.”
The Greyhounds pushed throughout the game, always trying to get that tying goal. Lauren Bailey, Megan Hamm, Sophie Shepherd and Saliyah Brady were among the players who had shots during the first half, with Bailey, Hamm and Brady getting shots on goal.
The score stayed 1-0 at halftime, and remained that way for much of the second half. Homestead kept Carmel at bay, while the Greyhounds were able to contain the Spartans’ offense, which ran through White – “It was all about Amelia,” said Dixon.
“I thought we contained her really, really well,” said Dixon. “She was dangerous, but we were always in good shape. Tammy (Smith) and several of the backs came up with good plays. Janie (Bartling) came out of the middle to do some stuff. I thought we did a good job on her.”
As it turned out, Couch would get Homestead’s second goal, in the 69th minute. She nailed kick from about 20 yards into the net, with Madison Morris masking the assist.
Carmel now trailed 2-0, but quickly cut that deficit in half. During the 71st minute, Emily Roper found the back of the net, and suddenly the Greyhounds were back in it, down only 2-1. Carmel then had a chance in the final minutes of the game, but Spartans goalkeeper Madison Roush held off the ‘Hounds, and Homestead was on its way to a first-ever state soccer title. The Spartans finished 22-0, making the first perfect season run since Carmel went 25-0 in 2002.
“I pushed some players forward,” said Dixon. “We thought we could get that tying goal, but it wasn’t going to happen.”
The Greyhounds had 17 total shots, nine of them on goal. Shepherd had the most shots with five, while Bartling, Hamm and Roper all had two shots on goal. Aubree Empie had four goalkeeper saves.
Carmel did get a big honor after the game, when Luci Bair was named the Theresia Wynns Mental Attitude Award winner. Bair, the daughter of Matt and Rita Bair, has been involved with the Greyhounds soccer program all four years of high school. She played every year except her sophomore year, when she had a torn ACL, but still helped out that season as a team manager.
“It means a lot,” said Bair. “Obviously I wish we could’ve won state, but to just be out her was just incredible and to win the award is even cooler.”
Carmel ended the season with an 18-3-2 record, and probably exceeded its own expectations for the season.
“I asked them when we came here, I said, ‘Anybody that thought we were going to be in the state final game this year, raise your hand,'” said Dixon. “Not one kid raised their hand. We didn’t think we were going to be here. We just kept getting better and better and better.”
“I’m just so thankful for this group of girls and we left it all out there,” said Bair. “Gave it our all.”