By RICHIE HALL
FISHERS – The magic number for the Noblesville girls soccer team on Saturday was 80.
Millers senior Jenna Chatterton explained why: “Before this game this morning, we had a white board out with the whole team. Right there, circled in the middle is ’80-plus minutes,’ because we knew it couldn’t just be half a game or even one half, another half. It had to be the whole game.”
That game just happened to be the Class 3A state championship game, which took place at Reynolds Tigers Stadium at Fishers High School. Noblesville took on Guerin Catholic and indeed, never let up the intensity for the entire 80 minutes of the game.
As a result, the Millers defended their state championship, beating the Golden Eagles 3-0. Noblesville scored one goal in the first half, then added the other two goals in the second half on its way to back-to-back state titles.
“It’s awesome to come back here with these girls for a second time and win again,” said Chatterton.
“I’m just happy we made it through the season, because I thought this season would be cut short with all that’s happening,” said Millers coach Mike Brady. “This is great for the girls. For all they’ve lost out on at school and everything else, for them to have this opportunity to be together, and then just to win is icing on the cake. I love this group. You see how talented they are, but they’re even better individuals.”
Noblesville scored its first goal in the 24th minute, when sophomore Carlie Sack tapped the ball into the net from about five feet away. It was Sack’s first-ever varsity goal.
“It was just cool to score,” said Sack.
The 1-0 lead would stand at halftime and for the first few minutes of the second half. In the 47th minute, Makenna Maloy took a corner kick that wound up in front of Ava Bramblett. She easily kicked it in from about six feet to put Noblesville up 2-0.
The Millers made it 3-0 with 17:11 left in the game, when Chatterton, a University of Tennessee commit, drilled in a kick from 15 feet. Meanwhile, Noblesville’s defense was doing its job, with goalkeeper Sara Kile leading the way with several key saves.
“I told them they needed to play 80 minutes to win a state title, and this was their best 80 minutes of the season,” said Brady. “It was just exciting for me as a coach to watch it all click and come together, because that’s a very good Guerin team. I’ve watched them all week. That’s a real tough team.”
The Golden Eagles battled the entire game, with UCLA commit Quincy McMahon leading the offense. McMahon had several shots for Guerin Catholic, with Emersen Jennings and Katie Koger making shots as well.
Guerin Catholic finished its season 16-2-2. The third-ranked Golden Eagles’ only two losses were to the teams rated above them: No. 1 Noblesville and No. 2 Carmel.
“No regrets,” said Guerin Catholic coach Sean Yau. “They played awesome. Noblesville’s a great team. I know that our girls put everything they could possibly get on the field. They performed as best they could. We just couldn’t get the result tonight.”
The Millers finished their season 17-0-1. Noblesville received another honor after the game, when senior Emma Potter won the Mental Attitude Award. Potter, who has committed to play lacrosse at Central Michigan University, is the first Millers girls soccer player to receive the award.
“I’m super grateful,” said Potter. “I know a lot of people have won this before and I feel like it’s an honor just to be able to say that I am a winner and to say that people around me think of me in this way. It’s really great.”