The 2021 Class 3A girls soccer state championship will be a rerun of the 2018 3A state championship game.
Carmel is hoping that the script for this year’s game follows that of the 2018 contest. The Greyhounds beat Homestead for the title three years ago, and the two teams will meet again for the 3A championship, to be played at 4 p.m. Saturday at IUPUI’s Carroll Stadium.
In the 2018 game, Carmel beat Homestead 2-1 in overtime. One of the players on the Spartans team was then-freshman Amelia White, who had already been playing games on the national level.
“Homestead has a very solid team in all positions but the fuel that makes the engine go is Amelia White,” said Carmel coach Frank Dixon.
White is now a senior and has been one of the focal points of the Homestead team – a team that is 21-0 for the season. The Spartans won the Warsaw sectional by beating Fort Wayne South Side 10-1, Huntington North 8-0 and Warsaw 2-1.
The Spartans hosted the regional semi-final, where it defeated No. 1-ranked and two-time defending state champion Noblesville 4-2. Homestead traveled to Kokomo for the regional championship and beat Harrison 2-0, then defeated semi-state host, No. 9-ranked South Bend St. Joseph 1-0 for that title and a trip to state.
White has scored 25 goals and handed out 14 assists, but she’s not the only goal-scorer on the team. Junior Sydney Couch has 24 goals and 14 assists to her credit. Junior Sofia Cetrone has 11 goals and senior Madison Morris has scored 10 goals. Senior goalkeeper Madison Roush has a 0.44 goals against average.
Dixon made mention of an old sports cliché when it comes to Homestead’s star player – “you can’t stop Amelia White, you can only hope to contain her,” said Dixon. “We hope to do a good job containing her while still playing to our strengths. Staying organized defensively and generating some effective attacking is the key.”
The Greyhounds are 18-2-2 for the season and have shown remarkable grit in the post-season, defeating ranked teams in five of their six tournament games. Carmel began the post-season by winning its own sectional, first beating No. 12 Guerin Catholic 1-0 in the first round. The ‘Hounds got past No. 6 North Central 1-0 in the semi-finals, then won the sectional championship over No. 10 Zionsville in penalty kicks after playing to a scoreless tie after regulation and overtime.
Carmel played the regional semi-final at Brownsburg, beating the Bulldogs 3-0. That sent the Greyhounds back home to Murray Stadium, where they won the regional championship over No. 18 East Central 1-0. Carmel played No. 5 Bloomington South for the semi-state at Seymour, and the Greyhounds won that won in overtime 1-0.
Senior Emily Roper is by far the leading goal scorer for Carmel, with 18 goals and nine assists. Two Greyhounds have seven goals, senior Saliyah Brady and junior Sophie Shepherd, while junior Claire Swigart has scored six goals. Two juniors, Aubree Empie and Bethany Ducat, each have eight shutouts on the season.
Dixon said that during this time, staying focused is the hardest part of the tournament, although it appears that Carmel does not have this problem. Dixon said that’s because the ‘Hounds have faced that roster of ranked teams throughout all levels of the tournament.
“While we beat all the teams we faced in the sectional during the regular season, they were all close games so there was a great amount of respect for them in the tournament games,” said Dixon. “The Regional and Semi-State Finals were against ranked teams who had won against some quality teams so again we respected their ability. Now, with Homestead, all we have to do is look at their Noblesville win to know that they are the real deal. So this year it’s not a hard sale on my part to keep the team focused.”