By RICHIE HALL
Reporter Sports Editor
There is no such thing as an easy game at an IHSAA soccer sectional.
Two games involving Hamilton County teams went all the way to penalty kicks Wednesday night. At the Class 3A Sectional 10 at Carmel, it took a shootout for No. 9 Guerin Catholic to get past Westfield. Over at the 1A Sectional 40 at Heritage Christian, second-ranked University needed penalty kicks to edge the No. 4-ranked host Eagles.
The Golden Eagles and the Shamrocks played to a scoreless tie at halftime. Guerin broke through for the first goal in the 54th minute, when freshman Joseph Lafiosca played a perfectly controlled ball into the net from a few feet.
Westfield answered with 7:30 left in the game, with senior Guy Rader finding the back of the net. That made the score 1-1, and would stay that way through the end of regulation, and the two required overtime periods.
That brought up the penalty kicks, which the Golden Eagles won 3-2. There were no misses in any of the kicks, however: Everyone either made their shot, or the respective goalkeeper made the save. Andrew Garvey got Guerin Catholic ahead 3-2 with his kick, then Will Oberndorfer made a stop to secure the Golden Eagles’ win.
“Based upon our goalkeeper’s performance, I’m kind of happy if we had more of those,” said Guerin coach Chris McGrath when asked about going to a shootout. “It does feel nice to have it out of the way. If there’s only one for the whole sectional, it’s nice to have it out of the way.”
“Will is having a great tournament so far. He’s made some great saves in some key moments and kept a good hold on the defense, and I think he’s done a good job. I’m very pleased with his performance.”
The Golden Eagles will play fourth-ranked North Central in Saturday’s championship, which begins at 5 p.m. The Panthers defeated Brebeuf Jesuit 2-1 in the late semi-final.
MORE PENALTY KICKS
University scored both of its goals on well-placed headers. Michael Bounsall got the first goal with 16:27 left in the first half. But Heritage Christian tied the game early in the second half, then took a 2-1 lead with a goal in the 65th minute.
The Trailblazers answered with 10:52 remaining, as Jacob Masoncup used his head to get the ball into the net. The 2-2 score held through regulation, and overtime. On to the dreaded PKs.
University went first in the shootout, and made all five of their kicks. After goalkeeper Thomas Burgess made the crucial stop with the ‘Blazers ahead 4-3, Ryan Williams finished the game with a kick to send UHS into the Saturday final.
“This is a really good Heritage team that had beaten us the last three times we played,” said University coach Wes Priest. “They kicked our rear ends at the beginning of the season. We made some adjustments. I was hoping we’d do it in regulation, but I’m glad we were able to do it in penalty kicks.”
The Trailblazers will take on No. 14 Park Tudor in Saturday’s sectional championship game, which will kick off at 2 p.m. The Panthers defeated International 2-1 in the earlier semi-final.
University was in celebration mode after getting past Heritage Christian in penalty kicks in Wednesday sectional action at the Eagles’ field. The Trailblazers will play Park Tudor in Saturday’s championship.
For more game images, visit https://capturephotographybydkirk.smugmug.com/University-Sectional-vs-Heritage/ (Kirk Green)
Guerin Catholic’s Jack Hagel (left) and Westfield’s Miguel Ayala (right) play the ball during Wednesday’s Golden Eagles-Shamrocks sectional game at Carmel. (Richie Hall)