By RICHIE HALL
NOBLESVILLE – It was a different date, but the same old intensity for the Noblesville and Hamilton Southeastern girls soccer team.
(Reporter photo by Kirk Green)
Stella Scroggin (10) scored the winning goal for Noblesville against Hamilton Southeastern.
(Reporter photo by Kirk Green)
Hamilton Southeastern’s Caroline Kelley had several big shots for the Royals.
For several years, the Millers and the Royals met during the last week of the regular season. This year, the two teams got together much earlier, playing Saturday at Noblesville’s Hallmark Orthodontics Soccer Complex.
It was a well-played, very intense game between Class 3A No. 1 Southeastern and the No. 2 Millers, and ultimately, one goal made the difference. Noblesville’s Stella Scroggin scored in the 71st minute to give the Millers a 1-0 win, keeping them unbeaten at 4-0 and handing the Royals their first loss of the season.
“It’s a big team that both teams want to win regardless of when it’s played,” said Noblesville assistant coach Kristen Hetzel. “Both teams came out hard and they wanted to win the game, just like at the end of the season. A little bit different because it’s early, but now we know there’s something things we can build upon.”
Both teams had their chances in the first half. Southeastern’s Caroline Kelley had two big shots during the half. The Millers threatened late in the half, but the Royals’ defense swarmed the goal, making sure nothing got across.
“We created a lot of opportunities,” said HSE coach Greg Davidson. “And we left a couple goals on the field. A couple because we didn’t put it in the back of the net, couple where we didn’t place it well, and their goalie made a good save here and there. We got to take those opportunities, if we get the opportunity to play these guys again, and just do better with those opportunities, because we definitely created them.”
Southeastern got off a strong shot with 21:05 left in the second half, one that Noblesville’s Bella Wyatt deflected away. The Millers finally broke through with 9:24 left, when Scroggin lobbed a kick into the net.
“It was a whole team win,” said Hetzel.
“Two of the best teams in the state just going at it,” said Davidson.
The game was also a Hoosier Crossroads Conference game, so the Millers are now 2-0 in the league and 4-0 overall. They play at Fishers Wednesday in another HCC contest. Southeastern is 2-1 in the conference and 6-1 overall, and travel to Avon Wednesday for another HCC game.