For the third consecutive year, there will be an all-county match-up at the IHSAA soccer state finals.
This time, it’s on the boys side. Noblesville and Carmel both advanced to the Class 3A boys state championship match after winning their respective semi-states on Saturday. The No. 2-ranked Millers cruised past No. 4 Chesterton 5-0 to win the north semi-state at Kokomo, while the No. 10 Greyhounds got past No. 3 Castle 2-1 in overtime to claim the south semi-state at Seymour.
Never to be outdone, the Carmel girls soccer team also won the Seymour semi-state and qualified for the 3A girls state championship. The No. 4-ranked Greyhounds girls also needed overtime, but edged out No. 5 Bloomington South 1-0.
The Class 3A state final games will both take place next Saturday at IUPUI’s Carroll Stadium. The girls will go first, with Carmel taking on No. 2-ranked Homestead at 4 p.m. The Noblesville and Carmel boys will then face off at 6:30 p.m.
OVERTIME GOAL
Both teams scored their first goal in the first half. The Knights got on the board first, but Carmel tied it up when Connor Dora scored off a Will Morgan assist. The score would stay at 1-1 through the second half, and into the first of two overtime periods.
In IHSAA soccer, overtime consists of two seven-minute periods with no golden goal – the entire 14 minutes must be played. If it’s still tied, then it’s on to the dreaded penalty kicks. But the Greyhounds scored with just over a minute left in the second overtime when Morgan put the ball in the net. Nic Basso made the assist.
Carmel kept the intensity up during those last few seconds, however, if one asks coach Shane Schmidt what the team’s mood was after the score. The coach said it was “Don’t give up a goal. Do whatever we can to finish this game out.”
Castle, in fact, did get a free kick in the final seconds, but the ‘Hounds were able to clear it out.
“By the time we got it cleared, it was a point where the end of the game was in sight,” said Schmidt.
Later, Schmidt said, “I couldn’t be more proud of how the guys played today. Their efforts today were fantastic.” Carmel improved to 16-3-2 with the win.
OVERWHELMING WIN
Noblesville took care of defending 3A state champion Chesterton right away. The Millers scored their first goal in the fourth minute; Brayden Doll broke the ice, with Spencer Holland providing the assist.
Jake Johns added Noblesville’s second goal in the 13th minute off a Doll assist. Palmer Ault got the third goal minutes later off Holland’s second assist of the game. Then in the 22nd minute, Ault delivered the Millers’ fourth goal unassisted.
Noblesville completed the scoring in the 66th minute when Holland got the Millers’ fifth goal. Drew Cochran assisted that one. A little later, Noblesville had a semi-state trophy and a 19-1-1 record.
Both schools broke long droughts with their respective semi-state wins. Carmel had last won a semi-state in 2006; this is the Greyhounds’ fourth overall title. Meanwhile, the Millers picked up their second semi-state crown, having won their first back in 1999.
SHEPHERD SCORES
Carmel’s girls team had as intense a game as the boys did. Neither team scored in regulation, so it was on to overtime. After no score in the first overtime, the Greyhounds finally broke through with 4:35 left in the second overtime when Sophie Shepherd put a header into the net off a cross by Rylie Wilpolt.
“The girls then went into possession and defensive mode to run off the last minutes of the game,” said Carmel coach Frank Dixon. The coach pointed out that in the 26 years that the IHSAA has had a semi-state level for soccer, the Carmel girls “have now won that title 13 times.”
Those 13 semi-state wins are by far a record. In addition, the Greyhounds have made it to the state finals for the third time in four years.
Carmel is 18-2-2 and will get a state finals re-match with Homestead; the teams played for the 2018 3A state title with the Greyhounds winning 2-1 in overtime. The Spartans are 21-0 and edged out 3A north semi-state host South Bend St. Joseph 1-0 to advance to state.