For the second year in a row, the Noblesville girls soccer team will play a fellow Hamilton County team for the Class 3A state championship.
The No. 1-ranked and defending state champion Millers will play No. 3 Guerin Catholic next Saturday (Oct. 31) for the 3A title at Fishers High School. The game will begin at 8 p.m. and be the final contest of the night among the IHSAA soccer state title games.
Noblesville returned to the state championship by beating host South Bend St. Joseph 2-0 to win the 3A north semi-state. The Millers scored one goal in each half: Ava Bramblett got Noblesville on the board in the 25th minute, then in the second half, Grace Taskey scored off a corner kick by Elana Chatterton during the 58th minute.
With the win, the Millers improved to 16-0-1 for the season. Noblesville also won the program’s fourth semi-state championship, and defended the semi-state for the first time in school history.
Meanwhile, the Golden Eagles triumphed at the Seymour regional, beating Columbus North 2-1. Guerin Catholic also scored one goal in each half; Katie Koger put GC on the score board with a goal in the game’s 22nd minute.
Evelyn Bestard made the score 2-0 with a goal in the 53rd minute. The Bull Dogs got their goal in the 61st minute, but the Golden Eagles were able to hold them off and claim the program’s third semi-state crown. Guerin also won semi-states in 2010 and 2017.
The Golden Eagles improved to 16-1-2 with the victory.
BOYS GAMES
The two Hamilton County boys soccer teams that played in the semi-state were both dealt tough losses in their games.
The Fishers boys, playing in their first-ever semi-state, lost to No. 3-ranked Chesterton in the 3A north semi-state at South Bend St. Joseph. The score was tied at 3-3 after regulation and overtime, and the Trojans won in a penalty kick shootout 6-5.
The Tigers got on the board with three minutes left in the first half, when Keiji Nakamae scored. Jack Kenny provided the assist. Chesterton tied it up in the 64th minute, but Fishers scored two goals in quick succession: Noah Reinhart headed a ball to Sam Hevesy, who tapped it in, then Reinhart himself scored to give Fishers a 3-1 advantage with under 12 minutes to go.
The Trojans scored in the 74th minute to cut the Tigers’ lead to 3-2. With nine seconds left, Chesterton was given a penalty kick, which the Trojans put in to tie the game at 3-3, and send it to overtime. Neither team scored in the two overtime periods, moving the game into penalty kicks, where Chesterton won.
Fishers ended its season with a 12-7-1 record, but not before winning a sectional title and the program’s first-ever regional championship.
Back at Seymour, Guerin Catholic’s boys played Evansville Memorial for the 2A south semi-state. The game also was tied at 3-3 after regulation, but the Tigers scored in the extra period to win 4-3 and beat the Golden Eagles in the semi-state for the second year in a row.
Tommy Hartman and Ethan Thornburg scored goals for Guerin Catholic, which finished its season 14-2-2.
