Saturday was a great day for Carmel soccer, as both the Greyhounds’ boys and girls team won Class 3A regional championships at their home field, Murray Stadium.
The No. 10-ranked Greyhounds boys team went first, and sailed past Cathedral 3-0. It’s the first regional title for the Carmel boys since 2015 and the program’s sixth overall.
The ‘Hounds led 1-0 at halftime, with Will Morgan breaking through for the first goal with 21 minutes left in the half.
Braeden Thomson added a second goal with 27 minutes left in the second half, then Nick Basso completed the Greyhounds’ scoring with a rebound goal with nine minutes to go in the game.
Morgan also had one assist and TJ Barrett got the shutout at goalkeeper.
“I thought we played well,” said Carmel coach Shane Schmidt. “We started off kind of slow about the first 12 to 15 minutes. They had some high energy and we seemed a little sluggish out of the gate. Once we settled in, I thought that we started to play well and moved the ball well and the rest of the time, I thought we did a good job.”
The Greyhounds improved to 15-3-2 with the win and travel to Seymour next Saturday to play in the 3A south semi-state. Carmel will take on No. 3-ranked Castle at 3 p.m.
The Greyhounds girls will join the boys at Seymour after winning their regional championship game. No. 4-ranked Carmel got past No. 18 East Central. The ‘Hounds won their 16th regional title in program history.
Carmel got its goal in the second half, when Megan Hamm found the back of the net with 21 minutes left in the game.
“They were very hard to break down, and then when you sort of did break them down, they automatically went one-two, and they were in the other end trying to attack us,” said Greyhounds coach Frank Dixon. “They had a great game plan, just keep a lot of bodies in between us and the goal and then attack as fast as they can the opposite way. We struggled, but eventually, if you take enough chances, eventually it’s going to go.”
Carmel’s girls are 17-2-2 and will play No. 5-ranked Bloomington South at the Seymour semi-state, with that game to start at 5 p.m., right after the Carmel-Castle boys game.
NOBLESVILLE BOYS CRUISE TO WIN
Up at Kokomo, the No. 2-ranked Noblesville boys team cruised to another regional title by beating Fort Wayne Northrop 5-0.
The Millers wasted no time in scoring, as Spencer Holland got Noblesville’s first goal during the game’s first minute. Holland scored again during the ninth minute, with Palmer Ault making the assist.
Ault added a goal in the 12th minute, then assisted a Brayden Doll goal during the 17th minute. The score would stay 4-0 through halftime, but Doll got another goal during the 63rd minute, with Andy Stansfield making the assist.
Noblesville thus won its ninth regional championship in program history. The Millers are 18-1-1 and return to Kokomo next Saturday to play in the 3A north semi-state, where they will take on No. 4-ranked Chesterton at 5 p.m.
HUSKIES GIRLS FALL TO LEO
Hamilton Heights’ girls team lost the Class 2A Norwell regional championship game to No. 10-ranked Leo on Saturday, by the score of 1-0.
The No. 15-ranked Huskies finished their season with a 17-4 record.
SEMI-STATE PAIRINGS
Courtesy the IHSAA
At Kokomo
1A Boys: Park Tudor vs. Westview, 1 p.m.
2A Boys: Bishop Dwenger vs. West Lafayette, 3 p.m.
3A Boys: Noblesville vs. Chesterton, 5 p.m.
At South Bend St. Joseph
1A Girls: Andrean vs. Tipton, 11 a.m.
2A Girls: Leo vs. Mishawaka Marian, 1 p.m.
3A Girls: Homestead vs. South Bend St. Joseph, 5 p.m.
At Evansville North
2A Boys: Heritage Hills vs. Brebeuf Jesuit, 2 p.m.
2A Girls: Evansville Memorial vs. Brebeuf Jesuit, 4 p.m.
1A Boys: Providence vs. Cascade, 6 p.m.
At Seymour
1A Girls: Providnce vs. Heritage Christian, 1 p.m.
3A Boys: Castle vs. Carmel, 3 p.m.
3A Girls: Bloomington South vs. Carmel, 5 p.m.