By RICH TORRES
FISHERS – One was enough for the Fishers boys soccer team on Thursday night, but regardless of goals scored by the Class 3A No. 19 Tigers, the defense proved it never rests.
A slick assist in transition from Rodrigo Dominguez to Reese May during the 23rd minute put Fishers up 1-0 against visiting 2A No. 3 Guerin Catholic, but it was the defense spearheaded by senior captain Jacob Lawrence that secured the team’s first shutout of the season.
The Tigers offense racked up 17 shots and 10 shots on goal, while goalkeeper Brendan Weiger posted one save against just two shots on goal to get Fishers back in the win column.
“This is a great win. Guerin is a really, strong program, a proud program. Obviously, they are one of the contenders in 2A, for sure. They have a nice team,” Fishers head coach Phil Schmidt said. “This was a really good win, especially to get a shutout. Those 1-0 wins are well-earned wins. When you can find a way to keep your net clean and just find that one play to win it, that’s a building block we can build on and get better and better from.”
The Tigers (2-1-0) were their best in the midfield, especially in the first half, as the Golden Eagles (2-2-0) were limited to only two shots and held without a single shot on goal. The defense swarmed relentlessly, slide tackling away several Guerin Catholic opportunities before and after Reese lined in the eventual decisive goal – his first of the season.
“You need to press them and let them know you’re not here to mess around. You’re here to score and not lose,” May said. “Our main focus was to press and make sure they had nothing in the midfield. I think, Zach Castro did beautifully back there with slide tackling and made sure nothing got past him. That really controlled the game for us.”
Fishers’ speed up top pushed the tempo with a near-goal attack in the first two minutes of the game, and they orchestrated another potential goal that ricocheted off the left upright on a laser shot from Angel Roque Granados in the 31st minute.
The Tigers had another shot at an insurance goal in the 37th minute, but Castro’s shot attempt sailed slightly left with steady wind gusts at Fishers’ backs.
“When we possess and build it allows our players to be the best that they can be. Keeping the ball on the ground allows our speed to come out, and I really liked the way we were playing,” Schmidt said. “We had a couple of lulls where we got out of our possession, but when we maintained that possession, I thought we were really good tonight.”
The Golden Eagles deployed a more physical attack in the second half and it awoke their offense with five shots, but it also resulted in a pair of yellow cards. The Tigers were whistled for one yellow in the final 40 minutes as both teams ramped up their aggressiveness.
“We only asked the guys to do one more thing in the second half, and that’s what we wanted more of in the first, and that was to pressure ball and put more intensity into the effort,” Guerin Catholic head coach Chris McGrath said. “They did that in the second half, and that produced a couple more opportunities for us.”
Despite minor injuries sustained to a handful of starters off hard fouls and slide tackles, the Tigers’ depth maintained the program’s pace of play with ease.
Guerin Catholic put together a late flurry in the game’s final 1:30, but the defense and Weiger held their ground.
“Our defense really starts with Jacob Lawrence, our captain back there. He’s the one organizing everything, making sure nothing goes wrong and everyone is in their place. That’s really important. As soon as you get out of place that’s when it gets very dangerous,” May said. “We had the momentum from the first half, but it did get a little bit chippy. We just had to push through it. As people started to get injured, we had people step up and they came off the bench and kept the intensity. That was beautiful.”
The win halted Fishers’ losing streak at one game after Harrison shut out the Tigers 2-0 last weekend. Fishers opened the season with a 2-1 win over Hoosier Crossroads Conference foe Westfield on Aug. 22.
The loss was Guerin Catholic’s first against an in-state team. The Golden Eagles blanked 2A No. 6 Cardinal Ritter 3-0 on Aug. 20 and shutout Class A No. 2 Heritage Christian 4-0 on Tuesday. Their lone loss prior to Thursday was against St. Xavier (Ohio) 4-2 on Saturday at home.
“We’re a young team. We’re still trying to find our group. We have a couple of injuries we’re working on, so all in all, we’ll take the way that we finished. Fishers is a good team. They always give us a good game, so we’ll learn our lessons and focus forward,” McGrath said. “Our goal is to set a bar for ourselves and to consistently meet that bar regardless of our competition. Tonight, in the first half, we kind of missed that mark a little bit.”
The Golden Eagles host Harrison this coming Thursday, while the Tigers (1-1 HCC) face another ranked opponent on the road Saturday.
“That one goal tonight really put us in the game and made us fight even harder,” May said. “We just came off, unfortunately, a defeat, so this is going to give us momentum to face the No. 1 team in the state in Zionsville on Saturday.”
Guerin Catholic’s Aiden Soucie (12) prepares to kick the ball during the Fishers-Golden Eagles boys soccer game Thursday at the Tigers’ field. Also pictured are Guerin Catholic’s Parker Bell (6) and the Tigers’ Angel Roque Granados (26). (Richie Hall)