Contributing Writer
CARMEL â??? Dean Weaver just couldnâ??t stop
smiling Sept. 12 â??? and who could blame him.
Carmelâ??s
junior midfielder had just won a huge boys soccer showdown for third-ranked host
Carmel with a stunning blast from 35 yards out against rival No. 6 North
Central (Indianapolis) that will have Greyhound fans talking the rest of the
season.
â??I just
had the opening I needed to take the shot, and luckily it went in,â? Weaver
said. â??Definitely the best shot Iâ??ve ever had in a game.â?
The goal,
scored in the 78th minute, opened up the offense for defending state champion Carmel, which had been
stifled by the tough Panthersâ?? defense to that point.
Although
they wouldnâ??t tally another goal, the pressure mounted by the Greyhounds â??? including
a blast off the post from Brad Christie â??? made it hard on North Central to
mount any type of offensive threat.
The
Greyhounds (9-1) thought they were about to go up 2-0 when Justin Isenthal blasted
a knuckling shot toward the goal. But North Central goalkeeper Kelly Powers
made a nice save to keep the score as it was.
â??We had
been struggling a little bit on offense all game long,â? Weaver said. â??But I
think the goal relaxed us a little bit because we knew we didnâ??t need to score
another one to win, and we played better after that.â?
North
Central (8-2-2) had two quality chances to get on the board, one in each half.
But Carmelâ??s Andrew
Moor had two sensational saves to keep the Panthers at bay.
The first
one came 25 minutes into the match when Matt Sanner put a header on goal off a
free kick. Moor made a quick-reaction save on his line to keep the game
scoreless.
Soon after
Weaverâ??s goal, the Panthers had one last chance to tie the game. But Corey
Fundenbergerâ??s shot to the lower-left corner was kept out by a diving Moor.
â??Just two
unbelievable saves,â? said first-year Carmel
coach Shane Schmidt. â??I honestly donâ??t know how he got to either one of those.
â??Iâ??m just
happy he did.â?
Carmel outshot the Panthers 14-7 on the
game and also held the 8-2 advantage on corner kicks. Moor had five saves.
After the
game, Weaver talked about how important the win was for the Metropolitan
Interscholastic Conference race.
â??I mean,
itâ??s huge for us,â? Weaver said. â??Itâ??s a big game in the right direction. We are
going to celebrate this one tonight, then go back to business tomorrow.â?
Schmidt
agreed after his first signature win as the Greyhoundsâ?? coach, saying that
there wasnâ??t much time to dwell on the victory.
â??Every win
is a good win, especially against such a quality team like North Central,â?
Schmidt said. â??But we got two games against Terre Haute North and South and one
with Center Grove that we have to focus on in order to win the conference.â?
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