Unranked Hamilton Southeastern was a very rude host Sept. 29 to No. 2 Carmel, downing the Greyhounds, 4-2, in a Hamilton County boys soccer showdown. The loss leaves Carmel at 10-3-1 heading into its Oct. 1 clash with Zionsville.
Junior midfielder Aaron Henkle had an assist, while sophomore Daniel Moore and senior forward Chris Cutshaw scored the goals. It was the 24th tally of the season for Cutshaw, whose team has totaled 61 goals for the year while allowing only 15.
â??We played a good game tonight but made several critical errors on defense, and HSE took advantage of them,â? said Carmel coach Dan Kapsalis. â??We had many opportunities and missed.
â??HSE deserves credit for taking advantage of our mistakes and, because they did, they deserved to win tonight.â?
Two days prior to the loss at Southeastern, Carmel traveled to Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference foe Center Grove and came away with a 1-1 tie. Junior defender Robby Lynch scored the lone Carmel goal on a corner kick with just 10 minutes to go on an assist from senior defender Blake Weaver for the tie.
â??We struggled to find our rhythm, and we looked tired,â? Kapsalis said. â??We had a different lineup as well due to losing Tyler McCarroll on Saturday, and it showed.
â??We have been playing such strong competition lately, and I think we just were a little spent tonight.
Center Grove nearly scored with five minutes left to win the game, but junior goalie Zach Carr made a huge save in sloppy and wet field conditions.
â??We controlled the match but really failed to connect on any opportunities,â? Kapsalis said. â??And Chris Cutshawâ??s 12-game record-breaking scoring streak ended tonight.â?
On Sept. 24, Carmel made the long trip to the southwestern part of the state to take on seventh-ranked Evansville Memorial. The trip proved worthwhile as the Greyhounds posted a 1-0 halftime lead en route to a 2-0 victory.
Cutshaw and Lynch scored while McCarroll and Henkle had assists for the Greyhounds, who benefited from Carr â??s fifth shutout of the year. The victory, on fact, marked Carmelâ??s fifth consecutive shutout in the last two weeks. Included in that span were games against No. 5 North Central and 11th-ranked Indianapolis Cathedral in addition to the impressive win over Memorial.
â??Our defense once again was anchored by Andrew Parsons, Zach Canull, Robby Lynch, and Blake Weaver, who continue to shut down ranked opponents,â? Kapsalis said. â??At this point we are a bit banged up and we need to stay healthy. We cannot afford any more injuries.â?
Indeed, the win came at a heavy price as McCarroll was lost for the season with a broken collarbone suffered late in the second half. McCarroll, the teamâ??s second-leading scorer behind Cutshaw, is the third starting Carmel midfielder lost for the year due to injury. (Juniors Troy Blewitt and Rich Balchan have been out with injuries since the first game of the season.)
Thanks again to Carmel coach Dan Kapsalis for his excellent report. If there are any other soccer coaches in the state who would provide game reports like Dan does, weâ??ll print â??em!
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