Indiana State | Archive | October, 2007

INDIANAPOLIS ââ?¬â?? Sixth-ranked Penn knocked off
two-time defending champion No. 4 Fort Wayne Dwenger, 1-0, Oct. 27 in the state
semifinals in order to reach the evening title tilt. For a long time Saturday
night, it looked as if that effort took too much out of them.

That was
long enough for No. 9 Indianapolis Cathedral to build an insurmountable ââ?¬â?? er,
big enough ââ?¬Â¦ uh, barely ââ?¬â?? lead on its way to the girls soccer state title at Kuntz Stadium.

As you
might guess from that statement, there is quite a story in this game.

In the
first half, it appeared Cathedral was simply too quick for the Kingsmen ââ?¬â??
especially midfielder Mariah Whitaker, who ran by the Penn defense like it was
a picket fence for most of the initial period. Charge after charge by the Cathedral
offense did what it usually does in a soccer game: It resulted in goals.

The Fighting
Irish took a 1-0 lead 12:23 into the first half on a goal from midfielder Alex
Hall. It was followed by another from teammate Anna Parsons just past the 23-minute
mark.

And the
Irish, who had posted their own 1-0 semifinal victory over No. 8
Center Grove to advance,
weren�t done yet.

Natalie
Warner added another score with a little more than two minutes left before
halftime. In most if not all of the instances, the charge into Penn territory
was led by Whitaker.

There is
normally little motivation to stick around a 3-0 soccer game past the
intermission. To have left this one would have been a mistake, although those
on hand would not know it for awhile.

The second
half started much the same way the first had progressed. Cathedral looked to be
the quicker team and applied nearly constant pressure on the Penn goal. It
resulted in Whitaker getting her own goal shortly into the second half, and
Cathedral seemed destined for the championship.

It was,
after all, 4-0. However, a funny thing happened on the way to the coronation.

Suddenly,
the play ceased to take place constantly in front of the Penn goal, a change that
isn�t unusual considering it was about time for the Irish to go into defensive
mode. Pretty soon, there was increasing action in front of the Cathedral net.

That, in
turn, ended in a seemingly rather harmless Penn goal by Allison Sholtes just
before the midway point of the second half. Still, everyone was really just
waiting for the sand to run out of the hourglass.

Wrong.

The Penn
pressure continued to increase and, about five minutes later, Sarah Blaase
found paydirt. It was now 4-2, and that score succeeded in putting a little
fire back in the Penn faithful.

It nearly
became a raging inferno.

With just
over five minutes left, the Kingsmen would strike again. This time it was a
beautiful shot by Alyssa Johnston, and suddenly ââ?¬â?? for a few precious seconds ââ?¬â?? it
looked like this might become one of the great stories in Indiana high school sports.

It was,
however, a very few seconds because the goal was wiped out by an offside call
on Penn.

It was the
last gasp of a very valiant crew.

They say
in any sport that speed kills. In this instance, Cathedral had more than enough
to inflict lethal damage. The Irish may have tired late in the match, but for
most of the evening they were lightning.

Don�t be
surprised if these two see each other again in the coming years. Both squads are
very young and received solid contributions from a number of freshmen and
sophomores.

KICK
IT! Share your thoughts on our Girls Soccer message board.

INDIANAPOLIS ââ?¬â?? Soccer is a subtle game. It is a
sport where statistics tell you very little. You see, there is a difference
between ball possession and dangerous possession. There is a difference between
shots on goal and threatening shots on goal.

As a
result, it is often difficult to really know who is controlling a game. That
was the case for much of the evening Oct. 27 in the boys soccer state
championship game at
Kuntz Stadium between top-ranked Evansville Memorial and No. 16 Chesterton.

Both teams
were content to play an up-and-down style for much of the game, and the ball spent
much of the time in the air. As is often the case, it was a lightning strike
early in the second half that gave Memorial a 1-0 victory.

The win
did more than simply give the Tigers their first state championship. It also
concluded an undefeated season and assured them of the No. 1 national ranking
in high school soccer ââ?¬â?? not a bad dayââ?¬â?¢s
work.

For much
of the evening, it looked as if this would be the result. As the first half
progressed, more and more of the time was being spent in the Chesterton half of
the field. Memorial seemed to have by far the more direct style of attack,
however, and the Tigers were slowly establishing control.

Despite
outshooting the Trojans 14-2 during the opening half, however, they mounted few
serious scoring threats. At intermission, it was still a scoreless game.

In the
early minutes of the second half, it appeared Chesterton had made some strong
adjustments. Now much of the game was being played in front of the Memorial
net.

Then came
the lightning strike.

On one of
Memorial�s few second-half runs into Chesterton territory, the Trojans were
called for a penalty. The result was a great cross in front of the net and a
header by Austin King that gave the Tigers all the lead they would need.

Memorial
quickly shifted into defensive mode, and it worked. Chesterton had but one
legitimate scoring chance in the last five minutes of the game, and it was
deflected harmlessly away.

The Tigers
had advanced to the final by defeating unranked Goshen, 2-0, in one morning semifinal.
Chesterton, meanwhile, was forced to go the maximum distance in downing
seventh-ranked North Central (Indianapolis)
on penalty kicks, 6-5, after a scoreless regulation and two overtimes.

It was a
gratifying championship win for Evansville Memorial for many reasons, not the
least of which is this was the third consecutive trip to the Final Four for
this legendary program. This time the Tigers went home with the hardware � and
a whole lot more.

KICK
IT! Share your thoughts on our Boys Soccer message board.

CONFERENCE INDIANA
ALL TIMES EASTERN
	CONF.	PTS	OPP	ALL	PTS	OPP
Bloomington North	0-  0	0	0	0-  0	0	0
Bloomington South	0-  0	0	0	0-  0	0	0
Columbus North	0-  0	0	0	0-  0	0	0
Franklin Central	0-  0	0	0	0-  0	0	0
Lawrence Central	0-  0	0	0	0-  0	0	0
Perry Meridian	0-  0	0	0	0-  0	0	0
Pike	0-  0	0	0	0-  0	0	0
Southport	0-  0	0	0	0-  0	0	0
Friday, Aug. 17
Ben Davis at Perry Meridian, 7 pm
Bloomington North at Edgewood, 7 pm
Bloomington South at Terre Haute South, 7 pm
Decatur Central at Franklin Central, 7 pm
Lawrence Central at Lawrence North, 7 pm
North Central (Indianapolis) at Pike, 7 pm
Seymour at Columbus North, 7 pm
Southport at Franklin, 7 pm
Friday, Aug. 24
Bedford North Lawrence at Bloomington North, 7 pm
Columbus North at Columbus East, 7 pm
Franklin Central at Indianapolis Roncalli, 7 pm
Greenwood at Southport, 7 pm
Martinsville at Bloomington South, 7 pm
North Central (Indianapolis) at Lawrence Central, 7 pm
Perry Meridian at Center Grove, 7 pm
Pike at Decatur Central, 7 pm
Friday, Aug. 31
Bloomington North at Columbus North�, 7 pm
Bloomington South at Franklin Central�, 7 pm
Lawrence Central at Perry Meridian�, 7 pm
Southport at Pike�, 7 pm
Friday, Sep. 7
Bloomington North at Bloomington South�, 7 pm
Columbus North at Franklin Central�, 7 pm
Perry Meridian at Southport�, 7 pm
Pike at Lawrence Central�, 7 pm
Friday, Sep. 14
Franklin Central at Perry Meridian�, 7 pm
Lawrence Central at Columbus North�, 7 pm
Pike at Bloomington North�, 7 pm
Southport at Bloomington South�, 7 pm
Friday, Sep. 21
Bloomington South at Lawrence Central�, 7 pm
Columbus North at Pike�, 7 pm
Franklin Central at Southport�, 7 pm
Perry Meridian at Bloomington North�, 7 pm
Friday, Sep. 28
Bloomington North at Franklin Central�, 7 pm
Lawrence Central at Southport�, 7 pm
Perry Meridian at Columbus North�, 7 pm
Pike at Bloomington South�, 7 pm
Friday, Oct. 5
Bloomington South at Columbus North�, 7 pm
Lawrence Central at Franklin Central�, 7 pm
Pike at Perry Meridian�, 7 pm
Southport at Bloomington North�, 7 pm
Friday, Oct. 12
Bloomington North at Lawrence Central�, 7 pm
Columbus North at Southport�, 7 pm
Franklin Central at Pike�, 7 pm
Perry Meridian at Bloomington South�, 7 pm
�Conference game