Late goal lifts Trojans to boys regional title

FORTVILLE

Winning regional championships is nothing new for the Center Grove boys soccer team.

Yet collecting the titles never gets old for the Trojans, who added an 11th at Saturday’s Class 2A Mount Vernon (Fortville) Regional.

Fourth-ranked Center Grove, which has won a state-best 18 sectional championships, picked up its latest regional with a 1-0 win against tournament-host Mount Vernon.

Center Grove junior forward Gabe Edel scored the match’s only goal, unassisted, midway through the second half. Trojans senior keeper Dalton Mudd made five saves to record the shutout.

“(Mount Vernon) was by far the best team that we’ve seen in the tournament so far,” Center Grove coach Phil Orlando said. “We couldn’t get one in until late, but we played good soccer.”

Now, the Trojans (17-2-1) are ready to add a new trophy to their collection by claiming what would be their first ever semistate championship.

Center Grove plays No. 3 Evansville Memorial in a semifinal match at 12 p.m. Saturday at Evansville Harrison. The winner advances to play to the 6 p.m. title. against the winner of the other semifinal between No. 18 Cathedral and No. 6 Columbus North.

“It would be nice to finally win semistate,” Orlando said. “We’ve been at it now for quite a few years and we haven’t been able to make that next step.

“But hopefully we will.”

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