<p>Few would have blamed members of Center Grove’s boys soccer team if they were looking ahead to Thursday’s showdown at No. 3 North Central.</p>
<p>Columbus North wasn’t so fortunate.</p>
<p>The fourth-ranked Trojans scored five second-half goals in defeating the visiting Bull Dogs, 7-1, on Tuesday. In all, nine different players finished with either a goal or assist as Center Grove finished with a lopsided 39-6 advantage in shots.</p>
<p>“I think at the end of the day, we just started moving the ball around better,” said Trojans senior Carson Wilhelm, a first-year starter. “In the first half we were looking for those long balls, just playing over the top and not really finding feet. In the second half we finally settled down, found feet, passed it around and found the back of the net.”</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery
<p>Junior Aaron McDaniel scored two goals, while senior Nick Wilson was credited with three assists. Two Center Grove players, Carter Zuch and Devin Welch, provided both a goal and an assist.</p>
<p>“I just think the depth that we have, I mean, I’ve been playing with these kids since the first grade,” Wilhelm said. “I know how they play, and I think it just works out that we have amazing chemistry on the ball and we work very well together.”</p>
<p>Center Grove had 14 shots in the opening half, with goals by McDaniel and Zane York giving the hosts a 2-1 lead at intermission. McDaniel, a junior, took an assist from Zuch and kicked the ball past Columbus North goalkeeper Colvin Iorio barely a minute into the match.</p>
<p>The Bull Dogs tied the score with 29:38 remaining in the half on a goal from senior Ben Malone, but the Trojans reclaimed the lead for good at 8:39 as York scored off a corner kick.</p>
<p>Second-half goals were provided by McDaniel, Caden York, Colin Parry, Zuch and Richard DeChant.</p>
<p>Trojans coach Jameson McLaughlin knows getting separation on the scoreboard can make a big difference. He saw this happen in the second half as his squad tallied four goals in a 10-minute stretch between the 21:13 and 11:21 marks.</p>
<p>“Once you get a team down 3-1 or 4-1, you can see heads start to drop. People get tired, and they just want it to be over,” McLaughlin said. “We are starting to play better and better and better. We’re starting to get a little continuity where we’re becoming confident in what we can do.”</p>
