On Saturday morning, Center Grove boys soccer coach Jameson McLaughlin gathered his squad by the wall inside the school’s soccer complex that displays all of the various championships the Trojans have won over the years.
He pointed out that a loss to Southport in the sectional final later that night would make the current senior class the first in program history to graduate without winning a sectional title.
"That motivated all the seniors, because we didn’t want to be that class," midfielder Aaron McDaniel said.
And now, they’re not that class.
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryCenter Grove survived going a man down in the second half of regulation and battled through 94 scoreless minutes before prevailing in a shootout, 6-5, against Southport in a physically and emotionally draining Class 3A sectional final.
The 18th-ranked Trojans (9-4-4) will face No. 6 Castle in the semifinal round of the Seymour Regional this Saturday at noon.
"I’m just excited for those kids, man," McLaughlin said. "We looked at the wall. You’ve seen that wall with the number of sectionals on it — and I told them, the seniors. I’m like, ‘Guys, if you lose, you’re going to be the very first class ever in Center Grove history to not win a sectional. That is not going to happen.’ So they knew it, they were not going to let it happen and they didn’t let it happen."
The first five rounds of the shootout were all offense, with Southport (12-5-1) getting scores from Patrick Oberc, Johnny Lian, Van Duh Lian, Cung Ro Bawi and Albert Thang and Center Grove answering with goals by McDaniel, Aidan Kinstler, Landen Montfort, Christian Badolato and Cameron Perry.
From the next round on it was sudden death, and the Trojans were able to finish the job right away. Junior goalkeeper Caiden Stoneburner went to his left to stop Bawi Zung Lian’s shot, and classmate Felipe Kroll followed by putting one in the net to secure Center Grove’s first sectional championship since 2016.
"I knew Felipe was going to put it in," Stoneburner said.
That the match made it to penalty kicks was a bit of a miracle in itself after the Trojans lost freshman Ely Detty to a red card with 14:27 left in regulation, leaving them a man down for the remainder of the match.
Mentally down and physically gassed, Center Grove held it together through the end of the second half and two seven-minute overtimes, setting up a second consecutive penalty-kick shootout (the Trojans had also won on PKs in the semifinal round against Roncalli).
"I told them, ‘At this point, guys, it’s 10 back,’" McLaughlin said of playing shorthanded. "It’s 10 back with the keeper, and they’ve just got to hold and they’ve got to play D, because I tell you — if we go to PKs, I love (number) 0. I’ll take Caiden Stoneburner in a shootout every day of the week; the kid is as cool as it comes."
He was pretty cool during the 94 minutes before the shootout, too.
Neither team was able to score during a back-and-forth first half that saw each side manage three shots on goal. The best opportunity in either direction came on a Southport breakaway opportunity about 13 minutes in, but Stoneburner charged the attack aggressively and wound up making a diving stop out near the 18-yard line.
The Trojans applied heavy pressure over the first 10 minutes of the second half but couldn’t put anything on net. The Cardinals then made a push of their own and got another good shot on goal that was turned aside by a diving Stoneburner with about 25 minutes to go.
Center Grove senior Aaron McDaniel had a good look at the net in the 65th minute, and it appeared the Trojans had some momentum building again before the red card came.
The Cardinals were unable to capitalize on the man advantage, however — thanks in part to another massive save by Stoneburner two and a half minutes into the first overtime — and the Trojans live to see another weekend.
"Southport, they played one heck of a game," McLaughlin said. "They’re an excellent team, they don’t quit, they work hard for (coach David Stroup) — and to beat them is an accomplishment. To go a man down and still win this, that is a huge accomplishment."
One that will finally get this senior class up on the wall.
"It truly is a blessing, and I’m glad that we finally had the motivation and the push with a man down," McDaniel said. "It was hard — we were all tired — but we pushed through, and we knew we could do it."
