Sam Findley, for the Daily Journal
If Ely Detty’s two goals were all it took for the Center Grove boys soccer team to defeat Carmel, the Trojans would have walked home avenging last year’s 3-0 loss to the Greyhounds and with a massive win heading into the sectional.
Instead, the Trojans went home with a 2-2 tie.
Junior Caden York knows the team broke down in the second half but hopes it can bounce back in time for next week.
“The second half we came out strong, but over time it slowly went downhill. We lost our heads near the end, but … we have a lot of kids out right now; Felipe (Kroll), and Aidan (Kinstler) is just getting back, but I think once we get those guys back in we will be completely fine for the future,” York said.
Center Grove (6-4-4, 3-2-2 MIC) came out of the gate strong, holding possession in Carmel’s lower third for the majority of the first 15 minutes. The Trojans offensive was stopped by a physical Carmel defense, but not before Ely Detty was able to get off numerous shots on goal. Carmel was able to come out with a strong counterattack with Baenenan McKeown breaking through for a one on one, but defender Jeet Kerke defused the goal opportunity in the Trojans’ lower third with 15:27 left in the first half.
The MIC rivals battled in the midfield until 4:30 left in the first half, when Joe Sowers found Detty with a through ball that put the ball at Detty’s feet on the left side of Carmel’s 6-yard line. The sophomore did what he’s done all season, hitting the lower right corner just out of goalkeeper Jacob Havice’s reach to give Center Grove the 1-0 lead going into halftime.
Detty wasn’t done. Just 20 seconds into the second half, Ethan McGee had a massive throw-in that sent the ball over the top of Detty and his defender. Detty turned on the jets and took it to the top of the box, where his shot found the top corner of the goal to put Carmel in a 2-0 hole.
Carmel was unfazed by the 2-0 deficit, with Davis Dilling putting the ball behind Trojan goalkeeper Caiden Stoneburner a little over a minute later. Then, a hand ball inside Center Grove’s 18 gave Ian Mahoney the opportunity to tie it up with 30 minutes left in the match. Mohoney converted the penalty kick to tie it at 2-2.
Entering the final minutes, both teams made attacks on each other’s goals. Center Grove’s Landen Montfort danced past three defenders to make his way to Carmel’s 18, but he was shut down by a swarm of Carmel defenders.
Even though Center Grove didn’t come home with the victory, head coach Jameson McLaughlin knows the team got prepared for the intensity of playoff soccer.
“The intensity of us between Carmel is always going to be very similar to what a sectional game intensity should be, so in that aspect that how that’s going to help us,” McLaughlin said. “We gave back another game where we had a lead, and that’s kind of what I just talked to them about. We had Southport down 1-0 and gave it back. We had Carmel down 2-0 we gave it back. So hopefully, we learn from those mistakes and the defensive errors we made. We just have to learn how to hold that lead and play a little smarter.”
