MARTINSVILLE
A two-goal cushion barely 10 minutes into the match looked enticingly positive to Center Grove fans Saturday night.
Jameson McLaughlin has coached enough soccer to know better.
“No, 2-0 if you read anything about soccer, is the most dangerous score in soccer,” laughed a relieved McLaughlin after his team’s hard-fought 3-2 victory over ninth-ranked Bloomington South in the championship match of the Class 3A sectional at Martinsville.
“Just because you tend to let down a little bit. You take your foot off the gas because you’re winning by two, and then all of a sudden a team gets a goal to get the momentum.”
Such was the 80-minute whirlwind of emotions that played out on the Artesians’ grass field.
It surprised no one that the Trojans’ state-leading 24th sectional crown was a result of prevailing in a physical, at times chippy, and whistle-filled match.
Bloomington South hosted Center Grove early in the regular season, sweating out a 2-1 win.
However, the ensuing weeks have seen the Trojans exhibit the type of maturity expected of a squad with nine seniors on its postseason roster. The result is a six-game winning streak in which Center Grove (10-5-1) has outscored the opposition, 21-5.
“We were able to put each other first instead of ourselves first,” senior forward Landen Montfort said. “It brought us together as a team, and because of that, we moved the ball more and got two goals on them.
“We were able to do what we knew we could do.”
The Trojans, the aggressor from the start, scored two minutes and three seconds into the match as a sliding Preston Fisher scored off a cross from junior Ely Detty.
At 10:11 into the first half, Detty was awarded a penalty kick, which was true into the right side of the net for a 2-0 advantage.
Bloomington South picked up its first goal thanks to the left-footed offering of senior forward C.J. Santiago 25:44 into the match. The Panthers eventually tied the score 15:27 into the second half on a goal from forward Sebastian Brena-Ochoa.
South was called for tripping only 43 seconds later, setting Detty up for another penalty kick that proved to be the difference.
From that point, it was a matter of hanging on, though the Trojans had good looks over the course of both halves that narrowly missed.
“We had so many chances to put a third, fourth and fifth (goal), and I wish we would have,” McLaughlin said.
Center Grove now gets the opportunity to avenge another 2-1 regular-season road loss when it hosts fourth-ranked Columbus North (16-1-1) in Wednesday’s 3A regional semifinal. The winner plays the Jasper-Floyd Central winner in Saturday’s 4:30 p.m. final at Bloomington South.
The Trojans will be without the services of sophomore defender Keaton Barnhizer on Wednesday. He was issued a red card 8:50 into the second half on Saturday night, making him ineligible against the Bull Dogs.
“It’s not going to help that we don’t have Mr. Barnhizer, but we’re going to find a way,” McLaughlin said.
On Saturday, the field hosting Martinsville’s first-ever boys soccer sectional eventually gave way to a sea of celebratory hugs, selfies and group photos for Center Grove.
Today, it’s back to business as the Trojans have their sights on their first semistate berth since winning a state championship in 2015.
“Thinking back at the beginning of the season, we know we were a completely different team than we are now,” Trojans senior midfielder Caden York said. “Mindset is what was important to us. We went into (Saturday’s) match with the mindset of we are going to win this, and we will not let up.
“Columbus North, it’s a similar game. We play club soccer with a bunch of their kids, and they are just as physical. It’s going to be a very similar game to what this one was.”
