Boys soccer: All-County team

Ely Detty is used to being a marked man on the soccer field. Heavily marked.

So he’s had plenty of time to find ways around that blanket coverage. Whether that means taking it on himself or pulling defenders out of the way and letting his teammates cook, it usually works.

“Depending on how good the team is, if the team’s really good, then I try to create space for Matheus (Gubert),” Detty said. “He did very well filling into that space whenever I was heavily marked. But the biggest thing is just being creative — doing stuff that they don’t really expect.”

By doing so, Detty often wound up doing what was expected — him putting the ball in the net. The senior scored in all but two of Center Grove’s 19 matches this fall, totaling 34 goals while also leading the Trojans with 14 assists.

A first team All-State selection, Detty is also the Daily Journal’s Player of the Year in boys soccer for the second consecutive season.

Detty has long possessed a knack for finishing — he scored seven goals as a freshman and 17 in each of the next two years — but he took things to another level this fall. He could deliver goals in bulk, scoring three or more goals on five different occasions, or in the most critical moments, like when he scored in the penultimate minute of regulation to lift the Trojans to a 1-0 sectional championship victory over Bloomington South.

“High school was when I really started having that ability. Obviously I’ve worked a lot on it; just staying composed,” Detty said. “Scoring goals, it’s a lot of — you’re either good at it or not. Which kind of sucks, but I think I got very lucky with the ability to be able to score.”

Though Center Grove came up short in its regional semifinal battle with Columbus North, Detty can now look back with pride on a 14-3-2 season that saw the Trojans outscore opponents by a 73-18 margin.

“I didn’t have very high expectations after all of the seniors that graduated last year,” he admitted, “but it was way better than I thought.”

Next fall, Detty will find himself in a more unfamiliar role — going from high school, where he’s been a superstar that opponents built entire game plans around, to the University of Kentucky, where he’ll start out as just another talented freshman looking to earn a role.

While he could have gone to plenty of other schools and been guaranteed immediate playing time, Detty didn’t want the easy road. He wants to get better and saw playing for the Wildcats as the best way to accomplish that — whether he sees the pitch right away or not.

“I’d rather go to a school where I’m challenged and have to work for that spot,” he said.

Part of the reason that Detty wants to be challenged is because he’s got ambitions that extend beyond college. He wants to play professional soccer, and he knows that he’ll have to continue working and improving to reach that goal.

But within the past year or so, he’s come to see it as realistic.

“I have to work really hard,” Detty said. “It’s not easy, obviously, at all, especially in America to go pro in MLS, but if I can go to Kentucky and just work, work, work and just stand out, I think with my playing style, it can stand out a little bit more than a lot of other people’s. Just building on what I have now and just getting a lot better through the years, that’ll help me a lot.”

He’s starting from a pretty good place already.

ALL-COUNTY TEAM

The 2023 All-County team for boys soccer:

Keaton Barnhizer, Center Grove junior: Keyed the Trojans’ defense on the way to a sectional title, earning first team All-District honors in the process … Also collected six assists.

Bo Campbell, Greenwood Christian sophomore: Scored 22 goals and dished out five assists while leading Cougars to a second straight Class A regional championship.

Ely Detty, Center Grove senior: First team All-State and All-District pick led all area players with 34 goals and had 14 assists for sectional champion Trojans … Will play at the University of Kentucky.

Colton Flint, Greenwood Christian senior: Posted nine shutouts in helping lead the Cougars to a Class A semistate appearance … Made 86 saves while allowing just 17 goals on the season.

Matheus Gubert, Center Grove junior: Provided the Trojans with a second go-to scorer, compiling 14 goals and 11 assists on the year … Named second team All-District.

Evan Hewitt, Center Grove junior: A key part of the defensive effort for a 14-win team that ranked among the state’s best all season … Chipped in a goal and two assists.

Xander Honeycutt, Greenwood Christian senior: An indispensable player in the back for GCA, which advanced to the semistate round for a second consecutive year … Scored one goal.

Fabian Martin, Greenwood senior: A solid all-around player who chipped in four goals and an assist while leading the Woodmen to the first winning season in their history.

Adam Ott, Franklin senior: Named to the All-Mid-State Conference squad after allowing just 16 goals … Had six shutouts and allowed more than one goal just three times.

Matthew Payne, Franklin junior: Scored 11 goals and gave out an area-leading 15 assists for Mid-State Conference champion Grizzly Cubs … Earned all-conference recognition.

J.D. Sever, Franklin senior: Named all-conference, All-District and honorable mention All-State … Had three goals and four assists … Also kicked and punted for Grizzly Cubs’ football team.

Chase Stoneburner, Center Grove senior: Helped anchor a Trojan defense that yielded just 18 goals in 19 matches … Also contributed three assists from the back.

Honorable mention

Caleb Amador, GCA; Gavin Armstrong, Greenwood; Caden Camden, GCA; Austin Cooper, Whiteland; Jackson Crawford, Whiteland; Ethan Elsner, Franklin; Riley Flora, Franklin; Landon Gilstorf, Center Grove; Charlie Habig, Center Grove; Dylan Harris, Franklin; Roman Heller, Center Grove; Cole Hufford, Franklin; Emmanuel Jackson, Greenwood; Nick Jackson, Indian Creek; Cameron Kraiger, Center Grove; J.D. Lompo, Whiteland; Aiden Long, Indian Creek; Hayden Luttman, Whiteland; Devin McCormick, Center Grove; Jose Moreno, Greenwood; Denton Steenbergen, Indian Creek; Sam Thompson, Greenwood; Nalen Whitney, Center Grove