Whiteland’s Ethan Boone, left, slides in to kick the ball away from Indian Creek’s Kaden Martin during Tuesday’s match.
Rob Baker | For the Daily Journal
By Cameron Baker
For the Daily Journal
Jake Witherington and the Whiteland defense had plenty to deal with when they took on Indian Creek on the first of many cold fall nights to come.
The Braves’ duo of Aiden Long and Kaden Martin has combined for a total of 42 goals and 29 assists on the season, but this was no problem for the Warriors in a 3-0 victory on Tuesday.
“They’re incredible players. Aiden is just one of the best players we’ve seen all season and Kaden is one of the fastest kids we’ve seen,” Whiteland coach Justin VanHorn said. “Those were the two guys we focused on and came up with a game plan and shut off the space they use.”
The first breakthrough of the game came in the 35th minute, when an Indian Creek defender brought Whiteland’s Cameron Reid down in the box. Reid stepped up and converted the penalty kick by sending Indian Creek goalie Nick Jackson the wrong way.
The Warriors (4-8-3) doubled their lead merely three minutes later after a swift counterattack found Caden Rains in the box ready to shoot.
Indian Creek (8-4-2) looked to go long often while it was playing with the wind at its back in the first half. Long’s movement across the front line allowed him to be an outlet pass and look to slip his partner in crime in behind Whiteland’s defense. Witherington, though, consistently came off his line to sweep up any ball that came into his box and prevent Martin from using his speed.
“It’s really nice because it’s my last home game,” Witherington said. “It’s nice to end on a clean sheet, especially with my defense. I love those guys.”
Whiteland’s final goal came in the 52nd minute off another counterattack. Grayson Hall received the ball on the right wing and was able to cut up his defenders and smash the ball to the back post past Jackson.
Indian Creek seemed to play with more urgency after conceding the third goal, and it was clear that it was only a couple of chances away from clawing itself back into the match. Martin found himself in space much more often than in the first half, but he was unable to finish.
The game marked only the second one in which the Braves have been held scoreless this season.
“At the end of the day, it’s a team sport. You can have a bad game, bad night any given day,” Braves coach Jeff Smeltzer said. “That’s just how it goes. Moving forward, we just have to fix that and finish out the season strong.”
Whiteland continued to apply pressure late into the game, which allowed the Warriors to play extremely high and win the ball off Indian Creek’s defenders to get off a flurry of shots in the last five minutes.
“When you’re playing quick and guys are moving off the ball, it puts the other team on their heels. We’ve really been clicking close to the end of the season and we’re ramping up for sectionals,” VanHorn said.
