Center Grove girls soccer loses at Carmel

<p>CARMEL</p><p>The fatigued legs that come with playing a third quality opponent in five days aren’t the preferred recipe for upsetting the state’s second-ranked girls soccer team.</p><p>Center Grove’s all-out effort was on display for 90 minutes Wednesday night, but it wasn’t enough in a 3-0 loss to Carmel in a match that once again decided the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference champion.</p><p>The Greyhounds finished 7-0 in league play and are 13-1 overall. Carmel won its first 12 matches of the season without allowing a single goal before dropping a 2-0 decision at No. 1 Noblesville on Monday.</p><p>“They were moving the ball quicker than we were defending,” Center Grove coach Mike Bishop said. “It’s just frustrating we ended up on the short end of it. We had a good game plan coming in … (but) we had tired legs coming in.</p><p>“It’s our third game of the week against the third team in a row that’s very physical.”</p><p>The Greyhounds tallied two goals in the span of a little over four minutes in the opening half to build a 2-0 lead.</p><p>Midfielder Susie Soderstrom got things started with her team-leading ninth goal of the season with 16:57 remaining before halftime. The senior struck again at 12:44 off an assist from classmate Emma Domke, putting the Trojans in a difficult situation entering break.</p><p>Twelve minutes into the second half, Center Grove had no less than two good looks off a corner kick from senior Makensie Kramer. The Trojans couldn’t capitalize then, or when senior Paige Waskom’s straightaway attempt went just left of the goal with 25:35 remaining.</p><p>The Greyhounds added a final goal with 4:56 left in the second half courtesy of junior midfielder Saliyah Brady.</p><p>Center Grove entered the match featuring outstanding offensive balance, with six players having scored between five and eight goals this season. Avoiding a shutout at Carmel, which outscored its foes by a combined 45-0 prior to the loss at Noblesville, served as the ultimate challenge.</p><p>“We had looks, we just didn’t finish. It just wasn’t a good night for us,” Bishop said. “Offensively. Defensively. We held as long as we could, and we started losing the midfield the last 10 or 15 minutes, which I was worried about because Carmel moves the ball pretty well.</p><p>“You can’t fault the girls. You look at them walking off the field. They gave it everything they had.”</p><p>The Trojans (8-4, 6-1) next host their own invitational on Saturday, where they’ll face Roncalli at 10 a.m. and Columbus East at 1:30 p.m.</p>