SEYMOUR
Center Grove came into Saturday’s Class 3A boys soccer regional semifinal positioned as the underdog against sixth-ranked Castle, at least on paper.
For much of the afternoon, it was the Trojans that looked like the stronger side, finishing with more shots on goal and overall. But the Knights took greater advantage of their chances and held on for a 2-1 victory before going on to defeat Terre Haute South in the evening final by the same score.
“When we came here, I told them it’s going to come down to who finishes the ball,” Center Grove coach Jameson McLaughlin said, “and they put two in and we didn’t. We had four chances that, a lot of the time, we’re going to put in.
“I thought we had more quality opportunities. They just finished the ones they had.”
Both teams struck early. The Knights (15-2-1) got on the board first, with Ryker Kotmel one-touching a cross from Jackson Mitchell into the net just 5:39 into the action. But Center Grove responded a little more than two minutes later, with Christian Badolato taking a pass from fellow senior Aaron McDaniel and tucking a left-to-right shot inside the far goalpost.
Castle was able to regain the lead with 19:38 to go in the half on a goal from the right side by Mitchell, his 30th of the season, and that held up the rest of the way despite the Trojans (9-5-4) creating numerous scoring opportunities.
Center Grove was confident about its chances of coming back, especially after getting the wind at its back in the second half.
“We knew that if it was going to be a close game in the first half, because they had the wind and they have some speed on the outside — I mean, we have the same thing,” midfielder Aaron McDaniel said.
Center Grove’s best opportunity came with about 15 minutes remaining on a free kick by McDaniel. The senior put a hard shot on goal from about 25 yards out, but Castle netminder Nigel Stoltz, who finished with seven saves, dove to his left and prevented the tying score.
“That save that (Stoltz) made on McDaniel’s free kick was incredible,” McLaughlin said. “Hats off to the keeper for getting that ball, because that was in the lower corner.”
Stoltz had to hit the ground again to stop a pair of late shots from Trojan sophomore Landen Montfort, the last coming with about 2:05 left on the clock. Center Grove was unable to get any more attempts off before time expired.
After the match, McLaughlin shared embraces with his disappointed players, particularly the seven graduating seniors that he credits with setting a better tone for the future.
“Our mindset hasn’t been right the last two or three years, and they changed the mindset of the younger players,” the coach said. “A lot of young players played, and even my seniors that didn’t play big minutes, they were still positive, and their work ethic in practice is what is going to drive our program forward.”
Especially with a lot of talent returning, including goaltender Caiden Stoneburner and a pair of top scorers in sophomore Montfort and freshman Ely Detty.
“Yeah, we’ll be okay,” McLaughlin said with a smile.
