INDIANAPOLIS
Izzy Cameron’s aim was right, and so was the final result.
Greenwood Christian’s sophomore midfielder, lining up a free kick late in the second half on Saturday, made good from 40 yards out for what was the deciding goal in a 2-1 Class A sectional win over host Covenant Christian.
Cameron’s boot found the upper right corner of the goal with 4:28 left, making history at the same time as GCA secured the first girls soccer sectional championship in school history.
The victory qualifies the Cougars (6-9-1) for a Class A regional semifinal at Cascade (11-6-1) on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
No telling if GCA coaches, players and fans will float all the way to the tiny Hendricks County town of Clayton for the match, though given the emotional final moments of Saturday’s triumph, anything is possible.
“It always feels good when I hit a ball and it goes in,” said Cameron, describing the flight of her team-high 14th goal of the season. “When there’s a wall, you always have to, like, fluff it over between (defender’s) hands and the post.”
The effort — not to mention result — was a far cry from only nine days earlier when the Cougars lost, 7-2, to the same team on the same field.
“We had 11 players today. Zero subs,” said Suzie Cameron, who served as the GCA coach with Christina Hunter home sick. “On the field today, we had three players who had never played soccer before this season, and we had to depend on everybody.”
Izzy Cameron’s kick, combined with junior Adeline Jolley supplying GCA its first goal 14 minutes, 22 seconds into the second half and the customary stinginess of senior goalkeeper Ellie Bigelow, allowed the team to overcome a 1-0 halftime deficit. Covenant Christian had seized the early momentum just 1:16 before the half when junior Ella Crane was able to get her kick beyond the reach of a diving, fully-extended Bigelow.
“We made a couple adjustments (at halftime) on how we were going to play. Izzy played the ball to Adeline, and those two have been a tandem all season,” Suzie Cameron said.
Added Izzy Cameron: “We’ve been a second-half team for most of the season. It just feels like in the first half we’re trying to figure things out.”
Once the score was tied at 1-1, Greenwood Christian worked for good looks at the goal, but Jolley’s kick with 17:44 remaining was smothered by the Covenant Christian goalkeeper; Cameron’s effort at the 6:45 mark caromed off the left goal post.
A little more than two minutes later, the latter supplied the season-extending goal. Having four-year starter Bigelow in goal to preserve the outcome comforted GCA supporters, who realized late they were witness to something special.
It was the second slice of GCA history for Bigelow, who as a freshman was a member of the first girls basketball team to win a sectional title (2018-19).
“It feels absolutely amazing. I am so excited,” Bigelow said afterward. “I feel like we wanted it more. I feel that they came out with the mentality that, ‘Oh, we already beat them,’ but I know we definitely wanted it. I feel like it was definitely our time to push it and give it our all.”
