DANVILLE — Crawfordsville boys’ soccer season will continue after a win that ended their county rival North Montgomery’s season.
The Athenians defeated the Chargers 7-2 in the opening round of the IHSAA Sectional on Tuesday at Danville.
Jaziel Gil-Herrera, who contributed a hat trick in the win, gave the Athenians the lead just 35 seconds into the game. Kevin Puerto and a second Gil-Herrera goal put Crawfordsville ahead 3-0 within the first 10 minutes.
“This time of year, you win or go home,” Crawfordsville coach Marcus Hale said. “The keys tonight were to find a way to win the game and keep everybody healthy.”
Crawfordsville added two late first half goals from Dio Freeze and Jayden Callejas to lead 5-0 at the break.
“We did have a few miscues, but we worked on defending the style of play they have,” North Montgomery coach Tristain Hall said. “Obviously the score was what it was at the end of the first half, but they did a good job against us, and I feel like we did a fairly good job and for our younger guys it’s something we can build off of.”
Manuel Olvera and Gil-Herrera added early second half goals to put distance between the Athenians and Chargers.
“The benefit is if we don’t waste the energy tonight, because we are going to play again tomorrow, it’s a 24-hour turn around, we will hopefully have a bit more energy tomorrow,” Hale added.
Callejas added two assists, while Matt Miller, Puerto, Colten Custer, and Eduardo Cesar Hernandez each helped on goals.
North Montgomery got second half goals from Kevin Toledano and Edgar Biddle. Hall believes the Chargers biggest improvement over the course of the season was their offense.
“Our offense actually improved,” he said. “Our possession improved, our midfield improved, with Braydin Osborne getting 10 goals on the season and our defenders getting involved offensively, our biggest improvement was on offense.”
North Montgomery scored 21 goals despite closing the season with a 2-15 record.
Crawfordsville improves to 11-6 and will play Cascade on Wednesday in the sectional semi-final. The Athenians beat the Cadets in the sectional final last season.
“We don’t play either Monrovia or Cascade on the schedule, but played Cascade in the sectional final last year, and I’m sure that’s been on their mind for a year, and it’s been on ours in terms of a re-match,” Hale said.
