DANVILLE – First round losses in the 2A Sectional 25 tournament ended the soccer seasons for both North Montgomery and Crawfordsville’s girls teams Tuesday at Danville.
The Chargers lost the first game of the night 5-0 to Frankfort, and the Athenians fell to Tri-West 7-0 in the second match.
North finishes the season 5-12, while Crawfordsville’s season concludes at 5-9-3.
CHARGERS FALL TO HOT DOGS
An early goal by Frankfort set the tone, and with most of the match played in the Chargers defensive side of the field, there were not enough opportunities to get some goals.
The Hot Dogs, who move to 6-10, defeat the Chargers for the second time this season and will play Tri-West in the semifinals Thursday. Frankfort was led by Nataly Cruz with two goals and an assist.
“At the end of last season, we graduated nine starters,” North coach Julie Hodges said. “I’ve never gone through that as a coach. This year, we are graduating two seniors starters and returning nine for next season. We obviously are disappointed in the loss, but there is a lot to look forward to. A lot of freshmen and sophomores earned starting spots at the start of this season and have worked their way through this season, gaining a lot of experience.”
The Hot Dogs had one job defensively, and they did a good job of it, keeping the ball off the foot of Chargers all-time leading scorer Teegan Bacon.
The senior was not able to add to her school-record 101 goals, and was limited to only three shots on goal, as Frankfort knew who not to let have the ball.
They did that by keeping the ball in their attack zone most of the night, peppering Chargers goal keeper Ella Smith with 23 shots on goal.
“The experience that these younger players have gained this year will be paid back in the next two or three,” Hodges said. “Sure, there were plenty of growing pains, and there are lots of things to fix and work on in the offseason, but nothing is better than that experience. These freshmen and sophomores came in from day 1 and never caved, never quit fighting. They never folded. That will pay dividends the next couple seasons.
Eight Chargers played their last match, starting with Bacon.
“She changed the program,” Hodges said of the North Central College bound athlete, who finishes as the third-leading scorer all time in girls county history.
Along with Bacon, the Chargers will see Marissa Moffitt also leave. Moffitt was the other senior starter.
Other seniors are Jessica Clark, Grace Allen, Macie Allen, Maely Gaskin, Caidence Hutson and Dayana Figueroa Keyes.
“All eight of these seniors helped our program in eight different ways,” Hodges noted. “Some played for four years, a couple only one. They all gave great efforts every day in practice and at games. We will miss each of them and wish them well in their futures.”
As to the future, Hodges had a thought for the experienced team returning.
“Get better,” she said. “We have to play at a faster pace, and eliminate some bad habits.”
With nine starters returning, at least the roster is fairly set.
Athenians lose to Bruins
Crawfordsville put most of their eggs in the defensive basket against the #9 ranked Bruins, and for many minutes, the strategy paid off.
But eventually, Tri-West found a crease on a set piece, or knocked home three second-chance shots, or took advantage of a mistake.
The Bruins scored three times in the first and four in the second to cap the win, their second in two weeks over Crawfordsville, and move to the semifinal match Thursday against Frankfort, whom they also defeated earlier in the season.
The Athenians were not able to muster much offense, finishing with only a couple shots on goal, while the Bruins offense had 24 shots at Cville goal keeper Zoey Corbin.
It was also the final match for four seniors, who have been part of the Alex Ehrlich era.
“All four of them have been crucial to the culture shift we are making,” the second-year coach said of Jayda Roach, Paige Corbin, Cassi Bacon and Lorelei Schmitzer-Torbert. “All four of them took leadership roles – they made my job a lot easier. They were competitive, and confident, but humble at the same time. They owned up to mistakes and never missed an opportunity to teach a younger player. I am sad to see them go, but they are leaving behind a lot of good lessons for next year’s seniors to emulate. These seniors took younger players under their wings, they were leaders. I am thrilled for what they are leaving, and bringing in the culture we want here – an inclusive culture. It is what will make the younger players want to come back.”
The coach is also looking forward to the future.
“We have a handful of freshmen who are just extremely coachable,” Ehrlich said. “They have an intensity at practice, and they bring that to games. They practice hard and play hard. I’m just excited for the future of this program.”
The coach also had a look into what might be a pleasant future for Athenian soccer.
“We had a motto this year – ‘All gas, no brakes,’” Ehrlich said. “Sometimes I saw that, especially later in the season. We are heading to the weight room this offseason and we are going to get to work right away. Next year, we want to throw some of that weight room strength around.”
With the most wins in seven seasons to show for it, the coach might be on track.
