Crawfordsville girls soccer believes they can win. That mindset has been instilled in them by coach Alex Ehrlich and now the results are beginning to show. As the Athenians celebrated senior night on Thursday against North Putnam, Crawfordsville honored their four seniors the best way a team can; with a win. CHS scored three goals in the second half en route to a 3-0 shutout over the Cougars.
The two teams played the first 40 minutes of the game to a 0-0 tie, but it was CHS who dominated possession and had their chances to put one through. The first 18-19 minutes proved to be the same story with the Athenians in search of just a single goal. At the 21-minute mark of the second half sophomore Riley Gardner struck from 25 yards out to give the Athenians the goal they needed. That opened up the confidence for CHS to add on as a minute later, senior Lorelei Schmitzer-Torbert found the back of the net to make it 2-0. With under 10 minutes to go Gardner put the dagger in the back of the net for her second goal of the game as CHS notched their fourth win of the season.
“It was just a matter of time before one finally was going to fall,” coach Alex Ehrlich said. “We were in attack mode the entire game, the ball just kept hitting the keeper’s hands. It was great to see us get so many shots but also frustrating because we couldn’t put one through. I’m really proud of how we continue to distribute the ball these last few games.”
The four seniors before the game that were honored along were Paige Corbin, Jayda Roach, Cassi Bacon, and Schmitzer Torbert. The four have, according to Ehrlich, a major part of why the program is beginning to see success.
“Paige I don’t think made a bad pass tonight,” Ehrlich said as he began to credit his seniors. “Seeing Jayda grow into the leader that she is now has been really cool to witness. She’s really just vocal and always encouraging her teammates. Cassi is just an overall bulldog and not scared of anything and Lorelei, it was nice to see her score on her senior night too. It was their night and I’m glad we came out with the win for them.”
Crawfordsville improves to 4-4-3 on the season with the win. As the season enters its stretch run, Ehrlich still sees the chance for more wins for his team as they’re already in the midst of one of their best seasons in last 6-7 years.
“We really have to show up these final weeks and go out there and want it,” he said. “Most of our games down the stretch are ours to win if we play how I know we can. At this point it’s a matter of heart. We’ve put in the ground work, we just need that heart to have a good end and finish strong.”
The final stretch begins on Saturday for CHS will make the trek to Northview for a battle with the Knights. Next week features two county games as they travel to Southmont on Tuesday and North Montgomery Thursday. The final two games of the regular season will see them battle SAC foes Tri-West and Western Boone.
