Crawfordsville boys soccer is in familiar territory. For the second straight season the Athenians will be playing for a sectional title after they defeated Danville 5-0 in the Class 2A Sectional 25 semi-finals on Wednesday. It took some time for the Athenians (10-6) to get the first goal of the game as the visiting Warriors were able to keep CHS at bay for the first 36 minutes. However with the Athenians on the attack, Yeison Cifuentes was fouled inside the penalty box and was awarded PK attempt. He drilled it to get the Athenians on the board and in the second half Crawfordsville was able to pull away.
A second-half hat-trick by junior Patrick Corado and a goal by Manuel Olvera was more than enough as Crawfordsville controlled the majority of possession in the game.
After the Athenians picked up a 3-0 win over the Warriors in the regular season finale just last Thursday, Crawfordsville coach Marcus Hale expected to see the Warriors best and that’s exactly what his team got.
“That first half was very similar to how we played them last week,” Hale said. “We knew that with Danville we were going to go up against a team that was well coached. I couldn’t be more proud of our guys for how they competed for the ball for the entire 80 minutes. Not scoring on some the early chances we had was a little frustrating but once we got that PK to fall and talked things over at halftime, things seemed to open up for us quite nicely.”
The last few games for the Athenians, they have come out of the gates firing on all cylinders to begin the second half of play. Against county rival Southmont on Tuesday, CHS scored five of their eight goals in the final 40 minutes. Against the Warriors it was more of the same scoring four of their five.
“We spend a lot of the first half figuring out how we can attack the other team and really what their strengths and weaknesses are,” Hale said. “At the half we do make slight adjustments usually, but more so just remind the guys of what we want to try and do. Obviously these last few games it’s been paying off for us.”
Corado continues to add to what’s been a stellar junior season for him. He already has the individual single season scoring record for CHS and knows when he needs to take his level of play into another gear. He’s quick as lightning on the pitch and many teams haven’t been able to have an answer for him. The best part about his play according to Hale? It might surprise some people.
“Quite frankly the way he plays, it opens the game up for so many of our other guys,” Hale said of Corado. “When that happens it makes us that more dynamic on offense. Patrick began to show some patience and once he got the first one to go, that gave him the confidence he needed to score the other two.”
The Athenians were in this exact same position a year ago. They were on the cusp of a sectional title, before falling in a heart-breaking fashion to Tri-West, surrendering two goals in the final 15 minutes and falling 2-1. This season the Athenians will be out for redemption as they see a new opponent in the Cascade Cadets who defeated Western Boone 5-1 in the first semi-final on Wednesday. The Cadets come in ranked 20th in the 2A coaches poll and hold an overall record of 14-3-1 on the season.
“We know that it’s going to be a tough game because of what’s at stake,” Hale said. “Cascade made semi-state last year (in Class A) and their kids are very well coached. From watching them play you can tell they have a specific strategy. We’re going to have to play our best game for a complete 80 minutes and work hard to see if we can make positive things happen.”
It’s been since 2016 since the last time the Athenians have held a sectional title in their hands. As Hale said, their 80 minutes away from hopefully capturing another trophy which is a goal this Crawfordsville team has had all season long.
“You have to be playing your best soccer in order to win a sectional,” Hale said. “There is a little luck involved there as well I think. As long as we show up like I know we can and put ourselves in the best position possible, I think we have a good shot on Saturday.”
Crawfordsville and the Cadets will get things underway at CHS Saturday evening beginning at 6 pm with hopefully the Athenians celebrating a sectional title on their home turf.
