NEW MARKET — It took more than 80 minutes to decide a winner between Crawfordsville and Southmont in girls soccer on Tuesday as the county rivals, both who are having successful seasons, squared off. At the end of regulation neither the Mounties or Athenians had been able to find the back of the net as both defenses bended at times but never broke. It took overtime to decide a winner and in the first OT senior Elle Gray, on her senior night, delivered the goal that gave Southmont a 1-0 lead. In the second OT period fellow senior Lillie Odum scored off a beautiful cross pass and made it 2-0 Mounties. Crawfordsville’s Riley Gardner scored on a late penalty kick, but the damage had been done as the Mounties on their senior night took the county title in a thrilling 2-1 OT victory.
“This feels absolutely amazing and I couldn’t be more proud of our girls,” Southmont coach Roger Azar said. “I told them before overtime that this game matters most importantly for our seniors and to simply go out and get it done. Our girls dug real deep for this win and it was fitting that two of our seniors were the ones who scored for us. This win means so much for us to be county champions, to beat Crawfordsville and to show what they’re really made of.”
Azar also commended the Athenians for their effort in the loss as CHS made the Mounties battle in arguably the most tight game for either team all season.
“You have to give kudos to Crawfordsville and their coach (Alex Ehrlich),” Azar said. “I told him that he’s done a tremendous job with his team and I’m very happy to see them succeeding. At the end of the day all of these girls are friends and the daughters of many people in this community. I’m super excited for what their future looks like.”
The battle and grit that the Athenians showed is something that isn’t new to this season. Excluding a season opening 10-0 loss against a ranked Faith Christian team, Crawfordsville (5-5-3, 1-3 SAC) has been in every game they’ve played in. They haven’t allowed more than three goals in a game since that season opener and continue to battle any opponent on their schedule.
“We’re not a one trick pony and are doing a lot of things well and it showed again tonight,” Ehrlich said. “Even on what I considered an off night for us, we still held our own against a very tough Southmont team. I’m happy for the girls and we as a team are ready to move forward.”
The overtime win for the Mounties is their second close game in a row that they’ve come out on top in. On Saturday they took down a tough Benton Central team 1-0. Azar is really beginning to see his team round into form as post-season play begins in just two weeks.
“The girls are beginning to do a really good job of executing what they’ve learned in practice,” he said. “The only concern that I have right now is that we’re a little banged up and dealing with some injuries right now with some of our key seniors. Soccer is a mental game and we’re going to power through together as a team.”
On the night Southmont the Mounties recognized seven total seniors as along with Gray and Odum, Alivia Williams, Emma Phillips, Emilly Smith, Abigail Korhorn, and Chloe Lynn all celebrated their senior night with a county title.
The Mounties will have the rest of the week off before being back in action at home on Saturday when they host South Vermillion. They’ll complete the regular season next Monday when they travel to take on Bethesda Christian.
Crawfordsville now shifts it’s focus to another county matchup on Thursday when they’ll make the trip to the northern part of Montgomery County for a battle with the Chargers.
“North will be another fun game like it was tonight,” Ehrlich said. “I’m excited to see how they respond.”
