Center Grove High School girls soccer coach Mike Bishop let out a sigh of relief when Kelli Hippenmeyer gave the Trojans a little cushion in the final minutes.
“It was getting a little dicey,” Bishop said. “That’s a solid team. They didn’t quit. We overcome what they threw at us and came away with the win.”
Hippenmeyer scored two goals to give the Class 2A No. 13 Trojans a 3-1 victory against Franklin Central on Wednesday night in Class 2A girls soccer regional action at Shelbyville.
Hippenmeyer delivered her second goal with 3:18 to go.
The Trojans (14-4-1) will face Mt. Vernon (12-5-1) in the regional championship at 5 p.m. Saturday.
Hippenmeyer, a junior, gave the Trojans a 1-0 lead with 37:52 left in first half. Franklin Central’s Joylynn Bond tied it at 1-1 with 26:29 left in the half.
Center Grove senior Sophie Chiado scored off a deflection with 31:04 left in the second half to give the Trojans a 2-1 lead.
“Sophie hit a great shop from out back,” Bishop said. “We were just fortunate that the keeper mishandled it and we had a girl crashing the box. You have to be aggressive until the keeper has it.”
Bishop said playing smart against a good opponent was key.
“You’ve got to continue to move and fight,” Bishop said “As long as you can do that and your timing is right, you get a goal here or a goal there. That’s the main key trying to get back in our style of play.”
Mt. Vernon senior Blaire Viehweg had just two goals entering the game. She doubled that total with two goals in Mt. Vernon’s 4-2 victory against Class 2A No. 18 Roncalli in the regional opener.
Roncalli coach Maurice Schilten, whose Rebels finished 17-4, was proud of his team’s effort.
“It’s just disappointing,” Schilten said. “We had a great run; we just didn’t expect it to end so soon.”
Mt. Vernon won its first sectional title in 19 years Saturday. The Marauders went on to win the regional that year.
“We’re doing it not just for our teammates but for everyone in the program,” Viehweg said.
Viehweg usually plays center defender, but she moved up to midfielder for this game.
The Marauders took a 1-0 halftime lead when Morgan Scruggs (team-high 20 goals) scored on a header in the first 10 minutes.
of the first half.
