For the Daily Journal
INDIANAPOLIS
Center Grove High School girls soccer coach Mike Bishop attempted to find some positives after his Class 2A No. 9 Trojans’ loss to No. 4 Brebeuf Jesuit.
The host Braves led 3-1 at halftime on the way to a 5-1 victory Wednesday night.
“We got to string a little bit of offense together and started playing, so we had some bright spots there,” said Bishop, whose team’s record fell to 7-2-1. “We have people in positions we’re a little unsure of, playing pretty well all things considered. (Brebeuf) is a good team. It’s one of those things; it’s tough to get beat that way.”
Bishop said his team was more aggressive in the second half.
“It’s tough when you’ve dug a hole for yourself,” he said. “You’ve got to get yourself back in the game. I’m proud of them.”
With five and a half minutes left, Bishop was issued a yellow card for complaining to the officials. He declined to comment on officiating after the game.
With a little more than two minutes left, Brebeuf coach Angela White got a yellow card after she and Bishop exchanged words. White was upset because Bishop complained about the lack of ball girls when a ball sailed over the fence.
Defending Class 2A state champion Brebeuf (11-1-1) dominated early, scoring twice in the first nine minutes. Hallie Pearson scored first and Alia Martin got the second goal.
With 25:50 left in the half, Brianna Arthur scored to boost the Braves’ edge to 3-0.
Trojans senior Emmie Ward scored with just under eight minutes left in the half narrow the deficit.
Brebeuf’s Kayla Fitts scored in the first six minutes of the second half to increase the lead to three goals again. The Braves’ final goal came from Katherine Modrall with 19:15 to go.
White was impressed with her team’s output against another top-10 team.
“They have really good players, good goal scorers and a really good defense,” White said. “They got a good coach. It’s always hard to go up against Center Grove. Hopefully, down the road we meet again (in the tournament).”
