CARMEL
Bragging rights in the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference almost always comes down to the same two girls soccer programs.
Wednesday night, it was Carmel doing the celebrating after defeating Center Grove, 1-0.
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Junior Cassidy Eckstein’s goal 12 minutes, 36 seconds into the second half proved to be the difference as the Greyhounds, ranked No. 4 in Class 3A, again finished atop the league standings with a 7-0 record.
Tenth-ranked Center Grove ends the regular season 6-1 in the MIC and 14-3 overall.
Coach Mike Bishop’s squad presented itself no less than three quality looks at putting points on the board. However, one hit the crossbar in the opening half, while a header attempted midway through the second another off the right post.
“(Carmel) obviously had the run of play through the match, but we had our opportunities,” Bishop said. “I think we get a little frantic when we get tired, and it kind of brings out things we need to work on going into the tournament.
“It’s unfortunate. We ran out of steam a little bit and they turned and got a tight-angle shot and put one home. But you know what, the girls played their hearts out. That’s all you can ask. It’s a game of inches and we hit the bar twice. We finish those and it’s 2-1.”
A scoreless first half nonetheless included plenty of offensive opportunities, most for them by Carmel as a good portion of the action took place near the Trojans’ goal.
Center Grove’s first good look came 6:56 into the match when Piper Belden’s boot ventured barely left of the goal. Later in the half, sophomore Paige Waskom’s attempt from 25 yards away glanced off the crossbar.
The Greyhounds, meanwhile, kept Trojans goalkeeper Kelti Wise busy.
At 10:55 of the first half, Carmel senior Kate Donovan came up empty, with Wise then making two saves only seconds later. The Greyounds had another golden opportunity at 24:40, but Wise reached up to deflect the ball over the goal.
The Trojans came in having outscored its first six MIC opponents, 31-0; Carmel, at 30-1, had been every bit as dominant.
Wednesday’s match was exactly the kind that 28th-year Carmel coach Frank Dixon anticipated.
“It’s always hard to score on them. It’s always a tight game,” Dixon said. “This goalkeeper is good and the ones they’ve had in the past are good, too.”
Center Grove is back in action on Tuesday when it faces Greenwood at the Franklin Sectional.
