The Columbus North boys soccer team came out of the gate with a lot of intensity, led by senior Alex Davidson, who booted in two first-half goals.
Bloomington North never gave up, however as they made the Bull Dogs sweat for the final 20 minutes of regulation, when they cut the deficit in half.
Despite the last-minute desperation attempt made by the Cougars to tie the game, Class 2A No. 14 Columbus North held on for a 2-1 Conference Indiana victory.
Davidson’s first goal came in the 12th minute when the ball got deflected off several players toward him. He decided to go for a goal and booted it past the Cougars’ goalkeeper and into the back of the net for the 1-0 lead.
“The ball came to me on the far side, and I didn’t see any support near me so I had to go for it,” Davidson said. “I saw myself near the box and I decided to go for it and, luckily, it was successful because a lot of times, it does not work out the way you want.”
Columbus North coach Andy Glover was pleased with what he saw out of his team in the first half.
“We had some great individual pieces from Alex Davidson,” he said. “We had some great buildup. We constructed some good attacks there in the first half and that was where our goals came. We had some moments, and we capitalized on that.”
Davidson’s second goal came in the 28th minute on a breakaway when the ball sailed past his head at midfield and as he was running to the ball and saw the goalkeeper come way off of his line. Davidson would eventually win the race to the ball and kicked it past the diving goalkeeper and into the net for a 2-0 lead.
“He made a costly mistake when I saw him come way out, and I took advantage immediately,” Davidson said. “It was a huge gain for us and proved to be the difference.”
Bloomington North did not go away as Luke Domer scored in the 61st minute to cut it to 2-1. The Cougars had chances in the closing minutes to tie it, but the Bull Dogs (1-0-1) locked down defensively to preserve the win.
“As the game went on, Bloomington North certainly did not cower,” Glover said. “They are a very good team. They stuck to their game plan and it was very effective and nearly equalized it in the late minutes of the game.”
