Winning regional championships has become sort of a habit for Liz Tynan.
The Columbus North senior was the starting goalkeeper on last year’s regional-winning girls soccer team and a key player off the bench for a regional championship girls basketball team. Last week, she led the Bull Dogs to another regional soccer title.
“It’s a nice feeling and a nice problem to have,” Tynan said. “Since basketball tryouts have started, and I can’t go to them because of the postseason soccer, it’s an easy miss. It’s nice to be able to keep making deep tournament runs. They’re all pretty special, and it’s always great to have good teammates to celebrate with.”
Now, Tynan and North would like to add a semistate championship and reach the state finals. The Bull Dogs play Guerin Catholic at 3 p.m. Saturday at Lawrenceburg.
North advanced to the semistate with 1-0 wins against Floyd Central and Bloomington South in Saturday’s Bloomington South Regional. Tynan was in the net for the entire 80 minutes of both games.
“Liz is really where it starts for us,” North coach Derek Stewart said. “The goalkeeping position is one of the most important positions on the field, and we’ve been extremely fortunate this year and last year to have Liz in the net for us. She’s a true leader and does a tremendous job in between the posts.”
This season, Tynan has eight shutouts and a 0.73 goals-against average for the 14-3-2 Bull Dogs. She has posted 78 saves.
Tynan credited North goalkeeper coach, Jose Acosta, who has coached her all four years of high school.
“I think we’re starting to peak at the right moment, and we’re just clicking, and we’re finally finding our rhythm,” Tynan said. “Our defense is coming out strong and finding a way to keep people out of the net. Coach Acosta keeps us goalies ready for the games and trains us hard and he prepared us for whatever action that we see that game.”
Tynan also has been a regional track qualifier in 4×100-meter relay the past two years. She is looking at playing basketball at Hanover or Thomas More and may try to play soccer, as well. She ranks 33rd out of 463 in her class with a 4.056 grade point average and wants to study health science or pre-physical therapy.
Saturday, she will face a tall order in Guerin Catholic (15-1-1), which is ranked No. 1 in the country by MaxPreps.com. The Golden Eagles have outscored their opponents 60-2 this season.
“They’re going to be a pretty tough opponent,” Tynan said. “I think if we can come out like we did against Bloomington South and just give them a run for their money, I think we’ll be pretty good.”
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What: Girls soccer semistate
When: 3 p.m. Saturday
Where: Lawrenceburg High School
Who: Columbus North (14-3-2) vs. Guerin Catholic (15-1-1)
Admission: $10
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