FRANKLIN — The Columbus North girls soccer team already was without senior standout Tanner Johnson going into the postseason because of a broken collarbone.
So when Jenna Lang, who had taken over team top-scoring honors after Johnson was lost for the season, turned an ankle midway through the first half in Saturday’s Franklin Sectional final and the Bull Dogs already trailing Center Grove 1-0, North was in a heap of trouble.
Lang was in and out the rest of the match, but couldn’t generate any dangerous opportunities, and the Class 3A No. 18 Bull Dogs saw their season come to and end with a 2-0 loss to the 3A No. 8 Trojans.
“We lost a lot offensively when Jenna got hurt,” North coach Derek Stewart said. “With Tanner being out, there was a lot on Jenna to produce goals and create those opportunities, and she’s been phenomenal all year. When she went out, that hurt big-time.”
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The best scoring chance for the Bull Dogs (11-5) came in the fifth minute, when Lang put a free kick just over the crossbar. Center Grove (17-3) then got on the board in the ninth minute on a goal by Megan Perry after North keeper Kaylyn Bates came out to challenge.
The Trojans added to their lead in the 45th minute. After a foul in the box, Piper Belden converted a penalty kick.
“In my opinion, the first (goal) was offsides, and then a PK,” Stewart said. “So we gave up two goals we shouldn’t have. But that’s the way it goes sometimes.”
The Bull Dogs outshot Center Grove 8-3 in the first half, but the Trojans outshot North 12-4 in the second half. to finish with a 15-12 shot advantage. Center Grove put eight shots on goal to six for the Bull Dogs, and Bates finished with six saves.
The Trojans’ victory avenges a 1-0 to loss to North in the season opener.
“We just couldn’t finish, and they put the first goal in, and we went frantic trying to figure it out from there,” Center Grove coach Mike Bishop said of the first meeting. “It’s been this way with these two teams for years now. Whoever gets the first goal usually ends up winning.”
North, which won regional titles the past two years, also beat the Trojans in last year’s sectional semifinals.
“It’s always kind of a rivalry match, so our girls are up for it,” Bishop said. “I don’t think they really need that (motivation) to go with it, but I’m sure there were a few kids that that were like, ‘They got us at home opening night. Let’s get back and get after them.’”
