Columbus North had trouble finding its mark in the early going Wednesday night, but once the Bull Dogs found it, they didn’t lose it.
Class 3A No. 19 North scored four times in the final 11 1/2 minutes of the first half to pull away for a 9-0 Conference Indiana victory against Southport.
"We had a slower start than we were anticipating for us to have, but once we got the first one, we just were working as a team to get the rest of them," senior midfielder Caroline Hollenkamp said. "We’ve been definitely progressing as the season goes on. Our first game against Center Grove kind of showed us that we had to have a lot of growth throughout the season in order to go far in the postseason."
Hollenkamp got things rolling for the Bull Dogs (7-1, 2-0) when she scored off an assist from Lauryn Whitley in the 12th minute. Four minutes later, Jenna Lang dribbled through the Cardinal defense and put one away.
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Hannah Grimes scored off a pass from Lang in the 29th minute, and Lang added another unassisted goal 29 seconds later. Grimes scored her second goal off an assist from Laney Moore in the 36th minute, and Lang tallied her third goal a minute later, giving North a 6-0 lead.
"It was definitely an easier game," said Grimes, a senior midfielder. "We got everybody in the game, which is a good thing. We’ve been working really hard in practice and felt like we really implemented what we’ve been working on, so it was really nice to see that."
The Bull Dogs began the second half with their forwards playing on the back line, their defenders playing in the midfield and their midfielders playing forward. Nitya Chenanda, normally a center back, scored off a cross from Hollenkamp in the 48th minute to make it 7-0.
Soon after that, North coach David Young emptied his bench. Erin Rawlins put one through the Southport goalkeeper’s hands in the 64th minute, and Hollenkamp added her second goal in the final minute.
"We kind of got Southport pinned in a little bit tonight, and they couldn’t get out and I think the girls had their ears pinned back and everybody wanted to get into the attack," Young said. "It was nice to get everybody on the field."
The Bull Dogs outshot the Cardinals 48-2, putting 23 shots on goal. Kaylyn Bates, who returned after missing the past five games with a concussion, stopped both Southport shots in recording the shutout.
"The girls are starting to play well together," Young said. "They’re starting to understand that if they play well as a team, they can compete with anybody."
