WHITELAND — After being knocked out of the postseason by Center Grove the past two years, the Columbus North girls soccer team worked with a renewed intensity during the offseason in an attempt to prepare them for a sectional rematch.
The Class 3A No. 8 Bull Dogs had that chance on Saturday afternoon, and they took full advantage. They used two goals from Jenna Lang to post a 2-0 victory against the 3A No. 18 Trojans in the Whiteland Sectional final to earn their first title since 2017.
“This is my first sectional win, so it feels pretty good,” Lang said. “I feel like it’s always been kind of like, they’re the team to beat. We came into this game kind of the underdogs because they beat us last year and the year before, so it feels great. Winning alongside my teammates, it’s a great win, and I couldn’t be more grateful for it.”
North (16-1-1) advances to Saturday’s Bloomington South Regional, where it will face Evansville Memorial at 10 a.m. Floyd Central and Bloomington South play in the second semifinal, and the regional final will be at 7 p.m.
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Center Grove (14-5) had a couple of chances early, but were turned away. The Trojans suffered a big loss when their top defender, Paige Waskom, took a shot from Lang from close range to the head. Waskom was tested for a concussion and did not return.
Not long after, Lang took a pass from Lauryn Whitley and snuck it past Center Grove goalkeeper Kylie Crum for a 1-0 lead in the 21st minute.
“Whit always kind of knows how to find that final pass,” Lang said. “She found me, and I got a touch. I didn’t really know where it was going, but I was hoping it was going in the goal.”
Lang’s second goal came shortly after halftime. In the 43rd minute, she took a dribble, turned and fired one just inside the right post for a 2-0 advantage.
“I think coming in to the second half, whoever got that next goal, it was going to be a game-changer and kind of affect the momentum of the game,” Lang said. “So getting that second goal for the team really meant a lot and gave us the momentum we needed to finish the game off.”
The Trojans finished with a 9-7 shot advantage. Both teams put three shots on goal.
Mallory Gilley recorded three saves for North.
“I definitely think it was a tough game, but the defense definitely helps me out a lot with knowing when to come out and when not to come out (to challenge for a ball),” Gilley said.
That defense consists of center backs Nitya Chenanda and Kate Kolhouse and outside backs K.J. Ely and Riley Schumm.
“Mal came up big,” North coach David Young said. “The back line, those four in the back, that’s two shutouts in a row in sectional play, which is big.”
Lang, who broke the school record for goals in a season during Thursday’s semifinal win against Columbus East, now has 43 for the year. Meanwhile, Whitley’s assist gives her 21 for the season, which ties the record that she tied last year.
“It was definitely an ugly win, but I think we all worked really hard because we just really wanted it this year,” Whitley said.
The Bull Dogs beat Center Grove 4-0 on Aug. 17, with Lang scoring all four goals. That was North’s second game of the season and the Trojans’ first.
This time, it was a little tougher.
“We knew they were going to be a lot tougher than they were Week 1 of the season,” Young said. “We prepped for it. At halftime, up 1-0, we talked about how they could beat us. We had to pick our moments, and then whenever we got that second goal, we kind of knew that, ‘Hey, here’s what we need to do to win,’ and the girls executed it well.”
