After giving up four goals in an upset loss to Columbus East in its most recent outing, the Columbus North girls soccer team got defensive Monday night.
The Bull Dogs, who had shut out their first three opponents this season, picked up clean sheet No. 4 with a 1-0 victory against Franklin Central.
“It’s really great, especially after East, when the scored four on us, and today, (Franklin Central) didn’t score any,” junior goalkeeper Kaylyn Bates said. “So it’s always nice to bounce back with a shutout.”
The game’s only score came in the first seven minutes. Rose Sardina, who was inserted into the starting lineup, gathered a cross from the right side and touched it back to fellow senior Tanner Johnson, who knocked it in.
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“That was a really good assist by Rose,” Johnson said. “We just got a cross in from the side. It got there, but we didn’t get the finishing touch, and I was behind Rose. She just dropped it back, and it was a nice ball.”
From there, the Bull Dogs defense took over. They outshot the Flashes 15-9, but Franklin Central put seven shots on goal to five for North.
Bates finished with seven saves. Her biggest came in the 76th minute when she made a leaping stop on a shot from the left corner.
“This game, we seemed to be having a little lack of energy, but toward the end, I think we pulled together as a team to get through it,” Bates said. “So it’s always good to have our teammates get connected after a loss of energy there in the middle (of the game).”
North had a couple of other scoring opportunities. Caroline Hollenkamp put one free kick off the crossbar in the 34th minute. Another Hollenkamp free kick midway through the second half was wiped off because of an offsides call.
“We’re not playing as well as we should be right now,” North coach Derek Stewart said. “We had a nice early goal from Tanner. It was nice to see her finish, but we had other opportunities, and we’re just not finding the back of the net. We’re still playing a little flat.”
