FRANKLIN — Only 12 days had passed since Columbus East shut out Center Grove 2-0 in the Center Grove Tournament.
That result was still fresh in the minds of the Trojans when the girls soccer teams met Thursday in the semifinals of the Franklin Sectional. Class 3A No. 8 Center Grove reversed the score against the 3A No. 10 Olympians, posting a 2-0 victory.
"I don’t know if it was revenge, but we definitely didn’t want to roll over and let them have the run of play," Center Grove coach Mike Bishop said. "They’ve been very focused and very determined the last couple of weeks since they got to us."
The Trojans (16-3) will meet 3A No. 18 Columbus North (11-4) in the sectional final at 2 p.m. Saturday.
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Center Grove got on the board in the 13th minute when Piper Belden knocked in a cross from Kailee Joseph. East (15-3) had a chance to tie in the 20th minute, but Trojan keeper Kelti Wise stopped a close-in shot by Alana Dwenger.
The Olympians had another opportunity in front of the goal the 37th minute, but were turned away. Center Grove then added to its lead in the 38th minute when Jostin Reeves took a shot from 25 yards that went just over the head of Olympian keeper Karisma Parker.
"I think we caught them off a little bit," Bishop said. "We were able to get to the wings and get in and spread them out in the back a little bit and open up some holes to shoot into."
East’s best chance in the second half came when Dwenger slid one just wide to the right in the 72nd minute.
The Trojans outshot the Olympians 18-14, putting 14 shots on goal to five for East. Parker finished with 11 saves, and East defender Emily Stiles added a non-goalkeeper save when she cleared a ball just in front of the goal line.
"I don’t think (Center Grove) did anything a whole lot differently," East coach Ilya Schwartzman said. "They had some chances. We had some chances. They capitalized on theirs. We capitalized on ours when we played them at Center Grove, and they missed them. We created a lot of opportunities that we just didn’t connect on. It’s just the way soccer is."
The Olympians repeated as Hoosier Hills Conference champions and notched their first top-10 ranking in school history.
"I’m really proud of the group," Schwartzman said. "I’m really thankful for this group of players. They’re fantastic. They’ve worked really hard. The seniors have been phenomenal leaders. I really have a great coaching staff that has continued to grow this team. It has been a great season. It’s just unfortunate it has to end this way."
