On a night when he barely had to touch the ball, Zach Roberts etched his name in the Columbus East boys soccer record book.
The senior goalkeeper recorded his 24th career shutout to tie the school record and help the Class 3A No. 9 Olympians remain unbeaten with a 3-0 Hoosier Hills Conference win against Bedford North Lawrence.
“I want to be able to break it,” Roberts said. “I wish it could have came sooner, but I’m really proud of myself. I’m proud of the team and every team that’s came through here and helped me get this, and ultimately, it’s not just me, it’s our defenders, the whole defending program coming together.”
The Olympians (7-0-1, 3-0) outshot the Stars 32-1, putting 14 shots on goal. BNL’s shot was on goal, but was not a challenge for Roberts.
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“A lot of people look at Zach and see his statistics as being tied for the all-time shutouts record,” East coach Brad Barber said. “But he’s one of the best leaders to ever come through this program. He’s a great young man.”
Menawhile, the Olympians other senior standout, Eric Stiles, handled the offensive side of things. He gave East the only goal it would need in the 26th minute when he took a header from Ben Romig and slid it between Stars keeper Tanner Robbins and the right post.
Stiles made it 2-0 in the 50th minute when he finished off a pass from Gabe Rivera.
“It always helps to have a multiple-goal lead because it’s just reassurance,” Stiles said. “It definitely wasn’t our best match. We didn’t play with the intensity we usually have, but on the same note, we got the win, pulled off the shutout and we just need to move onto the next game.”
Two minute after Stiles’ second goal, Kevin Sanchez added the final tally for East.
“Our finishing has been first class all season,” Barber said. “Today, we generated a lot of scoring chances, but we weren’t as clinical in our finishing as we have been throughout the season. But Eric stepped up and got two goals from the midfield, and I have all the confidence in the world that goal scoring is going to come back with those chances we’re continuing to create.”
Barber pulled most of his starters shortly after that third goal. Roberts came out of the game in the 78th minute, and Pete Coriden played the final two minutes in goal.
“It was a little lethargic at first,” Roberts said. “We could have showed what we are the first half, but we decided to bring that passion and drive in the second half, and we buried it away.”
