Eighteen seconds.
That was all Class 3A No. 4 Columbus North girls soccer needed to pick up a season-opening victory, but 3A No. 14 Center Grove scored the game tying goal with 18 seconds left for a 2-2 draw at the new BCSC Soccer Complex Monday night.
The Bull Dogs put up two goals in the first half, and the Trojans fought back in the second half with two goals of their own.
“We talked about it at halftime — a 2-0 lead is dangerous,” North coach David Young said. “You’ve got to get one on them to make it 3-0. We weren’t able to do that. They got one early (in the second half) on us. They kind of had us on our heels … We just never got back into the rhythm that we had in the first half.”
After a couple great opportunities to get on the scoreboard early, the Bull Dogs broke through in the 25th minute when Emily Ellis kicked one in the box, and the ball went right above the goalkeeper’s hands and into the net for a 1-0 lead. A couple minutes later, in the 28th minute, Jenna Lang got into the scoring column when she took a pass from K.J. Ely, and Lang’s kick sailed past the defense and hit the post and deflected back into the goal for a 2-0 lead.
Center Grove turned up the intensity and struck early in the second half in the 43rd minute when Emily Karr’s shot was saved by North goalkeeper Mallory Gilley. Karr got her own rebound, and Gilley couldn’t get to the ball in time for the goal, and the Trojans cut the deficit to 2-1.
The Bull Dogs halted the Trojans march over the final 37 minutes until Karr scored the second goal with 18 seconds left for the draw.
