Columbus East girls soccer stood tough with Class 3A No. 6 Bloomington South under the heat and humidity Monday night.
The Olympians picked up an opening goal in the first half, but then the Panthers scored two goals in the second half, including one with 29 seconds to go, to defeat the Olympians 2-1.
Melea Miller closed out the game with the go-ahead goal. She scored both of the Bloomington South goals.
“I thought they did an excellent job against a very, very good squad. We played our hearts out. We played tough. We’re pretty solid defensively,” East coach Ilya Schwartzman said. “We made that mistake there at the end that gave them the lead, but beyond that, I couldn’t be more proud of the way they performed.”
The Olympians (1-2) got on the board in the 33rd minute when Cami Warren delivered a pass across the box to Grace Wiltsey, who sent the shot into the far post and into the net to put them ahead 1-0 heading into the break.
The Panthers turned up the intensity early in the second half and got the equalizing goal in the 44th minute when Miller’s shot attempt when high and just out of the grasp of East goalkeeper Anna Liimatta to level the game at 1-1. That set up the game-winner with less than a minute left.
“It’s a very, very tough-minded group, and the effort was outstanding,” Schwartzman said. “I thought Anna Liimatta had the game of her life tonight. I thought the back four played very well. Our midfielders worked really hard. The outcome, unfortunately, kind of slipped away, but this is a great steppingstone for us and prepares us for the next big battle. Bloomington South is a fantastic team, and they’ve had excellent results, and I thought our girls performed admirably against a very good squad.”
The Olympians have little time to rest. They’ll take on 3A No. 7 Columbus North on Wednesday with the forecast again expected to be in the 90s and humid.
“I think we’re in very good, physical shape,” Schwartzman said. “We’ve conditioned well over the summer. I thought they handled it well. A number of them went 80 minutes again without subbing. I’m pleased with where we are right now physically.”
