Anna Liimatta
INDIANAPOLIS — Coming into the Franklin Central Sectional without its best player, Columbus East pulled out one win on Wednesday night, but fell just short of duplicating it on Thursday.
Host Franklin Central got a goal from Breece Bass in the 65th minute to claim a 1-0 victory against the Olympians and a matchup with Roncalli in Saturday’s sectional final.
“The kids played a great game, probably the best game we’ve had all season as far as the teamwork and playing for each other and supporting each other,” East coach Ilya Schwartzman said. “They were ready to go from the get-go, and they played tough and aggressive and had a great game. We thought we could play them straight up, and we did the majority of the game.”
The Olympians (8-5-5), who played without injured senior midfielder Norah Dwenger, kept the Flashes (12-7) off the scoreboard most of the night, thanks in large part to the play of their defense and especially senior goalkeeper Anna Liimatta. Liimatta posted nine saves, many of them leaping, diving or sitting on the ground.
“Anna had a fantastic game,” Schwartzman said. “Our defense had a fantastic game. They were covering for each other, played great support defense. We just couldn’t get the decent shot off. We had some opportunities and just couldn’t pull the trigger.”
Franklin Central finished with an 19-3 shot advantage. The Flashes put 11 shots on goal to three for East.
“I’m so proud of this group,” Schwartzman said. “These seniors mean so much to me. I’ve known a lot of them for many years, even before high school, and they’ve done so much for this program.”
