Columbus North’s Aidan Whitley dribbles the ball up the field during a sectional match against Columbus East Tuesday Oct. 4, 2022, at Roncalli High School.
Tommy Walker | For The Republic
After leading Columbus North in goals as a freshman and assists as a sophomore, Aidan Whitley was primed for a big junior soccer season.
That junior year got off to a fast start when Whitley scored a goal in a season-opening win at Southport. But then in the Bull Dogs’ home opener against Lawrence North, he got tripped up and fell hard on his shoulder, resulting in a fractured collarbone.
“When I broke it, I didn’t get my X-rays until around 3:00 the day after,” Whitley said. “So that whole school day, I was kind of like, ‘Oh my gosh, am I going to be back? Am I going to be out for the rest of the season? I’m not sure.’ But at the doctor’s office, when I heard six-to-eight weeks, I knew at that point, six weeks would have been three days after our last (regular-season) game. But I was lucky enough to heal fast enough to get a few minutes against Terre Haute South the last game of the season.”
That meant Whitley would be available for last week’s Roncalli Sectional, and he took advantage of his opportunity.
Tied with Franklin 1-1 early in the second half of Saturday’s sectional final, Whitley played a through ball that Nico Gotoh collected and scored to give North the lead. Then in the 68th minute, he scored an insurance goal that effectively put the game on ice and sent the Bull Dogs their first sectional title since 2016.
“He’s a fantastic influence on our team in terms of our attacking and defending, both,” North coach Andy Glover said. “There’s a lot of leadership qualities in his performance that very much affect our total team performance.”
Whitley said it was difficult having to miss most of the season.
“It was really tough,” Whitley said. “The first two weeks, I was really restricted in my movements. It hurt to do a lot of stuff, simple stuff like moving around, putting on clothes, socks and shoes. Coming around to Week 3 and 4, I started to get light into practices, and I kind of realized we have a good team, and I think even without me, they were winning games. What can they do with me?
Late in last week’s sectional opener against Columbus East, Whitley again took a fall on his shoulder. But this time, he was able to play through it.
“I’m not 100 percent right now,” Whitley said. “It still hurts to move, but I know I’m not giving up the season again. We checked it, and it’s not broken. It’s just pain, and you can play through pain.”
Whitley comes from a big soccer family. His father Dane starred at North and Notre Dame and has been an assistant coach for both the Bull Dog boys and girls teams. Aidan’s older sisters Elise and Lauryn both played for North girls teams that reached the state’s final four, and Lauryn is the school’s all-time girls assist leader.
Aidan led the Bull Dogs with 10 goals and had five assists as a freshman. Last year, he scored five goals and led the team with 10 assists.
“He’s a rock solid player in his own right,” Glover said. “He’s been confronted with a barrier here and handled it very maturely and has been patient and found his way back into the team and is affecting games when it matters, which is wonderful to watch.”
North (16-1-1), ranked No. 4 in Class 3A, will visit Center Grove (10-5-2) in tonight’s regional semifinals. The Bull Dogs beat the Trojans 2-1 during the regular season.
A win tonight would put the Bull Dogs in Saturday’s regional final to be hosted by Bloomington South against the winner between Floyd Central (12-4-3) and Jasper (13-5-1).
“I think we can go as far as we want, as long as we’re willing to put in the work and the effort,” Aidan said. “I’m really happy to be out here with my guys because I know that we have a big senior class that’s graduating. If we have a year, it’s this year, and I’m really excited to see how far we can get into it.”x
