Columbus North players react after losing the class 3A IHSAA Boys Soccer State Finals match to Noblesville at Michael A. Carroll Track and Soccer Stadium in Indianapolis, Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022. North lost to Noblesville 1-0 to finish state runner up.
Mike Wolanin | The Republic
INDIANAPOLIS — With just one kick, Columbus North’s dreams of a state championship came to an end.
Noblesville’s Jake Johns gave the Class 3A No. 7 Millers the game-winning goal off a touch pass from Sam Divis in the 17th minute, and Noblesville held on to hand the 3A No. 4 Bull Dogs a 1-0 loss in the Boys Soccer state final at Michael Carroll Track and Soccer Stadium on the campus of IUPUI.
“We’re immensely proud of the team. We haven’t won a sectional in some time, and we’re in the state final. A one-goal separation in the state final,” North coach Andy Glover said. “To be honest, (Noblesville) had two great moments that made me nervous. They buried one, and the other one came in the first half. In the second half, if a person that knows soccer was watching, they might have said we were the better team. But, you’ve got to score goals, and you’ve got to play them. We lost to a very good soccer team.”
This is back-to-back state titles for the Millers (16-3-3), while North (19-2-1) was looking for its first state championship since 2012. The Bull Dogs also finished runner-up in 2011.
This group of North players hadn’t had much postseason success until this year. They won their first sectional title since 2016 and played in their first state title match in a decade.
“Everyone has been like a family to me,” North senior Flynn Keele said. “All the bus rides, all of the games and all the different traditions that I’ve been a part of. It means a lot to me.”
When the Bull Dogs trailed at the break, they didn’t fold. They came out with much more poise and intensity and had better ball control in the second half.
North had a strong chance of getting the equalizer in the 75th minute. Miller goalkeeper Cole Thompson was charged with a yellow card for a delay of game off a free kick. The penalty gave the Bull Dogs a chance with a free kick just outside of the goalbox against backup goalkeeper Noel Pena. The kick, however, was blocked by the defensive wall and went out of bounds for a North corner kick. On the ensuing corner kick, Pena cleared the threat by knocking it out of the box and in Noblesville’s possession.
For the match, The Bull Dogs finished with 15 shots with five of them on goal. The Millers had 11 shots with two of them on goal.
Noblesville was ranked 20th nationally and third in the region by the United Soccer Coaches Association.
Regardless of the result, Glover appreciated the character and heart his team showed in the game.
“They have a tremendous amount of character,” Glover said. “The character and integrity of the team was shown in the product on the field today. They worked hard and represented Columbus in a positive manner.”
Glover will have plenty of shoes to fill for next year, but the cupboard won’t be bare.
“We had a lot of freshmen and sophomores on the field,” Glover said. “One freshman, several sophomores, several juniors, and I want the kids in Columbus to know that we’re a good soccer program, and we intend to do our best to keep it that way.”
