Members of the Columbus North soccer team celebrate beating Roncalli in a sectional final soccer match at the BCSC Soccer Complex in Columbus, Ind., Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023. North defeated Roncalli 4-2 to win the sectional title.
Mike Wolanin | The Republic
In the 56th minute of Saturday afternoon’s Columbus North boys soccer sectional final, the host Bull Dogs were given a red card, Roncalli converted a game-tying penalty kick and North was faced with playing a man down for the final 24 1/2 minutes.
But the Class 3A No. 10 Bull Dogs didn’t sit back in a defensive shell and play for overtime and PKs. They continued to attack and scored goals in the 66th and 67th minutes to pull out a 4-2 victory and defend their sectional title.
“We’re an attacking team,” North coach Andy Glover said. “We also defended better today, and I think you saw a mature performance. We weren’t about to be content for penalties.”
The Bull Dogs (12-3-3) advance to host 3A No. 3 Center Grove in the regional semifinals at 6 p.m. Wednesday. But they’ll have to do it without starting goalkeeper Juan Jose Salcedo Calderon, who received a red card for a dangerous play on a ball. Per IHSAA rules, he has to sit out the next match.
Eli Miller made the PK against backup keeper Noah Marsh, and the Royals (7-8-2) had all the momentum. But playing with only 10 men, North didn’t skip a beat.
“The kids are prepared for that situation,” Glover said. “They moved the pieces on their own, and I wouldn’t have done anything different. We’re all on the same page, and we have a lot of multi-functional players that are willing to accept a lot of different roles.”
Nico Gotoh gave the Bull Dogs the lead when he connected off a pass from Aidan Whitley.
“I think it’s just the mentality,” Gotoh said. “I do not want to go to overtime or penalties, so someone has to step it up and score a goal, so I was just there, and I’ll finish it.”
A little more than a minute later Whitley rocketed in a shot from just outside the box after taking a pass from defender Leo Iorio.,
“Big moments need big players, and I feel like we have 11 players on the field who can all be big players,” Whitley said. “Today, it was me and Nico.”
From there, North was able to close it out.
“It’s a great accomplishment for the kids and for the team,” Glover said.
Roncalli got on the board first, with Miller scoring in the 18th minute. The Bull Dogs answered in the 30th minute when Whitley headed in a free kick from Bryan Rodriguez.
North then struck again in the 32nd minute when Gotoh finished off a pass from Whitley.
“Going down 1-0 wasn’t what we planned at all, but bringing it back to 2-1 into the half was definitely a good feeling,” Whitley said. “We knew it was going to be another hard 40 minutes. The game could have gone any way.”
The Bull Dogs finished with a 14-12 shot advantage putting eight shots on goal to seven for the Royals. Salcedo Calderon recorded four saves, and Iorio had a non-goalkeeper save when he headed away a shot on the goal line. Following Roncalli’s penalty kick, Marsh did not face another shot on goal.
North now will look to defend its regional title in hopes of making another run to the state finals.
“It feels great,” Whitley said. “The first two years were kind of tough with tough sectional losses against (Columbus) East. It’s been great as an upperclassman to be be able to win something. Last year was great and all, but that’s in the past. This year, we have more to prove.”
“My first two years, we lost, and I think those were learning opportunities, and now, we’re translating those,” Gotoh added. “We put the work in the summer, and now we’re winning titles like these. But what we really want is that state championship.”
For a photo gallery, visit https://www.therepublic.com/2023/10/07/photo-gallery-columbus-north-boys-soccer-defeat-roncalli/
