It was Senior Day for the Columbus North boys soccer team Saturday afternoon, but it was a pair of juniors that ensured those seniors would get to celebrate a victory.
In the span of 1 minute, 20 seconds, Sotaro Kaneda and Graham Keele each found the net for the only two goals of the game, and the Bull Dogs defeated Terre Haute North 2-0 in a Conference Indiana matchup.
Both of the Columbus North goals came early in the first half, which it dominated from the opening kickoff. A Patriot foul set up a free kick from 28 yards out. Kaneda promptly sent a laser past the Terre Haute North wall and its goalkeeper into the left corner of the goal to give the Bull Dogs a 1-0 lead in the 12th minute.
“I think they expected Graham (Keele) to take the shot because he is a lefty, and the ball was on the right side, but I took it and saw that the left side was wide open so that is where I shot the ball,” Kaneda said.
Ironically, as if to say thank you for the free kick opportunity, less than two minutes later, in the 13th minute, it was Keele who snuck behind the Patriot defense and received an assist from Kaneda to score a goal of his own to give the Bull Dogs (5-6-1, 2-1) their second and final goal of the contest.
“Kurt (Nusterer) dropped me the ball, and I saw Graham open behind the defense and was able to place it to him, and he did the rest,” Kaneda said.
Although there was no scoring the rest of the way, Columbus North was able to control the action to close out the victory. Noah Kestler recorded three saves in posting the shutout for the Bull Dogs.
“I am very pleased with the way we came out and played,” Columbus North coach Tom Pollert said. “We were able to put two in the back of the net early. We won about 90 percent of the 50-50 balls today, and that number has been getting higher and higher. We did take our foot off the pedal a bit in the second half. This is our third game this week, and we have a key conference game against Bloomington South on Tuesday, so we do need some recovery time.”
