Playing in its third game in five days, it might have been a little understandable for the Columbus North boys soccer team to not play as crisp as it normally would.
Even if it wasn’t their best effort of the season, the Bull Dogs will gladly take the 1-0 win over Conference Indiana foe Terre Haute South Saturday at Richard Wigh Soccer Complex.
This marks the second win a row for the Bull Dogs after beating Franklin Central 2-1 on Thursday.
“In the end there, it showed that we were a little bit fatigued,” North coach Tom Pollert said. “There were a lot of people that were ready to write us off after we lost to Center Grove on Tuesday, and that maybe we’re losing the ship. To come back and win against Franklin Central down 1-0 the other night and coming back winning 2-1, and to come in today and win this game against a good Terre Haute South team, I think we’re on the right page. The boys have showed a lot of passion, a lot of grit this week, and that’s what we’ve asked them to do when the season started.”
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After things were deadlocked the first 20 minutes of the game, the Bull Dogs (3-4, 2-1) finally found their first good opportunity.
Graham Keele nearly put North on the board in the 20th minute after he took the ball from the left side and attempted a shot, but the ball was just in the grasp of Braves goalkeeper Kade Kline.
A minute later, Keele was given a second chance and made the most of the opportunity when Sotaro Kaneda delivered a pass near the end line on the right side and passed to Keele in the middle of the box, and Keele put it away for the 1-0 lead.
The score remained that way for the rest of the game.
Bull Dog goalkeeper Colvin Iorio recorded 10 saves in the shutout. North took 14 shots, with 10 of them on goal.
“(Terre Haute South) is a really good team, and especially with three games in five days, it’s really good confidence for the team,” North senior Andrew Goble said. “We started a little bit rough, but we’re getting there toward the end of the season. We’ll be ready to go for sectional.”
The Bull Dogs have two more tough opponents coming up this week. They host Perry Meridian Tuesday and travel to Class 3A No. 12 Carmel on Friday. The game against Perry Meridian is a varsity-only contest at 7 p.m. on the turf at North High School.
“The good competition is always for us to play against,” Goble said. “It’s a good test to see where we are as far as the state quality goes. It’s always good to play a strong schedule during the season so you know what you’re up against. Playing a team like Perry Meridian is always tough. They’re a really good opponent. It’s a very important game coming up for us.”
