Columbus North’s Gabby Spurgeon clears the ball ahead of Center Grove’s Beatriz Gubert Monday at BCSC Soccer Complex in Columbus.
Tommy Walker | For The Republic
For the first 20 minutes of Monday night’s girls soccer battle, Columbus North stood toe to toe with Class 3A No. 9 Center Grove.
After that, the Trojans took control. They scored two goals in a span of three minutes and went on to post a 4-0 victory.
“I thought it took us probably about 10 minutes to kind of gather ourselves a little bit and get our footing, but once we did, I thought we stood on top of the game pretty well,” Center Grove coach Myron Vaughn said. “Definitely when we got that first goal, I thought the scales of the game tilted in our favor, and we were able to kind of continue it throughout the match.”
The host Bull Dogs, who were playing their season opener, had the best chance early in the match when Avery Baker took a shot from the left side of the box that Trojan goalkeeper Ava Matthews tipped against the crossbar in the seventh minute.
The Trojans (2-0) got on the board in the 20th minute when Mia Marlin ran under a long pass from the right corner. Two minutes later, Marlin played a through ball to Jocelyn Franklin, who scored to make it 2-0.
“I felt like the first 20 or 25 minutes, we met their intensity, and then they kind of figured out that we were here to play, and they matched it and surpassed it,” North coach David Young said. “We made a mistake in the back, and then (two) minutes later, a girl got loose and had a nice finish.”
Center Grove erased any doubt when they scored off the second-half kickoff. Emily Thetford capitalized on a North mistake in the back and put it in for a 3-0 lead.
“I thought it represented kind of what we’re looking for, which is high pressure and being switched on and paying attention because it came off of a mistake from them. Emily was really sharp and was ready and on it and took advantage of it and finished it nicely.”
The Trojans’ final goal came in the 78th minute after both teams had emptied their benches. Kinley Tolbert finished a cross from Ondrea Dell.
Center Grove outshot the Bull Dogs 22-5, putting 11 shots on goal to four for North. Danika Hoehn played the first half in goal, and Gabby Revell played the second half in goal, with each posting three saves. Emerson Chambers made a non-goalkeeper save when she cleared a ball off the goal line in the first half.
“I love playing top teams, especially early in the season,” Young said. “You kind of have an idea who you are and what you need to work on. Now, we get back to work.”
North will visit Seymour Thursday.
“We have to get healthy,” Young said. “We have a couple of key players that took some dings tonight. We’ll watch some film and organize our session on Tuesday based on what I see.”
