Columbus North’s Manuel Valle attempts a bicycle kick as Ben Wiltrout (16) looks on against Franklin Tuesday during the Whiteland Sectional.
Anthony Sylvia | For The Republic
By James Horne
For The Republic
WHITELAND — Columbus North generated the scoring opportunities needed, while Franklin just couldn’t get a shot across the goal line in the Bull Dogs’ 2-1 win in the boys soccer Sectional 13 quarterfinal game Tuesday at the Whiteland Soccer Complex.
The Grizzly Cubs didn’t get too many chances against the North defense. Franklin produced only seven shots, only four of which were on goal.
The Bull Dogs, on the other hand, were very active on the pitch and controlled much of the action. They peppered the net with 22 shots, including 14 on goal.
“The kids worked hard and created their moments, but so did they,” North coach Andy Glover said. “In the second half, they had chances to equalize, which is a little disappointing. But at the end of the day. We got a result, and we’ll go ahead and advance to play (Center Grove) in the semifinals.”
The Bull Dogs (7-4-5) will play Center Grove at around 8 p.m. Wednesday in the final sectional semifinal game. Whiteland hosts Shelbyville in the opening semifinal at 6 p.m..
North didn’t connect until late in the first half Tuesday.
The first goal came in the 36th minute off Manuel Valle. He connected from the left side of the net off the ricochet of a shot by teammate Jonah Sipes.
The Bull Dogs didn’t take much time to add on to their advantage. That happened in the 38th minute, when Edgar Ibarra found the net in the 38th minute to make it 2-0.
“We like to be an attacking-based team,” Glover said. “We like to be possession-based. The wind was interesting in the first half and kind of dissipated in the second half. So having them play against the wind in the first half certainly helped us attack a little more in the first half.”
Franklin (4-13) got on the board near the end of the tilt and had chances to tie it up throughout the final 10 minutes. Aybram Moore cut it to 2-1 when he lobbed one in right in front of the goal on an assist by Ripken Dillion.
“The grit came out with us trying to equalize there late,” Franklin coach Trevor Perry said. “You hate seeing them pull that kind of grit and effort out of desperation, but we had to do what we had to do. They went out there and I’ve got no complaints whatsoever.”
