By RICHARD TORRES
For The Reporter
FISHERS – Once the postgame huddle broke on Thursday night, the top-ranked Class 3A Hamilton Southeastern Royals began positioning for a team photo to celebrate their Sectional 8 semifinal victory over rival, No. 16 Noblesville.
HSE head coach Greg Davidson immediately stepped in and stopped it.
Davidson’s decision to disperse his team wasn’t personal.
It wasn’t superstition.
It wasn’t about potentially disrespecting an opponent, who had previously ended their postseason nine consecutive seasons dating back to 2016.
“We have held our mantra of the next game, and Noblesville was just the next team standing in the way of what we want to accomplish,” Davidson explained. “We’re not looking ahead.”
The Royals (17-0-1) didn’t dispute their coach’s directive. Instead, they embraced it because they share the same mindset.
Despite ousting rival Noblesville (9-6-1) by shutout 4-0, the job remains unfinished.
“I get the excitement, but this is just, you know, one step, and we haven’t won anything yet,” Davidson said. “We’ve got to stay focused on Fishers now.”
Fishers (8-8-3) blanked Muncie Central, 12-0, during Thursday’s first semifinal contest, advancing into Saturday’s sectional title game at 6 p.m. against HSE, which is inching closer to its first potential championship since 2012.
First HSE had to take care of three-time defending state champion Noblesville, a program that held a 9-0 postseason series record against the Royals for over a decade.
The last time the Royals beat the Millers in a playoff game was 2012, which also marked the most recent season HSE swept their archrival in both Hoosier Crossroads Conference and state tournament play.
On Aug. 30, HSE beat Noblesville, 9-0, by shutout at home.
Forty days later, the rematch resulted in a 13th shutout this season for junior goalkeeper Hannah Dodge and the unbeaten Royals, who are ranked No. 1 in the nation, according to MaxPreps. HSE is ranked second in the nation by the United Soccer Coaches Association.
“Noblesville and HSE traditionally in the past few years have been the two best teams in the state, and they’ve always had that great tradition, so yeah, there’s a level of satisfaction of beating a team that has kept you from some of your dreams and ambitions,” Davidson said. “Some of that is satisfying, but hopefully, it’s a little bit bigger than one team.”
The Royals, who carried a 1-4-4 regular season record against Noblesville since 2016, led 3-0 by halftime and held the Millers without a single shot and only two attacks in the first 40 minutes.
A goal by sophomore Rebekah Tekrony assisted off a free kick by senior Blair Satterfield, an Indiana University recruit, in the ninth minute put HSE ahead 1-0.
A rocket goal by Sloane May, a Michigan commit, assisted by senior Riley Boyd, an IU recruit, put the Royals up 2-0 in the 35th minute.
Boyd buried the third goal in the 37th minute assisted by Ball State commit Addison McClain.
Sophomore Sydney May made it 4-0 with a goal setup off a Satterfield free kick in the 71st minute.
Noblesville’s first attack against HSE was in the 27th minute and its first shot was taken in the 55th minute. Dodge had one save against one shot on goal.
“No matter what, I think they’re just one step along the way. Getting them out of the way and knocking them out just felt good,” Sloane May said. “But most importantly, we’re focused on our next steps and continuing to do the same thing to other teams, continuing to come in with that mindset against every team.”
The Tigers, who lost to HSE 6-1 on Sept. 10, are aiming to disrupt the Royals’ journey.
“It’s a little bit more stressful when you are expected to win. They’re ranked highly, and we’re unranked, and all their accolades are well-deserved, but we’re coming in here like, ‘Hey, what about us?,’” Fishers coach Harold Spooner said. “We think we can challenge and compete with any team in the state. So, we’re going to try to use that as motivation. They forgot about us.”
See Rich Torres’ interview with HSE players here: https://x.com/RichTorres23/status/1976485876885787079
