(LEFT) Carmel’s Quinn Wu has scored six goals and dished out six assists for the Greyhounds team this season. (RIGHT) Guerin Catholic’s Will Scheu leads the Golden Eagles in goals scored this season with 21.
By RICHIE HALL
It’s been all defense this post-season for the Carmel boys soccer team.
In five games, the third-ranked Greyhounds have yet to give up a goal. It’s not a tournament thing, either: Carmel has pitched 14 shutouts for the entire season on its way to a 16-1-3 record.
The Greyhounds will travel to Martinsville on Saturday for the Class 3A south semi-state game, where they take on No. 7 Bloomington South.
The Panthers are 17-1-3 and, like Carmel, have not give up any post-season goals. Bloomington South began its run by winning the Mooresville sectional, defeating Bloomington North 2-0 in the first round, Martinsville 1-0 in the semifinals and the host Pioneers 7-0 in the championship.
The Panthers went to Whiteland for the regional semifinal and took care of the Warriors 4-0. That advanced Bloomington South to the championship at Seymour, where it beat Evansville North 2-0 to claim the program’s seventh regional title.
Senior Konrad Polit is the Panthers’ top scorer with 15 goals, followed by junior Andrew Wiley with 10. Junior Nathan Orth leads the assists with eight.
Carmel’s semi-state run began at the Noblesville sectional. The Greyhounds beat North Central 2-0 in the first round, then got past the host and No. 11-ranked Millers in the semifinals by winning a penalty-kick shootout after playing to a scoreless tie. Carmel defeated No. 19 Zionsville 2-0 in the championship for the Hounds’ fifth consecutive sectional.
Back home at Brian Murray Stadium, Carmel avenged a regional semifinal loss to Lawrence North 1-0, then knocked off top-ranked Brownsburg 2-0 for its seventh regional title and first since 2021.
Senior Troy Enslin leads Carmel’s goal total with nine, while senior Quinn Wu and sophomore Jet Truitt each have six goals. Junior Mikey Kubek leads the assists with eight, followed by Wu with six.
Golden Eagles play Hanover Central
Guerin Catholic is making its seventh appearance in the semi-state – not bad, since the Golden Eagles became tournament-eligible only in 2006.
No. 2 Guerin Catholic will play No. 4 Hanover Central in the first game at Chesterton for the Class 2A north semi-state. In contrast to the Golden Eagles’ experience at this level, the Wildcats are making their inaugural appearance at semi-state.
Hanover Central (17-4) claimed its first-ever regional title by beating No. 12 Leo 1-0 in the championship game at Mishawaka Marian. The Wildcats hosted the regional semifinal and beat South Bend St. Joseph 2-0.
In the sectional, Hanover Central rolled over Boone Grove 9-0 in its first-round game, then beat Griffith 2-0 in the semifinals. That put the Wildcats up against host Bishop Noll, which also happened to be the No. 1-ranked team in 2A. But Hanover Central won easily, 5-2 to claim its first-ever sectional title.
The Wildcats’ leading scorer is a freshman: Kevin Otworowski has scored 29 goals. Two other HC players have double-digit goal totals: senior Logan Zilz has put in 18 goals and junior Aldo Desiderio has 11 goals.
Hanover Central also distributes the ball well, as four players have 10 or more assists. Senior Owen Furman leads that category with 13, followed by Zilz with 12, Otworowski with 11 and Desiderio with 10.
Senior Owen Sosnowski is the Wildcats’ main goalkeeper, with 109 saves and a 0.889 goals-against average, including 10 shutouts.
Guerin Catholic will come into semi-state with a 16-4 record. The Golden Eagles had no trouble winning their regional, beating Delta 5-1 in a semifinal on the road, then taking care of West Lafayette 6-0 to claim the title at Concordia Lutheran.
In the sectional, Guerin Catholic defended its home turf with a 12-0 semifinal victory over Western Boone, then edged out Park Tudor 3-2 to win its seventh sectional championship.
Two seniors have led the Golden Eagles’ scoring this season. Will Scheu has 21 goals and 19 assists, while Christian Zermeno has scored 17 goals and made 22 assists. Senior Ryan McGrath has 60 saves and a 1.049 goals-against average.
