PENDLETON–The Zionsville Eagles are ranked as one of the best soccer teams in the state of Indiana. Tuesday evening in Pendleton, they showed why.

Eagle senior midfielder Noah Backhaus scored on a penalty kick and a free kick early and assisted on a third goal with less than a minute left in the first half as Zionsville beat up on Pendleton Heights 7-0.

Coach Kyle Davy said he was happy with the way his team competed with the state’s third-ranked team in the first half. But added that the third goal, which came just 34 seconds before halftime, was deflating to the Arabians.

“First half of the game, we battled and we competed with that number three team,” Davy said. “That was the message at the half. That (third goal) was a little bit of a letdown. That was frustrating, to work so hard and give up one just before the half.”

For Pendleton Heights (2-5-1) it was the fourth consecutive loss, all by shutout. The Zionsville speed and skill were a tough combination for the Arabians to overcome and end their scoring drought.

“We’ve got a lot of those tough teams at the front of our schedule,” Davy said. “We’ve got Zionsville, Westfield, HSE, and it’s one of those things. You want to play the best competition. We can figure out our shortcomings and build off of that.”

The Arabians will be back in action tonight at Anderson High School with the junior varsity game to start at 5:30 followed by the varsity game.