FISHERS — The Pendleton Heights boys soccer team opened up sectional play Monday, Oct.1, at Hamilton Southeastern High School, where it took on Noblesville High School; it wasn’t the Arabians’ night.
A promising start shifted to a disappointing loss as the Arabians fell 4-1.
In the first few minutes of play, Coach Mark Davy believed nerves affected their play, but the Arabians settled down with senior goalkeeper Ethan Hunt blocking a shot by the Millers.
“They (Noblesville) dominated most of the first half,” he said.
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First-half play took place primarily on the Arabian side of the field, but a strong defensive effort kept Noblesville from getting on the board until 6:14 into the first half, when Colin Todd put one through the goal for a 1-0 Noblesville lead.
In the final seconds of the half, the Arabians were racing to goal when Noblesville goalkeeper Miles Atkins took down Arabian senior Abe Bohlsen. Atkins was yellow-carded and left the game with 1.8 seconds remaining in the half. Bohlsen’s penalty kick shot through the net and gave the Arabians a score to make the game tied at halftime.
That goal gave the Arabians a boost, but Davy said even if they’d went into the half down 0-1, they knew they’d still be in contention because the Arabians kept their composure.
When the second half opened, the Arabians came out strong, controlling the field, but at the 35-minute mark, Noblesville scored again. After that the Millers took over, scoring two more times in the game and ending the Arabians’ hopes of continuing to Round 2.
“They had some excellent speed on their outside wings,” Davy said. “They wore us out physically. I don’t think we’ve played a team that fast all season.”
Although the season ended sooner than hoped, Davy’s team finished with a 9-5-1 record.
“This season flew by for us. I think that’s because it was a lot of fun to coach and a lot of fun to be with these guys.”
The team vibe clicked positively right away.
“It’s a testament to our guys. They are great men of character,” Davy said. “They play with class.”
Prior to sectional play, Pendleton Heights held senior night on the final regular season game of the year in a match Thursday, Sept. 27, against New Palestine.
The Arabians sent their seniors out on a good note and beat New Palestine 1-0.
Both teams got off to a slow start as the Dragons controlled most of the first half.
But Arabian Mason Fridley found the only goal of the night after a shot rebounded out and Fridley hit it low into the goal.
The Arabians controlled the rest of the game and went on to win.
Seniors honored were Abe Bohlsen, Cohan Bowers, Mason Fridley, Garet Gaskill, Ethan Hunt, Joe Pickett, Jacob Spires, Ethan Schitter and Landon Tyler.
The Pendleton Heights girls soccer team (9-4-2, 5-2 HHC) played its final game of the 2018 regular season before heading into sectional play today, Thursday, Oct. 4. The final regular season home game for its eight seniors was a good one as it came away with a 7–1 win Tuesday, Sept. 26.
Scoring for the Arabians were Taylor Fort (2), Claire Fendel (2), Macy Browning, Helena Talbot and Lexi Hill with assists from Talbot (2), Fort (2), Megan Mills and Riley Schrink.
