First, the Cougars -- they were very strong tonight in staving off wave after wave by a very quick, technically-strong Center Grove team. A big reason why was the brick wall in front of the net, senior goalkeeper Collin Kleckner, who made 10 saves, several of the spectacular variety.
But the Trojans were able to put one unstoppable shot on goal, and it proved to be the difference. The play began with a great long feed from midfield to the top right corner of the box, where CG midfielder Brent Kramer lobbed a cross to the goalmouth. There, CG's Alieu Musa leaned down and buried a perfectly-placed header into the left-side netting to make it a 1-0 game with 12:35 left.
That turned out to be the difference. CG held a 23-5 shot advantage and carried much of the territory, but the Cougars had a handful of chances. The best came after a foul with a minute to go. Caleb Dunn took a free kick from 30 yards out and hit a laser that was headed for the top shelf of the net. Trojan goalkeeper Dalton Mudd reached up and backwards to make an acrobatic stop, getting enough of the ball to parry it off the crossbar. While G-C's Angel Rodriguez got to the rebound, a foul was called ending the Cougars' last -- and best -- threat.
For the Cougars, it was a great season, ending with an HHC and a sectional title and a 14-4-2 record. Seniors Collin Kleckner, Zach Shoufler, Brent Poling, Jeremiah Spencer, Adam Koers, Jim Vetters, Luke Agee and Cameron Scott all saw their final game tonight as high school players, but they should be proud of a great effort and a great tournament run. As the final horn sounded, Koers began clapping toward the bench, telling his teammates to keep their heads high and celebrate a fine season.
The Dragon girls also had a tremendous senior class that had accomplished much -- including back-to-back undefeated regular seasons. They won their sixth consecutive sectional title and the first regional game in school history, but fell behind by two goals twice and couldn't scale the mountain in a 3-2 loss to Perry Meridian tonight.
The Dragons had beaten the Falcons by the same score in the season opener back in mid-August.
Perry's Olivia and Amanda Annee scored early to give the Falcons a 2-0 lead headed into halftime. NP's Lauren Joray scored late in the first half to make it a 2-1 game. But Amanda Annee scored early in the second half to restore the two-goal lead. Lauren Kehrt scored midway through the second half to cut the deficit, but the Dragons couldn't get the equalizer.
NP finishes the year 17-1-3 and sends off a tremendous 11-person senior class that has rewritten the school record books.
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