FORTVILLE — A perfectly-executed give-and-go opened the scoring in a defensive struggle Monday night.
Late in the first half, Greenfield-Central’s Caleb Mundell found Zack Bell near the top of the box. Bell deftly returned the ball to Mundell, who was on a run to the center of the box. Mundell blasted a shot that Shelbyville keeper Nick Amos couldn’t handle, putting the Cougars ahead heading into the break.
“We’ve done that play 100 times between me and him, just playing around all the time,” Mundell said. “The scouting report is Zack Bell all the way, so they closed in on him. He saw me coming in, so he just dished it to me.”
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That goal gave Greenfield-Central momentum in a tightly-contested sectional opener. Tyler Murphy added to the lead with a blast from 10 yards outside the box just minutes into the second half, which ended up being the winning goal. After Shelbyville got on the board with just over 10 minutes left, Bell, the Cougars’ leading scorer, sealed the game with a goal of his own.
With the 3-1 win, Greenfield-Central advanced to Wednesday’s sectional semifinals against Connersville.
“Very, very proud of them,” Greenfield-Central coach Bobby Holden said. “Very composed, good style of play. The boys came ready tonight. From the freshman that we play to the seniors, it was just a really good showing. Just really proud at this moment.”
Much like last year, the road to a sectional championship for the Greenfield-Central and Shelbyville boys soccer teams went through one another.
Unlike last year, a title wasn’t directly on the line. The Cougars won the sectional title with a 4-1 win against the Golden Bears in 2017, and then bested Shelbyville 6-3 in overtime just a few weeks ago.
The Golden Bears were looking for revenge, a chance to end the Cougars’ season. They couldn’t get it. Greenfield-Central’s top three scorers — Bell, Murphy and Mundell — made sure of it.
“They came in, two and a half, three years ago as freshman, and ultimately just entered the varsity program instantly,” Holden said. “I get people asking me all the time on those three, even the others in their grade, ‘He’s done after this year, right?’”
They aren’t. The trio all are juniors.
“It’s really special to see those guys step up,” Holden added. “They are constantly competing with each other in practice, making each other better. They are true competitors. It’s really exciting as a coach to have that in your program.”
Both teams had several good scoring chances in the first half, but the keepers were up to the task. Perhaps the best chance in the first 30 minutes was a Murphy free kick following a yellow card to Shelbyville’s Tim Clark, a curling shot that was headed for the top right corner of the net before Amos made a diving, two-handed save.
Shelbyville’s leading scorer Trae Hassebroek gave his team life with just over 10 minutes remaining, cutting the lead to 2-1 off a gorgeous shot that beat Greenfield-Central keeper Abe Buescher.
Hassebroek’s 21st goal of the year fired up the Golden Bears, who put the pressure on to try to even the score.
“When they scored that goal, the thought process on the line is, ‘OK, they got the momentum. Do we switch in to a different formation, try to lock it in?’ We opted this time to stay in our formation, which I’m really happy that the boys played their role, they didn’t get nervous, they stayed composed,” Holden said. “Trae’s goal was fantastic. That kid puts his team on his shoulders every single game. Huge kudos to him. Coming up with that goal, in that moment of that game, is really good.”
Bell put the game away for Greenfield-Central, though, deflecting a clearance attempt to give himself a breakaway on net with just over four minutes left in the game. The junior used a soft touch to put the ball around Amos, giving his team a 3-1 lead and helping send them to the semifinals.
“We’re pretty confident,” Mundell said. “We believe in our forwards, especially Zack Bell, to put one away, close ’em out. Our defense held them down and just waited for Zack to put them away.”
Up next for the Cougars is Connersville, with the winner of Wednesday’s game advancing to Saturday’s sectional championship.
Greenfield-Central, defending sectional champions and Hoosier Heritage Conference champions this year after an undefeated 7-0 run through conference play, are in a familiar position after topping Shelbyville.
“We’ve been here before. This team knows we’ve got two more to go,” Mundell said. “We’re ready to go. We’re going to celebrate tonight a little bit, then get back to work tomorrow to prepare for ’em.”
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Tonight, the rest of the Hancock County soccer teams open sectional play in three different locations.
Boys
New Palestine vs. Mt. Vernon, 5:30 p.m., at Mt. Vernon
Girls
New Palestine vs. Connersville, 6 p.m., at Rushville
Greenfield-Central vs. Mt. Vernon, 7 p.m., at Greenfield-Central
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