GREENFIELD — The bond keeps them going, keeps them motivated.
When things aren’t going their way, they pick one another up, help get each other back on track. They are there for one another.
That’s just what family does. And the Greenfield-Central boys soccer team is one big, successful family.
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It’s an atmosphere and a mindset that started years ago. It’s paying big dividends for the Cougars, who are about to embark on their third straight regional after winning another sectional title.
“It means everything,” junior Caleb Mundell said. “I came in as a freshman, and right away, all summer long, it was ‘we’re family, we’re family.’ It paid off. Everybody has bought into it. It’s pretty special when everybody buys into one thing.”
It isn’t just about the soccer or about the success on the field. The Cougars are a group that truly embraces the family aspect.
They win and lose as a family. They have created a bond, a connection between them, that strengthens the team, helping lead them to a sectional championship three-peat.
“This is our second family away from home,” junior Tyler Murphy said. “The connection that we have gives us a bond where we can play together and we can just go.”
“Even when we’re not on the field, we’re all just having a fun time, hanging out,” sophomore goalie Abe Buescher added. “It’s really like being a family. Always encouraging each other, keeping our heads up.”
The idea of creating a strong family atmosphere at Greenfield-Central started years ago and has been carried on in a variety of ways. The team has an alumni board in the locker room that Cougars players of the past have signed.
Those same players and coaches from the past are at the games, celebrating the wins and sharing the losses with the team. The Cougars took numerous team pictures after winning Saturday’s sectional. Many of them included alumni who were in attendance.
The Cougars embrace past and present. The team has brought in coaches to talk to the players over the years, speaking about the importance of being a family and playing with that passion and bond. That’s helped the family atmosphere continue to grow.
Greenfield-Central coach Bobby Holden attributes much of his team’s success to the work they’ve put in off the field to strengthen that atmosphere.
“Technique can only take you so far. I strongly believe that,” Holden said. “We have a good, technical team that can play the game of soccer. But for them to be a family, it helps take it even further.
“The simple thing is, they are a very special group. They mean a lot to us. This coaching staff, we put a lot into this program to try to express how important they are and how great they are.”
The Cougars are hoping to take things even further this year than they have the previous two years. Greenfield-Central lost in the regional semifinal in 2016, then advanced to last year’s regional final before falling in a 3-2 heartbreaker against North Central.
To get there, to take that next step, Greenfield-Central has a monumental task ahead of it. The Cougars face a Zionsville team ranked No. 2 in the state by the Indiana Soccer Coaches Association. MaxPreps.com has the Eagles ranked No. 1 in Indiana and No. 12 in the nation.
Their only loss was to another nationally-ranked team, Hamilton Southeastern, 1-0. The goal Zionsville allowed in that loss was one of just nine they allowed all season.
Other teams might be intimidated. The Cougars aren’t.
“We’re definitely not afraid,” Mundell said. “Our mindest is we’re the underdog. We’re going to build on that and work all week to beat Zionsville on Saturday.”
The team knows they have a tough task ahead of them. But they want to continue the trend of getting another step further, getting over the regional hill and into the semistate round for just the second time in program history, their sole regional title coming in 2003.
“We’re pretty confident,” Mundell added. “We really want to get that regional this year, real bad. I think it’s a lot tougher than it’s been in the past, so it’s a big challenge for the whole family here.”
Last year, the Cougars took some teams by surprise in the regional round, taking down a strong Cathedral team before pushing North Central to the brink.
Cathedral sits on the other side of the regional bracket this year, facing another ranked team, No. 18 Brownsburg, in the other semifinal Saturday.
Greenfield-Central didn’t get to the regional round by accident, finishing undefeated in the Hoosier Heritage Conference and boasting a 14-3 record. Regardless of what Zionsville expects of their opponents, the Cougars are hoping to surprise them.
“I feel like we can catch Zionsville off guard,” Murphy said. “We’re going to come in hard, and we’re going to be ready for the game. We’re going to be pushing hard at ‘em, and they’re going to get scared when they see us coming so hard.”
The Cougars already got over one big bump from this year, avenging a tough mid-August loss to East Central with a 4-1 sectional championship win against the Trojans last weekend.
That loss, during their home tournament, pushed the Cougars.
This is a group that doesn’t like to lose. Getting past the Trojans, erasing the memory from their first loss of the season, gives Greenfield-Central a boost heading into the Carmel Regional.
“It gives us a lot of momentum I think,” Buescher said. “When we lost to them in Cougar Cup, the practices after that were really hard. We didn’t want to lose, so we got back going hard again, just like regional practice. I think the momentum from beating them is just going to give us a little more confidence and allow us to play our game better.”
The players on the pitch will ultimately decide the result, but there is more to it than that for the Cougars.
The fans will assuredly be out in force again, as they were for the sectional championship, when a raucous Greenfield-Central contingent took over Mt. Vernon’s stands and helped cheer their team to victory.
On and off the field, this team has a whole bunch of support.
“Not all of the hard work has to come from the field,” Murphy said. “We also have people on the bench who encourage us, we have our coaches who put in so much effort to give us the encouragement that we need to win the game. We have our trainers who help us when we get hurt, help us get healed for the game. The whole team contributes to the game, even if they don’t play.”
The family is ready. They know what’s ahead, and they know what they want to achieve.
Saturday, the Cougars will band together on the field again as brothers, ready for the challenge ahead.
It’s a big one. They wouldn’t want to face it with anyone else.
“With this defense, I think we’ve got a pretty good shot at it,” Buescher said. “We’re all just working together, moving together as a team.”
Win or lose, regional champions or not, they’ll do it as a close-knit team. The Greenfield-Central family will get through it together.
“They’re going to be there for one another. I know that,” Holden said. “It’s just about getting out there and playing the best game we can.”
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Four teams head to Carmel on Saturday with hopes of making it to the Class 3A semistate round. Here’s how the Greenfield-Central Cougars match up against No. 2 Zionsville, and how No. 18 Brownsburg matches up against Cathedral in the other regional semifinal.
The Cougars play Zionsville at 10 a.m., with Brownsburg and Cathedral facing off at noon. The winners will meet at 7 p.m. at Carmel in the championship game.
;Greenfield-Central;Zionsville
Record;14-3;14-1-3
Goals for;63;46
Goals against;16;9
How they got here
Greenfield-Central
Sectional opener: Beat Shelbyville 3-1
Sectional semifinal: Beat Connersville 2-1
Sectional final: Beat East Central 4-1
Zionsville
Sectional semifinal: Beat North Central 2-0
Sectional final: Beat Brebeuf Jesuit 2-1
;Brownsburg;Cathedral
Record;10-4-1;11-4-1
Goals for;36;30
Goals against;21;10
How they got here
Brownsburg
Sectional semifinal: Beat Avon 1-0
Sectional final: Beat Plainfield 2-0
Cathedral
Sectional semifinal: Beat Franklin Central 5-2
Sectional final: Beat Lawrence North 3-1
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