Breaking Through: Marauders, Dragons advance to sectional finals

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New Palestine’s Maddy Potter controls the ball during their game against Greenfield-Central on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2019. (Tom Russo | Daily Reporter)

ST. LEON — Steve Williams wasn’t exactly sure how Thursday night’s Sectional 12 semifinal game at East Central High School was going to end.

All the veteran soccer coach knew for certain was whenever the Class 3A 15th-ranked Mt. Vernon Marauders do lose their final game of 2020, it will be his last.

Announcing his retirement to his players earlier last month, Williams plans to step down at the conclusion of the season after 26 years of coaching both boys and girls soccer since 1994.

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His current Marauders made certain Williams’ farewell wouldn’t happen for at least a few more days, if not more.

Mt. Vernon won it’s eighth-straight game with a 3-0 shutout against No. 11 East Central in the evening’s first semifinal game, and rival New Palestine won 3-0 against Richmond in the second contest to setup an All-Hancock County final.

The Marauders and Dragons will play for the sectional title this Saturday at 2 p.m. at East Central.

“I might hang on a little bit longer,” Williams joked after his Marauders advanced to their seventh consecutive sectional final. “I was thinking all day. Emotionally for me, I was just wondering, how this was going to go today?”

Last year, the Marauders lost to East Central (12-2-3) in the sectional championship game, 3-0, but this time around, a goal in the first half and two more in the second during the semifinal rematch reversed the trend.

Mt. Vernon senior Anna Isger put the Marauders in control, 1-0, during the game’s sixth minute as the team’s sibling duos shined in the postseason spotlight.

Mattie Isger, a freshman, buried the second goal in the 53rd minute, while senior Shay Stindle added the finishing touch with 16:54 remaining.

“We lost to them last year, so this was kind of a comeback, and we were ready to win,” Anna Isger said. “We were ready to win it this year. We wanted to keep it going. We knew the game wasn’t over after the first goal. We needed to keep working to get the next goal.”

Mt. Vernon (14-2) had 17 shots compared to East Central’s 12, and handed the Trojans their first loss to an Indiana team this season.

East Central’s first loss in 2020 was against Seton of Cincinnati, 4-0, on Sept. 5. They tied No. 8 Columbus North, 1-1, on Sept. 23, and had two more ties this fall against Highlands of Fort Thomas, Ky., 1-1, and Hamilton of Ohio, 2-2.

The last time Mt. Vernon lost a game was against Hoosier Heritage Conference foe Yorktown, 1-0, on Sept. 12. Since the setback, the Marauders have thrived, outscoring their opponents 46-4.

“We think that playing in their half is a lot better than defending our half, so our goal is to keep pressuring and pushing at them,” Anna Isger said. “(That loss) really opened our eyes. We knew we had to work hard because this is where we wanted to be. We’re going to keep pushing and get that championship.”

The defense matched the offense’s intensity led by senior Katie Gawrys and her younger sister, Ellie, a freshman.

The shutout victory marked goalkeeper Riley Britt’s ninth on the season, which tied the program’s school record.

Ellie Gawrys kept Mt. Vernon’s shutout intact with a heads-up play near the net with 6:51 remaining as Britt was drawn away from the goal by an East Central player during a Trojans’ attack.

“I’m so lucky to be able to play with (Ellie),” said Katie Gawrys, a Bellarmine recruit. “She’s so much better than she even knows. It’s amazing to have her back there.”

The Marauders are grateful to have Williams around a little bit longer as they attempt to chase down the program’s potential third sectional title overall and first since 2015.

“He’s talked to us about (his retirement), and it’s been pretty emotional the past couple of times, so we wanted to go out there and not only win this for us but win it for him,” Katie Gawrys said.

“We’ve been in the championship the past three years that I’ve been here, and every time we just lose it at the end, but I feel better than ever with this one. I’m so ready to go into Saturday.”

The Dragons (10-6) took care of Richmond (5-7-1) behind 30 shot attempts compared to the Red Devils’ two.

New Palestine’s first goal went to sophomore Maddy Potter in the 22nd minute. The Dragons turned their 1-0 halftime lead into a 3-0 win with two more goals in the second half as they fired 13 shots and 10 on goal.

Richmond’s goalkeeper Molly O’Brien finished with 12 saves.

“We couldn’t finish. We took 30 shots and scored three goals. Their goalkeeper had a lot of great saves. She was good, but we just didn’t move the ball around like we wanted to. We just tried to go straight to goal too much,” New Palestine head coach Erin Clark said. “That’s not our game.”

The Dragons drew the sectional tournament bye and hadn’t played a game in a week, so the victory helped get the team back on task, Clark said.

Senior Emmy Giddens provided the insurance goal with 34:04 left in the second half, and an assist from sophomore Anna Luker to freshman Allie Blum made it 3-0 in the game’s 51st minute.

The Dragons are seeking their 14th sectional title all time and first since going back-to-back in 2017 and 2018 in Class 2A. New Palestine lost to Mt. Vernon during the regular season, 3-0, on Sept. 9.

The last time Clark led a team against Williams in the sectional final, her then Greenfield-Central Cougars won in a penalty-kick shootout, 4-3, in 2016.

“It’s always fun to play Mt. Vernon. It’s fun to play them in the regular season, but obviously, in sectional, it’s a little bit more exciting,” Clark said. “We’re looking forward to it. They’re a really good team and they played really well against East Central. They’re a quality team.”

Despite scoring some revenge against East Central in a battle between two-ranked opponents, the Marauders don’t intend to overlook the unranked Dragons this weekend.

“This is a strong-willed team. This team, they know what they want,” Williams remarked on his Marauders. “No one is taking any of this for granted. We know the big hurdle is behind us, but I’ve seen so much in my career that you can’t take anything for granted. We can have a great game and still lose. It’s how hard you work.”