WEST LAFAYETTE — North Montgomery’s girls soccer season came to an end with a 5-0 loss to Lebanon in the semifinals of the 2A Sectional 25 tournament.
An early couple goals by the Tigers set the tone and the Chargers offense was never able to get enough momentum, as they end their season with a 4-12-1 record. The Tigers move on to the championship game on Saturday with an 11-6 mark.
“Falling behind early in matches has seemed to be our M-O this season,” North coach Julie Hodges said. “That makes it hard to get into a good rhythm and hard to fight back. The girls played hard all game, but it was hard to get on the attack like we wanted, especially early. We had a good second half against Lebanon in the regular season match and we wanted to get going against them, but that didn’t happen the way we wanted. We focused on getting the offense going, and we ended up focusing more on their strengths instead of our game plan.”
The first two Lebanon goals came in the first five minutes, the first by their leading scorer Sarah Wright and the second by Autum Jones, with an assist from Wright, who was fourth in the Sagamore Conference in scoring.
In all, the Tigers got four goals in the first half. Wright had two.
“Getting a couple quick goals allowed us to play more conservatively, especially on defense,” Tigers coach Samantha Parsons said. “This team works so well together.”
The Chargers were never able to mount many attacks on Tigers goal keeper Aubrey Goodlett, who stopped six shots. Backup goal keeper Avery Gee stopped on shot in her minutes on the pitch.
North goalies Ella Smith and Makenna Hutson were much busier, facing a total of 23 shots on goal.
The loss ends the soccer career of four North seniors, as Smith, Ava Nunan, Callie Wright and Hailey Kunz all suited up for the last time.
“It’s a small group, but these four are such an important part of not just this season, but the future of North soccer,” Hodges said of the four. “They have started our trek back. Their work and leadership and example have worn off on the many younger players who will return. They want what is best for the team and have been just the best teammates.”
Hodges also pointed out the improvements that the seniors helped lead to, and the younger players made happen.
“We scored 35 goals this season, compared to 14 last year,” Hodges said. “We had 77 goals scored against us, compared to 95 last season. We did only win four games, but that was double last year. This was a very young team this season, with four freshmen starting almost all the time and four sophomores also starting a lot and playing even more. We will have a lot of experience back next season. The goal will be just that – more goals.”
A total of 30 of those 35 goals scored return, led by junior Taylor Hudson’s eight and freshman Genesis Reyes five. In all, the Chargers will return nine players who scored at least one goal.
“We need to work on our tactical ball skills,” Hodges said, “and we have to be more physical, which starts in the weight room. We have a lot of versatility in these players, now it’s about improving those skills.”
The Tigers will take on West Lafayette in the sectional title game Saturday after the Red Devils defeated Tri-West 2-1.
