High-profile battle: How Mishawaka Marian boys soccer slipped past Bethany Christian
GOSHEN — Neither coach was thrilled with their respective team’s performances after the boys soccer game between Mishawaka Marian and Bethany Christian Monday night.
Despite winning the game, 1-0, Marian coach Ben Householter felt like his team could have played better.
The same feelings were shared by Bruins head coach Tony Janzen in defeat.
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A goal from Knights senior Tony Cataldo with 12:24 remaining in the first half was the difference. Both teams entered the contest highly ranked, with Marian No. 2 in Monday’s updated Class 2A poll and Bethany No. 4 in 1A.
“We did not play our best game by far," Householter said. "We have a lot of injuries, but give Bethany credit: they did well. We did not play the best game.”
The Bruins nearly earned a draw in the final minute.
Making one last push to score, Bethany Christian senior Jayden Schlabach was fouled in the goalie box, giving the Bruins a penalty kick shot attempt with 28 seconds remaining in the game.
Sophomore Sawyer Beachy was called upon to take the shot for the home team. He kicked it toward the bottom-right corner of the net, and Marian goalkeeper Noah Balyeat was up for the challenge. The senior extended and stopped the shot from going in.
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An ensuing scramble for the ball led to one last corner kick for Bethany, but the Bruins couldn’t get a clean shot off in time.
“I think anybody watching knew that if we scored the penalty and we had tied 1-1, that wouldn’t have been a fair result of the overall match,” Janzen said. “They’re really good, and we knew that coming in. They’re one of the best teams on our schedule. We knew it was going to be a challenge.”
It was another big moment in the career of Balyeat, who has been an anchor for the Knights since his sophomore year.
“He has been our goalkeeper the last three years, and he’s done an excellent job,” Householter said. “Not only in the net, but leadership as well.”
It’s the first loss of the season for the Bruins (4-1-1). They’ve been on a tear to start the year, outscoring its opponents by a 23-2 margin. They’ve played well against the better competition on its schedule as well, tying No. 16 (2A) NorthWood on Aug. 17 and defeating a solid Bremen team, 2-0, Saturday.
“This is good for us to have challenges,” Janzen said. “I felt like this was going to be an opportunity for us to see areas of growth for where we need to get to by the end of the year. … I wanted to see how they reacted to the amount of speed and pressure Marian has. I felt like we handled it well at times, but they had a lot of shots.”
Bruins goalkeeper Jacoby Reinhardt did everything he could to keep his team in the game, making a dozen saves across the 80-minute contest.
Marian (4-1) gets another tough test Thursday with a road match against No. 20 (3A) Penn. The Kingsmen are 2-2-1, coming off a win over a strong Chesterton program over the weekend.
Being shorthanded, Householter can learn a lot about his team during a difficult stretch on its schedule.
“We had a hard game Saturday against Warsaw (losing 1-0), and then to turn around Monday, that can be tough,” Householter said. “We’ve got a lot of knocks and kids playing out of position. I put two freshmen in at wide positions. You kind of learn who you can count on and who can handle it.”
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Mishawaka Marian boys soccer grinds out win over Bethany Christian
