IHSAA boys soccer: Castle, Memorial win sectional championships
EVANSVILLE — Castle coach Mike Reiter can’t speak for his players but he felt the pressure.
The outside noise had been building since the summer. It reached a crescendo with every Southern Indiana Athletic Conference victory. This team had the pieces to be good.
What the Knights did this past week at the EVSC Soccer Complex backed it up.
More: Here are the Evansville-area IHSAA soccer sectional scores
No. 12 Castle defeated Harrison 4-0 to win the Class 3A sectional championship. It is the fifth title in the past seven years and sixth for Reiter since he took over in 2012.
“I felt the pressure all week,” Reiter said. “I never really saw it from them. Since we lost to Jasper last year, this group had taken it personally. No magic that we’ve said. It’s been all the boys. They stepped on the field with a mission."
The Knights’ march through the sectional was tougher than the scoreboard indicated. Castle took care of business against Reitz (4-0) before needing two late goals in another battle with Jasper (3-1). The key all week? The Knights (16-2) controlled the game from start to finish.
They led the championship 2-0 by halftime via an own goal and a top corner finish by Daniel Tkachuk. Another point of emphasis was to limit opportunities from Harrison midfielder Santiago Arruffat.
“Santi is a special player,” Reiter said. “If we could bottle him up and go forward, that was our goal. It was being on the front foot from the beginning of the game. If that doesn’t happen, it’s a much different game.”
Isaiah Goodge cleaned up a loose ball in front to make it 3-0 with 30 minutes left. Kowen Cook buried a ball in the back of net five minutes later. The Warriors' closest attempt hit the post early in the first half.
“The big key was making sure we had other’s back,” senior Addison Day said. “Work for each other. To come out and press on every team is the best thing we can do. (Last year) was in the back of our minds.”
Harrison finished with a 12-4-1 record in Year 1 under coach Garrett Smith.
Reiter pointed to the Knights’ senior leadership for why this championship happened. They spoke the entire offseason of rectifying how last year ended with a penalty kick loss to Jasper. Castle met and raised the bar every week.
“The leadership from this senior group has been unreal,” said Reiter. “Every moment, they have not let anything get to their heads.”
Next up, a trip to Floyd Central for the regional.
Ivan Bennett's first-half goal lifts Memorial over Heritage Hills
No smile. Little celebration. All business.
Ivan Bennett, the architect of No. 3 Memorial’s 1-0 win over No. 14 Heritage Hills in the 2A sectional final, had no interest in taking personal glory or plaudits postgame. His match-winning goal — a deflected strike from the top of the box that sailed past a wrong-footed goalkeeper — was much the same.
No smile. Little celebration. All business.
The sophomore midfielder watched it sail in and immediately turned and got ready for the restart.
“It was a deflection. I was lucky,” Bennett said. “It was the first half. I had said to myself and the team, ‘We gotta keep moving the ball because, once we scored, we’re only up 1-0. Game’s not over.’”
Luck, though, in elimination matches is oftentimes the difference. That wasn’t the case for Bennett, though. Sure, he and the Tigers’ lone finish came off a deflection, but his performance was more than that. He had two shots before the goal that were well saved by Patriots goalkeeper Esau Valdez. Bennett created chances out of midfield for himself and his teammates.
He was everywhere and everything in his box-to-box midfield role. All done without a smile or celebration.
All business.
“Ivan had a great game. I think he was probably one of the best on our team today,” Memorial coach Bill Vieth said. “He’s had a solid year. He really does a lot with the ball. … (It’s) kinda justice that he got that goal.”
Bennett contributed to the defensive effort as well. Memorial didn’t concede many chances but was equal to those Heritage Hills put together late in the game. The Tigers held the Patriots shotless in the first half, with goalkeeper Nick Boes’ late double-save being the only true threat on Memorial’s goal.
The Tigers (10-7-1) probably should have made the second half a formality with the chances they created before halftime, but that’s not how the game works. Sometimes winning in tighter-than-necessary situations is needed. Bennett and Memorial did that.
“If we’re playing as a team,” Bennett said, “I think we can win any game we want to.”
The Tigers may have conceded earlier in the season but have grown. That maturation can pay dividends in a win-or-go-home environment. Memorial travels to Washington for the regional.
“It’s huge if you can have some confidence that one goal can win you a game,” Vieth said. “It makes a big difference.”
Who else won sectional championships?
No. 19 Washington needed extra time to defeat Southridge 3-2 in Class 2A at Gibson Southern. It is the fifth title in the past seven years for the Hatchets.
No. 13 Northeast Dubois knocked out Mitchell 2-1 in penalty kicks in the 1A championship at home for its first title since 2017.
No. 17 Forest Park won its fourth straight sectional title with a 3-1 victory against Evansville Christian in 1A. Gus Hagedorn (2) and Gabe Schemenauer scored for the Rangers. Luke Carter had the Eagles' lone goal.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: IHSAA boys soccer: Castle, Memorial win sectional championships
