Friday night for a Bloomington High School North defender was 80 minutes of being on edge for an attack.
This could come from anywhere, anytime. When defenders can perfectly arc a free kick from the opposite half into the penalty box, any opportunity can become a chance to score.
That’s exactly what happened for Bloomington High School South boys’ soccer, who scored three goals off set pieces to defeat crosstown rival Bloomington North 3-1.
“That has been our bread and butter all year,” Bloomington South coach Jake Kabrick said. “All of our major goals have been off of set pieces, whether it’s long throws, corners, balls in the box, from out here, they’ve all been set pieces.”
All set piece goals, which includes Bloomington North’s free kick, were in the second half. After entering halftime 0-0, Kabrick knew what to expect of his players.
“In the first half, we weren’t getting those gritty opportunities,” Kabrick said. “I got onto them at halftime because that’s how we know that. We as a team know that’s how we score goals.”
The goals did come for Bloomington South eventually, as senior forward Konrad Polit scored twice.
The first came off a goal line scramble following a long throw-in from senior defender Rice Laughlin. Junior winger Evan Gales popped the ball into the air with a header, allowing Polit to slam the ball home from point-blank range.
The second resulted from a long free kick, where sophomore defender Max Serafin Odle whipped a strong ball into the box. Senior goalkeeper Dominic Rosolowski palmed the ball in the direction of Polit, who scored on the rebound.
“Just to come out here and get a dirty win, it feels amazing,” Polit said. “Being a senior, it felt special.”
Sandwiched in between Polit’s goals was a Bloomington North free kick from distance scored by junior defender Ty Wagner.
“Soccer is a very big game of momentum,” Bloomington North coach Gonzalo Sanchez said. “Once we got that goal back, the momentum you could feel shifted, but it’s a matter of who's going to get that next goal.”
Polit’s second goal proved to be just that, taking the wind back out of the Cougars’ sails. A third goal from junior defender Adrian Dusleag, resulting from an improperly cleared corner kick, put the nail in the coffin late in the game.
“It’s just a matter of getting the ball out of our defensive third and not continually giving them opportunities to take those set pieces,” Sanchez said. “We didn’t do as good of a job of clearing the ball in those situations or contesting 50/50 balls.”
It was the 21st straight victory in this series for the Panthers, a streak that’s lasted longer than any of the high school players have been alive. The cross-town rivalry game — the last time the schools will meet as members of Conference Indiana — couldn’t have meant more to Bloomington South senior captain midfielder Tom Henry Berry.
Berry limped out onto the field for the starting lineups despite suffering a torn ACL against Terre Haute North Vigo High School on Sept. 4.
The crowd roared loudest for him when his name was called. As soon as the game started, the ball was launched out of bounds, allowing Berry to limp off the field for a substitution.
“I told him that for senior night, that we were going to try to do that,” Kabrick said. “And he goes, ‘I’d rather do it for the North-South game.’ He wanted to be on the field, every bit as everybody else.”
Now, Bloomington South is potentially one win away from a regular season conference crown.
“We haven’t won out, but I think if we beat Columbus North, we will be sole conference champions,” Kabrick said. “This was basically a playoff game for us if we wanted to get a trophy.”
If the Panthers triumph against Columbus North High School, all that stands between them and the top spot is goal difference between themselves and Southport High School, the team they drew 2-2 on Sept. 6.
Bloomington South, now 8-1-3 overall and 3-0-1 in conference play, will travel to New Albany Senior High School at 12:30 p.m. Saturday before traveling to Columbus North for its final conference game at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Bloomington North, now 9-2-1 overall and 2-2-0 in conference play, travels to Southport to play its final conference game at 10:30 a.m. Saturday.
