GREENCASTLE BOYS' SOCCER SECTIONAL: Knights rally past Braves; Mustangs corral Wildcats

GREENCASTLE - Two goals from William Rodgers and a goal each from Jackson Stakeman and Henry Lackey were enough as the Northview Knights boys’ soccer team advanced to the semifinal of the Greencastle Boys’ Soccer Sectional 4-2 over the Indian Creek Braves.

The Knights were able to get on the board early. Just a little over two minutes in, the ball took a high bounce over the Braves defense and Henry Lackey was able to race past and put it in the back of the net to give Northview a 1-0 advantage.

Five minutes later, Indian Creek got the benefit of a foul call in the box for a penalty kick opportunity. Freshman Aiden Long stepped to it and found an area past the goalkeeper to notch the game up at 1-1.

Northview came right back, earning a free kick just outside the box. The handball call opened the door for Rodgers, who dribbled one into the net for the go-ahead score. That’s how it would go into the half as neither team could really string passes together on offense.

The Braves tied it up in the second half, as a penalty kick was called from a foul in the box. Long again was able to put it home to even it up at 2-2.

The Knights then gathered themselves and started stringing their passes together. Rodgers took advantage of a Braves giveaway with 15 minutes left and put one in the back of the net.

Northview was not satisfied with the one-goal lead though as it controlled possession for much of the remaining time.

Stakeman, left unchecked, took a swing from 32-yards out and placed it just over the keeper for the crucial two-goal lead. The Knights held on for the final few minutes to survive and advance.

“We go through spurts. We’ll have four or five minutes where we do really good, then go through minutes where we revert back to kick ball. When they decide to do it, they can do it well. We have enough speed to give people problems,” Knights coach JP Arvin said.

Edgewood 1, South Vermillion 0

The Edgewood Mustangs picked up just their second win of the season in the fourth game of the Greencastle Boys’ Soccer Sectional Tuesday evening.

Luke Cool scored the winner with 19:27 left in the first half. It was enough to hold off South Vermillion, advancing 1-0.

Edgewood will face Northview in the second semifinal on Wednesday, beginning at 7 p.m.