The Columbus North boys soccer team celebrates its 2-0 win against Floyd Central in Saturday’s Bloomington South Regional final.
Ted Schultz | The Republic
BLOOMINGTON — As the clock would down near the 10-minute mark Saturday afternoon, it looked like Columbus North and Floyd Central were destined for overtime and possibly penalty kicks.
Nico Gotoh and Aidan Whitley had other ideas.
Gotoh assisted Whitley on two goals in the final 12 minutes to lift the Class 3A No. 10 Bull Dogs to a 2-0 win in the Bloomington South Regional final. North advances to play Cathedral in the Ocrt. 21 semistate, likely at the BCSC Soccer Complex.
“I was like, ‘I do not want to go to penalties,’” Whitley said. “It was really a game between the 18s. Neither team had much inside the box, other than just a couple. It was fantastic work from our defensive line and (goalkeeper Juan Jose Salcedo Calderon) keeping a clean sheet. That was a gritty win.”
In the 69th minute of a scoreless game, Gotoh gathered the ball in the left corner, beat a defender along the baseline, and send a cross that Whitley met at the 6-yard line and put into the net.
“Right as I got the ball, I knew I had to go into the penalty box just because if I got fouled, it would be a penalty (kick),” Gotoh said. “So that was the first thing on my mind. Then, I looked up, and I see Aidan running really hard, and I played a hard ball, and Aidan just put it in.”
“It was really a reflection of the first goal we had against Center Grove where I just kind of turned my defender down in the corner and just whipped it across,” Whitley added. “I kind of almost prayed that Nico was there. I saw him beat a defender, and I was there. We practice that a lot.”
They weren’t done. In the 73rd minute, Gotoh sent a through ball to Whitley, who gathered it in the box and put another one past Highlanders keeper Grant Baker.
“The only thing I was thinking was, I picked my head up, and all I needed to do was get the ball past the defenders,” Gotoh said. “I didn’t even bother running after it because I knew Aidan would just put it away. I trusted him”
Both teams finished with 12 shots. The Bull Dogs (14-3-3) put eight on goal to four for Floyd Central (12-3-6). Salcedo Calderon recorded three saves, and defender Konnor Gribbins had a non-goalkeeper save.
“We’ve had three mature performances, and the team doesn’t give up,” North coach Andy Glover said. “That’s admirable. I have a lot of respect for our team.
The Bull Dogs didn’t come out of the game completely unscathed. Aidan Espejel received his second yellow card — resulting in a red card — for coming off the bench onto the field to celebrate North’s first goal. It was the third red card in three games for the Bull Dogs. The previous two times, they had to play a man down for part of the game.
“The gentlemen that were on the field were fighting 110 percent,” Glover said. “Commendable. To do that one time, very commendable. To do that twice is unheard of. To do it three times borderlines with unfair. Our boys, when our backs are to the wall, keep fighting, no matter what. They’re not content for tied. I’m exceptionally proud of them.”
