Grace Bethuram
Coming off a big win against crosstown rival Columbus East, Columbus North wanted to make sure it didn’t have a letdown Saturday morning.
The Bull Dogs managed to avoid that. They dominated possession and scored a goal late in each half in posting a 2-0 girls soccer win against Floyd Central.
“Saturday mornings, I think it’s always difficult to try to get up for,” North coach David Young said. “Going into this game, we hadn’t beaten them the last two years. It was an important game to kind of put a stamp on our season. A 2-0 victory is a very solid win for us.”
The Bull Dogs (4-1) outshot the Highlanders 24-4, putting 16 shots on goal to three for Floyd Central. But the first goal didn’t come until the 38th minute when freshman Grace Bethuram took a pass from Evelin Lopez near midfield and dribbled in for the first goal of her high school career.
“It was really amazing, but it wasn’t just me,” Bethuram said. “My team, we all worked hard. The assist was amazing by Evelin. We all just worked really hard for it.”
Paige Terry
The second goal came in the 72nd minute from Paige Terry off an assist from Rachel Fulp.
“I think it really helps with our confidence,” Terry said. “When I went in that last time, (Young) was like, ‘Go get a second goal,’ because once we get goals, our confidence goes up, and it really helps the team out.”
Danika Hoehn recorded three saves for North. Hoehn, along with the defense of center backs Brooklyn Pendleton and Allison Kolhouse, and outside backs Greta Schuetz, Gabby Spurgeon and Hayden Bigler, posted their fourth consecutive shutout.
“Most importantly for us as a team, it’s our fourth straight shutout, so it’s huge,” Young said. “Defensively, goalkeeping has been good, even though we don’t allow a ton of shots, but the back line has been lights out.”
