Coming off their first win of the season in Tuesday’s Hoosier Hills Conference opener against Bedford North Lawrence, and with a huge game against perennial HHC favorite Floyd Central coming up on Saturday, Columbus East girls soccer coach Ilya Schwartzman switched some things around for Thursday’s matchup with Class 2A No. 18 Batesville.
The Bulldogs halted the Olympians winning streak at one with a 5-0 victory.
“It was just tough getting anything developed,” Schwartzman said. “Batesville is No. 18 in 2A for a reason. They’re a very good team, but we had trouble defending, we had trouble with their runners. At the end of the day, a lot of us are hurting right now, so I had to make some coaching decisions as far as changing up the lineup.”
Batesville (8-2) scored goals in the 15th and 17th minutes and led 2-0 at halftime. The Bulldogs got a third goal in the 45th minute and added their final two in the 71st and 76th minutes.
Batesville outshot the Olympians (1-7) 40-0, putting 23 shots on goal.
“We have a lot of stuff to learn, still,” Schwartzman said. “We’re just struggling to control the midfield. We’re getting broken down a lot.”
Emma Christie kept East in the game in the first half with a couple of diving saves. Christie played the first 50 minutes in goal and finished with eight saves, while Cara Veach added 10 saves over the final 30 minutes.
“Emma was fantastic,” Schwartzman said. “Some of the saves she had were first-class saves. In the second half, Cara did a fantastic job in the goal, as well. The goalies really came through today and played really well.”
The Olympians now turn their attention to Saturday’s 4 p.m. game against the Highlanders. The East-Floyd Central game has decided the HHC title most of the past 20 years.
“Every game is a new game, and it’s how you approach the game and what you bring to the game,” Schwartzman said. “If we bring our A game, I think we can create, and it’s going to be real important to defend well.”
