Columbus North’s Allison Kolhouse, in black, reacts after scoring a goal from a corner kick during a soccer match against Seymour Aug. 2 at the BCSC Soccer Complex.
Mike Wolanin | The Republic
Allison Kolhouse plays on the defensive line, but she is second on the Columbus North girls soccer team in goals.
That’s because the junior is involved in all of the Bull Dogs’ set pieces, particularly corner kicks, this year. Kolhouse has one advantage that many of the opposition do not, and that is length. The 6-foot Kolhouse, also a basketball player, uses her height and jump to her advantage. It’s a big reason why North has been dangerous in set pieces this season.
“A lot of it is tracking the ball, and I think it helps on defense because a lot of people will try to float it over us, and we get a lot of bouncing balls and balls in the air in the back,” Kolhouse said. “I think I’ve learned how to be able to track a ball, but then also just have confidence that I can get it.”
Columbus North’s Rachel Merritt controls the ball during a soccer match against Seymour Aug. 22 at the BCSC Soccer Complex.
Mike Wolanin | The Republic
As much of a responsibility as it is for Kolhouse to finish the play, it couldn’t be done without a great corner kicker. Senior Rachel Merritt has been called upon to kick the corners and free kicks when she’s on the pitch.
Merritt has been calm and steady under the pressure of delivering the ball into the box. She leads the team in assists with eight. Kolhouse is second on the team in goals with five, all coming from Merritt’s corner kicks.
North coach David Young assesses the team’s strengths and weaknesses from the prior season and the next season ahead. Young said one of the areas they needed to be better at was set pieces.
“The past offseason, the girls put in a ton of work on flighted balls and winning the aerial battles,” Young said. “Working on those things often has brought a certain level of confidence that has shown in stats so far this season.”
Rachel Merritt
Merritt took corners for the team last year, as well, but she wasn’t satisfied with her results. She wanted to make a change.
At the beginning of this season, Merritt spent time practicing, training and seeking help from goalkeepers coach Jeff Butcher. It was Butcher that helped Merritt change her run up to the ball and more about the speed as opposed to the strength of how she hit the ball.
“Last year, I feel they were not as consistent and they would float in between the 18(-yard box) and 6(-yard box) area,” Merritt said, “but now, I’m able to pinpoint a point that I want based on how we change my run up, so I have to give him a lot of credit on how I’m taking my corners.”
It’s worked so well for the duo so far this year is that they’ve spent time practicing the corners together. They also have learned each other’s tendencies and can communicate well from each other’s body language.
“I feel like she’s been really consistent, so I know where she’s going to go,” Kolhouse said. “We do look at each other, and she’ll see if I’m not in the right position that I usually start in, she will hold the corner kick until I’m there.”
“If I want Allison to be in a certain spot that I know I can kick at, I tell her to move up a little because I know how long it takes her to run up and track the ball and what distance she needs,” Merritt said. “I always look for her, we make eye contact, we know where to put it. I feel it’s specifically teamwork and the connection between us. It’s the confidence that we build up. I’m confident in Allison, and that most of the time, she can finish it.”
Allison Kolhouse
It’s also played an effect on the rest of the team. If Kolhouse doesn’t finish the corner kick, other teammates are there to finish the play. Most of the goals by the Bull Dogs this year have come from set pieces.
It shows in the results as the Bull Dogs have equaled their win total from last year. They’re off to a 7-1-1 start and have produced eight straight shutouts.
“Team chemistry is something we emphasize with the group often,” Young said. “Specifically for those two, we’ve seen an increase in their communication, not only with each other, but with the team as a whole. They’ve both stepped up to help lead this group to a great start to the season.”
Merritt also has a younger sister on the team, Grace, a sophomore. Their brother John is a 2023 North graduate that played on the school’s golf team and with the Columbus Icemen hockey team and is currently at Indiana University.
Rachel Merritt is a co-captain and one of 10 seniors on the squad this season.
“Rachel has stepped up as both a vocal leader and a lead by example captain,” Young said. “I feel we have several girls that lead in various ways, but Rachel has stepped it up a notch this season, and I feel it shows in her play on the field and how other players receive feedback from her.”
Kolhouse is youngest of three sisters in her family to play soccer. She got to watch her older sisters Kate and Kara lead the path for her to have success. She got to see Kate be part of the team’s Final Four run in 2020.
Just like Kate, Allison plays the center back position.
“Kate led the way, led the path through high school, so being the little sister, I copied her and became a center back,” Allison said. “I’ve seen her have so much success, I wanted to replicate that and do my best to fill her footsteps and maybe even outgrow them. I see a lot of her mechanisms in myself. We are sisters, and we are the same, but we are also different.”
Kolhouse, Merritt and the rest of the team will have the advantage in set pieces going forward. They hope it will propel them once they head into the postseason next month.
“A lot of times if we’re struggling with scoring on the team or we are getting opportunities but can’t finish them, we’ll push for more corner balls and take it to the line so that there’s the ability to get a set piece or a corner because we know that with our consistency between me and Allison, there’s a high chance that it could go in,” Merritt said.
